So, there's been pretty much a group consensus among everyone: Mikage is a bastard. This is true, however, as you can see from last week's episode, he has his reasons. He will become a much more likeable character, just bear with me. It will just take a while, please be patient.

Mikage: "Yesterday, I had to face something I was actually afraid of. My dad came to Digimon Academy to take me home. The teachers were ready to fight him for it, and then we got attacked by Flymon. I wasn't able to do much again, so I thought for sure that they were going to let me go, since I was so useless. But to my surprise, the other Digi-Destined stood up for me, making my dad let me stay. But why would they do that? I've been nothing but rude to them since I got here. What's their angle…?"


Chiharu stood in her classroom, teaching the D-Class students Digimon History. She was just about to begin the section on the final battle with Millenniummon when the lights went out.

"What's going on?" Rei asked, but she was met with no answer. And invisible force ripped each of the students from their seats and out the door. Chiharu reached her hand toward them, but she could do nothing.

"Ten whole years, and you're still just as useless as ever," a familiar voice that Chiharu had hoped to never hear again said mockingly. "You couldn't save Antylamon, you couldn't save the Prairiemon, and you couldn't save poor, innocent Hideaki Kokawa." The owner of the voice stepped into view. A monkey-like Digimon stood before her.

"No…" the brunette woman whispered, taking an involuntary step backward. "That's impossible… You're dead…"

"Think again," he said in his usual mocking tone. "Primal Orb!"

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Chiharu gasped as she shot up in bed. "No…" she whispered, shoulders trembling.

"You okay?" Beelzemon asked, looking down at her. He had been, as usual, sleeping while leaning against the wall, but his partner's distress woke him up.

Chiharu shook her head. "No, I'm not…" she said softly, her voice shaking.

"Wanna talk about it?" the Demon Lord asked. He was becoming increasingly worried. Chiharu had finally stopped having the nightmares four years ago, though she still occasionally had an uncomfortable dream. But her reaction… This reminded him of the dreams just months after the incident.

The teacher placed her face in her hands. "He was back…" She didn't have to elaborate who 'he' was. She'd had enough dreams of him haunting her to make it obvious. "He blamed me for everyone's death… And he's right…" She shook her head. "With the return of Millenniummon… What if this means something?"

"Everything's gonna be alright, okay?" Beelzemon said reassuringly. "Even if anything happens – which I don't think it will – we'll take care of it, alright?"

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

A figure stood in the darkness, standing before what appeared to be a giant crystal. The figure nodded as though it had just been spoken to. "Yes, of course, Master," the voice belonging to figure said. Silence followed. "Yes, I understand."

Two more indescernible figures stood hidden in the shadows. "You had better not fail," one said. "The Master still hasn't forgotten your past mistakes."

"I know," the first figure replied, annoyed. This new player in the game thought himself to be so high and mighty, but he had been serving the Master for over ten years! And yet he was being treated as this newcomer's servant. Well, he would show them. He would show them that he deserved more than this.

He would show them all.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Chiharu walked from the teacher's housing to the main building for classes, trying to banish the thought of her dream from her mind. But he was dead. She had to keep reminding herself of that. It was possibly the only thing that would keep her going through the day. He was dead, and even if he came back, it would be after being reborn as a Digi-Egg, meaning that he would have no memories of ever being a servant of Millenniummon. He wouldn't be a threat.

She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, but when she turned, it was only Mayu.

"Jumpy, much? What's wrong?" she asked, sounding concerned.

"I'm fine," Chiharu lied, but the blonde had known her long enough to recognize when she was hiding the truth.

"Sure you are," Mayu responded, rolling her eyes. "No, really, what's up?"

"I don't want to talk about it," the brunette replied. Telling Beelzemon about it the previous night had been hard enough. She didn't want to have to mention it again.

Mayu looked to Beelzemon with a questioning look, as did Lucemon. As soon as Chiharu was out of earshot, the Demon Lord of Pride asked, "Did something happen last night?"

"She had a nightmare," Beelzemon answered. "You-know-who was back. And, just like every other time, he told her everything was her fault."

"I thought those had stopped," Lucemon commented. The nightmares had supposedly stopped years ago. She'd really only had two different ones, but they repeated every night. They just supposed that it was lucky that she didn't have the other one. That one was so much worse.

"Will she be alright?" Mayu asked.

"Just give her time," the Demon Lord of Gluttony responded. "She'll be alright eventually."

"I hope so," the blonde teacher muttered. "For her sake..."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"Is it just me, or is something up with Miura-sensei today?" Rei asked the others at her lunch table.

"She might be upset because the assembly of all of you means the return of Millenniummon is getting closer by the day," Centarumon suggested.

"He has a point," Tanya commented. "And we're not ready to take, or even any of its lackeys on."

"Come on," Devimon said, rolling his eyes. "We kick ass. We've been fine against the Digimon sent through the Gates."

"Those are just the grunts," Porcupamon pointed out. He'd been forced to wake up, so he might as well take part in the conversation. "Remember, it had the Devas on its side."

"The Devas are dead, remember?" Devimon said with a quirked brow.

"Didn't Miura-sensei say that Makuramon had been collecting the Eggs, though?" Jun asked.

"Yeah, but Makuramon died, too," Devimon argued.

"Then what happened to the Eggs?" Rei asked. "They had to have hatched eventually."

"But they won't have any memories of their past lives, meaning that they'll have no reason to be our enemies," Devimon growled, pissed that no one was on his side. He was trying to think positively for once. Why did everyone else have to be such a downer?

"We have to be prepared, just in case," Tanya pointed out, trying to calm her partner. "Maybe you're right. But wouldn't you rather be safe than sorry?"

"Whatever..." Devimon finally growled.

"Now that that's settled..." Jun started, trying to change the subject. "What are you guys working on in D-Class?"

"Well, we've been working on team training," Rei offered.

"She and Onogi can't stop arguing," Tanya commented. "Simorna is too shy to work with anyone, and Azumimaya is too arrogant."

"Sounds like you've got some troubles ahead," Centarumon said.

"Yeah," Porcupamon said. "Can't wait."

Meanwhile, at Karuto's table with Elijah and Michael, the three boys were on a very similar topic.

"Did you see Miura-sensei today?" Veemon asked. Their class hadn't had gym that morning, but a few of them had seen her when she entered the school, and she looked like crap. She obviously hadn't slept well, and was even more depressed than they'd ever seen her. Even more depressed than Elijah and Michael remembered, on the anniversary of the final battle.

"Yeah, she looked horrible," Elijah agreed with his partner.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Michael mused.

"I hope so," Karuto commented. "I heard her, Midorikawa-sensei, Beelzemon, and Lucemon all talking about when me and the others go to the Digital World. I guess they're coming with us, and Miura-sensei's going to be our leader, like she was their leader last time."

"She'd better be okay by then," Sangloupmon muttered. "I don't wanna have to follow a wuss."

"Sangloupmon!" his human partner hissed.

"What?" the Champion asked. "If she can't pull herself together enough to lead us, we're screwed!"

After a short pause, Wormmon spoke up. "He does have a point," he commented reluctantly. "Without a good leader, a team just falls apart."

Karuto sighed. They were right. Hopefully, Chiharu would be better by the time they had to go. Though, from the looks of things, it would be a while before they were ready to go the Digital World. He looked over to see Mikage sitting alone again and sighed. Their biggest issue regarding teamwork would be getting through to him.

Nyaromon looked at her partner curiously. She was remembering when the boy's father had come to take him away from the Academy. Despite how he'd acted beforehand, he'd seemed genuinely sad to leave her. She'd noticed the hesitation he'd had before putting her down. And he'd caught her when she fell, placing himself in danger. He could have just kept running and left her there, but he didn't. He saved her.

And now, he wasn't as rude to her as he was before. He hadn't mentioned the incident again, but she could just tell that something was different. She smiled softly to herself. Things were looking up.

Mikage raised an eyebrow at his partner's behavior, but said nothing. She had been acting strangely lately, as though she was suddenly happier. And the strangest part... He found himself not minding. Under normal circumstances, he would find behavior like that annoying, but for some reason, it didn't bother him from Nyaromon. Odd...

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

They'd made sure to open a smaller Gate. With practice, they'd managed to create Gates that were small enough to produce no noise or tremors, allowing a silent and unnoticed entrance. It made infiltration easier, and provided the element of surprise. Yes.

He stepped through the Gate, watching the Academy. They'd made sure to open it closer to the forest, in the shadows where no one would notice. Evidently, it was the middle of the school day. The grounds were bare, allowing him easy, unnoticed access to the main building. He grinned maliciously. Oh, this would be good.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Chiharu stood in her classroom, looking at all of the students as they did their class work. She smiled softly at the effort they were putting in, but the smile was fake. She still had a bad feeling about her dream, and the nagging feeling refused to leave. Beelzemon glanced over at her, and she sent him another fake smile, but he knew better. She was far from okay.

All the students looked up as Chiharu's De-Agent started beeping.

"What is it?" the teacher asked, dreading the answer.

"There's some sort of problem in the front hall," Hotaru's voice told her.

"What kind of problem?" the brunette asked nervously. What would happen that they needed to call her about it?

"Just... come see..."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Chiharu stared at the wall in front of her, clenching her fists. Written on the wall in large letters were the words: 'Pathetic leader'. She, along with the rest of the staff, knew that that message was directed at her. The real question was: who the hell did this?

"When I get my hands on that little brat..." Beelzemon hissed angrily.

Mayu and Lucemon walked over to her. The blonde placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "We'll figure this out," she said. They both looked over as they heard Hotaru's D-Control beep.

"There's something creating a problem in the second floor east hallway," Nishimura informed her.

"What is it?" the receptionist asked.

"We're not sure," the science teacher replied. "Everyone reports a shadow moving down the hall, no one's been able to tell what it is."

"Oh, no," the brunette whispered. She had a bad feeling about this.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"All students are to evacuate the building and return to your dorms," Hotaru's voice came over the announcements. "I repeat, all students are to evacuate the buildings and return to your dorms."

"Think that means us, too?" Rei asked, looking at the others.

"I dunno," Tanya replied with a shrug. "Maybe we should, just in case?"

"But, maybe this is something we're supposed to take care of," Karuto pointed out.

"No one here is strong enough to face something that requires and evacuation," Mikage commented boredly, surprising everyone that he decided to speak to them at all.

"I'm not going to run from a fight!" Devimon argued angrily.

"Neither am I," Betamon agreed, not wanting to be shown up.

"You can't do anything to help anyone," Tsucasa pointed out quietly to his partner. "You're still only a Rookie..."

Their conversation, however, was cut short by a small explosion, quickly followed by the door shattering to pieces. Out of the smoke and remains came a figure.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" a smug voice asked as the smoke cleared, revealing a human-sized bipedal Digimon that resembled a monkey. "All of the Demon Lords have returned now. How quaint."

"Who the hell are you?!" Karuto asked, glaring at the Digimon. He didn't look like too much of a problem, but if the school was being evacuated because of him, he had to be bad news.

"There's no information on him," Tsucasa reported nervously, looking at the screen of his D-Agent, but there was no display available.

"I can tell you all you need to know about him," Nyaromon said. "That's Makuramon. He's an Ultimate Level Digimon, and his attacks are Treasure Ball and Primal Orb."

"I see you still remember me," Makuramon commented with a grin.

"Wait, Makuramon?" Rei asked. "As in, the Deva who collected all the other Devas' Eggs?"

"The one and only," the monkey Deva replied.

"What do you want, Makuramon?" Sangloupmon demanded.

The Ultimate grinned evilly. "Why, to kill you, of course." He raised his arm as his hand gathered the energy for his attack. "Primal Orb!" he yelled, firing his attack at Mikage and Nyaromon.

The others froze. If that attack hit Nyaromon, since their difference in level was so great, she would die in an instant.

But Mikage managed to react fast enough. He quickly grabbed Nyaromon and jumped out of the way, a split second before the attack hit his desk, destroying it. "Whoa," he commented. He made a mental note to avoid getting hit with that attack at all costs… with the exception of Nyaromon's life, of course.

"Death Hand!" Devimon yelled, firing his attack at the monkey Deva, who flipped harmlessly out of the way.

"Sticker Blade!" Sangloupmon attacked, but Makuramon managed to evade that attack, as well.

The Ultimate smirked and slipped back out into the hallway.

"Well," he commented, "It's been fun, but I believe I'll go visit a few… old friends. Ta!" And with that, he darted off.

"Let's go after him!" Devimon suggested angrily.

"No," Porcupamon said. "There's no way we'll win."

"What are you talking about?" Rei asked. "Even without Nyaromon and Betamon, we still outnumber him, three-to-one."

"Porcupamon has a point," Nyaromon put in. "Makuramon is cunning, fast, and agile. We'd never be able to overpower him if we couldn't even hit him."

"Where do you think he's going?" Betamon mused. All the Digi-Destined looked at each other for a moment.

"Miura-sensei."

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Chiharu rushed down the thankfully empty halls. Whatever was here, she knew it would after the D-Class students. She and Beelzemon stopped abruptly when a familiar figure blocked their path.

"Hello, again," the monkey-like Digimon said with his familiar smug grin.

"You…" Chiharu barely choked out as her eyes widened.

"Surprised?" Makuramon taunted.

"How the hell are you still alive?!" Beelzemon yelled. "I killed you!"

"Think again, fool!" the Deva said, his face contorting with rage.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"This is fer all the Digimon who died cuz of you," Beelzemon hissed. "Corona Blaster!"

There was no room to escape, so Makuramon was forced to take the attack head on. It threw him backward, straight into the wall, and he didn't seem capable of much movement.

"Aren't you going to finish him?" Tsukiko asked when Beelzemon turned away from the mortally wounded Deva.

"Nah," the Demon Lord replied. "Just one thing, though." He turned and shot one last bullet, hitting Makuramon in the shoulder, making the monkey cry out in pain. "There. He took that attack at point-blank range. No one can survive that fer long. Let's leave him here and let him suffer."

And with that, they left.

Makuramon felt himself go in and out of consciousness. He couldn't move at all, and was in an immense amount of pain. Everything was getting blurry, and he could literally feel his data phasing in and out. Was this what it felt like to die?

The periods where his data became loose grew longer and longer, and he was sure that he would disappear at any second. But yet, he refused to die. These children had made a fool out of him, and he had to have his revenge. He forced himself into consciousness and opened his eyes. Floating his way was a stray data packet.

Of course! This was a food factory! That was it! He just had to hold on until it reached him. It took agonizing moments, but as soon as it was close enough, his weakened data managed to absorb it, giving him strength. It wasn't much, but it was enough to keep himself alive. He stood weakly, determined to find more data packets, fueled by his rage at those children.

He would make them pay.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"I promised I would get my revenge, and now I am," he hissed at the Demon Lord that had brought him so dangerously close to death all those years ago.

"And ya wait until now ta get it?" Beelzemon asked, raising a brow.

"I had to wait until you least expected it," Makuramon commented. "And imagine my surprise to find the other Demon Lords have hatched. They're still so weak." He grinned again. "Easy to pick off, one at a time."

"No!" Chiharu yelled. "You leave my students alone, you bastard!" She pulled out her D-Agent and cards. "Digital Enhancement. Blast Mode: Connect!"

Beelzemon smirked as he felt the extra power of his Blast Mode fill him. He may not have destroyed the Deva ten years ago, but he was going to fix that problem right then and there. "Corona Blaster!" he yelled, firing the pink sphere of energy at one of his and Chiharu's most hated foes.

Makuramon jumped over the attack as it headed his way. "You aren't getting me with that again," he informed the Demon Lord of Gluttony. He heard footsteps and looked over to see Mayu and Lucemon approaching. "Ah, if it isn't the other human and her Demon Lord partner."

"How are you here…?" Mayu asked incredulously, stopping in her tracks just as Beelzemon and Chiharu had. "We got rid of you!"

"Oh, must we go through this again?" the monkey asked, rolling his eyes. "Your mistake was not finishing me off when you had the chance, and leaving me in a food factory. Of course I was going to survive!" He shook his head, chuckling. "Honestly, how is it that the six of you bested the Master?" He smirked again. "Ah, yes, that's right. Five of you stopped him." He looked back at Chiharu. "How does it feel, having the knowledge that you killed one of your own friends?"

"Shut up…" the brunette whispered, voice trembling. She was beginning to lose strength in her legs, but she refused to fall to her knees. She couldn't show this bastard weakness. "Shut up!"

"I only speak the truth," he replied with a shrug. "It's not my fault if you can't accept that."

"Stop!" Mayu yelled angrily. He was tormenting her best friend, and she couldn't stand it anymore. "Lucemon!"

"Right," the Demon Lord of Pride agreed. "Grand Cross!" However, just like he had with Beelzemon's Corona Destroyer, Makuramon evaded this attack, as well.

"Is it just me, or has he gotten faster?" Mayu asked.

"It's not just you," her partner confirmed.

"Primal Orb!" The attack headed straight for Chiharu.

"Digital Enhancement," Chiharu started. Even in her depression, she was still able to think fast during battle. "WarGreymon's Shield: Connect!" The data flowed to Beelzemon, who flew down to his partner just in time, deflecting the Deva's attack with the newly formed shield.

"Cuttin' it a little close, there, don't ya think?" the Mega asked.

Makuramon looked at the women and their partners condescendingly. "Still pathetic," he commented. "I believe I'll go back and visit those others for a while. After all," he added with a grin, "it would be better to get them out of the way before they become a real threat." And with that, he darted off, a blur through the halls.

"He's going after the kids!" Mayu exclaimed.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"I thought Miura-sensei said that they killed Makuramon," Tsucasa whispered.

"Apparently, she was wrong," Karuto pointed out. "Because he didn't look very dead to me."

"Maybe he hatched from his Egg again," Tanya suggested.

"No, idiot," Mikage put in, earning a disapproving frown from everyone. It went ignored. "If he did, he wouldn't remember anything about his past life, meaning he wouldn't know about his grudge."

"The Demon Lords remembered," Rei commented.

"Well, yeah," Betamon said. "When we died, we were strong enough that our memories stayed. The Devas might be strong, but they're not that strong."

"I take offense to that," they heard an already familiar voice say from behind them. They all looked to see that Makuramon had returned.

"What are you doing, back so soon?" Tanya asked.

"Oh, I've decided that the younger generation will be so much more fun," the monkey informed her. "Now, who goes first…?" he mused to himself. His eyes roamed the group before settling on Nyaromon and Mikage. "Ah, yes. The weakest link."

"Oh, no you don't!" Rei yelled. "Digital Enhancement. Speed: Connect!"

In the blink of an eye, Porcupamon was in front of the Deva. "Slash and Rip!" he yelled, striking and then immediately moving out of harm's way as soon as the attack was done.

"Azumimaya may be an ass, but he's still part of the team!" Karuto yelled. "Digital Ability. Snimon's Twin Sickle: Connect!"

"Twin Sickle!" Sangloupmon yelled, but Makuramon managed to dodge the attack easily.

"When will you children learn?" he asked with a sharp laugh. "You can't stop me."

"Digital Enhancement. Speed: Connect!"

Everyone stared at Mikage, shocked that he would try to make Nyaromon, a small In-Training Digimon, fight Makuramon, the strong Ultimate.

"What the hell are you thinking?!" Rei hissed at the boy. She'd tried to be patient with him, she really had, but he was putting his partner in danger, and that was going too far.

"Just trust Mikage," the puppet-using boy replied tersely. "Digital Enhancement. Hyper Wings: Connect!" Everyone watched in confusion as the wings appeared on Nyaromon's back. So she could fly really fast? What could that do? "Digital Enhancement. Strength: Connect!"

Nyaromon felt herself filled with power as she charged at her much stronger opponent. She had one shot at this. "Galactica Magnum Tail!" she yelled.

Makuramon had anticipated the attack and raised an arm to bat her aside.

"Death Hand!" Devimon yelled, firing at the Deva's arm, forcing him to move it. This left a clear path for the flying In-Training Demon Lord of Lust. Her attack hit him in the face, actually making him stumble back a few steps. She flew backward and landed softly as the wings disappeared. She began to glow, and once the glow faded, a small, puppy-like Digimon stood in her place.

"Salamon," Mikage read. "Rookie Level. Attacks: Puppy Howling and Petty Punch." He nodded approvingly.

"One little Digivolution isn't going to save you," he hissed, angry that he had been forced back by the attack of a mere In-Training level Digimon.

"Corona Blaster!" he heard, and jumped out of the way just in time. Coming down one hallway were Chiharu, Beelzemon, Mayu, and Lucemon. Down the other came Nakayama, Dianamon, Ikeda, and Apollomon. He was cornered.

Luckily, as though sensing his distress from the other side, another of the 'Silent Gates,' as he called them, opened behind him. "Don't think this is the last time we'll see each other, Digi-Destined," he told them mockingly as the doors closed and the Silent Gate disappeared.

"Dammit!" Chiharu yelled, punching the wall.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just a little shaken up…" Chiharu confessed into the phone. She stood in her room, leaning against the wall and looking out the window.

"Well, no wonder," the voice of her husband, Hiroshi Tatsumiya, replied. "You all thought Makuramon was gone. I'd have to be concerned if you weren't feeling the way you were."

"I feel like things are about to get so much worse," the woman whispered. She glanced back at the closed door. Beelzemon had left for the moment to give her some privacy.

"I wish I was there for you," he said regretfully.

"How's your sister?" Chiharu asked, desperate to try to get off the horrible topic.

"Not great, but she's gotten better. She can finally breathe on her own again. I… I don't know when I'll be able to come back. I hope it's soon."

"Me, too," the brunette told him. "I need all the help I can get right now…"

Next time:
Rei: So, what's Miura-sensei's problem with Makuramon,
exactly?
Mayu: She felt responsible for all of us. And he was in charge of the Devas, meaning that all the Digimon they killed to get at us… He sent them.
Karuto: So, it's kind of like a personal grudge?
Lucemon: Exactly.
Dynasmon: Takeo!

So… yeah. Makuramon's back~ Yay! (for me, anyway)

Sorry that most of the dialogue comes from Rei and Karuto. They're just the most outspoken characters in the Digi-Destined. Rei's adventurous and Karuto's kind of a hothead. But Tanya typically has this 'whatever' attitude, Tsucasa's really shy, and Mikage… Well, we all know how he is.

In case you're wondering about the whole 'Makuramon is faster' thing, ten years have passed. He's been planning his revenge for a long time, so he's been getting stronger, though for a smaller Digimon like him, increasing his speed and agility was the best option. Anyway… All of you, be honest: how many of you knew Makuramon didn't die in the first place?

See you next week~ Please remember to review~