Ooh…freaky. Ahem. Um, Digimon's not my property and lots of other piddly crap. Muahahaha.

Next Generation:…And So It Begins (Again)

CHAPTER ELEVEN: ULTIMATUM

Lee tore the note out of Lauren's hand and tossed it violently into the fire. "Never mind her," she said tersely. "We'll get her back for this. Just watch."

Starymon tugged at Lee's arm. ""Um, when are we gonna do that, Lee?" she asked.

She sighed. "I don't know. We're in the middle of a barren desert in Kai right now. It'll take awhile. Plus, Lauren and Hikaru and Jenna have been sick. We just can't rush off until they've regained their strength."

"What are you talking about, Lee? I'm perfectly fine!" Hikaru said, sounding highly affronted.

Kiko shook his head. "You know, I think she's right," he said. "Maybe we should stay here for a little while longer."

"I agree," Holly said. "All in favor of not leaving for Server tomorrow?"

"Aye!" most of them yelled.

"All opposed?"

"Nay!" Hikaru, Jenna, Lauren and Kinaka called out.

"The ayes have it. Too bad," Holly grinned.

She was curled up on Gennai's old ripped-up sofa, her mind in utter turmoil. She was once again in her human body.

Who am I? I am Sabinemon, the Princess of Darkness. I am the daughter of LadyDevimon and Makaramon. I am Sabrina O'Reilley Ishida. I am a Digimon. I am a human. I am all these things.

But which is truly myself?

She didn't know anymore.

How long has it been since I left my home? How long has it been since I last saw my family? It's been over a thousand years since I last saw my parents, and it's been at least a century since I saw my siblings, or my own children.

She let out a cry and slammed her fist into one of the pillows on the sofa, tears slipping down her cheeks. MetalDevimon was my brother…my husband…the only one I could truly call my friend. And now he's gone. MaloMyotismon, Piedmon, Puppetmon, MetalSeadramon and Machinedramon were killed almost thirty years ago, my poor babies. And Kinaka…that girl doesn't even know how powerful she really is, or how strong she could be if she just let me near her…Damn it all! She's the only thing I have left in the Digital World and she's pushing me away!

She finally dried her eyes and got up. If she doesn't want me, then I don't want her, she decided. If she won't be my daughter, then I am no longer her mother. If she refuses me again, well, she's not going to be around much longer. I'll see to that.

"Are you sure you're all right, Jenna?" Tina asked Lauren for the fifty millionth time.

"I'm FINE!" Lauren bellowed. In a milder tone, she added, "Tina, I'm perfectly healthy. No stupid fever is gonna keep me down!"

"I feel a heck of a lot better than I did a couple of days ago," Jenna added, arms crossed over her chest. "Are we gonna get moving soon or what?"

"Let's just go already!" Hikaru said tersely.

Kim doused the fire, and they began their journey back to Server.

It was about noon when they stopped, near a tranquil lake. Kiko and Mike had been complaining for about an hour about how hungry they were, and their sisters were getting more than a little pissed off.

Chris took this opportunity to show off his culinary mastery. While Mike and Kiko chased eachother to keep their minds off their hunger, he began to prepare a lunch of fried fish and fruit.

Hikaru wandered over to where he was, and surveyed the food. "Looks good, Chris," she commented. "And it smells even better!"

He grinned at her. "I'm almost done," he said, poking at a fillet on the makeshift spit. "It may not be gourmet, but it beats starving to death."

"No kidding!" she laughed. She reached out to sneak a piece of freshly-cooked fish, but burned her fingers. "Ouch!"

Chris laughed and flipped the last piece out of the fire. "Maybe you should have waited," he teased her.

Jenna ambled over and broke off a piece of hot fish. "Argh! Hot! Hot! Hot!" she squeaked. She stuffed the piece in her mouth anyway and walked off.

"Call the others for lunch, will you?" Hikaru called after her.

After lunch, they all sat around talking.

"That was delicious," Deanna sighed. "Mom used to make swordfish in chuckieberry batter, but that meal just beats the hell out of her recipe!"

"I learned from my dad," Chris said, shrugging. "Not much to it."

"Great grub!" Kiko piped up. He and Mike had probably eaten the most.

Hikaru groaned. "Kiko, you little pig! You ate at least five pieces more than me!"

"No, he didn't," Kim put in. "I ate maybe six pieces more than him!" She ducked as Lee tossed a fish tail at her.

"It was good anyway," Lee tacked on. "As soon as you guys are ready, we'll go again. OK?"

"OK," everyone agreed.

Izzy's brow was furrowed as he stared at the computer screen. "I don't understand," he said, sounding perplexed. "They haven't talked to us in almost two days."

Yolei was wringing her hands. "What if something terrible has happened? What if they're all sick now?" she wailed.

"Don't talk like that," Kari said sharply. She was holding Tania, who was starting to fuss.

"Hey, our kids are fine," Davis tried to reassure everyone. "I know they are. Maybe the laptop ran out of batteries."

"Davis, stop thinking before your brain curls up and dies," Jun groaned.

"You know, he's right," Tai said. "I'm sure they're OK."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Kim screamed. "What the hell is that?"

She pointed into the slowly darkening sky. A large black mass of something was headed their way, buzzing loudly. It didn't look too good.

As the black mass came closer, it became clearer and clearer. Separate bodies began to become visible. Soon, the kids could see a whole swarm of red-and-yellow striped bodies with huge wings and gigantic stingers.

"What are those things?" Kiko yelped.

"They're Flymon," Pikkimon said darkly. "I can't tell which end is worse, their fronts or their backs."

"Why? What do they do?" Kinaka asked.

Auroramon's ears were flattened against her head. "They're very easily influenced to evil, so they can be hired as assassins with little difficulty. If they bite you, you're poisoned, and dead within an hour. If they sting you, you're dead. Either way, you're screwed."

"Who cares? Let's kick some ass!" Leon said. Fangmon nodded in agreement.

The first line of Flymon swooped down on them. "Ground Stingers!" they all yelled. Darts shot from their back ends, narrowly missing them all. The darts buried themselves into the ground.

"All right, you asked for it. Pikkimon digivolve to…Ditramon!"

One by one, the little Rookies digivolved to the champion level.

"Crimson Fire!" Faeradramon cried out. Flames shot out of her mouth and completely incinerated a whole pack of Flymon.

"Light Blade!" Kenkamon yelled. From his katana, a shaft of bright silver light slashed across the sky. About a dozen Flymon were sliced in half.

"Freezing Hail!" Iceamon shouted. A huge hailstorm came out of nowhere and pummeled the Flymon.

It didn't take very long for them to wipe the Flymon out.

"This is great and all, but I don't get it. Why did they attack us?" Kim asked.

Kinaka suddenly went pale. "I think they were a little warning," she said through clenched teeth. "Look up there."

Sabinemon herself was flying in, her eyes glowing red. "Hello again!" she called to them. "I guess I missed the party! But now that I'm here, we can have some real fun. Come here, boys." She pointed straight at Kiko and Mike.

The two little boys were propelled forward by some unseen force, straight into the air. Sabinemon grabbed them both by the arms and smirked.

Kiko yelled in terror. "Hikaru! Spartimon! Help me!" he cried out. His big amber eyes were wide. "I'm scared of high places!"

Mike was also yelling. "Kenkamon! Lauren! Tinaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!" he cried. Big fat tears were rolling down his chubby cheeks. "I'm scared up here! Someone get me down!"

Sabinemon only laughed. "Oh, you poor little boys," she said in a soft voice. "I know how scared you must be. How about this? If Kinaka says I can take her instead of you, I'll let you down."

"What? Go with you?" Kinaka cried in outrage.

"Think it over," Sabinemon said glibly. She muttered a few words in a language none of them recognised, and suddenly Mike and Kiko began to retch.

"I don't feel so good," Kiko moaned.

As if on cue, both boys began to vomit bright red blood. It splashed to the ground, right at Kinaka's feet. She jumped back, screaming in horror.

"Need a little more convincing?" the evil Digimon said sweetly. She pointed at Leon, who doubled over and clutched at his head where his scar was.

"Argh!" he yelled. "My head! It's gonna split open!"

"Ha ha ha ha ha!" Sabinemon cackled. "That's only the beginning! Black Plague!"

A swarm of black data blossomed out of the amulet that she wore. The data enveloped all the Digidestined, except for Kinaka.

"AAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!" Holly screamed, as huge black rashes appeared all over her skin.

"It itches!" Lee moaned. She, too, was covered in rashes. So was everyone else.

"What are you doing to them?" Kinaka screamed. "Stop it!"

Above her, Mike and Kiko were still spewing blood. Between the blood, the cries of the others, and the way Sabinemon was laughing at them, it was completely unbearable.

"Their lives or yours," Sabinemon said from above her. Her dark eyes were glittering maliciously.

"STOP IT!" Kinaka screamed. Her Crest, as well as Iceamon, were glowing with bright green light as she faced her mother.

"You bitch!" she spat out. "I can't believe you're actually my mother! How could someone who was so sweet and kind when I was a kid be so cold-hearted now? How could I share blood with you when I am nothing like you? We might look alike, but that's as far as the similarities go. Look at you! Look at what you made of yourself! I'm not all clean and immaculate or anything, but at least I haven't been torturing innocent Digimon and killing them! At least I didn't completely desert my daughter and husband to marry my half-brother! You deserted me, and that alone is enough to make me want to tear your miserable hide apart! You've made so many people feel pain and suffering, and for that, you are going to pay. You claimed lives, and now, I come to claim yours!"

She stopped for a moment, breathing heavily, with her Crest glowing fiercely on her chest. It had sounded like she'd been waiting for a long time to say what she had just said. Everyone watched her, forgetting their pain for a second, to see what she would do next.

Finally, after a long time, she cried out, "Iceamon! GET HER!"

But she wasn't Iceamon anymore. Instead, a humanoid woman with dark blue skin stood there. She wore white fur clothes and silver jewelry around her neck, wrists and ankles. Green light, like the light from Kinaka's Crest, was shining around her.

"Who…who are you?" Kinaka asked, stunned.

"I am Shidracamon," the woman answered. "I'm an Ultimate-level Digimon. You helped me digivolve, Kinaka."

Kinaka was at a loss for words. "I…I…you…I mean…wow," she stammered, looking completely astounded. "You're pretty cool."

"Damn straight! Now do you want me to fight that loser or what?" Shidracamon asked her.

"Are you kidding me? GO!"

Shidracamon rose in the air. "What are the rest of you waiting for? Help me out!" she called to the other Digimon.

"OK! Planamon digivolve to…Sunamon!" Sunamon was twice as large as Planamon, bright yellow, and had huge red eyes. Lee cheered as her Digimon rose in the air and joined Shidracamon.

"Bukaramon digivolve to…MegaBukaramon!" MegaBukaramon was an angel with a long cat's tail. She was dressed in yellow, orange and pink.

Lauren let out a shrill whistle. "Kick her ass, MegaBukaramon!"

"Darkmon digivolve to…Evilmon!" Evilmon was a huge, scaly black dragon with four wings. As Leon watched in amazement, Evilmon let out a blast of flames from his mouth and roared.

"Purzinmon digivolve to…MegaPurzinmon!" MegaPurzinmon was a golden lion standing on two legs, with a staff in her hand and big red eyes.

"Whoo! Let's kick some boo-tay!" Hikaru yelled.

"Thigermon digivolve to…Thungermon!" Thungermon was a massive reptile/tiger, with blue reptile skin, red dragon wings, gray stripes and green eyes.

"Kimmimon digivolve to…Taigamon!" Taigamon was a gigantic black and white tiger.

"Faeradramon digivolve to…Sylphdramon!" Sylphdramon was a dark blue and green dragon with six wings. She had a single green emerald between her eyes.

"Wolfmon digivolve to…Feralmon!" Feralmon looked about the same as Wolfmon, only she was standing up and she was now wearing chains around her neck and had a hand cannon.

"Psymon digivolve to…Ultra-Psymon!" Ultra-Psymon was a black angel, with large black bat wings, claws, and a visor. On the visor was Chris's Crest symbol.

"Entrancedmon digivolve to…Imbuemon!" Imbuemon looked like a pixie. She was purple and blue, with a green face and a visor that covered only one eye. The eye that was showing was bright florescent green.

"Spartimon digivolve to…Nimbumon!" Nimbumon was an angel (think in terms of MagnaAngemon) with a golden breastplate bearing the Crest of Destiny. He had two huge golden wings, and a nimbus of gold and silver light over his head. His headgear was silver.

"Ditramon digivolve to…StarLuprimon!" StarLuprimon was only slightly taller than Jenna was, with dark blue fur that had yellow stars in it. She wore a long purple cloak.

"Kenkamon digivolve to…Toromon!" Toromon was a tall, humanoid man with green skin and long dark-blue hair. He was dressed like a samurai and wielded a lightsabre.

"Digimon, front and center!" Lee yelled. "ATTACK!!"

They didn't need to br told. They immediately sprang into action.

Toromon and Nimbumon went for Sabinemon first. She still had Kiko and Mike in the air with her. Both little boys had turned faintly green.

"Let our partners go!" Nimbumon roared.

"I don't think so," she sneered.

"Have it your way then. Samurai Blade!"

"Wings of Heaven!"

Sabinemon dropped Kiko and Mike, gasping as she clutched her stomach. They were quickly caught by their Digimon, who brought them to the ground before resuming the battle.

"Kiko!" Hikaru cried, hugging her little brother. "Oh my God, I thought she had you for good there!"

He closed his eyes. "Hikaru, I'm not feeling so good," he said weakly.

Beside them, Mike was being fussed over by his sisters.

Above them all, the battle was raging fiercely. Sabinemon was holding her own quite well, even with 14 Ultimate-level Digimon attempting to wipe the floor with her.

"Shadow Wind!" Evilmon roared. Jet-black flames issued from his jaws.

"Sun's Heat!" Sunamon yelled. Flames danced around her, and she shot them straight into Sabinemon's face.

"Cupid's Arrow!" MegaBukaramon cried out. Long, deadly arrows flew out of her cat's tail.

"Tiger Tornado!" Thungermon growled. She spun around, and a blue tornado hurtled toward Sabinemon, knocking her over.

"Lion's Pride!" MegaPurzinmon shouted. She pointed her staff at Sabinemon, and jets of red light shot at her.

"Steel Claw!" Taigamon brought back her large paw and sliced away at Sabinemon.

"Winds of Heaven!" Nimbumon cried. His wings beat faster and faster, until blasts of ice issued from his wings.

"Dragon Wrath!" Sylphdramon shrieked, blasting fireballs from her tail and mouth.

"Psychic Wave!" Ultra-Psymon yelled. He wrapped himself in his wings, and when he unfolded them, a wave of energy blasted out of him.

"Pixie Dust!" Imbuemon yelled. She threw handfuls of shimmery gold dust at Sabinemon.

"Howling Torpedo!" Feralmon screamed out, launching missiles out of her hand cannon.

StarLuprimon stepped forward. "Fox Trick!" she cried out. She flew at Sabinemon and draped her cape over her. Sabinemon screamed in agony, and when the cape was removed from her, she was back in her human form.

Kinaka looked at Shidracamon and nodded.

Shidracamon's jewelry began to glow as she gathered the energy for her attack. She created a huge blue ball marbled with silver.

"Aurora Ice Beam!" she shrieked once the energy ball was formed. With that, she lobbed it straight at Sabinemon.

Sabinemon let out a horrible, shrill cry of pain as the ball of energy hit her. There was a blinding flash of light as the ball drained her of her life. When the light finally receded after a minute or so, she lay there gasping on the ground, with burns and scrapes all over her body.

"Please," she croaked out in a raspy voice, "don't be upset at me, Kinaka. I did love you. And…tell your father I'm sorry I left, because I loved him too."

She took one final breath, and dissolved into silvery digi-dust.

There was quiet in the desert for about five minutes. Finally, the shrill call of a Vulturemon in the distance brought them back to their senses. They screamed, whooped, hollered, and hugged their little Digimon, who had reverted back to their In-Training forms. They hugged eachother tightly, happy that Sabinemon's reign of terror was finally over. Only Kinaka stood silently, holding Rupimon.

Jenna noticed her over Leon's shoulder. She broke away from him and went up to Kinaka.

"Are you going to be OK?" she asked.

Kinaka looked at the site of the battle, where the winds had just begun to stir the pile of dust that used to be her mother.

"I'll be fine," she said at last. "I'll be fine."

Lauren came up and linked her arm in Kinaka's. "Who's up for a little singing?" she called out.

"What do you have in mind?" Lee asked.

Tina began to sing softly. "We are the champions, my friends…"

"And we'll keep on fighting till the end," Kim added.

They all pitched in. "We are the champions, we are the champions! No time for losers, 'coz we are the champions…of the Digi-World!"

Mike piped up. "Shouldn't it be 'we are the ultimates'?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

Tina laughed and scooped him into her arms. "Kids," she muttered.

"Well, let's get a move on," Lee called out. She shouldered her duffel bag and looked around at the group. "Let's go, Digidestined!"

They trudged ahead through the desert, their backs to the setting sun. Behind them, a silvery cloud of Digi-dust whirled along.