Maybe the Digimon Emperor wants to use that place as a base, so he can expand his territory step by step… T.K. said, not fully sure.
"We should prepare early, so we don't get caught off guard later," T.K. suggested.
"Yeah." Kari strongly agreed.
After the three finally reached a unified decision, they turned back to call Davis and Yolei—only to freeze in surprise, because Davis and Yolei were still holding that handshake pose.
"What do you even want? Decide already!" Davis complained impatiently. He'd been holding his hand out for ages.
When the kids arrived at the place called Death Valley, they looked around… but couldn't figure out what the Digimon Emperor was planning. It was barren—exposed rock everywhere, endless desert as far as the eye could see. In the distance, they could clearly see the tall Dark Tower.
"There's really nothing here," Yolei sighed. Aside from the Dark Tower far away, there was practically nothing.
"But we absolutely can't let our guard down," Kari warned cautiously.
"Right. The enemy might be hiding somewhere," T.K. followed up.
"Exactly." Cody agreed too.
With everyone on the same page, they started toward the Dark Tower. Honestly, walking across this kind of badlands terrain was miserable—uneven gravel and sand made them suffer, and every step filled their shoes with sand.
"Ah!" Yolei, at the very back, suddenly let out a cry—and then vanished into the desert.
The others spun around in shock. Before they could even attempt a rescue, Kari, T.K., and Cody—along with their partner Digimon—also cried out and disappeared into the sand one after another.
"W-What?! What's happening?!" Davis blurted out, shocked and panicked. His friends had vanished in an instant—something a kid like him couldn't process quickly.
"Davis, be careful. This might be a trap," Veemon warned, eyes constantly scanning the surroundings in case an enemy jumped out and hurt Davis.
Meanwhile, Kari and the others were still falling. What was even stranger: beneath the desert wasn't more sand, but an empty hollow—like it led into another space. Just like that dark forest earlier, it was a separate dimension.
Up on the surface, Davis was desperately digging at the sand. He'd already dug three big pits; his fingers were scraped up, but he didn't care, digging frantically to try to pull his friends out.
"Davis, you should call Tai and the others. That would be better," Veemon urged.
"No! That'll take too long! Damn it… damn that Digimon Emperor!" Davis refused. In his panic, he'd forgotten about the D-3 Digivice entirely—but he quickly found a target for his anger: the Digimon Emperor.
"You look like you've run into trouble."
Speak of the devil. The moment Davis said "Digimon Emperor," that voice sounded right by his ear.
"Digimon Emperor—this is all your doing, isn't it?!"
"Heh heh… I'm 'taking care' of your precious partners for now. If you want to see them, then keep walking forward."
"Damn it… damn it!" Davis shouted as he sprinted ahead.
Down below, Kari and the others finally landed. It was a bizarre space: warped light twisted all around them, and the whole area was only a few dozen square meters.
"What a weird place," Yolei muttered, staring at the surroundings.
"How do we get out? Davis is still up there—if this is the Digimon Emperor's scheme, isn't he in danger?!" T.K. said anxiously.
"I'll tell my brother first, so he can come save us," Kari said, pulling out her D-3 Digivice. "There's signal—I'll message him now."
After running up a small hill, Davis saw the Digimon Emperor standing on the top of a rocky rise.
"Digimon Emperor! Where did you take everyone?!"
"Heh! Heh! Heh!" The Digimon Emperor sneered. "Them? Aren't they right in front of you?"
"What?!" Davis whipped around to look where the Digimon Emperor pointed.
Below a natural stone bridge that connected the two cliffs, the kids and their Digimon were all tied up with ropes—hanging beneath the bridge.
"Are you guys okay?!"
"Davis, I'm sorry…" 'Kari' said.
"It's our fault for being too careless…" 'T.K.'
"Davis, you have to be careful…" 'Cody'
"Davis, help meeeee!" 'Yolei' roared.
"I'll get you down right now!" Davis shouted, about to run over.
"Wait." The Digimon Emperor stopped him. "Do you not care if your partners die? Come out—Chimeramon!"
With those words, the ground rumbled like an earthquake. A massive dinosaur-like Digimon—tens of meters tall, with heads on its arms—appeared in front of Davis.
Chimeramon is a Digimon born from a system bug caused by a magnetic-field storm, fusing three Digimon—Dinosaur-type, Machine-type, and Undead-type. It specializes in using its body's characteristics for a three-stage assault, able to fight three Digimon at once. But because its original components were all vicious Digimon, while they share a single "destruction" intent, they lack coordination and usually don't get along—though in battle, they unite. The mechanical head on its right arm is Seadramon's head, and the skull head on its left arm is SkullGreymon's head. Its finisher is Heat Viper, which merges energy fired from its three mouths into one blast.
"It's exactly mealtime for Chimeramon," the Digimon Emperor said calmly—yet his words made Davis go cold. "Your friends will be its food."
Beep! Beep! Beep! The Digivice on Tai's waist suddenly started ringing.
"What is it? Did something happen?" Sora asked, holding onto Tai's arm.
"I'll check." Tai pulled out his D-3 Digivice and read. "It's a message from Kari. They're trapped in a strange space, and Davis is still outside… he might have fallen into the Digimon Emperor's trap."
After reading, Tai gave Sora an apologetic smile. "Sorry. We said we'd go shopping today, but now…"
"It's fine. I actually wanted to go to the Digital World to see Biyomon anyway," Sora said understandingly.
"If you want to save them…" The Digimon Emperor paused, then looked at Davis with ill intent. "Kneel down and beg me."
"What did you say?!" Veemon immediately exploded with anger.
Thud. Davis dropped to his knees.
"Davis…" Veemon said miserably.
"Please… let them go," Davis said, lowering himself completely.
"'Please'? You mean, beg me."
"…I'm begging you. Please let them go."
"Veemon—step on his head," the Digimon Emperor added, coming up with an even more despicable idea.
"What?!" Veemon turned pale.
At that moment, Tai and Sora had already arrived at that strange area. It looked like a calm beach—yet beneath it lurked endless danger.
"This is it," Tai said after confirming Kari's location. "Agumon, get ready."
"Yeah! I got it, Tai!" Agumon nodded hard.
Tai took out the Holy Ring and held it in his palm. The Holy Ring slowly floated up, radiating rainbow light that shone down on Agumon.
"Agumon—Mega Digivolve to… WarGreymon!"
As the light faded, the orange, dragon-man Digimon clad in Chrome Digizoid appeared before Tai and Sora.
WarGreymon nodded, then flew into the air and began gathering energy. At Tai's direction, it unleashed Terra Force. The huge energy sphere slammed into the beach—but didn't explode. The sand rippled like water, violently trying to push Terra Force back out.
Seeing this, WarGreymon brought both hands to its chest. Dragon's Breath—a dragon-shaped energy shockwave surged into Terra Force and merged with it.
With the added power, Terra Force smashed through the resistance, shattering the ripples completely.
Inside the alternate space, the kids were boredly staring at the scenery—there wasn't much else they could do.
BOOM! A sudden deafening blast rocked the space, making everyone jump.
"What happened?! Earthquake?!" Yolei panicked.
"No… that's probably Tai," T.K. reasoned.
BOOM! The next blast was even bigger. The kids stared in shock as cracks spread across the space like a spiderweb—then the entire space shattered. Sunlight poured in, and a massive silhouette appeared through the break.
"WarGreymon!" Kari shouted happily.
WarGreymon stepped aside to let them out. The first thing Kari saw was Tai.
"Tai, you're here!"
"Kari—are you okay?" Tai asked, worried.
Sora stepped forward too. "Kari, are you alright?"
Kari looked up at Sora. "Sora, you came too."
Agumon walked over, looking at Kari. "Kari, you're okay… thank goodness."
"Thank you, Agumon. You saved us," Kari said with a smile, gently patting Agumon's head.
After a brief exchange, they explained what had happened to each other.
"Wait—where's Davis? We should find him right away. If he runs into the Digimon Emperor, it'll be bad," Cody suddenly remembered.
Veemon stood there drenched in sweat, completely at a loss.
"It's fine… do it, Veemon," Davis said calmly, burying his face deep into his arms.
"But…" Veemon trembled.
"To save everyone… hurry up and step on me," Davis gritted out.
Veemon nodded, shakily lifted one foot, squeezed its eyes shut—and still hesitated, unable to bring itself to stomp down.
"I'm sorry… I'm sorry, Davis…" Veemon sobbed.
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