"It's hot," Eric said, fanning himself with his hand. The
 small breeze did nothing to stave off the heat of the
 Nevada sun, even in mid October.

 Of course, being in the coolest part of Death Valley
 didn't help their moods.

 "No shit, it's a desert," Labramon snapped. Her fur
 was drenched in sweat, large heavy drops falling from
 the thick fur coat she sported, her language and good
 humor deteriorating with the heat.

 "I think she's upset," Lopmon commented from Eric's
 head.

 "Yeah," Eric replied softly.

 Raine stopped at the top of the hill and pulled out a pair of
 binoculars. "According to the letter Gina sent us, the dig
 site is about a hundred meters from here, down in a valley."

 "So tell us again WHY we're trekking across the desert,
 carrying luggage?" Lee asked. His hair was matted to his
 face as he brushed a damp strand from it. He carried an
 overstuffed and potentially heavy backpack, the others
 carrying similar packages. "During the long weekend
 might I ask?"

 "If SOMEONE hadn't accidentally blown up the rental
 car Gina sent for us, we could have gotten there by now."
 Labramon snapped. All glares went to Eric who sighed
 and rolled his eyes.

 "The guy stole my backpack," Eric said flatly. "I chased
 him, threw the sword, it hit the car, the car went boom."

 "But because of that stunt, we had to trek across the
 desert instead of getting a ride in a cool air conditioned
 car!" Sharmamon snarled angrily.

 "Chill out," Eric grumbled. "It wasn't my fault."

 "Yes it was," came the chorus of voices.

 The six crested the hill and Raine smiled in relief. "There's
 the dig site."

 "And water!" Labramon exclaimed. She tore off towards
 the river as the others followed her. Raine stood at the
 top of the hill, watching them run off. Then, her gaze
 went to the large monolith before her.

 A mix of several different styles, the pyramid before her
 looked old. Much older than what she had seen before
 when her parents took her to Egypt. With roman style
 columns, hanging Greek gardens, the plant life long since
 withered away, the towering statue of the Eye of Ra, and
 the Incan style pyramid behind all of it, it was a sight to
 be seen.

 "To think, all this in Death Valley," she whispered in awe
 as she headed down the crest of the hill, ignoring the
 sweltering heat. She paused, looking at the stream that
 seemed to flow from the pyramid/temple hybrid. "Strange.
 I would have thought that in Death Valley, water would
 be evaporated."

 <><><>

 Remnants

 Digital Diaries Movie # 1

 written by Shaun Garin

 <><><>

 "So glad you could make it," Gina chirped cheerfully as
 the group glared death at her. Only Raine was still smiling
 as she unloaded her backpack and adjusted the explorers
 top she wore. "How's the walk?"

 "Not bad," Raine said as the others drank in cold bottles
 of water, some two at a time. "They're pathetically out of
 shape for trekking across a desert. Sorry about the rental
 car, sis."

 "It's okay, Rick is paying for it."

 The aforementioned man winced at the reminder of the
 wreck-formerly-known-as-an-GMV-Van. "Hey, Gina,
 we've just broken through the inner door."

 "Great!" Gina exclaimed, getting up. "Anyone want to
 come? It's cool inside."

 A passing wind blew as Rick, Gina and Raine looked at
 where the rest of the digi-destined and digimon had
 rushed into, the stone door of the pyramid hybrid
 hanging open. "Well, that was quick," Raine commented
 dryly as she headed for the door.

 <><><>

 "Careful, most of these traps haven't been set off yet,"
 Gina warned as she led the group, flashlight in hand.
 The white beam of light drove off the dark as she
 panned it back and forth. Stepping up to a wall, she
 picked up a torch and pulled out a lighter.

 Gina lit the torch and pressed it into a nearby crevice,
 damp with some fluid. The oil mixture flared to life as
 it traversed the darkness, lighting up the area in an
 eerie glow. "There. That should do it. Single file
 people, and don't touch anything."

 A few traps later, and Eric's near disembowelment by
 a swung sharp pendulum, they reached the door.
 Gina ran a hand over the symbols and pressed a
 switch. The doors grinded open to reveal a large
 chamber, a pedestal in the middle.

 The pedestal held a gleaming item made of gold and
 brass. It was inscribed with runes of some sort.
 Traces of a long since rotted pillow supported it.
 "Cool," Eric said as the light illuminated the item.

 Gina stepped up and pulled it off the pedestal. "An
 ancient manacle. Inscribed with.. Egyptian and Greek
 glyphs."

 A low musical tone was heard.

 "Did you hear that?" Raine asked, looking around.

 "Yeah." Eric looked around. "I don't see a wind chime
 around here..."

 Ding.

 "There it is again," Lee said.

 "Okay, this is really starting to get creepy," Labramon
 said, backing up.

 Ding. Ding Ding Ding.

 Eric blinked. "Ding Ding Ding..."

 The four notes extended into seven as a vaguely musical
 chime was heard, the notes wafting across the cavern.
 Eric blinked as he hummed the chimes. "The Song of
 Time?"

 "What?" Sharmamon asked, backing up into the small
 group they had all made.

 Eric hummed the notes again, as the musical chimes
 seemed to echo him. "The Song of Time. Legend of
 Zelda, Ocarnia of Time." He frowned. "But the Song
 has six notes, not seven."

 "So some ghost is a contemporary of Nintendo,"
 Lopmon said tersely from atop his head, ears raised for
 the source of the sounds.

 Eric turned to Gina. "Hey Gina, do you have something
 I can make an instrument out of?"

 Gina fished into her shirt and pulled out a small whistle.
 "Will this do?"

 "Thanks." Eric wrapped his lips around the whistle and
 began to play a different song. This one was six notes,
 and was much more cheerful. The notes were echoed
 in the room as the chimes echoed it. "Lopmon, did you
 get the location of the chimes?"

 "Yeah..." Lopmon looked at Raine and Gina. "It's
 coming from three sources. The pyramid thingy, the 
Manacle thingy and your sword."

 "I have a bad feeling about this," Rick muttered. "I'll
 be outside for a moment." With that, he retreated.

 "Wuss," Gina said as she tossed the manacle up and
 down in her hand. One toss went bad as she fumbled
 for it, just as Eric finished playing the Song of Time
 once again, to test an unspoken theory.

 As it landed in Lee's outstretched hands, light flared
 all around the room, resonating in red, green and blue.
 And a cry of, "Eric you idiot!" was heard from
 Labramon before the three of them vanished into thin
 air.

 <><><>

 Light flared and bodies landed in a heap. With a groan
 and hiss of pain, Eric extricated himself from the pile,
 holding his goggles in place. "Owww... that sure hurt."

 "Eric, when we get home from where ever you sent
 us, I am going to kill you," Raine growled as she
 heaved the heavy Sharmamon off her chest.

 Gina stood and looked around. "Looks like a tomb...
 or a labyrinth."

 "Got any idea where we are?" Lee asked steadily,
 fighting down the panic of being forcibly transported
 to a potentially dangerous situation.

 "From these markings, I'd say Egypt... but I don't
 recognize the story on this one. Most tombs that
 have been documented don't have gruesome pictures
 on them," Gina remarked. Her voice died down in a
 short lived scream as a bony figure tackled her, sending
 her down onto her back.

 "GINA!" Raine cried, a moment before a second
 creature was shattered into bones by Lee's flying kick.

 "Stalfos!" Eric cried in horror as he unsheathed his
 sword. "I hate Stalfos!"

 "Mind enlightening us?" Lee puffed, wrestling one of
 the bony figures off of Gina and throwing it into the
 wall with a tremendous heave.

 Raine began to pitch large stones at the advancing
 Stalfos, Labramon's sonic barks pushing them back.
 "They're not slowing down!" Raine shouted.

 "Shaman Hammer!" A crushing blow turned a Stalfos
 head into fine powder. The body buckled, and it
 collapsed into a pile of dead bones. "Destroy the heads!"

 Lee nodded and spun kicked a close by Stalfos, the
 head sailing into the wall. The helmet bounced twice
 as a fine powder covered it. "Two down!"

 "Blazing Ice!" The icy projectile coated the advancing
 creature as Lopmon went into a spin. "Petite Twister!"
 The ice shattered as it came into contact with a wall,
 Stalfos dust raining down on the group.

 Eric slashed and parried a blow, a line of red appearing
 on his face. He returned the favor by swinging downwards,
 the strike felling the bony warrior with one fell stroke.
 Bones littered the room as he heaved. "Legend of Zelda,"
 he gasped. "Stalfos are bone warriors. Usually takes a
 few hits to knock em down for good."

 A glowing light caught their attention as a chest solidified.
 "Chest," Lopmon said warily.

 "Chests are usually a good thing," Lee remarked as he
 bandaged Gina's shoulder with a torn piece of cloth from
 his undershirt. "Remember the LAST dungeon we were
 in?"

 "Ugh, don't remind me," Gina grumbled. "And I don't
 even have my sword on me."

 Eric stepped into the light and opened it. A golden
 radiance spilled out from the chest as he held up a scroll
 in his hands. Unraveling it, he grinned. "Dungeon Map.
 How convenient."

 "Someone is goading us on," Lee said with a scowl.

 "That's usually how it works," Gina said as she favored
 her cut arm. "Lets keep moving."

 <><><>

 "Door with a large chain and lock." Eric lifted his sword
 and slashed down. The door stood firm as Eric winced
 at the strike sent a jolt up his arm. "nope, I can't cut
 it open."

 "There's got to be a key somewhere," Lee remarked
 as the group looked around. "Fan out. It's not a big
 room. And for heaven's sake, don't touch anything!"

 Raine looked at the large block with a moon shape. It
 was a different color than the rest of the wall. "Lets see.."

 Fitting one hand into the hole, she easily pulled it out of
 the wall. "Bingo," Raine murmured as she went behind
 it. "Found the key!" She called out, opening the chest
 and taking out the rather large key.

 "Great job!" Labramon said happily.

 "Great! That leaves us..." the door opened as Eric's
 face fell. "Four ways to go."

 "Prime," Lopmon said with a sigh.

 "We should split up," Sharmamon said. "There's no
 telling when the paths will rejoin, and we can cover
 more ground."

 "But Gina doesn't have any protection," Lee protested.

 "I'll be fine," the elder woman said. "You guys go on
 ahead."

 "You sure?" Labramon asked.

 "Positive." She took the far right door and went through
 it, pausing to smile at the group reassuringly. "We'll
 all meet back here in one hour."

 As the door closed, Raine turned to the far left. "We'll
 go this way."

 "Alright. Take care of yourself," Eric said as he
 proceeded through the first right door and Lee took the
 first left door.

 <><><>

 Lee looked around. "It kind of looks strange," he said,
 looking around at the white ground with black criss
 crossing lines. The tapping of something was up ahead
 in the mist.

 "Careful," Sharmamon said. "I don't think there's
 something friendly in here."

 As the pair moved through the misty area, the tapping
 grew louder until two people appeared through the
 mist.

 Both of them were sitting cross-legged, facing each
 other in front of a strange lacquered table, about a foot
 off the ground.

 "It seems we have a visitor," the first said. He was a
 man in red with red hair. He placed something on the
 board.

 "True enough," the other replied. He was blue haired
 with a blue shirt.

 "Excuse me," Lee said politely. "Is there a way out of
 here?"

 "He wants to get out, Red," the blue shirted one said
 with amusement.

 "True enough, Blue," Red replied. "Shall we slow him
 down?"

 "Fair enough."

 "What are they doing?" Sharmamon asked curiously
 as they swept strange stones off of the board and into
 small pots.

 "I don't know...." Lee replied.

 "I'll start. WHITE! 4-15!"

 A whistling sound was heard. Lee looked up, pupils
 dilated as he grabbed Sharmamon and leapt to the
 side. A huge white stone crashed to the ground,
 barely missing them. "What the hell?!" Sharmamon
 exclaimed.

 "My turn! BLACK! 3-15!"

 "Aw HELL!" Lee and Sharmamon started running
 as white and black stones began to fall.

 <><><>

 "What's this?" Labramon asked, sniffing the multi
 colored block.

 "It's a rubix cube," Raine replied, running her hand
 against the smooth surface. "I used to have one when
 I was younger."

 Suddenly, a clicking sound was heard as a
 disembodied voice proclaimed, "To win the chalice,
 listen to me. All for one, all in one. That's the key."

 Labramon blinked. "What does that mean?"

 With a grinding sound, the walls began to close in.
 Raine looked around wildly. "Oh no..."

"Better think of something fast," Labramon remarked.

 <><><>

 Eric walked along the path. Soon, he and Lopmon
 came to a large room. As they walked across the
 doorway, iron portcullis slammed into place.

 "Well, looks like we're here for now," Eric said,
 unsheathing his sword.

 "Eric," came Lopmon's voice. "Did you happen to
look at yourself?"

Eric looked up to see Lopmon, human and female with
green hair, wide eyes and wearing a red and orange
patterned dress. The only apparent notice that it was
Lopmon was two large floppy ears coming out from her
Head.  Lopmon picked at her dress and said, "This is not 
good."

Eric looked at himself and yelped. "I'm KEELE?! I'm
not REID?! WHO THE HELL IS REID?!"

"No one, apparently," Lopmon replied, dropping into
a fighting stance. "Death Crabs at twelve o'clock high."

Eric pulled out his sword, which abruptly morphed into
a staff. "Great," he groaned, preparing to dive into the
fray.

 <><><>

 Gina found herself in a field, grass everywhere, 
mountians in the distance, and a shining ocean to the 
left. A ways away, a door was imbedded in the ground.

 "Take the shortest way out," she said to herself, 
heading for the door.

 Upon reaching it, she grabbed for the handle...

 ... and her hand went through the handle itself.

"This is not good," Gina grumbled as the place
abruptly turned black. She turned, grimaced and said, 
"I hate it when this happens."

Stalchilds started to drag themselves out of the ground 
as a sword appeared in Gina's hands. She grinned 
evilly as she approached the approaching skeletons, 
brandishing the sword in her hands. "Alright boys, 
lets rock and roll."

 <><><>

 "They're unstoppable!" Lee panted as he and
 Sharmamon were backed into the corner. "Every move 
we make to try and dodge them or set up traps for either
of them, they keep on seeing the move!"

 "That's right!" Red proclaimed haughtily. "This is a
 Go Board! Pretty soon, there won't be anywhere else to 
go!"

 Sharmamon blinked as he considered the statement.
 "Lee!" he cried. "Get on top of the stones!"

Lee blinked. "What?"

"Get on top of the stones!" Sharmamon repeated. "The 
only way we can win this is by CHEATING!"

"But who knows what'll happen if we do that!" Lee
shouted back, setting up another trap as they ran. "We
could end up killed! Or worse! Or..."

"LEE!" Sharmamon shouted.

"Fine." Lee and Sharmamon scrambled atop the stones, 
and the rain of black and white abruptly terminated.

 "Where'd he go, Red?" Blue asked, almost whining.

 "I don't know, Blue!" Red replied. "I think he either got 
flattened or he escaped some how!"

 Above the stones, Sharmamon and Lee panted heavily. 
"I... remember... seeing you and your.... grandfather play... 
this game... now..." Sharmamon panted.

 "And?" Lee asked, heaving.

Sharmamon inhaled deeply and relaxed. "In Go, you can't 
put a stone down in the same place."

 "I see... and the only way we can win this now is by
cheating." Lee turned towards where the pair were still 
puzzling it out. "Then lets take out the source."

 Sharmamon grinned. "Lets."

 <><><>

 "Oh bad, oh bad, oh BAD!" Raine exclaimed as the walls 
continued their excruciatingly slow motion.

 "Raine!" Labramon suddenly exclaimed. "I figured the 
riddle out!"

 "There's no time for that now," Raine replied as she
 watched the walls move closer and closer.

 "We have to solve the Rubix Cube!" Labramon said.

 Raine blinked. "You're a GENIUS! C'mon, help me push 
these sides together!"

'No, turn the top row.'

Raine blinked, releasing the side of the block. Cautiously,
she moved the row. 'Alright, now the left side, and then
the middle row.'

As the girl worked, the walls sprung spikes. Labramon
swallowed. "Oh, Raine?"

"Not now, Labramon," Raine replied, trying to listen to the
strange voice that was guiding her through the almost
impossible task.

 <><><>

"Eruption!" With a thunderous roar, the dome of fire 
expanded across the field, the magical blaze setting the
creatures alight. With a shrill keen, they died, just as 
soon as Lopmon wound down from his combo.

"How much further?" Lopmon inquired as the pair battled
through the building.

"Two more floors till we face off against Shizel," Eric 
gasped.

"If we make it that far," Lopmon added.

The pair ventured up as a group of towering creatures
appeared before them. As Lopmon cracked her knuckles
and dove into the fray, Eric concentrated, holding out the
Craymel cage he held in one hand. "Efreet! Sylph! Volt!"

 <><><>

Gina wiped her forehead as she looked around the burning 
inferno that was Volvogia's cavern. She hefted the huge 
Megaton Hammer in her hands as the huge Dragon 
emerged from the depths of the lava. "Time to play Whack 
A Mole with the big bad dragon."

With a tremendous boom, the weapon slammed into the 
head of the serpent like creature, followed up by a slash 
of the Master Sword. It keened shrilly as it died in a flash 
of light. "Well, that was anti-climactic," she remarked as 
the blue light engulphed her.

<><><>

"In the classic immortal words of Renamon at the PS2; 
DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!"

With a flare of light, Eric unleashed all the Craymels into 
Shizel just as soon as she would have blasted the pair. 
With a groan, she toppled over and exploded.

Eric gasped for air as he rested on one knee. "That, was 
intense," he said with a sigh.

"True enough," Lopmon added as a door materialized. 
"Lets go."

 <><><>

 Click.

 Labramon looked at the wall that was threatening to crush 
the small narrow space occupied by the large Rubix Cube. 
She looked over to Raine who wiped her forehead. "There 
we go," Raine said. "The puzzle is solved."

 "Great. Could you have cut it any closer?" Labramon 
asked sarcastically as the top of the cube opened up.

 "I went as fast as I could. Not every day one solves a 
Cube in five minutes." Raine looked into the cube and 
pulled out a golden triangle. "Look at this."

 Labramon walked over and sniffed it. "Smells powerful."

 "There's indents here, and here and here. I think this is 
a power source of some kind," Raine said. "Lets go. 
We'll be able to squeeze through the door."

The pair proceeded through the door, finding a bare wall 
with nothing but a chair with armrests. "Now what's THIS 
supposed to be?" Raine groaned.

A face appeared on the top of the second door as iron bars 
slammed down before both doors. "Lift the chair at a 90 
degree angle..." it said before fading away.

Labramon scowled. "This guy is really starting to bug me."

Raine thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. 
"I remember this now. It was a test my gym teacher did 
once." She strode over to the chair, bent at her waist and 
touched the wall with her head. "You touch the wall with 
your head, and lift the chair with your arms. There's also 
a secret to doing this : only girls can do it."

Labramon blinked as Raine lifted the chair to chest height 
and the doors slid open. "Wow. But why can't guys do this 
sort of thing?"

Raine straightened up. "Guys have lower centers of gravity 
and girls have higher centers. It helps us do this challenge."

The pair proceeded through the next door. Labramon 
looked around and said, "What's this place now?" She then
looked at Raine. "Since when did you gain five inches on
both your bust and height?"

Raine looked down and cursed. "Great. Just great."

 <><><>

 Lee rubbed his bruised knuckles as he stood over the 
pulverized Go board. "Now... where's the way out of here?"

 Red and Blue cowered up at him as Red pointed in a 
direction. "Thank you," Sharmamon said.

 Soon, the mist cleared to reveal a door with a chest before 
it. Kicking the chest open, Sharmamon pulled out a triangle, 
this one red in color. "What do you suppose this is?" he 
asked, handing it to Lee.

 "I'm not sure. Lets get out of this place."

With the door unlocked, the pair exited through it to find 
themselves in a strange place that smelled like sulphur. 
Light flashed on their chests, solidifying into an icon. 
Lee looked around and groaned. "Austin Powers?!" he 
exclaimed in dismay.

"You mean we're in a movie now?" Sharmamon asked, 
throughly disgusted with the idea of being in the one movie 
he hated with a vengance.

"Afraid so. Let's keep moving." Suddenly, the doors gained 
iron sheeting. "Maybe not."

 <><><>

The door closed behind them as they found themselves on a 
beach head. "So what's this now?" Eric asked.

A gray furred squirrel rushed by, heading for the main part of 
the beach. Two seconds into the fray, his head exploded in a 
spray of blood. Lopmon and Eric leapt back in shock and horror.

"Okay," Lopmon said in disgust. "That was just sick."

Eric dared a look around the wall as more squirells appeared and 
began their suicide run. "Oh no....  Lopmon, prepare to run as 
FAST as you can."

"Why?" Lopmon asked.

"Remember The Beach multiplayer level on Conkers Bad Fur
Day?" Eric said as he stretched out, tightening his shoelaces 
and belt.

"You're kidding," Lopmon deadpanned. "We are so dead. We 
never PASSED this level without getting  shot! Repeatedly!"

"So we run. Really really fast like the dogs of hell are on 
our butts." Eric replied morbidly as he stretched out and 
started to loosen his legs. Lopmon accended his shoulder as he 
ducked behind Eric's head. "On three, we run for the bomb. 
One.... two...."

"May I say, before we rush to our potential deaths, that this 
REALLY sucks?" Lopmon interjected as he felt Eric tense 
under him.

"THREE!"

 <><><>

Gina looked down the ominous cavern that beckoned the 
unwary Indiana Jones Wannabe. She adjusted her hat and 
pulled at the bullwhip that she had somehow gained. The 
woman inhaled and said with a resigned sigh, "Alright. Do 
or die."

With that cheery thought in mind, Gina descended into the 
Temple of Doom.

Five stone gargoyles, two pitfalls, one with snakes at the 
bottom and the other with large spikes, three walls lined 
with poison tipped arrow shooters and even the ever so 
cliche, closing wall in a narrow passage way, Gina was 
swearing under her breath. "God almighty, I'm gonna so 
take a five month vacation after this is all over." She picked 
up a nearby shotgun, pumped it and fired it behind herself. 
A meaty thump was heard as a zombie fell to the ground. 
"I HATE these kinds of games," she snarled, trekking 
across the obviously booby trapped large room with the 
giant reflective surfaces on all sides.

<><><>

"I don't remember volunteering for the job," the now female, 
blonde, human, and very sexy Sharmamon growled, stalking 
towards where their opponent was most  certainly to be. 

He had found out the hard way that the game they were 
currently in had a very sick sense of humor, as he was 
dressed in Dr. Evil's version of the Futuristic Human.

Sharmamon was not a happy digimon at all, most of his 
thoughts boiling down to "Sharmamon Smash!"

Somewhere in his mind, he found this rather amusing, as
the whole scenario resembled the game in the first ReBoot
Movie.

Opening the door, he found it decorated garishly in bright 
colors, and their sat on the bed. He had a distinct 
resemblance to Mike Myers. "I like you baby," he purred, 
dancing on the bed.

"Pathetic." Sharamon rolled his eyes, looked at the mojo 
levels increasing on the wall as he took out his club.... 

And whacked him upside the head.

Their opponent fell to the ground, unconscious as the meter 
dropped like crazy.

"That was relatively quick and painless," Sharmamon 
muttered, dragging him towards Dr. Lee's lair.

<><><>

"This is bad. This is VERY bad," Raine said as she looked 
at herself. "I SUCK at this game!"

Labramon, now green skinned, red haired and sporting 
large teeth said, "Well, at least we're up next."

Raine smoothed out her Chinese dress as she looked at the 
fighter waiting for them. Tall, dark skinned and red glowing 
eyes. "And we get to fight Evil Ryu. Oh joy. I can't even 
pass the first level of Street Fighter!"

"Pray you can still fight like Lee taught you, and be thankful 
you're not fighting M. Bison," Labramon said as she strolled 
out to meet the evil opponent.

"Pray you can stop him before I have to fight him," Raine 
said worriedly, Labramon leaping into battle.

'What are you worried about? Just stick his head into your 
chest. Works every time.'

Raine blinked. "Where is that coming from?" she wondered 
out loud, a moment before Labramon went sailing past her.

<><><>

"We're Gonna DIE!" Lopmon screamed as gunfire blazed 
around them. The Tediz had come rather close at times. 
Too close actually.

Eric hid behind the retaining wall as gunfire echoed above 
his and Lopmon's head. "We're out gunned!" He shouted 
in horror. He cursed viciously. "No guns, no weapons, and 
the Tediz are shooting from a higher area..." Eric paused to 
check his D-3 that had a small timer running down. "And 
we have a time limit before we're blown to hell!"

Lopmon leapt off his head. Suddenly, a light bulb appeared 
over his head as a "Ding" sound was heard.

The dog digimon blinked as he looked down at the round 
blue circle with a B on it, imbedded into the ground. "Hey  
Eric," he said, nudging the circle as bullets flew overhead. 
"is there supposed to be a context sensitive point here?"

Eric looked up, shocked. "What?" Moving his feet, he 
noticed the blue circle. "Well I'll be.... there's not supposed 
to be any context sensitive points in the multiplayer game...."

The pair shared a fiendish grin as they went to work.

<><><>

"I'm back," Sharmamon said, dragging the Mike Myers look 
alike into the room.

"Finally." Lee exclaimed, putting together a golden gun he 
had found in the room. He looked at the pathetic man and 
raised an eyebrow. "What happened to his pants?"

"Don't ask," Sharmamon growled, stepping aside. "Just shoot 
him already."

"Oh YEAH baby! Mojo don't fail me now!" Their opponent 
exclaimed, starting to dance on the floor.

BLAM!

Slowly, their surroundings vanished as the body disappeared, 
along with the illusions that changed their bodies. Lee 
shuddered. At least the one they were opposing looked more 
like an animated charecter than a real human. Killing a realistic 
one would have given him have nightmares for the rest of his 
life. "It's only an illusion."

"Darn good illusion," Sharmamon said, glad to be back to his 
own ogre-like self. The doors grinded open as Lee tossed the 
weapon to the side.

"Lets go."

<><><>

The Tediz blinked as the gunship rose into view. It was big, it 
was incredibly armed and it had two pilots, a dog/rabbit like 
thing and a strange pink faced squirrel.

Oh, and there were enough missiles launched to blow the hell 
out of the whole Tediz fortress.

Which it did.

Lopmon removed his finger from the "Launch all missiles" 
button with a satisfied grin on his face. "Scratch one Tediz 
fortress."

"Yep. Now lets get to that door." Eric and Lopmon leapt out 
of the gunship as they strode towards the door in the wall, 
and left the area, stopping to empty the treasure chest of it's 
small triangular gemstone.

<><><>

"I must admit, that was an... unusual thing to do," Labramon 
said as Raine cast a glance at the prone Japanese man.

"I was loosing badly," Raine said with a wince, rubbing one 
arm. "I figured, might as well play dirty."

Labramon giggled. "You mean you call grabbing his head and 
sticking it into your chest playing dirty?"

Raine blushed. "Yeah. At least I won, right? You didn't get 
fifty seconds into the fight when he hit you with his Hadoken."

Labramon giggled again. "You look good like that."

"Don't you start," Raine growled as she wrapped Ryu's 
huge gi top over herself, much like a short Chinese dress. 
"Pervert ripped my dress when he fainted."

"Reflexes," Labramon said with a smile. "Once we get out 
of this place, we should both change back into our normal 
forms."

"Lets hope so," Raine replied as they exited the room.

<><><>

"This is odd," Gina mused to herself, staring at the pedestal. 
"I thought this was the Temple of Doom."

The rock monsters just grinned at her as they lumbered 
forward. Gina rolled her eyes and whipped the item off the 
pedestal.

On cue, the whole section of ceiling over the pedestal crashed 
down, the rock monsters unfortunately below it. She 
pantomimed blowing smoke from her finger as she picked up 
the fallen dagger and walked out of the room.

"That was relatively easy and painless," she remarked.

<><><>

 Gina leaned against a stone column, flipping the silver dagger 
in one hand. Three doors opened as one, and the three other 
kids walked in. "Have fun?" she asked with a smile.

 "Loads," Lee said blandly. "We got whatever we needed to 
get... with some minor side quests on the way here."

 "Good... because there's a boss door behind us." She jabbed 
a thumb at the door, the heavy gold chain and lock shining in 
the torch light.

 "Oh man," Eric said. "Wonder what's behind that door?"

"Knowing our luck, probably something akin to maybe Necron 
or Sephiroth," Lopmon grumbled.

 "We should evolve," Labramon suggested. "To give you guys 
a break."

 "In that case, we leave the digimon to the fighting," Eric said, 
holding out his sword. The D-3 flared, as Did Raine's. The wires 
on Lee's began to pulse rapidly like a heart.

 "Lopmon evolve!" Energy entombed the small dog digimon 
and it quickly grew to a two and a half meter tall brown furred 
creature, shedding it's outer skin as new skin and fur grafed 
onto the wire frame. "Wendigomon!"

 "Labramon evolve!" Labramon's skin exploded off as she 
grew in size, gold and ivory covering her amidst the hurricane 
of energy. "Shiisamon!"

"Sharmamon evolve!" Shamamon's skin tore off as he shrunk 
a good foot, and was covered in tan skin, minus the light show. 
"Ninjamon!"

Wendigomon turned his attention to the door and lashed out 
with a fist. "Club Arm!" 

The door buckled, the chains exploding off. With a tortured 
groan, the door fell open.

With the digimon in the lead, they piled into the room. There, 
sitting on a throne that was dusty with time, was a figure.

Strangely enough, he still had most of his skin preserved, 
despite his partially white and purple skin. His fingers were 
bone thin, as a dark purple robe, riddled with dark ornaments 
of the same color. A large collar jutted out from the back of 
the robe, encircling his head partially.

A strangely braided beard jutted from his chin, held together 
by no apparent strings, as it he had separated it and twisted
the beard together. His hands had an extra fingernail on the 
knuckles, including the thumbs.

Then, in the silence, Eric's exclamation was heard throughout 
the echo of the tomb.

"Look ma, it's Ivan Ooze!"

Raine almost collapsed with laughter as Gina giggled 
furiously. The digimon chuckled as Lee struggled to keep 
from howling with laughter. 

"Well well well, if it isn't the conquering heroes," the
presumed dead figure said patronizingly, causing the 
group to start and leap away in horror. "Come to put an 
old man away for the next 6000 years?"

 "What do you mean by that?" Shiisamon asked, heart 
beating rapidly. "We didn't put you away."

 "Oh no? You DENY the fact that you wear the Items of
Spirit, Mind and Body? Symbols of my imprisonment, the 
very instruments of my demise?" The man chuckled. "How 
impressive that you actually got through the maze. I was 
afraid my Games would have defeated you by now."

 "Who... WHAT, are you?" Wendigomon demanded.

 "I am Pharaoh Jakal. Pity. I was hoping the ones who came 
here wouldn't be so young." He practically spat out the last 
word.

 Jakal rose from his seat as he began to pace. "I have been 
in this tomb for 6000 years. I was the ruler of all of Ancient 
Egypt. But people jealous of my power, defeated me in my 
own Game. Did you know it was children like YOU who 
defeated me?" he demanded, whirling on them. The group 
stepped back out of reflex as he turned away, facing a statue 
of a cat deity.

 "So why all the games?" Eric demanded. "What were their 
purpose?"

"Merely a chance to slow you all down. You see, the games 
were games you all had no chance of winning. Think of them 
as tests. But in the end, you all were able to defeat each 
game, no matter how badly you played it in the past."

"So everything revolves around your games?" Raine asked.

"More or less," he said, his expression growing sinister.
"You see, children, time grows short, and I have
much to do. I have certain... people, that are waiting to
be released. Oh, I'm sure you four will try to stop me.
You, and those strange creatures that do your fighting."

"Well, hate to break it to you, pal, but we're gonna
reseal you. No sense letting an evil world conquering
type loose, you know," Ninjamon said with a smirk.

"A shame really. I had such hopes." He smirked. "Bye
bye."

In a flash of light, the world dissolved around them,
revealing nothing but a flat plain of sand, and Rick
running up to them.

"Gina!" Rick exclaimed, slogging through the deep
sands. "What in the world happened? You go in, 
and fifty minutes later, the whole place vanishes!"

"Our gear?" Gina asked.

"Gone too," Rick replied. "We should head back to
the city and get some supplies."

"A little food wouldn't hurt too," Lopmon chirped,
having reverted back to his child stage.

Lee then noticed a glint in the sand. Stooping down,
he dug the manacle that started everything. "Hey,
look at this," he called out.

"The manacle from the first chamber," Ninjamon said,
looking it over. "It's got the same symbols as Eric's
sword and Raine's Puzzle thingy!"

"He did say Items of Body, Mind and Soul, so maybe 
it's part of the set?" Raine asked.

Lee slipped it onto his wrist as it glowed momentarily.
"Safe bet. Not sure which one represents though..."

Gina nodded. "Lets get back into town. I'm sure we
can find some food and supplies there. With most of
our gear and food stored in the cool of the temple,
we're out of food."

"Then lets go," Eric said, letting Lopmon get onto his
shoulder. "The sooner we get moving, the sooner we
take care of Jakal once and for all."

<><><>

Jakal shook his head as he surveyed the land before
him. "My my, look at what the people have made. It's
no wonder that they have grown soft and weak."

He began to pace upon the roof of the Luxor, as he
began to think. "Children with the Three Items. It
cannot be a coincidence that they are here. And most
likely, they have the Thousand Sword."

Jakal scowled as he sat down on the roof. "These
children will be difficult to fight, if they have the Sword
AND the Items, it will be a very hard deed."
He paused as he dropped a penny he had found on the
sidewalk. It made a satisfying crunch as it impacted
on the pavement, sending people scattering about.

"Like ants," he mused. "Always like ants. You stir them
up, and they still come back for more." He then clapped
his hands and rubbed them. "Very well! I will play
by their own games! And they will play by mine."

<><><>

"Awfully stormy today," Gina commented. "If this keeps
up, we'll be hard pressed to return to the Valley."

Eric looked up from where he was eating a Sub, half
of it broken off and given to Lopmon. "Strange that it
came up all of a sudden."

"I have a bad feeling about this," Raine remarked. "It's
too sudden."

Lee nodded. "Too sudden, and carries an ill omen."

"Most ominous," Ninjamon said, adding his thoughts.

"Since when have you become Cherry?" Lopmon
asked, earning a confused blink. He sighed. "Never
mind. Wasted joke."

"I'll ask later," Ninjamon said, eating a whole donut in
one bite.

"Hey, isn't the sky getting a bit dark?" Labramon
asked, pointing to it with her nose.

"Yeah, and the clouds are looking kind of weird, almost
as if they are..." Eric blinked. "Uh oh."

"What?" Raine asked. "Something wrong with the
clouds?"

"Well, I remember seeing clouds do this before, in an 
anime of course," Eric added before they asked. "When 
it was swirling like that, it meant that a portal was 
opening or a demon was being summoned. With our 
luck, it could be either one."

"Oh man, this is seriously bad," Lopmon exclaimed.
"Eric, I hope to your God that you're wrong about 
this."

"I wish I was, but look, the spinning of the clouds are
getting stronger, and they're right above..." Eric traced 
the spiral with one finger as he pointed to the pyramid 
shaped hotel a few blocks away. "THERE!"

"The Luxor!" Lee said, following Eric's line of sight.
"It would make sense, being that it's shaped like a
pyramid!"

"The storm is about to get worse. Lets get there before
we have fire and brimstone hailing down on us,"
Ninjamon suggested, leaping into the open top jeep.

<><><>

"Well now, it looks like I have company." Jakal looked
down at the jeep that was now speeding along on the
deserted road that lead to the Luxor. "Well, I hate to
disappoint them..."

<><><>

Without warning, the ground upheaved before the
jeep. Gina pulled the jeep to an abrupt stop, skidding
to a parallel park as the walls formed from the cement.

And standing in the center of the field was Jakal, 
dressed in what appeared to be a strange version of a
modern day suit. "Welcome to my game," Jakal 
proclaimed.

The group approached him warily, ready for anything.
"What's this all about?" Eric asked.

"My dear boy, I have here for you, a test. You win, I
go back. You loose, and maybe I may spare you and
your families. Of course, you can back out if you wish,
but I'd rather work with willing players." He gestured
with one hand.

Suddenly, the ground beneath all of them heaved up as
stone encircled them, preventing them from moving.
Jakal smirked. "You see, I find that with a bit of danger
adding to this sort of thing, I find that it can become
quite a motivator."

Lee struggled against his bonds ineffectively. "What's
the game?" he growled.

"Lee!" Raine hissed.

"Really quite simple actually. We play a little riddle
game. Quite invigorating I might add. Answer
correctly, and the buck is passed back to me. You 
loose when all of you are turned to stone." Jakal 
smirked. "Ready?"

"Do we have a choice," Eric muttered morbidly as the
game began.

"FIRST riddle!" Jakal exclaimed as the group was held
fast in their stone bonds. "At night they come without
being fetched, and by day they are lost without being
stolen. What are they?"

A long silence ran over the group as Gina then said,
"The stars." Jakal blinked as she smirked. "I remember
Rick telling me that one a few months ago. Took me a
while but it finally dawned on me."

Jakal nodded, inclining his head in slight respect. "I'm 
impressed young lady," he said grudgingly. "Not many
know the old riddles."

"I'm an archeologist," Gina replied smugly. "A riddle
for you : What letters come after this? O, T, T, F, F,
S and S?"

Jakal actually blinked at that as he paused for a long
moment. Then, he grinned. "E, N, T."

"Damn," Gina growled.

"One, one," Sharmamon muttered.

Jakal inhaled and cleared his throat. "Riddle TWO! For
The boy with the funny hair ornament! Many things can
create one. It can shrink and grow with time and be of any
size. What is it?"

Eric racked his brain for a long moment. "Many can make
it. Can change shape with time..." He smirked. "A hole."

"Impressive. That is two right," Jakal said.

Eric nodded as he thought for a moment. "What do these
things have in common? Dogs, Diamonds and Double
Plays?"

Jakal smirked. "they are all someone's best friend."

Lee blinked. How did someone trapped for thousands of
years know about baseball?







"For the little lady with the sandy brown hair, I ask you
this! What runs but never walks, has a mouth but never
talks?"

Raine started to sweat. "Um. um."

'A river..'

Raine blinked. "A river?"

Jakal had to blink at that. "Um, er, that's right," he
stammered. 'How did she get it? I was sure I had her with
that one.'

"Hey Mr. Ugly, get a move on!" Lopmon taunted.

Jakal's eyes burned angrily. "Shut up you insipid bunny or
I will make Ritsutto out of your flesh."

"I AM NOT A BUNNY!" Lopmon bellowed angrily as the
ancient man turned to Raine.

"It is your move," he said, composing himself.

Raine paused for a long moment before asking slowly and
pronounced, "What is black when you buy it, red when you
use it and grey when you discard it?"

Jakal smirked as he dusted his robes off. "Charcoal." He then
inhaled and continued. "Now here is one for you all. What
swims in the morning, hops in the afternoon and sleeps in
the evening perhaps for all eternity?"

"A fish?" Lee asked.

"WRONG!" A snap of Jakal's fingers changed Lee into a
stone statue. "Anyone else?"

"A bird?" inquired Eric.

"WRONGO!" As Eric was changed, his digimon 
accompanying his transformation, Jakal turned to the pair 
of girls. "Well?"

"I... um.... Well..." Raine stammered.

'A frog....'

Raine blinked as she looked around.

'A frog is the answer...'

"A... frog?" Raine asked, fearing the worst.

"That... is correct," Jakal said in surprise.

"I have one for you, Jakal," Raine said in a calm voice. 
"What is black, white and 'red' all over?"

Jakal fumbled for the answer as he scanned the area,
his powers reaching out for the answer. "A newspaper,"
he said confidently.

"You sure?" Raine asked lightly, smirking.

"Don't get smart with me, missy," Jakal growled. "Here
is one for you! Mightier than the pyramids and mountains,
I bring them down to their knees. Steadier than the flow
of water, I shall always persist. Unbeatable, I am not.
What am I?"

Raine huffed in disgust. "It's obvious you mean time, but
it's hardly steadier than the flow of water. It can be
altered and changed easily." Her eyes gleamed with a
strange hint of mischievousness. "Here is one for you. 
What burns with the force of the sun, and lays waste to 
all it touches?"

Jakal blinked rapidly as he strained his mind for the
answer, and using his senses to probe the minds of the
people around him for the answer. The undertone of
Gina's chuckles were heard as he finally answered. "A
Fission bomb."

"Very good," Raine allowed.

"Well, how about this one? What has great intelligence 
within it and yet great stupidity comes from it?"

Raine laughed out loud. "Why it could be of two things,
my DEAR Jakal. It could be a mob of people.... Or you."

Jakal's hand clenched so tightly that the veins underneath
it became tight to the skin. "Do not mock me, woman!"

"Oh, I dunno, you seem to be doing it to yourself pretty
well, Mr. Brain Rot." Raine replied smartly. "Here's MY
new riddle. I wind my alarm clock before I go to sleep
in seven in the evening, setting the alarm for nine in the
morning. How long do I sleep?"

"Fourteen hours." Jakal pasued before looking like he
realized something. "Two hours before the old wind-up 
clock goes off the first time, and twelve more after it's 
reset."

"Impressive," Raine said, arching an eyebrow. "I'd thought
an old guy like you wouldn't get it."

"I'm just full of surprises," Jakal deadpanned. "Here is my
riddle. What can make things bigger or smaller, and can
send messages or burn?"

Raine seemed to be stunned. Gina prayed under her breath
as the young digi-destined tried to make sense of the riddle.

'It's a lens.... Trust me... this is the only one I can get right.'

Raine nodded as she took a breath as she replied, "A lens."

"ARGH!" Jakal went into a supreme cursing fit, running
around, pulling what was left of his hair. "You stupid bitch!"
he screamed.

Raine seemed to take it in all calmly as she replied, "And
here is a riddle for you. Creator of Items three, to hold one 
of cruel deeds, later to use on another tricksters will, but the 
creator he did kill, now trapped in the trap is she, hoping 
one day to be free. Who do I speak, you lousy freak?"

Jakal's pupils dilated in horror. "You dare mock me?
The children cannot be you three! It's just not possible!
Those children are DEAD! Do you hear me?! DEAD!"

Raine smirked as she looked up, eyes gleaming with
something as she replied in a language that was a strange
mix of several languages.

'What is wrong with Raine?' Gina asked herself, catching
every fifth word she spoke in the strange tongue.

Jakal paled as a howling wind emerged from the hole that 
had ripped open behind him, his punishment for loosing the
riddle game. With a glow, the dagger enlarged as three 
crystals slammed into the hilt. With a brilliant flare of light, 
he was sent back howling into the Void, the hilt of the 
sword protruding from his chest.

"DAMN YOU!" he howled as the portal sealed itself.

Then, the world turned white.

<><><>

"Raine?" Lee asked, holding the girl up in his arms.

Raine stirred as she opened her eyes. "Hi," she whispered.

Lee smiled. "I'm glad you're safe."

Labramon looked over and asked, "What happened?"

"I... don't know," Raine said, holding her head. "It's
all a blur of what I did, but I remember the adventure
quite clearly."

"Strange, but I feel we missed something," Eric mused
as the people walked by the bench they were all currently 
occupying. "Do you guys remember anything?"

The other humans, save for Raine and Gina shook their 
heads.

"I remember," Raine said. "I guess we'll have to fill you 
guys in," she said with a smile.

Eric chuckled. "I guess this is one of the times when we
are better off not remembering." The group got up as
they trekked to Gina's jeep. "But you're going to post
the information on this adventure, Raine," he added.

Raine nodded as she smiled. "Alright. Because for you
guys, this is all but a dream."

<><><>

Fins.

<><><>

Authors notes : I admit, a lot of this stuff are stylistic
takes of Indiana Jones, Tomb Raider, The Hobbit,
The Mummy, Conkers Bad Fur Day, ReBoot, Ranma 1/2,
Legend of Zelda and other such series. If I missed a credit 
in these notes, Please, tell me.

A lot of this stuff are imitations. No blatant copying is
Intended, although it is fun to imitate.