[Here I am with the next chapter, hot off the presses.  It's my first edition from college, but the quality should only improve.  So enjoy and review…]

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A little over an hour after watching Kari reject TK's proposal, Matt and his father made there way into the seventh bar that night.  They hadn't been drinking; rather they had been looking for TK, who disappeared after Kari left.

"Do you see him?" asked Mr. Ishida.

"Not yet," said Matt.  "Wait!  At the bar!"

Both men looked over to the center barstool where they saw TK, his hair mussed and his fancy clothes tousled.  He looked very alone with the low lighting and the baseball game playing on the nearby TV.

"That's him alright," said Matt.

Mr. Ishida lit up a cigarette; it felt appropriate at the moment.  The two of them slowly made their way around the other patrons in their various stages of intoxication.  They reached the bar itself soon enough and took their seats on either side of TK.  He was looking down at his hands, not even seeming to notice their arrival.

"Hey son."

"Dad?" asked TK, suddenly snapping back to reality.

"And me," said Matt.

"So I guess you found me."

"Yeah."

"And you know what happened."

"Um…yeah."

"Sorry son."

"You need a drink, bro?"

"Sure."

"I think we could all use one," said Mr. Ishida.

Matt called out for three shots of vodka and the bartender delivered them a few seconds later.  Matt and his dad both held theirs but TK downed his drink instantly and signaled for another.

"So what happened?" asked Matt.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it," said Mr. Ishida.

"No, no.  It's okay," said TK.  "Basically, she took one look at me and said 'no.'"

TK downed another shot.

"Take it easy on those, bro."

"I'll be fine."

"It's not you I'm worried about.  You're eating a hole in my wallet."

"Don't get smart, Matt," said Mr. Ishida.

"Right.  Probably not the time.  But I bet you could use that punch now, right?"

"I don't care," said TK, looking down at his empty shot glass.

"Don't worry son," said Mr. Ishida.  "You'd be surprised how often this exact thing happens.  I know a few guys who had to pop the question over five times.  Even I had to ask your mother twice before she…"

Matt started shaking his head at his father.

"Okay, that's bad example," Mr. Ishida continued.  "The point is you can't let this get you down."

"Maybe you should just give her a little space right now," said Matt.

"We live together."

"Oh right.  That makes it a little harder."

"I know," said Mr. Ishida.  "Stay later at the office.  Visit me a little more.  Once a little time goes by, and when it feels right you can ask again."

"Marriage advice, dad?  Really?" asked Matt.

"Alright, forget all that," said Mr. Ishida.  "First of all, what exactly did she say?"

TK took another drink.  "She said she just wasn't ready yet.  She said she'd want to wait until we were both a little older or something."

"Are you kidding me?" asked Matt.  "That's the kind of response you'd get if she was having a bad night, caused by…say…your pathetic performance."

"Don't forget the restaurant itself," said Mr. Ishida.  "I don't see how she could have been comfortable there.  I know I sure wasn't."

"Dad's right.  Next time just don't lay it on so thick.  Just go someplace where you're both comfortable, don't get all nervous and clumsy, and don't make any stupid speeches.  Just be yourself and you'll do fine."

"Didn't you propose to Sora in Hawaii with fireworks overhead?" asked TK.

"Well that was a different case.  Sora really falls for that kind of stuff, but Kari likes things simple and honest."

"You really think so?"

"Totally!"

"Dad?"

"Sounds like the way to go, son."

TK set his drink down and stood up with renewed vigor.  "All right, I'll do it!"

"Not yet," said Matt.

"Huh?"

"Wait a week, and make sure you make her feel special.  Remind her how great you are together.  Then pop the question again and you'll get the answer you want without a doubt."

"Okay!  Thanks Matt.  Thanks dad."

"No prob, bro."

"TK?" asked Mr. Ishida.

"Yeah dad?"

"I'm very proud of you, son."

"Thanks, dad."

But while things were looking up for TK, the situation was as dire as ever in the Digital World.  In spite of the bright, sparsely-clouded day, things at the Dragon Gate were troubled.

"So who exactly is this guy we're supposed to be going up against?" Ryo asked from where he stood examining the ancient glyphs alongside Elena.

His mother didn't even look up from the immense stone wall.  "No one knows for sure.  All we have to go on is his title."

"I guess a title like 'the Destroyer' leaves a lot to the imagination."

Elena nodded, still engrossed in her study.

"And you're expecting to find some clues here?"

"Virgil sent us all out.  I was told to come here to search the four gates for any ancient references to the three high demons."

"Any luck?"

"Only a few stories.  There's nothing to tell me where to find the Destroyer."

"What about the others?  Where are they?"

"They're around…exploring the other quadrants."

"Have they been in contact?"

"I haven't heard from any of them in a while.  I'm sure they'd tell me if they found anything important."

Ryo turned away from the wall.  "So you're just waiting for more orders, I take it."

Elena looked over at him.  "I can tell you don't care much for that."

"I just think you should be free to go out looking on your own," he said matter-of-factly.

"We Guardians have always been very independent, Ryo—much like yourself—but when there is a real danger we've never failed to come together.  This is one of those times when we have to put our own needs aside and fight for the common good."

"I know what you mean.  But still, couldn't you do more than look through these decaying ruins?"

"And what if one of the others came looking for me and I wasn't anywhere to be found?"

"I don't know.  But still…"

"I'm fine here.  Of course there's nothing keeping you from looking around outside if you'd like."

"Huh?"

"You go and look for a solution on your own.  Maybe you'll even find something we haven't."

"Really?"

"Of course.  It's always helpful to have another ally."

"But I'm not really in the best shape for traveling all over the world.  I don't even have a ride."

"You still have your digivice, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"Then I'll just reactivate it for you.  It will allow you to track down your partner."

"That's great!  With Cyberdramon around I'll cover the whole world in no time!"

"I strongly suggest you meet with another of my order—Malkis.  I suspect he will be most helpful, whether or not he wants to be.  Head to the south and ask around the villages.  Odds are someone will know of him and where he's gone.  When you do find him, stand up to him and don't let him bully you.  That's the only way you'll earn his respect."

"Malkis, huh?  Perfect.  I'll go right now."

"Just give me your digivice and I'll reactivate it."

Ryo reached into his bag and plucked his old blue D-Arc from within.  He eagerly handed it over to Elena, who immediately popped the cover open and looked inside.

"Alright…" she said as she reached into one of the pockets of her robe.  "I'll just…"  She removed a small, translucent red crystal from her pocket and placed it in a slot within the digivice.  It instantly began to channel power to the rest of the device and the old thing whirred to life once again.

"Wow," said Ryo.  "What was that?"

"That," Elena stated as she made a few more adjustment and snapped the cover shut again, "was a sample of what we know as 'catalyst', an extraordinarily dense and rare form of data.  It has the effect of rapidly accelerating the digivolution process and can even be used to power machinery.  The catalyst used in digivices is already depleted, but it remains the ideal medium for transferring energy between humans and digimon."

Ryo took his digivice back and admired it for a second.  Then a thought hit him.  "Didn't the Sovereigns call Calumon the catalyst?"

"They did, and rightly so.  Calumon's coming was prophesied long ago, a digimon born of the catalyst and possessing the power to give his peers the strength to fight the D-Reaper back to its lair beneath the Digital World.  Some even say he is the missing link between digimon and digignomes, but I'm not so sure about that."

"So where is he now?"

"I'm afraid I don't know.  He just dropped out of sight after the D-Reaper vanished.  I'm sorry I can't help more."

"That's alright."

"Now then, you'd best get on your way."

"Thanks…mom."

"Don't be a stranger."

"Relax.  I'll be back in time for supper."

Ryo and Elena smiled at one another and then Ryo turned, grabbed his bag, and walked toward the exit, keeping his eyes on the digimon locator at all times.

To the east of the Dragon Gate, across Azulongmon's inner sea and on the western coast of the Server continent, there lay the port city of Sun Coast.  It was a densely populated area with many buildings of uniform design, all of them being made of either light brown bricks or adobe.  The streets were all brown cobblestone, usually littered with sand.  There were a number of large squares in town that served as marketplaces, forums and recreational areas.  But beside the wooden pier where dozens of ships were docked there was the single most popular feature of the entire town: the beautiful, white sand beach.  It was on that beach, among the many swimmers, sunbathers and sandcastle-builders, that there lay a very contented Setomon.

"Piximon was sooooo right," Setomon said to himself as he lay on the sand, his belly to the sky.  "A little relaxation was exactly what I needed."

It was a good day to be alive.

"Well look who we have here," said a female voice from nearby.

"Huh?  You!"

Opening his eyes and looking up, Setomon was met by quite a surprise.  Leering over him was his mirror-image.  He jumped up rather clumsily to meet her gaze.

"You're sure looking better than you did when last we met…in more ways than one," she said calmly.

"You just dropped me off without as much as saying goodbye!" Setomon said in an annoyed tone.  "Why should I even want to talk to you?"

"Because you just can't resist."

Setomon grimaced, but conceded.  "You really do love to push my buttons, don't you?"

"It's a gift."

Setomon frowned again.  "You've got some nerve, lady."

"Your leg looks all better."

"I should think so.  I would've re-grown a whole limb just to get away from that cooking."

"And I see you've done a little growing up."

"I had a run-in with a real nasty goat by the name of Mephismon.  I digivolved during the fight."

"Mephismon?  From what I hear he's no mere goat.  I guess you're tougher than I thought if you managed to win."

"Well, I didn't quite win."

"Oh?"

"I lost…bad."

"And?"

"Huh?"

"I sense an 'and' coming."

"And…I had two other Champions helping me out."

"And?"

"And we had to escape."

"Hah!  I knew you were still just a big baby."

"For the last time, I am NOT a baby!"

"Fine, have it your way.  From now on I'll just call you a puppy."

"That's not much better."

"Aww, is Nari upset?"

Setomon let out a low growl.  "I still know what that means."

His female counterpart just grinned back at him.  "I know, and yet it's still funny."

"One of these days…"

"Just name the place."

"Right here, right now!"

"You're on!"

Setomon lunged at his rival.  She bounced into the air through and came crashing down on his back, pinning him beneath her.

"Wow.  Your back is pretty soft.  Can I stay here for a while?"

"Grrr…GET OFF ME!"

"But you're oh-so-comfy!  Like a big pillow."

"I SAID—"

"You give up?"

"Never!"

"Then maybe I'll just settle right on down."

"Fine!  You win."

Setomon hopped down off his back.  He stood and shook his fur clean of sand.

"Challenge me again after you learn to fight.  I'd recommend starting by toughening up your muscles and skin.  You make a better couch than a fighter."

"I can't believe someone as annoying as you doesn't come with an off switch."

"I can't believe someone as wimpy as you made it this far so fast."

Setomon averted his eyes, trying to look nonchalant.

"Let me guess.  You had help with that too."

"And you didn't?"

"Nope.  A good run like that helps tone muscle.  Now that I think about it, it's pretty obvious you didn't run all the way here with legs like those."

"What's wrong with my legs?!"

"Just look at 'em…all flabby and underused.  Do you even walk or do you just get people to drag you around?"

"I walk!"

"Well I suppose that's something…for a puppy."

"Yeah…well…"

"Thinking up a comeback?"

"Yeah!"

"Let me know when it's ready."

"You can bet I will!  Um…"

"Now?"

"Hang on!"

"Just checking."

"Well quit it!"

"You're sure high-strung."

"Okay, uh…what was it?"

"You got it?"

"Just a second.  I almost had it."

"Well don't keep me in suspense."

"If you could just shut up for a second I might have one!"

Setomon kept her lips shut for a few more seconds, waiting eagerly.

"You want some help?"

"I can think of one!"

"A hint, maybe?"

"Shut up!"

"Not even a little one?"

"No!"

"See?  High-strung."

"Grrrrrr… Would you shut up already?!"

She laughed.  "Come on, I'm hungry.  Let's go grab a bite and you can take all the time you want with that comeback of yours."

Setomon begrudgingly agreed, trying to hide his enthusiasm at the prospect of food.

To the northeast in the vast Server Desert, hidden behind an invisible barrier, there stood a great sanctuary surrounded by a dense tropical forest.  The sanctuary itself was a many-tiered wooden building atop a steep mountain with a seemingly endless stairway leading up to it.  This was Piximon's training ground, and it was here where the two Rookies and their new sensei were spending there days.

"You call yourself a fighter?" Piximon shouted in a severe voice.  "Come on!  Put a little muscle into it!"

Veemon pulled back again, beads of sweat rolling down his face and his forehead bleeding after using it to smash so many rocks.

"I'm doing my best!" he snapped before crushing another stone.

The two of them were alone midway up the mountain where there were plenty of small rocks to crush.

"Your best isn't good enough!  You'll have to work harder if you want to be as good as Wormmon, never mind Mephismon."

Veemon smashed another rock with his forehead, but this one splintered and sent shards deep into his wound.  He cried out and fell back, overwhelmed by pain.

"What's the matter?  You gonna cry?!"

"No!"

"What's that?!"

"No sir!"

"Another!"

Veemon struggled back to his feet, picked another stone on the ground, and smashed it with his forehead.  He was clearly starting to fatigue, and the gash in his forehead was growing more painful by the second.

"Keep it up!  I think we've finally found a use for that head of yours!"

Veemon gasped.  Now he was really mad.

"What?!  Did I hurt your feelings?!"

"No, but—"

"Do not talk back to me under any condition!"

Veemon turned around, his tear-filled eyes overflowing with anger.

"You don't have to be so mean!"

"You think I'm mean?!  Well you're going to face enemies a whole lot meaner than this, so get used to it!"  Piximon then used the butt of his spear to trip Veemon.

"I," Veemon said as he stood up on one leg.  "…Have already," he forced himself up onto his hands and knees, "fought digimon," he finally stood upright, "tougher than you can imagine!  I've had to face everything from the Emperor to MaloMyotismon to NightmareOmnimon!  I know what mean is and I know what to expect!"

"And how many of them did you beat on your own, kid?!  One of these days you'll have to face a real opponent, and you'll have to do it all alone!"

"I may not be as strong as any of those guys, but I'll NEVER be alone!  I'll always have my friends there to help me and I won't give up!"

"What about Mephismon?!  You had your friend there with you and you both nearly got killed along with that other pup!  How many lives are you willing to put on the line?!"

"I'll die before I let anything happen to my friends!"

"You'll never be able to win all alone, because you're too dumb to fight a real opponent one-on-one!"

Something snapped inside Veemon.  He let out a fierce growl and came at Piximon with a lightning-fast punch.  Piximon dove under the punch and rammed his elbow into Veemon's gut, just beneath the ribs.  Veemon stopped, sputtered, and fell over.  His eyes were shut tight and he held his gut while gasping for breath.  Piximon looked down on him from above.

"Until you beat me, you can't move on to the next step of your training.  Now keep smashing rocks."

"I'll show you…" Veemon coughed out.  "I'll do whatever it takes."

Back in the warm city of Sun Coast, the two Setomon took to wandering the streets after they had their lunch, which the female had to pay for do to her rival's lack of funds.  They were presently walking through one of the city's busy marketplaces.  She looked like a fierce animal, stalking her prey amongst the crowds, while her counterpart was…not so much.

"Ow!  Ouch!  Ooh!" he cried out, trying to have as few paws on the ground as possible at any given time.  "You'd think they'd make these streets a little more friendly to those of us who—ooch!—don't wear shoes."

"You are such a marshmallow."

"I'm not a marshmallow!  I just don't like it when my feet get scorched."

"Hello!  In case you haven't noticed it, we're both naturally suited to fire!"

"Well yeah, but it doesn't hurt when I make it myself."

"Loser."

"I'm no loser!"

"Okay.  You're a puppy."

"Grr…"

"Give it up already.  And don't forget that I paid for your lunch, so you owe me."

Setomon hung his head and shut his mouth.

"So what are you—"

Before she could finish asking her question, Setomon was cut off by a terrible explosion that shook the very ground below them.  The marketplace was thrown into a commotion with some digimon instinctively running away or getting ready to fight and the others looking around in bewilderment.

"What was that?"

"Crouch down, Nari.  I don't like this."

"DON'T CALL ME—"

"Look!"

They both looked skyward and saw a huge debris cloud rising from the north end of town.  A moment later there was another explosion and another dust plume rose from the same place.  By that time most digimon were running away the source of the explosions as fast as they could.

"What's going on?" the female demanded of any passerby that would respond.

"I don't know but I'm thinking we should go with the crowd on this one!" Setomon replied.

Then they both heard it.  Among those shouting "run for your lives" and such things, one Gekomon was crying, "It's Mephismon!  The Assassin King has come for us!"

"Mephismon!" both Setomon said at once with the same angered intonation.

Just then there was another explosion from much closer and a thunderous yell that no doubt came from Mephismon himself.

"We've gotta go!" the male barked.  "We can't take him alone!"

"I'm not sure I agree," the other replied.  "But we'll play it your way.  Follow me!"

"Follow you?  No way!  I'm leading this escape!"

"Oh just come on!"

She took off down the quickly emptying street and Setomon was left with little choice but to follow as more and more explosions rocked the city.  He followed her down several more streets and finally into a cramped back alley between a few of the nondescript buildings.  They kept on going without a word but at a slower pace, moving stealthily toward the pier.

"Now listen, pup.  We've got to get to the docks and fast.  If Mephismon is as smart as they say he is then the first thing he did when he got here was to destroy the boats, but he may have missed one or two.  He won't hit the docks again so it'll be our only means of escape."

"Got it."

"We head to the docks as fast as we can.  If someone needs to be left behind then that's that.  No waiting for stragglers."

"But—"

"No waiting!"

"…Okay."

"Good.  Now—"

Before she could go on an enormous figure crashed down right in front of them, blocking the alley ahead with his bulk.  The dust from the landing subsided quickly, leaving a clear view of Mephismon.

"So this must be Mephismon…" Setomon said calmly.  "Interesting."

"Setomon…" Mephismon said with a vile little smile.  "Two of you, no less."

"Don't play around with him," the male advised judiciously.  "He's tougher than he looks—and he looks pretty tough."

"Relax.  I'm on top of things.  You just get on any boat heading out of town."

"No way!  Mephismon will eat you alive."

"Listen to your little friend there, girl.  My orders are to spare only one Setomon, meaning you're up for grabs."

"Spare?" the male asked with a confused look about him.

"I don't need you to spare me, Mephismon."

"I wasn't planning on it," he said with a smile.

"Then I won't let up either.  And to think I was ready to let you leave here alive."

"Setomon, don't!"

"Get lost, pup.  This is business for real warriors."

"I'm not going to lose you like I did Guilmon!"

"Why Nari, I had no idea you cared so much."

Even with his thick facial fur, it was very obvious that Setomon was blushing.  "I don't care!  You can go right ahead and get yourself killed!  You won't see me at the funeral."

"Then get on the damn boat."

"Better hurry, kid," Mephismon snarled.  "I won't be long here, and then I'm coming after you."

"Alright…" Setomon said ashamedly.  "Just watch out for that poison attack."

"I'm a big girl.  Now go!"

Setomon nodded and turned to run for the docks, leaving the female and Mephismon alone in the dank alleyway.

"You ready?" asked Setomon.

"It will be a pleasure to crush your spine, little girl."

Setomon bore her fangs and extended her curved claws.  Her ears perked straight up and her tail swished about behind her nervously.  Mephismon crouched slightly with his arms held out at his sides.

Meanwhile, the male Setomon scampered down the alley toward the beach, dodging trashcans and piles of boxes, ducking under hanging clothes and carpets, looking in either direction whenever he came to a crossroads.  Running as fast as he could in that confined space, it didn't take him very long to burst out onto a real street.  He could see the carnage already caused by Mephismon all around him.  He coughed on the smell of smoke in the air and nearly tripped over piles of rubble as he continued toward the docks at a slowed pace.

Mephismon struck first, charging at his much smaller prey and swinging his right arm at her.  Given the narrowness of the alley it was no surprise that his arm struck the wall as he swung, but he was able to plow through it with ease.  Setomon evaded his attack by bounding high over his head and landing gracefully behind him.  He looked over his shoulder at her with a hint of disgust in his eyes.  He then spun around as fast as he could to throw another punch, again with his right fist, but he grazed the other wall this time.  Setomon avoided his second strike in exactly the same way she had done before.  As Mephismon turned to look at her a second time, he noticed the smile on her face.

"What's the matter?" she asked.  "Am I too fast for you?"

"Quite impossible, I assure you.  If it weren't for these accursed walls I would…"

"You get it now?"

"Oh I see.  This was part of your plan the whole time, you deceptive vermin."

"It takes brains to win a fight, goat-boy.  Remember that."

"You should have used your advantage while you had it.  This will require no more than a slight readjustment of my tactics."  Mephismon then put both arms out in front of him as if to grab Setomon.

"I'm ready any time," she said confidently.

"Then come and embrace your death!"

Mephismon lunged forward and grasped at Setomon, but she jumped over his grasp and used his closed hands as a springboard.

"Fire Flash!"

Setomon was engulfed in a flaming aura.  She darted toward Mephismon's face and struck him in the neck at full speed, her intense flames and ravenous claws scorching and cutting him.  However, the wound was hardly grievous enough to halt Mephismon's counterattack.  Even as Setomon hovered in front of him, he made his move.  With ruthless power and speed he smashed his great horns into Setomon from above.  She never saw it coming.  The attack was so brutal that when she hit the cobblestone path it broke beneath her.  She could feel her ribcage nearly give away from the utter savagery of the blow.  She lay very still at that moment.

"Pathetic…" Mephismon growled.

Meanwhile, the other Setomon bounded his way down the creaky wooden dock and hopped aboard the last intact ship in the port.  It was a small, steam-driven vessel with many of the survivors already piled onboard.  Setomon hit the wooden deck running.  Tripping his way around the other surviving digimon, he headed toward the bridge, a cramped, space manned by a number of Scubamon and an unfamiliar digimon with a fin instead of feet and blue armor that even covered his face.  He sat in the captain's chair and wore a navy blue hat befitting his obvious rank.

"Who are you, matey?" demanded one of the Scubamon.

"We can't leave yet!  Someone is still back there!"

"Arr!" the Scubamon responded gruffly.  "We ain't a gonna wait around fer yer friend!  This here tub's pullin' out befer we're all sent to Davey Jones' locker!"

"All ahead full!" the captain ordered in a much more civilized voice than his Scubamon crew.

"Captain!" Setomon shouted.

"Yes?" he replied.  "I am Depthmon, captain of this vessel.  And what may I do for you, mister…?"

"It's Setomon, and you can't leave yet!  My friend is still back there."

"I am very sorry Mr. Setomon, but we must make departure immediately.  If we wait for your friend it may very well cost us all our lives.  Now please, go back with the other passengers."

Setomon was clearly panic-stricken, but he could tell there was no stopping the ship.  Therefore he rushed back out the door and to the aft section.  He felt the ship spring to life even as he ran.  Time was running very short.

"SETOMON!" he cried out as he came to the very end of the vessel.

He could see the dock beginning to pull away.  In a matter of seconds the gap would be too great to jump.

"What do I do?!" he shouted to no one in particular.  He ran back and forth along the aft.  "Setomon!  Where are you?!  Come on!  Please…"

Then, he saw a figure appear on the streets just beyond the docks.  It took him a moment to confirm, but it was her.  She ran toward him at full speed, but it didn't look like it would be enough.  Already the ship had cleared the dock.

"Come on!  Faster!" he shouted.

She began to pick up the pace, running with every ounce of strength she had left in her after the fight.  She was on the pier.

"Hurry!"

She made it to the dock, but there was already over twenty feet between the boat and the dock.  Setomon knew he had to resort to drastic measures.

"You're not even trying!  I should've known you were an all-talk chick!"

That's when he saw the anger swell up in her eyes.  With one last burst of speed she cleared the rest of the dock and made a mighty leap into the air.

She's not gonna make it, Setomon thought to himself.

The forty foot gap was a challenge without a doubt, but clearly she was ready to meet it…unfortunately for her male counterpart.  He had clearly not picked the best place to stand, for she landed right on top of him, sending them both into a tumble that ended when the smashed into the steel upper hull.

"Smooth move…"

"Well you're the one who insisted on standing right there."

There was a moment of silence as they both tried to catch their breath.  Then the female gave Setomon a small bite on the muzzle.

"Ow!  What was that for?!"

"For calling me a chick."