Guess whose back . . . back again . . . guess . . . I won't continue (also not mine even though I'm not up to that part yet but you all know how it goes. So I've uploaded the next chapter for some reason or other although I suspect that neither Shakespeare nor digimon are as popular as they once were but I love A Midsummer Nights Dream and it is only right that I pay tribute to it properly and at the very least try to put up what I've got so far these many years later (although this one is problem not so long as the others. Anyways, please read on even if this has put you off . . . I promise it does get better (and yes I am aware of my over use of ellipses but there's nothing either of us can do about it).

Disclaimer – I don't own Digimon, I don't own Shakespeare but I've decided to make claim to Sora's make believe step-father.

A Digi-Nights Dream – Escape

Sora looked up at her own home nervously. She struggled to take another step forward but eventually her body began to disobey her and she was stationary once again.

She could feel Tai's hand tug slightly at her own signaling her to keep moving. He squeezed it gently just to let her know that he would always be there, that whatever happened they would always be in it together.

This was somewhat of a comfort to the anxious Sora. She couldn't remember a time when she had ever been so scared, let alone scared of entering her own home.

But at least she had Tai; that always seemed to make things just that little bit more bearable.

"C'mon Sora," he encouraged smiling at her understandingly. "You can do this, I know you can."

Sora nodded her head trying her best to believe him, or better still, to believe in her self. No matter how hard she tried, she never could quite muster as much of a confidence in herself as Tai was able to muster.

It was almost as if he saw her through different eyes. As if she was a totally different Sora to him than the one she saw herself, as if he was constantly looking at her through rose tinted glasses.

To him she was the most beautiful creature to ever grace the earth with its presence and just knowing that seemed to make her feel beautiful, it made her want to be beautiful.

But still, in her own eyes she was still the tomboy redhead she had grown up as. I mean, sure she had a developed a figure, her hair had grown to a length and style that was appropriately female, she had become more aware of the clothes she wore and occasionally she even went as far as to wear makeup. However, aside from that she was still exactly the same.

She still spent ever Saturday dressed up in an old pair of shorts and last years football jersey playing soccer with the guys while the rest of the girls sat on the sidelines cheering on their boyfriends, or in the case of Yolei and Izzy, cheering on the rival team just to make your boyfriend jealous.

She still resented Mimi's annual shopping sprees which she insisted Sora attend despite the fact that they had completely opposite tastes. She still preferred pants to skirts, but as long as they weren't too short they were bearable. Even that old hat she used to wear, the one she had gotten from Tai for her birthday, was an occasional part of her wardrobe.

Sora sighed. She was going to have to be brave, if not for herself, for Tai who deserved more than she could ever give him.

Pulling out a silver coloured key she inserted it into the doors lock and slowly turned it. She turned to Tai, giving him one last pleading look hoping he would let her go back but instead he just smiled and urged her forward.

Sora reprimanded herself mentally. What had she expected? This was Tai, the most honest, loving and caring person she knew and despite these wonderful qualities observational skills wasn't on his list of achievements.

In spite of her inner-turmoil, she smiled back at him. Tai just had one of those infectious smiles and she just loved everything about him so much that everything about him just made her smile.

But with in seconds everything came back to her and her face drooped once again. She took a deep breath and called out to her estranged step-father tersely, "Shigeru."

"Yes Sora," Shigeru replied kindly as he walked into the room. "Tai," he added in an unimpressed tone as he noticed Sora's boyfriend.

"Shigeru," Tai replied with a nod mimicking the older man's tone of voice.

"Shigeru," Sora said in the most confident tone, diverting Shigeru's attention from Tai. "I don't want to marry Matt."

"Why ever not?" Shigeru began to say but Sora quickly cut him off positioning her hands to make sure that he got a look at the rock on her third finger.

"I want to marry Tai."

"Now Sora, let's not be like this," Shigeru insisted trying to keep his temper under wraps despite the fact that the mere presence of the Yagami boy made him mad, "Yamatto is a fine and worthy gentleman."

"So is Tai," she replied sternly glaring at her stepfather.

"Mr. Hiragizawa," Tai interjected politely gritting his teeth in order maintain it. "I love Sora more than anything in this world and I swear to make her happy and look after her for as long as I live if you only give me the chance."

"No," Shigeru said quickly disregarding Tai as if he wasn't even there.

"Why won't you even consider what we have to say?" Sora cried out desperately.

Shigeru smiled smugly and gave her a look that sent her heart cold. "You are under my roof and my guardianship," he said his voice containing the same smugness as his smile. "By law I have the right to say who you can and CANNOT marry. You are betrothed to Yamatto and you WILL marry him no matter what," he finished sending Tai the same look.

"What about what I want?" she asked despite Shigeru's concluding words. "What about love? What about happiness? Do none of these things matter to you? Do you even care about who I want to marry?"

"I have nothing more to say about this matter," he said haughtily. "Now please escort you guest out the door and go to your room."

Sora shot him an angry glare that seemed completely alien on her usually placid face as she took Tai's hand fiercely in his arms and walked him to the door.

"Don't cry," Tai said softly as he saw the tears roll down her pale cheeks. He gently cupped his hand to her cheek and kissed each tear away. "You know I can't stand it when you cry."

"But I don't know what else to do," she replied as fresh tears sprung in her eyes.

"You could kiss me good night and promise me you'll meet me in the park at midnight," he told her with a smile.

She looked at him curiously and in return he smiled even wider at her cuteness. "What do you mean to do?"

"I have an idea," he told her. "We'll disappear," he explained excitedly in a hushed whisper so Shigeru wouldn't hear. "We'll go somewhere no one can find us and we'll stay there until we can get married without having to worry about Shigeru and what he thinks of it."

"But Tai . . ." Sora began worriedly but she was hushed by Tai's index finger against her lips.

"I love you Sora, and all I want to do is spend the rest of my life proving that to you."

Sora smiled. "I love you too Taichi," she whispered sincerely. She paused in a moments thought before speaking again. "Where?" she asked simply.

"Just meet at the park and I'll explain everything there."

Sora just nodded as he kissed her goodbye and raced away at a whirlwind speed that only he could muster.

She sighed as she did as Shigeru told her to do and went to her room. Her mum was in hospital right now and that meant that Shigeru was in charge. It meant that her stepfather could do what he liked and the sad part was that it included marrying her off to Matt.

~^.^~

The banging echoed endlessly through the Ishida household waiting for a reply. It was urgent and heated yet despite this Matt walked lazily to the door making no efforts to end his guest's torture.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" the person outside asked when Matt finally opened the door.

"Nice to see you too, Tai," Matt replied lackadaisically with a familiar smirk as he ushered his best friend into the house.

"Oh just cut the polite bullshit Ishida," Tai growled furiously glaring at the older boy. "You're no friend of mine."

"Last I checked we were the best of friends, Yagami," Matt answered with mock confusion stressing out Tai's last name purposefully. "Why the sudden change?"

"You know exactly why you conniving little bastard," Tai glared. "You asked Hiragizawa for Sora's hand in marriage and that fucking bastard said yes."

"I didn't know he was going to agree to it," Matt said, "who do you think I am, Nostra-fucking-damos?"

"Of course not, but you know well enough that he has it in for me. How could you do this to me? You know what Shigeru's like. He's got it in for me and you know it as well as I do."

Tai sighed. "You know how I feel about Sora. I love her with all my heart, and it kills me to know that you're doing this to her – to us."

Matt just turned up his nose in scorn. "What? Do you think you're the only person who could possibly be in love with her? That I couldn't possibly love her? I do, why else would I want to marry her? The world does not revolve around you Tai.

"Shigeru picked me, get over it."

"There are a million different girls for you to choose from," Tai argued desperately, "why Sora? Why not June or some other girl?"

"Because Sora's not like them," Matt replied with what was probably his first honest response throughout the whole conversation. "She's different from those girls and that's what I like about her."

"Matt, you could have any girl you want," he sighed exasperatedly as he slouched down to the couch in defeat. "Sora's all I've got, she's all I want. I'm not going to give her up, at least not without a fight. She means too much to me, and if you can't understand that then I suppose this is goodbye."

"Goodbye?" Matt asked suspiciously. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"

"So long. Sayonara. Have a nice life Ishida," Tai said as he got up and began to head out the door. "This is the last you'll see of me for a very long time."

'He's up to something,' Matt thought as Tai walked out the door, 'and I have just the person in mind to find out what.'

~^.^~

"I mean, how dare he?!" Sora cried indignantly into the phone. "What right does he have anyway? He's not my father, he's nothing to me, so what right does he have to dictate my life and tell me who I can and can't marry?"

"Does Matt really want to marry you?" asked an unusually small voice on the over end.

"I don't know," Sora replied absentminded before continuing with her previous rant. "It's like nobody wants me to be happy. I mean, is that really too much to ask? All I want is to be happy and Tai makes me happy - not Matt - Tai and that's who I want to marry. Did you know he was going to ask me? He had a ring and everything. I bet you this is all just some twisted joke Shingeru and Matt have come up with all just to make my life completely miserable. Why can't everyone just leave me and Tai alone?"

"Sora, breathe."

She did as the voice told her and breathed in deeply several times before returning to the conversation.

"What am I going to do Meems?" she asked sadly, looking to her best friend for advice. She didn't know what she would do if she had to let Tai go.

"You've got to calm down," Mimi offered with an unusual sombre tone to her voice as she curled her hair around her finger disinterestedly. "I'm sure Tai will think of something. You'll be eighteen soon and Shingeru won't be able to do anything about it. You just have to wait things out."

"You're the best Meems, I don't know what I'd do without you," Sora replied cheerfully thanks to her newly found optimism. "I bet you Tai's already got a plan worked out and everything. We'll meet tonight at the park and then we'll go somewhere where Shingeru can't get us. Thanks for your help Meems, I've got to go get ready."

"Yeah, you're welcome," Mimi muttered sadly to the dial tone.

Sometimes Mimi couldn't help but feel jealous of Sora even if she was her best friend. Sora had everything. She had Tai who would give up his whole world for her at a moment's notice, who would do what ever it took to be with her forever.

And she had Matt too even if she didn't care or thought of him as nuisance. He was just as dutiful as Tai, and just as brave, and just as handsome, and just as wonderful a person as Tai, but Sora couldn't see. She couldn't see anything but Tai.

It wasn't fair because all Matt could see was Sora, and all Sora could see was Tai and there was nobody left to see her, Mimi; she was invisible.

No matter what she did she could never compete with Sora. She was perfect and who would want second best when they knew that Sora existed somewhere close by.

Matt would never want her while he still thought that he had a chance with Sora who would always be close at hand somewhere being perfect. With Sora around no one would ever bother taking a second look at her, but if Tai and Sora went away . . .

Mimi scowled at herself for thinking such awful thoughts. Sora was her best friend and she should be happy for her. Her best friend was engaged and madly in love; after all the two of them had been through, Sora deserved this happiness more than any other person Mimi could possibly think of.

She tried her best to send these positive and supportive thoughts to her brain, but all it seemed to do was turn her positively green with envy.

'Why her?' Mimi thought resentfully as she tried not to acknowledge the feelings of disdain. 'Why not me? Why is it always her, and never me? What's so great about her? What makes her so special and me so plain? What's so wonderful about Sora? What am I missing? When will I ever be loved? Will I ever be loved? Why doesn't Matt want me?!'

Mimi's wallowing was soon disturbed by a knock at her door.

She sighed and put on a happy, blank smile as she went to see who was there. She could never let anybody know how she felt inside; she didn't want them thinking less of her and for them to scorn at the petty thoughts that filled her head. She would just keep them to herself and let them all go on believing that everything in the world of Mimi Tachikawa was just puppies and honey drops until everything just blew up in their faces.

But that little world seemed to brighten as she opened the door to find a familiar face.

"Mimi," he smiled charmingly as he pushed himself off the wall and swept a pair of designer sunglasses off his face so that he could better look her. "Long time, no see, don't you think?"

Mimi's heart began to flutter uncontrollably and it took every ounce of her will power not to run in his arms and never let go. Instead she took a deep breath and smiled back flirtatiously trying her best to keep her cool.

"Yamatto," she said evenly relishing the sound of his name rolling off her tongue.

He raised an eyebrow at her and flashed her one of his most captivating smiles, which turned her knee's to jelly. It was almost as if he had no idea of the power he had over her, and if he did, he was certainly using it to his advantage.

"Can I come in?" he asked in a low, husky voice.

For awhile Mimi just stood there smiling and twirling her hair, not quite believing it were true. All she could do was stare at him, waiting for the dream to end and for him to disappear with it. She was so shocked that she could barely nod her head to allow him entrance to her home.

"Thank you," he whispered close to her ear as he walked past her.

Mimi gulped nervously and tried desperately to string a sentence or two together so that he wouldn't think she was some kind of mute idiot. "Y-you're we-welcome," she stuttered quietly, her voice sounding unsure of itself. "D-do yo-u want something t-to drink?"

"That's not what I came here for, Mimi," he said cryptically as he smiled a very odd smile at her. "There's something else that I want from you."

She stared at him quizzically, not quite understanding what he was getting at, but before she even had the chance to ask him what it was, Matt had swept her up in his arms and was kissing her with the passion she had always dreamed of.

'If this is a dream,' she thought to herself, 'then don't ever let me wake. I want to sleep forever.'

"Matt I . . ." she began when he broke off the kiss to catch his breath, but he quickly silenced her with another kiss, leading her to couch as a wretched plan formed in his head.

"Hush," he whispered as he gently stroked her face and stared into her eyes, feigning the image of a love struck teen. "You don't need to say a word."

~ to be continued ~

And now you have been introduced to pretty much all of the key players of this sordid tale. In the order they appear in my copy of the actual play we have Shingeru as Egeus the cruel and uncompromising father figure, Tai as Lysander the handsome and worthy suitor, Matt as Demetrius the eligible bachelor, Sora as Hermia the beautiful maiden in love with Lysander/Tai, Mimi as Helena the scorned best friend in love with Demetrius/Matt, Izzy as Oberon King of the fairies seeking revenge, Yolei as Titania Queen of the Fairies and lover of asses, Ken as a Puck or Robin Goodfellow the confused tool, and just to be totally obvious here, Davis as Bottom. I'm not sure if I'm going to have TK and Kora in here, but if I do they'll probably be Peaseblossom and Mustardseed thrown in there to fill out the roles.

Ken for obvious reason will be getting a lot of face time in this fic - I heart Puck is the simple truth. Please review guys to let me know how I'm going. I'm using the play as my guide and trying to throw in a little Shakespeare every now and then, although I'm trying to keep the flow so please tell me if it seems like I'm unsuccessful in my attempts to mesh the two. Otherwise, all other thoughts are welcome.