Disclaimer: No matter how much I wish I did, I do not own Digimon in any way; which means you can't sue me.
Izzy tossed and turned in his sleep noiselessly. He had grown accustomed to the awful nightmares he had had since a child, but all that had happened in the Digital World intensified them dramatically.
He had never told any of his other teammates about them. After all, he didn't want them to worry about him unnecessarily. Had he known what would come from the nightmares, perhaps he would have reconsidered his decision.
A Digimon that looked like a type of vapor crept from the nearby forest silently and surveyed the group of eight children and Digimon intently. When its eyes fell on Izzy, it smiled and suddenly its body began twisting and shifting until it no longer looked a thing like vapor. It now looked much like Gatomon, but with a few subtle differences. Its fur was pure black and the glove-paws were a very dark green color with crimson stripes across them.
It advanced toward Izzy slowly as he continued to struggle in his sleep and laid a gloved paw on his forehead. Izzy immediately stopped moving and sighed heavily as the Gatomon-like Digimon muttered a type of incantation.
The Digimon smiled and slowly lifted its paw off of Izzy's head. He began struggling once again in his sleep.
The Digimon began to walk back toward the woods, then stopped, cast a final glance back at Izzy and whispered: "that's right, dream. Little do you know that it will be the death of your friends" before once again becoming vapory again and disappearing into the night...
~*~
Izzy knew he was dreaming. They had defeated Puppetmon and destroyed his voodoo dolls, so therefore it was impossible that his voodoo dolls were still working.
Yet that was the only logical explanation to why everyone was inexplicably teleporting from one place to another. He himself had been moved from where he had been standing on the ground to the top of a tree and back. Puppetmon would grow tired of moving them around soon, he knew.
As usual, Izzy was correct. Joe and Tai had started slapping each other upside the head, exclaiming to the other to stop it only to be informed that they couldn't.
"Ow! Tai, watch my glasses! That hurt!" Joe shouted.
"Sorry!" Tai apologized.
Finally, the two boys quit hitting each other and were able to control themselves once again, but the next attack was soon upon them.
TK and Mimi were floating through the air crashing into tree branches and at times each other both screaming and trying to get down.
After five minutes of swooping through the air, Mimi and TK dropped back down to the ground.
The next attack was on Sora and him. They were forced to hold hands and dance, which wouldn't have been too bad providing the others would have quit laughing at them.
Finally, Puppetmon lost interest in making him and Sora dance and turned to more violent methods.
Kari screamed and clutched her arm insisting that she was being stuck with a needle again and again.
Immediately after that, Matt began screaming in pain and rubbing his back.
With Kari it had only been her arm, but now it was getting more serious. When Matt finally stopped flinching every couple of seconds, Sora quarried: "are you OK?"
"Yeah, now anyway," Matt replied, still rubbing his back. "That was not something I'd not want to repeat."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he gasped in terrible pain and fell to his knees.
"Matt, what's wrong?" TK wondered, looking at his brother in fear.
"I think he's going to kill me," Matt choked, clutching at his chest. "Oh God, it hurts!"
"Hang on, Matt! We won't let him do this to you!" Tai shouted.
Joe shook his head and sadly replied: "but what can we do? The only way to make Puppetmon stop is to destroy him or his dolls and we'll never find him in time."
Matt cried out again and panted: "well do something quick!"
"I believe that Joe is correct, Matt," Izzy stated. "Though it would stop Puppetmon from harming any of the rest of us, we wouldn't be able to find him in time for you."
"Matt, no!" TK cried, trying hard not to cry.
"It's OK," Matt responded. "You guys don't need me" before he groaned in pain once again.
"Yes, we do, Matt!" TK argued.
"No you don't. TK, Tai can take care of you if you don't think you're old enough to do it," Matt answered.
Just as suddenly as it had begun, the attack on Matt ended and he was left, lying on the ground gasping for air.
"I don't believe it!" Mimi squealed.
"Maybe he thought you were dead," offered Joe.
Izzy shook his head and answered: "no, I believe that he is coming to find us."
That was when the dream ended in his eyes flying open to find that he had been correct in believing it was a dream.
He glanced around the camp and upon noticing everyone was asleep, allowed himself to drift back to sleep.
The rest of the night would be much better now that he had had his usual nightmare...
~*~
"If we'd have defeated all the evil, wouldn't we be home right now?" Matt argued with Tai.
"Well nothing seems to be reeking havoc around here anymore, if you'll take a look around," Tai snapped back.
Suddenly, Tai was gone.
"Tai, where are you?" seven voices shouted in unison.
There was a pause, then: "what am I doing over here?"
The other Digidestined looked toward the sound of Tai's voice to see that he was now 50 yards behind them.
Izzy then disappeared, reappearing in a tree before being teleported back to the ground.
His eyes widened in shock and he whispered: "no, this can't be happening."
"What are you talking about?" Mimi wondered.
"I had-" Izzy quickly cut himself short, realizing it would sound ridiculous if he told them about his dream. "Puppetmon must have evolved into a higher form," he supplied.
I'll tell them when this is over, Izzy decided.
Right on cue, Tai and Joe started pounding on each other, then Mimi and TK were sent for a ride. Once that was over, Izzy and Sora were forced to dance together, to the amusement of some of the others.
He knew what was coming next: Kari screamed, insisting that she was being jabbed with a needle in her arm.
As soon as the attack had ended, Matt cried out and rubbed his back. This lasted for less than a minute and when it was done, Sora asked Matt if he was all right, just like in his dream.
Matt gave the same reply as in the dream, then gasped, falling to his knees in the pain. This part had no variation from his nightmare.
"Matt, what's happening?" TK inquired.
"He's trying to kill me!" Matt gasped, clutching at his chest. "Oh God, it hurts!"
It continued on exactly like his dream until it came to the part where the attack was ended. It continued on for several more minutes, each time Matt's cries of pain growing weaker and weaker until he passed out. Then, finally the attacks stopped.
"Is he going to be all right?" Mimi wondered, looking at Matt nervously.
"I don't know," Joe answered.
He was still breathing, which obviously meant he was alive, but it was also ragged and very labored.
Izzy shook his head, willing himself awake, reasoning that it had to be the same nightmare, but to his horror, it was reality...
~*~
Later that night, Matt was still unconscious.
Izzy had felt somewhat responsible for what had happened and had said nothing all night. Finally, Mimi said: "Izzy, there's something wrong. You aren't this distant, even when you're using your laptop."
"It's just... I feel like it was my fault," Izzy blurted before he could stop himself. The others listened as the whole story about how his dream had come true came pouring out.
"There was nothing you could have done," Tai stated.
"I know it was probably a coincidence, but it scared me," Izzy answered.
No one had anything else to say to this remark. They went back to their business, leaving Izzy to ponder the day's events...
Izzy tossed and turned in his sleep noiselessly. He had grown accustomed to the awful nightmares he had had since a child, but all that had happened in the Digital World intensified them dramatically.
He had never told any of his other teammates about them. After all, he didn't want them to worry about him unnecessarily. Had he known what would come from the nightmares, perhaps he would have reconsidered his decision.
A Digimon that looked like a type of vapor crept from the nearby forest silently and surveyed the group of eight children and Digimon intently. When its eyes fell on Izzy, it smiled and suddenly its body began twisting and shifting until it no longer looked a thing like vapor. It now looked much like Gatomon, but with a few subtle differences. Its fur was pure black and the glove-paws were a very dark green color with crimson stripes across them.
It advanced toward Izzy slowly as he continued to struggle in his sleep and laid a gloved paw on his forehead. Izzy immediately stopped moving and sighed heavily as the Gatomon-like Digimon muttered a type of incantation.
The Digimon smiled and slowly lifted its paw off of Izzy's head. He began struggling once again in his sleep.
The Digimon began to walk back toward the woods, then stopped, cast a final glance back at Izzy and whispered: "that's right, dream. Little do you know that it will be the death of your friends" before once again becoming vapory again and disappearing into the night...
~*~
Izzy knew he was dreaming. They had defeated Puppetmon and destroyed his voodoo dolls, so therefore it was impossible that his voodoo dolls were still working.
Yet that was the only logical explanation to why everyone was inexplicably teleporting from one place to another. He himself had been moved from where he had been standing on the ground to the top of a tree and back. Puppetmon would grow tired of moving them around soon, he knew.
As usual, Izzy was correct. Joe and Tai had started slapping each other upside the head, exclaiming to the other to stop it only to be informed that they couldn't.
"Ow! Tai, watch my glasses! That hurt!" Joe shouted.
"Sorry!" Tai apologized.
Finally, the two boys quit hitting each other and were able to control themselves once again, but the next attack was soon upon them.
TK and Mimi were floating through the air crashing into tree branches and at times each other both screaming and trying to get down.
After five minutes of swooping through the air, Mimi and TK dropped back down to the ground.
The next attack was on Sora and him. They were forced to hold hands and dance, which wouldn't have been too bad providing the others would have quit laughing at them.
Finally, Puppetmon lost interest in making him and Sora dance and turned to more violent methods.
Kari screamed and clutched her arm insisting that she was being stuck with a needle again and again.
Immediately after that, Matt began screaming in pain and rubbing his back.
With Kari it had only been her arm, but now it was getting more serious. When Matt finally stopped flinching every couple of seconds, Sora quarried: "are you OK?"
"Yeah, now anyway," Matt replied, still rubbing his back. "That was not something I'd not want to repeat."
No sooner had the words left his mouth than he gasped in terrible pain and fell to his knees.
"Matt, what's wrong?" TK wondered, looking at his brother in fear.
"I think he's going to kill me," Matt choked, clutching at his chest. "Oh God, it hurts!"
"Hang on, Matt! We won't let him do this to you!" Tai shouted.
Joe shook his head and sadly replied: "but what can we do? The only way to make Puppetmon stop is to destroy him or his dolls and we'll never find him in time."
Matt cried out again and panted: "well do something quick!"
"I believe that Joe is correct, Matt," Izzy stated. "Though it would stop Puppetmon from harming any of the rest of us, we wouldn't be able to find him in time for you."
"Matt, no!" TK cried, trying hard not to cry.
"It's OK," Matt responded. "You guys don't need me" before he groaned in pain once again.
"Yes, we do, Matt!" TK argued.
"No you don't. TK, Tai can take care of you if you don't think you're old enough to do it," Matt answered.
Just as suddenly as it had begun, the attack on Matt ended and he was left, lying on the ground gasping for air.
"I don't believe it!" Mimi squealed.
"Maybe he thought you were dead," offered Joe.
Izzy shook his head and answered: "no, I believe that he is coming to find us."
That was when the dream ended in his eyes flying open to find that he had been correct in believing it was a dream.
He glanced around the camp and upon noticing everyone was asleep, allowed himself to drift back to sleep.
The rest of the night would be much better now that he had had his usual nightmare...
~*~
"If we'd have defeated all the evil, wouldn't we be home right now?" Matt argued with Tai.
"Well nothing seems to be reeking havoc around here anymore, if you'll take a look around," Tai snapped back.
Suddenly, Tai was gone.
"Tai, where are you?" seven voices shouted in unison.
There was a pause, then: "what am I doing over here?"
The other Digidestined looked toward the sound of Tai's voice to see that he was now 50 yards behind them.
Izzy then disappeared, reappearing in a tree before being teleported back to the ground.
His eyes widened in shock and he whispered: "no, this can't be happening."
"What are you talking about?" Mimi wondered.
"I had-" Izzy quickly cut himself short, realizing it would sound ridiculous if he told them about his dream. "Puppetmon must have evolved into a higher form," he supplied.
I'll tell them when this is over, Izzy decided.
Right on cue, Tai and Joe started pounding on each other, then Mimi and TK were sent for a ride. Once that was over, Izzy and Sora were forced to dance together, to the amusement of some of the others.
He knew what was coming next: Kari screamed, insisting that she was being jabbed with a needle in her arm.
As soon as the attack had ended, Matt cried out and rubbed his back. This lasted for less than a minute and when it was done, Sora asked Matt if he was all right, just like in his dream.
Matt gave the same reply as in the dream, then gasped, falling to his knees in the pain. This part had no variation from his nightmare.
"Matt, what's happening?" TK inquired.
"He's trying to kill me!" Matt gasped, clutching at his chest. "Oh God, it hurts!"
It continued on exactly like his dream until it came to the part where the attack was ended. It continued on for several more minutes, each time Matt's cries of pain growing weaker and weaker until he passed out. Then, finally the attacks stopped.
"Is he going to be all right?" Mimi wondered, looking at Matt nervously.
"I don't know," Joe answered.
He was still breathing, which obviously meant he was alive, but it was also ragged and very labored.
Izzy shook his head, willing himself awake, reasoning that it had to be the same nightmare, but to his horror, it was reality...
~*~
Later that night, Matt was still unconscious.
Izzy had felt somewhat responsible for what had happened and had said nothing all night. Finally, Mimi said: "Izzy, there's something wrong. You aren't this distant, even when you're using your laptop."
"It's just... I feel like it was my fault," Izzy blurted before he could stop himself. The others listened as the whole story about how his dream had come true came pouring out.
"There was nothing you could have done," Tai stated.
"I know it was probably a coincidence, but it scared me," Izzy answered.
No one had anything else to say to this remark. They went back to their business, leaving Izzy to ponder the day's events...