After beating back Myotismon's assault, the kids regrouped.
Izzy opened with a line that made everyone jump. "I'm afraid our mission isn't over yet."
"Huh?"
Ignoring their surprise, he continued, "On a mountain I ran into Vademon. He'd been bought off by DemiDevimon and tried to snatch my Crest. While they were talking, I heard DemiDevimon mention Myotismon—the Digimon we just saw. He's preparing something big. DemiDevimon didn't say what, but we can be sure the new enemy is Myotismon. We need to gather everyone and face him together."
Izzy's words left them pensive. Their calm days had barely begun before a new enemy appeared, leaving the kids scrambling to keep up.
"I agree," Matt spoke first. "We have to defeat Myotismon if we're ever going to learn how to get home. We're scattered; we need to regroup. From that fight just now, it's clear he's too strong—we couldn't beat him even together."
Decision made, the children set out again. Their goal now was to bring everyone together and face the new threat—Myotismon.
In a dim underground lab, Datamon clacked rapidly across several keyboards. Streams of data flooded the monitors; nearby indicators blinked in quick succession. The light in one of Datamon's eyes pulsed red. At last, the indicators went dark and the data vanished from the screens. He stopped typing, eye glittering. "It really won't work. I'll have to tell Tai."
"Come," a MetalPhantomon drifted over. Datamon didn't look at him. "Fetch Lord Tai."
"Yes."
Tai sat on a high throne, a black cloak draped over his shoulders—stitched from Garurumon's pelt, its defensive power rivaling Chrome Digizoid. At MetalPhantomon's report, he thought a moment, then beckoned an Airdramon. He stepped onto its head and flew west toward Datamon's sky-bastion.
He dismounted and came up behind Datamon, watching him work through streams of data.
"What is it, Datamon?"
Datamon swiveled to face him. "Lord Tai, analysis shows that while a Digivice resonating with your partner could push an evolution to Mega, something's still missing—perhaps the 'holy power' you mentioned. I did consider a substitute: if sufficient holy power can't be found, we could try using darkness instead. But the consequences are unknown. I've never modeled a Mega evolution; there are too many variables. Forcing it with dark power is unpredictable—impossible to foresee. That's all." He fell silent and watched Tai.
Tai sank into thought. In the original story, Gabumon and Agumon evolved to their Mega forms through holy power from Angemon and Angewomon. It wasn't permanent, but it was still Mega. The Steel—no, Metal—Empire's expansion had hit a wall: without a Mega, they couldn't push forward. But sending Agumon into that risk… he couldn't bear it.
"Don't think about it, Tai. I'll try." A voice broke the hush.
Tai turned. It was Agumon, who'd been listening from behind the door. Tai stared at him; Agumon stared right back.
Tai looked away. "No. I won't let you take that risk. Dark power is too dangerous. And even if we can't engineer a Mega now, we'll manage it someday. We can wait. You don't have to gamble your life."
Agumon shook his head. "I disagree. I've been less and less help to you. At first I could fight by your side, but there are more and more Ultimates in the Metal Empire now, and I'm not keeping up. I want to help you, Tai—so I'm willing to take the risk."
"It's not like that, Agumon. You're my partner, not my subordinate. I don't need you to throw yourself into battle for me—I need you with me. You're my best partner, and I will never send you into danger for my sake."
"But Tai—"
"That's enough. You don't have to say it again. I won't let you take that risk. We've got plenty to do. Let's go." Tai stepped out. Agumon lifted a claw as if to stop him, then let it fall and followed. Datamon watched them leave, red eye flickering with some private calculation, then turned back to the keys.
In a vast command hall, a colossal Digimon gazed at a ring of screens—intel on Tai's Metal Empire and the photo of a human girl. A gleam crossed his eyes, and torrents of data scrolled through them. If one could see the streams, they were scouring for hidden threads beneath the surface. No expression could be read on Machinedramon's mechanical face; garbled noises came from his mouth. As the seconds ticked by, the sounds clarified into words he repeated over and over: "Kari… Tai." Suddenly his eyes flashed red. An infrared transmission fired—one data packet streaked toward the far-off Server Continent.
Tai sat before a screen, watching the numbers shift and not knowing what to do. Was he really going to wait until "that" moment? Time was running short.
"Hm?" He frowned. An unknown signal pinged his system. An unfamiliar message icon pulsed on the display. After a pause, he hit a switch. MetalPhantomon glided over. "Your command, Lord Tai?"
"Bring Datamon."
"Yes."
Footsteps broke Tai's brooding. Datamon arrived. "Lord Tai?"
Tai pulled up the unknown message. "Can you trace where this came from?"
"No problem." Datamon slid into place and began to type. More data torrents flew.
Tai opened the message. It was an audio file. He frowned, hit play. "Fwee… fwee…" A soft whistle. It felt familiar. His eyes widened; he clenched his fist, and forced out a name between his teeth.
"Kari."
He snapped his head toward Datamon. "Trace it at top speed. Mobilize every resource in the Metal Empire."
Datamon gave a single word in reply: "Understood." His fingers flew.
After a while he stopped. Tai's question came hard and fast. "Well? Found it?"
"Mm. Machinedramon's Metal Empire."
Tai's face darkened. He'd been deliberately skirting a clash with the Dark Masters, but now he couldn't ignore it. Kari was his sister—he would never let her be harmed. What kind of brother would he be? But Machinedramon was a Mega, and with the Metal Empire behind him… Tai wasn't ready to face that.
"What's wrong, Tai?" Agumon hurried in.
Tai played the whistle again. Agumon tilted his head, baffled. "What is it?"
"Kari's whistle."
"Kari?"
"My little sister."
Datamon had been silent a long time; now he cut in. "We can't conclude your sister is in Machinedramon's hands from a whistle alone. Therefore—"
"I will not gamble," Tai cut him off. "Even if there's the slightest chance, I won't let it happen."
"But with our current strength, we can't beat him."
"Then we'll do it anyway."
"Tai—let me. Use the dark power. I'm willing to take the risk for you," Agumon said again.
Tai didn't answer. He just listened to Kari's whistle on loop, lost in thought. Agumon watched him, waiting. Datamon stood to the side, motionless.
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