The dark shadows decended upon the grounds of the ancient city, the Neo Arcadia. It seemed like dark clouds had come out of nowhere and were threatening to spew forth rain. No it would be so much easier if this was indeed rain just coming however this was something so much more. Something so much more lethal. This was an invasion.

"Now, surround the city. Don't let anyone there leave and be on your guard" said the mammoth voice of none other than HerculesKabuterimon. HerculesKabuterimon was obviously the bigger digimon in the ranks but the other digimon surrounding him were of formidable size also. "Yes sir my lord, none shall escape unless they wish to die" roared the two MegaKabuterimon Brothers, one of them red and the other blue. On their backs were two of the generals of the army Arukenimon. The possessors as they were called. "My lord we will begin assimilating digimon into our small collective as soon as we land" said the Arukenimon on his left.

HerculesKabuterimon was indeed pleased by this but what he was hoping for was humans. The humans were everything to his plan. He needed them to keep up with the lights of Apollomon and Merukimon. "I hope they seek sanctuary here to I can take it from them" he said.

The times were changing when even HerculesKabuterimon was going to indeed come out of hiding to expand his terriroty beyond what it was. "Come now and let us take the legendary Neo Arcadia" roared the mammoth insect.

Sitting alone in silence where three figures, one was a young AI girl and the other two were digimon partners. The three had come to Neo Arcadia to confront Master Malakai, regarding what he had done to three. Two months prior, Master Malakai had disable the young AI and drugged her partners, then he transported them to the Imperial Metropolis and placed them in to stasis. For two months, the three lingered in stasis, they would have remained there longer, if they hadn't be discovered by a group of Tamers whom were exploring the catacombs of the city. It was there, talking with the group of Tamers, that they had been able to piece together what had happened, along with discovering what had happened within the Digital World and the Human World. The worlds suffered through another reality shift, the result being that numerous changes had occurred, most of which were not good. Apparently according to the Tamers, numerous factions had been organized, their leaders being among the most powerful digimon in existence. To make matter worse, these factions were rivals of one another, which meant that was a lot of constant fighting.

That didn't deter the young trio, the only thing on their mind was to figure out the reason on why Master Malakai and placed them in to stasis. Thus after saying their farewells to the group they set out for Neo Arcadia. They knew that, there was a chance that the city no longer existed due to the reality shift, but they headed in the direction anyway. The city had survived the previous reality shift, so it was possible that it was still there even after this reality shift. Thankfully when they arrived, the city was indeed there. The three proceeded in to the city and made their way to Master Malakai's lab. When they arrived there, they found him working on some computer chips. Their arrival, shocked him, causing him to damage the computer chip that he was working on. The damage didn't bother him, he was needlessly surprised that the three were out of stasis. It seemed that the reality shift hadn't affected the memories of the Neo Arcadian citizens.

Though the feeling of wanting to throttle Master Malakai was overwhelming, however Retrace manage to control the raging emotion as well as the emotions of her digimon in order to allow Master Malakai to explain his actions. According the Master he had placed the young AI and her partners in to stasis because he could feel that there was something wrong with the world. Fearing that another reality shift was close in the future, and if it occurred it would wipe the memories of all three of them, he felt that stasis was the only way to prevent it, since they would technically be off-line (or asleep depending on how you looked at it), thus they could be immune to the shift. It seemed that he had been correct in his assessment, as they were here confronting him about it. As the discussion went further, and the accusations faded in to questions of curiosity, it was discovered that Master Malakai had done what he had done, because he feared losing Retrace's and her partner's knowledge and experiences. The city itself was still relatively knew when it came to dealing with inner-world politics, and since their only real ally in the world was Retrace and her partners, if they had lost that, then they would truly be alone in the world. Once that came out, the three regain their trust and confidence in the Master.

With their trust and confidence back in tact, Retrace submitted herself to Master Malakai, so he could upgrade her programing, she had missed numerous updates during her time in stasis. Once he was done updating the young AI, he left the laboratory, to tend to some other duties, allowing Retrace to adapt the new updates along with reflecting on what had been said. Suddenly there was the sounds of explosions. Retrace and her partners looked at each other with puzzled expressions on their face. They first thought, there had been an accident in one of the experiments that the scientists were conducting, but the sounds persisted, and Master Malakai rushed in the lab.

"The city is under attack!" he cried.
"What?" snapped Retrace "By whom?"
"Unknown, however at the rate they are going, the city will be leveled by the end of the evening"

Gritting her teeth, Retrace looked at her partners. Neither them nor herself were really ready to battle, however they knew that they had to do something. Both her partners nodded showing that they understood what she was about propose. With that they rushed out laboratory, in the distance they could hear Master Malakai calling to them to be careful. Once they were outside they saw what appeared to be numerous insects attacking the city. If the attack wasn't already puzzling enough, this furthered the confusion. However the confusion was second to the anger the three felt, this attack was unprovoked, Neo Arcadia hadn't done anything to anyone, in fact they had been quite friendly, and straightforward to those that they had approached and received. Unlatching her D-ark from her belt, Retrace evolved her partners to their mega forms Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode and RhodoKnightmon, and she armed herself with her proto-saber and together the three proceeded to attack, the invading army.

HerculesKabuterimon slowed as they neared to the above of the Neo Arcadia. It seemed like all of the people and digimon there knew that they were there now. "Take the city, imprison the citizens and make them our slaves. Make sure nobody leaves" said HerculesKabuterimon extremely sure that his army would not be beaten in this battle. HerculesKabuterimon then roared "ATTACK" and his army began to decend. The two Arukenimon who had come with him vaulted off their carriers the MegaKabuterimon blue and red. "As you wish, Spirit Needle" said the general as she pulled off strands of her hair and took control of two champion level Leomon. As they were taken over both of them began to act like mindless drones. "Now enslave the city" said Arukenimon.

The other one had landed a bit more unfortunatly than her partner. "Oops, it seems that I have dropped in on the wrong place" she said as she looked a little cautiously. However as she did she noticed that several Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon surrounded both Holy Dragon Mode Lucemon and RhodoKnightmon. "Take them" said Arukenimon.

Up above them all HerculesKabuterimon watched hungrily. "It will not be long before this city falls and my empire rises" he said.

Retrace gritted her teeth, the invasion force was far larger than she had anticipated. The only saving grace for the young AI and her partners were the fact that most of the invading forces were made up of champion and Ultimate digimon. She knew that, together with her partners, they would be able to take out a portion of the force before being completely overwhelmed, that was assuming that the leader of the force didn't decide to join the attack before then. That was also assuming she didn't obtain any back up during the attack, if she had to surmise anything it was that the former was going to happen rather than latter. She lashed out with her Proto-Saber at one Kabuterimon that edged to close to her, then she whipped around and stabbed a Kuwagamon in the chest. Pulling the Proto-Saber out, she whipped back around watching and waiting to see what their next move would be.

Meanwhile, Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode and RhodoKnightmon were having their own set of problems. Despite the fact that they were in the mega forms, their power wasn't completely restored. As a result, they couldn't use their full range of attacks. For both digimon this was extremely frustrating, given the fact that they were battling an invading force and trying to protect the city and it citizens. Despite this though, the two mega digimon fought the best that they could with the power that they could summon. Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode launched his Heave's Blaze attack, a barrage of golden flames at a portion of the approaching Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon, while RhodoKnightmon attack the rest of the approaching insects with his Argent Fear attack.

HerculesKabuterimon was beginning to grow angry he had given them ten minutes to successfully gain entry to and capture the Neo Arcadia. He knew that it would be strong baseline for him to get into the neibouring lands to the great city. Along with that it would be a strong fortress due to the secrets of the digital world that it might contain. "Get me this city or else I will destroy every single one of you" said HerculesKabuterimon. This comment drew concern from Arukenimon since he used to be always so loyal to them.

The other Arukenimon on the other part with the Kabuterimon and Kuwagamon army was looking a little worried now as a good number of their forces were wiped out by the Holy Dragon's fearsome power. Even though not at full power they were still fully digivolved digimon and this made them hard to defeat in battle. "I don't care who you think you are I am not leaving without this city" said Arukenimon as she gritted her teeth in frustration. "Spider Thread" she said as she launched the attack not at either of the two digimon but at Retrace herself.

Whatever was left of the attacking force took the initiative and indeed leaped toward both Lucemon and RhodoKnightmon. Intending to distract the two of them long enough to use Retrace as a bargaining chip.

Out of the corner of her eye, Retrace saw something coming right at her, she noticed it was some sort of thread, she surmised it must of come from one of the Arukenimon, since the insects that she and her partners were battling didn't have any thread based attacks. She immediately leaped to her left, she tucked in and when she landed she rolled back on to her feet.

"Damn that close" she muttered to herself.

She knew why the Arukenimon had attacked her, out of the three that were defending the city, she was the weakest of the group. They figured that if she were captured, she could be used to make her partners stand down. It was a fairly logical tactical move by the insect army, if she was captured her digimon might stand down, then again they might not. It would depend on the situation, which they faced. Given the situation that they were facing now, the two digimon partners would most likely not stand down. The fate of the city and it citizens were far to important compared to their lives. Now if they targeted the citizens espeically the Masters as their hostages then that would be a completely different story. Retrace hoped that they didn't think of that tactic, with that she continued fighting lashing out at the approaching insects, hoping that she could get a few gashes and stabs in.

* * *
Both Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode and RhodoKnightmon cast glances at each other. Both of them could sense their excitement that they felt. For them, this was one of the best positions that they could be put in, both digimon had fearsome close combat moves, and even if they were not at full power the moves would still be devastating if used.

"Spiral Masquerade" cried RhodoKnightmon.
"Dragon's Fury"

RhodoKnightmon became to a blur to the eyes as he proceeded to slash the approaching charging insects, with the ribbons on this body. Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode charged head on and began to claw and rip at the approaching insects with his claws.

Arukenimon growled in frustration as her attack missed. A lot had hinged on that and now they would need another plan to counterattack against the formidable force that had come against them. They had the upper hand on sheer numbers but the power seemed to be for none other than the side of the Neo Arcadia. "You are not going to escape alive" she said as she started to run away as fast as all eight of her legs would carry her. Arukenimon was beginning to cover a little distance between them, at least until something big appeared in front of her.

"Damn why do the humans always have some of the strongest ones. Why can't the boss be this smart" said a Kabuterimon as he was ripped apart by RhodoKnightmon. His sharp blades pierced through quite a lot of the insect digimon. Some of them began to retreat from the Neo Arcadia but as they did more began to come around. Most of this new squadron was made up of Okuwamon as reinforcements. "This is more like it" said the retreating digimon as they began to make their way back into the Neo Arcadia to do more damage.

Arukenimon began to take a few steps backward from her lord and master HerculesKabuterimon but as she did Kabuterimon simply roared "Giga Scissor Claw" and tore her to pieces. As she screamed her last breath HerculesKabuterimon turned to the Dragon and the Knight. "You two are in my way, I do not forgive digimon getting in my way" he said as he fired a Mega Electro Shocker with such power it destroyed the path under it directly at the two digimon.

A small smile formed on the young AI's face when she watched a portion of the insect army begin to retreat. For a moment she truly believed that the she along with her partners had forced them to retreat. However that feeling was quickly crushed when she noticed that the retreating members of the insect army, were heading back in to the city, she noticed behind them were, reinforcements. This particular group of reinforcements were stronger than the first attack force that had attacked the city.

"Of course" scoffed Retrace.

Neither Retrace nor her partners were ever that lucky, anytime something went well for them, something else had to come along and screw up everything that they had worked for. This had happened so may times for Retrace and her partners that she had come to expect it, especially when things went easy or came to easily.

"Where is my back up?" she asked herself as she watched the reinforcements approaching. "Oh yeah, it is non-existent." With that she readjusted her grip on her proto-saber and began to head towards the group of reinforcements, when she head the cry of an attack, it was one that she didn't recognize. She stopped and looked towards the source of the voice, she watched as the leader of the force attacked and killed one of his sub-ordinates. Then he turned his attentions towards her partners, it was by this point fear surged through the young AI. The leader had finally joined the battle, and he wasted no time attacking. The resulting explosion threw Retrace backwards. She hit the ground roughly tumbling ending over end, she finally skidded to halt next to pillar of a building.

"Gah..." she muttered.

Slowly she began to get to her feet, her right hand touched a liquid substance, she looked down noticed it was white. She gasped and looked down at herself, she noticed that her entire right side had been ripped open exposing the pulsing circuits which made up her body. Portions of her artificial flesh hung off her, however most of it was gone, mostly destroyed in the ensuing explosion.

"Fuck" she muttered fearfully.

She knew that she couldn't take to much more damage, without causing permanent damage to herself. However she knew it was risk she had to take, she looked up at her partners, she noticed that they had began to engage the leader HerculesKabuterimon. She redirected her attention towards the approaching reinforcements, out of the corner of her left eye, she saw the Master Circero and Master Kara directly the last of the citizens in to the safety shelters. She wondered briefly where Master Malakai was, she reminded herself that he was capable of taking care of himself, on that she began to engaged the new reinforcements in battle.
* * *
The resulting explosion sent fear through the two mega digimon, they knew that their Tamer had been in the general vicinity, when the explosion had occurred, that meant that their Tamer could have been severely injuries or killed. The prospect of having their Tamer dead was unbelievable, then again they had lost her once to the Reaver plague, and the first time was devastating, a second time would mostly result in insanity. For the moment though the two digimon had to push such thoughts aside and focus on the greater situation that was in front of them, that being HerculesKabuterimon, they had demostration of his strength, they knew that this wouldn't be an easy battle, in fact it would most likely be one of the hardest battles they would face. However they didn't let that thought deter them, since the fate of Neo Arcadia and it citizens rested squarely on their shoulders.

"We don't forgive digimon that attack maliciously" said RhodoKnightmon.
"We don't forgive digimon that hurt innocents for their own selfish reasons" said Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode.
"This ends now!" they both cried.
"Spiral Masquerade" cried RhodoKnightmon

RhodoKnightmon became a blur to the eyes again, and he began to slash HerculesKabuterimon with the four ribbons that lined his body, meanwhile Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode flew higher in to the skies then he looped back around and opened a rift in the skies.

"Divine Cross" he cried out.

Out of the rift 32 fiery orbs homed in and flew towards the golden insect.

The reinforcements were now making it even harder for the Neo Arcadia to fight back to protect the town. Everywhere insects decended, some even more powerful than the ones that had come before and it was not going to end until either the city had fallen or HerculesKabuterimon himself was dead and that in itself was not going to be easy, as one of the five generals of the digital world. Not only that but he himself was in command of one of the most cunning groups. Not really bound by pure power but more from smart and strategic decision making. "Do not stop until the Neo Arcadia is ours, it must come under the control of our lord" said MegaKabuterimon, one of the most dedicated followers.

Over on the other side of town Arukenimon watched as the devestation combined from all the rapid attacks from the insects, the buildings that were getting damaged and the battles happening with the Neo Arcadia's residents. "This is almost too easy, with our lord HerculesKabuterimon in the battle now we shall win easily" she muttered, at that she threw two strands from her hair and hit two Leomon. Making them unwilling servants to Arukenimon now. "Hahaha, this is too easy bring on a challenge" she mocked.

the battle was fearsome for HerculesKabuterimon, as he felt the multiple stabbing sensations from RhodoKnightmon's attack he knew that he would be able to stand it but it was stronger, it could be stronger and he could sense it. Something was wrong. "You are clearly not performing at your best, why do you mock me" he said as he took the brunt of the attacks without too much damage, however he had a fair few slices on his arms and back from where he had protected himself from the power of RhodoKnightmon. "If this is your best" he said as he was about to attack with his large claws. He felt the large attack that next came from Lucemon.

The orbs came down, one after the other and hit HerculesKabuterimon one after another. They were like large rocks being thrown at him, as it would be to a normal human. As the final orb dropped on him he fell to his knee and clenched his teeth while clutching his chest. "Impressive power...." he said as he got to his feet again and this time on him were several marks from where the orbs had hit him. "This is not enough to defeat me, you have lost" he said as he ignited his claws in a dark energy and roared "Giga Scissor Claw" and was determined to strike RhodoKnightmon down.

Hearing the screams from the Neo Arcadians whom hadn't made it the shelters, was enough to send Retrace in to frenzy, the damage to her own body no longer mattered, the only thing that mattered was protecting the defenseless citizens of the city. She viciously slashed, hacked and cut her way through the insects, leaving nothing more that scattered data and digi-tama in her wake. The prospect of failing, was something that Retrace didn't want to encounter, much less consider. Failing meant that the citizens could be killed or much worse enslaved to do HerculesKabuterimon's bidding. Thinking about that tyrant using Neo Arcadian technology to further his conquests in the Digital World, was horrifying, the political ramifications alone would most likely cause more damage to the city, than the physical damage that had already occurred as a result of the invasion. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught sight of another Arukenimon infecting Leomon, then using the infected Leomon to attack the citizens. She began to make her way towards the infesting spider, but something tightly grabbed her from behind.

"Stop" came a voice from behind the young AI.

Fearing an attack from behind her, Retrace whipped around, preparing for an attack on an insect digimon that had stopped her from attacknig Arukenimon, however her attack was halted mid-way by two human hands rather than insect hands. Retrace found herself staring in to the eyes of Master Malakai.

"Master Malakai, what are you doing?"

"Retrace, stop this" he said "This fighting is getting no where, if you don't stop now the entire city will be destroyed the many of our citizens killed"

"Are you saying we should just surrender?" snapped Retrace "Surrender to this...to this tyrant?"

Master Malakai nodded his head "Yes, for now"

Retrace ripped herself out of Master Malakai's grip and turned around for a moment, she couldn't believe what she was hearing, one of the Masters of the city actually proposing the prospect of surrendering. Her worst fears were starting to be realized, the city had fallen, and the worse part of it was that she had failed.

"Never" he cried out, then she began to make her back in the battle.

"No" said Master Malakai, this time grabbing Retrace from behind and pinning her arms down so she wouldn't be able to attack. "Retrace listen, if we surrender now, there is a chance that our city will be left intact. Sure we may be forced to do things for our new masters, but that doesn't mean we can't build up our resources and defenses in secret you see where I am doing with this? As long as we are still here, there is hope for the city and it citizens. More importantly as long as you are still here..."

Gritting her teeth hard, in an attempt not to scream out in rage Retrace finally relented and muttered "Fine..."

"Good, now all you need to do is find your partners and inform them of our surrender"

* * *
Both Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode and RhodoKnightmon where shocked by the fact that their most powerful attacks, hadn't even damaged HerculesKabuterimon, what stunned them even more was the fact that the insect tyrant could tell that they were not even at full power. Regardless of this though, they had no intentions of being defeated, even if they were not at full power. Seeing that the insect tyrant was intending to strike him down first RhodoKnightmon grabbed ends of the pincher on HerclesKabuterimon and held them open. He motioned for Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode to move in an attack, the golden dragon circled and dove in.

"Breath of the Guardian"

Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode fired a golden laser and it flew towards the insect tyrant's face.

HerculesKabuterimon believed in his power and it had always driven him forward in his domination of the digital world so when two digimon he had never fought before were able to stand up to his usually game winning move it was enough to have him taken aback as to what else they were capable of. He himself was shocked by what was happening but as with any good general he had a backup plan already in place incase he was stood up in combat. "You may think you have a chance against me but I always have the upper hand" said HerculesKabuterimon gloating to both RhodoKnightmon and Lucemon. "Now, execute plan Beta" said HerculesKabuterimon.

Immediatly MegaKabuterimon froze in midair as he looked down toward his and the entire insect armies leader locked in mortal kombat. "Very well sir" said the insect as with a blistering speed he flew down to where he knew the digimon's partner to be. With his keen eyes he muttered to himself "perfect" and locked on sight he swooped in and grabbed Master Malaki from where he was with Retrace. "Now you will become our bargaining chip" said Megakabuterimon as he flew toward HerculesKabuterimon with Master Malaki in his claws ready to crush him. "I have a human master" said the large blue insect. HerculesKabuterimon turned with a face of what could only be gloating.

"Now what will it be dragon, what about you Knight" he said smiling, or as close as he could to smiling. "Me or the human, MegaKabuterimon if they so much as flinch, tear him in two" said HerculesKabuterimon as he once again faced RhodoKnightmon in a gloating manner.

For the young AI, she wasn't surprised that the insect armies would use the citizens or the Masters a bargaining chips in order to obtain their surrender, she had actually figured they would when she had analyzed the situation earlier. It was a logically tactical move, given the army's situation. They had most likely not considered the defense that Retrace and her partners would put up for the city. Though it was logical tactical move, there was just one tiny flaw with it, MegaKabuterimon had just grabbed Master Malakai, he didn't even attack Retrace. She suspected that he done this, due to the fact that she was injured and thus wasn't a threat. Though it was a tiny flaw, it was also a very fatal flaw, it was true that she injured, she could still fight. She whipped her proto-saber forward and leaped up in to the air, and drove the saber right in to head of MegaKabuterimon.

* * *
Neither Lucemon nor RhodoKnightmon were surprised that HerculesKabuterimon and resorted to the tactics of using the citizens as bargaining chips, though they were thoroughly disgusted by the tactics. They noticed that Master Malakai was the bargaining chip that they were using, if they lost Master Malakai then that meant that Retrace wouldn't be able to be operated on if she got injured (like she was now) and that also meant that Retrace wouldn't be able to be updated. The prospect of losing their Tamer again, was a horrible thought.

"Fine, we surrender... for now" said Lucemon.

MegaKabuterimon had pulled out out the saber from his head. However it was painful to even touch for him, though he had to in order to get it to stop bleeding even for a digimon as big as him. He looked down to Retrace and was about to charge her again. However as he did HerculesKabuterimon looked at him which warned him off. He knew that his chance would have to wait. "I'll get my revenge on you" said MegaKabuterimon as he lay in wait for what would happen next.

HerculesKabuterimon brought his attention back to the matter at hand. The Neo Arcadia's residents surrender. With that he could get them out of the city and then plan what he would do with it next. He could setup base and continue to conquer the surrounding area. "Very smart Dragon, I can see why some digimon are smarter than others" said HerculesKabuterimon as he held Master Malaki in place. "Now dedigivolve and leave the city at once. If I see a shred of resistance this one dies followed by as many citizens as I see fit" said HerculesKabuterimon laying down what needed to be done. With their surrender the troops kept watching as more and more people and digimon left the city. They gloated them by chanting things like "quitters" or "cowards" to them. HerculesKabuterimon seemed to take pleasure in keeping Retrace at bay as he could sense great strength from her, possibly the strongest in the Neo Arcadia.

Meanwhile watching from afar was someone else. None other than Akiro. "Koda, it looks like the Neo Arcadia has fallen. I wish we could have been here sooner" he said to his digimon partner. Koda looked at the digimon army that could be seen from outside the city's limits. There were so many. "It looks like the fighting has stopped, but we couldn't get here any quicker without alerting them in which case we could have been blasted out the sky" he said quickly. They continued to watch as people came out of the city, and this time not in a panic.

Seeing the mass exodus of citizens out of the city of Neo Arcadia, nearly crushed Retrace's spirit. In the back of her own mind, she wondered whether or not she had truly failed in protecting the citizens of the city. She glanced over at Master Malakai, he just nodded his head at Retrace. A small smile formed on the young AI's face, she knew that one way or another he would find a way to get in to contact with her, that way she could get the necessary repairs that needed to be done, as well as coordinate an resistance. With that Retrace slowly picked up her Proto-Saber that MegaKabuterimon had thrown to the ground and deactivated it and motioned for her partners to follow her. Both Lucemon Holy Dragon Mode and RhodoKnightmon acknowledged the order and they reverted back to their rookie forms Lucemon and Kotemon and together they began to leave the city. Both setting foot outside the city, Retrace turned around, and softly said:

"I will return and when I do, I will liberate you. That I promise"

With that Retrace and her partners exited the city, though they had no firm destination in mind, for the three of them anyway was better than the city of Neo Arcadia.

HerculesKabuterimon watched as the last of the people of the Neo Arcadia left. He finally landed upon one of the buildings before looking toward all the insect digimon. "My army we have accomplished a great victory but alas we cannot rest yet for we must locate the knowlege that I seek" he said as he raised his arm. In response his followers began cheering for him. However the display was cut short as the insect digimon began moving around the city. They were looking for something.

Akiro watched as most if not all the citizens from the Neo Arcadia were leaving. It was very depressing to see not knowing where they would go or who would help them. "This is aweful, it looks like HerculesKabuterimon made most of these people leave their homes" growled Koda to Akiro. Koda wanted nothing more to go in and crush the insect lord with his bare hands but he knew he would be no match for him.

As Akiro observed the chaos unfolding he happened upon the person he had met both in the undergound and in the graveyard. He had to make sure he was actually seeing what he was. "Is this some sort of twisted game" he asked himself. He rushed over to where Retrace was and shouted to her "Fancy meeting you here". However as he looked at her he could tell that something serious must have happened. He also seen her body. It was obvious that she had been in battle. "Are you alright" he asked.

"Do I look like I am alright?" asked Retrace as she limped over towards a tree and began leaning on it. "I just had half of my right side blown off" She brought her left hand away from her right side and peeled back a the remaining portion of her shirt revealing the unnatural hole that was in her body, along side the blood that was smeared all over her. "If I don't receive any maintenance soon, I will die...again"

"The only person whom can help Retrace is back in Neo Arcadia" said Lucemon
"Gods know what that tyrant is doing to the Masters and the remaining citizens" said Kotemon "I wonder why he attacked, beyond the technological offering that the city possesses, Neo Arcadia doesn't have anything to offer"
"Who knows" said Retrace panting. "This world isn't the same world that we originated from. Many things have changed, thus operating on the same principle like the one we used from our own world doesn't apply. Anyway, let's put that question on the back burning for now. We need to focus on what to do with the exiled citizens, they need a place to stay, preferably some place safe, far from out new enemy. I heard some new areas have appeared in the result of this reset, perhaps they might be willing to lend some help, until I free the city from that maniacal tyrant"

With that Retrace pushed herself off the tree she had been leaning on and limp towards one of the citizens, and began to talk to her. She was trying to persuade the citizen to talk to as many of the other citizens as possible, Retrace had an idea of where some of the citizens might be able to stay at until Neo Arcadia was freed.

Akiro noted the venom in her voice. It was true that up until this time he did not notice Retrace's badly damaged body. She did not look good for anyone in the group. HerculesKabuterimon had driven them from their homes, their lives and their city. "This is not fair, how can those with so much power be the most evil ones" said Akiro to Koda as Retrace went over to talk to the citizens. Akiro also went over to someone who gave him the full account of what had happened.

Akiro pondered this for a second as did Koda, though it was Koda who spoke first on it. "Akiro, HerculesKabuterimon must be looking for somethign specific in the city. It makes no sense for him to come here. He is too far away from home here and this city can be attacked more than his surrounding areas" he said. Koda knew what he was talking about but there was still much of a bigger picture that they needed to solve.

Akiro went over to Retrace's partners and then talked to them. "Listen, I think I know a person who might be able to at least partially repair your friend. He has his own army in the digital world, the Dark Soul Army. He is something of a genius with technology and I think he could help" he said. He knew that this problem could not be fixed by Dark Soul forever but it might buy Retrace sometime. "Them maybe we can begin to work on taking back your home" said Koda. Though he did not know how this could begin to be accomplished.

"Look" said Lucemon "Your guesture of kindness is apprehended but you have to understand something, you can't just go poking around in Retrace's body. The Neo Arcadia models of AI are very delicate and precise. If your so-call friend messes anything up in our Tamer's system, you will put her position that is far worse than what she is already in. That is why we kept coming back here for maintenance and updates, we trust no one else beyond Master Malakai to work on Retrace."

"Besides, we don't anything about this so called Dark Soul" said Kotemon "Beyond the fact that they your friends. Based on their name, they don't sound very trust worthy"

"Indeed" said Lucemon "I don't care how technologically advanced they are, we aren't going anywhere near that group unless we know about them. I knowing Retrace as well as I do, she is liable to come to the same conclusion. We didn't stay alive this long by trusting every word that came from every tamer we met"

The sounds of feet approaching them, made both Lucemon and Kotemon turn their head. It was their tamer Retrace, she looked at them noting the concern on their face, but refused to comment on it, instead she continue to press the issue that was on hand. "It is set" she said "Most of the citizens have agreed to follow us to Babylon Dome. Perhaps we can arrange something with two leaders there a human named Sinclair and his partner Shiisamon." She cast a look over a Akiro and said "Look you can follow us if you want, or you can go your separate way. Either way is of no concern of mine, the choice is yours" With that she motioned to her partners to follow her, and began to lead the exiled Neo Arcadian citizens south.

Akiro heard what the digimon had said and although he was not surprised they were essentially putting a very short time limit on Retrace's life. One that did not look like it had very long and was ticking away fast. "So this guy is the only one capable of doing repairs. For all intents and purposes I wish he had told someone else these secrets" he said to himself. The main purpose now seemed to travel to somewhere safe. "Though don't say that about my friends when you don't even know them. The only reason they call themselves that is because of the lead digimon" he said a little offended when all he did was offer help.

"Who is this human in the Babylon Done, I have never been there myself but it sounds like they have a certain sway there" he said not knowing what they were getting themselves in for. This was certainally going to be an interesting journey. "No I don't think we intend to leave, I will cover the rear incase HerculesKabuterimon is not as forth coming with his word as he seems to be" said Koda as he travelled far to the back of the group to be a lookout incase of pursuit. "Anyway though we know were not leaving I don't know what we intend to do now. One thing I know is that we have to get you fixed somehow" he said.

Retrace sighed at Akiro statement, it was quite obvious that he knew nothing about the governing body of Neo Arcadia, nor did he know anything about Retrace and her partners in general. "Neo Arcadia isn't the type to just hand out their technology and secrets to just anybody that wanders in to their city" she began "There is a very tedious and precise process that must be followed by all involved parties before anything is exchanged. That is to ensure to a certain extend that their technology and secrets are not corrupted and or twisted by users. Just imagine the chaos and consequences that would ensue if another AI like myself was out there causing destruction and harm to not only this world but the human world. Also it helps to keep in mind that they have been in isolation for over 200 years, a little paranoid like that is warranted, they want to be taken advantage of.

As for you so-called friends, we have every right to say such things, we met many people's friends during our travels, none of them very kind to us. They either wanted to take advantage of our knowledge, use us to benefit themselves and or their organization or kill us. There is nothing more satisfying in the world than knowing that your wishes are not respected in the eyes of others. I had done nothing to them or the worlds but try to help both, and they never cared. That is the primary reason that myself along with my partners went rogue.

To wrap this discussion up, if you want to take up the rear of the group fill free to do so. We could use the extra boost in strength since Lucemon and Kotemon are not up to full power. This indeed will be an interesting journey, in fact I have a good feeling about this Babylon Dome..."

With that, Retrace and her partners continued to lead the group south, she hoped that her gut feeling regarding the place held true.

Akiro took extreme offence to what Rapley had said to him about the people he trusted with his life. He knew that she had probably had a harder life than he in the digital world but he was not going to stand aside and take what Retrace had said. "Listen sister, don't go insulting people you don't even know I trust those people with my life because even when I didn't know them they saved me. If you keep your heart guarded for too long them eventually it will vanish" he said as he walked on a little further vanting off some steam.

Koda at the back behind a Centarumon and a Leomon looked and sighed as he knew something was bothering his partner. Akiro came back to Retrace and then said "As for your earlier statement yeah I didn't mean just anyone but are you telling me that there is nobody in that entire city that your master didn't trust, didn't he even tell you anything about your technology" he asked. He knew that answer was probably no but concern stopped him from not asking incase she knew something that may help her. "We might as well talk because its a long walk I assume" he asked.

OOC: I don't expext to be talking for ten more posts, you can take the lead and end the RP and if you want us to then we'll go to the babylon dome.

OOC: Understood

BIC: Retrace broke out laughing at Akiro's statement and said "You have to have heart in order to lose one." For a moment she continued to laugh until finally she managed to regain her composure. "For starters they are not my masters, they are the governing body of the city of Neo Arcadia, and the answer is no. Thus far since they revealed themselves under a year ago, the governing body of Neo Arcadia hasn't found any candidates worthy enough to impart their technology and secrets. Sure they have made some alliances with some of the nearby cities and towns, but over all none. As for me, it isn't that they don't trust me, given the fact that I serve as a liaison between Neo Arcadia and the surrounding regions, there is considerable risk that my systems could be compromised and the secrets leaked. Thus they keep the information that I have to a bare minimum.

As for the previous conversation, you trust these people with your life? That is pure foolishness right there, the only person you should trust with your life, is yourself, since you are the one living it, no one else. For the record if you call me sister one more time, I will rip your head right from your spinal column."

With that Retrace took the lead, leaving both her partners stunned with what she had said. Both Lucemon and Kotemon looked at Akiro, then Kotemon spoke "Don't take much of what Retrace said seriously, she is just really mad right now. We have been through a lot in the past year and it has taken a serious toll on all three of us. Give her a day or two to simmer down"