Chapter 10: Smart Entrances

The shock of Ash and Kari, being in that mysterious area, wore off, when they told Misty and T.K., back at the inn near Pinkville, what had happened over there. Ash, being the first hero, was still pretty exhausted. He and Pikachu sprinted into that world, where a school of NeoScubamon had kidnapped Kari and Gatomon. Seeing Kari being taken out to sea, Ash was in hot pursuit, trying to save her. It looked like he failed when the NeoScubamon dunked Kari into the ocean, as a sacrifice for a giant sea Digimon, named Dragomon. Not quitting, Ash dove down, and snagged Kari, and swam her back to the beach. Not breathing, Ash tried his hands on cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, to resurrect Kari. He succeeded, and Kari woke up. That was when Dragomon showed up. As Ash protected Kari, Pikachu and Angewomon took out the lighthouse, which disguised a control spire, probably left by Ken. When the spire was destroyed, the Fusion Orb of Holion appeared. The orb chose Kari, and helped fuse her and Angewomon. Using Angewomon's abilities, Kari was able to defeat Dragomon. As if the threat wasn't neutralized, an egg had taken place of Dragomon. Fortunately, a swarm of green slug-like creatures, Numemon, carried the egg out of the area, hopefully, to be purified. However, it appeared that the next Vendetta was watching them perform. The name: Vendetta Lusion.

"Oh, man..." T.K. responded in awe. It was that world that he told the trainers about. He couldn't believe that the world was accessible, again. Further more, Misty was in disbelief, about how the Pokemon were able to talk like humans.

"I'm still wondering how Pikachu and Larvitar were able to talk like us?" she pointed out.

"I'm still trying to figure out why Pikachu's Thunder shock had no effect," Ash added. "I mean, I left the bedroom for only a few minutes, because I couldn't fall asleep." T.K., then, had a theory.

"What are the chances that we were given something that kept us asleep?" he hypothesized. Everyone looked at T.K., wondering what he could be guessing. "I've had different types of tranquilizing chemicals go through my system, so it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if I was dosed up with anything that would make or keep me sleeping." Intelligently enough, T.K.'s past was believable. His claim of being suppressed in a state of sleep was a sign that he would've been immune to it, if he had enough experience. However, with this information, he didn't appear to shake off whatever was doused on him, Patamon, Misty, Togepi, and ultimately, Kari and Gatomon. Out of some miracle, Ash and Pikachu were out of the room. Ash was going through some sort of insomnia, and stepped out to get something to ease his body, with an alert Pikachu behind him. When Ash saw Kari's bed empty, he tried to wake T.K. up, but he couldn't. Even Pikachu's electric attack had no effect. Up to now, that puzzled Ash. Could the chemical have had an immunity to electricity?

"I've been electrocuted many times, most of them because I doze off. I don't understand why Pikachu's Thunder shock didn't wake you up?" That began to puzzle Misty, as well. Suddenly, Kari had a thought.

"My guess might sound wild, but I believe that T.K. and I aren't as close to Pokemon as you two are," she pointed out. It did make sense. Both 'junior couples' were from different worlds: Ash and Misty were from the Pokemon world, and T.K. and Kari were protectors of the Digimon world. Since neither had contact with the others' worlds and creatures, they would naturally act baffled about how to react to their abilities.

"She does have a point there, Ash," Misty whispered to her close friend. Ash sighed, half frustration, half disbelief.

"If Max were here, he'd agree, too," he mumbled. Now, usually, Ash would be the one to get 'the parade' moving, but Patamon was more than anxious to try to save RainBellian.

"If this Vendetta Lusion is out there," it started. "Why are we idling around here? Shouldn't we get going?" Now, everyone glared at the lone Digimon. (Angewomon and Kari are still fused together) That's when Ash huffed a smirk, willing to agree with Patamon.

"Patamon, you're starting to sound, just like me. We'll be able to make it to Pinkville, before noon, if we leave soon, and, knowing Lusion, he'll be waiting for us." It was a warning for everyone to prepare for battle. When everyone was packed up for the journey, Ash, Misty, and T.K. mounted their horses, ready to depart. Kari's brown horse wasn't sure on how to approach this situation: Kari was still fused with her Digimon, and still wanted to break her wings in, but she didn't want to leave the horse behind. She fluttered down, trying to think of a way for the horse to stay along.

"You're still with us, Dirtpit," she reassured her horse. "There's no way we'd leave you behind. You just have less weight to carry, that's all." The horse neighed, a sign that it understood Kari. "Let's go!" Taking off into the air, Kari raced ahead, wanting to catch up to the rest. Dirtpit didn't waste time, leaving the area. Being loyal to the new worlder, it trotted off, staying in close pursuit of Kari. Ash, with Pikachu hanging on his shoulder, Misty, with Togepi in her bag, and T.K., with Patamon planted on his head, were all on their respective horses, riding to Pinkville. A little ways along, Pikachu scented something in the air. He looked up, sparks radiating from its cheeks.

("He's here!") it shouted. Pikachu was back to its Poke-self, but that wasn't important. Ash understood his little buddy, and looked up to the sky. Out of no where, that same boy, who spied on Ash and Kari in that dark world, appeared, floating in mid-air.

"Lusion!" Ash snapped. Although his horse was still moving, he planted his hands on the saddle, and pushed off, lifting him into the air. The attempting dismount propelled Ash over his horse's tail, and landing on his feet. For the first time, Ash was able to dismount his horse without any help. However, he began to feel like an idiot, and dipped his head in shame. "Now, I figure out how to hop off D.S. Talk about pathetic." Misty and T.K. managed to have their horses stop by Ash, and dismounted them.

"Thanks, Blaze Hoof," she nicely told her red horse. Taking Togepi out from her bag, she placed the egg Pokemon on her horse. "Keep an eye on Togepi, okay?"

"You too, Snowfight," T.K. ordered his horse. Both horses wanted to help their riders, as much as they can. Listening, the red horse, Blaze Hoof, and white horse, Snowfight, galloped clear of the battlefield, joined by D.S., who wanted to stay with them. Ash, Misty and T.K. drew out their weapons, ready to face Lusion. Lusion didn't flinch at the sight of the warriors, let alone, the weapons. Instead, he cackled loudly.

"Do you think that I have a problem with those puny tools you got?" he snickered. "I am Vendetta Lusion, one of the junior Vendetta that was assigned to kill all of you." The cocky attitude was getting on Misty's nerves.

"The attitude of that brat," she gritted with anger. Lusion began to waive his arms, wildly. That's when white circles flashed from the ground, surrounding the three in a big circle. Unphased, Ash was ready to charge in.

"Before you move, I should remind you of the explosive consequences if you exit the ring." Gasps surround the now-trapped trio. Lusion had snared the heroes in a unique situation. "One step out of that, and the magic mines will blow you away." One exit was spelling doom for T.K. and the trainers. Then, Misty remembered that Kari was coming from the rear. She was the only free warrior.

"Ash, Kari's our only chance." Hearing that, Ash turned around, spotting Kari as she appeared on the scene. Ash was going to tell the winged heroine, but she was coming in too fast. He tried to signal the girl to stop, but it was no use. She passed through the circle...KABOOM! A bright explosion erupted, consuming the children. The pillar of fire might've been a sign...that the warriors were gone. However, a little while later, Kari was waking up. Her eyes, first saw, both pink gloves. Her first thought: Angewomon had been morphed back from the armor, protecting Kari. Her fusion orb must've expired, and thus the merge was done. That's when she heard a voice.

"Misty?" was the sound of a young boy. "Misty, can you hear me?" Kari turned on her side, and saw a black haired boy, wearing glasses. He had a green shirt and shoes, and brown shorts. He was frantically trying to wake an unconscious Misty, laying face-down. "Come on, Misty!" Misty began to moan, a sign that she was coming around. She lifted her head, and eyelids, and saw the boy's face. She and Kari knew it wasn't Ash or T.K.

"Max?" Misty guessed. "Is that you?" The boy breathed a sigh of relief. Misty rose to her knees, still shaken from the blast.

"Take it easy. That was one heck of a kaboom." It was Max, from Ash and Misty's story. How did he get here, all alone? Max assisted Misty on getting her onto her feet. When she saw Kari, still down, she walked over to her. Seeing that the hair was brunette, again, meant that Holion's Fusion Orb needed to recharge. As if tension between the girls were smoothed out, Misty lend a hand out to Kari. She smiled, and grabbed her hand, telling Misty she wanted up. Misty pulled, getting Kari to her feet.

"You all right?" Kari nodded, but it appeared half-hearted, for some reason. Angewomon, Ash, T.K., Pikachu, and Patamon were gone. Did they die, too?

"I'm worried about everyone, even Gatomon, and Togepi," she expressed. Misty smiled, trying to ease Kari of her worry.

"I'm sure, they're fine, as well as the boys." Once again, a half-hearted nod from Kari. Max was feeling left out. Not only was Misty paying more attention to this new girl, but he had no idea who the new girl was talking about. Misty knew Max was getting lonley, and turned to him. "Come here, Max. It's okay." Kari was surprised to know that the boy was named Max. "This is Kari, a new friend, I met."

"So, you're the Max, that Ash told me about?" Max was stunned that Kari knew about Ash.

"You saw Ash?" he reacted. Kari nodded. That's when the three heard a neigh from a horse, and turned to see...

"Blaze Hoof!" Misty cheered. When she last saw Blaze Hoof, she told the horse to keep an eye on Togepi. Was Togepi okay? "How's Togepi?" That's when the familiar sounds of chirping caught everyone's attention. Misty checked Blaze Hoof's back, and saw a sleeping ivory puppy, with a gold collar around the neck, and... "Togepi!" Togepi leaped from Blaze Hoof and into Misty's arms, thankful that the egg Pokemon wasn't hurt. Kari saw the puppy, worried about any injuries. She picked the puppy from the red horse, triggering it to wake up.

"Are you okay, Salamon? she asked. The now-identified Salamon looked up to Kari, straining hurt muscles.

"I'll be fine," it groaned. "I just need some rest." Misty was now wondering about where the new creature came from.

"Kari, who is that?" she questioned. "Wasn't Gatomon your partner?" Kari decided to clear something up.

"It's still Gatomon, but this is the rookie form, Salamon," she explained. "Digimon have different evolution stages, like Pokemon. They start out as eggs, and when they hatch, they're considered baby or fresh Digimon. The next stage is In-training, followed by Rookie form, then Champion, Ultimate, and last, Mega. Recently, we found out about another way for Digivolution." That's when Max stepped up, willing to answer the topic.

"Wouldn't that be Armor Digivolution?" he guessed. Kari and Salamon were surprised to hear Max's guess. Somehow, he knew about the DigiEggs.

"That's right, but, how could you have known about Digimon? I mean, this is the first time we met." Little did the girls know about the real truth. Somewhere else, Ash was out cold, laying face-down. That's when a hand laid on his back, and rattled him. Hand twitching, he was returning to the awaking world.

"All right, all right," he mumbled. "Let me get to my feet." He pushed himself off the ground, slowly. Then, a hand was extended to Ash, willing to help him up. Accepting, Ash clutched the hand, telling the owner of the hand, (Don't worry folks, that hand is still on the body.) to pull up. "Thanks." When he looked up, he saw a girl with the lavender hair, and round glasses. "Yvonne, what are you doing away from Violet Village?" The girl was puzzled, at first, but smiled, like she was expecting it.

"T.K. said the same thing when he got up." she said. Wait...this girl wasn't Yvonne? It couldn't be... "Well, you do look like a cute kid, to begin with. Maybe cuter than Davis and Ken, together." Other than the names she mentioned, that was what Yvonne expressed about Ash. Hold on...Davis? Ken? Could it be...?

"Are you...Yolei?" The girl giggled, as if Ash knew who she was.

"Yeah, I'm Yolei Inoue. T.K. told me that you are Ash, right?" From the sound of it, T.K. woke up sooner than Ash did, and saw Yolei. Following, T.K. told her of what was going on, and told her about Ash.

"I am." That's when a flying magenta mecha-like bug was flying behind Yolei. The green eyes really got Ash's attention. "Is that your Digimon?" he asked as he pointed to it. Yolei peeked at the bug, unphased at its appearence. However, the bug wanted to be the one to say something.

"Well, no, I'm not Yolei's Digimon," it buzzed. Okay, if that wasn't Yolei's Digimon, who's was it?

"That's Tentomon, and it's Izzy's Digimon," Yolei explained. "Hawkmon is my Digimon. It is with Izzy and T.K. They thought you needed a woman's touch to wake you up, while they treated Patamon and Pikachu of their injuries, somewhere in the woods." Pikachu...Ash knew he needed to be by it's side, but his body was aching, making him unable to move far. Yolei wanted him to settle down, in fear of any wounds that would re-open. "Don't move so much, you're still hurt."

"Yeah, but you said-"

"We compared you're injuries, and you appeared to have taken the blunt of the explosion. Pikachu will be fine." Feeling somewhat trustful, Ash sat down, trying to calm down from that sudden adrenaline boost.

"Sorry about that." Smiling, Yolei put a hand on his shoulder, a sign of comfort. Then, a rustling from the woods, a few yards away. That's when Pikachu sprinted out, and leaped onto Ash, excited that his Pokemon was all right. "Pikachu, how're you doing, pal?"

("Much better, seeing you up,") it chirped. More rustling from the woods, as T.K., Patamon, a tall redhead male in a green polo tee-shirt and brown slacks, and a red bird with a belt on its forehead, holding a feather, emerged from the woods. T.K. saw the two humans, and felt, as though, Ash was acting like one young ladies' man.

"First, Misty, then, Kari, and now, Yolei?" he toned up in disbelief. Ash and Yolei peeked at each other, wondering what T.K. was talking about. That's when they figured out, that T.K. thought the two of them were making out. It would be possible. Yolei thought Ash was rather cute, and Ash was minding on how intelligent, Yolei was. However...

"It's not like that!" they snapped in unison. Even Tentomon wanted to stick with the two.

"They've only had a chance to know each other," it shouted. The redhead stepped up to Ash, with a hand out for a shake.

"Nice to know that you're in good health," he acknowledged. "I'm Izzy Izumi, first generation Digidestined, and partner of Tentomon." The redhead, now ID'ed as Izzy, appeared to be highly intelligent, like Max.

"I'm Ash Ketchum, longtime Pokemon trainer and partner of Pikachu," Ash said as he shook Izzy's hand. "What did you mean by 'first generation Digidestined?'"

"Glad you asked. T.K., Kari and myself are members of the original Digidestined. We were the first to go to the digital world, and repair the abnormalities of it." To what Izzy was saying, the three in mention had gotten their Digimon as help to save that digital world. Ash was wondering why Yolei wasn't mentioned.

"You said T.K., Kari and yourself. Why wasn't Yolei named? She's a Digidestined, herself." That's when the bird decided to speak out about that confusion.

"Well, she's a second generation Digidestined," it beaked out. Yolei sighed, feeling denied about speaking for herself.

"Appreciate the help, Hawkmon," she huffed. Although Ash was happy with some new company, Misty and Kari were somewhere else. Of course, he had no idea that Max was with the girls.

"I think we need to find the others," he addressed. "I bet Kari'll be happy about seeing her friends, alive." T.K. liked the move, but pondered a problem.

"I believe you, but we don't know where they are, much less Lusion," he gritted. That's when Patamon wanted to volunteer.

"Let me go and look for the girls," it requested. T.K. felt trustworthy with his Digimon, but was fearful about the loose Vendetta. That's when he peered at Pikachu. Then, Hawkmon.

"Ash, Yolei, is it all right if I borrow Pikachu and Hawkmon?" Ash swiftly nodded, but Yolei was wondering why T.K. wanted Hawkmon. When Hawkmon nodded, she gave up on guessing, and proceeded to nod, as well. After boarding Hawkmon, Pikachu ordered the winged Digimon, except Tentomon, to move out.

"I think it's a good idea that we didn't let Tentomon look for those girls," Ash pointed out.

"Why's that?" Yolei asked.

"My friend, Misty...hates bugs." Everyone sweat dropped.

"You don't say..." The flying Digimon, and Pikachu, were looking for the rest of the team from the grayish sky. After some time, Patamon saw the girls and Max.

"There they are!" it shouted. Hawkmon and Pikachu looked down, too. Pikachu was stunned that Max was with them.

("Max?") it squeaked. ("What's May's little brother doing here? I thought it was just us eight.")

"Misty!" From the ground, the girls saw the wingers, coming in. Misty and Kari shot amazed looks that Patamon was okay, and that it found them.

"Patamon!" Kari cheered. Patamon and Hawkmon landed, letting Pikachu run up to Misty, happy to see her alive.

"Pikachu, I'm glad to see you, too," Misty cheered, as she hugged Pikachu. Max stepped up, and saw Pikachu.

"Hey, Pikachu," he greeted. Kari was stunned that Hawkmon was here.

"I take it, that Yolei is here, too?" she guessed.

"Yeah, along with Ash and T.K.," Hawkmon added. "We came to get you, guys." The girls were excited that these creatures had picked them up. In addition, the girls were happy to know that the boys survived the blast from Lusion. Misty turned to Kari, with a request.

"Kari, you want me to get the horses ready?" she asked. Kari nodded, saying yes. Max was showing anxiety. He wanted to surprise Ash, that he was here. After Misty got the horses over, Kari told Hawkmon to lead them to the boys. Misty helped Max onto Blaze Hoof, while Kari got on Dirtpit, with Salamon on her lap. Pikachu and Togepi got on to D.S. while Patamon sat on Snowfight's head. Leading the pack, Hawkmon and the horses raced out. Still under T.K.'s caution, Patamon kept its eyes peeled for Lusion. After an hour, Ash saw the horses coming their way.

"They're here!" he shouted. When the horses arrived at the site, Misty and Kari hopped off, and ran to the group. In an instant, Misty wrapped her arms around the happy trainer in a hug, thrilled about his endurance. Kari saw her taller friend, Yolei, and hugged her, while almost knocking T.K. down. That's when Max saw Ash, and joined in the hug, while Izzy saw Kari, and gave her a pat on the back, smiling at the young child. "Max, how did you get here?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Max joked. T.K. and Izzy walked over to the trainers, as they were breaking from the hug. Misty saw the redhead, thinking that this was the person who saved Ash's and T.K.'s lives.

"Thanks for watching Ash and T.K.," she greeted.

"Don't really thank me," Izzy replied. "Yolei was the one who took care of him." That's when Tentomon popped up, much to Salamon amazement.

"Tentomon, it's you," it cheered.

"Well, I was surprised that Izzy and I were back after a short time away," Tentomon acknowledged. When they peered at Misty...she appeared to be bugging out. Max was befuddled at Misty's shaky behavior.

"Misty, are you okay?" he asked. Ash's info of Misty wasn't mentioned to Max, but everyone else sweat dropped.

"So, this is how she acts around bugs, right?" Yolei wondered.

"Pretty much," Ash sighed. In a scream, Misty snatched Togepi, and bolted out of the area. Speechless, they couldn't come up with an answer to Misty's bugged out panic. "...And I thought it was bad enough, before." Hopefully, Misty will get enough courage to return...right?

TO BE CONTINUED...