Amara burst back into the halls of RTC, angrily fiddling with the three
bracelets she wore on her left arm. She marched up the stairs to the dorms,
her dark brown hair flowing behind her as she walked exceptionally fast.
She marched up to her room and unlocked with the turn of a key and looked in to see Crystalmon laying on her bed. The crystal cat's ears perked up as she heard Amara come in.
(Oh. Hello Amara.)
"What the hell, Crystalmon?!" exclaimed an angry Amara. "Why did you have Magemon become Lee and mess with my head?!"
(What makes you think I did?)
"Don't even start with lame-ass excuses! I can read your damn mind and you know what I said is true!" she screamed, slamming the door behind her. "I thought having a Digimon partner was about trust! Where the hell is the trust in you manipulating me?!"
(Amara, believe me, I would never hurt you. But you need to follow to objective better and I was hoping that would properly motivate you to kill Trainer. If we don't accomplish our mission, the scientists will dispose of me and the other Digimon partners.)
"Well I won't kill him," she huffed, although she understood Crystalmon's position. She didn't want anything to happen to her partner. "Someone else."
(His girlfriend is a Hikari Chosen. And she does not have her partner back yet. Nathan Klentz is also without a partner. Pick one of them.)
"Hmph. Do you even have to ask? Alison's head is mine on a platter."
- - -
"Happy birthday!" shouted Ace, running into Lee's room with Nathan first thing in the morning. "We made you a cake!"
"Huh? You did?" groaned Lee, sleepily. The blonde boy pulled his face out of his blue pillow and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Turning nineteen was a satisfying feeling at best, Lee knew it was only two years until he turned into a full adult.
"Yeah, here you go," said Nathan.
Lee felt a cupcake hit him in the face and grumbled as it peeled off of his cheek, leaving a sticky residue of chocolate on his cheek. He glared at Ace and Nathan.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked.
"Yeah, now here's eighteen more!" shouted Ace and Nathan, who proceeded to pelt Lee with cupcakes. He had to remember to get them back on their birthdays, but decided to just sit here and enjoy the chocolate shower.
- - -
Later, after Lee had showered and thrown his clothes and sheets in the wash, he went downstairs to join Nathan and Ace in the kitchen. Nathan was busy making a sandwich using everything in the fridge, while Ace was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a sports magazine.
"Hey... where are Kokuwamon and DemiTyrannomon?" asked Lee, curiously. He hadn't seen either of the two Child Digimon yet, which was funny, because they liked to break down the bathroom door while he was in the shower to scare the hell out of him.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Earnest's village actually LIKES Digimon! They think they're spirit creatures or something," began Ace. Lee raised an eyebrow at him.
"So they're at Earnest's village out in the forest?"
"Yeah. No worrying about anyone seeing them at the party tonight," said Ace, figuring his plan was ingenious. "They'll take good care of them."
"What happens if we get into trouble?"
"Then we call them here with the D-Volvers, duh."
"How do we get them back?" inquired Lee. "That's not exactly a short drive."
"Uhhh..." mumbled Ace. "That hasn't come to me yet."
"Does anything ever come to you?" asked Nathan, leaning against the counter and ripping a huge chunk of his sandwich off, devouring it.
"My hamster came to me once when I called it... of course then it died."
"So how's the party planning?" asked Lee.
"Great!" exclaimed Nathan in excited response. "Lots of people want to come since we're the only kids who have their house owned by the mayor. Meaning we have a huge house."
"And a hot tub," added in Ace. He was a great fan of the hot tub they had installed on the back porch. Mainly because he figured it was his perfect place to score.
"You're not going to get any action in that thing, Ace. It's freaking winter out," Lee stated.
"You got some in there!"
"That was from my GIRLFR-- err, did either of you invite Alison?" inquired Lee, cutting himself off in mid-speech. Ace and Nathan glanced at each other.
"I tried to speak to her today, but she slapped me," said Ace. "I think she's still bitter."
"She's not mad at me. I could ask her," offered Nathan.
"Please do," pleaded Lee. "And please tell her not to be mad at me, it wasn't our fault we missed her concert."
"Yes sir, Captain Suck up!"
"Oh, that's very mature, Nathan."
"I thought so," he replied, triumphantly finishing his sandwich. He had successfully burned both Ace and Lee, so it was time to go to school. "I'm taking your car."
"Alri-- hey, wait! I gotta go to karate practice! I'll drop you off on the way!"
Lee turned and chased Nathan out the door, while Ace just laughed at them from his seat at the kitchen table.
"Poor bastards and their sch-- oh crap. WAIT FOR ME!!!"
- - -
Tori Estrada was not a very happy girl in PE class today. She had successfully hit Coach Wilson with a basketball when he contradicted her and was forced to do fifty push-ups. She groaned as she performed the aforementioned task, wearing her white RTC t-shirt and green gym shorts.
"Thirty-seven.. urgh... thirty-eight..."
"Hey Tori, getting sweaty?" asked Ace, leaning over her. He couldn't see the reaction on her face, since it was covered by her brown and blonde- highlighted hair, but he knew he had successfully peeved her off.
Her only response was a swift fist to his groin, and she continued on to number forty as Ace crumpled like a paper towel.
"You're not messing around today..." groaned Ace, laying on the floor next to her. "Where's Amara?"
"Forty-four... she's at... forty-five... karate... forty-six.. you worm."
Ace knew that Lee got PE credit by attending Karate during this block, but Amara only went to karate sometimes and came to PE sometimes. He had no idea how that worked, nor did he care. What he wanted to know is why he had even tried to make conversation with Tori in the first place.
"... fifty!" she announced triumphantly, collapsing to the gym floor. She lay there, catching her breath and noticed that her sweat was soaking right through her T-shirt. Her hair was getting soaked as well.
"That looked like fun," said Ace.
"Shut up, Ace. I'm hitting the showers."
"Can I come?"
Tori got up and turned to walk off, but not before stepping on Ace's back, getting a satisfying crack before she left. She entered the change room and walked across the tiled floor, grabbing a towel on her way by. She disrobed and stepped into the inviting warm water of the shower.
(Stupid, egomaniacal, perverted... loser, she thought to herself, referring to Ace. I can't believe he even has the nerve to speak to me after the whole Yami/Hikari thing. He is kinda sweet, though...)
She shook her head, erasing the previous though from her memory and flapping water off of her wet hair at the same time.
(No! If I don't defeat him, the scientists might take Salamon away from me. I MUST defeat him!)
Tori stepped out of the beige shower stall and wrapped the towel of the same color around her breasts so that it dropped down to below her crotch. Wrapping it up tight enough so it wouldn't fall off, she walked back to the locker area and opened her PE locker. She grabbed her clothes, watch and D- Volver.
"Ow!" she hissed, dropping the D-Volver to the ground as she touched it. "What was that? A static shock?"
She glanced at it curiously and then decided to shrug it off as nothing as she went to get dressed, unaware she had just been infused with the largest amount of Shadow data yet...
- - -
At Lunn's karate school, Lee was practicing break-falls on the mats by himself. Two other boys were sparring at the other end of the sanctum, while Amara and Tammy were doing the same in another area. They were all wearing the white karate uniform of the Lunn dojo, and were allowed in to train even though Master Lunn was away.
"Only one day til the tournament... gotta practice..." mumbled Lee to himself, break-falling one more time before dropping to the mat. He decided that was enough for now and went to get a drink from his water bottle.
"Happy birthday, Lee!" shouted Tammy, jumping over to him and giving him a hug. He hugged the blonde girl back, although his thoughts were really focused on Alison right now.
(She's not going to come tonight, I know it...)
"Thanks Tammy," he said, distracted. Amara walked over to them, her hands behind her back and smiling innocently. Her dark brown hair definitely stood out in her white karate uniform.
"Hey Amara, aren't you gonna say happy birthday to Lee too?" asked Tammy. Amara rolled her eyes. Tammy may have been her only friend since she was ten, and her only other friend right now was Tori... but Tammy could still be really annoying to her.
Amara walked over to Lee, who smiled nervously. He was still uncomfortable being around her since she was a Yami Chosen.
"Here's your present, birthday boy," she whispered into his ear. "I'm gonna go to your party tonight... and if your neglecting girlfriend doesn't show up, I'll give you the good time she should have."
She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked away with Tammy, the two of them giggling like... well... girls. Lee rubbed his cheek where she kissed him.
(Okay, that was strange. I know she can read my mind and all... but I hate when she pries into my personal thoughts like that... Ali will come. I know it.)
- - -
Nathan glanced around the halls of RTC, wearing sunglasses as was his new idea for no one would see his black eyes. He had been searching for Ali for a good thirty minutes, completely forgetting what class she had at the moment.
(Did she have web designing or literature...? What the heck did Lee tell me? I can't remember!)
He went and peeked into the computer lab, and saw her in there, front row. She glanced up, seeing him and he waved and motioned for her to come hither.
"Mr. Hedge, may I be excused for a second?" asked the brown haired girl. Unlike the other girls, Ali didn't care much for dressing fancy to impress people at school. The most expensive things she had on was the necklace and ring Lee had gave her.
"Hey, Nathan," she said to him. "Let me guess, since I'm pissed at all of them except you, you've been sent to talk to me."
"Nah," he disagreed. "I volunteered."
"Ooh, charity," she said, sarcastically. "Well Lee and the others really let me down the other day. I'm not ready to forgive them just yet."
"Ali, please come to our party tonight. It's unofficially Lee's birthday party, and it would really mean alot to him if you came..." pleaded Nathan. "I'm begging you here, Ali."
"I... Nathan... if I tell you something... would you promise not to tell anyone? Not even Lee?"
Nathan could see even through his sunglasses that Ali was very serious. She looked like she was about to cry. He nodded slowly in agreement and Ali pushed him away from the classroom door and back behind a few lockers.
Nathan's sunglasses fell right off his face as his jaw literally hit the floor when Ali whispered something into his ear.
"WHAT?!"
- - -
Later that night, a bunch of cars lined the chilly streets of Tamur around Lee's house. Inside, a bunch of people had gathering in the living room, hallways and kitchen on the bottom floor, around thirty at least. There was loud music playing and lots of snacks and drinks. Some people were dancing in the living room, which had been cleared of furniture, while others were gathered around the surrounding areas, drinking and talking.
"Whee-oo! Happy birthday to Lee!" shouted Ace, sliding down the railing from the upstairs to the bottom floor. He flew right off it and smacked into the hallway wall. Earnest and Harold, along with a few other people, glanced down at him.
"Dude, that might not be good for your cerebellum..." said Harold to Ace.
"Yeah yeah, I'll cerebellum you," muttered Ace, walking away from him and into the kitchen. "Jerk."
Nathan was rummaging through the fridge, with Lee and Arik standing behind him.
"What do you guys want to drink?" asked Nathan. "Beer or Pepsi?"
"Beer. Duh," said Lee, as if Pepsi wasn't even an option. Nathan tossed a bottle at him and he caught it in mid air. "Thank god it's the weekend."
"What about you, Arik?"
"I'll just have Pepsi, thanks. You know how I feel about alcohol."
"Yeah, you're a wussy," said Ace, walking over and giving Arik a noogie. He took a beer from the fridge as Nathan closed it.
"James! Earnest! Get over here!" shouted Lee. Earnest left Harold and walked over, while James stopped chatting up a pretty blonde girl and headed in their general direction as well.
"Shall we make a toast?" asked Arik as the six of them gathered.
"This is to us! The dream team!" shouted Ace, raising his beer into the air. "Ain't no test, no Yami Chosen, no nothing ever gonna stop us!"
The other five held a similar salute and then the conversation turned serious for a second.
"We're missing a member of the dream team," observed Earnest, glancing around at the party. "Where is Alison?"
"Obviously, she has better things to do than hang out with us," replied Ace. "Lee, I don't know why you even bother with her when you could have that fine Amara chick instead."
"I... well..." began Lee, although he was hard pressed to find a response to that statement.
"Why don't you just shut up, Ace?" growled Nathan, annoyed. "Don't talk about things you know nothing about."
All five looked at him and he smiled innocently.
"What's with the sudden concern, Nathan?" inquired Lee, curiously.
"I--" began Nathan, but he stopped when he saw the door open. "What the-- why is Amara here?!"
"Yami Chosen have breached the sanctum!" hissed Earnest.
Earnest, Nathan, James and Ace turned to throw her out, but Lee stepped in front of them and held his arms open wide to block them.
"Don't!" he protested. "I kinda invited Tammy and her."
Tammy and Amara weren't the only girls who came in though, Tori was another recognizable one. Ace almost flipped.
"What the shiznit is Tori doing here then?! I don't want her in my house!"
"Guess she tagged along," said Lee. "Don't worry, even Tori isn't stupid enough to attack us in a room full of people. Just act like everything is normal, it's my birthday, remember?"
"Okay..." sighed Earnest, James, Ace and Nathan at once, wondering how many times Lee was gonna use that one today. The four of them left to go do their own thing again.
"They are still kids like us, with gifts like us. They just got theirs the wrong way," Arik said to Lee. Arik had been quietly sipping his Pepsi the entire time. "If we can make a friendly connection with them, maybe it will quell the fighting."
"Exactly. And they're hot."
"That too."
Tori left Amara and Tammy to go do something else, and the two girls walked into the kitchen to join Arik and Lee.
(Aren't you going to say hi?) projected Amara into his head.
Lee was too busy looking at Tammy. This was the first time he'd seen her outside of karate and she looked damn good wearing a black button-up shirt that was unbuttoned half the way, along with a matching skirt and boots.
"After seeing you so much in white, it's hard to picture you in black," said Lee to her.
"Just call me Ms. Domineering," replied Tammy, helping herself to the fridge. "Where's your pop?"
"Don't like beer either?" asked Arik.
"Nope."
"We should talk."
Arik and Tammy walked out of the kitchen, leaving Amara and Lee alone.
(Don't ignore me!) hissed Amara at him. Lee yelped a little, since the message hurt his head a bit.
"Hello, Amara. Find your way here, alright?" he asked, a little forced.
"Yeah I did," she replied sweetly. "I see Alison didn't make it."
"She'll show up."
"Give her until eleven. If not, you're mine."
Amara pointed at the clock, which read 10:00 PM and went to mingle with the crowd. Lee gulped nervously.
(I want Ali to show up more than anything in the world... but if she doesn't... I think it just might be over for us...)
- - -
Meanwhile, Tori had found her way upstairs, where no one was allowed except for going to the bathroom. Someone stumbled out of the bathroom and passed by Tori, but she gave him no notice. She was looking for something.
"Ugh... man... why is thinking so hard tonight?" she groaned, leaning against the hallway and massaging her temple. "Doesn't matter... I gotta do what I came here to do..."
She shook off the feverish feeling and pressed on, opening the door to Ace's room and looked around the messy chamber. She walked over to his dresser and fumbled through a pile of clothing until she found what she was looking for.
(Ace's D-Volver. Perfect. Say good-bye!!!)
She held it as far back as her arm would stretch and smashed the D-Volver against the wall with all her strength. But nothing happened. She frowned and bashed it off the wall repeatedly, but the stupid thing just wouldn't break!
(What? It should've broke! Looks like I'll have to find another method of destroying it... but it will be too suspicious if I stay here...)
Tori dashed across the hall into Lee's room and found his D-Volver, taking it as well. She glanced at the last bedroom upstairs.
(Yes, Nathan has a D-Volver too, doesn't he? Well I'll snatch that one as well... and then I know! I'll go throw them in the river!!! )
- - -
Downstairs at the party, Nathan, Tammy and Arik were busy cleaning up a broken lamp that someone smashed. It was 9:30 PM now and Lee was getting anxious waiting for Ali to arrive.
"She's going to come, Lee," James tried to reassure him. But Lee just wandered off to the kitchen. James rolled his eyes and followed Lee.
"Look, Ali knows that we didn't miss her concert on purpose. Maybe she was just acting angry to prove a point. I don't think she'd let you down on your birthday."
Lee sighed and glared at James.
"Go away James."
"Yeah okay," replied James, annoyed. "Happy birthday, loser."
Earnest and Harold were still standing in the hall with another kid from RTC, talking about cars, when Earnest saw Tori run downstairs and head for the door rather quickly. Ace was walking by and Earnest grabbed his arm and yanked him over.
"Ah! What do you want, Ernie?"
"Isn't she a Yami Chosen?" asked Earnest, pointing at Tori. Ace nodded as he watched Tori slip her shoes on and leave. "Well she just came down from upstairs and headed right for the door."
Ace glanced up the stairs in deep thought.
"What the hell would she be doing-oh no..." he gasped.
Ace dashed upstairs and noticed his door was open. He looked inside and saw his D-Volver was gone. His eyes widened and he ran downstairs, crashing into the hallway wall again and bolted out the door, grabbing a coat and his shoes on the way!
"Tori!!!" screamed Ace. "Get back here!!!"
Tori, already halfway down the street, heard Ace and took off as fast as she could. Ace caught a glimpse of her under a streetlamp and gave chase! Tori pulled out her Yami D-Volver and summoned Salamon to the area.
"Yes, Tori?"
"Take care of Ace. Shinka now!"
"Salamon Shinka... KAZEMON!!!"
The fairy warrior took to the air and flew up high so that Ace wouldn't be able to see her. Tori grinned and continued to run in the other direction. Ace continued to chase her, feeling he was catching up.
"Tori thinks she can outrun me! I guess after two months of track and field she hasn't learned her-aah!"
Ace was flung backwards onto the cement by a hurricane that shot out of nowhere! He glanced up to see Kazemon land on the pavement in front of him. The fairy smiled triumphantly and glared at him through her visor.
"Oh boy, it's Skankmon..."
"Your time is up, Ace," said Kazemon. "HURRICANE-"
"DIAMOND STORM!!!"
Kazemon was interrupted in her attack by dozens of small diamond shard that shot over Ace's head and smashed into her! She screamed before taking a tumble onto the street. Leila leapt over Ace as well, tackling Kazemon and rolling across the street with her.
"Ace! Get going!" shouted Earnest. "I'll handle things here!"
Ace nodded and left Earnest and Leila to fight Kazemon. He ran through an intersection and glanced around at the three other streets she could've run down.
"Should've known it wouldn't be that easy... now which way do I go?" he asked himself. He began rubbing his arms, since his was freezing out and glanced at the three possible routes Tori could've taken.
(D-Volvers aren't exactly easy to destroy by my recollection, so she'd probably have to fry them or dump them in water-- the river!)
Ace turned and ran down the left path from the intersection, praying that really was the route Tori took. He dashed past some people who were walking the other way and saw Tori waiting to cross the street at a crossing.
"I've got you now!"
"Ah! Shit!" she shouted. She ran across anyway, despite the light being red. Ace ran up and noticed she almost got hit about four times, so he decided to wait for the light to change.
(Come on... come ON... turn green!)
The light did as Ace commanded and he ran across as fast as he could. Up ahead, he could see light reflecting off the shimmering river that flowed near the outskirts of the city. Tori was still ahead of him though!
"Tori! Please stop!" he pleaded, as a last resort. She didn't listen and Ace noted similar behavior yesterday from Jeska. (I wonder if she has Shadow data in her...)
Ace knew there was a bridge ahead that went over the river and it led to central park, where they used to hang out back when they were in high school. They actually fought many evil chosen there. Ace needed a way to catch up to her!
Then he saw it, someone left their bike outside a general store when they went in to get groceries. He had no choice. He grabbed the bike as he ran by and leapt on it, peddling with all his might.
"Hey! Give me back my bike!" shouted a man's voice from behind him.
"I'll return it, don't worry!"
Ace was definitely gaining on Tori now, just as she was approaching the bridge. He biked up next to her and she glared at him.
"Give me those D-Volvers!" ordered Ace.
"Eat cement!" she growled back, attempting to push him off the bike. The bike began to wobble and Ace became unstable! So instead, he leapt off the bike and tackled Tori to the ground! He looked up and saw the bike fly over the bridge into the river.
"Man... did I ever cut that close..." he gasped, relieved.
"You're not out of hell yet!" she shouted.
She flipped over and kicked him right in the side of the head! He groaned and winced from the pain, but managed to snatch the three Hikari D-Volvers from her belt where she'd chained them. He fell back onto the wet grass, holding his head, but laughed triumphantly, showing her the D-Volvers he snatched.
"That what a nice try, Victoria. But you just can't win against me," said Ace. Tori laughed, almost evilly as she pulled herself off the wet grass.
"Hey kid! Where's my bike!?" shouted the man from the corner store, who had just caught up to them.
"Oh Ace, you're doomed and you don't even know it. Because now..." began Tori, sounding very devious. She pulled out her Yami D-Volver and pointed it at the man. "... become a Digimon!!!"
The man looked at her oddly, wondering what a 'Digimon' was... but then suddenly he began to clutch his ribs in pain and groan weakly. He staggered backwards and exploded in a shower of data... becoming... Myotismon!
"Dude! Is that a -- I've got to stop talking to Harold -- vampire!?" exclaimed Ace, backing away from Tori and Myotismon.
"Yes! It is! And now he'll kill you!" yelled Tori, laughing maniacally.
"Alright. I'm going to be running this way now."
Ace turned and dashed over the bridge into central park. The blonde vampire was still inspecting his new body when Tori ordered him to take off after Ace. Unlike Meramon and Ray, Myotismon listened to Tori and spread his cape, hovering into the air. Ace dashed in the mess of flora and fauna located in the park and Myotismon swooped down to look for him.
Ace dove to the ground and grabbed his D-Volver, bringing DemiTyrannomon to the area. DemiTyrannomon looked around, confused.
"Aw man, Ace. I was just eating!"
"I'm in big trouble, Demi! Can you sense any Shadow data around here?!"
DemiTyrannomon concentrated, his meal forgotten. After a moment, he nodded frantically.
"Yes, a lot more than we saw yesterday too!"
"That's what I was afraid of..."
- - -
Back at the party, Lee was leaning on the counter staring at the clock. It turned 9:45 and he gave a heaving sigh.
(I'm not actually going to have to go through with what Amara said... am I...?)
"Yo Lee! Where did Earnest and Ace go?" asked Nathan, walking into the kitchen. Lee shrugged.
"They probably just abandoned us like Alison did..." he sighed.
"Lee, there's something I think you should know..." began Nathan, but he was cut off as Tammy came running into the room. The blonde girl was grinning as she stared at Lee.
"Yes, Tammy?" asked Lee.
"Ali's here."
- - -
"GRISLY WING!!!"
Myotismon released a swarm of bats into the small cluster of trees in central park, hoping they would flush Ace out of there. Tori crossed the bridge and warped Kazemon to her location. Kazemon was panting and fairly beat up.
"Have fun with the fox girl?" asked Tori.
"Oh yeah. It was a blast," answered the fairy, sarcastically. She straightened her hair and looked at Tori. "What do I have to do now?"
"Help Myotismon destroy Ace," she ordered.
Myotismon glanced down at the forest, wondering why his bats hadn't done their job. He could hear them deleting in there, so he figured an opposing Digimon was the culprit. Then he heard some shouting.
"DemiTyrannomon Shinka... DRAGONMON!!!"
Dragonmon flew upwards out of the forest, directly at Myotismon, who braced himself for an attack. Dragonmon charged fire in his mouth as he charged the vampire lord.
"DRAGON INFERNO!!!" he bellowed, firing it directly at him. Myotismon simply dodged to the side and Dragonmon began to circle him, about to attack again.
"HURRICANE KICK!!!" yelled Kazemon, kicking him in the back! Dragonmon snarled from pain and flew forward in the air!
"Where the heck did she come from!?" exclaimed Ace, watching from his hiding spot in the forest. "Earnest didn't do his job after all!"
"CRIMSON LIGHTNING!!!"
Dragonmon was slashed across the face with the energy whip that Myotismon projected from his palm and sent plummeting into the ground of central park. He groaned as he left an imprint in the short soggy grass area. Ace gasped as both Myotismon and Kazemon closed in on him.
"No! Dragonmon! Go to Perfect!!!" he screamed, thrusting his D-Volver in his fallen partner's direction. Dragonmon began to glow, lighting up the night-covered park. Both Myotismon and Kazemon stopped in their flight, hovering above him to see what would happen next.
"What?" gasped Tori. "Ace can't have his Perfect form! He has to lose! I must win!"
"Dragonmon Shinka... METALDRAGONMON!!!"
The improved, armored Dragonmon leapt out of the dirt and flapped his metallic wings, propelling himself high into the air and positioning himself above Myotismon and Kazemon. They glanced up, startled by his appearance.
"AERIAL INFERNO!!!" he bellowed, blasting Kazemon with a large flame pillar and knocking her to the ground. Myotismon flew upwards and spread his cape.
"GRISLY WING!!!"
Myotismon sent dozens of bats at MetalDragonmon, but they didn't affect him at all. He simply opened his chest compartment and aimed at the vampire.
"DRAGON MISSILES!!!"
Myotismon was blasted dead-on and deleted. The man who was his host body appeared, unconscious and began to fall, but MetalDragonmon swooped in and caught him, setting him on the ground. Ace emerged from his hiding spot and face Tori, who was still at the other end of the park.
"Well, how was that Tori, you Shadow infested psycho?"
"This isn't over! If you can go Perfect, so can I!" she screamed, thrusting her D-Volver at Kazemon in the same fashion Ace did for Dragonmon.
Kazemon began to glow and evolved into another female humanoid Digimon, but this one appeared to be much stronger than her Adult incarnation.
"Kazemon Shinka... ZEPHYRMON!!!"
"Oh crap..." gasped Ace. "She's just as powerful as you!"
"No, Ace!" shouted MetalDragonmon back to him, standing his ground while facing off against Zephyrmon. "Since she's infused with Shadow data, she's FAR more powerful!"
"We're screwed then! There's no way we're going to survive this!!!"
- - -
Back at the party, Amara glared at Ali as she walked into Lee's house. Ali blew a raspberry at her and the girl with darker hair growled and left Lee's house in a huff.
(Tomorrow, Alison... tomorrow is your final day...) she thought to herself to cheer herself up.
Ali walked into the kitchen, where Lee, Nathan and Tammy were standing. She gave Lee a hug and he hugged her back.
"Ali... what's going on?" he asked. "You've been acting so strange lately..."
"I know where this is going..." muttered Nathan to himself. "Come on Tammy, let's go back to the party."
Nathan pushed Tammy out of the room and Lee looked down at Ali, who let go of him.
"Lee..." began Ali, not looking at him. She just kept staring at the floor, letting her hair hang over her face. Lee put his finger on her chin and lifted her face up so she was looking at him and she looked like she was going to cry.
"What? What is it...?" he asked softly.
"I'm pregnant," she finished, as quickly as possible to get it out of the way. Lee froze on the spot and stared at her.
"You mean: 'I'm pregnant, haha, just kidding, happy birthday!' ... right?"
She shook her head and for the first time in a long time, Lee felt like HE was about to cry.
- - -
TO BE CONTINUED...
She marched up to her room and unlocked with the turn of a key and looked in to see Crystalmon laying on her bed. The crystal cat's ears perked up as she heard Amara come in.
(Oh. Hello Amara.)
"What the hell, Crystalmon?!" exclaimed an angry Amara. "Why did you have Magemon become Lee and mess with my head?!"
(What makes you think I did?)
"Don't even start with lame-ass excuses! I can read your damn mind and you know what I said is true!" she screamed, slamming the door behind her. "I thought having a Digimon partner was about trust! Where the hell is the trust in you manipulating me?!"
(Amara, believe me, I would never hurt you. But you need to follow to objective better and I was hoping that would properly motivate you to kill Trainer. If we don't accomplish our mission, the scientists will dispose of me and the other Digimon partners.)
"Well I won't kill him," she huffed, although she understood Crystalmon's position. She didn't want anything to happen to her partner. "Someone else."
(His girlfriend is a Hikari Chosen. And she does not have her partner back yet. Nathan Klentz is also without a partner. Pick one of them.)
"Hmph. Do you even have to ask? Alison's head is mine on a platter."
- - -
"Happy birthday!" shouted Ace, running into Lee's room with Nathan first thing in the morning. "We made you a cake!"
"Huh? You did?" groaned Lee, sleepily. The blonde boy pulled his face out of his blue pillow and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Turning nineteen was a satisfying feeling at best, Lee knew it was only two years until he turned into a full adult.
"Yeah, here you go," said Nathan.
Lee felt a cupcake hit him in the face and grumbled as it peeled off of his cheek, leaving a sticky residue of chocolate on his cheek. He glared at Ace and Nathan.
"Was that really necessary?" he asked.
"Yeah, now here's eighteen more!" shouted Ace and Nathan, who proceeded to pelt Lee with cupcakes. He had to remember to get them back on their birthdays, but decided to just sit here and enjoy the chocolate shower.
- - -
Later, after Lee had showered and thrown his clothes and sheets in the wash, he went downstairs to join Nathan and Ace in the kitchen. Nathan was busy making a sandwich using everything in the fridge, while Ace was sitting at the kitchen table, reading a sports magazine.
"Hey... where are Kokuwamon and DemiTyrannomon?" asked Lee, curiously. He hadn't seen either of the two Child Digimon yet, which was funny, because they liked to break down the bathroom door while he was in the shower to scare the hell out of him.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Earnest's village actually LIKES Digimon! They think they're spirit creatures or something," began Ace. Lee raised an eyebrow at him.
"So they're at Earnest's village out in the forest?"
"Yeah. No worrying about anyone seeing them at the party tonight," said Ace, figuring his plan was ingenious. "They'll take good care of them."
"What happens if we get into trouble?"
"Then we call them here with the D-Volvers, duh."
"How do we get them back?" inquired Lee. "That's not exactly a short drive."
"Uhhh..." mumbled Ace. "That hasn't come to me yet."
"Does anything ever come to you?" asked Nathan, leaning against the counter and ripping a huge chunk of his sandwich off, devouring it.
"My hamster came to me once when I called it... of course then it died."
"So how's the party planning?" asked Lee.
"Great!" exclaimed Nathan in excited response. "Lots of people want to come since we're the only kids who have their house owned by the mayor. Meaning we have a huge house."
"And a hot tub," added in Ace. He was a great fan of the hot tub they had installed on the back porch. Mainly because he figured it was his perfect place to score.
"You're not going to get any action in that thing, Ace. It's freaking winter out," Lee stated.
"You got some in there!"
"That was from my GIRLFR-- err, did either of you invite Alison?" inquired Lee, cutting himself off in mid-speech. Ace and Nathan glanced at each other.
"I tried to speak to her today, but she slapped me," said Ace. "I think she's still bitter."
"She's not mad at me. I could ask her," offered Nathan.
"Please do," pleaded Lee. "And please tell her not to be mad at me, it wasn't our fault we missed her concert."
"Yes sir, Captain Suck up!"
"Oh, that's very mature, Nathan."
"I thought so," he replied, triumphantly finishing his sandwich. He had successfully burned both Ace and Lee, so it was time to go to school. "I'm taking your car."
"Alri-- hey, wait! I gotta go to karate practice! I'll drop you off on the way!"
Lee turned and chased Nathan out the door, while Ace just laughed at them from his seat at the kitchen table.
"Poor bastards and their sch-- oh crap. WAIT FOR ME!!!"
- - -
Tori Estrada was not a very happy girl in PE class today. She had successfully hit Coach Wilson with a basketball when he contradicted her and was forced to do fifty push-ups. She groaned as she performed the aforementioned task, wearing her white RTC t-shirt and green gym shorts.
"Thirty-seven.. urgh... thirty-eight..."
"Hey Tori, getting sweaty?" asked Ace, leaning over her. He couldn't see the reaction on her face, since it was covered by her brown and blonde- highlighted hair, but he knew he had successfully peeved her off.
Her only response was a swift fist to his groin, and she continued on to number forty as Ace crumpled like a paper towel.
"You're not messing around today..." groaned Ace, laying on the floor next to her. "Where's Amara?"
"Forty-four... she's at... forty-five... karate... forty-six.. you worm."
Ace knew that Lee got PE credit by attending Karate during this block, but Amara only went to karate sometimes and came to PE sometimes. He had no idea how that worked, nor did he care. What he wanted to know is why he had even tried to make conversation with Tori in the first place.
"... fifty!" she announced triumphantly, collapsing to the gym floor. She lay there, catching her breath and noticed that her sweat was soaking right through her T-shirt. Her hair was getting soaked as well.
"That looked like fun," said Ace.
"Shut up, Ace. I'm hitting the showers."
"Can I come?"
Tori got up and turned to walk off, but not before stepping on Ace's back, getting a satisfying crack before she left. She entered the change room and walked across the tiled floor, grabbing a towel on her way by. She disrobed and stepped into the inviting warm water of the shower.
(Stupid, egomaniacal, perverted... loser, she thought to herself, referring to Ace. I can't believe he even has the nerve to speak to me after the whole Yami/Hikari thing. He is kinda sweet, though...)
She shook her head, erasing the previous though from her memory and flapping water off of her wet hair at the same time.
(No! If I don't defeat him, the scientists might take Salamon away from me. I MUST defeat him!)
Tori stepped out of the beige shower stall and wrapped the towel of the same color around her breasts so that it dropped down to below her crotch. Wrapping it up tight enough so it wouldn't fall off, she walked back to the locker area and opened her PE locker. She grabbed her clothes, watch and D- Volver.
"Ow!" she hissed, dropping the D-Volver to the ground as she touched it. "What was that? A static shock?"
She glanced at it curiously and then decided to shrug it off as nothing as she went to get dressed, unaware she had just been infused with the largest amount of Shadow data yet...
- - -
At Lunn's karate school, Lee was practicing break-falls on the mats by himself. Two other boys were sparring at the other end of the sanctum, while Amara and Tammy were doing the same in another area. They were all wearing the white karate uniform of the Lunn dojo, and were allowed in to train even though Master Lunn was away.
"Only one day til the tournament... gotta practice..." mumbled Lee to himself, break-falling one more time before dropping to the mat. He decided that was enough for now and went to get a drink from his water bottle.
"Happy birthday, Lee!" shouted Tammy, jumping over to him and giving him a hug. He hugged the blonde girl back, although his thoughts were really focused on Alison right now.
(She's not going to come tonight, I know it...)
"Thanks Tammy," he said, distracted. Amara walked over to them, her hands behind her back and smiling innocently. Her dark brown hair definitely stood out in her white karate uniform.
"Hey Amara, aren't you gonna say happy birthday to Lee too?" asked Tammy. Amara rolled her eyes. Tammy may have been her only friend since she was ten, and her only other friend right now was Tori... but Tammy could still be really annoying to her.
Amara walked over to Lee, who smiled nervously. He was still uncomfortable being around her since she was a Yami Chosen.
"Here's your present, birthday boy," she whispered into his ear. "I'm gonna go to your party tonight... and if your neglecting girlfriend doesn't show up, I'll give you the good time she should have."
She gave him a quick peck on the cheek and walked away with Tammy, the two of them giggling like... well... girls. Lee rubbed his cheek where she kissed him.
(Okay, that was strange. I know she can read my mind and all... but I hate when she pries into my personal thoughts like that... Ali will come. I know it.)
- - -
Nathan glanced around the halls of RTC, wearing sunglasses as was his new idea for no one would see his black eyes. He had been searching for Ali for a good thirty minutes, completely forgetting what class she had at the moment.
(Did she have web designing or literature...? What the heck did Lee tell me? I can't remember!)
He went and peeked into the computer lab, and saw her in there, front row. She glanced up, seeing him and he waved and motioned for her to come hither.
"Mr. Hedge, may I be excused for a second?" asked the brown haired girl. Unlike the other girls, Ali didn't care much for dressing fancy to impress people at school. The most expensive things she had on was the necklace and ring Lee had gave her.
"Hey, Nathan," she said to him. "Let me guess, since I'm pissed at all of them except you, you've been sent to talk to me."
"Nah," he disagreed. "I volunteered."
"Ooh, charity," she said, sarcastically. "Well Lee and the others really let me down the other day. I'm not ready to forgive them just yet."
"Ali, please come to our party tonight. It's unofficially Lee's birthday party, and it would really mean alot to him if you came..." pleaded Nathan. "I'm begging you here, Ali."
"I... Nathan... if I tell you something... would you promise not to tell anyone? Not even Lee?"
Nathan could see even through his sunglasses that Ali was very serious. She looked like she was about to cry. He nodded slowly in agreement and Ali pushed him away from the classroom door and back behind a few lockers.
Nathan's sunglasses fell right off his face as his jaw literally hit the floor when Ali whispered something into his ear.
"WHAT?!"
- - -
Later that night, a bunch of cars lined the chilly streets of Tamur around Lee's house. Inside, a bunch of people had gathering in the living room, hallways and kitchen on the bottom floor, around thirty at least. There was loud music playing and lots of snacks and drinks. Some people were dancing in the living room, which had been cleared of furniture, while others were gathered around the surrounding areas, drinking and talking.
"Whee-oo! Happy birthday to Lee!" shouted Ace, sliding down the railing from the upstairs to the bottom floor. He flew right off it and smacked into the hallway wall. Earnest and Harold, along with a few other people, glanced down at him.
"Dude, that might not be good for your cerebellum..." said Harold to Ace.
"Yeah yeah, I'll cerebellum you," muttered Ace, walking away from him and into the kitchen. "Jerk."
Nathan was rummaging through the fridge, with Lee and Arik standing behind him.
"What do you guys want to drink?" asked Nathan. "Beer or Pepsi?"
"Beer. Duh," said Lee, as if Pepsi wasn't even an option. Nathan tossed a bottle at him and he caught it in mid air. "Thank god it's the weekend."
"What about you, Arik?"
"I'll just have Pepsi, thanks. You know how I feel about alcohol."
"Yeah, you're a wussy," said Ace, walking over and giving Arik a noogie. He took a beer from the fridge as Nathan closed it.
"James! Earnest! Get over here!" shouted Lee. Earnest left Harold and walked over, while James stopped chatting up a pretty blonde girl and headed in their general direction as well.
"Shall we make a toast?" asked Arik as the six of them gathered.
"This is to us! The dream team!" shouted Ace, raising his beer into the air. "Ain't no test, no Yami Chosen, no nothing ever gonna stop us!"
The other five held a similar salute and then the conversation turned serious for a second.
"We're missing a member of the dream team," observed Earnest, glancing around at the party. "Where is Alison?"
"Obviously, she has better things to do than hang out with us," replied Ace. "Lee, I don't know why you even bother with her when you could have that fine Amara chick instead."
"I... well..." began Lee, although he was hard pressed to find a response to that statement.
"Why don't you just shut up, Ace?" growled Nathan, annoyed. "Don't talk about things you know nothing about."
All five looked at him and he smiled innocently.
"What's with the sudden concern, Nathan?" inquired Lee, curiously.
"I--" began Nathan, but he stopped when he saw the door open. "What the-- why is Amara here?!"
"Yami Chosen have breached the sanctum!" hissed Earnest.
Earnest, Nathan, James and Ace turned to throw her out, but Lee stepped in front of them and held his arms open wide to block them.
"Don't!" he protested. "I kinda invited Tammy and her."
Tammy and Amara weren't the only girls who came in though, Tori was another recognizable one. Ace almost flipped.
"What the shiznit is Tori doing here then?! I don't want her in my house!"
"Guess she tagged along," said Lee. "Don't worry, even Tori isn't stupid enough to attack us in a room full of people. Just act like everything is normal, it's my birthday, remember?"
"Okay..." sighed Earnest, James, Ace and Nathan at once, wondering how many times Lee was gonna use that one today. The four of them left to go do their own thing again.
"They are still kids like us, with gifts like us. They just got theirs the wrong way," Arik said to Lee. Arik had been quietly sipping his Pepsi the entire time. "If we can make a friendly connection with them, maybe it will quell the fighting."
"Exactly. And they're hot."
"That too."
Tori left Amara and Tammy to go do something else, and the two girls walked into the kitchen to join Arik and Lee.
(Aren't you going to say hi?) projected Amara into his head.
Lee was too busy looking at Tammy. This was the first time he'd seen her outside of karate and she looked damn good wearing a black button-up shirt that was unbuttoned half the way, along with a matching skirt and boots.
"After seeing you so much in white, it's hard to picture you in black," said Lee to her.
"Just call me Ms. Domineering," replied Tammy, helping herself to the fridge. "Where's your pop?"
"Don't like beer either?" asked Arik.
"Nope."
"We should talk."
Arik and Tammy walked out of the kitchen, leaving Amara and Lee alone.
(Don't ignore me!) hissed Amara at him. Lee yelped a little, since the message hurt his head a bit.
"Hello, Amara. Find your way here, alright?" he asked, a little forced.
"Yeah I did," she replied sweetly. "I see Alison didn't make it."
"She'll show up."
"Give her until eleven. If not, you're mine."
Amara pointed at the clock, which read 10:00 PM and went to mingle with the crowd. Lee gulped nervously.
(I want Ali to show up more than anything in the world... but if she doesn't... I think it just might be over for us...)
- - -
Meanwhile, Tori had found her way upstairs, where no one was allowed except for going to the bathroom. Someone stumbled out of the bathroom and passed by Tori, but she gave him no notice. She was looking for something.
"Ugh... man... why is thinking so hard tonight?" she groaned, leaning against the hallway and massaging her temple. "Doesn't matter... I gotta do what I came here to do..."
She shook off the feverish feeling and pressed on, opening the door to Ace's room and looked around the messy chamber. She walked over to his dresser and fumbled through a pile of clothing until she found what she was looking for.
(Ace's D-Volver. Perfect. Say good-bye!!!)
She held it as far back as her arm would stretch and smashed the D-Volver against the wall with all her strength. But nothing happened. She frowned and bashed it off the wall repeatedly, but the stupid thing just wouldn't break!
(What? It should've broke! Looks like I'll have to find another method of destroying it... but it will be too suspicious if I stay here...)
Tori dashed across the hall into Lee's room and found his D-Volver, taking it as well. She glanced at the last bedroom upstairs.
(Yes, Nathan has a D-Volver too, doesn't he? Well I'll snatch that one as well... and then I know! I'll go throw them in the river!!! )
- - -
Downstairs at the party, Nathan, Tammy and Arik were busy cleaning up a broken lamp that someone smashed. It was 9:30 PM now and Lee was getting anxious waiting for Ali to arrive.
"She's going to come, Lee," James tried to reassure him. But Lee just wandered off to the kitchen. James rolled his eyes and followed Lee.
"Look, Ali knows that we didn't miss her concert on purpose. Maybe she was just acting angry to prove a point. I don't think she'd let you down on your birthday."
Lee sighed and glared at James.
"Go away James."
"Yeah okay," replied James, annoyed. "Happy birthday, loser."
Earnest and Harold were still standing in the hall with another kid from RTC, talking about cars, when Earnest saw Tori run downstairs and head for the door rather quickly. Ace was walking by and Earnest grabbed his arm and yanked him over.
"Ah! What do you want, Ernie?"
"Isn't she a Yami Chosen?" asked Earnest, pointing at Tori. Ace nodded as he watched Tori slip her shoes on and leave. "Well she just came down from upstairs and headed right for the door."
Ace glanced up the stairs in deep thought.
"What the hell would she be doing-oh no..." he gasped.
Ace dashed upstairs and noticed his door was open. He looked inside and saw his D-Volver was gone. His eyes widened and he ran downstairs, crashing into the hallway wall again and bolted out the door, grabbing a coat and his shoes on the way!
"Tori!!!" screamed Ace. "Get back here!!!"
Tori, already halfway down the street, heard Ace and took off as fast as she could. Ace caught a glimpse of her under a streetlamp and gave chase! Tori pulled out her Yami D-Volver and summoned Salamon to the area.
"Yes, Tori?"
"Take care of Ace. Shinka now!"
"Salamon Shinka... KAZEMON!!!"
The fairy warrior took to the air and flew up high so that Ace wouldn't be able to see her. Tori grinned and continued to run in the other direction. Ace continued to chase her, feeling he was catching up.
"Tori thinks she can outrun me! I guess after two months of track and field she hasn't learned her-aah!"
Ace was flung backwards onto the cement by a hurricane that shot out of nowhere! He glanced up to see Kazemon land on the pavement in front of him. The fairy smiled triumphantly and glared at him through her visor.
"Oh boy, it's Skankmon..."
"Your time is up, Ace," said Kazemon. "HURRICANE-"
"DIAMOND STORM!!!"
Kazemon was interrupted in her attack by dozens of small diamond shard that shot over Ace's head and smashed into her! She screamed before taking a tumble onto the street. Leila leapt over Ace as well, tackling Kazemon and rolling across the street with her.
"Ace! Get going!" shouted Earnest. "I'll handle things here!"
Ace nodded and left Earnest and Leila to fight Kazemon. He ran through an intersection and glanced around at the three other streets she could've run down.
"Should've known it wouldn't be that easy... now which way do I go?" he asked himself. He began rubbing his arms, since his was freezing out and glanced at the three possible routes Tori could've taken.
(D-Volvers aren't exactly easy to destroy by my recollection, so she'd probably have to fry them or dump them in water-- the river!)
Ace turned and ran down the left path from the intersection, praying that really was the route Tori took. He dashed past some people who were walking the other way and saw Tori waiting to cross the street at a crossing.
"I've got you now!"
"Ah! Shit!" she shouted. She ran across anyway, despite the light being red. Ace ran up and noticed she almost got hit about four times, so he decided to wait for the light to change.
(Come on... come ON... turn green!)
The light did as Ace commanded and he ran across as fast as he could. Up ahead, he could see light reflecting off the shimmering river that flowed near the outskirts of the city. Tori was still ahead of him though!
"Tori! Please stop!" he pleaded, as a last resort. She didn't listen and Ace noted similar behavior yesterday from Jeska. (I wonder if she has Shadow data in her...)
Ace knew there was a bridge ahead that went over the river and it led to central park, where they used to hang out back when they were in high school. They actually fought many evil chosen there. Ace needed a way to catch up to her!
Then he saw it, someone left their bike outside a general store when they went in to get groceries. He had no choice. He grabbed the bike as he ran by and leapt on it, peddling with all his might.
"Hey! Give me back my bike!" shouted a man's voice from behind him.
"I'll return it, don't worry!"
Ace was definitely gaining on Tori now, just as she was approaching the bridge. He biked up next to her and she glared at him.
"Give me those D-Volvers!" ordered Ace.
"Eat cement!" she growled back, attempting to push him off the bike. The bike began to wobble and Ace became unstable! So instead, he leapt off the bike and tackled Tori to the ground! He looked up and saw the bike fly over the bridge into the river.
"Man... did I ever cut that close..." he gasped, relieved.
"You're not out of hell yet!" she shouted.
She flipped over and kicked him right in the side of the head! He groaned and winced from the pain, but managed to snatch the three Hikari D-Volvers from her belt where she'd chained them. He fell back onto the wet grass, holding his head, but laughed triumphantly, showing her the D-Volvers he snatched.
"That what a nice try, Victoria. But you just can't win against me," said Ace. Tori laughed, almost evilly as she pulled herself off the wet grass.
"Hey kid! Where's my bike!?" shouted the man from the corner store, who had just caught up to them.
"Oh Ace, you're doomed and you don't even know it. Because now..." began Tori, sounding very devious. She pulled out her Yami D-Volver and pointed it at the man. "... become a Digimon!!!"
The man looked at her oddly, wondering what a 'Digimon' was... but then suddenly he began to clutch his ribs in pain and groan weakly. He staggered backwards and exploded in a shower of data... becoming... Myotismon!
"Dude! Is that a -- I've got to stop talking to Harold -- vampire!?" exclaimed Ace, backing away from Tori and Myotismon.
"Yes! It is! And now he'll kill you!" yelled Tori, laughing maniacally.
"Alright. I'm going to be running this way now."
Ace turned and dashed over the bridge into central park. The blonde vampire was still inspecting his new body when Tori ordered him to take off after Ace. Unlike Meramon and Ray, Myotismon listened to Tori and spread his cape, hovering into the air. Ace dashed in the mess of flora and fauna located in the park and Myotismon swooped down to look for him.
Ace dove to the ground and grabbed his D-Volver, bringing DemiTyrannomon to the area. DemiTyrannomon looked around, confused.
"Aw man, Ace. I was just eating!"
"I'm in big trouble, Demi! Can you sense any Shadow data around here?!"
DemiTyrannomon concentrated, his meal forgotten. After a moment, he nodded frantically.
"Yes, a lot more than we saw yesterday too!"
"That's what I was afraid of..."
- - -
Back at the party, Lee was leaning on the counter staring at the clock. It turned 9:45 and he gave a heaving sigh.
(I'm not actually going to have to go through with what Amara said... am I...?)
"Yo Lee! Where did Earnest and Ace go?" asked Nathan, walking into the kitchen. Lee shrugged.
"They probably just abandoned us like Alison did..." he sighed.
"Lee, there's something I think you should know..." began Nathan, but he was cut off as Tammy came running into the room. The blonde girl was grinning as she stared at Lee.
"Yes, Tammy?" asked Lee.
"Ali's here."
- - -
"GRISLY WING!!!"
Myotismon released a swarm of bats into the small cluster of trees in central park, hoping they would flush Ace out of there. Tori crossed the bridge and warped Kazemon to her location. Kazemon was panting and fairly beat up.
"Have fun with the fox girl?" asked Tori.
"Oh yeah. It was a blast," answered the fairy, sarcastically. She straightened her hair and looked at Tori. "What do I have to do now?"
"Help Myotismon destroy Ace," she ordered.
Myotismon glanced down at the forest, wondering why his bats hadn't done their job. He could hear them deleting in there, so he figured an opposing Digimon was the culprit. Then he heard some shouting.
"DemiTyrannomon Shinka... DRAGONMON!!!"
Dragonmon flew upwards out of the forest, directly at Myotismon, who braced himself for an attack. Dragonmon charged fire in his mouth as he charged the vampire lord.
"DRAGON INFERNO!!!" he bellowed, firing it directly at him. Myotismon simply dodged to the side and Dragonmon began to circle him, about to attack again.
"HURRICANE KICK!!!" yelled Kazemon, kicking him in the back! Dragonmon snarled from pain and flew forward in the air!
"Where the heck did she come from!?" exclaimed Ace, watching from his hiding spot in the forest. "Earnest didn't do his job after all!"
"CRIMSON LIGHTNING!!!"
Dragonmon was slashed across the face with the energy whip that Myotismon projected from his palm and sent plummeting into the ground of central park. He groaned as he left an imprint in the short soggy grass area. Ace gasped as both Myotismon and Kazemon closed in on him.
"No! Dragonmon! Go to Perfect!!!" he screamed, thrusting his D-Volver in his fallen partner's direction. Dragonmon began to glow, lighting up the night-covered park. Both Myotismon and Kazemon stopped in their flight, hovering above him to see what would happen next.
"What?" gasped Tori. "Ace can't have his Perfect form! He has to lose! I must win!"
"Dragonmon Shinka... METALDRAGONMON!!!"
The improved, armored Dragonmon leapt out of the dirt and flapped his metallic wings, propelling himself high into the air and positioning himself above Myotismon and Kazemon. They glanced up, startled by his appearance.
"AERIAL INFERNO!!!" he bellowed, blasting Kazemon with a large flame pillar and knocking her to the ground. Myotismon flew upwards and spread his cape.
"GRISLY WING!!!"
Myotismon sent dozens of bats at MetalDragonmon, but they didn't affect him at all. He simply opened his chest compartment and aimed at the vampire.
"DRAGON MISSILES!!!"
Myotismon was blasted dead-on and deleted. The man who was his host body appeared, unconscious and began to fall, but MetalDragonmon swooped in and caught him, setting him on the ground. Ace emerged from his hiding spot and face Tori, who was still at the other end of the park.
"Well, how was that Tori, you Shadow infested psycho?"
"This isn't over! If you can go Perfect, so can I!" she screamed, thrusting her D-Volver at Kazemon in the same fashion Ace did for Dragonmon.
Kazemon began to glow and evolved into another female humanoid Digimon, but this one appeared to be much stronger than her Adult incarnation.
"Kazemon Shinka... ZEPHYRMON!!!"
"Oh crap..." gasped Ace. "She's just as powerful as you!"
"No, Ace!" shouted MetalDragonmon back to him, standing his ground while facing off against Zephyrmon. "Since she's infused with Shadow data, she's FAR more powerful!"
"We're screwed then! There's no way we're going to survive this!!!"
- - -
Back at the party, Amara glared at Ali as she walked into Lee's house. Ali blew a raspberry at her and the girl with darker hair growled and left Lee's house in a huff.
(Tomorrow, Alison... tomorrow is your final day...) she thought to herself to cheer herself up.
Ali walked into the kitchen, where Lee, Nathan and Tammy were standing. She gave Lee a hug and he hugged her back.
"Ali... what's going on?" he asked. "You've been acting so strange lately..."
"I know where this is going..." muttered Nathan to himself. "Come on Tammy, let's go back to the party."
Nathan pushed Tammy out of the room and Lee looked down at Ali, who let go of him.
"Lee..." began Ali, not looking at him. She just kept staring at the floor, letting her hair hang over her face. Lee put his finger on her chin and lifted her face up so she was looking at him and she looked like she was going to cry.
"What? What is it...?" he asked softly.
"I'm pregnant," she finished, as quickly as possible to get it out of the way. Lee froze on the spot and stared at her.
"You mean: 'I'm pregnant, haha, just kidding, happy birthday!' ... right?"
She shook her head and for the first time in a long time, Lee felt like HE was about to cry.
- - -
TO BE CONTINUED...