Hi everyone. Finally here with a new chapter. It was really frustrating as I struggled for ages to get going with writing it then all of a sudden everything seemed to click. Hope you enjoy!
Sync The Dragon Tempest: Thanks, glad you enjoyed it! :)
Sweet Cari: Aww thank you :)
Dracofighter: Thank you! :)
DinoGuy2000: Thank you. We'll be seeing a bit more of the Dark Area in the next few chapters with a few more hurdles ;)
Tristpht: Aw thank you. Sounds good!
Greymon Leader: Aw thank you very much. I'm really glad my story is still being enjoyed after it's been going for so long :)
Kirbypikachu2: Thanks. At the moment for this story there isn't any plans for Dawn and Stacey's Digimon to DNA digivolve, but I have thought about it for potentially other stories. He does look cool!
CherryboyRUS00: Thanks :) That does sound like a good idea, but for what I have planned it had to be Tai in the Dark Area with Dawn
Thanks again to everyone else who reviewed, faved etc!
Digimon 2.5
Episode 61: "The Darkness Before Dawn"
.:Odaiba, Tokyo:.
Grandracmon grinned as he stepped closer to the DigiDestined, the smoke from his attack that finished Daemon still lurking in the air. "Did you seriously think you could try and slip past me without being noticed? I knew when you DigiDestined went into hiding it would only be a matter of time before you would slip up and show yourselves."
Davis glared up at him, whilst Imperialdramon stepped in front of them defensively. "We weren't hiding. Whilst you were playing with Daemon we've been pretty busy taking care of your army of goons." He shot back, causing the mega Digimon to scoff.
"Yeah, maybe you should take a look around. You've no one to hide behind now Grandracmon. It's just you against us now." Imperialdramon warned.
Grandracmon chuckled. "You're no threat to me. You may have me outnumbered but there is no way you can match up to my strength… even with help from your foolish friends." He said, snarling a little at Unimon, Meramon and Monzaemon who just frowned back at him.
"At least we have friends to help us. That will be something you will never have!" Mimi protested.
Grandracmon continued to laugh to himself. "You think that's what will help you win this fight? The power of friendship?" he laughed even more. "I'm the most powerful Digimon there is. I can take down any Digimon I want. No one can defeat me; I'm invincible. One of the great Digimon sovereigns couldn't even beat me… do you really think you and your friends are more powerful than Azulongmon? Do you think you can accomplish something he couldn't?"
"Wow… his ego is bigger than yours Davis," Yolei humoured, earning a glare from him.
"Power has nothing to do with it," Imperialdramon shot back to Grandracmon. "Azulongmon may not have been able to defeat you; but he was smart enough to trap you inside the form of a weaker Digimon."
"… And yet here I am." Grandracmon bragged, stretching his arms out. "He should have known he could never keep me confined… he thought by trapping me inside the form of Myotismon he would be sparing the Digital World… but all those years it just fuelled my taste for vengeance, and now thanks to him both worlds will suffer even more."
"You seriously think you can take down both worlds single-handedly?" Imperialdramon remarked. "You really do think highly of yourself."
"Joke all you want DigiDestined," Grandracmon barked. "You won't be laughing when I'm through with all of you. You won't last long once I unleash my full power."
"You wanna bet?" Imperialdramon challenged before he launched himself at Grandracmon. "Positron Laser!" he fired an almighty blast from his gun on his right hand, catching the demon Digimon off guard.
The blast struck Grandracmon, and he was thrown back down the street, crashing through a bridge that crossed overhead…
"Do you think that was a smart move?" Yolei commented from beside her husband.
"We've probably just made him madder," Kari added. "We can't fight him until he's at his most vulnerable; otherwise the Digimon are just going to waste their energy."
"And we can't out run him now either," Davis replied. "We have no choice. Imperialdramon will keep him distracted. You guys go and help the kids."
"What?" Both Kari and Yolei responded in unison. "Davis, Imperialdramon can't take him on alone." The latter added.
"Yeah, somehow I don't think he was bluffing when he mentioned unleashing his full power…" Mimi also said.
"We're just buying some time… we'll be fine. Go and make sure the kids are okay, and send a call out to the others and tell them it's now the endgame." Davis ordered. "Once we're all back together let's see how big-headed he is then."
Mimi, Kari and Yolei glanced at each other before turning and making their way in the direction of the beach with Silphymon, Unimon, Monzaemon and Meramon. Before leaving, Yolei paused and looked at her husband. "Be careful." She said softly.
Imperialdramon glided down the street to where a cloud of smoke had filled the air where Grandracmon had landed. He aimed his Positron Laser, preparing to attack once again. But before he could fire another shot Grandracmon leapt out from amongst the smoke cloud and tackled him.
The demon Digimon swung a powerful punch, striking Imperialdramon in the face before he slammed him into the ground and both Digimon tumbled and began to scuffle as Davis and Ken watched on. Imperialdramon managed to kick Grandracmon off him before he manifested his sword of light from his gauntlet and immediately swung it across as Grandracmon charged at him once more. The blade sliced the demon Digimon across the chest causing him to stumble back.
Grandracmon flinched, growling through the sharp pain he had felt. He glanced down to see a long thin cut was now visible across his chest where the blade had managed to pierce his skin. He snarled angrily having been wounded so easily, even though it was only a small wound. "You're going to pay for that." He threatened. "Crimson Mist!" unleashing one of MaloMyotismon's attacks he opened up the two mouths on his waist and spewed out a thick red mist that filled the area and completed blinded Imperialdramon's of his surroundings.
Both Ken and Davis flinched as the red mist engulfed around them, causing them to cough a little. "I almost forgot he can still use those attacks…" Davis complained, coughing.
Imperialdramon kept looking in every direction, trying to sense any movement which would give him a clue as to where Grandracmon was, but the red mist was too thick and made it impossible to see anything more than a few feet. Suddenly he was struck from behind, as something whipped his back. He was then hit from the side with the same force. As he continued to be hit, he saw flashes of red light… It looked as if Grandracmon was using Myotismon's Crimson Lightning attack which was stealthily moving through the mist. Imperialdramon manifested his sword of light once more, which lit up his surroundings ever so slightly. As he moved his sword, he caught a glimpse of a dark shadow moving straight for him. "Imperial Kick!" Imperialdramon jumped up and swung his right leg, dealing a powerful kick at the right moment as Grandracmon had prepared to strike again. He heard the grunt from Grandracmon as the kick sent him crashing somewhere within the mist. But before Imperialdramon could make his next move, he was suddenly grabbed and carried up into the air and slammed into the side of what he could only assume was the side of the building.
Grandracmon ceased his Crimson Mist attack, and the red mist gradually disappeared revealing he was indeed pinning Imperialdramon against the side of a nearby building with his hand grasped tightly around the dragon Digimon's neck. "You're fighting a losing battle." He growled. "Like I said before; no one, not even Azulongmon could defeat me so what makes you think you can?"
Imperialdramon struggled against his grasp. "I thought you said you could take down any Digimon you wanted?" he managed to say. He then felt Grandracmon's grip loosen ever so slightly in confusion as to what he was meaning… "Azulongmon may not have been able to defeat you… but you didn't defeat Azulongmon either," The comment had taken Grandracmon a little by surprise, and Imperialdramon took advantage. "Giga Crusher!" he opened up the cannon in the dragon face on his chest and fired a powerful shot from point blank range that blasted Grandracmon clear from him…
.:Minato, Tokyo:.
Across the bay in Minato, Matt and the others had left the park close to the University and had now made their way into an industrial part of the region that was next to the water. Crossing through the shipping dock's parking lot, they came to a stop by the edge of the water where they had a clear view of Odaiba in front of them. It was quiet, except for the sounds of the water gently crashing against the side of the dock. There were also still pieces of ice floating in the bay from when Daemon had melted most of it earlier, which unbeknown to them, made it difficult for them to spot the kids trapped out on the water.
"It's so quiet…" Sora commented, looking out across the water. "I don't know whether that's a good or a bad thing."
Matt also looked out across to where the castle was situated on the battery island. "Is Wisemon's signal still active?" he asked Izzy who was standing just behind him.
"I'll check," Izzy replied, swiping to open the screen on his tablet.
Just then, TK's phone began to ring. He took it out of his back pocket checking the caller I.D. "It's Kari," he said before answering it, putting it on speaker phone. "Hey Kari, is everything okay?"
"Grandracmon's defeated Daemon…" Kari replied. She sounded a little out of breath as she; Mimi and Yolei were still running towards Odaiba Beach. "We were on our way to help the kids when we were cornered by them. Davis told us to go whilst Imperialdramon is holding off Grandracmon,"
"He's near the Aqua City mall," Izzy confirmed looking at his tablet. "Daemon's signal has indeed gone… although Wisemon's is still showing out in the bay."
"Imperialdramon won't be able to stand up against Grandracmon alone." Cody commented.
"That's what I said!" They heard Yolei say in the background. "But you know how stubborn Davis can be!"
"You got that right," TK humoured. "Listen, we'll meet you guys at the beach. As soon as we find the kids we'll head back and help Davis and Ken." he then hung up and looked to the others. "C'mon, let's get over there. Sounds like this battle just went up a gear."
BlackWarGreymon took a step towards the edge of the dock, looking out across the water. "Imperialdramon won't last long on his own," he said. "He will need help." Before the DigiDestined could answer, he leapt up and took off across the bay in the direction of Odaiba.
"Wait, BlackWarGreymon!" Joe called, but the mega Digimon was too far away by that point. "Does he even know where he's going?" he asked with a sigh.
"It won't be that hard to find two large Digimon in this empty city." Orgemon grunted.
.:Odaiba, Tokyo:.
"Grizzly Wing!" Grandracmon unleashed a swarm of bats, which was ten times more powerful than Myotismon's.
Imperialdramon manifested his sword of light from his gauntlet and swung it in a wide motion; releasing a shockwave of light that stretched out in front of him. The light engulfed the oncoming bats, dissolving them all instantly. The shockwave travelled all the way to where Grandracmon was standing further down the street, and he flinched when it brushed against him. Imperialdramon then pointed his gun straight ahead which then began to glow brightly. "Supreme Positron Laser!" he then fired a more powerful version of his Positron Laser attack which thundered down the street like a lightning bolt. The blast hit Grandracmon, and he disappeared under a thick cloud of smoke…
"Yeah!" Davis cheered, pumping his fist from his and Ken's position on the sidewalk. "That outta do it!"
"Don't start celebrating yet Davis," Ken warned. "Have you forgotten he's still practically invincible right now?"
Davis paused before slumping his shoulders, a little deflated. "Oh yeah…"
The smoke soon cleared, and the two men and Imperialdramon looked ahead to see Grandracmon was still standing there, seemingly without a scratch. "I take it that was your best shot?" he mocked, earning a growl from Imperialdramon.
"Trust me," Imperialdramon grunted. "I'm saving my best shot for when it counts. You'll know when I unleash my full power."
Grandracmon chuckled. "What makes you believe you will last that long? Venom Beam!" he fired purple flames from the two heads on his waist, which Imperialdramon swiftly sliced his sword of light through disabling them.
Davis gritted his teeth. "I can't wait to wipe that sly grin off his face." He muttered to Ken.
"We'll have our chance when the time's right," Ken replied quietly.
"Perhaps now is the time I start taking you DigiDestined out one by one… you were foolish enough to send your friends away so this will be easy; like bursting a bubble…" Grandracmon continued to tease menacingly. He was about to unleash another attack, when he was suddenly caught off guard by a huge ball of dark red energy that soared down from above. The attack struck the ground, and the force of the blast sent Grandracmon careering off and tumbling onto the sidewalk, crashing through some signs and shrubs.
BlackWarGreymon appeared from over the top of the Aqua City Mall, landing next to Imperialdramon. "What are you doing here?" the dragon Digimon asked, a little surprised.
"Saving you from becoming digital matter," BlackWarGreymon responded a little dryly.
The two mega Digimon turned their focus to where Grandracmon had fallen as they heard the demon Digimon snarling as he got back up to his feet, surrounded by debris. "Don't you know it's rude to show up uninvited BlackWarGreymon?" Grandracmon growled before he began to approach them slowly. "Is this how you repay your creator? With disloyalty?" he taunted.
BlackWarGreymon glared at the beast Digimon. "My loyalty was never to you. I don't answer to anyone."
"You were ultimately my creation… I possessed that human who created Arukenimon; who in turn created you… and I don't take kindly to traitors. You're going to wish you had stayed inside that Spirit Stone!" he threatened before he charged, roaring menacingly. He manifested a stream of Crimson Lightning in his right hand before he flung it forward.
Both Imperialdramon and BlackWarGreymon jumped away either side as the attack struck the street, blowing up parts of the ground. "Black Tornado!" BlackWarGreymon began to spin at tremendous speed before launching himself towards Grandracmon…
"Splendor Blade!" Imperialdramon raised his sword of light as he charged…
Grandracmon glanced to his left then to his right as both Digimon grew closer and closer... He waited until the right moment before he leapt up into the air, soaring upwards out of harms way and causing BlackWarGreymon and Imperialdramon to collide with each other, disabling each other's attacks. "It looks like this fight is going to leave you two with a bit of a headache…" he teased, chuckling looking down at the dazed Digimon.
.:Tokyo Bay, Odaiba, Tokyo:.
Wizardmon swooped out of the way as he dodged yet another attack from Wisemon. The ultimate Digimon had been toying with him for a while now and he was beginning to tire a little, although he tried not to show it. Wisemon fired another blast from one of his Time Stones, which hit Wizardmon just enough to knock him out of the air, but not enough to seriously injure him.
Wisemon floated down to where Wizardmon had landed on the sand not far from the marine park pier, watching as he picked himself up resting on one knee and breathing a little heavier. "I must say you are holding out longer than I expected considering you are a champion level Digimon… but I suspect you won't be lasting much longer. I can see you are feeling tired, which will only make it all the more easier for Grandracmon to destroy you."
Wizardmon slowly got back up onto his feet, smiling somewhat. "That's if the DigiDestined don't destroy him first… Magical Game!" he fired a blast from his wand, but Wisemon simply swatted it away with his hand.
In a flash Wisemon swooped down and picked up Wizardmon from the sand, carrying him high up into the air. "You are foolish to still be clinging onto that little bit of hope that your friends will make it to Lord Grandracmon's castle in the Dark Area." He said. "You may have found out about that prophecy, but time is running out." Wisemon then fired up an attack in the palm of his hand and blasted Wizardmon at point blank range, causing him to fall down and crash into the water below.
Wizardmon resurfaced a few moments later, spluttering water. Still grasping his wand he swam the short distance to the pier before resting himself against the rocks. He looked up to see Wisemon flying straight down towards him again.
"I have made sure they won't make it to his castle. As long as that piece of his soul remains untouched you can't defeat him, and it'll only be a matter of time before he destroys you all." Wisemon boasted. He fired another attack, causing Wizardmon to scramble out of the water and jump out of the way before the attack struck the rocks. The mini explosion blasted the side of the pier to pieces, and the aftershock caused Wizardmon to hit the deck
Out on the water of the bay, the kids were still stranded in their ice cages. Dan groaned in frustration as he tried to see across the water to where Wizardmon and Wisemon currently were, but it was a little too far away. "Wisemon's a coward!" he snapped somewhat, kicking the bars of the cage. "Is he too scared to face us? Is that why he's trapped us in here?"
"I doubt it goggle head," Stacey responded, earning a glare from the Motomiya boy. "He knows Grandracmon will return and he's made sure we don't escape before he comes for us."
"But Wizardmon needs our help. There has to be a way out of here…" Fernanda thought aloud. "Huh?" she then caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of her eye. Turning her head, she smiled upon seeing Piximon fluttering just above the water near to her cage.
"Piximon!" Armadillomon exclaimed happily.
The tiny Digimon held his finger to his lips instructing the children and their partners to remain quiet. His spear began to glow as he waved it down, pointing it towards the cages…
"Electro Squall!" Still, resting in a sitting position on the pier, Wizardmon thrust his wand into the air summoning a thunder cloud. The cloud unleashed an intense lightning strike directly down upon Wisemon.
Wisemon raised both of his time stones above his head, creating some sort of portal in the gap in-between. "Pandora Dialogue!" The portal swallowed the lightning strike, before he then redirected it back down; firing Wizardmon's own attack back at him.
Wizardmon gasped and leapt back out of the way levitating up before the lightning struck the pier, blasting a hole in the middle.
"It's no use Wizardmon. Each time you attack I can simply fire it back at you. If you're not careful you will fall victim to your own attack. Nothing can get past me."
Wizardmon frowned at the ultimate Digimon, but his attention briefly looked beyond Wisemon as something caught his eye. He then smiled to himself. "I beg to differ actually," he replied.
Wisemon looked somewhat confused at first, until he sensed a presence was now behind him…
"Why don't you pick on someone your own size Wisemon!"
Wisemon turned around to look behind him at the sound of Dan's voice. All the children were now free from their ice cages and riding on the backs, or being held by their partners who had now all digivolved into their highest forms. "How did you…" Wisemon pondered under his breath. He then frowned disapprovingly. "Never mind; I trapped you once so I can trap you all again,"
"And I'll just keep on freeing them again and again, yup yup!" Piximon's voice chirped happily as he fluttered into view from behind Lilamon.
Wisemon focused his attention on Piximon, preparing his time stones to attack. "You won't be able to free them if I destroy you first..."
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
Before Wisemon could unleash his spell, Zudomon's hammer came hurtling through the air and struck with precision, knocking him of balance and breaking his concentration. After regaining his composure, he noticed Zudomon in the water, with Joe, Izzy, Sora, TK, Cody and Andromon on his back. He was then joined by Whamon who emerged from underneath the water. Just to the right of Zudomon, Frigimon had created a path of ice from the dock and across the water where he, Orgemon, Pumpkinmon, Gotsumon and SaberLeomon were standing with Willis and his two partners. He then turned to look behind to see MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon and Shakkoumon emerge in the air from behind the castle on the battery island. Lastly, Silphymon, Lillymon and Unimon flew up from the direction of the beach, where Meramon and Monzaemon were standing on the sand with Kari, Yolei and Mimi.
"It looks as if you may be losing your touch Wisemon," Wizardmon taunted a little, as demon man Digimon looked around. "You certainly didn't see this coming."
"Your time is up Wisemon." MetalGarurumon growled. "Just like the rest of the Nightmare Six."
Wisemon continued to look around at all the DigiDestined and Digimon that were now surrounding him, and were starting to gradually move in closer. He smiled calmly to himself. "Actually, all of you couldn't have arrived at a more perfect time…" he summoned his two time stones and clasped them together in the palms of his hands, and in a flash; he disappeared…
.:Odaiba, Tokyo:.
Near to Aqua City Mall, Imperialdramon and BlackWarGreymon were still fighting against Grandracmon. Despite both of them attacking, Grandracmon continued to keep the battle a level playing field and didn't seem to be faltering considering he was outnumbered two to one. After both of them launched another attack which Grandracmon successfully blocked, they retreated back a little.
"I want nothing more than to unleash my full force on this beast." BlackWarGreymon muttered.
"Not yet," Imperialdramon replied quietly. "If we waste all our energy now we won't be strong enough to fight when it really matters."
"Crystal Revolution!" Grandracmon fired one of his own attacks in the form of an energy blast. The energy was aimed at both Imperialdramon and BlackWarGreymon, but they both leapt out of the way. The blast struck a small truck which had been parked behind them and was immediately transformed into ice crystals which then fell to the ground, shattering. "I feel like you're holding back somewhat," He taunted as he slowly began to approach them once they had landed back down on the ground. "Are you waiting for a miracle to happen? Nightmare Claw!" He then unleashed a black ghost like entity in the shape of a large claw that stretched out and grasped itself around BlackWarGreymon. The dragon Digimon struggled and tried to free himself as the dark energy began to move its way up his body slowly paralyzing him.
Imperialdramon quickly manifested his sword of light before slicing it down through the dark claw, causing it instantly disappear in a puff of smoke; freeing BlackWarGreymon who dropped down to the ground on one knee.
"He knows…" Ken muttered under his breath from the sidelines.
"What?" Davis asked, turning to look at his friend.
"He knows what we've done. He's mocking us. He knows we're trying to hold out until he's at his most vulnerable... he probably worked out that's why Daemon returned; because we opened up a portal to the Dark Ocean." Ken explained.
Davis clenched his fists. "It doesn't matter. He can joke all he wants. As soon as his soul is destroyed we'll be having the last laugh," he said to Ken as he glared at Grandracmon.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light and in between Grandracmon and BlackWarGreymon and Imperialdramon, Wisemon appeared levitating in the air. "My lord," he bowed facing the demon Digimon. "I thought you might like to know the DigiDestined are waiting for you at the beach."
Grandracmon's interest suddenly perked up slightly, and he smiled. "All of them?"
"Yes, my lord." Wisemon replied with a nod. "All of them; including their group of friends who are so foolishly helping them."
Grandracmon's smile turned into a grin as he looked beyond where Davis and Ken were standing to Tokyo Bay in the short distance down the street. "Perfect… I love a day at the beach…" he humoured. Without warning he then unleashed a powerful shockwave aiming the main brunt of its force at Davis, Ken, Imperialdramon and BlackWarGreymon.
The force pushed them back before throwing them down the street towards Tokyo Bay…
.:Tokyo Bay, Odaiba, Tokyo:.
On the beach, the DigiDestined and the Digimon had regrouped on the sand a few hundred yards down from the Marine Park Pier with the children reuniting with their parents.
"Where did he go?" Frigimon asked, referring to Wisemon's disappearance as Cody hugged his daughter.
Orgemon scoffed, resting his bone club on his shoulder. "The coward ran away."
"Somehow I don't think he did Orgemon." Matt said.
"We need to be careful," MJ warned everyone, glancing up at her father and uncle. "He used this trick earlier. We thought we had defeated him but he reappeared and trapped us all in those cages. He could launch a surprise attack at any moment."
"He also used some kind of spell that caused us to dedigivolve and prevented us from digivolving back to our ultimate forms," Hippogriffomon added.
"I don't like this," Mimi admitted. "He could be anywhere now… just waiting to strike."
"Well when he does we'll be ready for him." TK said defiantly.
As James and Katie reunited with their mother, the former glanced throughout the group. "Where's Dad?" he asked, looking up at Yolei.
Before Yolei could answer her son's question, the group was startled by Imperialdramon and BlackWarGreymon crashing through the trees that separated the beach from the main street. The two mega Digimon tumbled into the sand, slumping in a heap to a stop before reaching the water. "Ken!" Yolei exclaimed as she spotted her husband lying next to Imperialdramon before running to him.
"Dad!" Dan also spotted his father and bolted across the sand with Strikedramon.
Davis and Ken both groaned a little dazed, sitting up just as Yolei and Dan reached them both.
"What happened? Are you okay?" Yolei asked, helping her husband to her feet.
Through the smoke that was still lingering from where Imperialdramon and BlackWarGreymon had crashed through the trees, Grandracmon appeared at the edge of the beach with Wisemon floating just behind him. "Hello DigiDestined," he greeted with a grin. He then made his way onto the sand, leaving deep footprints behind. "Nice to see you all together..."
Matt frowned once he had spotted Wisemon. "So that's where he went… to snitch on us."
"We should have taken him out whilst we had the chance," MetalGarurumon growled.
Grandracmon continued to slowly trudge across the sand, just eyeing the group. He then smiled to himself. "You lied to me Wisemon," he said, although there was humour to his tone. "You said all the DigiDestined were here…"
"Lord Grandracmon-" Wisemon began to say softly.
Grandracmon then interrupted; speaking to the DigiDestined. "Did you honestly think I wouldn't notice the two key players in your team are missing? You couldn't keep your little scheme a secret from me. It was only a matter of time before I worked it out. In case you had forgotten I too know about that prophecy."
"Then you must know your time is running out Grandracmon." Matt declared calmly.
"And as soon as that soul of yours is destroyed we're going to blast you to pieces," MetalGarurumon threatened, opening up all the guns throughout his body. "And this time there will be no coming back!"
The Demon Digimon scoffed, unfazed by their threats. "You are so blinded by hope of that prophecy you didn't stop to think of the consequences of entering such a dangerous place. The prophecy can only be fulfilled if they manage to destroy my soul… but they have to actually make it to my castle first. As long as my soul remains untouched I remain untouchable. A bold move sending them away to a place you know nothing about." He mocked. "I hope you said goodbye; because you will never see them again."
Sora heard Kari gasp under her breath. She glanced over her shoulder and saw the anxious look on her sister in law's face. "Don't listen to him Kari," she said, turning to look back at Grandracmon. "He's lying. They'll be back, I know it. He's just trying to get in our heads."
Grandracmon laughed. "If you choose to believe they will return then that is your mistake. Don't say I didn't warn you when you finally realise what you've done."
"His arrogance is really starting to get on my nerves." James muttered, glaring at the demon Digimon.
"He obviously doesn't know how good Dawn and VictoryGreymon are." Katie said, standing just behind her brother.
Wisemon cast a glance at Grandracmon. "My Lord, as confident as you are; I still advise you proceed with caution." He warned. "If by the smallest chance they do succeed-"
"Don't worry Wisemon," Grandracmon interrupted again. "It won't take me long to crush all these pests." He said, flashing a devilish grin at the DigiDestined. "If by some miracle daddy and daughter do make it back they'll be in for a surprise when they find only me waiting to welcome them home."
"Pretty confident talk for someone who is outnumbered over thirty to one." Izzy commented.
"You think I'm intimidated by your army?" Grandracmon shot back, casting a look at their friends. "A giant teddy bear, a pony and a pussy cat…" he mocked, referring to Monzaemon, Unimon and SaberLeomon. "…Sounds more like a circus act than an army."
SaberLeomon snarled, taking a step closer. "Don't underestimate us," He growled. "We were strong enough to take down your army."
Imperialdramon then moved through the air coming to a stop directly in front of Grandracmon. "So let's see if your actions speak louder than your words…" he then charged towards the demon Digimon, manifesting his sword of light.
Grandracmon reacted quickly and grabbed hold of the blade with both hands as it was swung down towards him. His feet began to slide back in the sand, digging deeper in as he tried to resist the force Imperialdramon was pushing against him; the blade moving closer and closer to his neck. Grandracmon then growled and increased his strength; allowing him to gain the advantage and toss Imperialdramon aside. He was then immediately pounced on by SaberLeomon and Crowmon, but he managed to throw them off.
"Vulcan's Hammer!"
As Grandracmon grabbed hold of Strikedramon by the neck and chucked him aside like a rag doll, he was then hit in the side of the head by Zudomon's hammer; knocking him off his feet.
MetalGarurumon soared up above and opened up all the missiles on his body before firing them down upon Grandracmon, who was then lost in a cloud of smoke from the explosions.
Once the smoke had cleared, Grandracmon was seen to be back on his feet; looking a little scuffed but otherwise unhurt.
"Can't we inflict any damage on him?" MJ asked, looking up at her father.
TK watched as Shakkoumon fired his clay discs, which was engulfed by Grandracmon unleashing his Grizzly Wing attack. "Surely we must still be able to weaken him somehow…" he though aloud, not really answering his daughter's question.
"You would think so," Matt said. "That's all we can do right now is keep attacking and hopefully weaken him enough for when the time comes to destroy him completely."
Wisemon floated back to a safe distance from the ongoing battle. He watched as Grandracmon managed to fight off attacks from MetalLifeKuwagamon and Silphymon. He had no doubt his master could defeat the DigiDestined, but if his soul in the Dark Area was found and destroyed then he would be at his most vulnerable. Wisemon knew he had to do something… he couldn't involve himself in the battle as he would not last long if one of the mega level Digimon decided to take a shot at him. He would have to keep watch on what was happening in the Dark Area; and he would only be able to do that from the safety of somewhere hidden away. Noticing his chance to slip away, he clasped both of his time stones together and disappeared; transporting himself back to the castle on the battery island…
.:Dark Area, Digital World:.
Tai kicked a piece of the rubble that had fallen from above out of his path before focusing his attention on the upside down picnic bench in front of them. "That picnic bench looks familiar. It looks like the benches in the parks back home… how did it get down here?"
WarGreymon walked up, standing beside his partner. "It must have fallen with the rest of the debris that hit us… but how did it get from Tokyo to here? There are no portals directly to the Dark Area."
Tai looked up at the darkness above them. "I hope this isn't a sign something really bad is happening back home…" he pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the screen. Obviously there was no signal, even from the programme that Izzy had installed so they could still communicate with each other via their cell phones when in the Digital World. He let out an agitated sigh before shoving his phone back in his pocket. "I'd feel so much better if we could at least communicate with the others so we know what's going on."
"I'm sure the others feel the same way, but let's just concentrate on what we need to do." WarGreymon said. "The others are counting on us to destroy that piece of Grandracmon's soul. If we dwell on what we're fearing might be happening back home we'll lose focus."
"Yeah, I know." Tai agreed, unaware someone was watching them from in the trees. "C'mon, let's go. We need to find Dawn." He said. "I'm a little worried VictoryGreymon hasn't flown down here yet after we crashed." He paused for a moment to look around their surroundings. The forest was dreary, and full of dead looking trees and plants. It felt somewhat congested, with most of the trees merging into each other having not grown straight. Some had even grown arching over in obscure positions.
"Wait here; I'll go take a look." WarGreymon said before he soared up into the air, breaking through some of the branches.
As Tai watched WarGreymon fly up through the trees, something hit him in the back of the head. "Ow…" he flinched, rubbing his head and quickly turned to look behind him; but no one was there. He looked down to see a small pebble lying on the ground. "…Dawn?" he called out, hoping it was just his daughter playing a little prank. Another pebble then hit him; again in the back of the head. Tai turned to look in the other direction it had come from but still no one was there, although this time he caught the sound of rustling in the trees and he spotted some dead leaves float gently to the ground after being disturbed. He looked up to where they had fallen, but couldn't see anything moving…
At that point WarGreymon reappeared, landing back on the ground. "There's no sign of VictoryGreymon up there," he said before noticing his partner looked a little distracted. "You okay Tai? Something wrong?"
Tai continued to stare up at the tree. "… I'm not sure…" he said truthfully before turning to face WarGreymon. "VictoryGreymon's not up there?" he finally said after his delayed reaction; to which is partner shook his head. Tai sighed. "That can't be good… they must have fallen into the forest like we did. We'll have to search for them on the ground. With how overgrown this forest is we won't be able to see them from in the sky."
"They can't be too far away." WarGreymon said. "We were travelling in that direction," he added, pointing to their left. "If we head that way we should find them."
As the two set off through the forest, the red and green eyes that had been watching them followed; jumping from tree to tree before passing by them overhead and taking the lead.
Tai stopped for a moment after hearing more rustling above. He looked up but again couldn't see anything moving.
"What is it?" WarGreymon asked, noticing his partner was distracted again.
"I don't know…" Tai replied looking around above them. "I've just got this feeling someone is following us…"
WarGreymon also began to look around cautiously, preparing himself in case there was a surprise attack. "Could it be Dawn...?" he asked.
Tai shook his head. "No, I don't think so…" he then hesitated, knowing how mischievous his daughter could be at times. "It better not be… because if it is when we get home she'll be grounded until her next birthday."
They continued on, looking around everywhere not only for whoever it was that might be stalking them, but also for any sign of Dawn and VictoryGreymon. Tai hoped if Dawn was nearby she would be calling out for him and they would hear her, but the silence only made him more worried at the thought that something bad might have happened to them. Also, he was hesitant to call out to her in case it attracted any unwanted attention… and maybe if Dawn was okay; she was thinking the same.
The small shadowy figure above them jumped, landing on the next tree branch. He then noticed something stuck in the branches; something long and wooden. Unbeknown to him it was a baseball bat. Sniggering quietly to himself he waited until the right moment before he nudged the baseball bat with his foot causing it to fall down directly onto WarGreymon's head.
"Ow… hey!" After flinching, WarGreymon immediately looked up. But like with Tai, he saw nothing above them expect the movement of the branches as the figure had moved on again ahead of them. "What was that?"
Tai looked down, noticing the object that had hit his partner. "It's a baseball bat…" he said a little surprised as he bent down to pick it up. "Look, it's got the University of Tokyokaiyo engraved on it…" Tai glanced over his shoulder as his mind cast back to the picnic bench. "Something strange is happening WarGreymon… why are things from home falling into the Dark Area?"
"I don't know…" WarGreymon replied as he looked around. "But you're right about one thing; someone is definitely following us."
Just then, they heard the sound of what appeared to be a paint canister being sprayed. Both Tai and WarGreymon turned in the direction of the sound and noticed there was now a drawing of a pair of eyes on one of the tree trunks; one green and one red, with the red one winking. They then heard the same sound again as another sketch appeared on another tree trunk; this time of a cheeky face with its tongue sticking out. A few more drawings appeared on different trees, but they still couldn't spot who was responsible. Tai sighed, growing a little irritable. "Let's go WarGreymon. Maybe if we ignore it it'll get bored and go away." He said, dropping the baseball bat. He turned to walk away passing by the tree trunk with the eyes on when out of nowhere a low hanging branch suddenly sprung back and struck him, sending him falling back onto the ground.
"Tai!" WarGreymon exclaimed. "Are you okay?" Before his partner could answer, he heard the sound of sniggering, which slowly turned into laughter. He and Tai, as he was sitting back up, both looked up in the direction of the laughter. Up in one of the trees was a small Digimon sitting on one of the branches grinning down at them, holding a can of spray paint in his hand. "So you're the graffiti artist huh?" the mega Digimon frowned.
"I'm sorry," the Digimon spoke through his laughter. "But I couldn't resist that one," he said, referring to the low branch trick.
Tai got back up onto his feet, glaring up at the small Digimon. "You think that's funny do you?"
"Let's see if you find it funny when I show you how strong I am," WarGreymon warned raising his claws. "You're awfully foolish to pull pranks on a mega level Digimon."
"It's a Dracmon's speciality pulling pranks on Digimon, regardless of who they are." Dracmon declared proudly as he placed his paint can back in its holder on his belt. "I especially enjoy playing pranks on new visitors… and it's just too tempting when a Digimon such as yourself or a human venture down here for the first time."
"Wait a second…" Tai said, looking up at Dracmon curiously. "How do you know I'm a human? This place is completely shut off from the rest of the Digital World. You wouldn't know what a human is."
Dracmon chuckled a little. "I may have heard a rumour humans were visiting the Dark Area…" he teased with a sly grin.
Tai frowned. "Let me guess… Grandracmon?"
The little Digimon scoffed. "Like Grandracmon would ask for my help… in fact he would rather tear me to shreds if he got the chance… No, let's just say… a wise old mon told me."
"Wisemon sent you?"
"If Grandracmon hates you so much then why are you helping Wisemon? Don't you know he serves Grandracmon?" WarGreymon questioned.
"Wisemon promised me if I did him this little favour he would get Grandracmon off my back. He's still holding a grudge after that little prank I pulled when I tried to graffiti his butt… that Digimon has no sense of humour… anyway all I have to do is stop you from reaching Grandracmon's castle."
"You?" WarGreymon said surprised. "You can't be more than a rookie level Digimon,"
"Out of all the dark Digimon that live down here Wisemon has sent a puny little imp to try and stop us?" Tai mocked, causing the small Digimon to scowl at him. "Sorry shorty, but it'll take a lot more than you to stop us. You wouldn't last a second against WarGreymon."
"Hey, don't be fooled by my size!" Dracmon shot back. "I may be small but I can cause a whole lotta mischief. I've played pranks on some of the strongest Digimon here!"
"Yeah, well like I said it will take a lot more than some childish tricks to stop us." Tai said before he turned his back on Dracmon. "C'mon WarGreymon, this puny prankster isn't worth our time."
Dracmon jumped down from the tree branch and landed on the ground beside the tree trunk. He grabbed his spray can from his belt before grinning to himself. "You're going the wrong way..." he teased, throwing his spray can up and down, catching it as he casually leaned against the tree trunk. As Tai and WarGreymon continued on his grin turned mischievously before he doodled another little drawing onto the tree. "If you're looking for her you need to go this way." He then added an arrow pointing to the right.
Tai glanced over his shoulder, at first not at all interested, but when he caught a glimpse of what Dracmon had drawn he suddenly stopped and turned to face the small Digimon. On the tree was a sketch of Dawn. Tai's expression changed, and he glared at Dracmon. "Don't play games with us. You better not have hurt my daughter. If you've laid so much as a finger on her it'll be WarGreymon tearing you to shreds!"
Dracmon laughed as he placed his spray can back in its holder. "I haven't touched her. Why would I…" he said almost innocent like as he interlinked his fingers and stretched his palms out facing forward. "When it'll be far more entertaining watching her fight you…" he chuckled as the two eyeballs in his palms began to glow a dark red…
Further down in the forest, Dawn and VictoryGreymon were just recovering from their own fall earlier. Dawn groaned as she slowly came to, pushing herself up off the ground. They had landed in a similar looking area with overgrown trees and plants, although it was slightly more spacious as they had dropped down into small type of clearing. The Kamiya girl sat upright and looked around. It took a moment for her to remember what had happened; that she and her partner had been hit by falling debris and had crashed through the trees.
VictoryGreymon winced as he too pushed himself up, getting to his feet. "Are you okay Dawn?" he asked.
"Yeah," Dawn replied, standing up. "A little dazed but I'll be fine…" she reassured as she rubbed the side of her head. She then glanced in a few different directions as she realised they had now lost their sense of direction. "Which way were we heading?"
"I'm not sure; we'll have to head on back up there to find out." VictoryGreymon said looking up through the trees. It was then he realised he was missing something… "Wait, where's my sword?"
Dawn looked around, but she couldn't see much due to the overgrown trees, and the darkness. "I can't see it anywhere… you must have dropped it when we fell." She said before she turned to the closest tree, preparing to climb it. "I'll go see if I can see anything up there whilst you look for your sword." She then jumped up, grabbing the lowest branch and pulling herself up.
"Be careful." VictoryGreymon called up before he began his search.
"Okay, Dad." Dawn laughed jokingly as she climbed higher up. As she almost reached the top, she caught a glimpse of something metal sticking out from a tree further across. "Hey VictoryGreymon!" she shouted down, pointing. "I've found your sword! It's over there in one of the trees!" Once her partner had seen where she was pointing, Dawn returned to climbing the last little bit to the top. On her next reach, she hadn't been looking where she was grabbing, and grabbed hold of something hanging off one of the branches. She was shocked to discover it had been the tail of a Digimon, Phascomon, who had been sleeping in the treetops.
The small Digimon was immediately woken up as he was pulled off the branch. Dawn screamed in surprise, and she lost her grip and footing; tumbling back half way down the tree before she managed to grab hold of another branch saving her fall. Phascomon also fell, bouncing off a couple of branches before coming to a stop on a larger one just beneath where Dawn was hanging from. Phascomon shook his little body as he recovered from his rude awakening before looking around for the culprit. He looked up, and his small dark eyes narrowed, glaring at the brown haired girl. He growled, preparing to pounce…
"Uh-oh…" Knowing what was about to happen, Dawn suddenly let go of the branch and allowed herself to fall down just in time as Phascomon pounced, causing him to miss her. Once she had hit the ground, Dawn scrambled back to her feet and bolted, but Phascomon returned leaping down from the tree and onto her back, causing her to fall down onto her front.
Phascomon snarled as he raised his claws, preparing to slash at Dawn. The Kamiya girl tensed up and shut her eyes face down in the ground as she tried to shield herself. But before Phascomon could strike VictoryGreymon's sword suddenly sliced through him; pulverizing him into tiny pieces of data.
Feeling the weight of the rookie Digimon had now gone; Dawn slowly lifted her head up, opening her eyes. She breathed a sigh of relief and rolled over onto her back. "Thanks VictoryGreymon… that Digimon sure gets grouchy when you accidentally wake him up." She said as she got back to her feet. "Okay, now that you've found your sword; let's go find Dad and WarGreymon-" she then stopped, freezing a little as she looked past her partner. "Oh no…"
"What is it?" VictoryGreymon asked.
Dawn slowly pointed behind him, up towards the treetops. "I think we made the rest of his friends angry…" she said meekly.
VictoryGreymon turned around to see a large group of Phascomon in amongst the trees. They were all glaring down at the duo, having witnessed VictoryGreymon take out the one on Dawn's back. VictoryGreymon manoeuvred himself directly in front of Dawn protecting her as he raised his sword defensively. "It's okay, they're only rookie Digimon. I could probably take them all out with one swing…" he said as he and Dawn slowly began to back up across the clearing.
All of the Phascomon leapt down from the trees and crawled menacingly towards them, growling and hissing.
"We should get outta here…" Dawn suggested, as VictoryGreymon prepared himself to strike as soon as the Phascomon would pounce.
"Terra Force!"
Out of nowhere, WarGreymon's Terra Force attack thundered through the clearing, wiping out all of the Phascomon in one hit, leaving behind a burnt trail on the ground before striking some trees, exploding on impact. Both Dawn and VictoryGreymon flinched as the force of the explosion covered the entire clearing.
Once it had subsided and the smoke had cleared a little, Dawn opened her eyes and looked across to where the attack had come from. She grinned once she spotted her father and WarGreymon on the opposite side of the clearing, although they were slightly hidden amongst the darkness. "Dad!"
VictoryGreymon looked across as the Kamiya girl made her way over to her father. He hesitated for a moment, feeling something wasn't quite right… Tai and WarGreymon were just standing there in the shadows… "Dawn, wait..."
WarGreymon moved, stepping out from the shadows and immediately raised his right claws…
"We were just coming to find you-" Dawn then gasped freezing on the spot as she realised her father's Digimon was about to attack.
"Dawn! Watch out!" VictoryGreymon shouted and he sprung forward, gliding across the clearing as fast as he could. He just reached WarGreymon in time before he had chance to strike Dawn, tackling him and slamming him into some nearby trees, leaving Dawn stunned.
Dawn watched as WarGreymon attacked her partner, knocking him to the ground before the two mega Digimon continued to scuffle. "Dad? What's he doing?" She asked, turning to look back at her father who had now stepped out of the shadows. That's when she too noticed something wasn't right… he was looking at her rather angrily, and his eyes looked a little different… like they had a small hint of dark red in them. "Uh… Dad? Are you okay?" she asked a little shakily. She backed up a little cautiously after receiving no answer.
WarGreymon continued to swipe and slash his claws at VictoryGreymon, who kept blocking each one with his sword.
"Dad, what's going on? Tell WarGreymon to stop." She pleaded, but Tai didn't answer. He just kept on glaring at her. "Dad!" she exclaimed a little more forcefully, looking between her father and their fighting partners. "This isn't funny!"
Up in the trees, Dracmon grinned as he watched the events unfold. "Let's have a little fun with her shall we…" he whispered as the eyes in his palms began to glow.
Upon Dracmon's command, Tai began to walk towards his daughter still without saying a word as their Digimon continued to fight.
Dawn backed up, trying to keep a safe distance. "What are you doing?" she asked, but again she received no answer. "Stop it; I told you this isn't funny. Y-You're scaring me a little now…"
VictoryGreymon raised his sword above his head as he blocked a swipe from WarGreymon. "WarGreymon, what are you doing?" he demanded. "It's us!" he tried to reason before he blocked another attack. As he continued to defend himself, he heard Dawn call out for him. As WarGreymon slammed his claws yet again down on his sword, VictoryGreymon looked over to see Dawn backing away from Tai who was still approaching her. "Sorry about this WarGreymon…" with all his might he swung his sword, knocking WarGreymon clear away from him and into the depths of the trees and plants. He then dashed across the clearing, skidding to a stop in between Dawn and Tai, causing the latter to halt. VictoryGreymon raised his sword. "Don't make me do this…" he warned, although he had no intention of actually striking Tai. But he couldn't protect Dawn for long, as WarGreymon returned tackling him from the side, pinning him against a large tree trunk.
That's when Dawn heard laughter coming from above them in the trees. She looked up and spotted Dracmon sitting on one of the branches, swinging his legs. "What are you laughing at?"
Dracmon chuckled. "Oh this is going to be fun…" he said amusingly to himself and ignoring the girl's question. "C'mon, are you two going to fight back?"
Dawn then noticed the red glow coming from Dracmon's palms; the same hint of red that was in her father's and WarGreymon's eyes. "What did you do?" she demanded once the realization hit her.
"Whatever it is you have done, stop it now!" VictoryGreymon ordered as he dodged a swipe from WarGreymo before dealing his own punch.
The rookie Digimon continued to laugh. "I don't think so. It'll be fun watching you two fight it out… plus this way I stop you from reaching Grandracmon's castle without breaking out in a sweat… oh I wish I had some snacks for this show."
"If you don't free my Dad and WarGreymon right now, VictoryGreymon will slice you in half!" Dawn threatened, although all she received from Dracmon was more laughter. She glared up at him, clenching her fists. "Alright VictoryGreymon, destroy him!" she ordered.
"Ah, ah I wouldn't do that if I were you…" Dracmon warned with a sly grin, wagging a finger at the Kamiya girl. "If you destroy me how do you know they won't be still under my spell? Only I have the power to free someone when they are under my control."
Dawn hesitated for a moment. "You're lying!" she shot back. "If we destroy you it should break the spell because you won't be alive to control it!"
Dracmon smirked. "Maybe… but do you want to take that risk?"
Dawn continued to scowl up at him. She was unsure of what to do, and the mischievous grin on his face was only making her angry. Was Dracmon bluffing? Was he just trying to fool them so they would continue on fighting? Or was she right and if they destroy him the spell would be broken… but she didn't want to risk it to find out… if he was telling the truth and they destroyed him then her father and WarGreymon would be stuck under his spell forever…
"Trident Gaia!" VictoryGreymon fired a blast from the tip of his sword, blasting WarGreymon to the ground.
After picking himself back up, WarGreymon looked at Dawn's partner menacingly. "Great Tornado!" Spinning around at tremendous speed he then launched himself at VictoryGreymon once more.
VictoryGreymon gasped and quickly equipped the shield on his back, holding it up just as WarGreymon hit. The force from WarGreymon's attack slowly pushed him back as he tried to fight against it.
Dawn watched her partner struggle before she turned to look back up at her father. "Dad, c'mon snap out of it." She said, grabbing hold of Tai's arm tugging on his sleeve pleadingly. "Don't let this ugly little Digimon control you… you know it's me, tell WarGreymon to stop. Remember what we need to do? We need to find Grandracmon castle and destroy his soul... Dad say something!"
Dracmon jumped to his feet; having heard the insult from the Kamiya girl. "Hey no one calls me ugly!" he snapped as he opened his palms which began to glow more again.
Again on Dracmon's command, Tai suddenly moved and grabbed hold of Dawn's wrist a little aggressively, pulling her grip off his sleeve.
Dawn was taken back at how forceful he was, and at how tightly he was now holding her wrist. "Dad…" she said a little nervously as she tried to free herself. "You're hurting me a little now… let me go." After still getting no answer, she glared up at Dracmon. "Will you quit it?!"
Dracmon grinned. "I think it's time we taught you a lesson…" he teased, still showing his open palms.
As Tai continued to hold Dawn by her wrist he turned so they were both facing their duelling Digimon. WarGreymon paused for a moment. He looked over to see his partner holding Dawn's arm up by her wrist and his attention immediately fell on her. After punching VictoryGreymon to the ground, he slowly began to make his way across the clearing to them.
Dawn's eyes widened when she realised what Dracmon was doing, and she struggled to free herself from her father's grasp. "Dad, let me go now!" she demanded. She tugged and pulled as hard as she could to try and free herself as WarGreymon got closer. "Call WarGreymon off!" She knew her attempts were hopeless, but somewhere deep down she kept on hoping that her constant pleading might pay off and break through to him. But with WarGreymon still approaching, she knew there was only one way to free herself at this moment. She glanced up at Tai. "Sorry Dad… please don't be mad at me for this…" with a swift swing of her right leg, she kicked him in his shin; deliberately his left shin as that was his weakest due to his old soccer injury. Tai yelped in pain, releasing his grip on her wrist and falling back on the ground. Dawn immediately ran across the clearing as WarGreymon pursued her.
VictoryGreymon groaned as he pushed himself up off the ground, picking up his sword. "Dawn…" He got to his feet and rammed his sword into the ground releasing a shockwave of energy underneath.
The energy travelled across the clearing, tearing up the ground in its path and once it was directly underneath WarGreymon as he was almost on top of Dawn it exploded; sending the mega Digimon careering off and tumbling in a heap on the ground. The force from the explosion also reached Dawn, throwing her too to the ground.
VictoryGreymon soared across the clearing and landed on WarGreymon's back, pinning him down on the ground. "I don't want to fight you WarGreymon, but you're not giving me a choice unless you break free from whatever spell that little demon has you under." He said, pressing down harder on his back. "Try and fight it; you're stronger than this. Both of you are."
For a moment, WarGreymon seemed to relax, and VictoryGreymon thought he had gotten through to him… but when he eased his hold slightly, WarGreymon managed to spin his body around and stab his claws into VictoryGreymon's side. VictoryGreymon wailed in agony as he felt his energy drain. The claws had dug into his skin, but not deep enough to cause anything lethal. Unable to hold his form any longer, VictoryGreymon began to glow as he de-digivolved back to Agumon; slumping over WarGreymon's claws.
"No!" Dawn exclaimed in shock.
Still holding Agumon, WarGreymon rose to his feet before throwing the weakened rookie Digimon across the clearing. Agumon hit one of the trees before slumping down on the ground.
"Agumon!" Dawn cried out. She scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could to her fallen partner. She immediately dropped to her knees upon reaching him. "Agumon? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine…" Agumon replied weakly before he pushed himself up.
Dawn sighed in relief to herself before she glared up at Dracmon. He was still in the trees, grinning mischievously to himself. "Alright you little punk, you've had your fun now so let my Dad and WarGreymon go!"
Dracmon scoffed. "You can never have too much fun," he replied. "Besides, if I don't stop you from reaching Grandracmon's castle I don't get Grandracmon off my back. Wisemon promised me I would be off Grandracmon's hit list if I did him this little favour."
Dawn turned her attention towards her father and WarGreymon. They were just standing there glaring back at them… she assumed it was because Dracmon wasn't feeding them any orders at this moment. "… You can't keep them under your control forever…" she said, almost defeatist. "Please, just let them go… don't you understand? The reason we're trying to find Grandracmon's castle is so we can destroy him. If you let them go we can get Grandracmon off your back."
"Hmm… I think I like this way better," Dracmon grinned.
Agumon glared up at the undead Digimon as he got back up on his feet. "He's not going to do it Dawn." He muttered.
"In fact…" Dracmon teased, leaping down from the tree. "Perhaps it would be even more fun if you two were under my control as well…" he grinned devilishly, slowly opening the palms of his hands. "If you're so resistant to fight I'll make you fight."
Dawn gasped, backing up towards the trees. "We've gotta get outta here…" she blurted impulsively out before she quickly turned and shoved Agumon into the brush behind them.
Dracmon chuckled to himself as he watched them disappear into the darkness. "Oh, so you don't want to play huh?" he then looked up to WarGreymon. "Go fetch," he ordered, pointing and commanding WarGreymon to move forward across the clearing.
Dawn and Agumon scrambled as quickly as they could through the thicket and thorny bushes. They squeezed through the gaps in the branches and twigs. "Where are we going?" Agumon asked, glancing behind at his partner.
"I don't know," Dawn said truthfully. "I just know we need to get away from that Digimon. If he puts us under his spell as well we're done for… we just need to find somewhere safe where we have time to think up a plan,"
"But what about-" Agumon was cut off by the sounds of WarGreymon hacking away at the brush behind them.
"Oh no… move it Agumon!" Dawn exclaimed shoving him forward as she caught a glimpse of her father's Digimon through the thicket. As she squeezed through a small gap, she briefly caught her t-shirt on one of the thorns. Just as she freed herself, she yelped as she was met with WarGreymon's claws stabbing down into the ground; just missing her. She scurried away, catching up with her partner as WarGreymon started to get irritable as he struggled to reach them.
They could hear WarGreymon slicing through the brush and trees more violently, so Dawn and Agumon continued climbing through, heading deeper and deeper into the undergrowth. "Keep going," Dawn instructed giving Agumon a little nudge forward.
"Mega Claw!"
They heard WarGreymon call out his attack, as unbeknown to them he sliced his claws through a thick tree trunk. Dawn paused as she heard a cracking and creaking sound... She looked over her shoulder to see the large tree slowly toppling over directly towards them. "Look out!" she exclaimed, shoving Agumon and herself out of the way as the tree crashed to the ground. But as they had avoided the tree and only been covered by the branches, they had failed to notice the sudden steep drop in the terrain just ahead of them. They both screamed as they suddenly fell down, tumbling down the sharp slope before landing in a heap on top of each other.
They had fallen into a deeper part of the forest. It was darker and overgrown, with an eerie mist lurking over the ground. As Dawn rested on her knees, she noticed her mini telescope had fallen out of her back pocket. She quickly got up and hurried over, picking it up and placing it safely back in her pocket. The eerie silence was then broken by the faint sound of WarGreymon above them. He was still hacking away at the undergrowth, with some bits of twigs falling down onto them.
"C'mon, this way." Agumon pointed as he hurried away from where they had fallen, with Dawn following closely.
They ran a short distance before ducking behind a large tree trunk. Dawn slowly peered out from behind it and looked up. She could just see WarGreymon up at the top of the slope. He was slashing away at the bushes, and for a moment it looked as if he was going to be heading in their direction, but he turned and began to head in the opposite way. Dawn breathed a sigh of relief before stepping out from behind the tree. "He's gone." She said before walking a few steps towards where they had come from, her eyes fixed on the higher part of the forest. "We need to come up with a plan Agumon." She said confidently. "There must be a way to free Dad and WarGreymon." After receiving no answer, she turned to look at her partner. "Agumon?"
Agumon was staring at her, with a solemn look on his face. "… You know what the plan is Dawn," he said a little hesitantly. After receiving a confused look from his partner, he sighed. "You know we have to keep going to Grandracmon's castle."
"What?!" Dawn exclaimed. "But what about Dad? And WarGreymon? We can't leave them up there. We're supposed to find Grandracmon's castle together… we can't face whatever is waiting for us at that castle alone! We need to…" she stopped her little outburst before sighing loudly. She slumped back against the tree trunk before slouching down sitting on the ground. "… I know," she finally admitted. "I guess I was just hoping you would have had a different plan…"
"Sorry," Agumon apologised, standing beside her. "But there's no way we can break Dracmon's spell. Maybe he was right; maybe only he is the one to break it. But if we had stayed up there we wouldn't have survived much longer, especially after I de-digivolved… and I could never hurt WarGreymon like that."
Dawn knew her partner was right. There had been some tough decisions in the past, but there was no way they would have even thought about defeating WarGreymon… and with WarGreymon under Dracmon's spell he would have attacked them with full force with no idea of what he was doing. They couldn't have stayed up there. But now the thought of continuing on to Grandracmon's castle without her father seemed somewhat… terrifying. "I… I'm scared Agumon," she said quietly when the full realization of the situation they were now in hit her. "We were supposed to do this together… with Dad. But now that doesn't seem possible. How are we going to get them back if Dracmon won't free them? What's Mom going to say? What's everyone going to say when they find out we've failed?"
"Hey, we haven't failed yet," Agumon tried to reassure her.
Dawn continued to stare down at the dirt in front of her. "It feels like we have. Dad and WarGreymon are stuck under the control of some puny little joker and now we face having to destroy Grandracmon's soul on our own… I… I don't think I can do it…that prophecy said we were supposed to destroy it together… and now that's not gonna happen... we can't do it."
Agumon frowned at his partner, before he bent down and gave her a little nip on the arm.
Dawn jolted to her senses, and shot a glare at the rookie Digimon. "Ow… Agumon! What was that for?" she asked, rubbing her arm.
"Biting some sense into you before it's too late," Agumon replied sternly. "This isn't the Dawn I know. You never give up. You've been in situations just as tough as this and you-we've- always come through. So what if things haven't happened the way they were supposed to? We'll just make up our own prophecy. We can do this Dawn. You're strong enough, maybe even stronger; otherwise your father wouldn't have brought you here."
It took a moment, but Dawn eventually smiled somewhat. "I don't think Dad had a choice," she humoured.
Agumon smiled too, before extending his claw out to help Dawn to her feet. "Whatever it is that's waiting for us at Grandracmon's castle; we'll beat it together."
Dawn thought for a moment. She then slowly flashed her familiar grin pulling her goggles up from around her neck and placing them on her head, before grasping Agumon's claw…
Back up in the clearing, WarGreymon had since rejoined Tai and Dracmon after failing to locate Dawn and Agumon.
"I can't believe they got away…" Dracmon grumbled to himself as he paced a little. "Those two spoiled my fun… oh well, we'll have to hunt them down… and maybe even have a little fun with anybody else we happen to meet along the way." He added, sniggering deviously to himself.
As he continued to chuckle to himself, a bright beam of light suddenly appeared cascading down into the clearing. Dracmon yelped in surprise and backed away shielding his eyes. The light quickly faded, and in its place now standing was a tall Digimon with large gold wings…
"A-Anubismon?!" Dracmon exclaimed in surprise, backing up even further. He suddenly panicked and began to scurry away.
Anubismon's eyes immediately fell upon the fleeing rookie. "Pyramid Power!" Using beams of light he drew a square pyramid before teleporting it at high speed towards Dracmon, trapping the small Digimon within it. Anubismon began to walk over to where the pyramid was hovering in the air. He cast a glance at Tai and WarGreymon who were still under Dracmon's spell, as he passed by them. As he approached the pyramid he could hear the rookie Digimon quivering in fear. "Not so fast you little trouble maker…"
To be continued…