A/N: Hey everybody! It's been quite a while, huh? Sorry that everything's taking so long. Things are, as usual, pretty busy for me. Though I'm hoping I can do updates than before.

So here you go!

Plans

Sunlight glided softly through the open window and onto the paper that lay impotently on Tai's desk. He sighed and scratched his head with the underside of his pen before, hesitantly, he wrote down a single number. Tai paused in thought. He sighed. He leant his head against his hand before slowly, painfully, he wrote down yet another. A lazy breeze of warm air drifted in. It ruffled the curtains and tickled his face, an irritating reminder to Tai of just how nice a day it was outside.

He wrote down another number.

"You know, Kari could probably help you," stated a voice from beside him. "If you talked to her, that is."

Tai blinked and looked up to see Gatomon sitting on the side of his desk, big blue eyes blinking at him as she kicked her legs idly.

"I'm not asking my little sister for help with maths homework," he scoffed. "I have some pride. Anyways, I'm still mad at her."

Gatomon snorted.

"Like you wouldn't have done the exact same thing," she reminded him.

"She should have told us what she was planning," Tai argued, ignoring Gatomon's statement and how right it may or may not have been. "You guys came so close to dying, my own sister, and I didn't even know until Matt's digivice started beeping!"

"That's a little rich coming from you of all people," Gatomon said idly, lying down on his desk so the sunlight streamed over her stomach. "How many times did you nearly die when she and your parents had no idea?"

Tai said nothing.

She sighed in pleasure as her fur slowly warmed up and spread her limbs out, accidentally laying a paw over Tai's maths homework. He scowled.

"You're worse than Mako," he muttered.

"Oh?" Gatomon cocked an ear. "How so?"

"Because Mako is a cat, she doesn't understand what I'm saying so I can't blame her getting in the way. But you!" he pointed, giving her an accusatory poke. "You can talk. You know exactly what you're doing when you annoy me!"

"True, but I'm also much better company," Gatomon purred, before adding smugly. "Kari says so."

"Sure, she does."

Tai dropped his pencil, laid back in his chair and groaned.

"I just- it really scared me," he admitted as Gatomon sat up in interest. "From the way Joe was going on you were all seconds from death and I wasn't- I wasn't even there."

"You can't be everywhere, Tai," Gatomon said, looking up at him. "No one can. It's also pretty clear that the Digital World needs us - needs Kari. You'll have to let her stand on her own someday and, quite frankly, she's older than you were when you first went to the digital world."

Tai looked at his digivice with a strange expression on his face.

"Tai?"

"Fine," Tai gave in. "Tell Kari and the others they can come with us today."

Gatomon's face lit up and she jumped to her feet with a laugh.

"Haha! Kari thought I couldn't convince you, but I did!" she cheered. "She owes me so much fish for this."

"You were that confident, huh?" Tai smirked.

"Well I was Myotismon's top interrogator," Gatomon returned his smirk. "Glad to see I can still put those skills to use."

Tai laughed hard, holding a hand to his stomach.

"You certainly did better than he did," he commented as Gatomon began to climb out of the window.

"I always strive for excellence," she boasted. "See you later, Great One."

With a triumphant laugh she backflipped off the window, somersaulting in mid-air before dropping out of sight.

"Show-off," Tai muttered.

On Tai's bed behind him, the duvet covers shifted and Koromon's bright green eyes appeared.

"Tai?" he asked cautiously. "Are you alright?"

"Just realising some things, Koromon," Tai admitted, turning around to face his partner.

"What things? What a demon your cat is?"

"I'll tell you on the way there," Tai took off his shirt and began to change. "And Mako is not a demon, Koromon!"

"You didn't see the way she scratched me! Every time she sees me she hisses and tries to claw my eyes out!" Koromon protested. "I wish I was Agumon, then she wouldn't dare mess with me!"

"Mako may surprise you. Anyway, Gatomon never complains."

"She's scared of Gatomon, she knows how to get into people's heads – like you just saw."

Tai said nothing as Koromon eyed him critically.

"You're planning something, aren't you?"

"Who me?" Tai asked with faux innocence. "Never. I'm not a strategist, I'm the tactician – as Neo so often loves to remind me."

"You did give in pretty quick…"

"I'm going to give Gatomon and Kari, and the rest of those rookies, exactly what they want," Tai's smirk nearly split his face in half. "If they want to tag along today I'll just have to make it worth their while."

X

X

Tsunomon devoured the noodles. His eyes closed in utter delight, he slurped down bowl after bowl in front of a silent Matt. The in-training digimon didn't even notice the look on his chosen's face as Matt just stared blankly at him across the table.

It was so strange to see him again. To have him just eating food like it was normal. Like no time had passed at all. Hell, the first thing Tsunomon had said when he saw him again was to mention how long his hair was…

'Matt, help me!' Tk's voice echoed through time.

The memory of Puppetmon holding his squirming little brother in his hands stood out in his memory. Of that insane little digimon's sick grin as he threw him into the air and pulled the strings attached to Tk's neck taut.

SNAP!

Matt shuddered. It had only been an illusion, but the thought of his little brother facing down WereGarurumon, his own partner in his ultimate form and utterly helpless, had brought it back.

"Matt?"

He looked up only to see Tsunomon's concerned face.

"Are you mad at me?"

"No," Matt replied, looking down at his hands, ashamed. "I'm not mad."

"You are, I can tell," Tsunomon declared. "You're definitely different than when we last met, but you're angry, I can tell that at least."

"Oh yeah?"

Tsunomon nodded.

"You don't let it show on your face anymore, but the look in your eyes is the same as it used to be. We're still partners."

Matt looked up at his partner in shock. Slowly, a small smile spread across his face.

"Thanks, Tsunomon. I was just worried."

"About Tk?"

"H-how-?"

"You're always worried about Tk," Tsunomon grinned. "That hasn't changed at least."

"I just- what was it like?" Matt asked, avoiding eye contact. "Do you remember being under his control?"

"Hmm… not really," he answered, looking thoughtful. "Last thing I knew, we were running from the Emperor, then suddenly I'm waking up in your arms."

"You don't remember anything?"

"Nope and that's probably for the best," Tsunomon looked up at Matt. "I'd rather not remember having to hunt down and enslave innocent digimon."

"I can understand that," Matt agreed, taking his partner's empty bowl away and to the sink.

"So, where's your dad?" Tsunomon asked, as Matt dumped the bowl. "I haven't seen him."

"Neither have I," Matt answered. "He's been gone for two days."

Tsunomon blinked.

"Where'd he go?"

"I… I don't know," Matt admitted, not looking at his partner. "This has happened before, although he usually gives me more warning. His line of work can get really busy, so I'm not too worried."

"What does your dad do?" Tsunomon asked, before blinking in thought. "What have you been doing? What do humans do in general?"

Matt took a look at the clock, before scooping Tsunomon up in his arms.

"I'll tell you on the way," he explained. "Izzy wants us to meet up at the tram."

"Tram?!" Tsunomon cheered, eyes lighting up. "That old metal thing? I can't wait to see everybody!"

Matt shut and locked the apartment door behind him.

"Me too, buddy," he refused to look back. "Me too."

It was a route he had walked many times before; a route that went right past the Ice Wall and down into the massive storm drains of the city. Matt had always enjoyed the solitude of the walk, just him and the quiet cold concrete structures around him. Yet having Tsunomon with him, as much as he hated to admit it, made it feel better somehow. Like a piece of him had been missing until now.

Matt walked down the last few steps as he approached the tram.

"So, what do you want to be when you grow up, Matt?" Tsunomon asked curiously.

Matt shrugged.

"I don't know. I'd really like my band to take off though."

"Your band can fly?!"

"N-no, it's…"

"Tsunomon!" a small orange dinosaur came charging out of the tram towards them.

"Agumon!" the tiny ball of fur flew out of Matt's arms towards the dinosaur.

Agumon caught the in-training digimon and spun him around happily as Matt sedately approached the tram.

"Hey Matt," Tai greeted politely as he looked past him and smiled fondly at the two digimon. "Glad you brought Tsunomon; Agumon was talking my ear off last night about wanting to see him."

"Yeah, well he needed his rest," Matt replied and walked past Tai.

It wasn't too cramped inside the tram. Both Izzy and Mimi were sitting down in the middle of the tram with a cooler full of drinks in between them. Izzy was, as always, typing on his computer, whilst Mimi was whispering something to Palmon. The two giggled briefly before they looked up and smiled at Matt, who nodded back.

He promptly collapsed into a seat next to Izzy.

"How's the plan coming along?"

"Adequately," Izzy responded, not looking up from his laptop. "Joe's not coming - shocking I know – he has a test to study for."

"Oh, it's Tuesday already is it?" Mimi muttered.

She idly examined one of the many colourful flowers growing along the walls.

"The younger kids will be going straight to the digital world from the school, apparently they're being held late for an announcement."

Matt nodded then he grabbed a drink and leant back into his seat.

"You sure it'll be safe enough?"

"It's not like we're gonna fight the Emperor or anything," Tai answered as he walked in with Agumon by his side and Tsunomon who sat on the dinosaur's head.

"They are good at finding trouble," Izzy admitted.

"They almost died yesterday," Matt frowned. "We shouldn't keep dragging them into this."

Tai rolled his eyes.

"It's their choice," he stated simply, before grinning at Mimi. "Anyway, we've got three mega digimon now if anything goes wrong."

"Yep!" Mimi trilled happily. "This trip won't take long, will it Izzy? Palmon and I still have a lot of catching up to do."

"Yeah, everyone's so busy here!" Palmon pointed out. "Back on the meat farm, things are much more relaxed and there's more time to talk. But here you humans are all just go, go, go! I don't like being Tanemon and living in Mimi's backpack, it's so hot and cramped!"

"You'll have plenty of time to talk," Izzy said as he suddenly sprang to life. "Though now that we're all here, I think we should get going before the gate decides to close on us."

Tai sat down next to Mimi and the six human and digimon all looked resolutely up at Izzy. He swivelled the laptop so that it was facing them and lifted his digivice. There was a flash of light and a swirl of colours.

The trip was fast and within an instant, Tai found himself propelled onto his feet and staggering forwards. Then the heat hit them like a train.

"Wow it's hot!" Mimi complained, immediately taking off her jacket and looking around. "Is this a desert? Some warning would have been nice, Izzy!"

Sand stretched onwards in every direction. Blazing golden sand mirroring the light of the heavy sun straight above them. There were no rocks or outcroppings, or even cacti, just waves upon waves of endless desert.

"You know, I still have nightmares about walking through this damn desert," Matt commented, less than amused. "At least the cooler came with us."

The white and blue cooler sat innocently in the sand between them.

"I'm not a sadist," Izzy remarked and put his hand over his eyes. "Now where was it? Ah, there you are! This way guys!"

The others groaned at the thought of walking in the heat. Tai and Matt had a small stare-off before Matt sighed and picked up the cooler. The three then trailed after Izzy.

"Normally I'd say I missed being Gabumon," Gabumon stated as he slowly dragged himself along next to the others. "But this fur and this heat are a bad combination."

"Just take it off," Matt suggested.

"N-no way!" Gabumon clung to his fur, his cheeks burning red. "Everyone will see!"

"See what?" Matt muttered, before a small smile appeared on his face. "You haven't changed a bit!"

Ahead, Tai leaned in and whispered to Mimi.

"How come Izzy's so happy?"

"I don't know, but he's been on his laptop even more than usual recently," Mimi responded.

"Didn't he say he was gonna explain what he found on File Island?" Agumon asked.

"Hey guys," Palmon squinted pointing into the distance. "Does that look familiar to any of you?"

Tai looked up through the waves of heat and his jaw dropped.

"Etemon's pyramid?! It's back?!"

There it was, the great upside-down pyramid, standing impossibly large on an impossibly small base. It gleamed almost white in the harsh sun, looking shiny and new, rather than the dirty eroded mess it had been when they had fought Etemon.

"Yep!" Izzy replied with a tone of pride. "I was surfing through the portals to the digital world when I saw it. Just like Devimon's temple on File Island, this was restored with the reset and well…"

"Well?" Mimi echoed.

Izzy grinned as he spotted something quickly approaching them in the distance.

"Let's just say we've got more than three mega digimon if something goes wrong."

The others barely had time to gape before a very familiar insect slammed into Izzy.

"IZZY!" Tentomon cried, his claws latching onto his partner's shirt.

"Tentomon!" Izzy hugged his partner back with all the strength in his body and span around.

The others watched, smiles on their faces as the two reunited.

"I'm so happy to see you!" Izzy peeled himself away from his partner long enough to look him in his eyes.

"Me too!" Tentomon buzzed. "It's so much better talking to you in person than through that silly screen."

Matt coughed loudly.

"So, when did you guys meet?"

Tentomon and Izzy turned towards the others. Izzy turned red as his partner took to the air and hovered in front of him.

"Well, last night I was just flying around, minding my own business when I was attacked by a Kuwagamon," Tentomon explained. "I was just flying around, trying to lose him when a nearby TV screen lit up and I saw Izzy's face!"

"My digivice went off like an alarm clock," Izzy recalled, a fond expression on his face. "Fortunately, I was on my laptop and it immediately took me to a digital gate! That's when I saw Tentomon. I saw he was in danger and well…"

"I digivolved to Kabuterimon!" Tentomon cheered. "I hadn't digivolved in so long I'd almost forgotten what it felt like!"

"He backed off pretty quickly then, didn't he?" Izzy grinned.

"I've never seen a Kuwagamon turn and run so quickly!" he agreed.

"Sounds like you had a nicer time than I did," Gabumon noted and Tentomon looked down, as if suddenly only just seeing them.

"Gabumon, Agumon, Palmon!" he cheered and surged forwards. "It's been years!"

He slammed into them and hugged them tightly for all he was worth. The other three rookies returned his embrace with as much emotion as they could.

"Ah, they're a little ball of cuddles!" Mimi cooed, smiling at the digimon. "I can't believe they didn't all stick together."

"Yeah," Matt agreed. "It's so weird that we all stuck together, yet they separated."

Out of the corner of his eye, Matt saw Tai whisper something to Izzy. Quickly, the boy wiped his face free of the tears that had been on his cheeks and exchanged a thankful smile with Tai.

"I guess it's for the best though," Matt decided, whilst pretending he didn't see anything. "I think our bonds are stronger than ever."

Next to him, Mimi giggled.

"Matt, your friendship is showing," she pointed.

Matt looked down to see that his crest was glowing a soft blue through his chest. He turned away, so Mimi wouldn't see it, making her outright laugh.

"Let's go to the pyramid!" Tentomon said, finally released from the embrace of his friends. "There's a village of MudFrigimon who are letting me stay. They love guests!"

"Then let's go!" Tai cheered. "We should get everything set up before the others arrive."

"The others?" Tentomon questioned.

"Three new Digidestined and their partners," Izzy explained. "As well as Tk, Kari, Patamon and Gatomon."

"Well I'm always excited to meet new people!" Tentomon's wings unfurled and he began to fly towards the inverted pyramid. "They can probably help move things about."

"Well they probably won't be helping much," Tai said suddenly, eyes alight with mischief. "I've got something else planned for them."

"You do?" Mimi questioned, as everyone's eyes turned towards the boy. "You didn't say anything before."

"Well that was before Kari sent Gatomon to try and guilt-trip me into letting them tag along," Tai answered. "If they want to be part of everything, then I think it's time they earned the right…"

X

X

"It's not like I can make the vacation excuse again," Kari argued as she fiddled with her camera.

She was walking down the school hallway towards the computer room after having just left another photography club meeting.

"Miss Bui will definitely call me out after the rainforest if I say I took other pictures on our 'vacation to America'."

"Really, how?" countered Gatomon, who was sitting on Kari's shoulder and kicking her legs idly. "Accuse you of crossing into another world to take pictures? If you guys are in them, she won't question it."

"Well when you put it like that, it makes sense. Since when did you get so smart?"

Gatomon preened.

"I've always been this smart, that's how I managed to convince your brother to let you guys come today."

Kari opened the door to the computer room, only to yell as she was nearly tackled to the ground by an excited Davis.

"Kari's here, finally!" he cheered, holding her shoulders with wide, enthusiastic eyes. "It felt like I was waiting for a year! Did you do it? Tai's a cool guy, he must have said yes!"

"Calm down, Davis," Kari admonished, although quite unable keep her own grin off her face. "He did, thanks to Gatomon. But he also said we're not going to be battling the Emperor or anything."

The enthusiasm slowly slipped off his face.

"What's even the point then? Didn't we just destroy like a forest of Control Spires? We should keep doing that!"

"Davis-," Kari began.

"Joe and Gomamon destroyed a forest of Control Spires," Yolei pointed out, sitting at a nearby desk. "We just got our asses kicked long enough for them to win."

As she said this both Poromon and DemiVeemon, who had been playing by her feet, looked up curiously.

"What?!" Davis yelled. "We broke his super-spire and beat the Emperor's strongest digimon – and he's now our digimon! We're on a roll!"

"Beat him? We barely survived against him until we took out that spire through pure luck!" Yolei argued. "Then we nearly died in the volcano eruption! How are you so calm about this?!"

"Err, Digimental of courage?" Davis replied like it was obvious. "None of this stuff phases me!"

"It doesn't phase you cause you're a mindless-,"

"QUIET!" Kari screamed. "BOTH OF YOU!"

The two stopped arguing and stared at her in surprise. Kari took in another breath.

"Davis, I know you're excited about your soccer match tomorrow, but just please try to reign yourself in a bit. We're not fighting the Emperor today," she began, her patience thin. "Izzy apparently wants to do something before that happens."

"Will it help us fight the Emperor?" Davis asked.

Kari shrugged.

"Probably, all I know is it has something to do with that strange orb he and Tai found on File Island."

"I wonder what's inside? A secret weapon, maybe?" Yolei speculated.

"Food?" DemiVeemon asked, causing the other two Digimon to perk up.

"It wouldn't be food," Davis protested. "It's probably something super cool! Something that'll let us digivolve to mega!"

"Or maybe something that'll actually let you last a minute against Ichijouji's soccer team," Yolei muttered.

"Hey, we've been training our asses off for that game!" Davis protested. "Ken ain't gonna know what hit him!"

Kari barely kept from rolling her eyes. She wasn't personally interested in soccer but growing up with Tai had imbued her with knowledge purely through osmosis. Davis was good for his age, but Ken Ichijouji was a literal once-in-a-generation prodigy.

"Hit who?" Iori entered the room holding Upamon as Tk walked in sullenly beside him. "Is this about that soccer game they held us back to announce?"

"Pretty cool, huh?" Davis stuck out his chest. "Maybe one day you'll become a superstar just like me!"

"Pass," muttered Tk.

"What'd you say, TP-?" Davis began, before Kari stepped between them.

"Tai changed his mind and wants us to help him in the digital world," Kari explained, trying in vain to catch Tk's eye. "So, we're going to go in and meet him and the others there."

Whatever easy comradery they'd enjoyed briefly with Vikemon had vanished as quickly as it had come as Tk refused to meet her gaze. It seemed without the relief of escaping imminent death the invisible barrier between them had risen once more and Kari still had no idea how to get around it.

"What exactly do they need our help with?" Iori asked.

"Nobody knows," Yolei answered, throwing up her hands. "You know how fond they are of their big mysteries."

Kari opened her mouth to defend them but was interrupted.

"The only way we'll find out is by going," Davis exclaimed as he marched over towards the computer. "So, lets go!"

He took out his Digivice and pointed it at the screen. Immediately, a bright light encompassed the room and sucked in all five human and their partners.

Kari grunted as her feet hit semi-solid ground and a wave of heat passed over the group.

"Ah, I got sand in my shoes!" complained Davis as he sat down to take off his shoes.

"Get used to it, Davis," Tk commented. "I think we're spending the rest of the day here."

"Wow, it really is hot!" Yolei shaded her eyes, before gaping. "I-is that a pyramid?!"

The others turned to see the large upside-down pyramid looming in the distance.

"We're at Etemon's pyramid!" Patamon immediately recognised the structure as Tk's face lit up. "That must be where the others are."

"Who?" Yolei asked, expressing the other's sentiments.

For once, even Kari looked confused.

"I'll explain on the way," Tk said, slowly making his way towards the pyramid. "This was before Kari joined up and after we left File Island for the first time…"

Kari grit her teeth and looked away as everyone followed Tk. It only took a few minutes before a village became visible just as Tk's story was winding down.

"Then Tai and MetalGreymon got sucked into that portal," he finished, eyes alight with memory. "It would be ages before we saw them again. Apparently, that's where he returned to our world for a little bit."

'And I met up with him,' Kari added mentally.

"Woah," Davis practically had stars in his eyes. "Tai's so cool! Which Digimon was MetalGreymon again?!"

"The one at the sports centre with Myotismon," Kari quickly spoke. "He's the one that crushed that other dinosaur Digimon and fought Myotismon."

Tk frowned.

"Damn, I thought so!" Davis cheered, oblivious to the tension between the two. "I can't wait till me and Veemon are that strong! The Emperor will be toast!"

"I think it will take more than that to deal with him," Iori said, nervously eyeing Tk. "At least until we can stop him cancelling the older kids digivolving."

"Hey, no fair!" Davis realised. "That means the older kids are gonna get a shot at that asshole before we do!"

"Sorry, Davis," Tk smirked, not sounding sorry in the slightest. "I've got dibs."

"If anyone has dibs, it's me," Kari said resolutely. "He hurt my brother right in front of me – he can't get away with that."

"You'd think that would give Tai dibs," Gatomon muttered, ignoring the look Kari gave her.

Tk opened his mouth, but a shout cut him off.

"You guys are here!"

Before anyone could react, there was a rush of wind and sand blew past them as a tall figure appeared in front of them.

The group looked up in shock as Rosemon grinned down cheekily at them.

"'Bout time you guys got here, what kept you?"

"Well not all of us can fly," Tk began.

"What's wrong? Why are you guys merged?" Kari asked with her digivice in hand, looking around for any enemies.

Rosemon casually floated off the ground and leant back as if she was sitting on an invisible chair. She tapped her chin in thought.

"Oh, no reason, I just wanted to, I guess," she laughed. "It's also pretty useful to get the locals to do what you want."

"The locals?" Gatomon asked. "You mean the Mudfrigimon?"

"Oh, you know them?" Rosemon sounded pleasantly surprised.

"They're the only ones I know that make huts like those."

Gatomon pointed and the others could just about make out the numerous sand-coloured structures surrounding the bottom of the pyramid – large enough to qualify for a small town.

"Well, we've talked with their leaders and they said we're all welcome to stay for the day!" Rosemon folded her arms. "Now are the other six of you gonna talk, or are you just gonna stare?"

Tk and Kari looked back to see their friends gaping at the mega.

"Wow!" Yolei was practically vibrating in place. "Are you Mimi and Palmon? You two look amazing!"

"Why of course!" Rosemon pirouetted in the air and posed dramatically. "The illustrious Mimi and formidable Palmon combined to form the ravishing and powerful beauty you see before you. Rosemon, mega level data-type Digimon at your service!"

"Are you stronger than Vikemon?!" Davis asked excitedly. "Or WarGreymon?!"

"Isn't that a little rude, Davis?" Iori scolded.

"How so?"

'Wow' Kari thought, blinking at their reactions. 'I guess they were too nervous last time to ask any questions. I guess Rosemon is much more approachable than Vikemon.'

"Oh, I don't mind. Unlike those other two I am a data-type," Rosemon answered modestly. "So, any fight with Vikemon would be over quickly!"

She then leant down to Kari and stage-whispered,

"By the way, if you could convince your brother to let WarGreymon out to play, I'd really appreciate it."

"Um…"

"What's it like?" Iori wondered.

The mega turned her gaze on him and he blushed.

"I-I mean, what's it like being two people…?" he trailed off.

Even Tk and Kari were interested. They had never really asked that particular question to any of the megas before.

"Yeah, how does it work?" Davis piped up. "Do you two like each control half the body like a mech or something?"

Rosemon snorted.

"No, not like that at all! It's… hmmm," she paused for a moment. "It's like… I'm both of them but also my own self at once. I'm a little bit of Mimi and a little bit of Palmon, mixed together to produce somebody new, if that makes sense?"

"That doesn't really explain anything…" Davis commented, before Iori silenced him with a look.

"Thank you for your answer," Iori spoke sincerely. "It was enlightening."

"No problem little guy! Anyways we should get going towards the others – we're waiting on you. The MudFrigimon have also given us loads of food and you're going to need your strength!"

Kari frowned.

"Wait, I thought we weren't fighting-."

But Rosemon was already flying back to the pyramid, her figure shrinking into the distance.

"Sorry, I can't hear you!" she sang, flying away. "I guess you'll have to follow me to find out!"

"Is it just me or are Mimi and Palmon really different when they're Rosemon?" Gatomon wondered.

"Yeah, they seem really strange. Even more so than they used to," Kari said, before looking towards the others. "Come on, let's get to the pyramid!"

Davis grinned as Kari began to jog towards the pyramid.

"You heard what she said, we're gonna be fighting! Get ready for Flamedramon to kick ass!"

"Oh please," Yolei said, beginning to run after Kari. "FlyBeemon will already be done before he even gets there!"

"Like hell!" Davis yelled, running after the girls as Iori and Tk with their partners stared after the others.

Iori looked up worriedly at the older boy, who was staring with a dead look in his eyes at the pyramid beyond the others.

"Are you ok, Takeru?" Iori asked.

Tk shook himself.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. Come on Patamon."

It only took a few minutes before they arrived at the village. Standing in the middle wasn't much different than standing from afar. The village was simplistic in its design, with all the buildings made from the same drab material. In comparison to the incredible mishmash of architecture that was File City, this small village came across as rather bland.

Of course, as soon as they got near, numerous tiny MudFrigimon swarmed around them like moths around a lamp.

"They're so cute!" Yolei swooned. "They're like little brown snowmen."

Kari found that description rather apt. The Digimon had cute little black button-like eyes, round bellies and stared up at the five humans in clear awe.

"Greetings! You must be more Digidestined!" said one that spoke with a soft voice. "Your companions have been waiting for you. They asked us to tell you they are near the entrance to the temple."

"The temple?" Kari questioned.

"The great temple," the Mudfrigimon gestured towards the pyramid, which loomed over the entire village. "It provides shelter from the sandstorms and a maze we can retreat into if we are threatened by any other violent Digimon."

"Does that happen often?" Iori asked worriedly.

"Not too often, but now that you Digidestined are here, no one will dare attack us!"

"Damn right, we'll kick their butts!" Davis declared bravely, causing the Digimon around him to coo.

"He's so cool!"

"So brave!"

Davis preened at their adulation.

"Can you lead us to the others?" Yolei asked. "Before Davis's head gets any bigger?"

"Right this way!"

It was only past a couple of those large mud huts before the entrance to the pyramid was visible and they saw the others.

"Tai!" Kari called out, happily waving to her brother.

Tai turned to look at them, a smile on his lips as he waved them over.

"Kari! You made it!"

He was standing there in a group along with Agumon, Matt, Gabumon and Rosemon. Next to them was the massive metal sphere that from File Island, only there was a door shaped opening leading into it with numerous cables hanging out, one of which was connected to Izzy's laptop.

"Woah," Yolei's eyes practically had stars in them as she gazed at the sphere. "It's so cool. Can we go inside?"

"Not yet," Izzy's voice resounded from inside.

He appeared in the doorway, looking a little dishevelled, with Tentomon right behind him. Kari, Tk and their partners lit up at the sight of Tentomon.

"Tentomon!" Gatomon and Patamon tackled the poor rookie back into the sphere.

"It's great to see you two as well, but you're hurting me! Izzy help!"

"Good to know you're so popular, Tentomon," Izzy teased, before addressing Yolei. "Well I've prepared all the data and backed it up so this should be fine to test. Now that you're all here we can begin."

"Begin what exactly?" Kari asked.

"None of you guys have explained what we're doing here," Tk chimed in. "Why Etemon's pyramid?"

"Yeah, if we're not fighting the Emperor then what's the point?" Davis clenched his fists. "What could be more important than beating his stupid face in?"

Izzy rolled his eyes.

"Well for one thing, this has to do with defeating the Emperor," Izzy stated, patting the metal sphere fondly. "But to do so I need to hook this up to the computers inside."

"So why do you need us?" Iori asked.

"I don't," Izzy answered, raising an eyebrow. "You're the ones who wanted to come today."

Iori blushed and turned towards the others.

"You didn't tell me you pestered them!"

"Yeah well, it could have been important," Gatomon shrugged, before grinning. "We can still be useful if the Emperor shows up. After all, you guys won't be able to digivolve."

"True," Tai stated with an answering grin. "Which is why I do in fact have something that we need to do."

Kari had a bad feeling and judging from the looks on the rest of her team's faces, so did they.

"Kari and Tk," Tai said in a tone that broke no argument. "You'll be helping Izzy, Matt and Rosemon take the data-sphere into the middle of the pyramid."

He then turned towards the others.

"You guys are going to come with me," Tai grinned wider. "Since you guys have the least amount of experience with the Digital World, it's time I taught you a few basic things."

"Really?!" Davis almost squealed. "You're gonna teach us?!"

"Yep," Tai smiled smugly. "Come on, the MudFrigimon showed us some nice space nearby that's perfect."

Yolei looked suspiciously after Tai and Agumon, who marched cheerfully away with Davis and Veemon in tow. Deep-down Kari had to agree with her. It wasn't like her brother had ever directly taught her anything about the Digital World. Of course, judging by the smirks on Izzy and Matt's faces then maybe it wouldn't be as fun as she imagined.

"Lucky…" Rosemon mumbled, even as she hefted the sphere over her shoulder like it weighed no more than a paperweight.

"I have a bad feeling, Cody," Yolei mumbled to Iori as they and their partners trudged after Tai.

"You're not the only one," Iori responded. "And it's Iori…"

Izzy turned towards Tk and Kari.

"Well now, let's get going," he stated, gesturing to them to move towards the entrance. "I'd really rather not stay longer in this place than necessary."

"I hear you," Tk agreed, walking forwards as Patamon flew on top of his hat.

"Was it really that bad?" Kari asked. "The Dark Network thing?"

"Yeah, it was," Tk answered curtly before walking ahead without another word.

Matt just shook his head. He gave Kari an apologetic look before he and Gabumon walked into the pyramid after his little brother.

"Just do what we say, and everything will be fine," Izzy explained as he walked with Kari. "The MudFrigimon told us they couldn't figure out how to get into the centre of the pyramid. But we know the way. Matt and Gabumon were kind enough to scout it out before you arrived."

"So, there are no evil Digimon inside?" Gatomon raised an eyebrow. "Then why did Tai want us to come with you?"

Izzy shrugged.

"I think I know why," Kari answered miserably. "Tai's smarter than he lets on. He wants me and Tk to fix this… thing we have between us."

"You think so?" Izzy asked.

"Tai's a tactical genius; there's no way he hasn't noticed the tension between us," Kari explained. "I just hope I can manage it; I miss my friend."

Gatomon leapt onto Kari's shoulder and smiled at her.

"I'm sure you can manage it; you turned me from an evil Digimon killer into your partner. Tk will be a snap!"

"I hope so…"

It was true Kari wanted Tk her friend back, but she also didn't want to let Tai down. He had been the leader for so long and he had noticed that she was already failing to be the leader of this team.

'I just hope I don't disappoint him.'

X

X

'Man, I hope Kari enjoys her time with Tk,' Tai thought obliviously to himself as he led the three younger Chosen into a relatively flat part of the desert. 'I'm sure she'll appreciate some downtime away from the three newbies.'

Tai stopped where he was and had a look at the pyramid. They seemed close enough to get back to the village quickly if anything happened, yet far enough there shouldn't be any collateral damage.

"Now, tell me what you three know about Digimon," Tai ordered with his arms crossed. "Do you understand the evolution levels?"

Yolei and Iori nodded, though Davis looked unsure.

"Mega is the highest, right?" he asked. "How do you reach it?"

"Sort of, technically Super Ultimate is higher, though it takes a huge amount of power to get to that level. To reach mega, well it's different for everyone. Don't worry about it for now. Do you understand type advantages?"

Yolei spoke up,

"Whenever a new Digimon is introduced they always mention type, but that's all I know."

"Well there's three basic types," Tai explained. "It's kind of like rock-paper-scissors. Except its data-vaccine-virus; data has the advantage against vaccine, vaccine against virus and virus against data. Got that?"

The three nodded.

"Ok. Also, important to remember that it's only an advantage, level is still a much greater indicator of strength. I don't want you guys attacking a mega just because you have a type advantage."

"A-are we likely to face a mega?" Yolei asked.

"Hopefully not, but you never know," Tai shrugged as she whimpered.

"I think you're scaring her, Tai," Agumon stated.

"You're just so casual about it!" Yolei yelled. "I mean they're so powerful!"

"Vikemon saved us in that volcano," Iori remembered. "He turned all that lava into rock in an instant, then the entire forest of Control Spires into icicles. There's no way we could fight that."

The three of them looked soberly at the ground. Even Davis' enthusiasm seemed a little tempered at the memory.

Tai laughed.

"Well from what I hear, it was you guys who really saved the day."

"Huh?"

"You guys took out that Control Spire Nexus and without that there's no way Vikemon would have ever appeared," Tai smiled at them. "After all, there's no use in a powerful weapon if you can't even use it. You guys might not have our raw power yet, but equally we don't have the power to fight our own battles without you."

They looked up at him.

"You guys have done really well. It took us all about a year to reach the mega level, it's only been what, a couple of weeks for the three of you? You don't really have anything to worry about."

Yolei blushed whilst Iori smiled.

"You said 'yet'!" Davis piped in quickly. "You think we'll get to mega."

"Well, why not? You guys don't have crests, but neither did me and Zero and we managed it."

"So what level are we at right now?" Iori asked.

"Well that's why we're here," Tai grinned widely. "Ready, Agumon?"

Agumon matched his grin with one of his own.

"Ready."

Yolei blinked.

"Ready for wha-?"

There was a flash of light and the sand was kicked up obscuring the two from sight.

"W-what's going on?" Iori asked.

"I don't know!" Davis replied, trying to cover his eyes.

A deep growl reverberated throughout the area, causing the hair on the back of their necks to stand up. A great shadow, one that hadn't been there before, was now standing stories tall and loomed menacingly over them.

"Guys," Tai stated proudly, his goggles affixed over his eyes. "Meet Greymon."

The massive orange and blue striped dinosaur stood up to its full height, taller than some buildings, and roared. The very ground seemed to shake at its monstrous wrath.

"W-whoa," Yolei muttered, craning her head to look up at the Digimon. "That's quite an entrance."

"I can't believe that little thing became that…" Iori breathed, eyes wide at the monster in front of them.

"No problem!" Davis called out, pointing at Tai who stood in front of his partner. "You want us to fight you, so you can figure out how strong we are, right?"

"That's the plan!" Tai smirked.

"Easy, we'll go first. I'll show you how strong we are, right Veemon?"

"Right!" the little rookie jumped to his feet. "I don't care how big you are, Flamedramon will take you down!"

"That won't be easy," Armadillomon stated. "He looks pretty tough."

"Have fun," Hawkmon said. "Miss Yolei and I will remove ourselves from the battlefield post haste."

There was a deep rumbling sound, like thunder booming on the other side of a mountain range. The three children then realised that was the sound of Greymon laughing.

"You guys misunderstood us," Tai said, trying not to laugh. "We're not going to fight Flamedramon…"

Yolei paled as the champion's gaze turned towards Hawkmon and Armadillomon.

"We're going to fight all three of you," Greymon growled, his face approximating a grin and showing a row of teeth each almost the size of a child. "Together."

Silence.

"Um, pass?" Yolei put her hand up. "No thank you."

"I-I'm with Yolei on this one," Iori said, still looking up at the champion. "I'd rather not."

"Come on guys!" Davis declared. "We can take him."

"You'll have to," Tai stated, all traces of humour gone from his face. "Greymon is powerful but still only a champion Digimon. You guys have already faced an Ultimate and managed to come out alright, even if only partly due to luck. It's important your partners figure out their capabilities against a more powerful opponent before you over or underestimate yourselves and end up hurt."

Tai frowned.

"You don't have as much experience actually defending yourself against a Digimon that hasn't been brainwashed by the Emperor. If you guys are ever attacked by a Digimon that isn't under his control you need to be able to utilise the power you have to its greatest potential."

"Fine then!" Yolei said, she swallowed her fear and stood up with her digivice in hand. "Let's go, Hawkmon!"

"As you command, Miss Yolei!"

There was a flash of purple and FlyBeemon stood where the rookie once had.

"Ha, about time," Davis grinned, wielding his own digivice. "Let's go Flamedramon!"

A flash of orange and the armoured Digimon stood proudly in front of him, eyes locked onto Greymon's with a cool intensity and meeting the much larger digimon's gaze with courage.

"I like this one, Tai," Greymon murmured.

Tai couldn't help but nod in agreement.

"What about you, Iori?" he asked the last member. "Are you going to join in?"

"Hey, I'm willing!" Armadillomon jumped forward in front of his partner. "You don't have to worry about me!"

"But what if you get hurt?" Iori pointed out. "There's no evil Digimon here! We don't really have to fight!"

"It's just a practice, Cody," his partner answered. "And my blood is pumping! The chance to fight a much stronger Digimon without the risk of deletion? I'll take it in a heartbeat! It's just like kendo practice! You need to fall to become stronger!"

"But I don't want you to get hurt if it's not necessary."

Armadillomon was silent.

"Cody, if you don't want me to fight, I won't, don't worry."

"I-I…"

Iori hesitated.

'Cody, I have to go. It'll be fine, don't worry.'

He shook his head.

"It's fine, we'll fight; just be careful."

Armadillomon grinned at his partner as Iori took out his digivice. There was a flash of red and Pteramon burst forth, already floating in the air.

The three armoured Digimon faced down the larger champion. Tai smiled at the sight. He could practically feel his partner's excitement at the thought of a good fight. To be honest, it was starting to affect him as well.

"Alright guys!" Davis yelled, thrusting his fist forward. "Go get him!"

The three Digimon yelled their battle cries and surged forward towards Greymon.

X

X

Kari was beginning to understand how the MudFrigimon had been unable to find the very centre of the pyramid. They seemed to change direction completely at random and she was pretty sure they were slowly heading downwards. Wall after wall was revealed to be fake, them simply passing through as if they weren't really there. If it hadn't been for Izzy using his laptop to guide them through she didn't think they'd have ever figured it out.

She carefully stepped over the remains of a fence, still crackling with electrical charge, to come face to face with a large room. It had a large computer with a massive screen that almost took up an entire side, along with numerous other types of machinery scattered around that Kari couldn't even hope to place.

"Huh, figured Datamon was lying…" Izzy muttered.

"Where are we now?" Kari asked.

"Oh, we're in the very centre of the pyramid," he explained, before gesturing to Rosemon. "Yeah, over there is great."

The mega carefully put down the sphere, grumbling as she did so. Izzy began connecting to wires from the sphere to some data ports on the computer. Matt rolled his eyes at the mega's grumbling.

"You're the one who wanted to merge," Matt reminded her. "It's not like we really needed you to go mega."

"Well excuse me for wanting to have some fun," Rosemon replied snappily. "The MudFrigimon were impressed."

"They were terrified," Gabumon said. "You made a mockery of their trial."

"It's not my fault their champion was just a bigger MudFrigimon. And I didn't hurt him."

Izzy ignored their bickering and began hooking up his laptop to the large computer. The screen quickly lit up and Izzy began to type furiously.

"As I thought, they are very similar to one another," Izzy said. "Though this may take a few minutes."

"You mean we have to wait?" Rosemon crossed her arms.

"Feel free to dedigivolve at any point," Izzy replied, not even looking from the screen.

"Yeah, but then who will carry your oversized ball bearing out of here; our metallic four-legged friend?"

"Oh please," Matt scoffed. "We wouldn't have to merge just to carry that."

Rosemon huffed and sat down. Kari couldn't help but giggle; the large and imposing mega looked rather like a pouting child.

Tk walked over to sit with his brother who was talking to Gabumon. Kari sighed and walked over towards Izzy and Tentomon.

"Um... so Izzy," she began. "What exactly are you hoping to do?"

"I'm trying to use the information present in the sphere to allow me to tap into the similar technology hidden under this pyramid," he explained, eyes on the screen.

"And why do you want to do that?"

"Well to be honest it's partly because of what your group managed to do," Izzy admitted. "Your description of the Nexus Tower more or less confirmed my theory of the Emperor's technology being partly based upon those of the Black Gears and the Dark Network."

Gatomon bristled.

"The Dark Network?" she hissed. "That's what's here?"

"Yeah, is that a problem?" Izzy questioned, pausing in his typing.

Kari couldn't help but feel a surge of pride that even Izzy took Gatomon's opinion about Digital World matters seriously.

"It's just…" Gatomon looked a little hesitant. "It sounds like it has something to do with the Dark Area."

"You mentioned that before," Kari remembered. "Back on File Island. What is it?"

Gatomon's face darkened.

"It's a terrible place. Said to be where the most evil, terrifying and powerful Digimon reside. It's said that truly evil Digimon are not reborn in Primary Village, but instead are cast down into the Dark Area to serve those even more evil than they are forever."

"It was below us," Rosemon suddenly remembered. "Back when we first returned to the Digital World to fight the Dark Masters. The land crumbled into the Dark Area below…"

They could all remember that infinite void that what was left of the Digital World crumbled into. An ageless abyss through which no light could penetrate. They had travelled upwards into the Sovereign's realm to fight Apocalymon. They'd never wondered what had lurked below.

"That's not all though," Gatomon added. "It's said that there's a barrier between the Digital World and that of the Dark Area, so no matter how powerful the evil Digimon are, they cannot escape and return to this world. However, there are some areas, areas underground…"

Here her eyes darted about. Kari couldn't help but be very aware of the sheer amount of rock above their heads. Everyone in the room was listening to Gatomon.

"Areas where the barrier is weak and the evil digimon's minions can… influence those on the surface. Or in the worst cases… escape."

"Th-that's rough," Tk spoke up.

"It's just stories," Gatomon said, blushing a little. "Even when I travelled the whole Digital World as Myotismon's servant I never saw any evidence of such places. Evil Digimon are everywhere, they don't all come from the Dark Area. Nevertheless, this place is rubbing me wrong, I've just got a bad feeling. Don't you, Kari?"

Now that Gatomon mentioned it there was a strange creeping sensation. Like the walls were subtly shifting and the shadows here were longer than they should be…

"Understood," Izzy said. "Etemon used the Dark Network frequently in our battles against him and nothing happened – well nothing we wouldn't be able to deal with easily now. I'll only need to activate it for a moment. Afterwards, we can safely destroy it without any problems."

"If you think it's necessary…" Gatomon spoke. "But I'm sticking close to Kari."

Izzy nodded, before he finished typing.

"Ok everyone, step away from the centre of the room!"

He pressed a button and a part of the floor seemed to slide away. A strange humming overtook the pyramid, as if the whole structure had merely been sleeping until this point. Kari peered over the ledge to get a glimpse of what lay beneath and gasped.

It had to be half the size of their apartment building. A massive tumour of black wires wrapped endlessly around each other, pulsating with some form of energy and crackling with red lightning that made Kari's hair stand on end. Immediately a sense of nausea gripped Kari and she was forced to look away as a sharp pain went through her head.

"I-it's wrong!" she heard her own voice yell. "Disgusting!"

"Just give me a minute," Izzy replied calmly, typing on his laptop. "Using this network and overlaying it with a map of the Digital World… yes! Prodigious!"

"Izzy are you done?" Tentomon asked quickly. "Cause Kari really seems to be suffering…"

"Izzy kill it!" Gatomon ordered.

Rosemon jumped into the air, floating above the core of the Dark Network. A much larger version of Lilymon's Flower Cannon pointed directly down.

"Izzy close this damn thing before I kill whatever's down there myself!"

With a hurried flurry of activity, the floor closed, and the humming subsided. Kari slumped to the floor, sweat dripping from her forehead.

"Are you ok, Kari?" Gatomon asked tenderly.

"Sorry, Kari," Izzy said. "It took longer than I thought it would. I didn't think it would affect you like that."

She swallowed back her nausea as best she could and gave Izzy a thumbs-up.

"I-I'm fine," she gasped, shakily getting to her feet. "What-what did you learn?"

Any sort of trepidation or concern quickly gave way to excitement as Izzy turned back to the main computer.

"I'll show you," he said happily. "When you kids destroyed the Nexus tower it shut down all the nearby normal Control Spires, which told me something very important."

"It's a weakness?" Tk guessed.

"Yes, but more importantly, it means they're connected to each other! Which means they're on some kind of network! All the Control Spires are connected to their nearest Nexus Tower! But that wasn't the Emperor's main base, so what was that Nexus Tower connected to?"

On the massive screen, a map of the Digital World appeared. One massive continent surrounded by a few tiny islands.

"That's Server," Gatomon recognised.

"Since the Emperor is using similar technology to Etemon's Dark Network, in fact it might very well be based on it. Thanks to the encryption data hidden in the sphere, I was able to briefly tap into the very same network that the Emperor's Control Spires use!"

"… what does that mean?" Matt asked.

"That I can do this," Izzy clicked and immediately the screen changed.

About a quarter of Server was suddenly filled with large black lines, like a web…

"A network!" Kari realised. "That's the Emperor's network!"

"Exactly!" Izzy responded, typing again. "Using that brief connection, I was able to highlight the location of every single one of the Emperor's Control Spires in the Digital World at that very moment."

"So now we know where all the Control Spires are we can destroy them!" Rosemon said, landing right behind Izzy.

"No," Izzy smirked. "We don't need to do that."

"What, why not?" Tk asked. "We know where they are."

"Yes, but that's not the goal," Izzy continued, zooming in on the part of the continent that the Emperor controlled. "The Emperor clearly has a way to make these Control Spires, so it would be pointless to just go after them one by one."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" Matt questioned, folding his arms.

"We go after the very centre," Kari realised. "It's a giant web and it all leads back to this point!"

She pointed to the screen, the very heart of the Emperor's network, a large black mass at the centre of his territory.

"Kari's right," Izzy said. "If we can destroy whatever is at the centre then the entire network will collapse. Rendering all of his Control Spires inert and his Black Rings utterly worthless."

"… so how do we do that?" Tk asked.

"That's what we'll have to figure out," Izzy said, closing his laptop and standing up. "But now that we know where his main base of operations is we can make plans to assault it and put an end to this."

"Somehow I doubt it'll be that easy," Matt scoffed.

"When is it ever?" Rosemon muttered. "Then after we deal with the Emperor, we deal with whatever evil Digimon gave him all this stuff… and then the next one after that and then the next one after that and then the next four…"

"I really hope it won't come to that," Tk said, holding Patamon close.

"It did last time," Rosemon shrugged. "Are we done here, Izzy?"

"Yeah, we're done. Let's grab Tai and the others and go home," the older boy sounded tired. "Don't worry about the data-sphere, just leave it here."

"Is that wise?" Gabumon asked. "What if someone else finds it?"

"Who would find it here?"

Kari watched the screen, where the black web that represented the Emperor's spire network was spread across a part of server. The interlocking black lines reminded her of veins, all leading back to the repugnant black heart in the centre that kept the whole system alive. In a way it was just like the core of the Dark Network, that darkness that steadily drummed just underneath her…

She shuddered.

Without another word Kari turned and followed the others outside of the room. Behind her, the shadows flickered and vanished.

X

X

They certainly weren't bad, Tai could admit that to himself, even if they did have quite some ways to go. It rather reminded him of the earlier days of File Island when many battles just involved their champion Digimon throwing an extremely obvious attack at the enemy and hoping it would work.

"Lightning Sting!" FlyBeemon cried, shooting his attack as he soared past Greymon far too fast for the larger Digimon to retaliate.

Tai grit his teeth at the slight shock that jolted his body and tried to keep his eyes on the fight. Beside him numerous tiny MudFrigimon also silently watched, enraptured by the - to their eyes - titanic struggle between the four Digimon.

"Missile Storm!"

A barrage of missiles exploded into Greymon from above and enveloped him in smoke and fire. Sensing a chance, Pteramon dived down towards the champion, the nose of his body glowing with a brilliant energy.

"Beak Piercer!"

But out of the smoke, Greymon roared upwards in defiance, his own horn glowing as he met that of Pteramon.

"Great Horn Attack!"

The two clashed in a brilliant burst of light for a but a moment before Greymon's overpowered Pteramon's and knocked the smaller Digimon away, only for a red shadow to dart off Pteramon's back.

"Oh, I see," Tai smiled. "Now they're working together."

Caught with his head up from deflecting Pteramon's attack, Greymon had left his neck open as Flamedramon brought his flaming gauntlets to bear.

"Fire Rocket!"

The projectiles slammed into Greymon's neck and breathing suddenly became harder for Tai as his partner's head was enveloped in fire and smoke.

"Ha! Finally got him, Flamedramon!" Davis cheered as Flamedramon on the ground in front of the champion.

"Pteramon!" Iori yelled.

He ran over to his partner who lay on the ground groaning in pain.

"Don't let him rest!" Yolei ordered, trying to get FlyBeemon's attention as he landed next to Flamedramon. "Keep attacking!"

"Too late," Tai muttered.

Greymon had already recovered and now loomed menacingly over the two-remaining armoured Digimon.

"Uh oh," Flamedramon realised as he saw flames begin to collect in the champion's open mouth.

"Move!" FlyBeemon cried out as he grabbed Flamedramon just before the sand they were standing on became glassed.

They flew through the air to the side of Greymon and Flamedramon aimed again.

"Fire Rocket!" he yelled, firing as FlyBeemon flew him around Greymon.

The attacks pounded the much slower Digimon, but they did little more than make him angrier as he couldn't hit them.

"Again, Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon called out as they passed by once again.

Tai winced at the sensation of little burns as they sprouted along his back.

'Those fireballs don't do much damage, but they're incredibly accurate,' he noted despite the pain.

FlyBeemon flew again around Greymon, making sure to stay just out of reach.

"Fire Rocket!"

More pain, and far more anger.

'Woah, slow down there, buddy,' Tai tried to project feelings of calmness to his partner. 'We're not trying to kill them.'

He could feel Greymon's affirmation as their opponents came around for another attack.

"Nova Blast!" Greymon called out, predicting their movements.

"Argh!" FlyBeemon cried out, nearly dropping Flamedramon to avoid the attack.

Greymon saw his chance and surged forwards.

"Look out!" Flamedramon screamed.

But it was too late to avoid tonnes of angry dinosaur as it slammed into the two of them. Flamedramon and FlyBeemon were drilled into the sand before Greymon, who watched them carefully. There was a flash of bright purple light and FlyBeemon became Hawkmon again.

Flamedramon shakily stood up and moved between Greymon and Hawkmon. He glared defiantly at the much larger Digimon as smoke began to billow between Greymon's teeth.

"Ok I think that's enough!" Tai called out.

Greymon backed away as Flamedramon collapsed onto his knees in the sand. Tai jogged over towards his partner, who sat down behind Tai and carefully eyed their surroundings.

"Good work, all of you," Tai began.

"Good work? You crushed us!" Yolei argued. "You didn't even need to go above champion."

"We almost had him!" Davis said. "Flamedramon was just about to kick his ass! Right Flamedramon?"

Flamedramon said nothing. Iori walked over, holding Armadillomon in his arms. The rookie seemed tired but otherwise unhurt.

"You guys fought extremely well," Tai continued. "You worked together to fight an opponent more powerful than you. Greymon is also much stronger than a typical champion-level Digimon. I very much doubt you'll meet one stronger."

"Yeah, but the Emperor has ultimates under him now," Iori pointed out.

"You won't need to defeat them," Tai explained. "All of the Emperor's servants are controlled by Dark Rings. All you need to do is destroy those and your partners are perfect for that. Something I noticed during the fight is that all of your partners have very precise attacks, perfect for targeting small areas of your opponents – like those rings."

Tai pointed towards Flamedramon.

"Flamedramon, you're pretty tough."

"Damn right," he smirked.

"You were the only one able to keep going at the end and withstand more than one direct attack by Greymon. If anyone should be taking the enemies attention it should be you."

"FlyBeemon was the most agile," he continued. "He was able to zip around Greymon even whilst carrying Flamedramon with no problem. Had he not caught you off balance he'd never have gotten you."

"So, I was too predictable?" Hawkmon realised from where he lay in Yolei's arms. "Yes, I can see that now."

"Pteramon," Tai turned towards Armadillomon. "Your sheer speed was incredible, but you were let down by your firepower. Next time hit hard then retreat before your opponent can retaliate, then strike again when your opponent isn't expecting it. Repeat that pattern. You have command of the skies, use it to its full potential."

Armadillomon nodded.

"The three of you are still new at this, but you will get stronger in time," Tai smiled at the six of them. "I'm honestly impressed you guys worked together at all. After all, it took ages for me and the others to start doing so. We really had some issues to work through."

"Thanks, Tai!" Davis looked positively giddy at the praise. "I can't believe I got to see Greymon again! It was awesome!"

"Again?" Yolei asked. "When did you see Greymon before?"

"Years ago," Davis boasted. "Tai broke into the Sports Centre where that Myotismon creep was holding everyone hostage and just straight up killed this evil Digimon who was gonna eat us. It was so cool!"

"Wait, what?!"

Tai rubbed the back of his head bashfully.

"Yeah, that happened. I didn't know you were there though, Davis."

"Of course! You were the coolest. Just standing there with that cape and insulting Myotismon right to his face! I even bought these goggles right after!"

Tai actually blushed.

"Um, thank you?"

"He's a fan!" Greymon rumbled behind him, clearly amused. "Though I was MetalGreymon then; my ultimate form."

"Woah!" Davis practically had stars in his eyes. "Flamedramon, you need to get to ultimate as soon as possible!"

"What?! Why do I have to do it?!" his partner argued. "Aren't you the one that's supposed to do it for me?!"

"What are you, some freeloader?"

Tai and Greymon laughed. There was a flash of light and Agumon stood where the champion had been.

"Let's go back to the village, I'm sure the others are probably done by now," Tai decided, heading back with Agumon. "We'll have something to eat and find out what the others learnt."

"Yeah!" Davis ran after Tai to walk in step with him. "Are you coming to see the soccer match tomorrow against that Ken's team?"

"Hell yeah! It's also the old school of some friends of mine and they're coming to watch, so you'd better win!"

"Hey Davis!" Flamedramon panicked and ran after his partner. "Don't just run off without me!"

Yolei and Iori stared off after the four.

"Do you think we can do it, Yolei?" Iori asked. "The older kids are way stronger than us."

"I'm not sure," she replied. "We're the only ones who can digivolve to fight the Emperor, but we're so weak…"

"Whilst I don't appreciate being called weak," Hawkmoth said stiffly. "But you are underselling yourself, Miss Yolei. We are getting stronger, he even said so."

"Yeah, Cody," Armadillomon spoke. "Don't be down just because you're not as strong as they are. They've been doing this for years!"

"It's just… disheartening," Iori said, looking down at the ground. "I don't know how Davis is so cheerful."

"He's always cheerful," Yolei said dismissively. "There's not enough brains in there for doubts. Come on, Cody."

Iori silently watched as Yolei also walked towards the pyramid, Hawkmon cradled in her arms. He sighed and followed after her, worried about what the future would bring.

A/N: Let me know what you guys thought! If there's any errors or glaring plotholes, etc.

Thank you sincerely for all the support of everyone still following this story. For all the reviews, favourites, follows and PMs. Your support and encouragement is invaluable to me.

I can't really promise regular updates, though I should be less busy than I previously was.

This chapter was meant to establish the strategy that they'll be using to deal with the Emperor as well as demonstrate the strengths and weaknesses of the newest group.

Next chapter will be a bit more plot intensive, with Ken and Davis' match along with Neo and Rei showing up, along with a couple of other things.

For all those who still care, hope you enjoyed this chapter.