Wizardmon: After Amanda and I were defeated by SkullBaluchimon, he performed his Deadly Fear attack. How did we fare? This is Chapter Four, Breath of the Wasteland.

Amanda: And how did we end up here? An old face returns, but things aren't quite as they seem.

Wizardmon: In order to properly fight Xavier and SkullBaluchimon, we must figure out the secret of Digivolution, and begin on a new quest.

Amanda: I don't own anything but myself, Xavier Ross, and my D-XS design!

"Wizardmon, I have been through careful deliberation. And I've come to the stunning conclusion that… our lives totally suck." Amanda said dully as she and Wizardmon struggled through the thigh-deep snow and the screaming winds. "I'd… have to agree with that." He wheezed. The two weren't in good condition. In fact, they looked like they'd been through a maze where the walls were all made of spinning blades.

But yet, they carried on. They had to. Neither one was sure how they'd gone from being struck by SkullBaluchimon's Deadly Fear to being in this wasteland, but they just decided to consider themselves just lucky to be alive. "You know what we have to do now, right?" Amanda asked.

"Find shelter and tend our wounds." Wizardmon said. "Well, that, too. But we have to find out how Xavier made Fangmon Digivolve into that monster SkullBaluchimon. And then, you'll stand a chance against him." Amanda replied. "Mm." Wizardmon agreed.

Then he collapsed, and she sunk to all fours. The two gasped hard for air, Wizardmon coughing as sweat ran down Amanda's face. "We gotta get out of here… we'll freeze…" She said. Then she slumped to the ground. The wind howled and screamed overhead, blowing snow across the gray sky. Slowly, it started to cover the two—before suddenly a set of heavy footfalls crunched through the snow, and a large shadow fell over them.

And then, all was quiet, as if the wasteland had sucked in a deep breath.

000

Xavier Ross was not having a good day. He'd never met another Digidestined before, to be honest. When he'd first come to this world, he wasn't sure how to do his job. But then he'd decided that the best way to save the world was to help it save itself. If only strong Digimon survived, then surely, they'd be able to withstand evil? He'd decided to begin a plan of natural selection.

And, since he had been chosen to save this world, naturally, he did the selecting. Sure, the Digimon hated him for it now, but he figured in a few years, when they realized how efficient it was, they'd thank him then. But then that girl came. He couldn't even really remember her name by this point. That girl with the Wizardmon. Who'd protected, of all creatures, a Numemon.

How dare she slap him? How dare she tell him he was wrong? While looking at him with those eyes? Xavier's speed as he paced through his headquarters lagged, and then slowly came to a halt. Unused to this, one of Fangmon's gold eyes opened to regard his partner. Both of them were cold, calculating, and to the point.

Hesitation was a new thing for him. "Is that other Digidestined still bothering you?" He asked. "…What if what we've been doing is wrong?" Xavier asked, turning to look out the window, "Perhaps we took a too direct approach. Perhaps… we thought too much." He took his chin. Fangmon sat up, his long tail curling around his lanky body. "Are we going to change the plan?" he asked.

Xavier turned. Many people would look at Fangmon and only see a cruel, savage beast. Which he was, in battle. But otherwise, he was a data-type Digimon, and shared many of their traits. "…She said she'd come back for us." Xavier turned to his partner and stroked the red fur on his head. "We'll stall everything until she comes. When she does, there will be another fight."

He smiled, "If we win, we'll continue as if nothing happened. But if by some slim chance she wins, and her dedication proves her the stronger, then we'll cancel our plans. And we'll try things her way." He said. "So you're saying that if the girl wins, you'll give up all of our power to follow her to do things the right way." Fangmon said. "…I always do my job right. You know that." Xavier said, nodding.

"Then I'll accept your gamble." Fangmon said.

000

Wizardmon's eyes half-opened. "Wha… where am I…?" He asked, and sat up with a wince. "Easy, Wizardmon. Your wounds have been tended but you will still need some time to heal." A deep, firm voice rang out. He looked up—and gasped, half-throwing himself over Amanda, who was still unconscious beside him. In a large, round tent made of animal skins, sitting in front of the fire, was Leomon.

"At ease, friend. I mean you or your Digidestined partner no harm." Leomon said. "…Are you the real Leomon?" Wizardmon asked. "Yes, I am. I am well aware that there is an imposter that works for MetalTyrannomon in my form. If you've ran into him, I apologize." Leomon said. Amanda suddenly sat bolt upright, eyes wide and face pale. "Jesus Christ, it's a LION! Get in the car!" She yelled.

Both Digimon stared at her in silence as she just sat groggily. Then, after a moment, she shook her head. "Whoa, weird dream." She rubbed her head, "Oiy, Wizardmon, we still alive?" She added. "Yes, we're still alive." He replied, sitting back unsurely, and she looked up, saw Leomon—and screamed, plastering herself to a wooden tent pole. "Ack! Leomon's back! He's gonna try to cut off my head again…! …And it hurts too much to be hysterical, so I'm stopping." She sobbed, bending over double and gasping for air.

"This is the real Leomon, not the fake who attacked you, Amanda. You can relax." Wizardmon said. "Oh, thank god." Her head bowed further with another deep breath sucked in. Then she straightened. "Hello, Leomon! It's nice to meet the real you, and not the fake one that tried to cut my head off! My name's Amanda!" She said. "The pleasure is all mine." Was the reply.

"LEOMON!" burst out, and Amanda's head tilted. I know that voice…? In rushed a young woman with short pale blonde hair and blue-green eyes, and Amanda's jaw worked uselessly. "Look! A digivice! Another Digidestined…!" Wizardmon motioned to the light teal and gold device on the girl's hip. Amanda just gasped, then she stood, all the color draining from her face.

"Megan?" She asked after a moment, and the girl looked over, face brightening. "Amanda! You've come to!" She said cheerfully. "Wizardmon, this is my best friend, Megan. We've known each other since preschool. She might as well just be my little sister." Amanda said. "Well, then, I'm pleased to meet your acquaintance!" Wizardmon stood, offering a hand.

He'd become quite fond of the concept of a handshake, after all. Megan beamed and shook it. "Boy, was I shocked when Leomon carted you in, Amanda." She said. "I bet you were… how long have you been here?" Amanda asked. "Not long. Just a few days myself. We've been studying digi-gates." Megan said. "What's a digi-gate?" Amanda asked. "They're doorways between the human world and the digital world." Leomon explained.

"I see…" Wizardmon took his chin. "Yes. We believe that many answers may be in the human world." Leomon added, arms crossing. "Let's let the boys talk! Amanda, let's go talk in the other room!" Megan said, pushing her friend out. "Uh… sure? Okay?" Was the reply.

000

"So you came here after the digivice came to you." Amanda said. "Yeah. But you say that you got here on accident, but then a digivice forged between you and Wizardmon?" Megan said. "Yeah. I guess we… chose our own… digi-destiny, I guess." Amanda replied, arms crossing. "Those poor Digimon! Stuck with us, when they actually have heads on their shoulders!" Megan joked.

"Yeah, poor guys!" Amanda said, and the two laughed.

000

"Strange things, those Digidestined," Wizardmon said. "Yes. They have strong hearts, though. They just do not know it themselves yet." Leomon said. "We need to find a way to protect them from stronger foes. But the only way I can see so far is to Digivolve. And the only Digidestined to have mastered that so far is Xavier and Fangmon." Wizardmon took his chin.

"And so that is a dead end." Leomon agreed, arms crossing. "Then it's settled. We need to learn more about the digivices and the Digidestined themselves if we are to continue. The digivices seem to be the key to everything." Wizardmon's eyes narrowed. "Yes, that's true. And I know of those who might be able to help." The larger Digimon said. "And that is?" Leomon looked out into the distance, "The Court of Miracles."

Wizardmon laughed, "And so I'm back to where I started!"

000

"Digidestined fools," The giant hissed as he looked over his domain. It was too quiet. It was too… peaceful. "Master MetalTyrannomon, do you want us to destroy them for you?" A Tuskmon asked. "Yes. And look for my general, Spikedramon. I have not seen him as of late. And I am getting most annoyed with his absence!" Was the growled reply, and he turned as his minions scattered.

MetalTyrannomon's lip curled into a sneer. Incompetent fools, all of them! The only one he could count on was Spikedramon, and even that fool was missing. He never should have sent his most valuable warrior to check out that uprising. He doubted his general would have been deleted, but he did wonder what was taking so long. "It doesn't matter," The metal beast told himself.

"Even those incompetent fools are enough to destroy those Digidestined fools,"

000

"So we're going to find the Court of Miracles, anyway." Amanda told Wizardmon, laughing as the four of them stepped out of the tent. "Yes, that's right! Fate works in strange ways, I suppose." He replied. "It's cool that we're all gonna be travelling together, now!" Megan said. "Yes. The only downside is we just have more questions with no answers." Leomon said.

"But we'll find those answers!" Megan replied cheerfully. "It makes me wonder how many Digidestined there are now, though. And who was supposed to get that email in my place?" Amanda asked. "That is one of the answers we hope that your home world can help us answer. It is important to learn about the digivices as soon as possible." Leomon said simply.

"…Boy, he's big. Do you ever stop and just think, man…" Amanda said, looking up. "I'm even shorter than you. What do you think?" Megan replied, and the two laughed. "But we are all agreed that there's no returning to the human world until we've stopped Xavier and Fangmon, correct?" Wizardmon asked. "Yeah, we know!" Megan said. "We couldn't just leave and let him keep being a creep. We have priorities, too, you know!" Amanda said cheerfully.

Wizardmon paused, looking at Leomon, who shrugged. The two girls, together, seemed to have a whole different energy from normal. Almost… unstoppable. They would need that energy if they were going to survive the digital world.

Amanda: This chapter's a little shorter than the others, sorry…!

Megan: A little over a page shorter, you mean?

Amanda: *Nervous laugh*

Leomon: Is she always like this?

Wizardmon: You have NO idea… She's a bit of a… what's the nice way to say this…?

Megan: Procrastinator?

Amanda: Slacker?

Megan: Lazy bitch?

Amanda: So true! LOL.

Wizardmon: …I'll just go shut up now…

Amanda: AN-Y-WHO, who is this mysterious Strikedramon? What is the reason behind his disappearance? Why does being around Xavier want me to start humming The Imperial March?

Megan: *Gasp!* We should get kazoos so the next time we see him, we can play it!

Amanda: *Gasp!* You're awesome! How did I ever live without you?

Megan: You did but it was FAIL.

Amanda: So true! XD

Wizardmon and Leomon: O_o' … … …

Amanda and Megan: LOL 8P

Leomon: Er… the next chapter is Chapter 5—

Megan: PRESTO! PRINGLES! POOF!

Leomon: *Groans, a hand to his head*

Wizardmon: …Welcome to my life.