A few minutes had passed since the group first began walking away from Flame Terminal. Takuya glanced around nervously, halfway expecting another beast like Cerberumon to come jumping out of the shadows for his throat once again. The first attack had caught him by surprise, and if there was anything he could do to prevent that from repeating, he was going to do it, regardless of how paranoid it was starting to make him.

The group was in a forested area now, but the trees didn't seem to be made entirely of leaves. Instead, they were constructed by small puffs of fire. Oddly enough, they didn't spread flames anywhere else though, remaining self-contained despite the light breeze that threatened to blow them around. The ground was dark, and no smoke was in the sky. It was odd to see the overhead area so perfectly normal and blue given how strange things looked on the ground.

"So... Can you start from the beginning?" Izumi questioned, her voice wavering slightly as she fiddled with the edges of her pristine blonde hair. She was the first one bold enough to break the silence as she looked down to Bokomon and Neemon anxiously.

"You're in the Digital World," Bokomon replied from his place at the front of the group. "It is a world made entirely of data that runs parallel to your Earth. We are on the Fire Continent right now."

"Um... We need more of an explanation than that," Tomoki told Bokomon as he shuffled his feet along the darkened ground. "You can't just leave us hanging that way..."

"And what are you two supposed to be anyways? Who was that giant dog thing that attacked us? How did Takuya transform into someone else?" Junpei asked, rattling off one inquiry after another without a moment of hesitation.

"Patience," Bokomon sighed with a shake of his head. "We are Digimon. I am Bokomon, and this is Neemon. The Digital World has no humans in it naturally, so the creatures who inhabit it are Digimon instead. It's a shortened term for Digital Monsters. I am a monster, and so is Neemon, and so was Cerberumon."

"Cerberumon must have been the dog then..." Izumi murmured with a small nod as she attempted to process this new information.

"As for how he transformed... Takuya, you said his name was? I believe he connected with the Spirit of Fire, Agunimon, and he became Agunimon himself," Bokomon replied. "That is a sign that he is one of the Legendary Warriors, fighters destined to save the Digital World from chaos. You must be the ones that are set to free us from the reign of Cherubimon."

"Talk to us like we have no idea what you're talking about..." Tomoki suggested, looking around the group nervously. "We aren't like you. We haven't been around here before."

Bokomon sighed. "The Digital World was once ruled by a trio of Digimon known as the Celestial Three. Those creatures were Seraphimon, Ophanimon, and Cherubimon. Seraphimon and Ophanimon represent the Human Digimon while Cherubimon is the mascot of the Beasts. While Ophanimon was visiting Seraphimon at his palace, Evergreen Dawn, Cherubimon attacked... We don't know how that battle ended, but chances are high that Seraphimon and Ophanimon were defeated," he explained.

"Now, Cherubimon is the only one left," Neemon continued. "Cerberumon was working for him before you appeared and fought him off!"

Takuya looked down at Bokomon and Neemon. "Alright, so... Who are these Legendary Warriors you mentioned?" he asked as he tried to recap all that he had learned internally. Things were moving quickly, but he was still going to try and remember all of this. Chances were that it was going to wind up being rather important, and it was better to know more than necessary than too little.

I'm in the Digital World. It is a place filled with creatures called Digimon, otherwise known as Digital Monsters. The world was ruled by three Digimon until one of them attacked the other two and asserted himself as the only one in power. Seems simple enough, Takuya thought to himself with a light nod.

"The Legendary Warriors once saved the Digital World when it was in a time of great crisis. It was always said that they would return when the Digital World needed them most... It seems that Cherubimon's takeover qualifies for that," Bokomon explained. "You are one of the Legendary Warriors. You used the Spirit of Fire to become Agunimon when you needed to fend off Cerberumon."

"Wow... So, Takuya was able to transform into a Digimon?" Tomoki questioned, looking at Bokomon with wide eyes. "That's amazing!"

"I guess so..." Takuya grinned to himself. He pulled his D-Tector out of his pocket and held it up for everyone else to see. "It was all thanks to this little thing... I think the woman who talked through it said it was a D-Tector."

"Hang on a second... I remember Agunimon from somewhere," Junpei cut in. He snapped suddenly as the thought came back to him. "That's right! When we were on the Trailmon, everything jolted, and I saw the outline of Agunimon appear above you!"

Izumi gasped. "Hey, you're right... But those visions appeared above all of us. Does that mean that we're all like Takuya?" she inquired.

Bokomon gasped. "If you're all Legendary Warriors, then that means we have four of the ten fighters we need to defeat Cherubimon once and for all! Imagine how incredible it would be to see the Digital World freed from his tyranny..." he murmured.

"Hey, I forgot to ask... What happened for you two to wind up chased by an agent of Cherubimon?" Takuya questioned, eyeing Bokomon and Neemon with a small frown. "I doubt you can just stumble your way into danger like that by accident."

Bokomon looked down, and Takuya could have sworn that he saw an echo of sadness in the small creature's gaze. "We used to work for Seraphimon, you see. We were there when the invasion on Evergreen Dawn took place, and... Seraphimon told us to run. He granted Neemon a blessing of his power that he said would come out when we needed it most. As for me... He gave me this trusty book." Bokomon reached into his pink waistband and pulled out the yellow book from before. "It seems to contain information about the Legendary Warriors, but... I haven't been given the chance to look through it yet."

"Cherubimon told Cerberumon to chase after us and get whatever Seraphimon gave to us," Neemon explained. "That was when you guys showed up and helped us out. Cerberumon probably didn't realize that all we got from Seraphimon was a book."

"I guess that Seraphimon's blessing of power won't come in handy at all until the conditions are right for it to activate," Izumi murmured. "Oh! One more question! What was that Fractal Code stuff that was mentioned while Takuya was transformed into Agunimon?"

Bokomon cleared his throat before speaking once again. "Fractal Code is the key data that makes up the Digital World. However, Cherubimon has been tearing the world apart. At one point, the Digital World was whole, but the Fractal Code has been destabilized, and chunks of the ground have been taken out. Our realm is a shadow of its former self because of Cherubimon's actions. He has been sending his minions out to gather it, allowing him to grow stronger, but Cerberumon was stopped from doing that thanks to what happened during the last fight," he explained. "The Fractal Code for the terminal was fixed and locked in place, meaning it isn't in danger of being torn out anymore."

"Wow... I guess that explains why the train tracks went straight into a void," Tomoki whispered. "There's nowhere for them to be anymore since the world is falling apart at the seams... And Cherubimon wants to take away even more of that for his own gain..."

"The Digital World is falling apart... Isn't there something that can be done to stop that?" Junpei questioned. He gave Takuya an inquisitive glance. "If so, I'm willing to bet that the solution has something to do with Takuya since he can transform into a Digimon and all that. Until we can unlock that power for ourselves, we're going to have to rely on him."

"The Fractal Code can be stabilized again if it is found and manipulated in the right way. I suspect that you will be able to do such without issues should we run into an area that needs it," Bokomon replied. "Fractal Code is often hidden, but you didn't seem to have any issues with finding it last time."

"We didn't find it. Cerberumon did. We just ripped it out of him after he was defeated and turned into an egg or whatever," Takuya corrected. "Speaking of that, what happened to him when he went flying off into the sky like that?"

"Digimon don't die. Instead, their data gets reconfigured into an egg, and the cycle begins all over again," Neemon explained. "He was going off to the Village of Beginnings to start his life again."

"It will be a while before he has the power to stand up and fight us again though, so perhaps we can mark him off as out of our way for the time being," Bokomon went on.

"Where are we going now?" Izumi questioned. "You said that you're on the run from Cherubimon and the people working under him, right? Are we supposed to just keep walking until we run into another Digimon like him? That sounds like a recipe for disaster. As great as you were during that fight, Takuya, you can't bear the burden of keeping us all safe should we be attacked again."

"I believe that we should go back to Evergreen Dawn," Bokomon replied. "That's Seraphimon's palace and where he was last seen alongside Ophanimon. They were battling against Cherubimon as Neemon and I escaped. We are unaware as to the outcome of the fight, but if we can go back there and get the help of Seraphimon... Maybe we can turn the tides on Cherubimon."

"What if Seraphimon is dead?" Junpei asked bluntly. "If he was up against an entire army, it's only realistic that he would have gotten a few scrapes. Cherubimon could have hold of Evergreen Dawn and be using it as a beacon to lure in innocent people for the sake of destruction and conquest. We should think this through before rushing into anything."

"If Seraphimon was dead, Cherubimon would not be hiding it. He would be flaunting such information all over the place to keep the Human Digimon in line. The same applies to Ophanimon. However, he has done no such thing, and it leads me to believe that both of them are still alive. I can't say quite what condition they are in, but... If they're alive, that counts for something, and it keeps the hope of the Digital World thriving as well," Bokomon answered.

"I suppose that we really don't have any other options then..." Tomoki whispered. "Will we be able to get on another Trailmon and go home soon? I don't know if I can stand being on the run like this for much longer..."

"But we just started running away," Neemon pointed out airily. "How can you be tired of it when we started running just a few minutes ago?"

Tomoki looked away, his cheeks pink as shame crept its way into his features. He appeared to be on the verge of tears thanks to the pressure until Takuya nudged him gently and offered a kind smile. Tomoki still had water in his eyes, but he managed to swallow his open fears for the moment.

"I don't know if it would be a good idea for you to go back," Bokomon said next. "The gate to the Digital World is not free for travel whenever someone pleases, you know. It was only unlocked recently when all of the Celestial Three wanted to go into it. Those three are the only ones who can control if the gate is open or not, and they have to agree one way or another. I can't fathom Cherubimon's intentions there, but... I believe that he has something awful planned. You are the Legendary Warriors, so you are the only ones who can stop him. If you leave Cherubimon unchecked, then he could easily invade the human world after Seraphimon and Ophanimon have been disposed of once and for all. Your world would be dragged into ruin along with ours."

"You... You mean that all three of the Celestials decided to open the gate since they're the ones with that power. Seraphimon and Ophanimon wanted to find us, or at least, that's what most likely happened, but Cherubimon is hoping to invade Earth to take control," Junpei murmured with a deep frown. "If we leave things be for too long, he'll keep the gate open by killing Seraphimon and Ophanimon, locking the portal in its current state, before invading and seizing power."

"Exactly. If you go back to Earth while Cherubimon is still in charge, bad things could happen. Everything could very easily fall apart for both your world and ours," Bokomon confirmed with a solemn nod. "In a way, staying here to get rid of him is your only option. You have to defeat Cherubimon in order to save both the Digital World and Earth."

Takuya let out a sigh. "If that's the case, then it seems that the decision has already been made for us... Let's go to Evergreen Dawn and get the help of Seraphimon. If all goes according to plan, then maybe he and Ophanimon can take care of things with our help. We'll just have to see what happens once we arrive," he concluded.

"You're right. For now, going to Evergreen Dawn is our best choice. We'll just have to avoid the agents of Cherubimon that might try to follow us," Izumi declared. "Maybe we'll be able to find our own Spirits on the way. That's what they're called, right? Those phantoms appeared above us on the train, so that has to mean something. Here's to hoping we can find them soon... I don't like the idea of not being able to fight against magical monsters with only bare fists and determination."

"You'll find your Spirits eventually," Bokomon assured her. "It's just a matter of time. Maybe they'll be on the way to Evergreen Dawn. Only time will tell. For now, let's keep going. We have a lot of ground to cover. Neemon and I were running for a week and a half before we arrived here at Flame Terminal. The journey isn't going to be easy, and you have to be ready for what's coming."

"It's not like we have much of a choice," Tomoki whispered with a shake of his head. Takuya could tell just from a glance that there was more stirring in the younger boy's head than he was willing to admit, and Takuya made a mental note to check on Tomoki when he got the chance to do so.

"You do know where we're going, right?" Junpei asked. "I would hate to walk for miles in the wrong direction. I might have to obliterate the nearest tree if that's the case... You know, if these trees can even be destroyed. They seem pretty busted up already."

"Don't worry. I'm positive we're going in the right direction," Bokomon told him. "Follow me! To Evergreen Dawn, Legendary Warriors! The future of the Digital World is waiting for us, and we shouldn't keep it for too long!"

~~~~~

Koji Minamoto navigated his way through the underground area near Flame Terminal, staring down at his D-Tector. It was the primary source of light in the dark tunnels, and the gentle white glow illuminated his pale cheeks when nothing else would. He glanced around at his surroundings when he stopped for a moment before taking another step forward and continuing his search.

When he first hopped on the train (which he had since learned was called a Trailmon), the voice from inside the D-Tector told him to find a Spirit. He wasn't sure what that meant, but a signal from the device pointed him to these underground tunnels, and given that he didn't have anything else to follow, he decided to use it as his guide for the time being.

There was something oddly sinister about the tunnels that Koji couldn't quite describe. He had walked away from the terminal where he first got off the train. The area was apparently called the Earth Terminal, but it was near an area that was crafted by fire. With that, he crossed over to the Continent of Fire without any second thoughts, using only his D-Tector as a compass.

A shadow darted by near him, and Koji took a small step back. He was experienced enough in martial arts to know how to defend himself if it came to that, but given that he didn't know what this world was capable of, he hoped that he wasn't backed into that corner. Seeing a train talk was weird enough, and Koji had a sneaking suspicion that Trailmon was far from being the weirdest thing that this new universe had at its disposal. He didn't want to see how much worse it could get until after he had a Spirit, whatever that was supposed to be. The voice in his D-Tector seemed to believe it was important, and who was he to object? He was sure that the woman knew much more about this world than he did.

Koji glanced up when he heard the ceiling creak. He knew that he was underground, as he had been forced to descend a set of thick metal stairs to arrive down there, but it was still odd to hear the ceiling groan and complain. He wondered what could be bending it in such a way, but he pushed the thought away with a reminder that he probably didn't want to find out.

He shook his head, trying to dispel his nerves, as he focused on his D-Tector once again. He had to be getting closer. With every step he took, the pulses from the hologram the device produced got stronger. That was a sign of something, and he was hoping that it was a good thing. He didn't know what he was going to do if this wound up being a waste of time that forced him into a situation he wasn't equipped to deal with yet, but chances were that he would be beyond frustrated. He hoped the woman in his D-Tector knew what she was doing, because he sure as hell did not.

~~~~~

The group was still walking through the woods near Flame Terminal when Tomoki's foot touched the ground and the metal groaned. He jumped back in surprise, looking down at the spot that had creaked under his weight. "D-Did you guys hear that?!" he exclaimed, pointing at the offending location.

Junpei stopped walking and turned to see what he was talking about. "What is it?" he questioned.

"The ground just creaked... Like there was something underneath it," Tomoki replied. He took a step closer, placing his weight on the area cautiously. Once again, the earth groaned beneath him, and he retreated with a small yelp of shock.

"I wonder what it could be..." Takuya murmured. By now, he had stopped walking alongside Bokomon, Neemon, and Izumi. The group of six was all looking down at the place on the ground that was bothering Tomoki so much.

Takuya took a small step closer, but he never got the chance to investigate. The ground complained once more, but it didn't stop there. Instead, the metal gave way completely, forming a hole in the ground. Before he knew what had happened, Takuya had fallen through, and a yell forced its way from his mouth.

He hit the ground hard, and his back instantly despised gravity for throwing him into free fall like that. Takuya pushed himself to his feet slowly, and he was halfway up when he heard another chorus of screams. He looked up with a gasp, and he saw that the hole had consumed the rest of the group as well.

It was only thanks to a quick roll to the left that Takuya was able to keep from being clobbered by his fellow travelers. The five landed in a heap with Junpei and Izumi at the bottom. Tomoki was on top of them, and Bokomon sat with Neemon at the peak of the pile. Slowly but surely, they managed to unpack themselves, all grunting and complaining along the way about bruises and other injuries that would certainly take some time to heal.

"What happened?" Izumi questioned once she managed to get to her feet. She brushed the dirt off her leggings before looking up, blocking her eyes with her hand to ensure she wasn't overwhelmed by the fire hanging off the trees on the ground above.

Bokomon sighed. "It seems the Fractal Code in this area is weaker than we thought... The ground gave way with the slightest push, and now we're down here," he explained. He brushed some stray dust off himself before shaking his head. "We'll just have to find a way to get back on ground level once again."

"How should we do that? For all we know, there could be a labyrinth down here. Look around," Tomoki pointed out, his voice wavering slightly. He glanced around the area before swallowing nervously and shaking his head. "What are we supposed to do now...?"

"We can't just climb back up. We fell too far," Junpei frowned. "I doubt that we could even get one person up there unless it was Bokomon or Neemon, and even if we manage that, how do the rest of us climb back up? That's just not happening."

"Let's look around for another way then," Neemon shrugged. "It can't be that bad. They're just tunnels. What do we have to be scared of?"

"There are plenty of things to be scared of in tunnels," Tomoki mumbled with a shake of his head. "We'll have to be careful... What are we going to do if we get jumped by a Digimon while we're down here? It's so dark everywhere else... The hole is offering us light for now, but if we want to find a way out of here, we're going to have to leave it behind."

"We'll do what we can then," Izumi declared. "I'm not going to let us get stuck down here because of that damn hole! If it wants to be a pain in the ass, then fine! We're going to look around and find a way out!"

"That's the spirit!" Takuya exclaimed, letting out a small laugh as he pumped his fist into the air. "We have nothing to worry about. We'll be fine. Promise. Nothing to worry about, Tomoki."

Tomoki sighed and shook his head. "I hope that you're right... Maybe these tunnels are just abandoned. That would probably be the best possible outcome for us... Here's to praying to whatever digital higher power is out there."

~~~~~

Koji had been walking for a few minutes since he first heard the ground above creak. The eardrum-shattering set of screams reached his ears as the earth gave way from the feet of the other group of humans. Koji grunted at the sound and clapped his hands over his ears, dropping his D-Tector in the process. "Fucking hell," he murmured, cringing at the excessive noise.

His D-Tector had slid a few feet away when he dropped it, and he let out a sigh as he closed the distance between the device and himself. As much as he hated to admit it, the sound had shaken him more than he cared to admit. Koji examined the sensor on his device again, frowning when he realized that it was pointing in the same direction that the voices had come from.

If there was one thing Koji hated doing, it was working with other people excessively. He wasn't exactly fond of talking to others, mostly since those he did wind up being forced to communicate with proved themselves to be fools and morons. It was better for him to work on his own. He had always been more productive that way, and he doubted that was going to change in the Digital World. He knew what he was doing, and he wasn't going to allow other pesky people to get in his way of figuring out what he had to do next.

Koji gasped as soon as he heard a distant growl. It didn't sound human, and he suspected that he was about to run into one of the other monsters that inhabited the Digital World. His grip on his D-Tector grew tighter, and he had to resist the urge to seize a weapon and fight back against it directly. No matter how hard he fought, he wouldn't be able to win. That much he was sure of. The risks were too great for fighting to be a good idea, especially if he was up against supposedly magical beasts.

But if he didn't get used to it, then how was he supposed to survive? Making friends with some of the monsters that inhabited the Digital World was already out of the question given how he doubted people on this side of the barrier between realms were any smarter. If he didn't find a way to make it on his own, was he truly worthy of whatever titles or accolades he could earn in the Digital World?

Koji shook off those thoughts as best he could and focused his attention on following the indicator on his D-Tector once again. He couldn't afford to stall if he wanted to avoid running into whatever the hell had made that loud noise. His Spirit had to be around here somewhere, and he wasn't going to allow that monster to deter him from finding it. All he had to do was put one step in front of the other. He'd figure something out eventually.

~~~~~

It had been roughly ten minutes since the group first fell from the upper area of the fiery woods. So far, nothing had been spotted as far as an exit was concerned, and the light of the four D-Tectors was all the group had to illuminate their way.

Takuya was near the front of the group, looking down at his screen intently. "I wonder how close we're getting... We have to be getting close to an exit. We've been down here for a while now," he murmured.

"Impatient much?" Junpei remarked with a dramatic roll of his eyes. "Just make sure not to get us into any trouble. There's only so much that I can deal with in a day."

As if on cue, the ground began to rumble with a low growl. The group froze immediately, and Takuya was the only one who dared to glance around to see if he could figure out what the source of the noise could be. His search came up inconclusive, and he let out a sigh. "Why do I hate the sound of whatever that was?" Takuya questioned.

"Probably because that was most certainly another monster," Tomoki whispered, his voice wavering. "We have to get out of here as soon as possible. Come on."

When they got moving once again, everyone seemed to be more hesitant than before. Izumi couldn't stop fiddling with the ponytail holder around her wrist, and Junpei was focusing on his D-Tector to keep from thinking about the surrounding tunnels. Tomoki looked less like a boy and more like a kicked puppy the longer they wandered around. Even Neemon, who seemed unflinching in the face of danger, was starting to grow uneasy.

Another grumble pierced the air, and Bokomon sighed. "It seems that we're getting closer to that beast," he declared. "Be careful not to get into any trouble, alright? We have enough to deal with as it is."

Before any other words could be spoken, a third roar could be heard. Tomoki let out a shrill shriek, jumping closer to everyone else. He held up his D-Tector, illuminating the monster in question as it made its way into the light.

To put it simply, the creature looked like an abomination straight out of a nightmare. He was composed of bluish gray sludge. Two prominent black patches were around his eyes, which were white with maroon irises. Many jagged, silver teeth stuck out of a gaping hole where his mouth was supposed to be. A stray gray pipe or two stuck out of his back. His claws shone in the limited light of the area, and he let out a cry of anger at the sight of the group.

"Raremon," Bokomon explained. "He's a Beast Digimon... He's a member of Cherubimon's army as well. I suppose that he was sent to patrol this area."

"In that case, we have to fight him off!" Takuya declared. He began to poke at the buttons on his D-Tector, a small huff of frustration escaping his lips when he realized Spirit Evolution wasn't going to come as easily to him this time as it had before. "Oh, come on! It just happened last time, so why won't it work this time?! I would say that this is a circumstance where we really need Agunimon!"

Raremon pulled back his right arm before launching a pile of sludge forwards. Izumi dragged Takuya backwards by the collar of his jacket to keep him from getting hit head-on by the attack, and she seized his wrist once it was within her grasp. "Come on! We have to get out of here!" she shouted.

It didn't take long for the group to take off running at Izumi's instruction. Takuya was at the back of the group despite Izumi's forceful tugs on his arm. He was too focused tapping at the buttons on his D-Tector to concentrate on running away. All that ran through his mind was how useful it would be to Spirit Evolve to defeat Raremon. The others were defenseless, so it was up to him to take Raremon out.

Takuya's frustration only mounted as he continued slamming his fingers against the buttons of his D-Tector. Despite the distraction, he was still managing to keep a decent distance away from the enemy. If he could figure out the magical string of inputs, he would be able to rescue his companions and consider the fight over before it could begin.

Under any other circumstances, Takuya's desperation to Spirit Evolve would have been useful. However, it was nowhere near as helpful as it would have been elsewhere.

Since he was too focused on trying to Spirit Evolve, Takuya didn't notice when the rest of the group stopped. He had made his way to the far right of the group, and he plowed past them and straight into a new arrival on the scene.

Takuya collided head on with Koji, and both of them were sent to the ground. Takuya's D-Tector slid on the ground past Koji, still lit up and waiting to be used once more. Koji managed to keep hold of his own device, but he was clearly frustrated.

"Watch where you're going!" Koji roared, rubbing at the side of his cheek where it had made contact with Takuya's forehead. "You should be more careful!"

Takuya rubbed at his own bruises, but he gasped when he realized just who he was looking at. "Hey! You're the boy I ran into at the train station!" he exclaimed. "I never caught your name."

"Now isn't the time for introductions, Takuya!" Junpei shouted, pointing behind the goggle-bearing boy.

At those words, Takuya whirled around, jumping off the ground when he saw Raremon. His attempts to introduce himself to Koji were forgotten immediately as he picked up his D-Tector and resumed in his furious tapping. "Come on! Agunimon, I need you!" he murmured, whimpering in frustration when his attempts came up short.

Raremon threw yet another ball of sludge at Koji, but the boy was able to dodge it without any issues. He got to his feet and started running off down a tunnel nearby. It wasn't the one that he had come from, instead being just off to the right of where he had come from initially.

Seeing no other options, the rest of the group followed suit. Junpei stole a few glances back in the direction where Raremon was, and he sighed when he saw the monster once again. "We can't fight him until you turn into Agunimon, Takuya!" he exclaimed. "Can you try it?!"

"What do you think I've been doing?!" Takuya cried in response. He huffed angrily with a violent shake of his head. "Come on, Agunimon! Please!"

Another ball of sludge was hurled at the group, but it fell just short of Tomoki, who was at the back of the party. He yelped in surprise and urged himself onwards once again, picking up Bokomon in one arm and Neemon in the other when he passed by them. Bokomon and Neemon allowed themselves to be grabbed without any objections.

Koji heard his D-Tector beep while the group continued running down the hallway. He saw a light from down a corridor off to his left, and something inside him said that he had to see what it was about. In a leap of faith, he launched himself off the ground and towards the extra tunnel. His feet made contact with the ground roughly, but he managed to right himself and continue walking forward. A quick gaze over his shoulder showed that Raremon had followed the rest of the group, so he was free to explore at his own leisure. He sighed in relief once he realized such and began walking forward cautiously.

Koji didn't know how to describe the area in front of himself. It was narrow and dark, but there was a light gleaming at the end of the tunnel and around a corner to the right. He continued pressing on, wondering what could await him at the conclusion of this peculiar path.

The strangest part of the area was how he felt as if someone was calling out to him. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something that wanted his attention, and he wasn't sure of how to give it the concentration that it required. Koji looked down at his D-Tector and saw that the signal on the hologram was getting progressively stronger.

"My Spirit," he breathed, realizing what the source of the light was at long last. He found himself speeding up slightly, a smile appearing on his lips. Koji didn't understand what a Spirit was, nor was he sure of why it was calling out to him, but he was going to figure it out soon enough. The answers would be arriving in a few short moments, and he couldn't wait to hear the truth.

Koji finally arrived at his destination, and his grin only got wider. There was a glowing shrine on a large column of stone, and it looked like a wolf creature. The shrine made it look as if it was half-human and half-wolf, but Koji didn't care much for the details. He stepped closer to the carving, not bothered at all by the bright light that threatened to steal his vision temporarily.

Koji's D-Tector emitted a sharp beeping sound, and he held it up against the light. "Spirit!" he called out, watching as the silhouette of the shrine began to shrink before disappearing entirely into the sensor at the top of his D-Tector.

"It is time."

The distant voice of the woman from the device echoed in Koji's head, but he was hardly preoccupied with such. A ring of data appeared around his left hand, and he scanned the circle on the sensor of his D-Tector. "Execute!" he cried out. The words left his lips without any official input from him, and he knew that these were words that he had been destined to say his entire life. "Spirit Evolution!"

The first and perhaps most noticeable change with the transformation was that he got significantly taller than before. A silver helmet that looked like the top of a wolf's head appeared on top of a short chunk of straight pale blonde hair. His navy eyes turned a deep maroon color. Black fabric appeared around his chin, and his features grew much more defined compared to his default appearance.

The base of Koji's new outfit was a pure white color. On his chest, he gained gray armor with grayish blue highlights here and there. Shoulder pads bearing a pattern for the symbol of Light sprouted into existence here and there. They followed the same color scheme as the rest of his ensemble, but black plates hung down from each side. Koji's lower arms gained armor with the same color pattern as his chest armor, though his gloves had a black base with the darker gray acting as an accent color. A black belt wrapped around his waist.

The lower half of his appearance followed the same pattern as the upper half. Black buckles could be seen on either of his thighs. His knee pads were the darker gray color, but pale gray plates extended upwards. His shoes had a black base with mostly light gray plates on them, though one darker gray segment could be seen at the top of his foot. Extending from the front of his feet were claws. A blaster appeared on his left arm, and a scarf wrapped around his neck to complete the look. It was a pale blue color at base with darker blue stripes in the pattern of a wolf's fur.

"Lobomon!"

That's who I am now, Koji, now Lobomon, realized without needing to think about it. Everything about this shift felt natural to him in a way he didn't know how to describe. He didn't look like Koji anymore, but that didn't matter. This side was just as much a part of him as his human identity, and he felt as if a long-restrained force was finally coming out to play for the first time ever. The liberating feeling that washed through him was like nothing he had ever experienced before, and it didn't have much competition as far as moments that could rise to become the best of his life.

Screams could be heard distantly, and Lobomon sighed. The rest of the group was still being chased by Raremon, and chances were that they had been cornered. He may have preferred his own company, but he wasn't going to leave them to be decimated by the sludge monster. He wasn't heartless.

Lobomon kicked off the ground, using his newfound energy to move faster than he ever had before. Koji was nimble and quick as it was when he was in his human form, and those facts only seemed to become exponentially truer now that he was Lobomon. Every part of himself seemed to have been built upon, a natural evolution of his regular identity.

He was able to close the distance between the room where he found his Spirit and the area where Raremon had made his home much faster than he ever could have hoped to do otherwise. Lobomon found himself impressed by his own speed, and he landed in a crouch after Raremon came into view once again.

He had managed to corner Takuya, Tomoki, Izumi, and Junpei. Bokomon and Neemon were still tucked under Tomoki's arms, and the poor boy couldn't stop shaking. None of them seemed to have noticed Lobomon yet since their attention was primarily on their assailant. Raremon's wide frame was able to cover Lobomon from view easily regardless of how much taller he had gotten while undergoing the Spirit Evolution process.

Takuya was still tapping violently at the buttons on his D-Tector to no avail. Eventually, he let out a gasp, and a ring of data appeared around his fingers. However, the data disappeared, dispersing into the air around him until it was invisible again. "What the hell?!" he shouted as Raremon unleashed another monstrous roar.

"I guess that your energy hasn't replenished itself since the fight with Cerberumon," Bokomon explained. "But if you can't fight off Raremon, then how are we supposed to get out of this?"

"There's nowhere we can run, and it's not like we have any weapons," Izumi murmured, glancing around frantically. "There has to be something we can do... Come on, universe! Throw us a bone already!"

"I doubt that any attacks from us would hit in the first place... Look at him. He's hardly solid, and if we tried to hit him without the help of Agunimon, our attacks wouldn't have much of an impact, and that's assuming anything is going to work on him in the first place," Junpei pointed out. He glanced around, trying to find a way out. "If we can find a place to break through, then we can get out of here without any further concerns..."

Tomoki was staring up at Raremon silently, trembling slightly from his fear. He shook his head. "N-No... I don't want to die here..." he murmured, tears appearing in his eyes before starting to cascade down his face. He didn't openly let out a sob, but it was clear by the way his body was wracked with small trembles that he was struggling to keep everything held inside.

Takuya, meanwhile, was repeating the same button press that had created the ring of data around his hand in the first place. Every once in a while, about every five or six attempts, the data would start to form around his fingers, but just as it had done before, it would disperse and fade into nothingness as if it hadn't been there in the first place. Takuya's movements only got faster, and it was clear that frustration was beginning to settle in properly when he realized that nothing he did was going to work. He didn't have enough energy to fight off Raremon, and he wasn't going to be able to change that truth as the situation currently stood.

Lobomon slashed his right arm out to the side, and a small black cylinder appeared in his hands. The bottom end of the cylinder was rounded while the other side was flat. A blade of light sprouted from the flat segment of the stick in the blink of an eye. It was so pale blue that it appeared white, and it provided a perfect beacon light in the dark tunnels.

Suddenly, instinct took over once again. Koji—the regular version of Koji, that was—had spent years in kendo learning how to defend himself. Surely fighting with a sword of light couldn't be too different from what he was used to back on Earth. His hypothesis proved to be correct when he was able to easily deliver a slash to the back of Raremon's head, sending sludge flying in every direction. Lobomon jumped backwards swiftly to avoid getting covered in the muck.

Raremon stopped paying attention to the cornered group of six, instead rotating himself around to stare at Lobomon. Small flakes of data were coming away from the back of his head where he had been hit by the sword of light, but they were so small that they would have been easy to miss if the blade wasn't illuminating the area with such clarity.

Raremon pulled back his right arm, or at least, the mesh of sludge that was meant to be a front limb, before hurling it forwards. Muck flew through the air, and Lobomon hopped to the side at the last second to avoid it, his scarf missing the final bits of goo by a hair's breadth.

"Who is that?" Izumi asked breathlessly, her eyes wide in surprise. She started to move out of the corner now that Raremon was no longer keeping the group held there.

Bokomon, still tucked under Tomoki's arm, pulled his book from the pink band at his waist. After a bit of flicking through the pages near the front, he smiled to himself. "Aha!" he declared, pointing at an image of the newcomer. "That would be Lobomon! He's the Legendary Warrior of Light!"

"I guess that black-haired kid found a Spirit down here," Junpei remarked. "If he's one of us, then he should stick around for a while longer after this fight is over."

Takuya shoved his D-Tector into his pocket roughly and moved away from the corner of the room as well. He gestured for Tomoki, who had been frozen in fear up to that point, to do the same. The younger boy snapped out of his terrified trance and followed Takuya's instructions with a nod and nervous gulp.

"He looks cool," Neemon remarked, laughing to himself from his place in Tomoki's grasp.

Lobomon jumped into the air and came down with a kick. His foot got stuck in the sludge on Raremon's head at first, but he was able to pry himself free with a quick slash of his blade. He landed in a crouch as the sword disappeared in a small puff of white light. The area went dark once again now that the illumination brought by the sword was no longer available.

However, the room soon exploded with light once more. Lobomon held up his left arm, and the blaster on it came to life. A puff of white energy shot out of the cannon, hitting Raremon in the left arm. Raremon let out a screech of agony, starting to lose his balance. When he managed to recover, he continued pressing forward with a vengeance, his teeth bared as he attempted to clamp down on Lobomon.

Much to the shock of the onlookers, Lobomon didn't move out of the way when Raremon's teeth got close. Instead, he allowed Raremon to bite at his arm. Lobomon hissed in pain at first as the silver metal inside the enemy's mouth threatened to pierce his armor, but he shook it off rather quickly, focusing his energy into the blaster that Raremon had between his teeth.

White light exploded forth once again, though this time, it was sent right inside of Raremon's mouth. The beast's eyes went wide, and he screamed in agony. His wail echoed throughout the hollow tunnels extending outwards from the area. The noise was piercing enough to leave an echo ringing in everyone's ears.

Lobomon created his sword once again and slashed it along Raremon's sludge. He got in many successful strikes, and Raremon was far too weak from the blast to his mouth to try and fight back. While he did grunt here and there in response to the many hits, he was mostly silent as he attempted to stumble away from Lobomon.

Raremon's legs, if they could even be called such, gave out from beneath him after one final strike from Lobomon. The sword of light dissipated into thin air once again, and Lobomon held his hands out in front of himself in a cup formation towards Raremon. The air around his fingertips began to distort slightly as energy came together to form a sphere of white light. The orb grew in size and power for a few seconds before Lobomon smirked to himself. "Lights out," he whispered.

With these words, Lobomon sent the energy flying free. The sheer power of the force sent his scarf blowing in a breeze that struck up seemingly from nowhere, and it was enough to ruffle the hair and clothing of those looking on the fight from the outside as well.

Raremon wailed once again as he was hit by the attack, and his figure began to turn black. Soon enough, he was nothing more than a silhouette, the same as Cerberumon had once been before he was defeated permanently. Raremon fell silent and unmoving, simply standing in place as a ring of Fractal Code appeared around his data.

"You have caused more than enough issues. The time has come to repent," Lobomon declared. He held up his right hand after closing his eyes for a moment. "Fractal Code Purify!"

The Fractal Code left behind Raremon before moving towards Lobomon's waiting hand. The energy disappeared fully after the last traces of it had been absorbed by Lobomon, and the black silhouette began to change shape to become a small egg. It was sent flying skywards, passing through the roof of the tunnels and disappearing into the upwards area beyond.

Lobomon smirked to himself when he saw that Raremon was gone. He stared at the place where the beast had disappeared through the ceiling after reverting into an egg. When he was finished examining it, his gaze fell to his right hand, and his fingers clenched into a fist soon afterwards. He closed his eyes, and data began to cover him once again. The purple and blue energy dissipated a few seconds later, and when it vanished, Koji was standing where Lobomon once had been. He maintained the same pose that his other half had been in when the transformation began moments before.

"Impressive," Takuya remarked, walking a bit closer to Koji with a small smile on his face. "You sure did know what you were doing, huh?"

Koji didn't give a response, instead humming to himself and turning on his heel and walking away. He got a few steps away before he was stopped by Takuya.

The goggle-wearing boy ran up to him, sliding to a stop once he was in Koji's way. "You can't just walk away from us like that!" he exclaimed.

"Guess what I'm going to do," Koji scoffed with a roll of his eyes. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept walking, stepping to the side to move away from Takuya, who was still obstructing his way.

Takuya growled under his breath. "Hey! The least you could do is give us your name!" he exclaimed. "We're like you! I bet you didn't know that, huh? We're Legendary Warriors too!"

Koji paused at Takuya's words, but he still didn't turn to face the rest of the group. "I'm Koji Minamoto," he replied bluntly, at least offering them the kindness of his name as Takuya had requested. He looked down at his feet for a moment longer before starting to walk away once again.

Takuya opened his mouth to say something to Koji, but he was cut off by the fragile, wavering voice of Tomoki. "Excuse me, Koji... Do you know the way out of this place?" he asked. "W-We fell down here on accident, and we don't know how to get back up to ground level..."

Koji stopped once more when he heard Tomoki speak. "I know where the exit is. If you want to find it, follow me," he said simply before taking off once again. He was walking faster than before, but he was still slow enough that the rest of the group was able to keep pace with him.

Takuya let out a huff at Koji's back with a shake of his head. "Rude, isn't he?" he muttered. He followed after Koji regardless, not seeing any other options given that the other boy seemed to know his way around much better than anyone in his group, but the bitterness was still evident in his tone and stance.

"He was amazing," Junpei murmured, whispering to Izumi to make sure that Koji didn't overhear him talking. "I can tell that he's had more experience with fighting than Takuya. Not to trash Agunimon or anything, but... What little we saw of him from the above platform seemed clumsy in comparison to what Lobomon pulled off."

"I know, right?" Izumi whispered back. "I don't know who this guy is, but I hope we can get to know him better in the future. I know I would love to get closer with somebody like that, especially if we're going to be fighting more of those monsters in the future."

The rest of the journey to the nearest exit was silent. Koji was able to navigate them through the labyrinth with ease, and when they were at a staircase leading up to the fiery trees from before, he was the first one to walk up. Once everyone was outside, he crossed his arms and turned to face the group. "This is where our alliance ends," he told them. His tone wasn't harsh, but it lacked any sense of emotion, making it come off as blunt and strange to the rest of the party.

"What?" Takuya asked, his jaw dropping as he gaped at the other boy. "You can't be serious. But I told you that we were Legendary Warriors too! We're the same as you! Why are you just leaving as soon as we got the chance to meet each other?"

"I work alone," Koji replied with a simple shrug. "I've always worked alone." He walked away without hesitation as soon as the words were released, his figure backlit by the fire of the trees nearby. He seemed to pick up the pace the further he got away from the rest of the group.

"Hey, wait!" Izumi cried out, taking a few steps forward to go after him.

She was cut off by Bokomon shaking his head. "Don't bother. I doubt that he's going to be willing to listen to us at this point... But don't despair. I'm sure that we'll see him again. If he's really another member of the Legendary Warriors, then we're bound to encounter him later down the road," he pointed out.

"If he wants to be stubborn now, then fine. We'll get him out of his shell eventually," Takuya sighed, though it was clear that he was still far from happy about how the encounter had ended. He shook his head bitterly, closing his eyes as he contemplated the matter internally.

Tomoki finally set Bokomon and Neemon back on the ground and looked at the former of the two. "Say, Bokomon... What's in that book of yours?" he questioned. "It seemed to tell you that Lobomon was the Legendary Warrior of Light earlier. There was even a picture of him inside."

Bokomon began to flick through the pages. "In all honesty, I'm not entirely sure what's in here specifically... Seraphimon said it contained information about the Legendary Warriors. It was important enough to Seraphimon that he sent it away with me when I fled his palace of Evergreen Dawn alongside Neemon, but... I never saw it in the library. Neemon and I managed it together before all of this started, you know. It doesn't have a title or anything either. Isn't that rather strange?" he asked.

"It seems to know a lot more about the Legendary Warriors than the average Digimon," Tomoki agreed with a nod. "That would explain why it had information about both Agunimon and Lobomon inside of it. Maybe it could lead us to where the Spirits are found. If it knows about the Legendary Warriors, then it has to know where their Spirits are resting. If that's the case, we can use it to our advantage to go and find Spirits for the rest of us."

"I'd need some downtime to look over the book to see if it has such information," Bokomon pointed out. "I believe we could all use some rest... Look at poor Takuya. He was unable to transform into Agunimon during that last fight since he was so exhausted after his battle with Cerberumon earlier."

Takuya let out a sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it, I am feeling pretty tired after all that... Do you know where we could rest until we're feeling better?" He looked up at the sky with a small frown. "It's starting to get dark now... I wonder what happens whenever nighttime hits around here."

"It becomes nighttime, silly," Neemon replied with a shake of his head. "You humans can be so goofy sometimes. What else would you expect to happen?"

Takuya huffed. "How was I supposed to know? It's not like I've been to an alternate universe before!" he cried in frustration.

"It would be best if we could find some shelter before nightfall. Even if it does just slip into nighttime most of the time, that isn't always the case. Times are dangerous now that Cherubimon is in power, and we'll be safest if we can find a place to stay until the morning. We can continue our search for the Spirits tomorrow," Bokomon declared. "I believe that there's a village near here filled with Human Digimon. I'm sure that they would be happy to let us stay there while we recovered. In these dark times, Human Digimon are more likely to be our allies, and I'm sure that they would love to aid the Legendary Warriors."

"Do you know where this village is?" Junpei questioned. "I don't want to wander around all night and risk running into another enemy. In case you haven't already noticed, we don't have any ways to defend ourselves right now since Takuya can't become Agunimon. We can't take any chances."

"I know what I'm doing," Bokomon sighed. "It's like you don't trust me, your unofficial guide to the Digital World, to guide you! How ridiculous! Please, just follow me. I know exactly where I'm going, and that's not going to change anytime soon. As long as we're in the region of Fire or Wood, which just so happens to be adjacent to us right now, I can show you everywhere that you could want to go."

"If you're their guide, what am I supposed to do?" Neemon asked, tilting his head to one side as he pointed to himself with one hand.

"You're... You're my assistant," Bokomon decided after a few seconds of hesitation. "Come on. Shelter isn't going to find itself, and we want to get as far away from the place where Raremon was defeated as possible. Cherubimon's control over the Digital World is tight and getting worse, and if he figures out that Raremon and Cerberumon went down, he could very easily send enemies in our direction to eliminate us. We're going to have to continue to be careful."

"You're really not that good at reassuring us that everything will be okay," Izumi remarked with a small roll of her eyes. "Tell us about how we'll all be gruesomely murdered more, will you?"

"Oh, I'm very good at being reassuring. All you need to do is make sure that you don't get murdered," Bokomon told her nonchalantly. "Once we arrive in the village, I can look in this book more and see if I can learn more about what information it contains... There has to be some information in here that can help us to find the remaining Spirits."

"Well, it doesn't seem like we have any other choice," Tomoki said with a loose shrug. It was clear that he was still concerned about being in the Digital World, but he did his best to bury his concern. "We should go to this village so that we can rest up for the night. We have to find the rest of the Spirits and stop Cherubimon so that we can go back home."

"When you say it like that, it almost sounds easy," Junpei remarked. "It's not like we're taking down one of this world's three rulers who have acted as demigods for years... Not at all."

"Oh, quit it with the sarcasm!" Takuya told him, nudging Junpei with his elbow. "Chin up, everybody! This is our first day in the Digital World, and we were already able to stop two monsters on our own without the help of any demigods. Even if we needed Koji's help, it doesn't matter! We're surviving in this world, and soon enough, we'll be thriving on top of that. It's all we could ask for, don't you think? Everything is under control."

"I hope that it stays like this," Izumi murmured. "I certainly would prefer to avoid trouble if possible, but I suppose that we can't stay away from it forever. For now, let's take everything one step at a time. We can't get too ahead of ourselves. After all, we just got here."

"Our next step is to find that village!" Neemon proclaimed boldly. "After that, we can get ready for what's coming next! And we can look through the book!"

Tomoki smiled, infected by the contagious optimism of the rest of the group. "Yeah... You guys are right. Everything is going to be fine. We just need to have faith and keep pressing onwards," he said, looking in the direction of the setting sun. "Lead the way, Bokomon. We'll follow your lead."

Bokomon tucked his book back into his belt before turning on his heel to face in the direction away from the setting sun. "Let's get going, everyone!" he announced confidently. He started walking away, and this time, it didn't take all that long for the rest of the group to follow him.

Takuya pulled his D-Tector from his pocket and looked at the screen again. The symbol of Fire was prominent on the static-filled area, and he smiled to himself. It was only his first day, and he already felt more whole and complete than ever before. If the rest of his digital adventures followed this pattern, he knew that he was going to have fun making the most of saving the world as a Legendary Warrior.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This is out a lot sooner than I expected it to be. Huh.

This time around, another character showed up. Koji is pretty similar to what we know of his canon variation for the time being, but he's going to show his differences soon enough. He's a bit confrontational and defensive, but this is nothing new for him. Unlike some of the other characters, Koji isn't going to start showing his differences from canon right off the bat. Believe me when I say that they'll come soon enough, but for now, he's simply going to act the same way that he regularly does.

Also, remember last time when I said that everything in the first few chapters was similar to canon? Yeah, that was certainly relative. After all, this chapter derails pretty heavily from the original version, mostly due to the character differences. It also gives background to Bokomon and Neemon, offering a different path to Forest Terminal (or as it's called in this rewrite, Evergreen Dawn). The group doesn't split up because of the new character portrayals, and trust me when I say this is just the tip of the iceberg for characters acting differently in this rewrite.

Lobomon's appearance gives me the chance to talk about something that I'm doing with this rewrite that probably varies from other stories about Frontier. With some seasons, but especially Frontier, there are cases where I like the English names of Digimon better than the Japanese names, and it's the other way around in some cases. I like most of the English versions of the Human Spirits more while the Beast Spirits are the reverse (usually with one exception each). Agnimon and Agunimon are essentially slightly different spellings of the same thing, so that's why I waited until this chapter to bring it up.

That should be about all there is to talk about here. This chapter speaks for itself, so I'm not going to draw this out. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!

-Digital