Six months had passed since the ancient, primal virus which corrupted Kari Kamiya, the Digidestined of Light, causing her dark side to take over and call herself the Dark Queen had been defeated, freeing the brunette from its influence and freeing all those under her power.

Since then, life had changed for both the Digi-heroes and the Digital World as a whole.

For Kari and those she had enslaved, the memories of what they had done to the Digital World, the Digimon and their friends haunted them still, but with the help of those that saved them, they vowed to make amends and help not only the Digital World, but each other, as best as they can.

Another major change for the Digi-heroes and heroines as a team was Sampson realizing that Kari, in her Dark Queen persona, exploited a major weakness in their group, the fact that many of them were defenceless without their Digimon's aid.

And so, the DATS Commander decided that each and everyone of them should train in combat in the event they are ambushed or attacked and no one could protect them.

Apart of this new training was that each Digi-hero and heroine would spar with one another, the first of which was Tai against Davis, which the older Digidestined of Courage thought would be an easy fight, only to find himself a second later face planted on the ground with Davis' knee in his back as the maroon haired boy held Tai's right arm in a lock, surprising most watching, before they realized that, along with remembering everything they did under her influence, those who Kari took control of also remembered all the training she put them through, a fact that made many of the Digi-heroes afraid, especially with the idea of sparring against Rika or Marcus.

Meanwhile in the Digital World, it was decided that, despite the victory they had against the Dark Queen, the possibility of one or more of the Digi-heroes going rogue or falling under some dark influence was too great, and that a task force must be formed, one of both the Digi-heroes and the Digimon in the Digital World, working together to safeguard the still fledging world.

And thus the Digital Defence Force, or DDF, was born.

Headquartered in Omni City, one of the largest settlements in the Digital World, which was rebuilt after Kari had destroyed it in her reign of terror, the DDF comprised of the Digi-heroes and heroines themselves, DATS and Hypnos, the remaining Legendary Warriors, the Royal Knights, Shoutmon's army, the Bancho Digimon and any who volunteered to help out.

And yet despite the gathering the DDF had brought, the group who wanted to join the most that surprised everyone was the mysterious Olympos XII, who had remained in silence since Merukimon's death, even when the Digital Worlds were merged.

And while the group was welcomed into the DDF, their incorporation was not without issues, particularly over the leadership of the DDF, which ended with the group's leader, Jupitermon, being appointed the first head of the new protection taskforce.

However, not everything was peaceful in the Digital World following the Dark Queen's fall, for only a few days after the final battle did the Royal Knights learn that one of the Seven Demon Lords they were guarding had escaped, the Demon Lord of Greed, Barbamon.

The powerful and manipulative Digimon has managed to break out of his prison during the confusion that followed once Kari was freed of the Virus and the Digimon under her control freed of their corruption, where Barbamon quickly moved to the shadows, finding several like minded Digimon to rally beneath him, as well as using his dark power to manipulate others, forming a sort of criminal army called the Syndicate, which has operated behind the scene of the Digital World, causing havoc whenever possible, all aimed towards fulfilling Barbamon and his allies' desires, and proving to be the first real test of the fledgling DDF, though compared to the Dark Queen, the Syndicate felt more like a nuisance than a real threat.

Despite all this, however, neither groups were aware of the greater threat lurking in the shadows, one whose hand they would soon unknowingly force.

'You have fallen to Darkness, Kamiya, you have disgraced yourself!' The voice of a SlashAngemon who fell to her hand cried out.

'No, please!' The faint voice of another Digimon cried out.

'You were supposed to protect us! Why, why have you turned on us?!' Another Digimon's voice asked angrily.

'You will never be rid of me.'A final, more sinister voice said, her own, causing Kari to snap her eyes open wide, panting softly from her most recent nightmare, only to relax a bit as she realized she was in her own bed, in her apartment.

The brunette then felt warm around her waist and behind her, smiling and feeling safe as she looked down to see a pair of arms wrapped around her, while looking behind her to see the sleeping form of Davis pressed close to her, her boyfriend of the past six months clad in only his boxers, while she was in a loose pink shirt and panties.

Letting out a sigh, Kari allowed herself to relax in Davis' embrace, thinking about how things had changed for them in the past six months.

Since they declared their love for one another, the two Digidestined had been inseparable, spending as much time with each other as possible, a fact that caused agony on both their fanbases, while making their friends happy.

Even now, with school over and the summer months beginning, Kari and Davis were looking forward to college together, as well as soon having a place of their own.

For Kari, her maroon haired lover had become her everything, her light when she felt herself losing to her own doubts and pain, her rock when her confidence was shaking and so much more, which helped Kari to relax and feel safe, knowing he was there for her.

The brunette then let out a content sigh as she felt a trail of light kisses start on her neck and work their way down her shoulder, causing Kari to smile as she turned in Davis' embrace, wrapping her arms around his neck as he smiled caringly at her, while she looked into those brown eyes she loved so much as she said. "Morning."

"And morning to you, beautiful." Davis said in reply, reaching up with his right hand as he caressed her cheek, before asking with concern. "Another nightmare?"

"Yeah, but it passed." Kari replied reassuringly, before asking him with her own concern, knowing that just like her, the memories of the events still haunted him. "You?"

"Not last night." Davis merely replied with a reassuring smile as the two lovers continued to stare into one another's eyes.

Kari couldn't help but sigh mental as she rested in his embrace, finding herself both truly amazed and worried about Davis.

To help themselves cope with the nightmares and guilt, Kari and those she had enslaved as the Dark Queen met regularly, talking amongst each other, listening, being able to relate to one another, with more than a few moments of some breaking down, letting their pent up guilt out.

Yet through it all, Davis had been the voice of calmness and reason, helping each and everyone of them, human and Digimon alike, get through it, helping them to move on and forgive Kari.

Davis put the others before himself, and as much as Kari loved him for it, it also worried her at time, wondering if he was truly alright himself, and prayed that he was not bottling his own pain too much.

As though sensing what his girlfriend was thinking, Davis placed his hand lightly on her chin and said reassuringly. "I'm alright. Just being here, here with you, that's what matters."

Kari replied by closing the distance between them, capturing Davis' lips in a loving kiss, which he gladly returned, both closing their eyes and allowing themselves to enjoy the moment, where Kari's hands moved down, caressing her lover's chest, while Davis' hands moved down her back slowly.

However, both immediately stopped, their eyes opening wide as the door to the bedroom banged loudly, followed by Tai calling through the door in an annoyed tone. "No morning makeouts you two!"

Both Kari and Davis blushed as they broke their kiss, while Kari pouted at her brother interrupting them, before she gained a mischievous smirk.

"He said no to just making out, right?" Kari asked with a purr into Davis' ear as she leaned closer, while her right hand slid down her lover's chest, lightly caressing his growing erection through his boxers, causing Davis to try and stifle a groan.

"Don't make me have Agumon burn the door down!" Tai then called from the otherside of the door once more, causing Kari to stop her actions once again with a pout, which made the Digidestined of Miracles chuckle lightly, before kissing the brunette's forehead and saying. "Lets get changed, smells like he's cooking breakfast."

"Alright." Kari replied with a smile, giving the maroon haired boy one final kiss before they got out of bed and changed.

A few minutes later and after a quick shower, Kari and Davis emerged from her room fully dressed, seeing Agumon, Veemon and Gatomon sitting at the kitchen table as they ate, while Tai's back was to them as he continued to scramble some eggs in a frying pan.

"Morning!" The Digimon said happily to the pair, who took a seat at the table, before Tai put their breakfast before them, causing both Kari and Davis to look confused as Tai seemed to be exhausted, like he didn't sleep the night before.

"What happened to you?" Davis asked the older brunette, only to gulp lightly as Tai gave him a quick glare, before the Kamiya went to go clean the dishes, muttering under his breath.

While Agumon could sleep through an atomic bomb going off, for Tai, with his sister and Davis in one room next to him, and Gatomon and Veemon in the other, it was hard for him to get any sleep, especially since Kari and her partner were quite... vocal with their lovers.

'Just a few more weeks Tai, then you'll be out of here and in your new apartment with Sora.' The Digidestined of Courage thought to himself as he then thought about his girlfriend for the past six months.

After the final battle, Sora and Matt ended their relationship on friendly terms, allowing the orange haired beauty to finally be with the man she loved, starting the whirlwind relationship between her and Tai, with the brunette soon moving in with her, the Digidestined of Love making sure to tell her lover that she had a special surprise for him once they were all alone.

Clearing his head of perverted thoughts, Tai sat down at the table before asking the couple. "So, what're your plans for today?"

"Izzy and Thomas want me to come by DATS, apparently they've got some new theories about... you know." Kari replied a little downcasted, knowing that Izzy wanted to discuss her powers during her time as the Dark Queen, while Tai knew what his sister meant.

"And I'll be there with her." Davis then added, placing his hand on Kari's shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile, one that made Tai smile as well, happy with how Davis looked out for his sister and cared for her.

"In that case, I'll tag along too." Tai then said, followed by Veemon adding with a smile as he spoke for him, Gatomon and Agumon. "We'll be there too."

Seeing the nervous look on Kari's face, however, Davis said in a reassuring voice. "Don't worry, Kari. Izzy forgave you, remember? I'm sure everything is going to be fine."

Kari smiled at Davis, thinking that he was right, and that there really wasn't anything to worry about.

-Later-

"... In short it was your fault." Izzy finished nonchalantly, before opening his eyes and gulping in fear, first from seeing Kari's head down and a cloud of depression over her head, while Tai, Davis, Veemon and Gatomon all glared at him with fire in their eyes.

"I don't mean like that! I don't mean like that!" Izzy cried in fear, waving his hands in front of him, while Thomas sighed next to him, along with Henry, Tentomon, Terriermon and Mikey, who also wanted to sit in and hear what Izzy had to say, all five wondering how someone as smart as Izzy had no real social skills.

"Shouldn't having a girlfriend like Mimi teach you anything about how to talk to girls?" Terriermon asked with a sigh.

Izzy chuckled nervously at this, averting his eyes as he thought about his last date with his pink haired love, where she had asked him to join her in shopping, which he didn't mind, as long as it made her happy, before, to his complete surprise, Mimi brought him to a lingerie store, putting on a show for the redhead as she modeled for him in different outfits.

But focusing at the problem at hand, Izzy looked at Kari and said. "What I mean is, except for the power of the corruption, as well as that large form you took in the last fight, every other power you had came from within you, amplified first by absorbing Dragomon's Data, then Homeostasis'."

"So even those... Shadow Creatures were me too?" Kari then asked, shivering slightly as she remembered the various monsters she summoned out of the shadows to fight for her.

"Correct, I think that they were manifestations of your inner darkness brought to life, and your growing power allowed you to summon so many." Izzy replied, Which left Kari deep in thought for a moment, shivering as she realized how twisted her own darkness really was to create such creatures, before she felt Davis' hand rest on her shoulder, comforting her a bit.

"So, is she still able to use those powers, or are they buried?" Mikey then asked, wondering if Kari would be able to use her powers for good instead of evil now that she was free of the virus.

Taking a moment to think, Izzy then said in reply. "We've seen Kari's powers manifest in a form of light in the past, but it's always drained her, possibly trying to keep her dark half at bay. I'll have to look into this more, if that's alright with you, Kari?"

"I'll help anyway I can." Kari replied with a small smile, slightly frighten about touching or using the power she once wielded, but knowing that if she could use it for good, it could help so many.

Davis, meanwhile, smiled at his girlfriend, part of him knowing that this might help Kari overcome her past, before he looked behind Izzy at an object and asked. "And what about that? Has it done anything yet?"

The group looked at what Davis was looking at, seeing a small glass container.

Inside was a dark, purple crest with a crescent moon on it, the Crest of Darkness, which appeared in Kari's hand after she was freed from the virus.

"Still nothing. No energy signatures, no power emanations. So far it seems dormant." Thomas replied, having been the one to run the tests on the mysterious crest, while the rest were worried about what power it contained.

"We'll still keep an eye on it, and I'll let you all know if anything else come up in my research." Izzy said to the group, causing them to nod in reply, before they left the room to go about the rest of their business, with Kari and Davis leaving together with their Digimon.

-Digital World-

Meanwhile, in the Digital World, a small group of the Digi-heroes, consisting of Aldamon, JetSilphymon, whose armour was now white instead of dark, Joe and Gomamon, Miki, her PawnChessmon, Nene, Sparrowmon, Suzie, Lopmon, Kazu and Guardromon were standing in front of a barely covered metal door in the side of a mountain.

As a sign of the change that has occured over the past few months, each and every one of the humans in the group now wore outfits similar to DATS uniforms, only now baring the symbols and marks of the DDF.

Along with the humans saw the group's commander, BanchoLeomon, along with a large group of Digimon, consisting of the small Rookie Digimon known as Commandramon, who operated as the basic soldiers in the DDF, and the more advanced Champion leveled Digimon known as Sealsdramon.

"Alright, there have been a lot of reports of Digimon going missing in this area, and we think the Syndicate is involved. Everything we've found has lead to this facility, we're going to raid it and see what the enemy is up to." BanchoLeomon said, looking at Aldamon and nodding, before the two approached the door and tried to pry it open, only for both to find it sealed tightly.

"It's not budging." Aldamon said as he moved aside, wondering if more force could get the door open or if there was an alternate way inside.

"Stand back and let me handle this." Kazu said with a confident smile, drawing out his Digimon Cards.

"Digi-Modify! Power activate!" The brunette then announced as he slashed his Card through his D-Power, giving Guardromon a power boost.

"Guardian Barrage!" Guardromon called with might, casting off a set of missiles from his arms, blasting the door, which creaked from the impact, before falling back, opening the passage to the facility.

"Nice work, now let's see what the Syndicate's up to!" Miki cheered, which caused PawnChessmon to nod in agreement, before the group all made their way in, save for one single Sealsdramon who remained outside.

Looking around, the cyborg Digimon made sure the coast was clear, before taking out a small communicator and said into it. "Inform Lord Barbamon that I have something that might interest him..."

-Elsewhere-

A figure sat on a throne in the secret base of the Syndicate, letting out a wicked laugh at the news he just heard.

He was a being cast in dark robes, lines of jewels were cast around his neck, many of which were covered up by his long gray beard.

The top of his face was concealed by a golden mask that extended at the nose, with the rest of his face showing off pale gray skin, going down his body and to his jeweled fingers, where in his right hand, he wielded a mighty and powerful looking sceptre, the end fitted with a red gem inside a bastly skull.

When he escaped from his prison, Barbamon found himself in a strange, new Digital World, quickly learning about the merging of the five different Digital Worlds, and that his brother, Belphemon, had long been defeated, not that he cared, finding him and the other imprisoned Demon Lords beneath him.

But realizing that he was alone, and that he had more potential enemies to deal with, the Lord of Greed quickly found like minded individuals, while using the power of his staff, Death Lure, to bind others to his will.

Now his Syndicate worked in the shadows to carry out his will, gathering riches and other items to help increase his power and that, in time, this new Digital World would be his and his alone.

"Those fools really thing that base belongs to me?" Barbamon asked with a laugh, finding that the DDF was more foolish that he first thought, though found that controlling some of its members helped him alot in the long run.

"Yes, my Lord, they are storming the base right now." The Sealsdramon, who was appearing as a holographic image before the Demon Lord, replied.

"Do you think it belonged to her?" Barbamon then asked with growing curiosity.

Since his escape, the Demon Lord heard constant tales of the Dark Queen, one of these humans who turned rogue, whose power eclipsed anything the Digital World had ever seen before, and nearly brought it fully under her thrall before she was freed of the darkness.

At first, Barbamon dismissed this as nonsense, but after hearing more and more about the Dark Queen, as well as seeing the videos he had acquired of the final battle, the Demon Lord found himself almost obsessed with her, amazed by her power, and he wanted it for himself.

The fact that she had a pretty face was a mere bonus in Barbamon's eyes.

"Not sure, my Lord, I'll keep you informed if I find anything." The Sealsdramon replied, knowing that any information involving the Dark Queen was of interest to the Lord of Greed.

"Make certain you do!" Barbamon said as he cut the transmission.

"Once I get my hands on that pretty little girl, I'll bend her to my will, and with her power at my commands, nothing will stand in my way!" Barbamon declared with a laugh.

"Pray that you are able to control that power, Barbamon, less you doom us all and put our plans in jeopardy." A dark voice said, causing Barbamon to stop laughing and glare to his left as one of his associates moved out of the shadows.

Looking at the Digimon, Barbamon gave of a small glare at seeing the black armoured figure approach him, taking note of the familiar qualities of the being, which included the massive shoulderplates, each sporting a line of fanged teeth, the red cape that cast down the Digimon's back, the orange orb cast in its chest and the malevolent red glare in its eyes that were seen past its dark helmet.

"Don't underestimate me, Plutomon." Barbamon warned with a glare, not liking anyone questioning his power.

"And do not underestimate the Dark Queen. You were not there to witness her power. Tread carefully, I will not have your obsession stand in the way of our goals." The Digimon, now identified as Plutomon, replied cautiously.

"Pah, you'll get your revenge on the Olympos XII, I'll keep my part of our bargain." Barbamon replied, dismissing the God Man Digimon's warning as Plutomon merely narrowed his eyes at him.

"This discovery could prove beneficial to us anyways." Said a deeper, more metallic voice, as three other Digimon emerged from the shadows.

The one who spoke was revealed to be Chaosdramon, a mechanical Digimon whose lust for power made him quickly agree to work with Barbamon, using his mechanized servants to help the Syndicate grow and build.

Next to him was the large, vampiric Digimon known as NeoMyotismon, former General of the Moonlight Army, under the direction of Bagramon, who had relinquished his title when he and the other Dark Generals finally saw the truth, that AxeKnightmon only wanted them for their power.

But with the power of darkness, the vampiric Digimon was brought back and kept under control by the Whispered program.

It sought revenge against those who defeated him, not caring who it had to manipulate or destroy.

And with it corrupting NeoMyotismon, it caused noticeable changes in the Digimon, including his armour taking a shade of black and his eyes to glow with a further red, reflecting its hatred.

Finally, there was the demon Digimon known as Murmukusmon, who was defeated long ago by the Legendary Warriors during their battles against Lucemon and his corrupted servants, also seeking revenge against those who stopped his plans for power.

"My dear friends..." Barbamon began to say, holding back the gag as he used the word friends, before he continued. "We may finally have the opportunity to make our plans a reality, lets not let any bickering stand in our way."

"As long as we get what we want, there won't be any problems." Murmukusmon said with a smirk, one shared by the rest of the group, while in the shadows, a sixth Digimon laughed to himself, looking forward to hopefully soon pay some old friends a visit, a reunion he was sure they would never forget.

-DATS-

Kari couldn't help but gulp nervously.

She was in the gymnasium, as it was her turn to be in the sparring ring, but what frightened her was who her opponent was, Rika.

Kari remembered quite well how the redhead Tamer fought, remembering how she trained, but the Digidestined of Light also remembered how she had made the red haired Tamer act on her crush toward Davis, knowing that with her memory restored, Rika would remember every detail during the moment she slept with Davis.

This was the first time in six months they been in a room alone with each other, and they had rarely spoke to one another, which had slightly relieved Kari.

But now, Kari wished that Davis was nearby, but sadly the unfortunate event that happened when their training started called for the girls and boys to train separately.

To allow the girls better movement as they trained, they all wore workout bras and sweats.

Sadly, on the first day of training, which the girls were all gathered as Miki and Zoe began to train, the spar was interrupted by a loud thud, causing the girls to look at door to see the unconscious forms of JP, Kazu and Kenta, the three having a small trail of blood down each of their noses as they had unintentionally walked in on the training.

This sadly led to some small confusions, landing the three in the medical ward with broken bones and said rule about the girls and boys training separately being implemented.

"It's been awhile since we last talked." Rika then said as she stretched, snapping Kari out of her thoughts.

"Well, I figured you were pissed at me, after... you know... so I didn't want to start any trouble." Kari replied, not looking the redhead in the eyes, ashamed of what she had done, only to be confused when she heard Rika laugh a bit.

"In a way it was my fault. If I didn't have these feelings for Davis, then you wouldn't have made me act on them in such an intimate way." The Tamer then said, blushing lightly at what she could recall, remembering how good she felt as she pleasured Davis at Kari's command.

"I think I was trying to punish you, to let you have a taste of something you would never have again." Kari said in reply, still trying to wrap her head around all the warped thoughts she had while her dark side was in control.

Rika then thought for a moment, still blushing as she remembered the pleasure she felt that time, remembering how good Davis' hands felt on her body and how she wanted to experience it again, before she replied with a sigh. "I think I can understand that."

The redhead then looked at the depressed brunette, before giving her a reassuring smile as she then said. "It's alright, Kari, I'm not mad at you. Honestly, I thought for a while that you were angry at me for having a crush on Davis, I'm glad that's not the case. You weren't yourself and we all know it. So relax, you're our friend and we're happy to be yours'."

"And as for Davis, there is nothing to worry about, he loves you, despite everything or what anyone thinks or feels, and that's good, both of you are good for each other, don't ever doubt that. Cause the moment you do..." Rika finished with a smirk, one that caused Kari to smile as she laughed a bit.

"I promise, I won't..." Kari replied with a smile, before raising an eyebrow as she asked. "But I got to know, how was he?"

Rika thought for a moment, a blush still on her face, before holding her hands out as though she was measuring something, which Kari quickly caught on, before both girls began to giggle, both happy that the tension between them had finally passed.

"It's good to hear them laughing like this." Renamon, who was watching her partner and Kari from the side with Gatomon, then said, both Digimon feeling happy for their partners.

"I'm glad everything is ok between them. Kari has been beating herself up these past few months over everything that happened, despite what we've been telling her. I hope that this can help calm her nightmares." Gatomon said in reply, knowing that despite the help and backing Kari had received, she was still in pain over all the terror she had caused.

"Though time heals all wounds, some run deeper than others. But given the chance, they too can heal." Renamon said in response, knowing that both she and Gatomon were also haunted still by the memories of what they had done, but knew that with time and the help of those around them, they would all be alright.

-Meanwhile-

Outside the gymnasium, Davis, now dressed in his DDF outfit, leaned against the wall, drinking a soda he got from one of the vending machines, as he waited for Kari to finish her sparring with Rika.

At first, the maroon haired boy wanted to join his girlfriend inside, knowing that Kari was nervous to be alone with Rika after everything that happened, but after hearing them laugh and giggle from the other side, Davis knew that they were alright, before he then heard the sparring commence, knowing that, when she put her mind to it, that Kari was just as fierce a fighter as Rika was.

"Wow, you without Kari, I almost thought you two were joined at the hip." Yolei said as she walked up to Davis with a smirk, knowing that for the past six months, the two lovers were barely apart.

"She's just inside training with Rika." Davis replied as Yolei stood in front of him, where the Digidestined of Love and Serenity let out a sigh of relief, knowing that if Davis was this calm then things between Rika and Kari were good.

"And Veemon?" Yolei then asked, looking around for the "V" marked Digimon.

"He's checking in with the others to see where we're needed today." Davis replied.

Looking at the doorway, Yolei then asked with concern. "How is she, really?"

Letting out a sigh, Davis looked towards the door of the gym and said. "She's still having nightmares, and the guilt hits her every now and then, but she's getting better, I can see it each day."

Yolei smiled, not just from hearing how Kari was doing, but from hearing how much Davis cared for her.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but you two are good for each other. You both truly love one another, I just wish I saw that sooner." The purple haired girl said in replied, downcasted as she remembered how she use to argue with Davis and think that Kari and TK were destined for each other.

"Don't beat yourself over that, we were all young then, and some of us a lot more immature than others." Davis said to Yolei, referring to himself as he remembered how he use to act when they just started as Digidestined.

"No, she did that enough for me." Yolei replied, shuddering as she remembered when Kari as the Dark Queen placed her under her thrall, where the corrupted brunette tortured her for a little while, blaming her among others as to why Davis hadn't asked her out until that point, before making Yolei her personal assassin.

Looking back at Davis, Yolei finally decided to ask. "How do you do it? How are you able to put everything that happened behind you so easily? When we all meet up, you are the strongest one in the room, not breaking down like the rest of us do."

"I had to be, for Kari." Davis replied, before he explained. "I know that I did some bad things, but I know I was not in control, the same with Kari. I know we all did things we'd sooner forget, but you have to try and be strong for those you love, show them that you are alright."

Yolei nodded and smiled at this, remembering how Ken was there for her, helping her get through the worst of her nightmares, reminding her that he knew what she was going through, and that she and Davis helped him find peace with himself.

A moment later, the door to the gym opened, where Davis and Yolei saw Kari and Rika walking out, both chatting as they had towels wrapped around their necks, drying off the sweat from their spar.

But seeing her boyfriend waiting for her, Kari walked over and gave Davis a kiss on the cheek, before she said. "Thanks for waiting for me."

"Get a room you two." Rika said in a fake angry tone as she closed her eyes and blushed at the scene, before all four humans saw Tentomon flying towards them.

"Oh good, you're all here. Something's happening in the Digital World and Sampson wants everyone in the briefing room right now." Tentomon informed, causing the four to nod their heads as Yolei followed the insect Digimon, while Davis waited for Kari and Rika to change, each wondering what was going on.

-Digital World-

Inside the facility, the DDF members were both amazed and confused.

Amazed at how sophisticated the facility seemed to be, with tech many had never seen before, but confused as they had not seen anyone yet, not ever a single Troopmon, which were commonly employed as soldiers for the Syndicate.

"This is starting to look less and less like a Syndicate base." JetSilphymon said as she looked around.

"Probably something your Queen forgot to mention." Suzie replied harshly as she walked past JetSilphymon, her cold tone causing most of the humans to sigh.

Ever since the battle against the Dark Queen ended, Suzie had not seen Kari in the same light, still distrusting the brunette and thinking she could go back to her evil side one day, while distrusting those she once controlled, even her own brother, thinking that they were still being manipulated by the brunette and being told what to say by her.

While sad to see Suzie still showing resentment, Nene focused on the area as she continued to walk around the facility, before she turned and saw a liquid filled tube, where she let out a screech and fell back on the ground, causing everyone to rush over to her as she cried. "What is that?"

Looking ahead and along with Nene, the Digi-heroes, heroines and DDF Digimon saw that within the tube was a being that looked to be in a state of suspended animation, where it just floated in place, staring vacantly through the mask upon its head.

Looking at it, the being took the form of a being wrapped in a cloak, where siciles hung from the bottom of its cloak, shocking Suzie, Kazu and their Digimon the most at what they were looking at.

"That's a D-Reaper agent!" Lopmon said in shock from Suzie's shoulder, where she added. "I thought we destroyed them all."

"We did." Guardromon replied, only to point out. "But we also sent the main core back to the Digital World where it was supposedly reprogrammed so it wouldn't act on any attack functions."

"Then how did that thing get here?" Sparrowmon questioned with curiousness and concern, wondering what other horrors from the past could be hidden within the area.

Before they could think of an answer, the group then heard faint screams of pain from down a hallway, which confused most as Aldamon asked. "Does that sound like Jeri?"

"It can't be, she's at the DDF headquarters." Miki replied, just as confused as the others, where the small group of DDF members quickly made their way down the hallway, before finding themselves in a massive chamber with a large pit, their eyes widening at seeing a large pool of red liquid in it, making the screaming sounds as large tubes and machinery stuck into it, seeming to draw out and process the D-Reaper's Data and send it to different areas.

"What the heck is this place!?" Joe asked with concern, before the group all heard growling, looking around to see numerous Digimon surrounding them, all acting strange as their eyes glowed red, while red energy tendril seemed to come out of their backs.

"What the... Corrupted!?" Kazu asked in confusion, seeing how the Digimon were similar to those corrupted by the virus that infected Kari and drove her to darkness.

"I knew that witch was still evil." Suzie growled as she reached behind her, pulling out a small cylinder, which then extended into a staff, while everyone else got ready to fight.

Looking at the Digimon, Aldamon spoke up, informing his friends as he commanded. "Don't hurt them, there are the missing Digimon, just try and knock them out!"

"You heard him!" BanchoLeomon called, just as the infected Digimon charged at them.

"Biomerge, activate!" Kazu called out as he and his partner merged together, becoming HiAndromon, who he declared as Kazu and Guardromon simultaneously. "HiAndromon!"

"Lopmon Digivolve to... Antylamon!"

"Gomamon Digivolve to... Ikkakumon!"

"Reload!" Nene called, holding up her Fusion Loader and calling out her three Monitamons, where they looked around and saw the manipulated Digimon, scaring them a little, before they heard Nene speak up.

"Alright you three, I need your help. Think you can handle this?" She asked, trust filling her voice, which made the ninja Digimon nod confidently, causing Nene to smile at the trio, before her expression turned serious as she announced. "Then let's Digifuse!"

Keeping her Fusion Loader drawn, Nene cast off its energy, combining the three Monitamon into one being, changing the three Monitamon into one, where it called with a mighty voice. "Hi-VisionMonitamon!"

With that, the fighting started, the manipulated Digimon charging at them as the DDF Digimon held them back.

"Flash Bancho Punch!" BanchoLeomon let out with a mighty roar, gathering energy in his right fist, before slamming it into an oncoming Mushamon, who went flying back into a wall, where it collapsed on the ground unconscious as the red tendrils vanished.

"DCD Bomb!" Some of the Commandramon called out, throwing round explosive in front of a group of charging Digimon, the blasts knocking them back as they were knocked out.

"Cold Flame!" A BlueMeramon let out with a great hostility in his voice, releasing several shots of blue flame at Aldamon and JetSilphymon, before seeing a group of DemiMeramon running along with the flames, using themselves as projectiles.

"Atomic Inferno!" Aldamon announced, releasing his own barrage at the oncoming Digimon, before JetSilphymon landed in front of him and swung her pinwheel forward.

"Ultra Turbulence!" She called, releasing a stream of wind from her weapon, not only repelling the DemiMeramon and decreasing the speed of the BlueMeramon's attack, but it propelled Aldamon's flames, which bombarded BlueMeramon and the DemiMeramon, knocking the group down and out.

Aldamon smirked at the outcome of their attack, before he noticed JetSilphymon shaking a little, where he placed his hand on her shoulder and said comfortingly. "It's ok Z, you're not hurting them, you're helping to save them."

"I know... I know." Zoe said through her Fusion Spirit form, pushing back her fear of hurting innocents once again, before joining her love in fighting their opponents once more.

"Bunny Blades!" Antylamon called as she fought against a group of Bakemon that tried to corner her.

Rewriting the data in her arms and altering them to axe shapes, where she swung her arms around, cutting through the cables attached to each Bakemon and causing them to fall in defeat.

Glad to see the ghost Digimon unharmed physically after her attack, Antylamon looked over and saw Suzie, seeing her Tamer circled by a bunch of Kotemon, but knew that the purple haired girl could look after herself.

Keeping her calm, Suzie swung her staff around as the Kotemon tried to attack her, countering each swing and even using the Kotemon's strength against one another as she jabbed her staff into one and swung it into three oncoming attackers.

'Once we free them, we'll get them to tell us what Kari did to them.' Suzie thought to herself as she knocked out her opponents, thinking that she now had proof that she was right and that Kari was still their enemy.

Meanwhile, Nene easily dodged the attack of a raging Ogremon, who swung its club down at her, only for the brunette to expertly jump over and onto the club, rushing up it and delivering a quick kick to it's head, sending the Digimon flying back as it hit the wall and fell unconscious.

'This feels much better than using it to purposely hurt them.' The Idol thought to herself, happy that she was using her new fighting skills to help instead causing pain.

While Nene was pleased with herself, she was also pleased to see her Digimon doing what they could to help, where Sparrowmon was pursuing a Thundermon, who threw a handful of electric bombs at her, but with her speed, Sparrowmon avoided the attacks.

"Lightning Lasers!" She then announced, firing off a set of lightning streams from her guns at the Thundermon, who avoided the attack himself.

About to attack, the Thundermon was caught off guard as Hi-VisionMonitamon used its ninjutsu, appearing behind it and jabbing his metal rod into the dynamo Digimon's back.

"Thunderous Lighting Attack!" Hi-VisionMonitamon let out, releasing the electricity from his weapon and into Thundermon, overloading him and causing the tiny Digimon to collapse, breaking from the cord as it fell to the floor.

It was only a few moments after that all the manipulated Digimon were knocked out, each no longer showing the red tendrils coming out of their backs.

Panting a little from her fight, having just knocked out a Strikedramon, Suzie growled in anger as she said. "I knew it, she's back to her old tricks and corrupting Digimon again!"

"Those weren't Corrupted." Joe said as he checked each of the Digimon, shocking and angering Suzie as she was about to retort, before BanchoLeomon added. "He's right. The Corrupted had purple eyes, and didn't have tendrils coming out of their backs, this was something different."

"We should at least see if she knows anything about this place!" Suzie argued, not liking that everyone was disagreeing with her, which caused most of the humans to sigh.

"We could see if Izzy can find out anything from their terminals at least." Aldamon suggested as he reached for his communicator, reporting in and filling in DATS and the DDF as to what they had discovered.

"I still think we should question Kari." Suzie said bitterly, causing HiAndromon to set his hand on her shoulder and smile down at her.

"Maybe we can talk with her if Izzy comes up empty." He suggested, confident that the Digidestined of Knowledge would pull through and they wouldn't have to do anything extreme with Kari.

-Twenty minutes later-

After finding the entrance, Kari, Davis, Izzy and their Digimon arrived at the base, following a Sealsdramon, who happened to be Barbamon's agent, through the facility after they got the Digimon inside to safety.

As they made their way through, the three Digidestined and their Digimon were in shock at the facility, with Kari shuddering at the sight of some of the D-Reaper agents in their tubes, before arriving at the large chamber, with the Commandramon and Sealsdramon making sure the room was secure, while everyone else waited by the computer terminal near the wall.

"Forget to tell us about this place?" Suzie asked accusingly as the new arrivals approached, which made Davis mentally growl, having almost had enough of Suzie's attitude towards Kari.

Kari, though saddened by Suzie's distrust, put it to the side as she looked around and said. "This place wasn't one of mine."

"Agreed. I've never seen a facility like this before, and she had me in charge of all the tech work." Izzy added as he looked around and marveled at the machinery, while Suzie just huffed and looked away, thinking that the redhead was just covering for Kari, just like everyone else.

"You think you can get anything out of this computer?" Aldamon asked as he pointed to the terminal.

"Let me see." Izzy replied as he approached the terminal, taking his laptop out of his backpack as he was about to plug it into a port on the console.

However, at that moment, Kari sensed something, something not right with their situation, where she called out in warning. "Izzy, wait!"

Before Izzy could plug his laptop in, the console electrified with red electricity, causing everyone to back away, seeing the same energy flowing through out the room, before culminating above them as it formed a deep red sphere of energy.

And what freaked everyone out the most was that they felt like it was looking at them, before its 'gaze' landed on Kari, where a deep, metallic voice that sent chills down each of their backs then called. "The Entity is here? Unexceptable! Destroy them!"

At this, there was the sound of metal closing, where the group saw the pool of D-Reaper closed off by metallic doors sealing the pit, before they heard a loud bang, looking at the wall across from them as they saw a large, metallic hand break through the wall, tearing it down and revealing something terrifying on the other side.

Tearing through the wall, the group saw a massive figure slowly enter the room, not looking like any Digimon they had faced before, but they could see it desired a fight.

Its appearance was of that of a gigantic black skinned demon-like robot that had a set of long horns protruding from its head, as well as its shoulders.

The creature's claws were long and sharpened to a fine point, looking as through they could slice through the hardest of metals, while it glared at those around it with a set of eerie red eyes.

The robotic creature let out let out a massive roar, one filled with rage, before it charged at the group, slamming its right fist down as the group quickly scattered.

The Commandramon quickly took action, pointing their assault rifles at the creature and opening fire, only to look shock as their bullets seemed to just bounce off it.

"Nothing." Aldamon groaned, before he looked at JetSilphymon and nodded.

"Solar Wind Destroyer!" The Warrior of Flame then called, gathering a tremendous amount of energy above his head, forming it into a massive sphere that he then threw at the creature, where it tore up the ground as it headed toward its target.

"Jet Blinter!" JetSilphymon added, releasing several shots of wind from her fists, striking Aldamon's attack, which broke it into several blasts that bombarded the demonic being.

However, much to their shock, the attacks did nothing to it, before the creature quickly turned and swung its arm at the pair, which JetSilphymon easily dodged, but Aldamon wasn't as lucky and was sent flying into a nearby wall, crashing into it with a cry of pain as he fell to the ground and returned to his human form.

"Takuya!" Zoe yelled through her Digimon form as she flew down, picking her boyfriend up quickly and moving just as the robotic creature slammed its fist right where they just where.

The creature then let out a roar as MegaKabuterimon, Nefertimon and ExVeemon joined the battle.

"Horn Buster!"

"Rosetta Stone!"

"V Laser!"

Releasing their attacks alongside one another, the Digimon expected they'd deal at least a fraction of damage to their enemy, but were all shocked to see it unharmed, almost as if it failed to notice them and their attacks.

"This isn't working. Nothing's hurting him!" Kazu yelled through HiAndromon, who launched another attack at the creature, only for it to deflect off of its body.

"Hey, why don't you command him to stop?" Suzie asked as she eyed Kari, thinking that the attacker was her doing or that them trapped with the demonic monster was part of her plans.

"Enough, Suzie! We don't have time to point fingers here!" Antylamon called, just as the creature knocked her with its hand, before she quickly saw its eyes glowing bright, moving out of the way just in time as a red beam of energy shot out and hit right where she was lying.

The creature then turned its head towards Kari, sending fear through her as she saw its eyes glow once again, before her fear grew as she saw Davis move in front of her.

"Davis!" Kari cried, knowing that if that attack hit him, he would be done for, and she couldn't live with herself if that happened.

"Don't worry, Kari, I promised I would always be there for you, and I'm not breaking that promise today." Davis just said, refusing to allow their foe to lay a single finger on the girl he loved.

"Veemon!" Davis shouted to his partner as he withdrew his D-3, while ExVeemon flew over to him and De-Digivolved, having the same determination as his partner as they were about to do something they had not tried since they were freed from their enslavement.

"Ready, partner!" Veemon said with a smirk as they saw the energy building up in the creature's eyes.

"Biomerge, activate!" Davis declared as he and Veemon where surrounded in a blinding light, just as the creature fired, only for its attack to be deflected back, causing it to roar in pain as he stumbled back, where everyone looked at where Davis and Veemon were just standing, all of them, including Kari, amazed at the new Digimon standing in their place.

As expected, the figure resembled UlforceVeedramon, but looked nothing like the Royal Knight, nor the corrupted form of ShadowforceVeedramon that the Digidestined and Digimon of Miracles took when they were the enslaved champions of the Dark Queen.

In place of Davis and Veemon was a new form of UlforceVeedramon, only this form not only had alterations in his appearance compared to his corrupted form, but also his original, where this form was clad in blue armour and maintained the same weaponry, only this form of UlforceVeedramon had more gold trimmings, namely around his shoulderplates, arms, chest and his leg guards, but more noticeable was that engraved in gold within his chest was the symbol of Miracles, shining brightly as if reflecting his power and determination.

"LightforceVeedramon!" The combined voices of Davis and Veemon called out, surprising everyone by this new form, while Izzy pointed his laptop at the new Digimon and began recording the Data, already shocked by what he was getting as he just said to himself. "Prodigious..."

Letting out a cry of rage, the creature charged at the the new foe, while LightforceVeedramon, moving faster than anyone could see, grabbed Kari and moved her over to Izzy, both easily missing the creatures fist as it slammed into where they were just standing.

"I don't know what you are, but this ends now!" The new knight Digimon declared, flying straight at the creature.

"Blazing Sabers!" LightforceVeedramon declares as he extended both arms, where golden energy blades came out of his bracelets, before he rushed up and slashed the creature's left horn, cutting it clean off and causing it to cry out in pain.

Amazed and stunned, Aldamon questioned. "He actually hurt it!?"

The creature then turned up towards his enemy, bringing its hands together as it began to gather red energy into them, creating a large sphere of red energy, before firing a blast at LightforceVeedramon.

"Victory Blast!" LightforceVeedramon then declared as golden energy gathered in his chest, where the mark of Miracles glowed brightly as he then fired his own blast back at the creature, canceling out its attack and causing the creature to cry out in pain as it struck it, damaging its body greatly, before the knight Digimon quickly flew down at the demonic being, using his blades to cut through it, where it dissolved into Data around him.

However, seeing something behind where the creature emerged from, LightforceVeedramon quickly rushed at the wall, using his blades one more time to cut through it, before reverting back to Davis and Veemon, who both took a moment to catch their breaths, right before Davis was tackled by Kari in a great and affectionate hug.

"Please don't scare me like that." Kari whispered as she held him tightly which caused Davis to smile as he hugged her back and replied. "I can't promise I will, but I will try."

"Same here." Veemon said as he rested by Nefertimon, who reverted back to Gatomon, gave her beloved a caring smile and wrapped her arms around him, nuzzling her cheek against his as she hugged him.

The rest of the group then came up to them, where they all saw what Davis and Veemon saw as they tore the wall down, a room even larger than the one they were in.

Walking inside, the group saw five massive tubes, the size of Cherubimon or bigger, each empty, before noticing behind them thousands of other tubes, ranging from human size to the size of the creature they just fought, all empty as well.

"What were they doing here?" JetSilphymon asked, just before the red energy sphere appeared before them once more, floating just above the five large tubes as the group got back into fighting stances.

"You, you're the virus that infected Kari, aren't you!?" Aldamon asked accusingly, which got the Digi-heroes in the group's attention as they glared at their potential enemy.

"Negative, Primal Virus that infected Entity: Kari Kamiya designation: Hecate, my Designation: Hades." The sphere replied, causing everyone's eyes to widen at hearing that there was another virus, while Kari suddenly realized what she had seemed to have forgotten.

"There are five of you, each from the different Digital Worlds that were merged..." Kari said, getting everyone's attention as they looked at the five large tubes, before the brunette looked back where they saw the D-Reaper being dissected and processed, where she then stated. "You're from the Tamer's Digital World."

"Affirmative, Initialized D-Reaper, taught it to assimilate Data. D-Reaper failed, now reconstituted for better agents." Hades replied, where the group finally realized what they fought, some new form of the D-Reaper this Virus had created.

And based on the tubes that filled the larger room, there were many of them.

"Well we'll stop you, we destroyed Hecate, and we'll take you down as well." Aldamon declared as the group got ready to fight.

"Incorrect." Hades merely replied.

"Well at least we know he's arrogant." Sparrowmon said as she and the others believed that Hades was referring to them beating him.

"Clarification." Hades replied, confusing the group, before they heard a replay of Aldamon's words.

"Well we'll stop you, we destroyed Hecate..." The recording said, before Hades then added. "Hecate lives. Anti-Virus merely removed her from Entity."

While this shocked everyone, for Kari, it made her blood run cold.

The virus that had infected her, that brought her dark side out and made her cause so much harm and damage to the Digital World and her friends, was still out there, and that angered and terrified her to no end.

But then a thought hit Kari, one more terrifying as she looked at Hades and asked. "Why are you just telling us all of this?"

The group quickly caught on to what Kari meant, seeing as how this new enemy was just giving them information freely, before Hades replied with no emotion. "Entity's knowledge on Primal Virus is irrelevant, since you will all be terminated in the new fifteen seconds when this facility's auto-destruct activates."

"Auto-destruct!" Kazu called in shock, just before Hades vanished and the area lit up red.

"We need to move, now!" Davis called out, but seeing the timer that appeared on the terminals, Joe cried out in shock. "Too late!"

And with that, there was a massive explosion, taking most of the mountain range that covered the facility with it, leaving only smoke and rubble.

Suzie had her eyes closed, thinking that this was the end when she heard the loud explosion, however, she felt no pain, causing her to open her eyes to see a pink energy bubble surrounding everyone, protecting them from the explosion.

"How did...?" Antylamon began to question, before she and everyone else looked at Kari, who had her hands out, both palms glowing with the same pink energy.

"Kari, how are you...?" Izzy started to ask, wondering how Kari was producing such a power, before the group all noticed her panting heavily, where her arms fell and the barrier dropped, just as she began to fall forward, looking as though she was drained of most of her energy.

"Kari!" Davis cried out as he rushed towards her, catching her before she hit the ground, before carefully lowering himself onto his knees and allowing Kari to rest her head on his legs.

"I'm... I'm alright, I..." Kari started to say before she passed out, where Joe quickly rushed to check on her.

"She's just tired. Lets get her back to Omni City and the DDF headquarters." Joe then said after a quick observation on the brunette, getting a nod from Davis as he lifted Kari up and carried her, where the rest of the DDF Digimon and the Digi-heroes followed, all in deep thought about what they had just witnessed and learned.

While concerned for Kari, Veemon remained with Gatomon, where he had to ask. "Gatomon? Did you know Kari could do that?"

"She had similar powers in the past, but never like this, I think this Hecate must have done more than affect her dark side." Gatomon replied, worried for her partner, as well as the idea that they now had five powerful enemies, one that may know them all too well, and an army to go with them.

-Meanwhile-

On the other side of the Digital World was a vast field, the sight of the final battle against the Dark Queen, now called the Dark Queen's Fall, still bearing the scars of that fated battle.

Amongst the rubble was a massive wreckage, the crumbled remains of the Dark Fortress, the once floating castle Kari used as her base.

For the past six months, nothing special had happened in the area, with most avoiding it due to the memories of the fight, while the DDF left the area alone.

However, within the blink of an eye, a large, purple sphere of energy appeared over the Dark Fortress' ruins, remaining in place as it hovered in the air.

"She will come to me, soon enough." Hecate said to herself, looking forward to seeing Kari once again.

Author's Note: Here's the first chapter of Reign of the Dark Queen's Sequel. Hope all who read it like it and to have patience between chapters as this story is developed.