Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Mystic Digital War ❯ Chapter 13: The Light of Courage ( Chapter 12 )

A young woman with curly blond hair held a microphone close to her mouth as she spoke,"Zis is Catherine DeGual reporting live. For zose of you juzt joing us, Sora's Digidestineds, lead by T.K. and Tai's Digital Warriors, lead by Kari, met in a explosive battle in ze land of Modum. T.K.'s team appeared zey would be ze winners, until Sora, unexpectedly called zem off, with Davis and June never knowing that they fought one another. Ze Digidestineds zen approached a city in Modum filled wiz humans partnered wiz Digimon. Zere zey met ze mayor, Daruna, who told zem about ze legend of ze Zhuqiomon stones, before a report came in about a city being destroyed. T.K. went to investigate, wiz Kari, Izzy and Taisuke following him.

Oikawa, meanwhile, encountered Rika, and ze two battled. Rika won, zen asked Oikawa questions about his past, such as when he first entered ze Digiworld, what his wife's name was, or when zey were married, zat he couldn't asnwer.

Kari, Izzy and Taisuke found a strange Digi-egg with ze symbol of courage in one of Modum's caves. Kari grabbed it only to find it was hers. The Crest and Digi-metal of light zen mystiriously disappeared, leaving only ze Crest of Courage in her palms. Scared, she gave it to Taisuke, zen ran out of ze cave.

T.K. meanwhile, caught up wiz me in ze destroyed city. Together, we discovered zat a Devimon calling himzelf Apocalymon was behind ze destruction. He told us zat ze Zhuqiomon stones hold hiz power, and if he gets zem all, he will destroy ze Digital World. T.K. found ze Digi-metal of Friendship and Patamon armor digivovled to Stegomon, and fought back Apocalymon. Ze Crest of Friendship zen appeared in T.K.'s hands.

Back in Modum City, ze rest of ze Digidestined and Digital Warriors were guarding a church zat was under attack, only to discover zat ze Dark Masters were behind it! Ze were ztill alive! Piedmon stole ze stone that was hidden in the church and took off.

Chapter 12: The Light of Courage:

"Well," Mimi said, standing up,"This mission was a complete failure! We lost the stone, not only that, where the heck did the Dark Masters come from? What's going on here!"

"I don't know," Michael said, shaking his head,"I thought Matt and Tai destroyed all the Dark Masters."

"They did!" Palmon shouted,"They were a lot stronger than you are, so don't....hey, wait a minute, you are with Tai's group, right?"

"Crud," Betamon mumbled.

"Alright, everyone," Mimi shouted, jumping back to where the other Digidestineds were standing,"We have encountered the Digital Warriors. Michael, that is your name, right?"

Michael nodded,"And you're Mimi, so?"

She sighed. "Michael, tell us where the rest of your team are, and I promise, I'll do what I can to let you off easily."

Michael smirked. "I'm not going to betray Tai or Kari, so don't even ask."

"Hey," Davis spoke up,"I feel insulted!"

"Yeah," Veemon said,"No one asked us."

"Are you going to tell us where they are, Master of Courage?" June asked, raising her eyebrow, even though no one could see it under her burn mask.

"Of course not, Mask!" Davis said, with a smirk.

"Then why did you.....arg!" she threw her hands up into the air,"You're really getting on my nerves!"

"Master of Courage," Michael snapped, quieting him,"if you're going to fight us, Mimi, then do it, otherwise, we'll be on our way."

Mimi reached inside of her jacket pocket and pulled out her D-terminal. She quickly typed a message for Sora, which was responded to by a message that made Mimi's eyes open wide. She looked up at the Digital Warriors, then back at her D-terminal. "Fine!" she mumbled to herself, then placed the D-terminal back in her pocket. "Digidestined," she said, turning to them,"T.K. encountered something in the city he investigated, something powerful enough that Sora has placed the apprehension of the Digital Warriors as our second priory. T.K. will be here shortly to brief us on what happened."

The Digidestined groaned and started to complain. Mimi looked Michael straight in the eyes,"You'd better leave now, before Sora changes her mind."

"Let's go," Michael said, turning around. As they were leaving, Mina whispered to the others,"Sora's called the Digidestined off twice now, why?"

"I don't know," Ken said,"Maybe she's not as committed to capturing us as everyone thought."

"Or she still does love Tai," Noriko said.

Oikawa lightly jabbed the campfire in front of him with the long stick. Datiramon walked over and dropped a pile of green plants in front of him. "Sorry, Ukyo, that's all I could find for breakfast."

Oikawa continued to stare into the fire.

"Ukyo?"

"What?" he snapped,"Oh, Datiramon, sorry, you just scared me."

"That's okay," he said,"What are you so deep in thought about?"

"What that girl...Rika...said."

"Who cares what she says," Datiramon said, sitting down next to Oikawa,"we don't have any idea who she is."

"What she said though, I...I couldn't answer any of her questions. What if...what is wrong with me?!"

"Nothing's wrong with you," Datiramon said,"You are perfect. Don't let someone who you've never even met before ruin your life."

Oikawa suddenly shot his head up as an image flashed through his mind. A memory of a black demon standing in front of a motorcycle, holding out two twin barrel guns. "Now, why don't you take a Double Impact!"

Four bullets shout of the the guns, heading straight forward. Pharoahmon jumped in front to sheild the blast, when, suddenly the bullets disapeared. The black demon started looking around, when he suddenly fell over as a large white knight slammed into his back. A young teenage boy walked around from behined the large knight. "Ukyo Oikawa? I am Takato Matsuka."

"Ukyo?" Daitiramon asked, bringing him back to reality,"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, whipping his forehead,"Tell me something. Do you remember a boy named Takato Matsuka?"

"Vagely, why?" Datiramon asked.

"I'm starting to think about him a lot lately, I know he's important, but, I can't remember."

"I'm sure you will," Datiramon said,"Just give it time."

"But why can't I?" he asked, looking at the stars,"What's wrong with me?"

"The Dark Masters," Matt mumbled over his phone as he leaned back in his desk chair,"I don't believe it. I thought they were gone for good."

"And I hoped they were," T.K. said over the speaker.

Matt ran his hand threw his blond hair,"This is just great," he sighed,"but, you say that Metalseadramon wasn't with them?"

"Actually, I wasn't there," T.K. said,"That was about the third thing Mimi told me when I got back to them, next to, 'Guess what just happened to us', and' The Dark Masters are back.'"

Matt sighed again,"One more thing to add to my list of problems. Guess what Sora's latest memo says."

"Mimi just got an e-mail from her," T.K. said,"Mimi was about to start fighting the Digital Warriors, when she had to break off. How did she find out about Apocalymon so quickly to place him as a higher priority than finding the Digital Warriors?"

"The same way I did," Matt said, swinging around to the television in his office,"by the way, you look good on television."

"Catherine's news report," T.K. sighed,"That was live?"

"Yup," Matt said,"I can just imagine what Dad must be going through right now. I've got a press conference in a few minutes."."

T.K. laughed slightly.

"At least I know where my Crest of Friendship went," Matt said,"I was just sitting here, when it disapeared from around my neck. Then I saw you on t.v. with the crest appearing in your hands, so I can at least chalk it up to the weirdness of the Digital World."

"Well," T.K. said softly,"Actually, I...I think that the crest is mine, now."

"What?"

"The...the Crest of Hope is gone, and then the Crest of Friendship appeared. I think that it is a little more than a coicendence, plus the Digi-metals...."

Matt was silent as he said back in his seat. "Matt?" T.K. asked.

"I......I don't know what to say," Matt said.

"What are we going to do about the Digital Warriors?"

"I don't know," Matt said, squeezing the phone,"Sora's moved the resoucers and the personel away from the search. I don't think that she's totally committed to apprehending Tai Kamiya."

"What should we do?" T.K. asked.

"We might need to get rid of Sora,"

"What?!" T.K. asked,"You're going to kill her?"

"No!" Matt snapped,"I'm not going to kill her! We may need to remove her from power."

"Matt, don't you love her?"

"I do," he said,"but so does Tai. I need to get rid of Tai, but I can't do it while Sora can over power any decision I make."

"Matt," T.K. said,"I will follow anything you decide, but, promise me you will think very carefully about this."

"I will," Matt said," I....I'm getting a message from my secretary. I've got to get going anyway, I've got that press conference."

"Yeah, I'll see you later. Bye."

"See ya." Matt reached over and pressed one of the large buttons on the phone,"Yes, Aung Su."

His secretary spoke over the speaker,"Rumiko is here to see you. "

"Well, quickly send her in!"

The door to Matt's office flew open, then shut after a very pretty young woman ran inside. "Hello Matt," she said softly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked,"You know that you're not suppose to ever come here!"

"I..I'm sorry," she said.

"Weren't you suppose to be on a photo shoot?" he asked.

"Yes, but, I wasn't feeling good so I went to the doctors," she suddenly buried her face in her hands,"Matt, I...I'm pregnant."

"Just one more thing to add to my list," Matt mumbled as he rubbed his head,"What am I going to do? Once this gets out I'll be ruined! I'll lose my position...my relationship with Sora will be over!"

Rumiko looked up. "What about our relationship?"

"Ours wasn't ever suppose to happen!" Matt shouted,"I already have a girlfriend. You were just a teenage super model that caught my eye! We weren't even suppose to last past the first night..."

Rumiko started crying and buried her face in her hands again. "My parents are going to kill me! Should...should we get an abortion?"

"No!" Matt said, without hesitation,"your...our child is just an innocent result, it didn't have a choice. I will pay for the hospital, everything!, just...just don't do that." He took a deep breath,"I've got a press conference to get to. You can stay here if you want to, my secratery-er, Aung Su, will keep our secret."

"What am I going to tell my parents?" she asked.

Matt sighed. "I'll...I'll think of something, but please don't tell anyone I'm the father."

Rumiko nodded.

"I'll....I'll call you later," he said, exiting his office and walking down the hall towards the news room. He was so lost in thought, that he didn't even notice when he entered the press room.

He saw Sora, Biyomon and Gabumon setting on the right side of the podium with the microphone on it, facing the room filled with Digidestined and reporters, both human and Digimon alike. Matt smiled at Sora as he walked over to her. He lightly kissed her on the cheek before sitting downs beside her. "How did the humans get here?" he asked, mentioning to the reporters.

"They're Digidestined," Gabumon said,"Most news papers and t.v. station had to quickly hire them in order to find out what's happening here."

"Except Sora ordered Modum closed off," Biyomon said,"Catherine DeGual and Floramon are the only reporters with T.K. and the others."

Matt smiled," That's why I love you!"

Sora returned the smile."That's why I love you!" she laughed.

She looked at her watch, then nodded to Rosa. The Mexican girl got up and walked over to the podium. She cleared her throat before speaking into the microphone. "Thank you all for coming. I am Rosa Hernadez, this is General Queen Sora Takenouchi, Commander of the Digidestined..."

Sora stood up and bowed. The Digidestined in the room started to clap lightly. Rosa waited until she was seated before continuiing,"...and General Yamato Ishida, head of the Digidestined Army..."

Once Matt stood up, the Digidestined started cheering and clapping loudly. Matt smiled slightly, then bowed, which resulted in louder cheering and clapping. Sora shot Matt an evil glance before he sat down.

Rosa walked over to her seat. The crowd started clapping again, as Sora walked over and stood behind the podium. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the press," she said, "Welcome to the Digital World. I would like to start by saying that I will not be going into detail; everything from the Digidestined's trip into the Digital World eight years ago, to the events that occurred yesterday can be found in the paper packet in front of you. Now, as of three hours ago, Takeru Takashi, the commander of the Digidestined forces in Modum, encountered a very powerful Digimon calling himself Apocalymon, while at the same time, the rest of the Digidestined forces tried to defend one the Zhuqioamon stones from an unkown enemy, only to discover that the enemy was the Dark Masters, apparently alive and well. They stole the stone, while Apocalymon claimed that he needed the stones as well. We must find a way to keep both the Dark Masters and this Apocalymon away from the stones, at the same time that we're searching for Taichi Kamiya and the Digital Warriors." She waited a few seconds before continuing,"I am now opening the floor to questions."

Instantly all hands rose up, Sora looked around, then choose a young man with a Divermon at random. "How are your resources for searching for Tai Kamiya's group?"

"We have adequate equipment available to us, but, because of the apparent return of the Dark Masters, and the appearance of Apocalymon, the search for the Digital Warriors has been moved to a level 4 priority.":

"How many levels of priority are there?" a young woman with a Salamon asked.

"Five," Sora said,"With 1 as the lowest."

"What is your strategy for locating them?" a young woman with long brown hair shouted out.

Matt stood up and walked to the podium. "We are using a special device that allows us to track a certain Digivice signal. However, because there are more Digidestined then there are not, we must sift through thousands of signals in the Pacific Rim alone."

"How powerful is the device?"

"Quite powerful," Matt said," We have a 5% margin of error."

A girl with glasses and a pink Tentomon asked,"Is it possible his Digivice signal is being masked."

"It is possible," Sora stepped back to the microphone,"Tai Kamiya does have Koushiro 'Izzy' Izumi and Ken Ichijoji as part of his 'Digital Warriors'."

"Those two found the stone that was hidden near the Santa Carea cave, correct?" a professionally dressed young man asked.

"That is right," Sora answered. She nodded at a young man that was partnered with a black Patamon,"Yes."

"What is your strategy regarding Ukyo Oikawa?"

"Capture, then execution," she said, without a hint of hesitation.

"Why have you closed the borders of Modum?" a boy with green colored hair asked.

"Because of the danger," Sora answered,"Only those still inside Modum may remain, all others must remain outside."

As the questions dragged on, Matt saw a reporter in the back of the room. She was wearing glasses, and a brown business suit and her reddish orange hair was combed down to her shoulders. When she saw that Matt was looking at her, she jumped up and ran out of the room.

"That was Rika," Matt mumbled to himself,"What was she doing here?"

Outside the conference room, Rika charged down the halls until she found the restroom. She ran inside and threw cold water form the faucet onto her face. She started breathing heavily as she ran her hand through her thick hair.

"Rika," Renamon asked, appearing behind her,"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" she snapped,"He almost caught me, what was I thinking?"

"What were you thinking?" Renamon asked, motherly.

"I...I don't know," Rika said, her tone changing,"I..I really don't know." She sighed as she leaned against the wall,"Maybe....maybe I just wanted to spend more time with him. Maybe I just needed to tell him how much....how much I c-cared for him one last time."

"I think you should tell him, Princess," Renamon said,"It might make you feel better."

"I can't, you know what Sabrina warned us about, if I told him who I really was, it could really mess things up. Besides, what am I suppose to stay? 'Hi, General Ishida, guess what, I'm really...." she sighed,"Come on, Renamon, we've got to get back to Modum, and wait for the right time to challenge Kari Kamiya. Let's go."

"As you wish," Renamon said, disappearing.

"At least we know what has been destroying the smaller cities inside of Modum," Daruna sighed as he leaned back in his office seat,"As much as it helps us."

"What do we do now?" Joe asked,"We've got this 'Apocalymon' to worry about, and, apparently, the return of the Dark Masters."

"I say we go after Apocalymon," Cody said.

"I agree," Hawkmon nodded,"We know nothing about the Dark Master's possible resurrection. Why did they return? What happened to Metalseadramon? We have too many question, but not enough answers."

"Shouldn't we try to find them out?" Yolei asked,"I think we should try to find the Dark Masters."

"But we don't know where they are," Armadillomon said.

"We don't know where Apocalymon is either."

T.K. lightly rubbed his chin. He turned to the other two Digidestined. June and Mimi were sitting in large pink chairs near the stain glass windows. "What do you guys think?"

There was no answer.

"June? Mimi?"

"What?" the two girls asked, almost jumping up in their seats.

"Do you want to share your conversation with us?" T.K. asked like a school teacher.

"June's just missing her brother," Alruamon said.

"And Mimi's thinking about her's," Palmon nodded.

"You have a brother?" Cody asked.

"I did," Mimi sighed,"a younger brother. He was all I could think about when Tentomon and I were lost in those weird ruins on File Island."

"What happened to him?" Yolei asked without thinking. Joe shot her a glance.

"I don't know," she said,"When Myotismon attacked Odiba, and he started to round up all those children, Matsumo disappeared."

June was staring at her. "I...I had not idea. You really do know what I'm going through then, don't you?"

"Why didn't you say anything to us before about this?" T.K. asked,"I had no idea you had a younger brother."

"I...I didn't mean to keep it a secret," she said, tears slowly starting to fall down her face,"but....I guess I always tried to keep it quiet, so I wouldn't have to think about it often, but, there isn't a day that goes by that I don't think about him.":

June reached over and hugged Mimi, who then returned the hug.

"Yolei," T.K. said, turning towards her,"Can you make something that we can use to track the Dark Masters?"

"Um yeah," she said, looking to the ground,"I don't see why not."

"I should be able to offer some technical support," Daruna said.

"Then until you finish that, we will go after Apocalymon, agreed?"

Yolei and Hawkmon hesitated for a second, then nodded.

"Okay," T.K. said,"Mimi, are you okay to...?"

"Yes," she said, jumping up,"Don't worry, I'm ready T.K."

"Okay," he said,"Yolei, stay here and try to build the tracking device. The rest of you, let's find Apocalymon!"

Davis sat lightly tapping his fingers on the edge of the building's roof. He sighed as he looked down at the church across the street. "What do we do now?" he asked, turning to the others,"The Dark Masters are back! This is just great!"

"We're really in trouble now," Ken sighed,"This is the end."

"Calm down," Michael said, rubbing his forehead,"We need to think of a plan, not sit here and act like we've already lost!"

"It is the end," Davis mumbled,"We're all going to die."

"Davis," Veemon spoke up,"What's wrong? In the time we've known each other, I didn't get the impression that you were like this."

"I'm sorry," he said,"It's just that...that Digidestined girl that was partnered with the Alruamon, she kind of reminds me of my sister."

The others were silent for a few seconds. Mina approached him and placed her hand on his shoulder,"You miss your sister because you haven't seen her in such a long time, don't you?"

Davis nodded. "Ever since the day I became trapped in the Digital World, I've thought about her every day."

Mina smiled warmly, which brought some comfort to the Master of Courage. "You and your sister will meet each other very soon."

"What?" Davis shouted,"Are you sure?"

Mina nodded. "Sometimes I experience certain....feelings, and I am certain that she is close."

"M..maybe she's in Modum!" Davis shouted,"but, she's not a Digidestined. What is she doing here?"

Michael frowned. "Davis," he Swede hope you find your sister, but, don't get your hopes up too high."

Davis frowned this time. "Why are you always so cold all the time?"

"Davis," Veemon cautioned him.

Michael just crossed his arms and turned away from them. "Let's just focus on trying to locate the other stones, but we have no idea where any of them are."

"Wait," Noriko said,"We know the Dark Masters are here, so maybe they know where the other stones are."

Michael nodded. "That's a good idea, but how do we know where the Dark Masters are?"

"Izzy can probably find a way to track their unique digital signals," Mina said.

"Then we'll wait here for him and Kari to return," Michael said, turning his head back towards the church building,"I would really like to......"

"You would really like to what?" Wormmon asked, jumping onto Ken's shoulder.

"Michael?" Betamon asked. He looked up to see his human partner was staring at the church with his mouth wide open. "What is it?" Betamon asked.

Everyone turned their heads to try and see what Michael was speechless about. On what was left of the church roof was a teenage girl riding on top of an Airdramon, but that wasn't what was now causing everyone to gasp. "Michael," Noriko gasped,"That girl looks just like you!"

The girl stared directly at Michael, then she and her Airdramon turned around and flew away. "I can't let her get away!" Michael said,"Betamon.."

His Digimon nodded, then jumped over the ledge. "Betamon digivolve to Seadramon!"

"Veemon," Davis said, turning to his partner.

"No!" Michael ordered as he jumped onto Seadramon,"You guys wait for Kari! I'm going alone!" Seadramon lurched back, then flew after Airdramon and the strange girl. Micheal's knuckles were bone white as he held onto Seadramon's back. "Don't lose them," he said.

"Don't worry," Seadramon laughed slightly as the girl and her Airdramon led them out of the city,"I'm not going to!"

Agumon felt the familiar feeling of exiting the Digital Gate before he opened his eyes. He was back in the computer room of the hideout. He ran down the hall to the living room and saw Anna and her Unimon, staring at the television, with Tai resting on the couch. "I got back from my training as soon as I got your message," Agumon huffed,"What happened?"

He turned to the television set and his jaw dropped. "Devimon?"

"That is Apocalymon," Tai answered,"He's a mega Digimon that's after after the Zhuqiomon stones, so he can reach his true Mega form, but, we have another problem to worry about."

"What's that?" Agumon asked, watching the news report,"That guy floored Pegasusmon with one punch!"

"The Dark Masters are back."

"What?" Agumon asked. He looked at Anna and Unimon, both of whom nodded in agreement.

"What do we do now?" Agumon asked,"Oikawa and the Digidestined are the least of our worries now."

"There's nothing we can do," Tai said,"We've got to leave it up to Kari and the others." He sighed,"But, if The Dark Masters have returned, or if this 'Apocalymon' reaches his Mega form, then your strength is going to be needed. I want you to keep training, really push yourself. I know you can do it."

Agumon nodded. "I'll do my best."

Tai reached at his side and pulled out his Digivice. "I just hope this new Digivice has enough power to help. I need more cards though, all I've got is this 'strenght' card."

Anna got up and pointed to Tai's card, then at herself. "You want to look for more?"

She nodded.

"Oh, thank you, but, I wouldn't know where to send you to search."

Anna nodded sadly, then sat down again.

Tai sighed and turned to look out the window to the night sky. "It's so dark out there," he thought,"And somewhere out there in the darkness, Piedmon's waiting for me, and I'm just like that scared little kid who's afraid of the monsters in his closet. But I'm not that little kid anymore, and I've got to face my fears. I can't run away. I've got to be ready, and I've got to destroy him this time, for good!"

Apocalymon, inside of his Devimon form, grinned with delight as he stared at the city in the valley below him. He licked his lips and chuckled. "There is a Zhuqiaomon stone somewhere nearby, I can sense it!"

He was about to jump off of the rock cliff, when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He looked to the right and saw two figures walked into a cave inside the mountain he was standing on. "That was a human with a Gatomon," he said to himself,"I wonder if she's after the Zhuqioamon Stones, also?" He heard a nose above him. "Hmm?" he asked, looking up to the sky. He jumped behind one of the large trees, and watched as two other figures landed outside of the cave. "Another Digidestined, and this one with a Pharoahomon. Wait.....I recognize him, he's Ukyo Oikawa, the overthrown ruler of the Digital World, what's he doing here?" He heard more noises from above. "Now what?" he sneered, looking upward,"It's that Digidestined, T.K. Takashi, and he's brought some friends along with him, interesting."

Apocalymon watched as the Digidestined flew overhead. "What luck, they missed me entirely" he thought, as he jumped off of the cliff,"Now, that city below is truly an eyesore, and it's about to be wiped off the map!"

Seadramon slowly descended onto the desert floor. Micheal jumped off and stared at the large rock mesa. "I think she walked into that cave," he said,"Are you ready?"

Seadramon nodded, then regressed to Betamon."Let's go."

Micheal slowly walked into the cave to the large dome shaped inside of the mesa. The walls had smaller doorways that opened to rock paths that lead to the sand floor. Stalagties and stalagmites were decorated across the ceilings and the floors. "There's no one here," Betamon said, looking around,"Where did she go?"

"So, you've returned."

Micheal and Betamon jumped back slightly as the strange girl walked out from one of the doorways that was on the floor level, behind her trailed a Betamon. "Who are you?" Micheal demanded,"Why do you look like me?"

"That is the way we all look," she said.

"'We'?" Betamon asked.

The girl pointed her hand to the ceiling. Micheal and Betamon looked up and gasped. Slowly walking out of all the doorways were teenage boys and girls all with the same face, eyes and hair, but the most striking similarity was their Digimon partners, all Betamons.

"What the..?" Michael asked, his eyes openening wide,"How can this be? You all look like me? What's going on here?"

"Do we look like you," the girl asked,"Or do you look like us?"

"What's that suppose to mean?" Michael demanded," Who are you?"

"My name is Melissa," the girl said,"and we are the Nereids"

"The Nereids?"

"Yes."

"Okay, Melissa," Michael said,"Explain to me why we all look the same? Are we clones or something?"

"A clone is an exact genetic duplicate, however, scince the Nereids are different genders, we are not clones in the literate sense."

"Then what are you?" he asked.

Melissa stood silent as a loud bell tolled in the distance. The Nereids on the top started to return back through the tunnels. "Where are they going?" Michael asked.

"Lord Lucifer is calling us," Melissa said,"We must return." She and her Betamon turned around and started walking out the doorway on the bottom level.

"Wait!" Michael cried, running after Melissa,"Wait, I have some questions that I want answered!" He followed the tunnel until he exited the rock mesa. "Hey, where did you....wow..."

Once he exited the tunnel, he found himself in a green valley surrounded on all sides by more mountains. Inside of the green valley was what appeared to be a large white metallic dragon. "What is that, some sort of ship?"

"Never mind that!" Betamon said,"Look at who's comming out of it!"

Michael stared down and saw the Nerieds, lead by Melissa, standing in front of a platform that extended from the neck to the ground. Three figures were walking down the platform. Once Michael saw them, he grabbed Betamon and dove behind a boulder. "The Dark Masters..."Micheal mumbled, peering over the top of the large rock,"But, still no Metalseadramon."

Betamon gasped as Piedmon, Machinedramon and Puppetmon suddenly hovered into the air and flew away. "Michael, look, they're leaving."

"This is our chance," he said, standing up,"The Nerieds just went inside, this must be the Dark Masters' base here. Let's go get the others."

Joe looked over Aquillamon's shoulder at the ground zooming past them. He grabbed his mouth, then quickly shot his head onto the large bird's back. "Joe," Aquillamon shouted,"Don't you dare throw up on me again!"

"Don't worry," he said, taking a few deep breaths,"I'll...I'll be fine."

At the front of the group, T.K. sighed as he struggled to hand onto Angemon's grip. "I sure miss your Pegasusmon form."

"So...do....I..." Angemon breathed heavily,"You're a lot heavier this way."

"Hey..."

"Don't whine," Mimi said, resting inside of Lillymon's grip,"I've got to ride like this all the time!"

"Well, I'm sure you're a lot lighter then T.K." Lillymon groaned.

"Thank you!" Mimi smiled.

On Aquillamon's back, Joe and Cody looked at each other. "Girls.." they muttered.

"What was that?" Yolei sneered, looking over her shoulder.

"Guys," T.K. shouted, "Look at the ground."

"A group of Numemon and Betamon operating a mining site in the side of the mountain, " Yolei said,"So what?"

"Look at who is standing on that rock cliff."

"It's a Skull Satanmon, a human, and the Dark Masters!" Joe cried, which caused everyone to shush him.

"We can hide behind that rock mound over there, which can give us a perfect view of the entire dig site."

"Let's go," Angemon order the Digimon as they dove behind the mound.

Machinedramon lifted his head and looked around. "What is the matter, Lord Machinedramon?" the Skull Satanmon asked.

"I thought I heard something....must be my imagination."

"Yeah," Puppetmon mumbled,"You've always got your head in the clouds."

"That is enough!" Piedmon shouted. "Barker and Skull Satanmon, continue your excavation until you find the stone."

"Yes sir," he bowed.

"The Dark Masters are employing Digidestined?" T.K. asked.

"Those traitors!" Cody hissed.

"Wait, there's a Zhuqioamon stone here?" June whispered as the Dark Masters left the dig site.

"We've got to find it before the Dark Masters do."

"Look!" Cody pointed to the sky,"It's the Digital Warriors."

The Digidestined watched as Tai's Digital Warriors flew overhead, then landed behind a different dirt mound. "They're missing some members," Yolei said, counting off on her fingers.

"Where is Kari?" T.K. asked.

"What are they doing here?" Cody growled.

"This looks like a real hot spot," Ken said,"It's a good thing you saw this place Wormmon."

"I live to serve," he said with a little smile.

"Who is that?" Davis asked, pointing to the Digimon that was starting to whip the Numemon.

"That is a Skull Satanmon," Michael said, looking over the top of the dirt mound,"What are they digging for?"

"My guess is a stone," Izzy said, climbing to be able to see over the mound.

"What should we do?" Taisuke asked.

"First of all," Michael said,"You stay here."

Taisuke frowned and crossed his arms.

"Now," Michael said,"Let's wait until they actually find the stone before we do anything."

"Why?" Davis asked.

"Because as soon as they have the stone, then we'll make our move, and grab it!"

Kari sighed to herself as she walked inside the cavern. "What are we doing here?" Gatomon asked, looking up at her human partner.

Kari ignored her as she studied the brown walls of the cave. "Kari!"

"What?" she jumped.

"Why are we exploring this cave?" Gatomon asked, calmly.

"I...'sigh' I don't know. I don't even know anymore," she looked to the ground,"What am I really doing? Why am I even here?"

Gatomon smiled slightly. "I know why you keep talking about all the metaphysical questions," she said, closing her eyes and opening up her hands,"You're worried about what happened to your Light powers, right?"

Kari turned around to face her,"No, I know what happened to the Crest and Digi-metal of Light, I destroyed them."

"What?" Gatomon asked.

Kari looked to the ground as she spoke,"When we were fighting the Digidestined, when I was fighting T.K., I....I really wanted him to be stop, I didn't want to kill him, but, I really...really wanted to defeat him." She sighed again,"T.K. was my friend, and because I betrayed our friendship, I betrayed the Light.powers, that's why they were destroyed."

"Kari..." Gatomon said, placing her paw on her friends leg.

"That's why I can't take the powers of Courage," she said,"Because they belong to Tai, and I would betray them like I did the powers of Light."

Gatomon wasn't sure what to say. She wanted to comfort her partner, but she knew that Kari was right, and she didn't know how to help her cope with that. Instead, she decided to give her some time alone. She started to explore the cave walls, when something caught the corner of her eye. She turned to the right and spied a crack in the wall. She ran over and saw a perfect ball shaped stone resting inside. She reached in and grabbed the stone. When she pulled it out, her face lit up. "Kari!" she cried,"Look what I found!"

"Is that a Zhuqiomon Stone?" she asked, running over to her,"It is, isn't it! Good job!" She reached down and rubbed her Digimon's head,"Let's get back to the others."

She turned and started to exit the cave, when two figures appeared in front of the cave door."Oikawa.." Kari mumbled.

Blossumon frowned to herself as she got up from the chair and started to pace the waiting room for the twelfth time. "Where is he?"

"Calm down, Blossumon," Frigimon said from the corner of the room, where he was making a small snowman out of a pile of snow in his hands.

"Yes, Lieutenant," Skull Mearamon said,"Don't get so worked up over having to wait a couple of hours for the Commander."

Blossumon shot him a glance,"Don't forget, I outrank you."

One of the two doors in the room flew open. "Commander," Blossumon said as Andromon walked out,"What is our mission."

Andromon's face displayed no emotion as he spoke. "Geni is very displeased over Sora's decision to lower the importance of apprehending the Digital Warriors. He has decided to take matters into his own hands. We are being sent to Modem to apprehend the criminals."

"What about the Digidestined."

"If any of them get in our way," Andromon said,"We are to apprehend them as well."

Back at the dig site, Barker shouted as he smashed his whip into the ground. "Get to work, you lazy Numemon!" He sighed to himself as he watched the Numemon throw their hands into the air, and start to work even harder. "I would wage war on the gods themselves to put down this blasted whip!"

"Lord Barker," one of the Numemon said, waddling over to him with a round object in his hands,"We have found one of the stones."

Skull Satanmon smiled wickedly. "Excellent," he grinned as Barker grabbed the stone from the Numemon's hand.

"Two down," he smiled,"Three to go."

"Don't bet on it!" Davis shouted as he charged into Barker,"The Dark Masters aren't getting anymore Zhuqioamon Stones!"

Barker hissed in pain as he grabbed Davis's head and flung him over to where the other Digital Warriors were standing. Davis quickly jumped to his feet and stood his ground. "Hand over that stone, Barker, or whatever your name is!" Ken demanded.

"Yeah, you're not leaving with that stone!" Izzy cried,"Just hand it over!"

"I'm not handing over anything," Barker laughed,"Numemon, Airdramon, attack!"

"You're going to do this the hard way, aren't you?" Michael smiled,"Fine, let's go!"

"Betamon digivolve to Seadramon!"

"Exveemon..."

"Stingmon...."

"....DNA Digivolve to Paildramon!"

"Agumon digivolve to Mearamon!"

"Kunemon digivolve to Kuwagamon!"

"Tentomon digivolve to Kabuterimon!"

"You guys handle the Digimon," Davis told their digital partners,"We'll take care of Barker."

The Digimon nodded, and jumped in to battle the Numemon and Airdramon, but they were soon joined by the Digimon partners of Sora's Digidestined forces. "What are you guys doing here?" Paildramon asked.

"The question is, what are you doing here?" Angemon asked,"This is our fight."

"Yeah, back off!" Armadillomon said, swatting back a Numemon into a group of them.

"We can handle this," Davis said to the Digidestined humans when they arrived.

"You are still wanted criminals, Master of Courage," June warned him,"We can still arrest you."

"Don't bet on it, Mask!" Davis laughed.

"You are totally impossible!" June shouted.

"Why are we arguing with ourselves?" Cody asked,"We outnumber Barker twelve to one!"

"Cody's right," Mimi said,"Let's take that stone."

Barker took a step back. "Isn't this just slightly unfair?"

"When have your bosses, the Dark Masters, ever been fair?" Joe asked.

"So you know I work for them, huh?"

"Why are they after the stones?" Michael demanded.

"For power, why else?" Barker laughed, shrugging his shoulders,"Once they get all the Zhuqioamon Stones, they'll have enough power to take over both worlds!"

"They're still the same as always, I see," Mimi muttered.

"We're not going to let the Dark Masters succeed in their plans!" Noriko said,"I had no choice but to stand by and watch my father destroy the Digital World, I will not be so helpless again!"

"If all the guys tackle him, we should get the stones, no problem!" T.K. said.

"I agree," Micheal said,"Let's go!"

The guys nodded, then charged forward. Barker waited until all of the males were right in front of him before he jumped into the air. All of the guys crashed into one another, except for T.K.. He stopped short, keeping himself from being entangled with the other guys, then reached into the air and grabbed hold of Barker's ankle, throwing him into the ground. While Skull Satanmon was busy fighting along side of the Airdramon and Numemon, his partner was being robbed by T.K., who simply grabbed the stone out of Barker's hand.

"Digidestined!" he shouted,"Retreat! We've got what we came for!"

Angemon nodded, then broke off his battle with the group of Airdramon, and joined T.K. on the ground. "We've got the stone," he said,"Let's get out of here!"

"You've got it!" Angemon said. He grabbed T.K., then quickly flew into the air. The other Digidestined piled onto Aquillamon seconds before he flew after Angemon.

Joe looked over his shoulder at the Digital Warriors. "You guys had better leave as well."

Noriko looked down to where Barker was slowly getting back onto his feet. "I think maybe he's right," Oikawa's daughter said, looking at the others,"It might be a good idea to get out of here, now."

"Paildramon!" Davis shouted.

"Give us a ride!" Ken added.

The DNA Digimon flew to the ground and lifted up Davis and Ken, while Noriko, Mina and Mina's Agumon, jumped onto Kuwagamon's back, with Izzy, Taisuke, Taisuke's Agumon, Micheal and Betamon on Kabuterimon. They quickly flew after the Digidestined, dodging energy blasts from the Airdramon.

"Stop them!" Barker shouted, clenching his fists,"Don't let them escape! Get me that stone!"

"Leave it to me, Greg," Skull Satanmon laughed, holding out his staff,"Nail Bone!"

His energy blast fired from the top of his staff up into the sky. Kabuterimon, Kuwagamon and Paildramon moved out of the way, but the energy attack slammed into Aquillamon, causing him to wobble fiercely in the air, throwing Cody off his back. "Cody!" Armadillomon shouted.

"Cody!" Yolei shouted,"Aquillamon, get him!"

"I'll never make it in time," he said, turning around,"I'm not going to make it."

Mimi watched Cody spiraling towards the ground, then nodded to herself. "Don't worry, Cody, I'll save you!" She reached down to the bottom of her brown shirt, then flung it off. Behind her, Joe quickly covered up his eyes. However, being a guy, he snuck a peek. He was both relived and disappointed when he saw that Mimi was wearing a black tank top underneath her thick long sleeve brown shirt. He watched Mimi take a deep breath, then jump off.

"Mimi!" he screamed,"What are you doing?"

Mimi moved her arms to her side, and placed her legs together, making her fall even faster. She soon caught up with Cody, and wrapped her arms around him. As the ground moved ever closer, Mimi started to groan with pain. Seconds later a pair of large white wings appeared from her back. They started flapping, bringing Mimi and Cody safely into the air.

"What the-?" June asked.

"That girl can fly?" Davis gasped,"She can fly?"

"I've never seen anything like this...." Ken mumbled.

Down on the ground, Barker watched as Mimi landed back on Aquillamon. "What just happened?" Skull Satanmon asked, watching as the Digidestined and Digital Warriors vanished from sight,"Did that girl just grow wings?"

"Yes," Barker said, rubbing his chin,"She may be the one that we need..."

"Oikawa and Mummymon," Kari mumbled,"What are you doing here?"

The evil Digidestined grinned. "I can ask you the same question."

Kari quickly shoved the Zhuqioamon stone into her pocket,"Why nothing at all."

"Really?" Oikawa laughed.

"Listen to me," Kari said,"We need to talk."

"About what?" Oiakwa asked, crossing his arms.

"Why you fought my brother, he saw you disappear in a flying saucer! And you made it seem like you knew who sent it!"

"I remember the flying saucer," Oikawa said,"But I do not remember giving any indication that I knew who was behind it."

"That's not true," Kari thought,"But, Oikawa really believes it for some reason, what's going on?"

" However," Oikawa continued," I did find out that some woman named Krake sent the ship, with orders from her boss to find the stone that I had."

"Did you give it to her?"

"Of course not, but, now that I know the stones are the lost Zhuqioamon stones, I know of the power they hold. Give me the one that was inside this cave."

"Not a chance!" Kari said.

Oikawa laughed,"Mummymon," he grinned,"Please, take the stone."

"As you wish," Mummymon laughed, lurching forward.

"Gatomon," Kari said.

Her Digimon nodded, and jumped in front of Kari. "Gatomon digivolve to.......hey, what happened? I'm still me!"

"The crest," Kari mumbled, sadly,"Without some sort of crest, you can't digivolve to Ultimate." She fell onto her knees,"I forgot. What have I done? I've messed up everything..."

"Kari..." Gatomon said.

"Could you have your moral battle later?" Mummymon asked,"If you give us the stone now, I promise we'll just leave you alone."

Kari didn't move from where she was kneeling on the ground, so Gatomon turned around and closed her paw,"I'll never let you get that stone!" She charged forward.

"Bring it on!" Mummymon laughed.

Gatomon charged forward and slammed her fist into Mummymon's face. The Ultimate staggered back for a second, then swung his fist into Gatomon, throwing her into the ground. Gatomon jumped back up and slammed her foot into the side of Mummymon's head. Oikawa's Digimon tried to grab Kari's Digimon, but she was already on the ground. She jumped back into the air and started swing her fists,"Lightning Paw!"

Mummymon stumbled backwards as Gatomon repeatedly slammed her fists into his stomach. He raised his large gun and fired, sending Gatomon flying into the left wall. Mummymon started laughing. "That was kind of easy."

"Not it wasn't!" Gatomon shouted, charging forward again. She began to pound Mummymon in the face.

"Cut it out!" Mummymon shouted.

Gatomon slammed her foot into Mummyon's jaw one last time, and was about to fall back to the ground, but Oikawa's Digimon reached up and grabbed her.

"Now I've got you!" Mummymon grinned as he started to squeeze into Gatomon, causing her to groan in pain.

"Don't...know....how...much longer....I...can...hold...on..." she panted.

"Finish her off so we can take that stone!" Oikawa ordered.

Kari looked up from where she was kneeling on the ground. When she saw Mummymon digging his fingers into Gatomon's body, her heart started pounding. "Gatomon!" she cried,"You've got to fight!"

Mummymon started laughing. "I don't think she can even hear you. Her screaming is quite loud." He grinned to himself as he moved his right hand away from Gatomon, then slammed it down, ripping off her right arm and most of her left side.

Kari watched as Gatomon's digital particles started to break away from she body, filling the inside of the cave. "Gatomon!" she screamed, closing her eyes. When she opened them, she found herself in a totally different place, a dark place filled with floating symbols of Light and Courage, and in the center of the spinning symbols was Gatomon, floating in the void with her right side missing.

"Gatomon..?" she asked.

"Kari..." she moaned,"We've got to fight. We can't let them win."

"But...but Gatomon," she protested,"I'm...I'm a failure. I messed everything up!"

"Then you've got to fix it. Come on, you can't just let things stay like this! So you fell off the bicycle? So what? Get back on and start over! If you keep moping like this, then you're going to mess things up even more!"

"You're right!" Kari said, throwing her head back,"Gatomon....Gatomon I've been a coward, and I'm sorry! I...I am the Digidestined of Courage now, and it's high time I act like it. I left the Crest of Courage with Taisuke, but, there is one thing that I can still use...." She reached into her pocket and pulled out the orange Digi-egg. "Digi-armor energize!"

The remainder of Gatomon's body started to glow. "What the-?" Mummymon asked, as the Digital particles pulled back into Gatomon's destroyed body. Her body burst with orange light.

"What is going on?" Oikawa asked.

"Gatomon armor digivolve to......Lynxmon! The Fires of Courage!"

Mummymon and Oikawa gasped as they stared at fire beast in front of them. "W..what happened to her?" Mummymon gasped.

"She digivolved using the Digi-metal of Courage," Kari said, standing up,"And she's ready to take you out!"

"Don't bet on it," Mummymon laughed,"Mummymon digivolve to...."

Before Mummymon could finish is digivolution, Lynxmon had slammed her massive paw into Mummymon's face. He howled in pain as he staggered back. "You're going to pay for that!" he yelled, raising his gun and pointing it right at her,"You're finished!"

Just before he pulled the trigger, Lynxmon opened her mouth and shot out a stream of fire that slammed into Mummymon, causing him to crash into Oikawa and sent both of them flying out of the cave.

"Lynxmon, you did it!" Kari cheered, running over to her.

"No, Kari," she said,"It was you. Once you came out of your depression, and were determined to fight, that's when the Digi-metal of Courage became activated. Wanting to fight, even in the face of losing everything, is the mark of true courage. You are worthy of the Crest of Courage."

Kari smiled. "Thanks."

"Now, let's get back to the others," Lynxmon said, lying on the ground.

"Uh..." Kari hesitated, looking at the flames on her Digimon's back,"Are you sure?"

"Don't worry, my flames will only harm those that I do not trust. You do trust me, don't you?" Lynxmon asked.

Kari smiled, and jumped onto her back,"Of course. Let's go."

Outside the cave, Apocalymon stood on a rock cliff, where he had watched the entire battle. "Unbelievable," he mumbled to himself,"The powers of Friendship and Courage may be stronger than Hope and Light. I did not think it possible." He started to rub his jaw,"I wonder if they will be able to reach their Mega forms." He suddenly shot his head up to the very top of the mountain, where he saw four figures watching Kari and Lynxmon run back to Modum City. "Who are they?" he asked himself.

The four figures on the top of the mountain were two teenage human boys, with what appeared to be a dog/rabbit mixture at one of the boy's feet, and a large bulky robotic creature standing behind the other. This boy turned to the other and said,"T.K. Takashi and Kari Kamiya have completely that once belonged to their bothers." He sighed,"I hope we know what we're doing, Henry."

"So do I, Kazu," the one with the dog/rabbit said,"So do I."

Back in Modum City, the Digital Warriors had hidden themselves inside of a darkened alley.

"Where is she?" Michael asked, as he paced the alley,"Where can she be?"

"You said Kari just needed some time alone, right?" Noriko asked,"I'm sure she's fine."

"That's doesn't make me feel any better," Michael muttered as he plopped down on a dirty couch.

"Why is some one throwing this out?" Mina asked, looking at the couch,"This is still perfectly fine."

Michael smiled slightly at her.

"How did that hot girl grow those wings?" Davis asked,"That's what I want to know."

"Her name is Mimi," Izzy said,"And I have no idea. I've know her for eight years, but I had no idea she had those. Everything we thought we knew is coming apart. What's going on here?"

Veemon sighed, then heard his stomach growl. He started blushing, "Can we get something to eat?"

"I'm with him," Mina's Agumon said,"I'm starving."

"Alright," Michael said, getting up,"Let's go, Taisuke."

They started filing out of the alley, when Michael turned around again. "Taisuke," he called, "Come on, we're going to get something to eat."

There was no answer.

"Taisuke.." he called, as Tentomon hovered down the alley,"Taisuke!"

"He's not here!" Tentomon cried,"Taisuke and his Agumon are gone!"

Next: Apocalymon decides to practice his destructive powers by attacking a small town. Meanwhile, children are missing all across the Digidestined populated Modum City, and now that number includes Taisuke Kamiya. The Digital Warriors have trouble searching, however, and the Dark Masters army invades the city, with the Digidestined and Geni's Restoration! With all sides fighting one another, are they going to be able to save Taisuke, and Oikawa, who has come face to face with the true Dark Masters? Find out next!