This is a super nacho cheesy fanfict by Anzen, who can be contacted at SailaPyro@aol.com. This is yaoi-free, yuri-free, hentai-free, and romance-free. ...well, I have a slight Tai and Sora leaning, and a slight Matt and Mimi leaning, but I try not to let that show too much. This takes place during the Dark Masters arc, before Puppetmon. At least...I think it does. I began writing this when I had a fever. Whoops. Anyway....enjoy!
7--The Great Escape
Piedmon was oblivious to the escape that was going on. He sat and wrote, ever the happy playwright. He decided he would make the destruction of the remaining three Digi-Destined and their Digimon a show as well, and he was preparing his next script. The only problem, he noted, was that he would have to wait several days before he could start the show.
The show of the three smallest Digi-Destined had already started, without Piedmon's direction and script. It was a big show of improv that went on a few floors below the villainous digimon.
The digimon had all been freed, thanks to Kari's early rise from the supposedly long nap. Piedmon, a credit to foolish and careless villains everywhere, had use the same kind of lock for most his locks. So the key worked not only on the cages, but on the storerooms. The digimon were in a circle around the three children, awaiting orders.
Izzy was now the center of attention. He stood with his computer tucked under one arm, his free hand cupping his chin as he thought hard.
"Well, the most obvious thing to do would be to go down the first flight of stairs we come to, to get to the first floor. We can't escape easily from the second story of a building without hurting ourselves. However, there's still the question of where everyone else is, and the fact that Piedmon must be here somewhere. Without everyone else, most of you won't be able to digi-volve....so we wouldn't stand a chance..." the boy said, still letting his mind work.
"None of them are on this floor, Izzy. We checked." Agumon pointed out. Gabumon nodded.
"Maybe we should split up and look for them." the blue digimon said. Izzy frowned.
"I don't know...it would be dangerous..."
Biyomon sat perched on the cage that once imprisoned her. "Gomamon already left though!"
Izzy turned quickly. "He WHAT?"
Kari and TK sighed. Things always went so well. They watched as Izzy hold his face in his palm, obviously annoyed by the unwise move taken by Gomamon. Then Izzy regained his composure.
"Well, we can't stop Gomamon. We'll just hope he doesn't get caught, and that we catch up with him eventually. Gabumon, do you think you could maybe sniff out Matt?"
The digimon nodded without another thought. "I can try!"
Izzy nodded. "We'll start downstairs since that's the safest place to be anyway." he proposed. There was no argument, and so the procession started down the stairs.
TK followed behind them, his backpack heavy with things he had found in the storeroom. After going through some boxes, he found that it was mostly things for making scenery. There was paint, brushes, scissors, string, rope, and even a hammer and a pack of nails. He took with him the rope and the hammer and nails. Because after all, you never knew. If nothing else, the things could help them the many times the had to set up camp or build a raft.
With Izzy and his something of a plan, Kari and her wits, TK and a bag full of junk, and a group of still somewhat sleepy digimon, the escape started to really begin.
If only they could find everyone else, anyway.
8--One Down...
Joe was, still, a very unhappy Joe Kido. He was in the dark, he was hungry, and he was apparently sentenced to die. Dying, a fate which some of his friends had already faced, he been told.
Inside the shed, Joe brooded.
And outside the shed, Gomamon snickered. He could hear Joe's occasional mutterings of unhappiness, and he had no clue that it was due to the fact that he, Gomamon, was 'dead'.
The little digimon had left the main group. They talked too much, and besides, it was boring without having Joe around. They needed someone to complain. So, Gomamon decided to find Joe. And he did, though he wasn't quite sure how he managed that. It could have been instinct, but it could have also been the fact that Joe still had his lunch with him, a fact which had slipped the boy's mind.
Gomamon walked around the shed. The door, he wouldn't be able to open. It looked heavy and it was probably locked. Not to mention that he couldn't turn a doorknob. Besides, that way was no fun. Everyone used doors. So the digimon thought some more.
He looked down at the ground. It was dirt. Maybe....he could tunnel his way in.
Somewhat awkwardly at first, Gomamon started digging. It would take a good bit of time to do things that way, but he needed to give the others time to do their thing anyway.
The others were wandering the first floor, looking around warily. They had to be very careful, because they had not a single clue where Piedmon was.
They had no idea that they were walking near the very room which Mimi was locked away in. The girl could hear the footsteps coming closer from where she sat, and she was positive it was someone coming to kill her. Her tears, which she thought finally stopped for good, began anew. She was going to die, just like Palmon had. There would be no Mimi, she'd never get to grow up, have a boyfriend, or even see her parents again. She'd be dead.
Palmon stopped by a door as the others kept walking. TK, who was the last in the group, noticed.
"Palmon, what is it?" TK asked the green digimon.
Mimi pulled the hat up from her face, no longer hiding her eyes. She had heard voices. Right?
Palmon glanced over at TK. "I thought I heard crying!"
The cowgirl froze. Was she hearing voices? She could have sworn that she heard Palmon. Was it true? Was Palmon really alive still? Meekly, voice still strained by the tears, Mimi had to see.
"P-palmon...palmon is that you...?"
TK and Palmon stared at the door. There was a weak, shaky voice coming from the room. It was a familiar, female one. They recognized it immediately.
"...palmon....please..let it be you...m'so scared palmon....palmon answer me..."
"Mimi! Mimi, I'm here!" the digimon answered, running to the door. However, the lock prevented her entrance.
TK turned to grab the attention of the rest of the group, but it was not necessary. They were all beginning to gather around. And before Izzy could get to the door with the key, they were mobbing it to ask questions.
"Tai! Tai! Are you in there, Tai?"
"We're here, Sora! We're here! We're here! Sora!"
"Don't worry Matt, TK is here, safe and sound!"
"...Gabumon, of COURSE I'm safe...."
From inside the room, Mimi felt herself bursting with happiness. Her face was finally bright again. She banged her fists on the door. "They're not here with me, but we can find them! Let me out! Please! It's so lonely in here!"
Izzy tried the key, and thankfully, the door swung open. Mimi ran out and swept Palmon off the ground. Holding her digimon tight, she let her tears flow yet another time that day.
"Mimi, what's wrong??" Palmon asked quickly, noticing the dampness. Mimi dropped to her knees, still holding her plantlike friend.
"....oh Palmon...I...I thought you were dead...I was so afraid...." she muttered through tears, clinging to Palmon. Everyone stared.
"Dead?" questioned Izzy curiously.
Mimi nodded, wiping away her tears. "Piedmon said...that you were all dead...and our digimon were fighting and killing each other...!"
Everyone stared some more.
Agumon shook his head. "We'd never fight each other, we're all friends!"
"I know that!! But...but...he said..."
Izzy frowned. "Well, he was lying. Most of us are all accounted for. All we need to do is find Tai, Sora, Matt, and Joe...."
"I know where they are! They're downstairs, in an awful awful dungeon that's all dark, cold, and dirty! All except Joe...Piedmon took Joe away to kill him!!" Mimi looked upset at the last thing she said.
"Gomamon went to look for Joe!" Palmon informed Mimi. Izzy nodded.
"Yes, he did. ....and if Piedmon was lying about us being dead, he was probably lying about killing Joe." Izzy explained.
TK scratched his head. "I don't get it, Izzy. I thought Piedmon wanted to kill us all. Why is he only PRETENDING to kill us?"
Kari nodded. "Yeah, he's only pretending stuff happened. He's too old to be playing pretend."
"....playing....playing....a play!" the redhead snapped his fingers.
"What?" the cowgirl questioned, confused.
"Mimi, start leading the way to the dungeon. I'll explain on the way my theory concerning this situation..."
9--Caution, Short People at Work
Tai sighed. Piedmon was leaving them there for so long on purpose, he was sure of it. What did he want to do to them, drive them crazy? Taichi took a calming breath, then continued his steady gaze at the door. The door was not terribly exciting. The boy tried to stop himself from sighing again, but couldn't. There was nothing else he could do. Staring at the door was no longer as distracting as it originally was. The other options for distracting himself didn't seem to hold much hope for achieving the desired task. He couldn't talk to Matt....Matt was best described as 'living dead' for the moment. The blonde had totally lost touch with reality or something. Sora was almost asleep, her arms around Tai and head on his shoulder. The last thing Tai wanted was to disturb her when she was so peaceful.
So back to the door it was for Tai.
The door was not terribly exciting.
Tai sighed again. It'd be a long wait. At least, that was what Tai was thinking. The not terribly exciting door which Tai kept an unhappy gaze upon was actually being stared at by others from the other side.
Izzy frowned. The key which had so easily opened all the other doors wouldn't work on this one. That put aside, the door was very solid. It wouldn't be knocked over easily, though the short boy was sure that the Digimon COULD knock it over with their combined strength. The noise made while doing such a thing would probably attract the attention of Piedmon. So knocking down the door definitely had the 'no' box checked. So how would they get in?
Mimi wringed her hands unhappily. "I don't understand why you need a lock on a door when the people on the other side are chained up...!"
"Well, the point would be to keep us from getting in, Mimi."
TK and Kari were oblivious to Izzy and Mimi, however. They were at work on their own plan to open the door. Izzy was so busy thinking, he didn't notice the two younger Digi-Destined standing atop a tower made of their own Digimon. Steadied by Kari, TK worked at the hinges of the door with the back of the hammer.
"Are you sure this will work, TK?" Kari asked.
"Sure! I saw this in a movie once." TK answered, giving a confident nod. From the bottom of the pile, rather squished, Gabumon sighed.
"Well, that's reassuring."
"Yeah! It is, isn't it?" Biyomon said brightly.
Tentomon was skeptical. "Was it live-action or animated, TK?"
"Does it really MATTER?" TK asked, grunting a little as he threw his weight into his work at the hinges.
The insect-like Digimon couldn't answer. Gatomon was stepping on his face as she struggled to keep balanced.
Meanwhile, Izzy pondered and pondered. He pondered until something hard hit his head. The redhead winced and caught sight of the object as it bounced away.
"What's that? It looks like..."
TK finished for him. "Part of the door's swingy part!"
Izzy gave a little nod, watching as TK and Kari worked on another hinge together. "Well, now I'm glad I made you bring things from the storeroom."
The little blonde gave Izzy a wide grin before blowing on his hands and getting back to work. Izzy grinned back, then helped Kari steady TK. Mimi skritched her head, watching the whole ordeal with a bit of confusion. She thought they all looked pretty silly, standing atop each other like a badly done cheerleading pyramid.
Something hard hit her head, and Mimi winced as the object bounced away.
On the other side of the door, Tai sighed yet again. He was starting to feel depressed again. He shoved the unwanted feeling aside and shifted himself, being careful to keep both Sora and Matt in his protective hold. There wasn't anything he could do for the moment, all he could do was wait.
So Tai stared at the door. It was not terribly exciting.
Elsewhere, Joe also stared at a not terribly exciting door. He was glad he could actually see that there was a door, his eyes finally having adjusted well to the dark. Waiting to be killed was such an inconvenience.
"How come I can't ever wait to be killed in a nice, air-conditioned dining room...."
He was still a very unhappy Joe Kido, having a very unhappy day.
Meanwhile, Gomamon was having a mucky, messy day as he dug through the dirt. It'd take forever for him to make the tunnel he was creating big enough for Joe, he realized suddenly.
Gomamon kept right on digging. He's get to that part when it came up. At the moment there was only one thing that he counted as important. Which was to be with Joe and eat Joe's lunch.
One could expect that the unhappy Joe Kido would soon become even unhappier.
10--Together Again
The 'tower of digimon' fell. But the task had been completed.
Kari hopped up, brushing herself off. "So now what, TK?"
The little boy in green blinked, then frowned as he thought. He tried to open the door, but it wouldn't open.
All the digimon, Mimi, and Kari, stared.
"All that work for NOTHING?" Agumon exclaimed unhappily. However, Izzy smiled. He had long ago recognized what TK was doing. After all, he had seen that movie too. Quietly, he walked over to the door, inspecting the hinged side. He wedged his fingers in the crack between the door and the wall, wincing a bit at the discomfort.
With one good pull, the door came open.
"That's what we had to do." TK said with a nod of admiration.
Tai blinked. The door wasn't there to inclose him anymore, but it wasn't Piedmon who opened it. It didn't help Tai's confused brain that the door had opened the wrong way. Was it really who he thought it was standing there in the doorway?
A short, brown-haired girl dashed forward, throwing her arms around Taichi to give him a tight hug. Startled out of her half-sleep, Sora shot up. Matt turned his dull gaze to see Tai and Kari hugging onto each other tightly. The boy's eyes narrowed as he watched.
"...Kari...?" Matt gasped out, voice full of disbelief.
"Matt!"
Matt looked forward, and the sight that met his eyes was more than welcome.
"TK! TK, YOU'RE ALRIGHT!" the elder brother sputtered out. He tried to stand, to dart forward, wanting to meet his brother halfway, but the chains would not permit it. Matt held his arms wide open, and soon TK was right where he belonged. Safe in his older brother's hold.
"Of course I am, Matt...! I'm just glad you're okay too!" answered the smaller boy. Matt had to laugh a little as he continued to hold his younger brother to himself.
"Oh TK....I...I thought you were...were gone...." Matt muttered. He tried to hold back his emotions, he was so happy he wanted to cry. But Matt kept the tears back and smiled at his brother instead. TK gave a wide grin back.
"Well, this is all fine and dandy....but we still have to get you guys loose." interrupted the group's redheaded brain. TK and Kari backed off from their brothers, not wanting to get in the way.
"Should we try the key?" Mimi asked. Izzy bit his lip in thought as the girl of pink continued. "I mean, it DID work on most of the doors so far...."
Izzy shook his head. "I don't think it'll work...after all, this door couldn't be opened with that key. It's highly unlikely that these could be opened with that key. It simply would not make sense."
Mimi watched as Izzy inspected things. She frowned. It couldn't hurt to try the key.
"Hey, thanks Mimi." Sora smiled as she stood, free of the chains. Izzy fell over.
"How stupid is Piedmon??"
"Pretty stupid if he thinks he can do this to the Digidestined!" Tai exclaimed as he hopped up to his feet. Matt rose as well.
"You're telling me...playing some sort of cruel joke on us. Telling us you're all dead!" Matt growled, clenching his fist.
Izzy nodded in agreement. "That is a rather cruel thing to do. That's behind you now though, what we need to do now is find Joe and Gomamon. Then we can get out of here."
Taichi frowned. "NO! I want to fight Piedmon! He...he made me think everyone was gone--he was playing with my mind! I don't APPRECIATE that!!"
"We're not in a condition to DO that right now, Tai." Izzy explained, shaking his head.
"He's RIGHT Tai....I'm mad too, but we can't stay here and fight. We don't know if whatever made us sleep could do other things to us too. Besides, I DON'T want my brother in danger."
Matt frowned as he heard TK complain in response. "But MATT, I don't NEED you to--"
"Takeru....I'm your big brother, you're my responsibility!" the elder shot back, cutting off TK's voice. The little blonde was about to continue his argument when Izzy interrupted him before he could even speak.
"This isn't the time for that, guys. We have to get going."
Tai frowned, heaving a deep sigh. He didn't want to go. He wanted to fight. It was so unfair, all those horrible feelings that Piedmon made him feel. Now more than ever, Taichi wanted to fight.
But just like Yamato had an obligation to keep Takeru safe, Taichi had an obligation to keep Hikari and all his friends safe. He glanced down with a sigh, seeing Kari standing right by his side. She was rubbing her eyes sleepily, as if the strange magic that had made them all sleep before was kicking back in.
Tai gave in. They would leave.
11--Who Were We Forgetting...?
Joe was an unhappy Joe Kido still. He didn't like the dark, dirt, or the small shed he was trapped in. It was about to drive him crazy, he was positive that he was allergic to being stuck in small, dark, dirty sheds. Deathly allergic, even. Yes, he could feel an attack of hives coming on. The walls were going to start closing in on him too. He could feel it. The air was becoming thin, barely breathable, he was sure of it. Well, not too sure of it, but maybe. He couldn't say it was and he couldn't say it wasn't. However, Joe did know one thing.
"I HAVE to get OUT of here...."
The scrawny boy laid on his back and kicked moodily at the wall of the shed. He had already tried several times to kick down that wall, but he was feeling so frustrated, he just had to do it again. It wasn't like Joe to be doing something so physical, but the boy figured it could do no damage to take out his unhappy feelings on the wall of his prison.
"I HATE...."
Kick.
"...BEING in..."
KICK.
"....HERE."
KI--POP-POW.
Gomamon had popped up out the ground just in time to get a foot in the face. Joe blinked in confusion, unable to see where he was kicking from the way he laid back. He HAD been looking at the ceiling. However, Joe could tell what he had just kicked was not that stupid, solid wall. Joe nervously nudged what he had just smashed his foot into with his other foot.
"...gghhnnn..." said whatever it was that was smashed by the large red shoe of the unhappy Joe Kido.
"AAUGGHH!!!!" Joe screamed and shot up into a sitting position at the sound of another living thing. He immediately scurried into the nearest corner. "IT'S A SNAKE IT'S A SPIDER IT'S A........Gomamon??"
"...ow...am I still a Gomamon........?? ....I see stars..." muttered the digimon, holding his head with one over-sized 'paw'.
"GOMAMON!"
Was it really Gomamon? It had to be. Only Gomamon could act like that after being kicked in the face. It was the real deal. It was the digimon that he had been told was dead. Except, luckily for Joe, Gomamon didn't appear to be very dead at all. Joe swept up the already hurting Gomamon into his arms and gave him a hug that was a bit too tight.
"....need...air..."
"Ack!! Sorry!" Joe cried, setting the digimon down sheepishly. Still though, Joe couldn't help but grin widely. He just knew Gomamon couldn't have been dead. After all, the little thing was just too darn stubborn to go and die. Joe knew his digimon pretty well, and was sure that sticking around to annoy him was his digimon's primary objective. And for once, Joe didn't mind it at all. He was just so happy to see Gomamon....alive. He gave Gomamon's head a pat. Joe wouldn't give him another hug, the little guy was a mess, covered in dirt. "I guess I was just a bit over excited to see you. You look well for a dead pers--err...digimon."
"You too, Joe." Gomamon answered back smartly. He then ducked his head into Joe's ever-present, mostly empty bag.
"....hey, that's my LUNCH."
"Says you."
"THAT'S MY LUNCH!"
"I just dug that stupid hole to get in here! REWARD ME!"
"..b..but...THAT'S MY LUNCH!!" Joe whined. He swung his now empty bag at the digimon. Even though in a rather confined space, the little digimon managed to dodge out the way. Gomamon's laughter was muffled by the food that was in his mouth. Joe Kido's day was no longer unhappy, and he was no longer an unhappy Joe Kido. He was a hungry Joe Kido.
Elsewhere, thoughts were on Joe, but not Joe's lunch.
"Gabumon is just like Scooby Doo!!" TK said, giggling.
"Scooby WHO?" asked the dog-like digimon as he sniffed out the trail of Joe.
"Scooby Dooby Doo." TK said with another giggle.
"If you say so, TK...."
Tai sighed. Things were taking too long. He hoped that Gomamon was with Joe, or they'd have to do even MORE searching. The longer Tai stayed, the more likely he'd be to want to go fight Piedmon. He didn't understand how everyone could just let something like what had happened go.
Sora seemed fine now, Tai noticed. She was calm as she usually was, most traces of tears wiped away. Matt's face had been very hastily wiped of it's dampness, and was now content and at ease. The goggled boy couldn't help but grin as he noticed that both he and Matt were staying close to their younger siblings. Matt was 'resting' one hand atop his younger brother's hat. Tai was more traditional in his ways, he was holding Kari's hand as if they were going to cross a street. Turning a glance to Mimi, Tai saw that she was spoiling her digimon a bit. The brunette carried Palmon in her arms, still bubbling to the plant-like creature how happy she was to see her. Of course, Izzy was his usual self. He walked with computer tucked away safely but close at hand. All and all....everyone was okay. No one seemed hurt, no one seemed upset anymore, they were all fine.
All except Tai. He was still so angry. Why wasn't Matt still angry? He had it just as bad as Taichi had, being told that TK was killed. Tai glanced at the other boy. Matt was gazing at his youthful brother, relief the emotion still residing on his face.
The bad feelings that Tai had been feeling when he thought Kari was dead were still there inside Tai, though. He squeezed the little girl's hand unknowingly.
"Tai?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry Kari." he offered with a grin. She smiled a little too, seeing past the phony grin her brother was pasting onto his face.
"It's okay now, Tai." she said, giving his hand a little squeeze back.
"Kari...I...." Tai tried to sputter back an answer, some sort of explanation. Why was his sister so selfless? She was trying to comfort him. It shouldn't be that way, after all, he was the older brother.
"I'm still glad you're here with me, Tai."
Taichi choked, fighting back tears that wanted to run free. He bent down and pulled the little girl up off the ground. He held her in his arms, and took a deep, calming breath.
"I love you, big brother." she said sweetly, resting her head on his shoulder.
"...love you, little sister..."
"Hey....look, there's a hole." Mimi said, pointing at the shed they were all heading towards.
Gabumon nodded. "I smell Joe and Gomamon in there."
Sora rubbed her head, then took the key from Mimi.
"There is no way that key will work on that door. There is just no way Piedmon is THAT stupid...." Izzy said, looking a bit disturbed. No one should be so stupid as to use the same lock for every door.
Sora shoved the key in the hole, turned it, then turned the handle. The door came swinging open to reveal Joe trying to keep Gomamon from chewing on the bag he was trying to bash him with.
"AUGH LIGHT!" Joe shielded his eyes, dropping the bag. It figured that once he adjusted to the dark, he'd be back in the light again.
"Hi, Joe." Izzy said, pulling the key out the door and staring at it in disbelief.
"...I'm blind...augh..."
Mimi and Sora each grabbed one of Joe's arms and dragged him out the shed. Gomamon came skuttling out after them, Joe's bag still clamped in his jaws.
"Well....looks like we're got everybody!" Tai said brightly. A few moments ago, he thought Mimi was spoiling Palmon by holding her, but now he was holding Kari in a similar fashion. He decided it wasn't spoiling. "We better get going."
Joe adjusted his glasses, still shielding his eyes with one hand. "You're telling me. I'm in no hurry to get in a fight."
The Digi-Destined exited Piedmon's vast home, back into the forest. Piedmon was so deeply involved in writing his next 'script' that he didn't even notice it. His previous script had been a failure in whole, though he didn't know it yet. While the children had been miserable, they rose above it and everything ended up back to how it was before.
Taichi grinned widely as they made it back into the forest. Everything had somehow worked itself out. With his sister in his arms like she was, he just couldn't feel angry anymore. Everyone was happy. And that was the way it was suppose to be.
Puppetmon watched them leave from atop the roof.
"They look like they'll be fun to play with! I can't wait! Someone go make me some special dolls!"
And so, the Digi-Destined went back to ceaseless trudging, though soon they would have a new adventure to enjoy.