FicWad

It was a perfectly peaceful and over all average day in the Digital World. The sun was shining brightly over the forest, where insects scuttled and animals played. Tucked away in a hollow surrounded by trees, there sat a computer monitor. On top of this monitor, Gatomon was curled up, her tail swishing side to side as she purred in her sleep. A whistle hung limp around her neck, alongside a pink bandanna to support it.

The faint sound of flapping wings echoed around the woods as Patamon, sporting a pink haramaki around his stomach, fluttered down and perched himself beside the cat. He took one of his little black paws and used it to shake his friend's sleeping body. "Hey, Gatomon," he said, "it's time for us to switch places. Wake up."

Gatomon grumbled and flicked her tail at Patamon. "Five more minutes..."

Patamon's expression flattened. "You can't guard anything when you're asleep. Get up!"

Gatomon opened one eye to cast a backwards glare at her companion. She swatted Patamon's paw, causing him to stumble. "What, haven't you ever heard of a cat nap?" she growled playfully.

Patamon snorted. "Yeah, but you can have yours somewhere else!" He attempted to forcefully push Gatomon off of the monitor. This failed, of course. Gatomon snickered as Patamon panted from his struggles, then she lifted her tail and used it to tickle the winged Digimon's nose. "Aw, what's the matter?" she taunted. "Is the widdle kitty too much for widdle Patamon?"

Patamon puffed out his chest and held his breath momentarily. However, the tail fluff tickling his nose became overwhelming. He smiled faintly and suppressed a chuckle, before letting out an enormous sneeze that sent both Digimon toppling off of the monitor.

Gatomon sat up and shook out her coat, then looked down at Patamon. "Good job," she said flatly.

"Oh, yeah," Patamon rolled over so to meet her gaze, "that was definitely my fault, and not, y'know, yours."

They met each other's gazes for a moment, then smiled, and burst out laughing. They hopped back up on top of the monitor and gazed up at the high noon sky, the sunlight filtering through the tree branches. Aside from the typical sounds of digital nature, it was eerily silent.

"It's quiet," Gatomon noted.

Patamon nodded. "Too quiet," he added.

Both Digimon lowered their heads solemnly. After a moment's hesitation, Patamon asked, "Do you think they're ever coming back?"

Gatomon's ears immediately perked. "Of course they're coming back!" she exclaimed. "It's not like they left voluntarily." Patamon let out a wistful sigh, causing Gatomon to fold her arms. "Patamon, they've hardly been gone. You were talking like this the last time the Gate closed, too. And that time you didn't start complaining for months!"

"Well at least that time we knew how long they were gonna be gone!" Patamon moped.

Gatomon rolled her eyes. "Patamon, why have we been watching this monitor?" she inquired.

Patamon blinked. "Um... to make sure we're here if the DigiDestined come back?"

"Mm hm!" Gatomon nodded pointedly. "And would we be watching this monitor if we didn't think they were coming back?"

Patamon tilted his head. "Well, probably not..."

"Purr-fect answer!" Gatomon praised. "So, we're staying here. End of story."

Patamon smiled weakly. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he replied.

"Of course I am," said Gatomon. "And who knows? They could show up at anytime. Heck, this monitor could light up any minute now and our partners would come out and fall flat on their faces."

Patamon giggled. "Yeah, like they do every time."

A couple seconds passed. Then a beeping noise caused Patamon and Gatomon to lift their ears.

"Is that what I think it is?" Gatomon whispered.

"It has to be!" Patamon gasped.

And all of a sudden, light erupted from the computer monitor they were sitting atop, causing them to shield their eyes. This light then took the form of six human children, who then toppled clumsily into a pile before the Digimon.

Patamon and Gatomon's faces lit up as the humans groggily stood up and scolded each other for falling on top of one another.

"TK!" "Kari!" Patamon and Gatomon exclaimed, respectively.

They leaped off of the monitor and into the arms of their partners, who looked just as ecstatic as they did.

Davis stood up and stretched, then looked out at the vast forest stretching before him. "Hello, Digital World!" he shouted to no-one in particular. "The DigiDestined are back!"

"Can it, Davis," said Yolei, smacking the goggle-wearing boy on his upper back. "You're disturbing the peace."

"You're one to talk," Davis snorted, gently rubbing the spot she had hit.

"We missed you!" Patamon cried, burying his face in TK's jacket.

TK ruffled the fur on his partner's head affectionately. "We missed you too, buddy," he replied.

"You should have heard Patamon!" Gatomon exclaimed to Kari. "He was crying like a baby!"

"What?!" Patamon exclaimed. "I was not!"

"Yeah you were!" Gatomon retorted. "I should've recorded the conversation we just had so you could listen to how pathetic you sounded!"

"Gatomon..." Kari sighed, though a note of relief to see her partner again lingered in her voice.

"It's good to be back," said Cody, pacing to stand beside Yolei, who turned to him and nodded her agreement.

"Yeah, I don't think I've ever been so happy to be in the wilderness!" she concurred.

Ken smiled contently as he watched Gatomon and Patamon affectionately nuzzle their partners. However, in witnessing this scene, something occurred to him that made his smile disolve.

"Where are our partners?" he asked, causing everyone to turn their attention towards him.

"Oh, yeah!" Davis dashed to Ken's side, saying, "Veemon and the others aren't here!"

"Where's Armadillomon?" Cody inquired cautiously.

"And Hawkmon?" Yolei added with folded arms.

"And Wormmon?" Ken added with a note of urgency.

A moment of silence passed, in which Patamon and Gatomon exchanged nervous glances. They slipped from TK and Kari's grasps in order to give a more dignified response.

"We, uh..." Patamon began, glancing sideways.

"...don't..." Gatomon continued, holding a claw up to her mouth.

"...know?" they finished, each giving a heavy shrug and an anxious grin.

The Digidestined looked taken aback. "What do you mean you don't know?!" Davis exclaimed, clenching his fists and stomping a foot. "What happened to Veemon?!"

"Nothing happened to Veemon!" Gatomon countered. "Veemon left on his own!"

"What do you mean he left on his own?!"

Ken made haste in setting his hand on Davis's shoulder, in an attempt to calm him, which appeared to work, if only slightly. "Motomiya," he pleaded, "give them a chance to explain."

Davis snorted, then swung back around to Gatomon. "Alright," he grumbled, "start explaining."

Gatomon held her chin up to meet Davis's gaze. "After the DigiPort closed," she described, "Veemon decided that he didn't want to wait around for it to reopen. So he said he was going to go out to find the person who closed it." Her ear twitching, she added, "We tried to tell him it was stupid, but he left anyway, and Wormmon went with him."

"Hawkmon and Armadillomon left to go and find them later," Patamon contributed.

"But Patamon and I decided to stay and watch this monitor in case you came back. Which you did," Gatomon concluded.

The humans eased a little. "Well, that sounds like something Veemon would do," said Cody.

"When exactly did they leave?" Kari inquired mildly.

"Veemon and Wormmon left almost immediately after you did," Gatomon replied.

"I don't remember when Hawkmon left," said Patamon, "but Armadillomon only left a few days ago."

"Well, wherever they are," Yolei declared pointedly, "we have to go and find them."

"Right," Cody agreed. "They're our partners."

"Not to mention that we can't fight anything without them," Yolei continued.

Davis stood up straight, taking a commanding position. "So it's settled, then!" he shouted. "Digidestined, Operation: 'Rescue Mission' is a go!"

"Let's hope it's not a rescue mission..." muttered Ken.

TK stood up, allowing Patamon to perch on his shoulder. "So Davis," he challenged, "how exactly do we plan on finding them when we don't have any leads?"

"Ech-" Davis stumbled, his spirits plummeting. "I hadn't thought of that."

TK rolled his eyes. "Armadillomon can't have gotten too far," he said. "If we're lucky, we might be able to catch up with him today." He turned to address Patamon, and Gatomon, who was standing close to Kari. "Do you two have any idea where he might have gone?"

"Armadillomon left that way." Patamon indicated the direction that the monitor was facing.

"Then that's the way we're going," said TK.

Yolei pumped her fist in the air. "Alright, then let's do this!" she cried. Reaching for her D-Terminal, she continued, "I'll tell Izzy that we're gonna be here a while."

Cody nodded curtly. "Right, there's no time to waste."

"We only got back a few minutes ago, and we're already back to work." TK chuckled. "We really can't catch a break, can we?"

As they started forward, Davis was hanging behind. He looked as if something were grinding his gears. "Well," he said, "what kind of a lead is that?! We know what direction he went in, but what about after that?!"

"Then we'll ask if anybody's seen him," TK replied.

"But what if we can't find anybody?!"

"Then we'll try to find any clue to where he might have gone," TK answered. "Paw prints, leftovers, that sort of thing."

Yolei chimed in, "If you have a better idea, we'd love to hear it, Davis."

Davis held his index finger in the air for a moment, then set his hand behind his head. "Uh..."

Yolei lowered her eyebrows condescendingly. "That's what I thought. Come on, gang. We don't have time for this."

While Davis cursed himself for not being able to invent a solution to his predicament, Ken and Cody exchanged glances, possibly wondering if their declared leader deserved their sympathy.

"I think Davis should lead the way," Kari said suddenly.

Everyone looked at her questioningly, Yolei in particular. "Seriously?" the brash girl questioned.

"Seriously?" Gatomon echoed, looking up at her partner.

"I don't see why not," Kari replied simply. "After all, it's his partner who's missing, not TK's." TK shrugged at this. "And besides..." Kari gave Davis a kindhearted smile. "...he's the one wearing the goggles."

Davis paused for a moment, glancing back and forth awkwardly as if he weren't entirely sure Kari was really talking about him. Then, realizing how stupid he probably looked, he straightened himself and adjusted his goggles proudly. "Well, if Kari thinks I should lead the way," he said loudly, "then I guess I'll just have to make that sacrifice for her."

Davis wasn't fooling anybody, though Kari and Ken both seemed to think his little ruse was humorous.

Yolei sighed and blew away a stray hair that was hanging in front of her eyes. "Alright then," she smacked Davis on the back as he passed her, causing him to yelp, "lead the way, lover boy."

"Ow! The same spot again, really?!"

This was enough to make everyone in the group burst out laughing. Except for Davis, of course.




As they wandered blindly through the forest, a Digimon was hovering loudly about overhead. Ken watched it through the tree branches with confusion flickering in his eyes. "Is that," he questioned, "a Mekanorimon?"

Davis followed Ken's gaze curiously to the airborne Digimon. "Looks like," he replied.

Ken scratched his head. "But... Mekanorimon don't have a habitat anywhere near this area. What's it doing here?"

Davis shrugged. "It probably just got lost, or something." He turned around and continued ahead. "I wouldn't worry about it."

Ken didn't look so sure. "If you think so, Motomiya..." he replied, regardless.

While they conversed, Yolei was poking around on her D-Terminal. She was expressing frustration, so loudly in fact, that it caught Ken's attention. "Um, if you don't mind me asking," he spoke, "what are you doing?"

Yolei grumbled and shut her D-Terminal forcefully. "Nothing," she sighed. "Just wondering why Izzy hasn't written back yet."

"He probably just got caught up in something else," said TK. "I'm sure he'll get back to you as soon as he sees it."

"You're probably right." Yolei laughed a bit to herself as she tucked her D-Terminal away. "I just get upset over the smallest things."

Davis glanced back at her with his eyebrows furrowed. "Yeah, that's a thing you should probably stop," he suggested bitterly.

"Oh, as if you're any better than me!"

Gatomon's whiskers twitched with humor as she watched them bicker. "You humans are so emotional," she meowed. "Honestly, Patamon and I would never argue over something so trivial."

Kari glanced down at her partner. "Then what was that argument you two had when we showed up?" she challenged.

Gatomon's ears flattened, her muzzle flushing slightly. "Sh-Shut up. That was different."

Cody, on the other hand, had more pressing matters on his mind. "I hope Armadillomon hasn't gotten too far..." he said, mostly to himself. "I don't know what I'll do if anything happened to him."

"I'm sure he's fine, Cody," Ken reassured the smaller Digidestined. "I'm sure they're all fine. We just have to find them."

Davis grinned. "Yeah, listen to Ken!" he exclaimed. "He's got the right idea! Besides, what could have possibly happened to them? There's no evil dudes around, after all."

Patamon, who was sitting on top of TK's head, suddenly perked. "I think the forest is thinning up ahead," he squeaked.

"Finally!" Davis cried. "I don't know how much longer I can stand this stuffy jungle."

Without warning or consent, he shot forward ahead of the rest of the group. "Davis!" Yolei roared in exasperation, taking after him.

"Here we go again," Cody sighed, following his friends, and being tailed closely by TK, Kari and Ken.

As soon as Davis broke through the overgrowth, he was met with powerful, refreshing sunlight. His relief, however, was short lived, as he took a good look at the landscape stretching before him. As the others caught up to him, they each stopped short too. What they were seeing was definitely not something they had been expecting.

Before them, the earth was was crumbling, ripped apart by who knows what force. Pieces of ground were unnaturally held aloft in the air, separated from land that it should have been connected to. Beyond this were other islands, pieces of grassland and jungle which, the last time the Digidestined had checked, should have been on the other side of the Digital World. It looked as if some enormous creature had reached down and crudely rearranged the world with its own two hands.

The Digidestined stood with mouths gaping for several moments, before Davis said, "Okay... I'm not the only one seeing this, right?" The others shook their heads silently. "Oh, okay... I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not."

"Patamon, Gatomon," said TK, his gaze still resting on the mayhem just a few yards away, "did you know about this?"

"We haven't set foot out of the forest," Patamon replied, his eyes wide with terror.

"There have been tremors," Gatomon gasped, "but I didn't think..."

Suddenly, they were distracted by a dinging sound ringing from Yolei's pocket. She immediately reached for and pulled out her D-Terminal, flipping it open hastily.

"Is it Izzy?" Ken asked.

"Yeah." Yolei's eyes skimmed over the message she'd been sent, before widening in horror. "Oh my god..."

"What?!" Davis cried. "What did he say?!"

"We have to go back," said Yolei vaguely, shutting her D-Terminal and sliding it back into her pocket.

"Why?" Kari asked.

"What's going on?!" Davis demanded.

Yolei scowled. "Do you see this?" she growled rhetorically, indicating the destruction just in front of them. "Izzy just told me that the entire Digital World is like this. And what's more, that monitor we just came from is the only working monitor he could locate." There was a crippling sense of tension in the air. "This is too much for us to handle right now. We need to go back."

Davis clenched his teeth. "But we can't go back now!" he cried. "Not without our partners!"

"I don't think we have much of a choice," said Cody dejectedly.

Davis looked bewildered that there was even an argument to be had here. "So, what, we're giving up?!" he exclaimed. "We can't give up, we're Digidestined! And Digidestined don't give up!"

"We're not giving up, Davis," TK rebutted, "we're regrouping. We need to talk to the older kids before we can decide what to do."

"TK is right," Kari concurred, completely and utterly obliterating any hope Davis had had of winning this argument. "We can't just rush into this blindly with only two Digimon."

"Especially not when we don't have any idea what we're up against," Ken added.

Seeing that he was completely outnumbered, Davis sighed. "Alright, fine," he said, "we'll go back." Determination in full swing, he added, "But we are coming back!"

The team nodded briskly. No matter what, the Digidestined weren't quitters.

They were soon distracted, however, by a familiar mechanical sound overhead. They shifted their gazes upward only to find that the Mekanorimon Ken had spotted earlier was now descending, disconcertingly close to the group at that. It landed on the ground without much of an issue, then directed its attention towards the humans. Things were unnervingly silent for a few moments.

"Maybe it's friendly...?" Davis whispered hopefully.

Hearing Davis speak, the Mekanorimon tilted its head slightly. At this point the Digidestined were holding their breath, hoping that the Digimon would shrug off their presence and hover away.

This hope was naive, of course. The mechanical Digimon blinked its one visible eye tentatively, before holding out its big steel hands threateningly. And then, it opened fire.

"Twin Beam!" it buzzed, releasing a frightening pair of lasers from its hands.

Davis sighed. "Yeah, I didn't think so. Run for it!"

"Back to the monitor!" TK called, as the Digidestined and their two companions shot back into the forest to escape the oncoming fire.

Its gaze following the humans, the Mekanorimon took flight again, soaring after them. However, it momentarily lost track of them as they took cover in the bracken.

"Patamon, Gatomon," said TK, pulling out his Digivice, "can you Digivolve?"

Gatomon's ears flattened. "Uh, funny story..." she responded, "we haven't eaten, in like, two days."

The Digidestined fell over.

"Why didn't you say anything?!" Yolei cried.

Gatomon shrugged nervously. "Slipped our minds...?"

"There were kind of more important things going on," added Patamon.

TK gave a disgruntled sigh. "Great, so now what?"

Davis blinked, as something occurred to him. Surprised that he of all people was the one realizing this, he asked, "Gatomon is a Champion, isn't she?"

Eyes turned to him. "Yeah, I am," Gatomon replied, flicking her tail, which proudly adorned a small Holy Ring.

Davis clenched his fist. "So, go kick that thing in the head or something!" he demanded. "Show it who's boss!"

"Oh!" Gatomon's ears perked, and she nodded determinedly. "Okay! I'll do my best."

"Be careful, Gatomon!" Kari called, as the small cat dashed out to confront their pursuer.

The humans and Patamon watched from a safe distance as Gatomon exclaimed, "Hey, metalhead!" and the big robot turned its attention towards her. "Get a load of this!" Gatomon bounded up, and shouted, "Lightning Kick!" before landing a nasty looking blow on the Mekanorimon's cockpit, knocking it clear across the woods. She landed gracefully, dusting off her gloves.

"Alright Gatomon!" Davis exclaimed, leaving the safety of the bracken to congratulate her.

"I gotta say," Yolei admitted, "I don't think he'll be bothering us again anytime soon."

Davis nodded, still proud of his idea. "Yeah! I don't think we've got anything to worry about as long as Gatomon's around." The Digimon held her chin up proudly. "Y'know," Davis added, "as long as we don't have to deal with anything tougher than a Champion..."

"Mekanorimon, digivolve to . . ."

Davis blinked. "Did he just say what I think he said?"

Everyone looked anxiously in the direction Gatomon had knocked her opponent, to see a bright light flaring out from the growth. They stepped backwards as the trees were pushed aside by the growing Digimon, and when the light faded, it revealed a large, angry looking dragon in a big metal helmet.

". . . Megadramon," the monster growled, glowering at the children.

Davis swallowed.

"Apparently," Gatomon mewed apprehensively.

"Let's all," Cody whispered, "just back away slowly..."

This is something they then tried to do. As soon as Megadramon spotted their movement, however, it snarled. Rearing up, it extended its heavily loaded arms and let out a menacing, "Genocide Attack!"

"Nope! Now's the time for running!" Davis exclaimed, and they all stormed back in the direction of the monitor.

"How is that even possible?!" Ken questioned. "It shouldn't be possible for a wild Digimon to just Digivolve like that-!"

"Running now," Yolei cried, "questions later!"

The Megadramon was rushing after them in a blind rage, obliterating anything that stood in its path.

"I can see the monitor!" Patamon cried.

Sure enough, just a few yards ahead, the monitor sat quietly, oblivious to the oncoming threat.

Yolei rushed ahead of the others, pulling her D3 out of her pocket and holding it ahead of her. Skidding to a halt in front of the monitor, she yelled, "DigiPort Open!"

But nothing happened. Confused, as the others gathered behind her, she tried again. "DigiPort, Open!" But still, nothing. Yolei clenched her teeth. "Oh, come on!" She smacked the Digivice a couple times. "Work, you stupid-!"

"DigiPort Open!" Cody attempted, holding out his own D3. He frowned. "Nothing. It's closed."

"Are you kidding me?!" Yolei cried.

"W-What are we going to do now?" Kari asked.

"Gatomon, I don't suppose...?" TK tried hopefully.

"Oh, oh no!" Gatomon cut him off. "No way! I'll be skinned alive!"

Davis turned backwards, then slowly turned his head upwards. The Megadramon was looming, frothing at the mouth. Davis took a deep breath and held it there, and the Megadramon tilted its head curiously. The others had sensed the monster's presence and were holding as still as possible. Unfortunately, this wasn't going to save them. The big machine Digimon was still looking like it planned to have them for lunch.

"Welp," Gatomon mewed, "seems like we're all catnip."

"I just wanna say," Patamon whimpered, "I l-love you guys..."

Davis let out the breath he was holding. Mustering up every ounce of Courage he had, he held up his arms and exclaimed, "Okay, ugly! You want something to chase, then here ya go!" He jumped up and down, causing the now very surprised Megadramon to tilt its head to the other side.

"Davis, what are you doing?!" Yolei whispered.

"Come on!" Davis ignored her protest. "Come and get me!"

He shot off into the woods to the right, and the Megadramon roared and gave chase.

"Davis!" Yolei called.

"Motomiya, no!" Ken cried.

But it was too late. Davis had his heart set on getting this monster as far away from his friends as possible, and he wasn't going back now. Unfortunately for him, he had absolutely no idea what he planned on doing from here, and chances were this hungry Megadramon would catch up to him any second and swallow him whole. It certainly didn't help that he somehow managed to trip over a small rock and land flat on his face. Fearing for his life, Davis glanced over his shoulder to see the Megadramon breathing loudly over him. It gnashed its teeth nastily as it leaned over; it seemed to think this was some sort of sick game.

Well, it was a game that Davis didn't want any part of. He knew that once this monster was done with him, there was a chance it would go back for the other Digidestined, and as long as there was breath in Davis's lungs, he wasn't going to let that happen.

He reached for the rock that he had tripped over and took it in his hand, then pulled himself to his feet. He met the Megadramon's gaze steadily for a couple moments, holding the rock up threateningly, just daring the Megadramon to make a move at him. Then, slowly, the dragon reared up, opened its jaws, and gave a low growl. Davis held his arm back, ready to throw. However, before he had the chance, he was suddenly overcome by a great presence. He stared in confusion at the rock in his hand, which now gave off a blue radiance.

The Megadramon, on the other hand, didn't care. It flicked its long tail, then lunged at its target.

And then, just when it seemed all hope was lost, everything went black.




"I've been waiting a long time for you, Daisuke Motomiya."

Davis opened his eyes, only to be greeted with inky darkness on all sides. The rock fell from his hand.

He turned his head slowly, to the right, then to the left, but he couldn't locate the source of the voice that had just addressed him.

"Do not be afraid." Davis swung his head back in front of him. "I am here to help."

Davis's eyebrows furrowed. "Who are you?" he asked harshly. "What do you want?"

"My name is Arashimon . I want to help you. Or, more accurately, I want your help."

Davis cocked his head. "Wha...? What do you mean? How can I help you?"

"That will be explained later. For now..."

Davis looked down at the rock he had been holding, from which the blue aura rose out of and took shape before him. It was blurry, but Davis thought he could just make out the form of a tall man in heavy armor.

"...there are more important things at hand. Daisuke, right now, your team needs a leader."

Davis scowled at this. "I know they need a leader," he growled, "but I can't lead them when you're holding me against my will in this creepy black void!"

Arashimon chuckled.

"And how exactly did you plan on leading them while you were being digested in Megadramon's stomach?"

Davis flinched.

"Not to worry. It is not too late. I can give you the strength you need."

Davis eased a little. "The strength I need for what?" he inquired.

"There is Ancient evil in the Digital World, Daisuke. Megadramon is just the beginning. I will need the aid of you and your partners to defeat it."

"Well, we're no strangers to defeating evil..."

"It is greater than anything you have faced." Arashimon's voice became sharp. "It is not just a corrupt human bent on having a good time. It is not just a Virus Digimon with a god complex. It will take the strength and will of a warrior to take down for good."

"I don't get it."

Arashimon sighed.

"I don't need you to 'get it'. Not yet. For now, tell me; what is it you want most?"

Davis answered without hesitation: "To save my friends from Megadramon!"

"Then so be it! Show me your digivice, Daisuke."

Davis reached into his pocket and pulled out his D3, then extended his hand to show it to the blue aura. Automatically, the digivice began to change shape. The antennae vanished, the screen became larger and surrounded by a pointed gray ring, and the blue grip now took up a majority of the device. Davis gasped, and when it was finished, examined his new gadget.

"This is your D-Tector. It will allow you to harness the power I will bestow you."

Davis looked up. "What kind of power are we talking about here?" he questioned. "And, what is all this about 'Ancient evil'?!"

"These are questions you will have to answer for yourself, for I fear there is no more time to waste."

The aura's shape once again melted into indiscernible blue light, and caused Davis to yelp as it spun itself in a ring around his empty hand.

"If you wish to save your team, then follow my commands. Say 'execute'."

Davis hesitated for a short moment, then decided that this couldn't possibly end any worse than it would if he refused. "Execute!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing around the void.

"Now, press your D-Tector against the ring."

Davis did as he was told, somewhat surprised to find the aura holding itself solid as he did so.

"Good! Now release, and say, 'Spirit Evolution!'"

Davis swiped his D-Tector and held the aura over his head. "Spirit Evolution!" he shouted, feeling rather silly as he did so.

Then, much to Davis's surprise, the blue radiance expanded and overtook his whole body, and he felt the immense power Arashimon had described overtaking his entire being.

"Good luck, Daisuke; you're going to need it."




Megadramon roared its distaste as a blinding light flashed in front of it. It shook its big head, holding its eyes shut tight until the light faded. When it was over, it reopened them, and made a small, confused growl.

"Motomiya!" came the terrified call of an exhausted looking Ken as he burst out of the bracken, followed by Yolei, TK, and Patamon. They quickly came to share a similar confused expression to that of the Megadramon.

Where Davis had been standing before, there now stood a Digimon, human-like in appearance, and clad in blue armor. He wore a blue chest plate lined with gold, the back of which had a shark-like fin on it. Plates with golden spikes were strapped to his elbows and upper legs, and he also bore big, heavy looking boots, the bottoms of which were decorated with two golden claws. To match these boots, he had gauntlets on his lower arms, from which emerged his fingers. He wore shoulder pads, the left emblazon with the crest of Courage, and the right, of Friendship. Under all of this armor was a black leather body suit that covered everything aside from his neck, which had three thin indentations on either side, and his head. Atop his head was a blue helmet, baring striking resemblance to a dragon's head, and baring a big gold horn above what would be the dragon's muzzle. Under this helmet was a head of messy brown hair. Around his waist was a brown belt with a gold buckle, with a holster carrying a D-Terminal. This belt also had a shoulder strap, which kept a weapon held up diagonal on his back. This weapon was a long, thin blue cannon with two handles and a yellow spike on top of it similar to the one on the Digimon's helmet. In his right hand, he held a blue digivice, a model of which was alien to the Digidestineds.

"Is that...?" Yolei began slowly.

The armored Digimon flexed his empty hand, then slipped the Digivice into his holster beside the D-Terminal. Then, he raised his head, and revealed his green eyes to meet Megadramon's deadly gaze.

"I am Arashimon," he declared, probably loud enough for the entire forest to hear, "the Spirit of Sea." He paused, as Megadramon tilted its head curiously. "You have threatened the safety of teammates." He pointed his index finger towards the monster before him. "For that, I will make you pay!"

"...Motomiya?!" Ken cried under his breath.

The Megadramon raised its head, letting out a deafening roar, and signaling that it accepted Arashimon's challenge.

Arashimon smirked. "Bring it on."

"Mega Death Fire!" Megadramon unhinged its jaw and unleashed a powerful beam of flame in Arashimon's direction. Rather than moving out of the way, however, Arashimon's immediate reaction was to whip his cannon off of his back and aim it right back at his opponent.

"Dramon Cannon!" Arashimon exclaimed, pulling the trigger and firing off a supercharged blue laser beam that met Megadramon's attack head on.

"Take cover!" TK cried, as he and Yolei pulled Ken, frantically exclaiming "Motomiya! Motomiya!" at the top of his lungs, back into the bracken.

The attacks extinguished each other, much to Megadramon's disappointment. Deciding that it would be better off doing things the simple way, the dragon then lunged straight at Arashimon. Arashimon reattached his cannon to his back and raised his arms up. Megadramon rammed into him, but Arashimon stood his ground. Skidding back in the dirt, Arashimon took a hold of the huge dragon and threw it back down on his other side. Unscathed, the Megadramon roared again and took off into the air, staring down Arashimon with uncertain eyes.

"You're not going anywhere," Arashimon growled. He charged forward, then leaped into the air as Megadramon turned to face him. "Get a load of this! Dramon Punch!" He socked the dragon in the muzzle, causing it to reel back in frustration. But still, he had hardly left a mark. Arashimon fell back down to the earth, landing ungracefully on his back and leaving an indent in the dirt.

"Damn it!" Arashimon sat up and shook his head. He didn't have very long to curse himself though, as the Megadramon swooped back down from the air with its maw held open. Arashimon hopped to his feet and darted out of the way. The Megadramon skirted around and flew back in the direction of its opponent, and Arashimon again leaped out of its path. Weighing his options, he watched the beast again swerve and turn back in his direction. Arashimon glanced back at the trees behind him, then got an idea that was so insane that it just might work.

As Megadramon soared down for another attack, Arashimon shot towards the nearest tree. He jumped up and landed his feet on the trunk, and then, as Megadramon passed, pushed off and did a back flip, landing on Megadramon's back.

"I did not think that would work!" Arashimon exclaimed as Megadramon took back to the skies.

Arashimon took hold of Megadramon's hair and used it to climb up to the monster's head. As it flew around searching for its target, Arashimon hopped up onto its head. "Dramon Punch!" He shouted, knocking his fist above its eye.

The Megadramon perked. Howling in outrage, it began trying to shake Arashimon off of it. This succeeded, much to Arashimon's horror, and he was sent flying into the air.

"I didn't think that would work either—!"

As he began falling back down to the earth, he grasped the end of Megadramon's tail, only to be immediately thrown off again. He landed on his face this time, with an embarrassing 'thud'.

Arashimon snorted. "Well, it was cool while it lasted." He stood back up and turned his gaze skyward, watching the Megadramon circle like a vulture. Arashimon clenched his fist, pulling his arm back. "Storm Blaster!" He shot his arm forward, and a blast of electricity fire out of it, which hit Megadramon's wing and knocked it down. "Yes!"

Arashimon stormed in the direction Megadramon had fallen, which was in an area of the forest he had yet to explore. He heard the deafening 'crash' of the Megadramon's impact with the ground, and followed the noise. He crashed through the wood and out into the clearing where Megadramon was now laying. Here was a small lake, in which the Megadramon's injured body was splayed across. It sniffed the air, then raised its head to look at the Digimon who had shot it down, its lips drawn back in a snarl.

Arashimon scowled. "Alright, buddy," he growled, "let's finish this."

"Parry Force!" The Megadramon raised one of its big metal hands and clamped it, then hurled it down in Arashimon's direction. Arashimon jumped and, as the hand landed in the dirt, landed on the monster's arm, dashing up to its body. When he was thrown off, as he was expecting to be he pulled his cannon off of his back again.

"Dramon Cannon!" he shouted, firing the blaster in midair and landing a hit on the Megadramon's face. He landed in the knee-high water, and reattached the gun to his back. The Megadramon was shaking its head. Again, hardly any damage had been done. "Oh... come on!"

Arashimon observed his surroundings as a fish skirted his leg. He snapped his fingers. Of course, he was in his own element now. He crouched down as the Megadramon leaned over him, breathing heavily with bared teeth. But Arashimon was determined to win this fight. He wasn't going to be dragon food today.

"Tidal Wave!" Arashimon cried, leaping into the air and bringing the surrounding water with him. Several feet into the air with the water rising above him, the thrust his arms downwards, and all of the water came crashing down onto the Megadramon as it roared in fear.

As the water dissipated back into the lake, Arashimon splashed back down onto his feet. The Megadramon was laying in the water with its eyes closed. It was still alive, though. Its data was still intact. Arashimon approached cautiously. He watched the Megadramon's sides heave up and down slowly. It didn't look interested in fighting any more, to Arashimon's relief. But why?

Suddenly, a loud growl echoed through the forest, causing whatever birds that hadn't already fled to take off out of the trees. Arashimon stepped back, expecting Megadramon to attack again. It then occurred to him that, while Megadramon had made the growl, it hadn't come from its throat. It had come from its stomach. The big dragon opened its eyes and sniffed weakly as a dangerously curious fish came to investigate the intruder in the water. Megadramon opened its maw and drank in the water, and the fish along with it. Then it closed its mouth, and swallowed, then let out a wistful sigh.

"Oh, I see..." Arashimon began, and Megadramon's eye rested on him. "You're just hungry."

Megadramon whimpered.

Having come to an understanding with his adversary, Arashimon glanced around the water below him. A largish fish flitted across his gaze, and he blinked. He took a couple of tentative steps forward, and then, carefully threw himself downwards, and pulled the fish out of the water. It wriggled in his arms, and Megadramon watched curiously. "Sorry, Gomamon," Arashimon muttered, as he squeezed the the fish in an attempt to keep it held. After a minute or so of struggle, the fish went limp. Arashimon sighed.

He held the fish out to Megadramon, who tilted its head and gave said fish a sniff. Then, it pushed itself up, and held its maw open wide. It was too high for Arashimon to give the fish to it. Then the Megadramon lunged forward, and Arashimon's eyes widened. He was almost certain that the dragon was set to swallow him along with the fish.

However, water splashed from behind him, and Arashimon turned to see Megadramon swallowing a school of fish that had wisely moved to the other side of the lake. He gave a sigh of relief.

Once Megadramon was finished, it settled itself in front of Arashimon again. Its sniffed, and cocked its head. Then it held its jaws open, with its tongue lolling out. Arashimon glanced it over, then hastily tossed the fish into the monster's big, smelly mouth. It swallowed, and then finally, exhaled with deep content.

"Eh heh," Arashimon chuckled meekly. Megadramon opened its eyes and gave Arashimon a grateful blink. Whether it was for the fish or for not killing it, Arashimon wasn't sure. "Uh, you okay there..." Arashimon began, slowly extending his hand to touch Megadramon's nose, "...big guy?"

Megadramon paused for a moment. Then, to Arashimon's relief, it pressed its nose against his hand.

Arashimon grinned. "Hey, there you go!" He patted the big monster's nose a couple times. "You're not so scary, are you?"

Megadramon gave a reptilian purr.

With a new friend made, Arashimon decided that his job was done. "Hey," he said, and Megadramon perked, "do you think you could fly me back over to my friends?"

Megadramon pondered this for a moment, then nodded.

"Awesome!" Arashimon hopped up onto Megadramon's upper back, and yowled with exhilaration as the dragon spread its wings and ascended into the air. "Here we go!"




Cody, Kari, and Gatomon were cautiously following the path to the clearing where their friends had gone.

"The commotion stopped," Cody acknowledged.

"Mm hm," Kari responded briskly.

"But is that a good thing," Gatomon added, "or a bad thing?"

As the three entered into the clearing, they were greeted by their missing teammates; all of them except for Davis.

"Oh my god!" Yolei exclaimed, rushing to meet them and not even stopping to let them ask what became of Davis. "You guys will not believe what just happened!"

"Why?" Cody questioned.

"What happened to Davis?" Kari inquired pointedly.

"That's the thing!" Yolei exclaimed. Behind them, Ken was still crying "Motomiya!", and being restrained by TK and Patamon. "So the Megadramon had him cornered," Yolei began to explain, "and it looked like it was totally gonna eat him! But then there was this huge flash of light, and then—"

"Hey, guys!"

At this, everyone looked skyward, and saw Megadramon descending back down into the clearing. A couple of them screeched, and they all made room as the monster landed on the grass. Then, to their surprise, it leaned down, revealing its rider. "I made a friend!" Arashimon declared, waving to his teammates.

"Davis?!" TK gasped in complete and utter disbelief.

"He looks different!" Patamon exclaimed. "Did he get a haircut?"

"Motomiya!" Unhesitatingly, Ken stormed over to Megadramon, staring up at Arashimon.

Arashimon climbed down from Megadramon's back, patting his new friend thankfully once on solid ground. Then he turned to the group of gaping children before him. He smiled. "I'm Arashimon!" he announced. Reaching into his holster, he pulled out his D-Tector and pressed a button on the side. With this, the group gasped as he became surrounded by a bright blue aura, which then got sucked into the digivice. "And... now I'm Davis."

"Motomiya...!" Ken gasped, grasping his friend's arm with relief.

"What?!" Yolei cried. "I mean?! I just?! What?!"

"I am so confused..." Cody droned.

"I don't get it," said Patamon.

Gatomon was just staring with flattened ears.

"Oh my gosh, Davis," Kari pushed ahead of the others, "are you okay?"

Davis grinned, blushing slightly. "Don't worry, I'm fine!"

"What happened?" TK asked.

Davis scratched his head. "Well, it's kind of a long story..."

Yolei folded her arms. "Well, it's a long story we ought to hear!" she said.

Ignoring her request, Davis turned to Megadramon. "Hey, buddy," he said, and Megadramon turned its head in his direction. "You haven't happened to have seen a little yellow Digimon with a shell, have you?"

Megadramon blinked slowly, then nodded.

Davis and a couple of the others perked with hope. "Great!" Davis exclaimed. "Then could you take us to where you saw him?"

Megadramon nodded again.

"Davis!" Yolei exclaimed.

"What? I just got us a free ride to Armadillomon!"

"That's not the point!" Yolei retorted. "Are you going to tell us what happened, or not?!"

Davis paused. "I'll tell you on the way," he replied, "but for now..." He looked over the group, eyeing him with anticipation. "I was told that something big is coming," Davis explained, "something bigger than anything we've had to fight before." He grasped his D-Tector tightly. "But, whatever it is, I think we can get through it." He smiled. "I know we can get through it. Because we're the Digidestined!"