Solo Tremaine

Aidan glared at MetalArmadillomon. "Hey, let's not start any more rifts. This group's falling apart as it is. Let's go find her. We have to help her... somehow." "Why bother?" Draguiymon scoffed. Everyone ignored her. Frankie stood up and looked around. "If you're going after her, Aidan, I'll come too." Rokas nodded in agreement and pulled Gabumon away from the pan of soup. The three of them ran off into the forest to find Kairi. * * * * Some time later, they found her. She was sitting next to a small statue, not unlike the one of the bat they'd seen earlier, staring at it intently. Cautiously, the three of them walked into the clearing. "Kairi... are you okay?" Frankie asked quietly. Kairi said nothing, but lowered her head slightly. "Why did you run off?" Aidan asked, eying the statue suspiciously. For a while, Kairi didn't say anything. The three digimon looked at each other with concern, worried about how this was all going to turn out. Suddenly, Kairi spoke.

OOC: I'm noticing a pattern with these posts here... ---------------------------------------------- "How do you know Teth hasn't been captured?" Aidan hissed, looking through the window. Kotemon growled. "I don't care, but I'm going to get him out!" He leapt through the door and over to Teth, who looked rather dejected. Aidan and David both ran in after him, Aidan running over to Teth and David running over to Daleth. Frankie stayed at the door, unsure of what to do. "Teth, are you alright?" The other digimon in the Saloon turned round and glared at the two Tamers. "Teth, we'd best get outside. I don't think we're going to do any good in here." Teth didn't move. MetalArmadillomon and Guilmon stared at each other, each cautiously waiting for the other to move. They didn't want to attack each other, but they would protect their partners if they had to. "Teth?" Aidan asked again. Teth glared over at Daleth and saw his knife in his pocket. "He took it." he snarled. "He took my knife while I was asleep under the tree and forced me into the town." Aidan drew his sword. On seeing this, half of the saloon digimon stood up and growled. On their chests were the dark marks. "Oh great..." MetalArmadillomon gulped. "I'm here, now, Teth. I can help you. We can still stop Daleth. Please get up." Kotemon encouraged him to get up, as more digimon stood up, ready to fight.

Right, is it: To get Doduo, you have to beat the Poke cup (without using any rented Pokemon), and to get Dodrio you have to beat the Prime Cup (without any rented 'mon)? And with Doduo the Gb game plays twice as fast, and Dodrio three times as fast. If that is right then I have a question: What attacks do Eevee, Flareon, Jolteon and Vaporeon each learn at Level 42?

"Watch out!" Several arrows thundered through the air towards the large white dragon. Raze flicked his tail round and knocked them straight out of the air. Several archers on horseback were riding across the sand, each wearing heavy black armour. Artemis' eyes widened. "Rochin's archers..." Quick as a flash, he drew his sword and prepared to take them down. Tyrius and Azrael took out their weapons, and Raze looked ready to eat them and their horses. Rhike's scales rattled angrily. "They found us..." As the archers drew their bows, ready to fire off another volley, Tyrius heard something behind him. He whirled round to see seven black armour-clad swordsmen, all with evil red eyes, brandishing their weapons straight at them. "Oh great..." he growled, as the arrows whistled through the air straight towards them...

It was reaching late afternoon by the time Aidan, Kotemon and MetalArmadillomon reached the edge of the forest. Ahead of them lay a grassy path, with large cliffs either side of them. Small trees stuck out of the edges of the cliff like arms reaching onto the pathway, as if trying to grap anyone passing through. It didn't look too friendly. Aidan looked around. Someone could certainly launch a good ambush from up there. Keeping a hand on his sword, he led the digimon forwards. * * * * * Some time later, they reached the end and in front of them lay a large number of buildings. They looked fairly advanced for being made by digimon. "Did digimon make those?" he asked. "Someone did." Kotemon shrugged, walking into the small town. It reminded Aidan of those old Westerns he used to watch when he was skipping school. Digimon wandered around the streets, carrying bags of food and supplies. As they reached the centre of the town, they could hear loud laughter coming from inside one of the buildings. It said 'Salon'. "Salon?" Aidan was confused. "Digimon can't spell very well." MetalArmadillomon said thoughtfully, scratching his nose. "I woulnd't go in there, personally. There are all sorts of nasty digimon and-" "Teth!" Kotemon shouted.

Name: Shade Species: Yoshi! (Dark Blue) Bio: Boshi's son. He dreams of being able to fly one day, and keeps making hair-brained schemes to do it. Has never heard of Bowser before, but has seen/met Bowsie, and he doesn't like him much. Is currently staying with his aunt and uncle as his father is away competing... again. Description: Like a normal Yoshi (Super Smash Bros: Melee style), but with a longer tail and has spiny shell. He wears the same footwear as his father, Boshi. Attacks: Tail slam, Egg Throw.

Gah! I can't remember how you get them (I think by beating one or two of the cups... Petit and Pika?), but Doduo makes you play twice as fast, and Dodrio three times as fast.

I don't think I've had a real problem with names as such (although I always see TN as Transtric Nerve, and I always pronounced Jinzo's name like Jinzo-onion), but I get people confused. It took me ages to be able to work out that Medra and Warlock were separate people, and Devidramon and shadowdramon more or less became one entity to me for a few weeks after I first joined. Heh, I've been lucky so far in that I've never had to call Mitth by his name before. But I never had a problem with Syk3, strangely enough. Semjaza Azazel kind of sounds like a spell in Harry Potter to me. :modrod:

This was inspired by something I read yesterday, and I guess it borrows very heavily from the last two episodes of Evangelion. I like it, anyway. I'm not sure whether to describe it as poetry or literature. It's neither, really. Anyway, see what you think. "I want to mean something to somebody." [I]You do. You just don't realise it.[/I] "How do you know that?" [I]Because it's true.[/I] "You don't know that." [I]But [/I]you[I] do. Deep down, you know you do.[/I] "Leave me alone!" [I]Why?[/I] "Just leave me alone! You don't know me!" [I]But I am you. Who can know you better than you know yourself?[/I] "No-one, I guess." [I]Then why won't you admit the truth?[/I] "Because it doesn't feel like truth to me." [I]But the truth is the truth. How can it be anything else?[/I] "The truth can be changed depending on who interprets it." [I]Very good. But no matter how much it is changed, it will still have an element of truth in there.[/I] "So... you mean people do like me?" [I]Yes. They do.[/I] "And I mean something to them?" [I]Yes.[/I] "How do I know this is the truth?" [I]You see it in your actions and their reactions towards you. Everyone means something to somebody.[/I] "But... I don't mean enough to anybody." [I]Define enough.[/I] "Enough is... something more than normal. I want to be a friend to them." [I]Do they dislike you?[/I] "No, not exactly, but-" [I]Then they are your friends.[/I][I][/I] "Well, yes... but it's not the same." [I]You mean a deep friendship. One worth more than a conversation in passing.[/I] "Yes." [I]You wish for people to show you the same degree of compassion that you show them.[/I] "Yes." [I]You wish for appreciation by those you respect.[/I] "Yes." [I]You wish to be loved.[/I] "Yes." [I]Everyone needs love.[/I] "I know. But why can't I find it?" [I]Love is something that cannot be found. It must be nurtured and developed. It is not a simple object to pick up and put away inside you.[/I] "I know that. But I want to find it." [I]Everyone does. Everyone is searching for love.[/I] "That's different." [I]How?[/I] "I'm not looking for just any love." [I]You wish to find a soul mate.[/I] "Yes... and no." [I]Then what are you looking for?[/I] "I just want to be loved. I want to be someone's friend." [I]But you have friends who care about you. You just don't see it.[/I] "Why don't I see it?" [I]Because you are not selfish. You see what qualities you have to offer others before you see what they are offering you.[/I] "But I don't want to take anything from them." [I]Why?[/I] "Because I'm not greedy." [I]But they are offering it to you.[/I] "I feel guilty taking it." [I]But you do not feel guilty giving it. How is what they are doing any different to what you are doing?[/I] "It just is." [I]Because it's you?[/I] "Yes." [I]You do not feel their guilt upon taking your help.[/I] "Yes." [I]Then how do you know they do not also feel love, respect and appreciation for you at the same time?[/I] "I...don't." [I]Then how do you know you are not appreciated and loved?[/I] "Because they don't say so." [I]Not everything is conveyed in words.[/I] "So... I am respected?" [I]Yes.[/I] "And... I'm loved?" [I]Yes.[/I]

There are a couple of Evangelion tracks that are fairly creepy, mostly 'Marking Time, Waiting for Death', 'The Day Tokyo-3 Stood Still' and 'Borderline Case'. Angel Attack II is also pretty creepy. It gives the episodes a rather ominous feeling and really adds something to it, I think. It's great listening to them, I think. Although 'Marking Time, Waiting for Death has made me want to turn the lights back on at night before... The Ghost In The Shell theme was pretty creepy, too, I thought. Along with a lot of the themes in Mononoke.

[SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]Weevil's Japanese name is indeed Insector Haga. I'm going to close this now, as even though this is useful information, it can all be found on [url]www.theotaku.com[/url]'s pretty extensive Yu-Gi-Oh site already.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]Firstly, I think you should reduce your card number by a bit to somewhere nearer 40. This is the minimum recommended by UpperDeck, but having too many will decrease your chances of getting the card you want by quite a lot. I think 63 is a bit too much... For themes... I'm guessing you got the Yugi and Kaiba starter decks, right? There are a few Fiend/Spellcaster ones in there, along with some Earths and Warriors. The large number of high level cards would make them difficult to summon using tournament rules, so keeping them to a ratio of less than about 1:4 with your level 1-4 cards would be useful. It's also good just to have the ratio of monsters to magic/trap cards at about 1:1, so if you had 40 cards, at least 20 would be monsters. Just for general organisation. I'd take out the monsters that are a minority (e.g. Great White- the only water type) first, as they could be taking up space of another one that could be more useful. [url]http://www.theotaku.com[/url] has a good deck-building guide (written by the highly knowledgeable Altron Gundam), which I would advise checking out. HyperShadow's probably the best one to ask, as my deck's not got a brilliant theme at the moment. Need more cards...[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]Take a look in My Otaku or the Suggestions and Feedback forum, please. This doesn't belong in this forum. Check there if you have any questions, as they're sure to have been answered there. Or, you could PM me or any of the other Moderators on the site. To answer your question, Moderators are chosen by the Administrators, and the rankings are as follows: Newbie- 1-249 posts Junior Member- 250-499 Member- 500-999 Otaku- 1000-1999 Extreme Otaku- 2000-2999 No Life- 3000+ But these post counts don't matter a bit. All they really show is how long you've been on OB, and that doesn't really matter either. Just enjoy yourself here and don't spam to try and become one or more of the above.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

Whee! Thankies, Pan! *Hugs Mystical Pan squeezily* Wah! I had a bio all ready and then my computer crashed :bawl: It's going to take forever to get another one up... Here we go, anyway. Name: Aidian Solore Background: From a massive city high in the mountains, Aidian was the captain of the guard. He enjoys solitude and calm, but will never turn away company as long as it's friendly. Generally cheerful and helpful, he believes greatly in justice and good. Injustice makes him very aggressive, as do reminders of past events in his life. He strives to rid the world of evil and will help anyone who needs help. Attitude: Generally cheerful, happy and optimistic, once he has a goal he will seek it out to the end. He becomes easily agitated by injustice and has been known to lash out aggressively sometimes at complete strangers who he's seen do something he takes offense to. Physical appearance: Age: 25 Eye Color: Dark Blue Hair color: White, long and half-spikey Skin Color: Fairly pale Height: 5'10 Weight: 135 Clothing: Altered attachment- Is not actually him (has no tiara), but saves me having to draw him out. He's just for the general idea- I'm not too sure how to describe some of what he's wearing, so it's better for you to see. His breatsplate is a light blue with cobalt edging, and the spirally designs on it are also etched in this colour. Just below his neck on the breastplate is a diamond-shaped blue crystal. He wears metal gauntlets, with cobalt eagles and wolves etched upon them, along with deep blue jewels in their centre. He also wears lower leg armour in this style (with a triangular 'dip' for the knee to fit in, also jewelled), and has black boots, trousers and shirt. Around his neck is a pendant- a sword with a moonstone hilt and wolves' heads surrounding the hilt. Special Abilities: Aidian is stronger than he is fast, and can pack a hefty punch when he wants to. Being well-trained at armed combat, he can weild his staff very well in offence and defence. With his wind power, he can pick up heavy objects and throw them at people, and can use it to make him fly for short distances or run very fast, at great energy cost. Weaknesses: He is too trusting at times, and as such can be fooled into believeing someone's intentions are good. Also, as he travels a lot, he doesn't get to eat much, so food is a major source of weakness for him. Being of the wind element, his weaknesses are Earth and Darkness. He is weak against Earth and fears the Darkness, often finding himself unable to do much when faced with it. Transformations: Wings of the Sky: A silver winged wolf. This increases his strength and element powers significantly, but is less fast and mobile. His defences are also lowered. It also leaves him very weak upon transforming back, and he has not quite learned the technique properly, leading to incomplete transformations or a complete misfire of energy. Weapons: Moon Blade: A double bladed quaterstaff/spear. The shaft is intwined with strands silver, and the blades are strengthened with diamond. Silver Wind: A long sword with a diamond-strengthened blade. Cold as ice, it can freeze-burn anyone who tries to steal it. Special attacks: Heart of Ice: Aidian uses the power of the wind to partly/wholly freeze an object or person temporarily or permanently. Cyclone Judgement: Aidian creates a cyclone, which wreaks absolute havoc on the land and also sends enemies flying high into the air to come crashing down again. Reflect: Reflects projectile attacks (either magic or material) Wind Shield: Projects a shield onto himself or another being, protecting them from harm for a short while. Piercing Ice: A barrage of razor-sharp icicles fire at an enemy, both lacerating and freezing them. The size of the icicles can be varied, but the bigger they are, the less there are of them. Blizzard: Not a damaging attack, but this whips up a massive snowstorm, reducing the visibility of opponents to very little, allowing him to ambush them.

Um... would it be okay to try for Overseer of Manipulation: Wind? I've not had any guild experience as such, but I love RPing and sparring, and I've been writing for about four/five years. I hope it pays off. I've not posted a bio yet, but I will do, and hopefully that'll make some of the things in here a bit clearer. Aidian Solore stood on the mountainside, snow covering his boots. A soft wind blew, gently caressing his face. A golden sun high above him and white clouds drifting peacefully in the sky, he felt at peace. Trudging forwards, he adjusted the large weapon on his back, which kept slipping awkwardly inbetween his shoulder blades. Waiting for a cloud below him to clear, he looked out at an awesome sight. Mountains stretched for miles in front of him, each covered in glistening snow. Giving a final glance to the land he was leaving behind him, he turned around in order to slide down the snowy slope. "Solore!" a voice yelled. He jerked his head upwards and saw a burly man dressed in heavy dark red armour approaching him, a fiery glint in his eye. He stood a foot taller than Aidian, and had short black hair. As he marched towards Aidian, he drew a massive silver sword from his scabbard, grinning madly. Aidian glared at him. "Get lost, Kodis. I have no fight with you." Kodis slammed a cold fist into his shoulder, almost knocking him away from the edge. "You do now." he sneered. "You've got a high price on your head, and I'm going to be reaping the rewards." Quick as a flash, he thrust his blade in Aidian's direction. Deftly, he dodged the blade and leapt over Kodis' back. Kodis whirled round, confusion and anger disorientating him. [I]How could he jump that high?[/I] he thought. Aidian tore the weapon from his back and brandished it at Kodis. A long, double-bladed spear was pointing straight at his armoured stomach. Kodis laughed nervously. "Come off it, Aidian. you know I'll win." Aidian snorted. "I think you've been in the mountains too long, Kodis. Time for you to take a vacation." He whirled his staff through the air and charged towards Kodis. The sword's blade deflected the staff and came slicing through the air towards Aidian's shoulder. He rolled out of the way, the sword ripping down his blue cloak. Jumping up, he slammed the spear's shaft into the back of Kodis' head, knkocking him off balance. Seizing the opportunity, he rammed the spear through the gap in Kodis' armor. It pierced his left shoulder with sickening ease. Kodis reeled back in shock and pulled the blade from him. Blood trickled down his black armour. Shaking, he touched the wound and looked at his fingers. Spluttering, he stepped back. Aidian marched forwards triumphantly and took Kodis by the neck. Kodis looked at him fearfully. "If you ever come after me again, I will kill you. Do you understand?" Kodis' expression changed from one of fear to one of fiery anger. "I won't have to come after you again." He hissed. Still holding his sword, he thrust it upwards. Aidian felt an immense pain shot through his left side as the blade cut through the skin on his left side. He let go of Kodis and stumbled back onto the ground. He lay still, stunned by the searing pain. The large man picked himself up, bleeding, and stood over Aidian. His crimson armour glinted menacingly in the sun. Holding his sword tightly onto Aidian's neck, he gave him a twisted smile. "Any last words?" he snarled. Aidian closed his eyes and began chanting something under his breath. Kodis looked to his prey's side to see the wound resealing itself. Eyes wide in shock, he thrust the sword downwards. The blade broke against Aidian's throat, the broken half flying off into the snow. Kodis reeled back in horror. "Demon..." he stammered. Aidian jumped to his feet and gave Kodis a fierce stare. "See you in hell!" he yelled, as his eyes began to glow a bright white. Kodis felt his insides constricting. He couldn't breathe. A freezing feeling crept over him, as the last thing he saw was his stomach turning to ice... Aidian picked up his spear and rammed it down Kodis' frozen body. It shattered pleasingly, sending small pieces of ice ploughing into the snow. Sighing in discontent, Aidian began his slow descent. P.S. Thanks for the name, Juu. Sorry for nicking it. :)

Whoo! Name: Tyrius Sex: Male Warrior Type: Warlock Warrior Rank: Warlock Spearman What's the story, just out of interest? Is it just a fight for supremacy?

I guess my obsessions generally lie somewhere within an anime, or have something to do with one. I had some Zoids years and years ago, but I remember being very disappointed that I couldn't actually play with them (they kept falling apart and breaking and wouldn't actually walk anywhere without falling over every five seconds). Then, this summer, they had the Zoids anime series on SkyOne. Now, I have eight of the darn things, all bought within the space of a few months. And I have all three Chaotic Century soundtracks. The music's my main obsession. It could almost be classed as an addiction- I take them everywhere, even if I don't listen to them. Plus, there's my ongoing obsession with Digimon, and I still half-expect to see a real one someday, and I've no idea why- it's a silly concept, but still one I'd like to achieve/see. I've always had an expensive obsession with toys which I still haven't rid myself of (and at the moment I don't really want to- I love them lots), and it's getting too far in that I can't actually see my bedroom floor now, let alone walk on it. Someone I know had a dangerous obsession with my best friend (they were each other's exes) which threatened to pull him and his current girlfriend apart. I won't go into it, but he almost committed suicide because of her. I don't think anyone should become that obsessed, or unbalanced, as Semjaza described (Eek, by the way. I hope things clear up soon). But good, healthy obsessions are okay. If you can call an obsession healthy, that is. They'll all tend to come at some kind of cost, either to yourself or others.

Is this RPG going ahead soon? I can't wait to get started.

OOC: If I've messed things up, then I apologise. I like this RPG... ---------------------------------------------------- Aidan and MetalArmadillomon (having broken from their biomerge), followed Kotemon back to the tree where Teth was. But he wasn't there any more. "Are you sure this is the right tree?" MetalArmadillomon asked, sniffing around. Kotemon looked deeply concerned. "Yes, I'm sure. What if something's happened to him?" Aidan looked at the bark on the tree. Deep gouges had been carved into the wood. They looked like claw marks, but he couldn't be sure. "Do you know where he might have gone?" Aidan asked, poking the pile of ashes with his sword. "No..." he looked at the ground. Underneath some fallen leaves, Kotemon could see some human footprints. Footprints that didn't belong to Teth. Alonside those were clawed footprints, larger than a humans. "...do you think he's been taken?" Aidan looked at the gouges in the tree. They formed a shape. An arrow pointing down through thr trees. "What's down that way?" he asked. "A small Digimon town." MetalArmadillomon chorused. "It looks like someone's carved an arrow pointing down that way. Should we follow it?" Aidan thought about the others they'd left behind. Should they leave them while Daleth and dark digimon were prowling around? Kotemon looked thoughtfully at the path the arrow pointed to. "I think it's our best bet of finding Teth. I hope he's okay."

If nothing else, Link's other forms could be activated like a character colour change. Using two buttons to change colour, and another two to change between forms. That way, you could have Wolf O'Donnell as another form of Fox, and possibly even a couple of others (Krystal is unlikely, but would be very cool). That way, you could get rid of Dr.Mario as a separate character. Um... this isn't such a good idea, as changing their forms is like having a whole new character anyway, but it'd be another way of doing it, I guess. I'd like to see Ridley as a character, although animating him would be very hard, and trying to figure out how he could work could be hard, too. I'd like to see more levels like Hyrule Temple. That's the only level I play on, because I love the size and slopes of it. I just don't enjoy the others very much. The only other one that I find okay is Cornaria, and that's a bit boring. Maybe they could have an 'inside a Nintendo console' level, and something else that isn't PokeFloats or Mr Game and Watch's level. A level editor would be amazing, too, if it were possible.

[SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]Even if you could get a God Card, you wouldn't be allowed to use it in a US Yu-Gi-Oh deck (well, certainly not in any tournaments). And getting them on their own may be just as expensive as getting them with the game (which you'd need the right kind of system to run). I've seen bits of Exodia for upwards of $35 each, so even though the cards came free with the game, they'd still be pretty expensive to get, as they're from a special offer and all.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

[QUOTE][i]Originally posted by Beelzebumon [/i] [B]If this can be a thread for just strange thoughts... [/B][/QUOTE] [SIZE=1][COLOR=purple]Well, technically, it isn't, but I'm willing to let it lie for a little while. Providing it doesn't get too out of hand or spammy. This is quite a difficult question to get my head around, actually. It's very confusing. Mind you, they were magical people who created them, so it may be likely that they managed to look into the future and create monsters based on what they saw. Or not. But, if we imagine that they didn't do that, then where would creatures such as the Blue Eyes have come from? there aren't any/many dragons in Egyptian mythology, the same with the centaur card and the Battle Ox (which we saw in Kaiba's Millennium Necklace induced 'flashback')- they didn't have that kind of armour around then. They didn't even have steel/bronze with which to make it. It's all very confusing.[/SIZE][/COLOR]

RazeGallantmon paused for a few seconds. "But, how do we know who's evil? How do we know Daleth isn't the one who's manipulating you? I don't know who's trying to do what, but Kotemon wants help [I]for[/I] Teth, not to help Teth destroy something." Aidan's mind was racing. What should he do? He wanted so much to be able to do the right thing so as not to let the others down. But what if he made the wrong choice? David doesn't seem bad, and neither does Rakshemon. Do the dark marks mean that they're evil, or does it mean that they aren't? that would make him evil. But then again, good and evil are both subjective opinions. Everyone will fight for the side they believe is right, and anyone sharing their views is perceived to be good. But what about the other side. They're doing the same thing. What can you do if you don't know which is good and which is evil? Eventually, he looked ahead. "I don't know who's right, but Teth needs help. And even if no-one else will, I'm going to give it to him." He started striding off into the forest, following Kotemon, wondering whether anyone would join him. As he reached a denser block of trees, he half-looked over his shoulder. [I]"What's wrong?"[/I] MetalArmadillomon's voice asked. "Nothing.." Aidan replied. [I]"Really?"[/I] "Well... do you think Fenix, Manaka and Kamimon should come too? I mean-" [I]"You mean, you want them to come."[/I] MetalArmadillomon said. Aidan could hear that he would be smiling. "Well... yeah. I guess they're the first friends that I've had. There's a chance I won't see them again. And I don't..." [I]"We'll see them again. After all, at least some of us will end up on the same side..."[/I]

Whee! Sorry about the poor quality pic of MetalArmadillomon. My sis had only been able to do a pencil sketch which wouldn't have scanned well on my computer, so I traced it and then photocopied it. Trouble is, the pencil I used wasn't sharp enough. So it's more like my sister's drawing slightly ruined by me. Ah well. Here's the next chapter. Many thanks to Devidramon for being knowledgable. Much appreciated! Chapter 4: The Gateway Tokyo, Japan. A country almost ignored by the humans since its near-destruction by the Sentients. Buildings that once stood tall were now half-collapsed, rubble covering once busy streets. Eighteen years ago, this city was overflowing with life, both digimon and human. Now, it was almost deserted. The park, once green with lush vegetation, was now grey and devoid of life. The once proud TV tower was now broken in two, the top half thrown across the bay. Upon passing, the whole city looked completely deserted. On a desolate beach, Orcamon patrolled his section, watching the sea for signs of human spy forces. They?d tried invading before, and he was determined to protect their home no matter what this time. He dipped his flippers in the small waves lapping at the beach and splashed water over his face. The air was cold and dry- it hurt his skin. Inside large skyscrapers behind him, two large Allomon were standing ready to unleash their fury at any approaching human vessels. Platoons of Tylomon, sympathetic to the efforts of the digidestined, scoured the sea for enemy submarines. Overhead, small swarms of Shadramon and FlyBeemon searched the skies for aerial invasions, along with a large Garudamon. Their security had been stepped up considerably following the loss of two senior ?commanders?- Yamato Ishida and Aidan Phoenix. The other humans had been very upset at their loss. Orcamon hadn?t seen his partner this upset since the last two failed to return from a routine excursion. For all they knew, they were still alive somewhere. He hoped so. But deep down, he knew it wouldn?t take two years to get back to their island. Mimi and Joe were two of the most reliable digidestined they?d had. Things started to fall apart after they disappeared. It was lucky that they?d found Yolei and Ken in China or they would all have given up hope, and then everything would have been lost. A militant FlyBeemon appeared next to him and saluted. Orcamon half-saluted back. ?FlyBeemon,? He said in his slightly squeaky voice. ?Anything to report?? FlyBeemon nodded emphatically. ?We?ve spotted a human stealth boat about two miles off the coast. It looks to be heading for the dock,? his voice was a low drone, but it contained a edge of excitement in it. ?Go and tell Izzy. I?ll alert the Tylomon.? FlyBeemon saluted obediently and buzzed off to their makeshift command centre. Taking a deep breath, Orcamon plunged into the sea? Gabumon looked ahead at the island they were sailing towards. It had been their real home once. Now almost everything had been devastated by ChaosPiedmon. Once he?d been defeated, it was safe for them to move their main base back there. When he?d invaded, the digidestined were scattered all over the world, caught up in the mass evacuation. Some were still unaccounted for. Gabumon often wondered what had happened to Cody and Davis. Had they managed to escape alright? A lot of the evacuation ships were destroyed or captured by the Sentients. Matt pulled the throttle down to a slower pace. He knew they would attract attention coming in at a great speed. ?How are we going to let them know it?s us?? Gabumon asked. ?Get out and wave.? Matt said apprehensively, concerned about the island?s defences. The Tylomon could destroy a tanker in seconds. ?We need to let them know as soon as possible. Unless you want to try and tell the Tylomon personally that they?ve made a mistake.? Aidan stepped forwards and twisted the release handle of the hatch. The door swung open, letting in a cool sea breeze. Just as he was about to stick his head out, the wall next to him exploded in a shower of bullets. Six Mothmon swooped down, firing viciously at the boat. The hatch slammed shut and the bullets crashed into the door, creating a massive dent. Aidan jumped back and looked to Matt, who was turning the boat around. Tempestmon appeared from the cargo bay, looking worried. ?Noise!? She yelled over the loud reverberations of the bullets bouncing off the shell. ?Too much noise!? Matt yelled, grabbing hold of the radio receiver. He ducked underneath the tinted plexi-glass windscreen as s swarm of FlyBeemon hurled their stings into it. They slammed into the glass, the points nearly poking through. ?Sora, it?s us! Stop the attack!? he shouted into the receiver. A wave of static replied to him. ?Great. They?ve knocked out our communications,? he cursed as another swarm of FlyBeemon flew overhead, sending their stings flying through the windscreen. They bounced from MetalArmadillomon?s shell without even harming him. ?Shall I go out and-? Something slammed into the hull of the ship, knocking them all over. ?No,? Aidan said, picking himself from the floor, not used to wearing such heavy armour. ?The Tylomon are attacking now.? Gabumon held onto a strut for support. ?We have to think of something! We?ll be killed if we don?t get them to stop soon.? ?Killed?? Tempestmon asked loudly from behind a pile of boxes. ?Yes, killed!? Aidan shouted back irritably. ?As in dead.? ?Dead?? Tempestmon knew this word. It was a bad word. She didn?t want to be dead. She didn?t want any of them to be dead. She stood up angrily. Why did they want to kill them? They hadn?t done anything. She wasn?t going to let them be dead. She wasn?t going to let anyone kill. ?No dead!? she shouted, her spines shooting out from her gauntlets. Her eyes were glowing red. The other looked at each other fearfully as suddenly, she burst through the hull of the ship. The Tylomon surrounding the boat froze in shock. Tempestmon roared ferociously as black storm clouds began to swirl around her. Lightning struck the ocean and huge tidal waves appeared on the horizon. Orcamon watched, astounded, as a huge pillar of water rose up from underneath the human stealth boat, raising it up high over their heads. A high wind appeared from nowhere, forcing him and the Tylomon under the surface of the water. The pillar of water moved slowly towards the beach and slowly lowered to the level of the sand. Tempestmon roared again at the Mothmon in the sky, firing bolts of lightning at them. As they reached the sand, they could see the waves drawing nearer. Aidan flew outside and grabbed Tempestmon?s shoulders. She swiped at him with one of her spines and he fell back. ?Tempestmon, stop!? he yelled. Upon hearing her name, her eyes stopped glowing red. Slowly, the storm clouds began to subside and the waves disappeared. The stealth ship slowly lowered to the sand. She looked to Aidan apologetically, who was eyeing her with apprehension. ?It?s okay. We?re safe now,? he said soothingly. They helped Matt, Gabumon and MetalArmadillomon out of the hole in the roof and sat on the beach, exhausted. Orcamon sped up the beach and his jaw dropped at the sight of them. Instantaneously feeling very guilty, he ran up to Matt apologetically. ?Matt!? he squeaked. ?I?m so sorry. Had we known? I?ll get the others.? He sprinted off up the beach and down a road. MetalArmadillomon hugged the ground. ?I?m not leaving you again,? he sighed. In a dark room inside the human base, several commanders eyed each other nervously. It had been three days since Danaki had last bee seen alive. He was still inside the armoury, being worked on by his strange robots. One of the commanders, a bulky, dark-haired man with angular features, stood up nervously to address the others. ?Since Master Danaki has been put out of action indefinitely, it is the feeling of the Committee that we should proceed with the Operation.? ?Who have we selected to be the one to approach the task?? one of the generals asked nervously. ?In light of recent events, we feel that Master Danaki, given his current state, will not be fit to carry out the operation. Therefore, it is the decision of the Committee that I, Colonel James Black, will go.? Several of the generals muttered things to each other. Colonel Black certainly was a high-ranking officer, but they needed someone with brains for this. He was well-known for his strategies in battle, but this was different. This was no battle. This would win the entire war, and their entire future depended on it. One by one, the generals realised that this would be the single most important event in their universe. They wanted to do it. The irritated murmuring suddenly exploded into a cacophony of shouting and yelling as each general tried to prove his superiority over the others. Colonel Black pulled a gun from his pocket and fired it into the ceiling. The shot silenced everyone. ?Generals, please! Master Danaki is-? ?Right here, Colonel Black.? An eerily deep metallic voice boomed from behind him. Danaki lumbered into the room. He was now melded into his exo-suit. Wires protruded from his face and into the metal behind him. What was left of his face was twisted into an evil grin. His eyes, partly synthetic, glowed a faint red. He glared at Black, his eyes full of mechanical hatred. As he stepped into the dim light, the generals could see the full horror of their Master. On his right arm was a huge twisted blade, on his left a whole array of devastating weapons. The grin on his face deepened. ?As you can see, generals, I am perfectly fine. The Operation will be proceeding and I shall be the one heading it.? He said firmly, his voice oozing malice. Black raised his hand in protest. ?But, sir-? A deafening boom shook the room. The generals all turned to where Black was standing. He had collapsed to the floor, clutching his hand. Danaki lowered his gun arm and leered at the colonel. ?I will repeat what I said. I shall be heading the operation. We begin in two days.? The generals stared fearfully at Black, who was shaking violently at sight of the stump of his arm before him? A cool wind blew on the beach. Aidan, Matt, Gabumon, MetalArmadillomon and Tempestmon were being lead down a deserted road by a wizened Mothmon, her wings torn and battered. Up ahead, they could see movement. An old jeep rumbled up to meet them. Sitting inside it were an anxious-looking Sora and an ecstatic-looking Izzy. Sora leapt out of the car and flung her arms around Matt, sobbing loudly. ?I thought I?d lost you!? she wailed, tears flowing from her cheeks. ?Don?t to that again.? Matt smiled. ?I won?t.? he paused for a few seconds while Izzy skidded up to them, smiling happily. ?Matt, you dog! You made it!? he laughed, patting his arm. Matt smiled to him and manoeuvred an over-stuffed waterproof bag past Sora. He pulled it from his shoulder and chucked it to Izzy. Sora let herself let Matt go and looked at the bag curiously. ?What?s in there?? she asked, wiping her eyes. Izzy pulled out some rolls of parchment and studied them carefully. Matt took the rest and carried them over to the jeep, followed by the others. ?I know where T.K is.? Some hours later, Tempestmon was exploring the digidestined base. It looked much friendlier than where she was before. The floors were covered in a thin, faded carpet, and bright lights lined the walls. As she looked into a large room, she saw children eating with other digimon. They looked happy. Over the other side of the room, a man was cheerfully serving them food. He looked similar to Matt, although a lot older and his hair was shorter and mostly dark brown, with a few strands of silver interrupting the colour. It was a lovely sight, and she basked in their happiness for a few moments before continuing down the corridor. As she strode along, she noticed Aidan walking into another room. Smiling after him, she walked up to the door and peeked through a small crack. The digidestined were all sat around a circular table. There were six of them, along with several digimon, including MetalArmadillomon. She could hear a deep voice which she recognised as being Matt?s. ?I took as many as I could. Is it enough, Izzy?? Izzy looked at the old pieces of paper thoughtfully and rubbed his chin thoughtfully. They showed a massive humanoid digimon with a hunched back and demonic reptilian face reaching for an orb in the sky, a human figure standing below it. On other sheets were diagrams of massive black monoliths, labelled untidily with the letters E N I A C. Izzy picked up another sheet. It looked like a blueprint for a massive cannon. MetalArmadillomon jumped up onto a chair next to Aidan, who was staring at one of the sheets with a grim expression. It was a study of three digimon and a boy whom he?d never seen before. Photographs of them had been stuck to the paper and scrawled on messily. The first digimon was a knight-like creature with heavy armour, ten wings, a large staff and a sword. The second was a female. She was humanoid, but looked to be wearing a fox helmet. She was holding a large staff. The third digimon was wearing gauntlets exactly like his. It had a leather jacket with a large fluffy collar, and was wearing a bandanna around its left arm. Aidan pulled off his gauntlets and compared them to the digimon?s. They were the same. He laid them gently on the table and looked at the boy. He was standing with a small lizard creature. He has fairly long, spiked hair and was wearing a red bandanna around his neck. ?Must be a fashion,? he said quietly, throwing the sheet back into the pile in the middle of the table. Ken coughed nervously. ?What do they tell us, Izzy?? Izzy cleared his throat loudly, making Tempestmon jump, knocking the door. Aidan strode over to the door, sighed and gestured to her to come in. She smiled and sat down in his seat. Rolling his eyes, Aidan took another chair. Izzy picked up the sheets and placed them on his lap. He stuck one up on the wall and studied it carefully. ?It says? it?s very difficult to make out. The things written down here are in a complete mess?? The room stayed silent for a few minutes while he read it to himself. He turned back to the group and cleared his throat. ?This sheet gives us some kind of idea of how Thanatomon managed to transplant part of the corrupted Digital World onto Earth. Using the core of the Digital World, a computer called ENIAC. By annexing it into himself he managed to gain ultimate power over the Digital World, and that was how he was able to destroy the Four Guardians and create the Sentients. Then, he opened a gateway to the real world and transported a massive continent onto it, destroying America and half of Europe. We know how most of the rest of humanity was wiped out.? He explained gravely, everyone listening intently. ?So? where does T.K fit into all this?? Sora asked. Matt picked up the blueprint and a few wall scrolls and pinned them to the wall. ?This,? he began, pointing firmly at the blueprint, ?is what the humans plan to use to destroy the Digimon.? ?What is it?? Aidan asked. He couldn?t read, and had to rely on the others explaining things to him. ?It?s a time machine.? Izzy filled in. ?Well, to be more exact, it?s a vortex machine. It uses a huge energy source to create a warp in the fabric of space and time, presumably to enable them to travel back in time and stop Thanatomon from gaining control of ENIAC.? ?Or, to destroy digimon all together.? Aidan thought grimly. Ken looked doubtful. ?How would that work? Time travel hasn?t been properly discovered yet.? Izzy pondered this for a moment. ?Well, technically, we?ve already managed to cross dimensions successfully. Time travel is only the next step.? Matt pulled up another sheet. ?This blueprint?s only a prototype. A later scroll shows plans to use a digimon as the source of the portal- MagnaAngemon. Which means?? Matt sighed, almost with relief. ?that T.K is still alive somewhere. The reports here suggest that he?s somewhere in the massive Digimon continent. It?ll take some searching, but if we can find him, we?ll be able to prevent all this from ever happening and help digimon and humans to live together in peace.? A feeling of intense excitement filled the room. Everyone exchanged happy looks, except Izzy, whose expression was very grave. One by one, they quietened down. ?Izzy? What?s wrong? Can?t we do it?? Yolei asked, concern shaking her voice. ?No, it?s perfectly possible, and we have enough materials here to do it, but?? ?But what?? Sora asked emphatically. ?But it?ll mean that one or more of us will have to leave this world forever. That means that everything they?ve grown up to know here will no longer exist. We still will, but we?ll be completely different people to those they?d have gotten to know. Think about it. Everything will be saved, but the only one who will know will be the one who leaves this behind. They?ll have to spend their whole lives in almost complete isolation from their past friends? it?s a huge sacrifice to make.? A grim silence filled the room. No-one had expected it to come to this. One of them would have to leave everything behind. No-one seemed right to go. Sora and Matt had each other, and to ask either one of them to leave would be condemning the other to a life of loneliness, as was the same with Yolei and Ken. Izzy wasn?t anywhere near fit to save the world any more, and T.K would have to stay here to allow MagnaAngemon to open the gate. If two people went, there was a higher chance of success, and then at least they wouldn?t be lonely back in 2002. Aidan broke the silence. ?Is MagnaAngemon?s Gate of Destiny able to transport humans?? Another grim silence. Izzy adjusted his glasses. ?It?d be risky. Even if that attack is altered to become a time portal rather than a dimensional vortex, the chances of a human surviving the journey through would be very small. It?s only really safe for digimon?? Everyone wore a look of near hopelessness on their faces. Aidan looked around. Matt was clutching his hair in frustration, and the others were deep in thought around the table. He knew what he had to do. His voice made everyone jump. ?I?ll go.? No-one said anything. In truth, they weren?t sure whether to trust Aidan. They didn?t even know his real name, for one thing. What kind of digimon was he? On the other hand, they had little choice. ?You want to go?? Matt asked. Aidan nodded. ?I have nothing left to lose.? He clutched at something hanging around his neck, underneath his bandanna. ?Once we?ve found T.K and MagnaAngemon, I?ll go back in time to stop Thanatomon.? A look of slight doubt fell over Yolei?s face. ?But? you?re just one digimon.? Aidan winced. ?I? know. But I?m the only one digimon strong enough to go back and still be able to fight at full potential. Any other digimon who has a partner won?t be able to digivolve. Let me go.? For a few tense moments, Matt and Izzy looked at each other. The rest of the digidestined exchanged grave glances while they considered whether he would be able to save the entire future of all digimon and humans. After a while, a decision was reached. Matt walked over to Aidan and put a hand on his shoulder. ?Are you sure about this?? he asked softly. Aidan nodded. ?Then it?s decided. You can go.? Tempestmon looked worried. She hadn?t seen Aidan look this sad. Izzy wheeled himself over to Ken and Yolei and showed them the plans for the vortex generator. MetalArmadillomon crawled over to Aidan and gave him an encouraging look. ?Thank you, Aidan.? Sora said softly. Matt picked up the top half of the armour he?d picked up from the Midway base. ?Come on. We need to find T.K.?

RazeGallantmon looked vaguely disappointed. "But... we're not going to attack each other. And that would mean Mena would have to split up from Kamimon. That's not fair." David shrugged. "It's probably for their own good." Kamimon growled quietly. "I'm not going to leave Rakshemon." Fenix stepped inbetween them. "Hold it. Let's not get into another fight. You really do have those marks, don't you?" he asked David. David nodded. "As does Rakshemon." MetalArmadillomon's voice said. Kotemon walked up to RazeGallantmon. "Aidan, you have to help Teth. He's going to give up. If he does, then... I don't want to lose him." "Okay." Aidan's voice sighed. "Why don't we forget about the marks for now. We just have to not fight each other. It can't be that hard." Remembering back to when he was considering attacking Fenix with his sword he felt very stupid and embarrassed. "I'm going to help Kotemon." he said.