Chapter Nine:

Airsick and Seeing Stars

After the events of the previous day, everyone was feeling drained. Mimi fell asleep not long after the sun went down and didn't wake up until dinnertime. By that point, everyone was too tired to do much hunting or foraging, so they opened up some of their rations. One thing was very apparent to all of them, however: Jin had changed.

"Jin really does seem to be doing better," Mimi remarked as she watched Jin stir the instant soup as it boiled over the campfire.

"Yeah," Michael admitted. "It's actually a little weird, but he seems to have mellowed out a bit."

Amanda noticed that Jin had not merely "mellowed out," however. Though not usually adept at reading other people, she had certainly noticed that the moody, brooding drill sergeant she'd seen yesterday was gone. Most surprisingly of all, he seemed to be happy. Even as he made the soup and served it to the others, he wore a peaceful, happy smile on his face. In the short time she had known the boy, she had rarely seen him smile and even when he did smile it was a wry smirk or a mischievous grin. The others quickly took notice of it as well. Whatever had happened while he was away must have really affected him.

Michael was more surprised than anyone. "I wonder what got into him," he said, taking a spoonful of soup as he watched Jin talking with Ángel. "Not that I'm complaining."

"Maybe Ángel said something to him," Mimi said. "They DNA digivolved and that's supposed to happen if you're really close to someone… or something like that."

Mimi just laughed it off, admitting she really didn't know too much about the subject, but Amanda's interest was piqued. Jin's change of heart was so sudden and drastic. The only thing that was certain was that somehow Ángel was involved. It was a wonder that he could make such an impression in only a few days. It bordered on miraculous, actually.

Then again, she thought, Ángel seems like the kind of guy who can make miracles happen. Back at his little village everyone treated him - and us - like... well, not like normal people. Like we were special. She considered her own situation back home where she had carved out her own place of respect, but the kids at school didn't treat her too differently. Or better, she thought ruefully.

She had watched the two boys for a while and seen them laughing about some comment one had made and finally gave in to her curiosity. She got up from where she sat and approached the pair of them.

"Hey, Ángel, could I talk to you for a minute?"

"Oh, yes, what is it?"

"Er... in private?"

Ángel seemed momentarily flustered for some reason, but he complied, nodding to Jin that he'd be back momentarily.

"What is it, Amanda?" he asked. He stared at her intently, which made her uncomfortable, then frowned as he heaved a sigh. "You're just curious about me."

Amanda was irritated by that last comment. It was not a question, but a declaration. He'd hit the nail on the head, immediately guessing correctly her state of mind. There was something very disconcerting about it. She glared at him, putting her hands on her hips.

"And... now you're annoyed," he said, looking down.

"How did you guess?" she grumbled sarcastically.

"Your face gives you away." He looked back at her and stifled a laugh. "Actually, you look very funny when you are annoyed."

"Don't make fun of me," she snapped.

Ángel flinched, looking hurt, but he backed off. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to. I didn't meant it like your classmates."

"M-my what?"

He winced. "It's nothing," he said, and shut his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I... I'm sorry. Please forgive me for, uh, making assumptions."

"Yeah, well…" She softened then, seeing Ángel's gentle eyes looking down abashedly. It was hard to stay mad at someone so cute. She tried to put it out of mind and keep things academic, since he apparently had a knack for knowing exactly what one was thinking.

"I wanted to ask you about what happened earlier today," she said. "Jin didn't say much and everyone is afraid to ask him and ruin whatever good mood he's in. We haven't seen him this happy in a while." She heard Jin laugh back at the campsite just then and allowed herself to smile.

"Is that bad?"

Amanda cocked her head to one side, unsure of how to answer the question. "Well… no. No, of course it isn't bad. It's just… weird. Y'know. For him to be happy."

"I see. You think I did something to him."

"I don't know if you really did something to him either, it's just that—" she struggled to find the words. She had the feeling that this was one of those times when she could inadvertently hurt his feelings if she wasn't careful about what to say. Mimi wouldn't have had this problem, of course. Mimi's sincerity was pure in part because she was oblivious to what went on around her. (Earlier, for instance, she had thanked Jin and Ángel, saying, "It's a really good thing you two showed up when you did, especially after you ran off like that," with a warm smile on her face. She had been so sweet about it that no one had even noticed how rude her choice of words was.)

Ángel looked at her expectantly.

"Okay, everyone knows you're… 'different.' When we first met you, you'd been waiting for us. You just read me like an open book a minute ago. And Jin's a completely different person now because of the time you spent with him. I want to know two things: how do you do what you do and what did you say to Jin?"

Ángel nodded. Thankfully, he didn't look offended at all. "Well, first of all, I can do what I do because it is who I am," he replied.

"Huh?"

"And all I said to Jin is that he is not the bad person he thinks he is. He needs to discover his true potential for good. I reminded him of his own heart. He still must find his own way, but I think he will show his true colors very soon. I have faith in him."

Amanda shrugged. "That's just like you," she sighed. "I talk to you and you end up making me more confused than I was in the first place."

She turned to go, but Ángel didn't let her leave without some parting words. "If... if you want some advice..." She looked back at him. "You will have to find yourself too," he said. "If you want answers, you must see clearly. Just ask your partner."

Amanda frowned at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I-it's nothing, it's just some advice."

Amanda watched him as he turned and went back to where Jin was finishing his supper. Fuming, she went to her sleeping bag, too angry to do much else.

She noticed Penguinmon nearby. The squat little bird was fumbling with a toothbrush, trying his best to clean his beak. She had to smile at the sight.

"What are you doing?" she giggled.

"I'n tying to bush my beak," he replied, trying to look dignified.

"You don't have teeth and I'm sure Muchomon was just kidding when he said you had fish breath earlier."

Penguinmon spat and held the small brush clumsily between his two flippers. "Yeah, well, better safe than sorry."

"I understand, but you look ridiculous with that— Penguinmon is... is that my toothbrush?"

Penguinmon looked from the toothbrush to his partner. "It is if you still want it," he said, offering it to her.

"Ewww, no!" she said. "I'll borrow one of Mimi's spares tomorrow."

Feeling very tired, she flopped down on the sleeping bag and looked off at the others as they sat nearby, their figures mere silhouettes against the bright orange glow of their campfire.

"Did you and Muchomon talk about he and Scarmon's digivolution today?" she asked.

Penguinmon shrugged. "Yeah, but that bird is just plain weird. He just said that he and Scarmon were the same when they digivolved together, so anything he told me would be half the story. I asked Scarmon and he started talking all weird."

"Weird? What do you mean?"

"I'm getting to that. I stopped him and asked him what he was saying and he told me that he'd been speaking Spanish."

Amanda sat up. "Scarmon doesn't know any Spanish."

"He does now."

Amanda was impressed. "So, when he fused with Muchomon, he retained Muchomon's memories?"

"I... guess? I had no idea how it worked and neither one of them are very talkative about it."

"Interesting." Penguinmon noticed the "academic" look in her eyes and knew that she wasn't going to be happy until she got some answers about how this all worked. As excited and agitated as she was, however, it would have to wait until morning. For now, they needed to get some sleep.

Amanda awoke to the sound of humming. It was high and soft and she stirred awake to it's sound. "Mama," she murmured.

"Did you say something Amanda?" Penguinmon asked, waking up next to her.

It was then that she realized where she was. She sat up and looked around. It was not her mother's voice she's heard, but Mimi's. The elder girl was getting a towel from her luggage and a clean pair of clothes. Clad in her pink robe and wearing some sandals, she looked ready for a bath.

"Oh," she said simply. She felt a pang of homesickness then, her first since she left. She missed hearing her mother's humming. It was off key at times, and sometimes the songs she chose annoyed her, but it was something she'd grown used to and it was only now that she realized how much she missed it.

"Did I wake you up, Amanda?" Mimi asked, pausing when she saw her sad expression. "Do you want me to stop humming?"

Amanda smiled, putting her gloomy thoughts out of mind. "No, that's okay. I like your humming. Go ahead."

Mimi nodded and continued, getting her things before walking towards the woods, Palmon close behind.

"Oh, I forgot to mention that we found a lake nearby. It's shaped like a horseshoe, so the boys and girls can have different beaches to take a bath at. If you want, I can wait a minute and we can go together."

Amanda made a face. "A… a bath? The two of us, together?"

"Sure, why not?"

Michael, who was slicing some fruit for breakfast sided with Amanda. "I don't know, that is a little weird."

Mimi just laughed. "You Americans-"

"-Westerners," Amanda growled.

"Oh, right, I'm sorry. But it's silly! You know, if you ever go to Japan, Amanda, you should try a bathhouse or a hotspring. After all, we're both girls, so there's nothing we haven't seen before anyway!"

"Well, that's... okay, if I ever do go to Japan, maybe. But for now, I'll take my privacy," Amanda replied.

"All right," Mimi said, giving up and walking away. "I'll take my bath alone and Michael can wait for Jin to get back."

Amanda blinked several times, an idea taking hold in her brain. When Mimi had gone, she turned to Michael. "So, Jin's taking his bath alone right now?"

"Yes. Ángel's still asleep and Jin wanted to get a head start, so he's there now. I'm with you, though, bathing together is... Amanda?"

Amanda was quite obviously not listening. She looked into the woods in the opposite direction of where Mimi had gone. A sly grin spread across her face.

"Come on, Penguinmon!" she said, grabbing her partner out of bed and running off.

"Hey, that's the wrong way!" Betamon called futilely after her. "Michael, do you think we should try to stop her?"

Michael smirked at him. "She's the one taking the risk. I just hope Jin doesn't kill the little pervert."

Amanda made her way quickly, but stealthily, through the woods, dragging Penguinmon behind her.

"What are you doing?" he demanded, pulling himself free of her grasp.

"I'm going on a nature walk and I think we're on the trail of some wildlife," she replied, giving him a wink.

"Count me out," he grumbled, walking away. "You can go boy-watching by yourself."

"Oh no you don't!" she said, snatching him up. "I need you to be lookout. And keep quiet!"

Amanda finally came near the beach but found it surrounded by tall bushes. Thinking she might need a better vantage point she climbed a tree and perched herself on a limb.

"Any sign of Jin or Scarmon?" she asked Penguinmon.

"No," he grumbled. "You're going to regret this, I just know it."

Amanda was about to reply when something burst from the water. She gawked at the sight.

Jin shook the water from his jet-black hair, the water dripping off his body. He looked very relaxed and very at ease. He was also very much in the nude. Holding a bottle of body wash in one hand, he squeezed some out and began lathering himself from his arms to his chest.

"Oh... wow," Amanda squeaked, her eyes glazing over and her expression dreamy. "I wish I'd brought a camera!"

"You're sick," Penguinmon told her, looking away. "What I want to know is, if Jin's out there, where's Scarmon?"

The pair heard a growl from behind them. "Funny you should mention that," Scarmon snarled as he leaped onto their branch.

Amanda and Penguinmon both yelled in surprise and fright, tumbling out of the tree. With all the commotion, Jin whirled around and saw the two of them lying in a heap on the beach.

"Uh… hi there, Jin!" Amanda said, chuckling nervously. "You're looking..." she momentarily looked down, "...healthy."

Jin stared at her in shock before realizing that he was still standing before her without pants. Once he realized that, he turned beet red and ducked beneath the waves.

"You do know that he's going to kill us, right?" Penguinmon asked.

Scarmon dropped from the tree branch. "Actually, we're going to kill you," he laughed. The small, blue bird waddled away as fast as his little webbed feet could take him, Scarmon in hot pursuit.

"Hey, leave him alone!" Amanda hollered.

"You might worry about yourself first, you little perv."

Amanda looked up to see Jin, who was now clad in a towel around his waist. He was still dripping wet, and he had a murderous look in his eyes.

"Um… it was an accident?"

His look darkened.

"O-okay, so maybe I was trying to get a peek, but— urk!" She was cut off as Jin seized her by the shirt. Those same powerful muscles she had marveled at moments ago now lifted her into the air, bringing her face to his. She could hear his breath as it came in short puffs, snorting like a bull, his fury barely contained. Whatever mellowness he'd had the previous evening was totally gone.

"I'm sorry!" she whimpered, now genuinely afraid.

At first, her apology seemed to fall on deaf ears. Then, however, his eyes softened and his grimace fell away. He dropped her roughly and turned to gather up his clothes from the rock where he'd placed them. "Stay there," he commanded her.

The sternness of his voice told her that it would be unwise to disobey him. She waited, sitting in the sand as Jin dried and dressed himself in the bushes nearby. She didn't dare turn to peek this time. When he emerged, he seemed to have calmed down enough for her to be at ease.

"I get the feeling that you're not really sorry," Jin said. "But I don't think it matters. I don't really want to hurt you anyway." He paused for a moment, then asked, "Why did you do that?"

Amanda blushed. "Um… well, you know."

"No, not really."

"Well, because..." she began. Because you're a totally hot, older Asian guy I've wanted to see naked since the day we met, she thought.

He looked at her expectantly. "Well?"

"I was just playing around," she laughed, playing it as a joke.

"Yeah, well, find someone else to play around with," he grumbled.

"What's the big deal?" she asked, crossing her arms, not sure why he was so upset. Her confidence returned and she felt like somehow she had regained the upper hand. "You're acting like you're the younger one here. Haven't you ever been teased like that before?"

"No."

"What, not even on a date?"

Jin reddened slightly. Amanda slowly got the picture and her eyes went wide.

"You've... never had a date? You?"

"Of course not!" he yelled. "When you spend most of your teen years trapped in the Digital World and then another one in an all male juvenile hall, you don't meet many girls!" After this sudden outburst, he sat down on a nearby log, his mood turning somber.

"I mean, think about how pathetic that is," he went on. "I'm almost seventeen and I've never even kissed a girl."

Amanda might have taken this revelation as a sign that she should be serious. She might have heard this outpouring and tried to comfort him. She might have… if she wasn't the person that she was. Instead, she got another one of those ideas that Penguinmon would have tried to talk her out of, were he not busy running from Scarmon.

Jin was looking contemplatively out at the lake when Amanda tapped him on the shoulder. He turned only to have her move forward, suddenly pressing her lips to his. Her eyes were closed as she enjoyed the momentary kiss. His eyes were wide open, unable to believe what had just happened.

"Stop that!" he shouted, pushing her away, getting up to leave. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Amanda just giggled, not put off by his reaction in the slightest. "There. Now you've kissed a girl. And you can say that I was your first."

He made a face as he turned red again. "I'm not counting that as my first kiss! Not with you!"

"Well, I'm counting you as mine!"

"You're a nutcase," he said, shaking his head exasperatedly. "Scarmon, we're leaving!"

Scarmon scampered out of the bushes, some blue feathers clenched between his teeth. "I almost had him, Jin! He got in the water and I couldn't keep up, but I got some of his tail feathers, though!"

"Leave Penguinmon alone, his partner's the problem," Jin told him as he walked away. Then almost as an afterthought, he turned back to Amanda. "You know, it's this kind of stuff that makes you the fifth wheel in this team!"

Amanda stared after him, that last comment hitting home. "Yeah? Well… at least I'll have had a date before I'm seventeen!" she shouted after him.

"Don't bet on it!" he shot back.

Now almost ready to explode, she stood there on the beach, her fingers curling and uncurling into fists, gritting her teeth at the nerve of the boy. Behind her, Penguinmon splashed onto the shore, gasping for air.

"C-can you believe that boy?" Amanda screamed. "I mean, who does he think he is?"

"Thanks, I'm fine," Penguinmon grumbled. "I told you that was a bad idea. Look at my tail, for crying out loud! Do you know how long it takes for tail feathers to grow back?"

Jin and Amanda chose not to discuss the events of that morning, even though Michael pressed for details and it was obvious that Jin was now in another funk. The band of ten continued on their way across Folder when they came across something very out of the ordinary.

In the midst of the jungle, they discovered a sizable purple dome. It seemed to be made of metal and it had ornate lines that encircled it that looked to be made of brass. There was an arching, gothic door on the front of it, though it seemed to be without a doorknob. It was the size of a small house and it stood alone, no other buildings nearby it, and it was completely without windows.

"What is it?" Michael asked.

"I'm not sure," Jin admitted. "I've never seen a building like this before. I guess someone could live here."

"I don't think so," Amanda interjected. "It's way too flashy to be a normal dwelling. No windows, no sign of activity outside it… it could be a shrine or something. Maybe even a mausoleum— oh, wait, digimon don't leave anything to bury. Maybe it's—"

"Oh, can we just stop talking about it and see what's inside already?" Mimi cried, stepping forward.

"Mimi, be careful!" Michael warned.

"Relax, I'm just going to take a peek!" she said with a laugh.

"Peeks can get you into trouble," Jin grumbled.

Mimi paid no heed and walked right up to the door. There was no doorknob, but there was a small, circular button on the front of it. Mimi pushed it in and a small panel on the door slid open. A metallic camera resembling an eye emerged and looked right at Mimi.

"Um... hi!" Mimi greeted it cheerfully.

"State your business," an electronic voice said.

"Well, we don't really have any business," Mimi replied, confused by the question. "You see, we're the Digidestined and we were just walking through the jungle—"

"The Digidestined?" the voice asked. "Excellent! We heard you were on Folder, so please come! You are welcome to visit and stay as long as you like!"

There was a hiss of hydraulics as the door swiftly slid open. They all looked to each other, then, seeing no harm, they entered the dome. The interior was empty, but, once they were all inside, two halves of a giant steel cage came up around both sides, following the curve of the dome to close around them.

"It's a trap!" Jin exclaimed.

"Don't be alarmed, sir," the voice reassured him. "It's just the security cage. It will insure that you don't fall during the ride, so you can enjoy the view in complete safety!"

It was then that the outer dome opened wide, letting in daylight through the crisscrossing bars of the cage. There was a short pause, then they each heard a low, rumbling hum coming from beneath them. It gradually increased in pitch and they could feel a vibration coming through the floor, as if some engine below them were powering up. In fact, that turned out to be the case as the entire structure slowly levitated, rising into the air, hovering momentarily before it began to climb through the air.

"Wow!" Mimi exclaimed. "Look how high we're going! It's like a ride at the fair!"

"I always hated those rides," Amanda said, her voice shaking.

"Amanda?" Ángel asked. "What is it? Are you all right?"

"Y-yes, but I… I…" she started to look very pale as she looked out the cage at the ground which was falling away more and more as she spoke. She felt a sudden heave in her stomach and fell to her knees, covering her hand with her mouth and shutting her eyes.

"Amanda!" Michael cried, going to her side. "What's wrong?"

"I can tell you," Penguinmon said, also looking uneasy. "She's… we're both afraid of heights."

"A bird afraid of heights?" Muchomon laughed, fluttering above him. "Now I've heard everything!"

"One of these days I'm going to get you in the water and shut that yapping beak of yours!" Penguinmon groaned. "In the meantime, someone see if this thing has an airsick bag!"

Regardless of Amanda and Penguinmon's nausea, the trip went on as they travelled further and further upward, the rest of them looking out at the whole of the continent with amazement. "Wow!" Mimi exclaimed. "Just look at everything! There's a town on the other side of the island, and there's a big house at the top of the mountain! This will make it a lot easier to know where we're going!"

Finally, they burst through the clouds, high above the island. The structure went up through a small ring, which appeared to be a kind of dock for the transporter and locked into place.

"Welcome to Sky City, esteemed visitors!" the voice said as the cage opened.

"Oh, my…" Mimi gasped.

She had good reason to be impressed. Before them stretched an enormous city. It was made up of over a hundred buildings, each one set apart from the others, but all interconnected by a network of walkways protected by tall guardrails. They had a similar appearance to the transporter dome, made from the same purple, metallic substance and the same brass designs adorning them. Some looked like small houses, others were like giant pagodas. Beneath each of them were glowing panels where the hover jets kept the whole civilization suspended in the air.

"Sky City," Jin said, marvelling at the sight. It was spectacular to see something so large and so ornate floating in the air as if were nothing more than a cloud. "I always heard about Sky City, but not a lot of people find it, and not everyone is allowed here."

"Really? How come?" Mimi asked.

"It's sort of like a commune," he said. "You know, where a bunch of digimon get together and build their own society apart from the rest of the Digital World. They decided the best way to keep it private was to keep it in the air. They get a lot of money and goods through tourism, but they're exclusive. They're supposed to have great casinos and fine dining here."

"Please don't mention food," Amanda whined, not budging from the transporter.

"Come on, Amanda," Mimi called. "Let's take a look around!"

"Forget it," she said. "I'm going to wait on the ground."

"Well, if you think that's best," Michael said.

"No, she has to come with us," Jin grumbled, helping her to stand. "It's not safe for her to wait alone. One of the Eight Gods could come along and catch her off guard."

Amanda squeezed her eyes shut, holding onto Jin's arm, her knees wobbly. She, in turn, carried Penguinmon under one arm, his flippers over his eyes.

"Thanks," she muttered.

"You can thank me by not puking on me," Jin told her, helping her to get across the walkway. Whispering, he added, "You really owe me after this, you brat."

A welcoming party was there to greet them. They were very happy to see that they had such distinguished guests as Digidestined that they escorted them to a private room not far from one of their finest restaurants and casinos. Like most Sky City architecture, their room was a round, dome-shaped building. The inside had a large window that offered a great view of the city as well as the clouds and the continent below.

Amanda and Penguinmon were finally persuaded to open their eyes. Trying to adjust to their persistent case of vertigo, they sat looking out the window in hopes of desensitizing themselves. The rest of them admired the room.

Michael seemed impressed with the furniture. "Mimi, try out this sofa!" he said, patting the spot next to him.

Mimi complied and took a seat. "Ooh, it's soft!" she squealed, reclining on it. Michael leaned back next to her, practically tingling at their proximity.

"Hey, you guys, you've got to try this!"

Jin agreed and came over, flopping himself down so hard it bounced both Mimi and Michael in the air. "Heyyy, this is nice!"

Ángel also found it extremely comfortable. "Amanda, you should have a seat, too," Ángel suggested, mimicking Michael and patting the spot next to him. "You look very tense. You should relax."

"I would, but I'd have to stand up," she said from her spot on the floor. "And right now I'm too nauseous to risk it."

"Pardon me," someone said, entering the room, "but your lunch is ready."

They turned to see a small Pagumon sitting in the doorway.

"Hey, they even deliver lunch to the door!" Scarmon exclaimed, licking his chops at the sight of the smaller digimon.

"I think he's just the messenger, not the main course," Jin said.

"Uh, that's correct, sir," the Pagumon said, eyeing Scarmon warily. "If you will all come with me, I'll take you to the Five Star Casino, where we have a splendid all-you-can-eat buffet ready for you. All free of charge for such honored guests, of course."

"'All you can eat?'" Muchomon asked. "Ángel, we've found Heaven! And it's a casino!"

"We don't know how long we'll be able to stay, but hey can't turn down a free meal," Jin said. "We better take our things with us anyway."

"Come on, Amanda, let's eat!" Mimi said, urging her to come along.

"Hurk! No thanks, I'm not hungry," she grumbled. "I hope you don't mind if I don't—"

"Oh, okay!" she said, leaving with the rest of them.

Amanda sat there, suddenly speechless at her desertion.

"Penguinmon, I think we've just been ditched." She sighed. "Naturally."

"Aw, Amanda, I-"

"Oh god, wait... move!" she ran to the window, popped it open, and stuck her head out, her nausea finally overtaking her.

"Eugh," Penguinmon said, making a face. "Well, let's hope there's nobody below us."

"Wow, this is pretty nice," Michael remarked.

"Gracias a la Virgen," Ángel agreed, his eyes wide.

Jin had to admit that the place was indeed impressive. The inside of the casino wasn't gaudy or loud or anything like he would have expected. The metal domed building had a mostly wood interior with chandeliers and red, plush carpeting. At the very top of the dome was a large skylight. Beautiful paintings of pristine landscapes from around the Digital World were hung on the walls. Crowds of digimon milled about roulette and card tables. And at the far side of the large building was the dining area where there was a table nearly overflowing with all kinds of food.

"Chow time!" Scarmon cried gleefully, charging forward, the rest of the group right behind him.

Ángel and Muchomon, who had never seen such exotic food in their lives, were the most eager to begin, but the least sure of what they wanted.

"Michael, what is this?" Ángel asked.

"That's caviar."

"And this?"

"Quiche."

"And what about this?"

"Ángel, will you stop worrying about it and eat!" Jin laughed. "Besides, what makes you sure the preppie will know what it is and the rest of us won't?"

"All right, Jin, what is this?" Michael asked, holding a dish up.

Jin stared at it for a minute. "I have no idea."

"That's escargot," Michael told them confidently.

"Just don't add salt!" a new voice added.

The four children and digimon looked up to see who spoke and saw a strange digimon approaching.

"Isn't that a Starmon?" Mimi asked.

"Please," the stranger scoffed. "I'm not just your run-of-the-mill Starmon. The name is SuperStarmon."

SuperStarmon stood out from the crowd. He had the same body shape as a Starmon and was roughly the same size, with a five-pointed star for a body and a pair each of slender arms and legs. However, his body was a brilliant, shining gold and his arms and legs were adorned with white, sequined cloth, punctuated by red stripes. He also wore cowboy-style gloves and boots, gold studs on his knuckles. The whole look was topped off with a sleek pair of sunglasses worn over his eyes. He looked like a true "rhinestone cowboy," at home in a Las Vegas show. In fact, his somewhat tacky appearance seemed out of place with the casino.

"Well, are you enjoying the food?" he asked.

"Mm-hmm," the Jin and Ángel said, stuffing their faces greedily.

"Yes, thank you," Michael and Mimi said, nodding politely.

"Well, glad to hear it. When I heard that Digidestined were coming to Sky City, I knew I had to invite you to my casino."

"Oh, this is your place?" Mimi asked. "It's really nice."

"Thanks, babe," he said, crossing his arms confidently. "I just picked it up recently. Bought the place and now I'm going to turn it into the main attraction here in Sky City. How could it not be when the owner is a star like me?"

Jin removed a leg of Peking duck from his mouth at that. "Hey, yeah," he said, pausing to swallow. "I think I heard of you years ago. A long time ago, too."

"Yeah, well, I am a very famous—"

"Something about you being one of the biggest movie stars in the Digital World, but then something happened."

"I, uh, think that's enough for now," he grumbled.

"Something about you giving money to someone," Jin went on, obliviously. "It was some creep named—"

"Hey, who wants desert!" SuperStarmon shouted, his fists shaking.

"—Etemon!" Jin finished, remembering, standing up straight.

Mimi dropped her fork with a loud clatter and stood up as well. "You helped Etemon?" she cried in disbelief.

SuperStarmon tapped his foot. "Well, it just goes to show you," he sighed. "You give and you give to your fans, then you make one mistake and everyone jumps down your throat. I feel just like Robert Downey, Jr."

"Well, I'm sorry," Mimi apologized. "It's just that Etemon tried to hurt me and my friends years ago and—"

"Oh no, don't bother to apologize!" SuperStarmon yelled, throwing his hands up in the air. "Everyone else thinks I'm rotten, why should you think anything different? Sure, I lent money to Etemon and he used it to build the Dark Network that he wired the entire desert of Server with. And yeah, I couldn't get hired for any other movies anywhere in the Digital World. What was I supposed to do? I'm not meant to be poor! I needed some cash quick. So I gave up the glamorous life and turned to crime and joined the Eight Gods."

"He's with the Eight Gods?" Ángel exclaimed.

"Let's get him!" Betamon hollered, rallying the other digimon as they leapt onto the table, ready to digivolve.

SuperStarmon didn't wait for them to make their next move. He charged forward with surprising speed, grabbed the end of the table, then leapt into the air, flipping the table upside down, spilling the food and pinning the four small digimon underneath it.

"I did all my own stunts in the old days, kids," he said, lifting up the table to reveal the four digimon, dazed and barely able to see straight, let alone stand and fight.

"I was going to let you finish your last meal and then finish you off when you were stuffed and vulnerable, but this will work too. Guards!"

The skylight was shattered as the guards crashed through it, others emerging from doors all around the building. Several Flymon floated in the air menacingly, while Mekanorimon surrounded them, their Twin Beams fully charged and ready to fire. The regular patrons of the casino were hurried out of the building.

"Well, it's been nice knowing you kids, but I've got my orders and a nice new casino to run. When you get to hell, tell 'em SuperStarmon sent you!"

The four of them looked to each other helplessly as the guards advanced on them. SuperStarmon had ambushed them and had his own security force ready to finish them off. It looked hopeless until Michael abruptly shouted, "Couldn't we make a deal?"

SuperStarmon just laughed. "What could you have that I want?"

"I… I could make you movie star again!"

SuperStarmon froze. "Whoa, hold on," he told the guards. "You could make me famous again?"

Michael nodded.

"You've got one minute to explain, kid."

"My father is a movie star on Earth. If you let us go, I could talk to him and get you a part in a movie."

"How do I know you're not lying?"

Michael reached slowly into his bag and removed his wallet. He took out a picture he carried of his family standing in front of a movie poster that clearly showed his father. He smiled to himself, noting the goofy poses that he, his father, and his mother had all assumed.

"A movie poster... yeah... hmmm..." It was an interesting idea: the first digimon movie star on Earth. Well, it wasn't quite what he had in mind, but it had been ages since he had a mansion or a swimming pool he could call his own. He was sick of being in a gang anyway and their new "boss" couldn't possibly come after him if he just left the Digital World.

"Okay, kid, let's talk business," he said, cracking his knuckles. "But not here. I'm taking you to my office where we can talk in private. Your friends are coming along for the ride, too." He stepped forward menacingly. "And if we can't come up with a deal, they'll pay for it."

Amanda looked out the window gloomily. She had finally overcome her vertigo (and brushed her teeth after her little "incident"), and Penguinmon was beginning to relax as well. Now the two were quiet.

"You know, this is just like school," she said, pouting.

"What do you mean?"

"I try my best, but somehow I always end up being the odd one out. Even when I'm helping to save the world, I get treated like a dork!"

"No one's treating you like a dork," Penguinmon said. "Everyone likes you."

"Are you sure? Maybe they just put up with me because they need our help."

"That's not true!" he denied vehemently.

"Yes it is!" she exclaimed, just as forcefully. "Ángel treats me like a kid. He was making fun of me last night when he wouldn't give me a straight answer; he didn't want to talk to me. And Jin hates me, too. So I peeked on him, he didn't have to be so mean! He's right, though. I am the fifth wheel: the odd, useless one. And Michael never talks to me, he spends all of his time with Mimi and Mimi… well, you heard her. She didn't even try to get me to come with them. They were glad to be without me."

Penguinmon looked up and saw that her bottom lip was quivering. She looked ready to cry, though she was holding it in. It pained him to see her like this more than she knew. "This was supposed to be an adventure, but it's just more of the same."

"Amanda… I—"

"Huh?" she interrupted, pressing her face closer to the window. "What are they... oh my god! Penguinmon, do you see what I see?"

Penguinmon looked and saw that, not far off, the other eight members of their party were all being marched along a walkway. They had their hands in the air and were being guarded by a large number of very aggressive-looking digimon. She noticed a flashy looking digimon leading them and got out her analyzer. "That's SuperStarmon," she said. "He's an Ultimate. Do you think he's one of the Eight Gods?"

"Even if he isn't, he's captured the others. Let's go!" He rushed towards the door, ready for action.

"Wait!" she cried. "We can't do this by ourselves! Let's get some help. I'll call someone—"

"They were ambushed in the casino," Penguinmon said. "They were lured in there. SuperStarmon probably set the whole thing up as a trap, which means that he had the casino employees helping him out. Who knows, maybe he has all of Sky City on his side. We can't take the risk."

"But what are we supposed to do?" she demanded.

"What else? Save them! Now let's hurry!"

"But I can't!" she said. "I just got used to the heights out our window. I can't go out there!"

Penguinmon took deep breath. "All right, Amanda, as your partner, I hate to be tough on you, but we don't have time to mess around. So listen: if you don't go out there, then Jin will be right about you being a fifth wheel. A fifth wheel is useless on a car and if you can't be counted on to help, then that makes you useless to the team as a Digidestined. I can't digivolve without you and I can't leave you here unprotected anyway, so refusing to help is the same as getting all of us killed."

She looked down, suddenly feeling very guilty.

"If you're going to prove that you really are important, then you'll just have to toughen up and come with me!"

Amanda took a deep breath, then offered a tiny smile. "Okay," she agreed, gathering up her pack as well. "It's a good thing Jin told them to take the supplies. It doesn't look like we'll be staying here anymore." She steadied her nerves and stepped outside.

Her stomach heaved at the sight and her knees went wobbly. "Penguinmon, I... I don't know if I can do this."

"N-neither do I," he said, looking at the clouds far below. "But let's try not to think about it and catch up before we lose them."

Amanda nodded and led the way, bracing herself along the walkway, grabbing the rails with each step and avoiding looking any further than right in front of her feet. She glanced over the side and nearly collapsed from dizziness when she realized that she couldn't even see the ground. She had a sudden mental image of herself losing her balance, tumbling over the rail, and plunging down, down, down…

"Amanda, keep going!" Penguinmon cried urgently, crawling forward on his belly.

The two made their way down the network of walkways, slowly making their way around to trail their friends and the guards holding them captive. Eventually the path led them to what appeared to be a train station.

"They must be taking them somewhere else. I wonder why."

"Maybe they want to know where we are," Penguinmon suggested.

"I don't think so," she said. "They would have sent guards to get us as soon as they left to make sure. Must be an oversight. I guess the others didn't tell them about us." She mulled that over. She wondered if it meant that they really were counting on her to rescue them. Despite the dire situation, it made her smile.

In any case, she needed a plan. There were too many guards and there was no way Frigimon would be able to handle them alone. The train ran along a single, broad rail. She guessed that it was a maglev, a train that used electromagnetism to propel it along the track, making it move faster than a normal train. The Bullet Train in Japan worked similarly, except that the Bullet Train's tracks weren't suspended in midair, thousands of feet above ground.

"If we don't get on that train, we might lose them," she said. "But it looks like they're posting guards everywhere. I don't see how we can get on."

"I've got a plan," Penguinmon said, looking ahead of the station, "but you're going to hate it."

"Did you put them on tight enough?" SuperStarmon asked one of the guards.

"Yes, sir. They won't be able to slip out of them."

"Excellent." He turned his attention to the four Digidestined who were now bound to their partners, back to back, with large, metal restraining straps. Their arms were held to their sides and their partners were pressed so tightly against them that they could hardly breathe. In the digimon's case, extra restraints were put over Scarmon's and Muchomon's mouths and cuffs were placed over Palmon's hands, so none of them could use their special attacks. "Comfortable?" SuperStarmon asked.

"I thought you and I were going to work out a deal," Michael said.

"We are, but I'm not taking any risks," he replied. "Those straps are next to impossible to break for a Rookie. The only way to break them is for the digimon to digivolve and become large enough to break them. Of course, those straps are so tight, doing so would crush your partners. So everyone stays put and no one tries anything funny. Got it?"

The four digimon nodded bitterly.

"Great," he said. "Enjoy the ride, kids. Sorry, but there's not enough room in first class, so you'll have to take the cheap seats. Guards?"

On his order several Mekanorimon stepped forward, grabbed the prisoners and threw them roughly into an armored boxcar, shutting the door behind them.

"This sucks," Jin grumbled. "What kind of a plan is this, anyway, Washington?"

"I'm just trying to buy us some time while we figure out a way out of this!" Michael cried defensively.

"What happens when he finds out that your dad can't get him a part?" he asked.

"Hopefully, we'll figure out something by then. Maybe you guys can get free while I'm talking with SuperStarmon. I'll just take as long as I can without making him suspicious."

"Hey, I just thought of something," Mimi said. "Amanda will come looking for us soon. She can help us!"

"If she hasn't been caught already," Jin grumbled. "Or isn't too busy trying to keep breakfast down."

"You should not make fun of her," Ángel said. "She is a Digidestined and she can do this by herself. I believe in her."

"Good for you. I'll believe it when I see it."

"Penguinmon I'm going to kill you!" Amanda shrieked.

"It works in the movies!" he protested.

"They usually miss in cartoons!"

Actually, Amanda would have been the first to admit that Penguinmon had a good plan. The only problem was that they were the ones that had to follow it. Ahead of the station there was a small, arching bridge that went from one side of the tracks to the other. The train would pass underneath and it was Penguinmon's suggestion that they jump from the bridge and ride on top of it. Of course, that only worked if they could keep from falling off or even manage to work up the nerve to make the jump.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god…"

"Relax!" Penguinmon yelled. "Take a deep breath and relax! We can do this! This will work! Everything is okay! Nothing to worry about!"

"Stop yelling at me!"

"I'M NOT YELLING!"

Behind them, the train slowly began to move along the tracks. After the length of it cleared the bridge, it would pick up speed and be impossible to catch.

"Okay, here it comes!" Penguinmon shouted.

Just then, an updraft blew past them, tossing her black hair up into her face.

"I can't!" she whimpered, tears forming in her eyes, breathing rapidly in short, terrified gasps. "I can't do this!"

"Sure we can!" Penguinmon assured, not sounding confident himself. "Just think of the others! Okay, here comes the train. On three!"

The engine went below them. The train wasn't long, so they had only had about thirty seconds to get on.

"One… two… three!"

The two of them were still clutching the rail of the bridge.

"You didn't jump," Amanda said.

"Neither did you! Okay, once more, on three!"

"Fine."

Penguinmon took a deep breath.

"Three!" he said, pushing her off the rail. With a shout and flailing arms, she landed on the train, grabbing onto one of the hatches on top and hanging on for dear life. Penguinmon followed suit and leapt down after her, holding on as best he could, even as the wind increased when the train picked up speed.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" she screeched, looking back at him. "WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?"

"That we only had a few seconds to go and then we'd be too late!" he shot back.

"Fine, but if I lose my grip and start slipping off this train, I'm grabbing onto you for support!"

Penguinmon risked a glance over the side. If they did lose their grip, she would have plenty of time to yell at him on their way down before they finally hit. He gripped the train even tighter.

When the train slowed and finally stopped, the door slid open and SuperStarmon walked in. "We're here," he said. He held a small device in one hand. It was connected to a wire, which he hooked up to Michael and Betamon's restraint. He pressed a few buttons and the restraint came loose and fell off.

"Okay, Betamon, let's go," Michael said.

"Oh, sorry, but he's not going anywhere," SuperStarmon said, seizing Betamon and putting the restraint on him. He tightened it around the little creature as much as he could, drawing a plaintive cry of pain from Betamon.

"Stop, you're hurting him!" Michael exclaimed, reaching for him.

"And I'll hurt him even more," SuperStarmon growled, "if you make this difficult."

Michael stopped in his tracks, reluctantly complying.

"That's better," he chuckled. "Just relax, kid. I'm having the guards take them someplace safe. You and I are going to talk in my office."

Unbeknownst to SuperStarmon or the other Digidestined, Amanda and Penguinmon slid off the top of the train and snuck away into a good hiding spot not far off. When they were safe, Amanda finally let off some steam, though not exactly as Penguinmon had expected.

"Woo hoo!" she cried. "We made it! That was great!"

"Yeah, I guess so," Penguinmon agreed. "Now, we just need to—"

"Wow, just wait until we tell the others that we rode on top of that train! I feel like an action star, or Card Captor Sakura riding on the Windy, or—"

"Will you knock it off and be serious for a minute?" Penguinmon exclaimed.

Amanda looked at him curiously. He seemed to want to say more, but he was holding it back. It was then that something came to mind. It was something that Ángel had said last night: "If you want answers, you must see clearly. Just ask your partner."

She wasn't sure what it all meant, but this felt like the time to ask.

"Penguinmon, what are you thinking?"

"It's not important," he said.

"Yes, it is," she insisted. "I know you have something to say but you just don't want to hurt my feelings. Trust me, it might be better if I knew."

Penguinmon scratched his head, unsure where this sudden seriousness came from, but he seemed relieved by it.

"Amanda, it's just that… well, can't you ever be serious?"

"I'm being serious now."

"That's not what I meant. I mean, you treat everything like you're watching it on TV, or you're playing a video game. You were always the most enthusiastic about going on this trip from the day Michael and Mimi came and picked us up from Roxanne. But you never thought about how dangerous it was. Orochimon almost killed us yesterday and you acted like nothing happened. I got hurt and you were worried about me until you found out I was okay, then dropped it. Then you spent all your time talking to the others and never asked if I needed anything, like a bandage, some water, something to eat, or anything like that. And then you let your hormones take over and went chasing after Jin and you never cared that Scarmon, who was looking out for his partner, nearly took a huge bite out of my fanny. That's the problem: you're excited about having an adventure just like you always wanted, but you don't realize that we could get hurt, that I could get hurt. And now our friends need us, but you almost chickened out until I made you come with me. It's like none of this is real, like none of us are real! How do you think that makes me feel? Am I just a pet, or a tool you keep around to fight off evil digimon?"

"No!" she cried emphatically. "Oh, Penguinmon, of course not." She picked up the small bird and hugged him tight, her eyes becoming misty as she did so. "Please don't be angry with me. You're my best friend, I never meant to make you feel like I didn't care. I... I guess this whole thing is just so weird that I started acting like it was just a game or an anime or whatever. I've been a real idiot. I'll try to be totally serious from now on."

"Let's not go overkill," Penguinmon said, patting her on the shoulder. "I like you for being weird. Just... reign it in when death is on the line, okay?"

She sniffled and gave him a smile, setting him down. "Deal."

Penguinmon returned the smile. "After all, we work pretty well with weirdness; I keep you from getting yourself killed and you keep my life from being boring."

"Well, in that case..." she said, noticing an access panel nearby, "let's see if we can make things a little less boring around here."

"So, what kind of movie did you want to be in?" Michael asked. He and SuperStarmon were sitting in a spacious office with a large picture frame window. SuperStarmon sat behind his desk while Michael sat across from him in a chair. He felt like a talent agent who was working with a client. One who had very little talent but was a legend in his own mind.

"I was thinking of an action movie," SuperStarmon said casually. "I mean, when I was big here in the Digital World, I was as action-packed as they came. You know, some kung fu stuff, some 'save the girl, blow up the bad guy' things. Plus I've got a great attack that makes your average hand grenade look like an M-80, ya dig?"

"Uh-huh."

"Yeah, that was when I made my fortune. And then I blew it by giving Etemon that loan." He grew angry at that. "He said he just wanted it to get his name out there. How was I supposed to know he used it to build the Dark Network and wanted to take over the world? That stupid flea-bitten monkey couldn't just go on a tour, oh noooo... he had to overrun the desert of Server, attack the Digidestined and get me involved! And who takes over a stupid desert anyway? I was smart, I took over something that has tourists with fat wallets! And the little people around here are too chicken to fight back, not that I blame them, so I'm finally getting the star treatment I deserve! Let me tell ya, babe..."

Michael rolled his eyes as SuperStarmon continued on his rant. He hoped that the others would come up with a plan of escape soon. If he had to listen to this much longer, he was going to be the one in need of a rescue.

"Attention: There is an attack being launched by a Digidestined in Sector 7-G. All guards report to the area immediately."

The three Digidestined, who sat in a small cell locked by a steel door and guarded by a small group of SuperStarmon's flunkies, looked up at the electronic voice, which sounded from an intercom. "Amanda?" Mimi asked, uneasily.

"There must have been one more," a guard outside said.

"Should we leave someone to watch the prisoners?"

"You heard the order. Only the boss would be able to give that kind of order and it said that everyone was supposed to go. You want to make him mad?"

"Eh, good point. Let's go!"

"Poor Amanda," Ángel said, hearing them leave.

"She'll never be able to hold off all the guards at once," Jin said grimly.

"Save your pity for those saps," a familiar voice said. No sooner had it spoke, when the door came to life and slid open, letting in daylight and revealing the confident (if somewhat short) figure of their liberator.

"Amanda!" Mimi cried.

"And her trusty sidekick," she chuckled, gesturing towards Penguinmon.

"Holy flightless avian, Bat-otaku!" Penguinmon added, earning an approving grin from Amanda.

Jin was stunned. "How… how did... the alam said you—"

"I used my secret weapon," she said, reaching into her backpack, retrieving something from inside. "This!"

"A… laptop?" Jin stammered, seeing the small device.

"I remembered Izzy telling me how handy his was, so I brought mine when I left home. Now, I used my specialized decryption program - my own design, by the way - to hack into the system from a terminal at the train station, program the Sky City Security mainframe to send out a false alarm, and distract the guards long enough to get us all out of here."

"That's great, but do you think you can get us out of here?" Betamon asked.

"Bien sûr," she said, running a wire from the laptop to the restrain around him. She typed a few simple commands and the restraint expanded and came loose.

"Wow, that's great!" Betamon exclaimed.

Amanda then went and freed Ángel, Muchomon, Mimi, and Palmon. Then she turned her attention to Jin and Scarmon. "Who's a fifth wheel now?"

"Will you hurry up and get us loose?"

"Of course," she replied with a smirk. "If you say who your first kiss was."

Jin blushed. "Forget it!"

"Oh, gee, it looks like the battery on my computer is running low. I better turn it off until I can recharge it." She looked at him expectantly.

Jin made a face, noticing the others looking back at them questioningly.

"I'm waiiitiiiinggg," she sang.

"Youwere," he mumbled.

"Beg pardon?"

"You were," he hissed, "now set us free, you blackmailing otaku freak!"

"Of course, sweetie," she giggled, letting him go. "Now let's— wait a minute, where's Michael?"

"SuperStarmon has him!" Betamon cried. "We have to help him!"

"Okay, hold on," she said. "SuperStarmon had our supplies taken to a storeroom not far from here." She pointed in the direction of it. "It's unlocked, so you should be able to find it quickly. I'll take Betamon with me and get Michael. The rest of you digivolve and be ready for him."

"Yes ma'am!" Mimi complied, giving her a big smile and a mock salute.

The three humans and digimon went for the storeroom while Amanda and Penguinmon went off with Betamon.

"…So I bought up the casino and started up a new business, which brings us up to speed," SuperStarmon finished.

Michael was asleep in his seat.

"You little brat!" SuperStarmon roared, knocking him from it. "Nobody ignores me! I was famous once and I'll be famous again, with or without your daddy's help!"

Michael stood uneasily, seeing SuperStarmon glaring at him furiously. Then he looked out the window. "Well, it looks there's already someone who wants your autograph," he said, pointing.

"Ooh, really?" he asked, turning around and coming face to face with Seadramon, who crashed through the window as Michael leapt out of the way.

"Ice Blast!" Seadramon attacked, unleashing the attack on SuperStarmon, who staggered back. The attack did little to actually hurt him, but it did provide the opportunity for Michael to escape, sliding down his partner's back.

"I knew you guys would think of something," Michael said.

"Don't thank us," Seadramon told him. "Thank her."

Michael looked and spied Amanda, Frigimon with her, a confident grin on her face. "Hey, it looks like you got over your fear of heights!"

"I'm too busy to think about it now, but thanks for mentioning it!" she said. "I'll vomit like there's no tomorrow later."

"There won't be a 'later' for you little punks," SuperStarmon snarled, leaping from the window. "I'll teach you not to mess with movie star royalty."

"Run!" Amanda cried. The others didn't need to be told twice and ran for safety with the others not far off.

SuperStarmon watched them run and raised his arms, summoning forth his attack. "Haley Squall!" he howled. Above him, a porthole opened in midair. From it, a barrage of miniature comets blasted forth, pounding the area ahead of him, destroying chunks of the guard rails and walkways, and sending the battered foursome sprawling. Amanda herself slid forward on the metallic surface. Though she tried to save herself, she slid right off it and found herself in the air, nothing below her.

She let out a scream of fright and shut her eyes, when she felt a cold, yet reassuring hand grab hers.

"Gotcha!" Frigimon said, hanging halfway over the edge, pulling her up.

"But who has you?" SuperStarmon laughed cruelly, raising his arms again. "Haley—"

He was cut off, however, when Quemamon fell upon him, backhanding him with one flaming claw. "You four get out of here, while I keep him busy!" Quemamon commanded. The four complied, leaving one Ultimate to deal with another.

"Man, you are just about the ugliest digimon I have ever seen!" SuperStarmon exclaimed disgustedly.

"Let's see how pretty you are with some third-degree burns," Quemamon shot back. "Plasma Column!"

The stream of plasma shot at the smaller foe, who didn't try to avoid it, but pulled his arms and legs into his metallic hull, letting the hot attack hit him directly. When it was over, his limbs emerged and he dusted off his hands nonchalantly. "Nice attack," he said. "But my metallic hull makes me immune to plasma attacks. My organic body is well shielded and, what's more, your pitiful attack isn't even hot enough to make me break a sweat!"

Quemamon roared in anger and punched at him. SuperStarmon jumped high above him, dodging the attack completely, then delivered two quick kicks to Quemamon's head. He then blasted him with another Haley Squall and Quemamon landed in a heap.

"Quemamon, keep him busy and we'll get help!" Amanda called, continuing on her way.

Quemamon nodded and got to his feet.

"Don't kid yourself, babe," SuperStarmon laughed. "You won't live long enough for them to get help."

The others had gathered up their things and were waiting for the others to get back.

"Where is Quemamon?" Ángel asked.

"He's fighting with SuperStarmon and he's taking a beating," Michael told him. "We have to help him!"

"Right," Jin nodded. "Lilymon's ready and so are Seadramon and Frigimon, so let's just get in there and give him everything we've got."

"That would be a bad idea," Amanda said. "SuperStarmon seems really fast and he's definitely stronger than the last two Ultimates we fought. With the narrow space here in Sky City, a free-for-all might get one of our digimon thrown over the edge."

"Then, what do we do?" Mimi asked hesitantly.

"It might be hard to pull off," she said, attaching her laptop to a nearby security terminal, "but I think I have an idea."

SuperStarmon stood before a weary Quemamon, confident, but cautious. "You think stars like me spend all their time at wild parties? Action stars get special training and so do members of the Eight Gods. A two-bit punk like you doesn't have what it takes to beat me."

"Maybe," he said, noticing something coming out of the sky behind SuperStarmon, "but you haven't beat me yet."

Out of the blue, Lilymon swooped down and landed a kick to the back of SuperStarmon's head, causing him to fall forward and smash his shades on the floor. He stood up and yelled in surprise and anger as sunlight stabbed into his unprotected eyes. Holding one arm in front of the sudden light, there was a rumble behind him as the locking mechanisms that connected the walkway he stood on disconnected. The walkway rotated out, no longer connecting one building to another, but leading off into thin air.

The emergency mechanisms for this city are impressive, Amanda thought as she manipulated the locks from another access terminal. Normally this would be used to keep fire or something from spreading from one area to another, but it ought to work for us too. "Now!" she called to Frigimon and Seadramon, who both rushed at the walkway. Quemamon saw them coming and moved out of the way, leaving SuperStarmon alone on the bridge.

"Subzero Ice Punch!"

"Ice Blast!"

The two attacks froze the bridge solid, coating it with a slick coat of ice. SuperStarmon rubbed his eyes and saw his situation. "You think I'm clumsy enough to slip?" he laughed, walking forward carefully. "Nice plan, but I'm smarter than your average movie villain."

"Quemamon!" Jin and Ángel called to their partner.

Quemamon reared back, as if to shoot another Plasma Column. SuperStarmon again retracted into his hull.

Quemamon didn't fire, however. Instead, Lilymon had the honor. "Flower Cannon!"

The impact of the attack blasted the helpless star backwards, his metallic body skidding and sliding down the walkway. He realized what was happening and popped out of the shell just as he went sailing over the edge. He reached and grabbed hold of the edge of the walkway with one hand and struggled to pull himself off.

"Uh, Frigimon?" Amanda asked, tapping her foot. "Would you mind?"

Frigimon nodded and lifted one foot, stomping on his end of the frozen walkway, snapping the thing off at its base, sending both the walkway and SuperStarmon falling out into nothing but thin air.

"Nooooooooo!" SuperStarmon screamed as he tumbled through the air. He was furious in his last few moments. He was doomed, he knew that now, but he was not the kind of digimon to let himself be defeated without taking one last shot at his victorious opponents.

"Haley Squall!" he shouted one more time.

"I can't believe that worked," Jin was saying.

"Great job, Amanda!" Mimi congratulated her, patting her on the back and raising a triumphant fist in the air.

"Well," Amanda chuckled, "it was nothing, really—"

Her modesty was cut off, however, as the whole area was rocked by a wave of comets from SuperStarmon's attack. They slammed into the hover jets supporting the buildings and tore away more of the nearby walkways. The heavy building sagged and there was the sound of metal as it creaked and groaned. Mimi, Amanda, and their now de-digivolved partners fell back inside one structure while Jin, Ángel, and Michael were tossed in a different direction. Finally, the strain got to be too much and the area snapped free, falling from Sky City and tumbling down to the ground below.

Amanda felt like screaming as she heard the howling wind and felt the sickening drop as she fell and she probably would have screamed had nausea and terror not overcome her. She fainted on the spot.

To be continued…

(Next time: Separation anxiety and in-fighting befall the group as the boys find themselves in a deep pit facing a nasty foe with an explosive temper...)

P.S. As always, please leave a review! I really appreciate all comments and feedback.