Tai and Matt appeared in the coliseum once again with Agumon, Dorumon and Gabumon at their sides. However they were taken aside by a rather strange side effect to their trial right away. 
“Ahh!! Matt you’re!” Tai exclaimed, pointing to him. 
“And you!” He stammered. They were both twelve years old again, dressed in the same clothes they wore when they first arrived in the digital world. “This is unreal!” 
“See, you did shrink this time!” Agumon quipped. 
“You’re hilarious.” Tai rushed in to hug him and noogie Agumon’s head. “How come you didn’t shrink, huh?” 
“So, this is your child form. I don’t recall ever meeting you like this.” Dorumon said giving a quick laugh. 
“Yeah.” Tai smiled, adjusting his goggles he tried them on but couldn’t see any distortions. “Figures, same goggles pre Izzy fixes. I can’t see distortions.” 
“Why not use your eyes then Tai, look around.” Matt advised. “This whole place seems like a distortion.” 
“I think you’re very right.” Dorumon agreed.
“So what, is our trial us playing soccer or something, cause I think we know who’d win between the two of us.” Tai lightly bragged. 
“I can’t teleport, something’s blocking me.” Dorumon struggled. “So I wouldn’t advise activating the stairwell to the vault from here.”
“Fair enough.” Tai agreed. “Wha!” He exclaimed seeing two shadowy figures begin to approach. As they coalesced, what they were became obvious. It was Agumon and Gabumon. “Let me guess, first challenger?” 
“I think you’re right!” Agumon said raising his claws. 
“We’ll take care of these!” Gabumon joined in. As the fight began, Agumon and Gabumon charged for their dopplegangers and engaged while Dorumon spotted something up in the stands. 
“Tai, Matt look!”
“Huh?” They answered in unison. Off to the left at the top of the stands was a ray of light shining blue and high in the sky the crest of friendship was glowing while off to the right, the same was happening with the crest of courage.
“Remember what Gennai said, don’t pursue your own!” Dorumon stated. “I’ll stay down here and assist in the fight.” 
“Right!” Running at full speed, Dorumon began weaving in toward the shadow of Gabumon. 
“Dash Metal!” He called out, firing at the head of the shadowy Gabumon, but the creature didn’t take a scratch. “How!?” 
“Blue Blaster!” Gabumon fired right after, but once again not a scrape. 
“Pepper Breath!” Agumon blasted his shadow repeatedly but to no avail. “This isn’t good.”
“Hey guys! Switch dance partners!” Dorumon suggested. 
“Oh! Ok, good idea!” Agumon went for Gabumon’s shadow while Gabumon did the same. Tackling them to the ground, Agumon was kicked off of Dark Gabumon who tried to fire a dark version of Gabumon’s Blue Blaster at him. “Pepper Breath!” Agumon shot and this time, Dark Gabumon was blown back and onto the ground. Tai began ascending the stands trying to reach whatever object was causing the crest of friendship to glow. 
“Sheesh, I don’t remember the arena being this hot.” Tai complained wiping his brow. Approaching the source, he spotted a blue sphere radiating on the ground and inside was the crest of friendship. “Well that was a lot easier than I thought.” He said, reaching down but just as he was about to touch it, the sphere vanished. “Hey!” Suddenly it reappeared about fifty feet away from him in the stands. “Ok, round two?” He said, stepping over to it and trying to pick it up once more. Again it vanished, appearing about fifty feet or more toward the north end of the stadium. “Great, so how’s this gonna work?” 
Matt on the other hand managed his way to the sphere of courage with little issue, but after giving a quick chuckle as he reached down to grab it his hand instantly burned right through the glove.
“Ah!!” He cried out. “Too hot! What gives!?” He cringed, squeezing his hand. However to Matt’s horror flames began to lash out from the sphere and circled around him while the sphere jumped in a similar fashion to Tai’s landing around a hundred feet away. The flames were even slipping through the steps themselves only to remerge to flare across or upward toward the sky. Matt could feel the heat with each pass but there seemed to be small gaps where he could pass through. “Oh great, one wrong move and I’m fried.” He stammered. 
“Blue Blaster!” Gabumon maintained a stream of fire on Dark Agumon as it struggled to maintain its ground. 
“Pepper Breath!” Agumon fired a three round volley. The shadow of Gabumon couldn’t take it and disintegrated from the attack. Gabumon had also kept the heat on Dark Agumon and he dissolved in a similar fashion.  
“What a team!” Agumon and Gabumon high fived each other. 
“Thanks for the tip too Dorumon!” Agumon praised. 
“No sweat.” He smiled, however behind Agumon and Gabumon a dark swirling vortex began to appear. “Guys, back to me! Now!” He ordered. Agumon and Gabumon caught a glimpse of what was forming behind them and rushed over to Dorumon’s side. 
Breaching from the dark vortex came a familiar yet shadowed figure. As it rose up into the air, unfurling its cape the enemy became horrifying clear. 
“Oh no.” Agumon shuddered. 
“Omnimon!” Gabumon stammered. Both Tai and Matt looked to the center of the arena in fear as well. 
“Oh no! Agumon!!” Tai cried out. 
“Gabumon no!!” Matt tried to rush for the arena but was cut off by the fire. “Tai we have to do something!” 
“No, you don’t.” Dorumon smiled as he stepped forward, licking his chops. “I wanted my shot at Omnimon, and now I’ve got it. Step back boys, this one’s mine!” Dorumon lunged in, leaping into the air. 
“Dorumon, digivolve to! Alphamon!” Agumon and Gabumon rushed back to the edge of the arena while Alphamon and Omnimon shared the center stage. 
“I’d never thought I’d be cheering Alphamon on.” Matt smiled. 
“Yeah! Go get em Alphamon!!” Tai exclaimed. Alphamon extended his arm, revealing his sword and fired out the golden wings from his back. Omnimon extended his sword and the two stood off for a moment. Omnimon and Alphamon charged for each other, their blades clashed and a massive shockwave fired through the arena. Agumon and Gabumon were able to cover up but Matt and Tai found themselves struggling to stay in the stands. As the two lifted off to bring the battle to the air, Tai tried once more to go for the sphere of friendship but again it simply ported away. “Alright, I’m getting real tired of this.” 
“Tai!!” Matt cried out, hanging from a sundered block as flames licked ever so close to his feet. 
“Matt!” Tai cried out, growling he waved off the sphere. “To hell with the sphere, I gotta help! Matt I’m coming! Hang on!” Gabumon saw his friend in distress and went to go climb up toward the coliseum wall. However even with Agumon trying to boost him up; they weren’t tall enough to make it over the pit. Tai rushed around the ring aiming toward the fiery trap Matt was stuck in while Alphamon and Shadow Omnimon battled overhead. Omnimon fired his Supreme Cannon in a volley of shots but Alphamon managed to avoid the barrage and get a good swing in on Shadow Omnimon’s torso, sending him even higher into the sky. Alphamon fired his own barrage of green blasts, many of them finding their target with ease, however with a flash of his cloak, Shadow Omnimon cleared away the smoke and lunged for Alphamon blade first. 
“Tai I can’t hold on!!” Matt cried out, scrambling to keep his grip on the ever loosening stone. Tai rushed in and dove under the first band of flames in time to snatch Matt’s hand. 
“I got ya buddy!” Tai assured him, grunting and huffing to pull him back up. Placing a hand on Matt’s back he helped his friend to his feet. “I think your crest doesn’t like me very much, but at least I can help you get to mine.” 
“Thanks Tai, whoa!” Matt flinched as a pillar of flame lashed near him. 
“This is kind of like when I had to face that electric wall.” Tai recalled, watching the flames flare in multiple directions around the crest. “Matt, you can do this. Just focus, be strong! I got your back no matter what.” 
“Right, thanks Tai.” Matt nodded. Watching the pattern of the flames he noted that there was a decent gap in one of the lines that ran diagonally right in front of him. As the opening came, he stepped through and the flames flashed behind and in front of him. 
“That’s it, just watch for the timing, you can do it!” Tai cheered, while unbeknownst to him, the crest of friendship was now teleporting closer to him. Matt leapt through a vertical gap, and then straight on through one that ran horizontal right after. The next ring was fairly wide, but continuous, so scaling the seats and slipping under it he was able to get around it, however. The next ring of flame had only one small opening, and it stood after a gap in the seats that had collapsed due to Alphamon and Omnimon’s fight. 
“Oh man.” Matt was sweating and shaking. 
“Matt I believe in you! Don’t give up, get a feel for the timing and go for it!” Tai called out. 
“Trust your instincts Matt!” Gabumon shouted from the ring. 
“Find your courage! You can do it!” Agumon joined in. 
“Raaah!!” Matt cried out, leaping for the opening. The flames just flashed beneath his feet as he landed at the sphere. “Ah! Hot foot, hot foot!” Matt shook it out and turned toward the sphere. “Ok, here goes.” 
“Matt, remember! Don’t be afraid, if you believe that sphere is yours, you can take it but you gotta believe it!” Tai called out to him. 
“It’s mine.” Matt acknowledged. “Right, it’s not just his crest, I have courage too. And this one.” Matt immediately grabbed for the sphere and hoisted it up, the flames surrounding him flickered out as he held it to the sky. “Is mine!” 
“Yeah!!!!” Agumon, Gabumon and Tai all cheered. Tai rushed over and hugged his friend in celebration but after releasing him, Tai turned around to see the sphere of friendship was floating right behind him. 
“Oh.” Tai breathed, holding out his hands as the sphere settled down. 
“Thanks Tai, I’m glad you had my back.” Matt said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 
“Right, of course, now I get it. It was my faith in our friendship that let me help you, and your courage to face the danger of those flames that helped you claim yours.” Tai surmised. 
“See what happens when you stop being a jerk for five minutes?” Matt quipped. 
“Look who’s got guts all of a sudden.” Tai poked right back as the two laughed heading down toward the pit. Jumping over the wall they met back up with their digimon and gave them both a hug. 
“Wow Tai, you really are a great friend!” Agumon complimented. 
“That fire looked scary, you should be really proud of yourself Matt.” Gabumon joined in. 
“Yeah.” Matt nodded, as the spheres began to resonate. “Huh?” He thought aloud, turning toward Tai. He didn’t speak, only giving a nod of approval while Matt did the same. They turned and met shoulder to shoulder, extending the spheres out in their hands as the two became one glowing sphere of light. Steadily it rose into the sky and then fired out beams of light into Tai, Matt, Agumon and Gabumon. As the light intensified, Omnimon and Alphamon were forced to look away, but as it receded something had changed about Agumon and Gabumon’s rings. Agumon could see it right away. The gold color it used to carry had turned more orange and was lit aglow with the crest of courage. Gabumon’s had turned a brilliant sapphire blue, and just like Agumon’s it was glowing with Matt’s crest of Friendship. Tai and Matt could feel a new weight on their necks and something warm in their pocket. Looking down where their crests used to be when they were kids, were replaced by a circular, gold laced pendant and incased in a thin glass lens appeared a near living version of their crests inside. The crest of courage was radiating like a small sun, while Matt’s seem to be more of a gentle glow of blue yet still retained a clear shape of the crest.  
“Is this, what I think it is?” Tai breathed, reaching into his pocket. Withdrawing a new rectangular digivice, this one was a bright orange for Tai, the rounded square screen a fair bit larger than his old digivice and on the side were directional buttons and two small rounded ones colored green and red. Matt couldn’t believe his eyes when his own digivice was revealed, it’s build the same as Tai’s but blue instead of orange. They turned on, revealing a color display, a simple list of their digimon showcasing their health, strength and fatigue along with menu options almost similar to an older style cell phone. 
“It’s real.” Matt stammered, tears creeping out of his eyes.
“Yeah.” Tai’s voice cracked for a moment.
“Tai, I feel. Strange.” Agumon spoke up. 
“Same here Matt, It’s like. I’m strong. Stronger than I’ve ever been!” Gabumon noted. 
“You do look like you’ve been hitting the gym.” Agumon complimented. “Ah!!” Agumon cried out, as everyone shuddered from a massive blast from the fight above. Alphamon had taken a huge cleave at Shadow Omnimon and sent him flying outside of the ring. Alphamon descended inside the arena, panting for a moment. 
“Ok, he’s tougher than I thought. I can smack him down but he just keeps coming.” Alphamon spoke in a thunderous voice.  
“No problem!” Tai cheered. 
“Gabumon, let’s show that imposter what we’re really made of!” Matt joined in. 
“I’ve been waiting a long time to do this!” Agumon psyched himself up. 
“We’re off the bench, let’s take the fight to him!” Gabumon joined in. The new digivices screeched a familiar sound, as the light from Matt and Tai’s new crests lit aflame. 
“Agumon! Digivolve to! Greymon!” 
“Gabumon, Digivolve to! Garurumon!” Omnimon leapt into the ring to see Greymon, Garurumon and Alphamon before him and without hesitation they joined the fight. 
“Nova Blast!” Greymon fired, this time a sphere far larger than anything he had ever shot before. The fireball exploded, enough to force Omnimon to shield himself from the blast. 
“Howling Blaster!” Garurumon shouted, as an absolute torrent of blue fire washed over Omnimon. 
“Greymon, digivolve to! Metalgreymon!” 
“Garurumon, digivolve to! Weregarurumon!” 
“Giga claw!” Metalgreymon fired out his claws, but Omnimon blocked it with his shoulder shield, it was still enough to force him off balance a little as Weregarurumon came in. 
“Garuru Kick!” He landed a solid drop kick on Omnimon’s chest, before winding up to throw a ferocious crescent kick to his face, forcing him to stagger back. 
“Metalgreymon digivolve to! Wargreymon!” 
“Weregarurumon, digivolve to! Metalgarurumon!” Spinning into his great tornado attack, Wargreymon sent Omnimon up into the air as Metalgarurumon joined the attack. 
“Ice-Wolf Bite!” He fired his shoulder missiles and the main one from his belly. Wargreymon got out of the way of the attack just in time for the missiles to land and the last one to freeze Omnimon in the air. 
“Terra Force!” Wargreymon tossed the vast radiating sphere upon the icy prison Omnimon was stuck in, causing it to explode, however the Shadow Omnimon remained intact. Though it was clear the attacks were weathering on him. 
“Not so much fun when it’s happening to you, is it?” Alphamon quipped to the shadow Omnimon. 
“Together!” Tai and Matt called out. 
“Metalgarurumon digivolve to!”
“Wargreymon digivolve to!” Their bodies turning to data as the blue and orange sparks spiraled around each other until they coalesced into their final form. Swinging out his arms in the air, he had finally returned. 
“Omnimon!” Alphamon leapt into the air and readied his sword, this time standing side by side with Omnimon. Tai and Matt couldn’t help but bask in the sight before them, letting a quick tear escape from their eyes. Tai threw an arm over Matt’s shoulder, who answered in kind right away. 
“Great to see him.” They spoke together.  
“Omnimon, let us finish him together. I know you know the technique.” Alphamon stated. Omnimon gave him a nod of approval and the two of them leapt back and first readied their blaster attacks. Alphamon fired a green sphere of energy on Shadow Omnimon while Omnimon hit it with his Supreme Cannon. Leaping way from each other, Omnimon and Alphamon raised their blades in unison. Lightning crackled between the tops of their swords as their bodies began to resonate and then lit aflame in a surging blaze of red energy. The visage of a crimson dragon’s head appeared briefly in the gap between the two digimon as they readied their attack.
“Rage of the Dragon Knights!!” They called together. In a flash of fiery light, they flew through Shadow Omnimon together creating a searing X in the sky that was followed by an explosion of lightning shrouded fire. Tai and Matt shielded their eyes, but Omnimon and Alphamon landed in the coliseum together, basking in the defeat of Shadow Omnimon. 
“I never thought I’d get to do that again.” Alphamon smiled, reverting to Dorumon. Omnimon reverted back to Agumon and Gabumon as the haze of the explosion cleared. Agumon and Dorumon rushed for Tai, while Gabumon leapt right into Matt’s arms. 
“We did it, we did it, we did it!! Hahaha!!” Tai cheered holding them both. 
“Just in case you didn’t know, you’re the best partner ever.” Matt smiled, hugging Gabumon tight. 
“Aw shucks Matt, there’s no better partner than you.” A portal of light appeared behind them, and Matt set down Gabumon and turned to Tai. Nodding the two lead the way back through, exiting the arena.

They had arrived inside the same room they had left in, but this time their crests on the floor had vanished. Izzy, Joe, Mimi and Sora were there too, and their crests had disappeared from the ground as well. Several others remained, lit aglow as their trials carried on, but everyone who returned greeted Matt and Tai with the biggest smiles they ever wore.
“You guys made it! Prodigious!” Izzy cheered.
“Yeah, did you get turned back into kids too?” Tai laughed, rubbing the back of his head. 
“We did, and it was so frustrating. My allergies were way worse when I was a teenager.” Joe complained. 
“Least you didn’t have to use me as a tissue.” Gomamon chuckled. 
“So, did you guys get all the new toys too?” Matt inquired, revealing his digivice.
“Indeed!” Izzy proclaimed. 
“I love mine!” Mimi giggled, jumping up and down and showing off her green digivice. “I can’t wait to accessorize this new crest, and I’m so getting a custom case for the new digivice. I think I’ll make a whole series of them for us!” 
“Where’s everyone else?” Tai inquired. 
“Still in their trials I assume.” Izzy replied. “Ours was relatively easy, Joe and I were paired off and we had to figure out way out of a massive maze while rescuing digimon who were trapped inside. I have to say, Joe really impressed me with his ingenuity.”
“Ha, thanks Izzy. You were great in there too you know? I can’t believe you carried that poor Gazimon on your back almost the whole way.” Joe chuckled. 
“We got caught in this horrible dark forest. All these super creepy voices trying to convince us we were enemies, or we had to hurt each other to win. It was just awful.” Mimi began to say. 
“Biyomon could barely fly, there was hardly anywhere to go and we had to face off against a shadowy version of Biyomon and Palmon.” Sora carried on explaining. “It was terrifying, we never knew where the attacks were coming from, we had to really trust our instincts in there.”
“You shoulda seen how fast Sora and Mimi earned each other’s crests though!” Palmon stated. 
“Yeah, turns out Mimi and Sora are both really sincere and loving as it is!” Biyomon smiled, landing beside Gabumon. “It also helped me to realize something too.” 
“Oh, what’s that?” Gabumon asked, taking her wings in his hands. 
“That I gotta be honest with myself and be true to my heart. And Gabumon, I don’t wanna be shy with you anymore. It’s like what Mimi said in there, when you follow your heart you can’t go wrong, so.” She smiled, tipping her head she dove in for a kiss. “I love you.” 
“Aww Biyomon.” He smiled, taking her in for a good long hug. “I love you too.” 
“Let’s agree to be mates then.” She said softly, holding him tight. 
“I’d be honored to be yours.” 
“Aww!” Everyone collectively awed. 
“I’m worried.” Dorumon tipped his head. 
“You are, about what?” Sora questioned. 
“Fourteen went in, six have come out. As strong as we’ve become now, I hope they all get through ok.” He answered. 
“Wow Dorumon, you mean you’re actually caring about us humans?” Mimi smiled, walking over to him with Palmon. 
“You’re important to Tai, so you have importance to me now too, yes.” He smiled before waving her closer to whisper. “Besides, I think I know your secret, you’re actually in charge right? That’s how you whipped Matt into obedience so easily, human girls have a special technique I’m not aware of, don’t you?” 
“I was not whipped into obedience!” Matt fired back.
“Yep, busted. I’m the real leader, and Matt is my loyal man-servant.” Mimi played along. Fuming, Matt folded his arms as his face turned red. “Careful now, or I won’t just revoke your desert privileges, I’ll make sure you never have another drop of that nice wine T.K brought.” She carried on. 
“Will you knock it off.” Matt argued, opening one eye as everyone gradually started laughing at the two of them.
“How many years you’ve known her and you still haven’t learned?” Tai snickered patting Matt’s back. “Never tick off Mimi, or there’ll be hell to pay, and like you said, nothing by her is “Thrifty” hahahaha!” He carried on.

Within another of the trials, Meiko and Willis were engaged against Kerpymon and Meicrackmon in her vicious mode. Terriermon was doing the best he could to fight as off Meicrackmon but as Antylamon he was having a great deal of trouble. They were fighting in a moonlit night, on the same open grassy area of Colorado that they original engaged Kerpymon in years ago. Meicoomon had digivolved up to Meicrackmon to help battle alongside Cherubimon but Kerpymon was healing rapidly with the help of the Diaboromon virus. 
“Mei! Watch out!” Meiko cried out, as a ring of dark spheres fired out from Kerpymon. 
“Heaven’s Judge-“ Cherubimon tried to counter attack but Meicrackmon’s Vicious form shot a pair of Cursed Claws at him, knocking him down. “Ok, that is getting annoying.” He grunted. Antylamon responded though by hammering her down with a double fist punch, slamming Meicrackmon into the ground. “Lightning Spear!” Cherubimon fired on his dark counterpart, but he returned the same attack as the two collided in the air. 
“Hahahahaha!” Kerpymon cackled in the same dark voice he shared with Diaboromon. 
“This is bad!” Meiko stammered. 
“Rah!!” Meicrackmon dove down, trying to catch her vicious counterpart with her tail in an attempt to sting her. “Give up, you won’t beat me!” 
“AHHHHHHH!!!” Meicrackmon’s Vicious form cried out at the top of her lungs, gathering up dark energy in an attempt to break free. Swinging around she shot Meicrackmon with a pair of Cursed Claws and tried to pin her down. Responding by veiling herself in a shroud of pink light, she blew back the vicious form, sending it spiraling into the air. Manipulating her energy, she formed a ring to send at her vicious counterpart and trapped it’s arms within the halo of light. 
“That’s enough out of you, hyah!” Meicrackmon lunged, landing a solid double foot kick to her belly, sending it off toward the cliffs near the river. “Meiko, what’s happening to Willis!?” 
“Huh? Oh no!” Meiko rushed over to him as Willis was on his knees, clutching his  head in pain. “Willis, talk to me, are you ok?” 
“I can’t hold them like this. It’s taking too much out of me.” Willis stammered. “Can’t, give up. I won’t.” 
“Right.” Meiko shuddered for a moment before clenching her fist. “I have to think of what Tai would do in this situation. He’d be brave.” She said to herself. “He’d do what needed to be done to protect the ones we love, and sometimes that means taking a risk.” Standing up firm, she started marching toward the battlefield. “Meicoomon, come to me!” 
“Huh?” Meicrackmon flew back to Meiko’s side while Antylamon and Cherubimon carried on the battle. “Meiko?” 
“These digimon mean to destroy us. Just trying to sustain his digimon is killing Willis as we speak. We have to go all out. I won’t allow him or anyone I love to die, especially not you.” Meiko said, taking Meicrackmon’s hands. “I believe in you. No matter what form you take I love you. No matter how many times you’re defeated I’ll always bring you back. I’ll never abandon you, Mei. So let’s make our stand here, together.” 
“Meiko.” She smiled. “I can feel it in your heart.” 
“All the light we need.” They said together. “Is within our hearts.” Meiko and Meicrackmon began to resonate with a warm pink light. The intensity of it began to grow as it washed over the battlefield. Antylamon, Kerpymon, Cherubimon and Meicrackmon-Vicious form stopped as Meiko and Meicrackmon began to crackle with immense power. Meiko’s hair rose, rippling in the energy as she levitated off the ground, clasping her hands to her chest she closed her eyes. 
“The time, is, now!” Meicrackmon’s voice boomed. 
“Meicrackmon, digivolve to! Rasielmon!” 
“Wha!?” Willis gasped at the sight. The near human looking figure clad in golden armor and white fur trim around her neck. Massive golden claws, housing golden elemental runes that emanated over her hands. Radiating with intense pink and white energy, she settled on the ground while Meiko continued to hold her position, focusing her heart on Rasielmon. Meicrackmon tried to lunge for her, but Rasielmon caught her attack in her palm and flung her away like a rag doll. 
“You will not win.” Rasielmon warned them. “This battle was over before it began, for I have seen your fall. The power of the elements of this world bend to my command!” She called out; the magical circles on her arms began to crackle with electricity. Roaring she sent a massive lightning bolt straight into Kerpymon’s chest, flinging him back and onto the ground. “Antylamon. Tend to Willis. I will handle this.”
“You got it!” He happily complied, leaping over to Willis and reverting to Terriermon. Using his ears, he eased Willis onto his backside and sat in his lap. “Hold on Willis, we’ll finish this fight.” 
“Hurraaaaaaah!!!” Meicrackmon came rushing in, trying to attack Rasielmon but she responded by producing a massive wall of ice, trapping Meicrackmon inside. 
“I will suffer your twisted presence no longer, return to the darkness! Knowledge Stream!” Rasielmon attacked, releasing a near torrent of prismatic beams through the wall of ice, blasting Meicrackmon. She cried out in agony, trying to resist the power of the blast but it became overwhelming and as a hole in the ice blew open, Meicrackmon’s shadow form was destroyed. Kerpymon flew overtop the ice and tried to catch Rasielmon by surprise but instead was met with a Lightning Spear from Cherubimon. 
“He will heal, no matter the attack.” Cherubimon explained. 
“I know. The knowledge of your battle exists within me in this form. I have seen all the battles you have faced. The virus of Diaboromon lies within him. But this, is not you, and this shadow is just that. Still. Sometimes we must brave the unknown to end conflict.” Rasielmon said rising to the sky, she created a pink circle around herself as her eyes lit aglow. “Sefer Raziel!” She called out, as the light scattered in every direction. The sky flung alive with auroras. Beams of light began to grasp Kerpymon limbs, locking him in place as his body began to shake and deform. Ripping from his chest, came a dark swell of mist that began to take the shape of Diaboromon but as it did, Rasielmon halted it in its tracks. “Re-live the fate that claimed you once before, shade!” She smiled, as a visage of Omnimon appeared, jamming it’s sword in Diaboromon’s face. 
“Connection, terminated.” The image spoke before disappearing. Diaboromon blew apart into data, along with the shadow of Kerpymon. Rasielmon and Cherubimon descended down, landing before Meiko and Willis and reverting to their normal forms. Meiko fell to her knees, and Willis kept rubbing his eyes but Lopmon ran in to take a good long hug from him. 
“That took a lot out of you, didn’t it?” Lopmon cooed. 
“It really did. But I’m glad.” Willis breathed. “Fate brought us together for a reason, and no matter what happens. I know it’s our destiny to stay together forever. I hope you guys know, I’ll always be there for you.” He smiled. 
“Of course Willis! We’re family!” Terriermon cheered. 
“We’ll always be here for you too, we love you.” Lopmon moaned, stealing another long hug along with Terriermon. 
“Meiko!” Meicoomon started patting Meiko’s cheek trying to stir awake. “Haha, see, I’m ok!” 
“Yeah, could you feel it?” 
“Mmmhmm, you were right there beside me.” Meicoomon smiled. 
“Rasielmon, I can’t believe you made it to that level. You are so beautiful Meicoomon, I’m so proud to be your partner.” Meiko cried, taking Meicoomon in for a hug. 
“Dandan.”
“Dandan.” Meiko giggled. 
“Whoa!” Willis breathed, as his chest began to radiate along with Meiko’s. 
“Wha, what’s this!?” Just like the others, they received their crests and new digivices. Meiko’s was a mix of silver and pink, while Willis’s was green and brown. A white portal opened up, and Meiko smiled, walking over to help Willis to his feet. 
“Thanks, Meiko.” 
“No problem. Come on Mei, Terriermon, Lopmon. Let’s go meet up with the others.” 

Outside, Tai started to casually explore the halls beyond the room they were in. It was all fairly empty, save for a few scraps of metal and the odd broken bucket or pipe. Agumon and Dorumon kept close by, with Dorumon making the occasional scratch on the wall. 
“Hmm, how come you keep doing that?” Tai asked. 
“To find our way back in case we get turned around.” 
“Clever.” Agumon noted. “Tai, what are we looking for anyway?” 
“I wanted to get familiar with this place, besides we didn’t originally come here for some trials. We still need to talk to Homeostasis.” He reminded him. 
“Right, but.” Agumon pondered. 
“Do you have to now? I mean, look at your new digivice. Clearly you’re a full fledged digi-destined again.” Dorumon joined in. 
“Yeah, I know. But I can’t help thinking about the problem that started all this in the first place.” Tai said, continuing his stroll down the hall. “All those digi-destined who lost their digimon. Some of them taking their own lives. I know how horrible it feels to lose your best friend.” Tai smiled back to Agumon. “If I can spare them that pain, I wanna help.” 
“You don’t even know them, yet you act with such compassion for them. It’s still hard for me to understand why.” Dorumon stated. 
“You’ve had a hard heart for a while, Dorumon. The longer you stick with us, the more you’ll realize just how much we actually do care about one another.” Tai explained. 
“I believe you.” Dorumon smiled. Tai passed through the doorway ahead and was taken aback by the sight. 
“Whoa!” He stood in awe. The room was massive, circular and housed an iron spiral stairwell that seemed to go down, almost forever. There was no sign of the bottom, just an inky black darkness. Tai scooped up a loose piece of metal and leaned over the rail, dropping it. It was a good five seconds before he heard it clang at the bottom. “Yeah, that’s a ways down.” Dorumon sniffed the air, peering his head through the rail. 
“I smell the oil again.” 
“From the lanterns?” Tai questioned. 
“Right, Homeostasis is there.” Dorumon replied. “Perhaps this is where it goes when it’s in remission.” 
“Yeah, bet you’re right.” Tai agreed, still peering over the rail. Much to Dorumon’s horror, he suddenly could sense a cloak of shadows nearby. As Dark Gennai appeared with a large sword in his hand, he readied it to skewer Tai before he could turn around.
“No! Tai!” Dorumon leapt in the way, head butting Tai to the ground, but taking the sword straight through his belly. Gasping, he hung in the air, impaled on the blade in complete shock. Tai went wide eyed at first, as Dark Gennai slowly turned to him with a wicked grin. 
“The master has no mercy, for traitors.” He cackled, ripping the blade from Dorumon and letting him fall to the ground. Tai grit his teeth, seething with rage. 
“You monster!” Tai shouted. 
“Pepper Breath!” Agumon fired on Dark Gennai, his attacks significantly enhanced from the new crest and digivice blew Dark Gennai back. It shocked him enough to drop the sword. Tai scooped it up, slamming Dark Gennai with the butt end of the blade and sent him into the wall. “Pepper Breath!” Agumon fired three more times, the shots hitting Dark Gennai’s knee, chest and face, searing off part of his hair. Tai didn’t hesitate, winding up he plunged the sword into Dark Gennai’s chest and stuck him to the wall. 
“You bastard, how could you!?” Tai shouted with tears in his eyes. Dark Gennai grabbed hold of the blade just to bring himself closer to Tai’s face. 
“With great.. Pleasure.” He stammered. “Hahahahahahaha!!” Tai ripped the sword out and swung again, this time taking Dark Gennai’s head. In a burst of data he vanished, destroyed at long last. Tossing the sword away, both he and Agumon rushed over to Dorumon. 
“Dorumon! Dorumon talk to me!” Tai shuddered, cradling him in his lap. 
“Tai, you ok?” He asked, with crimson data flickering out from the massive wound through his belly. 
“You saved me.” Tai shuddered, caressing Dorumon’s head. 
“I owed ya.” He smiled, coughing a little. “Agumon. Please, give me your hand.” 
“What is it, Dorumon?” Agumon asked, clasping Dorumon’s hand with both of his. Dorumon guided his right claw to the gem on his forehead and Agumon’s arm began to resonate with crimson light. The gem gradually burnt out, and Agumon was left with a rather unique looking black draconian design on his right claws. “Who, what is this? I can sense a digimon.” 
“Hopefully, it’s just.. Just temporary.” He struggled to speak. “You’ll know when to use it.” 
“Hang on Dorumon, I’ll get you to Joe. There’s still time.” Tai insisted. 
“Tai. Can I ask you something?” He said with a cough.
“Sure, name it.”
“Are we, friends?” Dorumon asked. Agumon couldn’t help but let the tears start flowing too, as Tai lowered his head to Dorumon’s and held him tight. 
“Of course we are. I’ll never forget you.” 
“You saved Tai Dorumon, of course we’re friends. Which means we’ll see each other again someday, I promise.” Agumon whimpered, getting close to him and Tai. 
“Tai, Agumon. Save our world... I know you.. You can do it... I believe in.. you.” Dorumon spoke with his last breath. Closing his eyes, he vanished in a flash of data in Tai’s arms as tears poured down his face. 
“Oh Dorumon.” Agumon cried, rushing into Tai for a hug. Holding each other tight, they took their time grieving for their lost friend.

Walking down the last hallway with Agumon in his arms, Tai noticed one of the scratches Dorumon left to help guide them back. He paused to pass his hand over it and entered the room, his head hanging low and Agumon still sniffling. Everyone had made it back now, Davis and Ken looking a little more roughed up than the others but they all seemed to be in one piece, but Meiko and Matt in particular took note of Tai’s demeanor. 
“Tai!? What happened?” Meiko asked, as Meicoomon rushed over to him. Tai set Agumon down, who then immediately held Meicoomon as he carried on crying. 
“Agumon, are you ok? What happened to your hand?” She asked. 
“Tai? Where’s Dorumon?” Matt urgently questioned. 
“He’s gone. Dark Gennai killed him.” Everyone gasped and Mimi covered her mouth letting a couple of tears start to escape. 
“No! That’s awful!” Gabumon exclaimed. 
“Oh brother, I’m so sorry.” Kari moaned, covering her mouth. Meiko hugged Tai tight, while Matt rushed toward the door. 
“Where is he? Tai, where is he now!?” Matt shouted. 
“Agumon and I took him down. I took his head off with his own sword. Dark Gennai’s gone for good.” Tai answered. 
“Well, at least he’s destroyed. But.” Matt grit his teeth and scoffed, turning away from the door. 
“I know. Dorumon really was trying to turn over a new leaf.” 
“He did seem sincere in that desire.” Izzy remarked. 
“He deserved a second chance.” Cody said, hanging his head. 
“That’s so awful.” Gatomon cried. “I know what it’s like to try to come out from a dark place. I really hoped he could do it.” 
“We have to make it worth it.” Matt shook as he spoke. “We can’t have all these digimon sacrificing for us just so we can fail. It’s no different than when we fought the dark masters.” 
“Right.” Tai agreed. “We gotta pull together. Hackmon and Dorumon didn’t die in vain. Before he was destroyed, Dorumon said he could smell the oil from the lanterns in the room up ahead. Homeostasis is there. Let’s confront it, and then, we are going to destroy King Drasil once and for all.”