Disclaimer: Digimon is a franchise owned jointly by Toei Animation and Bandai, and conceptualized by Akiyoshi Hongo. Doctor Who is a property owned by the British Broadcasting Company created by Sydney Newman. The concept of Digimon: The Tamer is a fan fiction idea. Please support the official properties.

Author's Notes: Hey folks! Welcome to Chapter 21 of the Tamer! Another big thanks to everyone who followed and favorited the story! I'm glad you guys like it! And even bigger thanks to those who left reviews! More special mention goes to Ace Spiritwell for making the cover art. Give their fanfiction a read and their deviantart account a look. A lot of you liked the lyrics from last chapter. Those are not my lyrics. I pulled them from a fan performed version of Butter-Fly by a singer called 'Sapphire'. Go check out their youtube and buy the music on amazon. Next, I have reply for a guest review:

Guest: The Tamer - A Digimon Adventure has been planned from beginning to end. Zeromaru, Yggdrasil, The Dark Masters, The Royal Knights, and more will eventually come into play. As will other elements. I have said this before and will say it again. At the current update pace, the Tamer will reach its conclusion in approximately nine years. Yes, there is that much story to cover. Although, this makes the assumption that I don't go ahead with any of the spin-off ideas I've got in my head.

Now, let's start Chapter 21!

The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure

Chapter 21: Myotismon's Castle

They departed early the next morning, and it took them two days travel to reach their destination. They had one chance to stop Myotismon. One chance to keep him from going to their world. It was just a question of if they could. They landed a distance away from the castle and marched through miles of barren wasteland, with nothing in sight for miles but the gray dirt around them and a fine mist that swept across their feet. The further they went, the grayer the skies and the thicker the fog became. There were no clouds and no sun, as if the world around them became trapped in twilight. At the end of their trek was Myotismon's castle - an elegant structure with a western gothic design perched a top a high mountain surrounded by hundreds of jagged rocks.

"Man, Myotismon really knows how to pick 'em. Spooky castle on a mountain, dark skies, foggy fields. All we need now are werewolves and vampires," Matt commented on their approach, "Or a graveyard with zombies."

"Myotismon is a vampire. Watch out or he'll suck you dry," Agumon teased with a smile.

"That's not funny Agumon," Biyomon slapped him across the side of the head.

TK hugged Tokomon tight, "Tokomon, you can stay close to me if you get scared."

Tokomon nodded, knowing full well that it was TK who was afraid. To help his partner feel better, Tokomon snidely added, "And Mimi knows who she can hang on to if she's scared. Or if she gets lost in the fog."

"This isn't fog," Tamer stated as they continued walking. Tentomon glanced around them, "It sure looks like fog."

Agumon explained as they walked, "That's because it isn't. This fog is data. See, back in the war, both sides came up with new ways to kill each other permanently. When digimon die, they turn into clouds of data. The data disperses and returns to Primary Village where it reformats into a new digimon. Weaker digimon lose their memories but stronger ones can retain some of their identity. Well one of the ideas Tamer's people came up with was to stop the data from returning to Primary Village. The data freezes in place the moment the digimon dies, leaving a cloud."

"So all this fog-" Sora trailed off as Agumon finished, "-is a graveyard."

Realization dawned on her. The fog around them was made entirely of the data of digimon who never reformatted. Thinking about it sent chills down her spine. Gomamon commented, "Your people were really messed up."

"Desperate times, desperate measures," Tamer replied without skipping a beat, "Personally, I don't think that was the worse thing either side did in the war. Come on, there's an old sewer drain this way."

"Sewer? We're going in through the sewers?" Mimi asked worriedly, glancing down at her clothes, "The smell will positively ruin my dress!"

"If all we have to do go get home is go through a sewer, then I say why not?" Matt stated, "There will be plenty of showers back in our world."

As he said this he heard a voice behind him growl, "KILL!"

He leapt away and the group gasped in horror as they saw a half buried Devimon lying on the ground, obscured by the fog but reaching out to attack them. On closer inspection, they realized the Devimon wasn't half buried. Half of his body just wasn't there, like someone took an eraser and smudged away its entire left side. On what remained of its face, they could see only agony. It reached out to Matt desperately and added, "ME!"

TK tightened his grip on Tokomon nervously, recalling the battle on File Island. Matt still held a grudge against Devimon for what happened there and raised his leg to stamp its head, "Gladly!"

"Stop," Tamer pulled Matt back, "That's not your Devimon. It's a different one from the war."

"How can you tell?" Izzy examined it carefully and could see no clear distinction. Tamer looked at the Devimon somberly, "Because I did this. Back in the war, I got to use one of the weapons that does this to digimon. But I missed my first time."

"And your second. Also the next hundred. He was a really bad shot," Agumon added. Tamer rolled his eyes, "Thank you Agumon."

"PLEASE! KILL! ME!" the Devimon rasped desperately, still trying to reach out to Matt. Tamer hurried them along, "Ignore it. Devimon are all the same: cruel, cowardly, and manipulative. Let it suffer."

"Tai that's…sick," Sora gasped. Tamer sighed, "You're absolutely right, Sky."

Then he turned to walk away, as if nothing had happened. They followed him but none of them could ignore its pleas as they walked away, "KILL! ME! PLEASE! KILL! ME!"

The sound echoed behind them as they proceeded through the fog, the image of what they'd seen forever burned into their minds. Tamer led them to a dried sewage pipe jutting out of the ground, sealed by rusted iron bars. The smell coming from within was uninviting. It took the strength of everyone's digimon working together to tear the rusting metal off. Tamer crawled in first, followed by Agumon. Sora went to climb in after them, but the smell was so strong that she pulled away and covered her nose, "It smells like moldy old cheese inside a gym sock that was left out in the sun. How can you guys stand to be in there?"

"This is nothing. We once spent a week hiding under a pile of bodies," Tamer said back, "This is a vacation by comparison!"

"Really?" Biyomon gasped.

"You want to get home right? Because we really don't have time to play twenty questions," Agumon said back.

"Can't we just take a back door or something?" Joe asked.

"We'll be killed before we even got close," Tamer explained, "This is the safest way in! No one ever guards the toilets."

Sora reluctantly followed them into the cramped pipe. The smell hit her like a brick, and she had to hold her breath for the entire trip to keep from throwing up. They crawled through the dank stink for the better part of an hour, although it felt like an eternity because of the smell. While it was dry and appeared unused, someone left the lights on in the tunnel so they could easily see where they were going. That welcome reprieve turned to worry when Agumon commented that meant the plumbing still worked; one flush and they would get blasted with fresh toilet water, along with its contents. It didn't help that they passed several smaller holes meant to feed other pipes into this single large one.

When they finally reached the end of the sewage pipe, they found themselves in a large chamber with flowing water and a ladder climbing up to a covered manhole. Agumon went out first, lifting out the lid to peek through and signaling that it was safe. They clamored out quickly to escape the smell and get some fresh air. The breath of air was welcome after the horrid smell, although it felt like part of it lingered on their clothes. At least it wasn't as overpowering as it was in the sewer. Once they were all out, Agumon shut the manhole behind them.

With the smell mostly gone, they could focus on their surroundings now - a large stone courtyard with walls that stretched forever to the sky. On one side was a large wooden gate and across it was a grand entrance into the main hall. They were flanked on all sides by large gargoyle-esque statues with four eyes and long snouts bearing sharp teeth. On closer inspection, they resembled winged lizards dressed like Devimon.

"Spooky castle on a mountain, fog surrounding the place, kinda dark, vampires, a sorta graveyard, and now creepy statues. We should've expected creepy statues. What's next? A disembodied voice?" Palmon commented, staring into the eyes of one the statues that looked like it was peering back at her devilishly.

"This place could really use an interior decorator. Gray doesn't do this place any favors," Mimi commented, "Also everything about this place looks like it wants to kill us."

"Yep. That's Myotismon," Tamer nodded, taking a look around at the castle, "Everything's gotta be mood and atmosphere because he likes to get in people's heads. I don't know why, though. It's not very friendly. Then again, he's not the type to invite people over. Not that anyone would come over. He's very touchy-feely and not in the good way. Scratch that, there is no good way."

"I figured this place would be more guarded, the way you talk about it. Where is everyone?" Joe asked, listening intently to the sound of silence. Tamer realized this as well and nodded, "That's a very good point. We should go, now."

"You don't think Myotismon's started?" Agumon asked worriedly.

"If he has, then we're running out of time!" Tamer repeated, starting off into the main entrance hall, "He'll be invading your world any second!"

"Not if we have anything to say about it," Sora tightened her fists, "Let's go."

They followed Sora's lead into the castle, with the Tamer already further inside. The entrance hall was weathered and battered. The crumbling remains of arching columns lay scattered on the floor, leading the way to a shattered staircase with a gaping chasm down the middle. Through the chasm, they could see a path that fed further to another cave. Tamer stood at the bottom, motioning for them to follow, "Hurry up guys. We don't have a lot of time."

He extended out his hand, "And hold hands too! Everything beyond here is…different, so stick together no matter what. And try not to get lost."

Izzy and Mimi kept a good distance from each other at the sound of those words. TK latched onto his older brother and Gabumon right away. Everyone held hands, with Tamer at front and Agumon in the rear so that nobody fell behind. They walked like this down into the cave and found themselves in an indescribable complex that stretched forever into the sky and into ground with no end in sight. Staircases and walkways appeared above and below them, constantly shifting and twisting around to create new pathways. Before them was a lone stone walkway that went further into the room and connected to a doorway on the other side. Tamer guided them out into the walkway but, no matter how far they walked, the other end never seemed to draw closer. After a long walk, Tentomon asked, "How much further do we have to go? I don't think we're getting anywhere."

"Just keep following me," Tamer said coming to an abrupt halt and looking over the side of the railing of the walkway. There was a gap in the railing that wasn't there before and he stepped towards it, "Come along."

Tamer went to walk off it and Sora tried to pull him back. He was a lot stronger than he looked and she couldn't get him to stop walking. Instead, she tried to pull her hand free to keep from getting pulled over the edge by him but he refused to let go. She was going to be pulled over the edge with him so she did the only she could, she let go of Biyomon to spare her. Death always seemed like a looming danger in the Digital World, she just didn't think it would happen like this - getting pulled over the edge to her death by a friend she thought was dead. She heard the others gasp and scream, "SORA!"

She opened her mouth to scream, expecting to fall to her doom. Instead, she found herself standing on solid ground still holding Tamer's hand. They were still on the walkway, although the world around them looked like it was flipped upside down. He took one look at her and his eyes widened, "Did you let go of Biyomon? Biyomon! Are you guys still there!?"

"Sora! Are you alright!?" Matt shouted.

"I'm fine," Sora answered back, following the sound of the voice to the guardrail. She chanced a glance over the edge and the saw the others below her, peering over the guardrail and looking back in confusion. They were upside down, staring up at her without falling

"Sora?" Biyomon said, looking up at her, "How are you doing that?"

"Forget about me, how are you guys doing that down there? Shouldn't you be falling?" Sora asked in surprise. Biyomon and Gabumon looked at each other, "Us? You're the ones who are upside down."

"We're both upside down," Tamer stated, "Or, if you prefer, we're both right side up. Physics in this room is relative because it exists in an extra-dimensional state outside normal three dimensional physics."

"I see, so the rules of normal physics wouldn't necessarily apply in this state since we're walking through what is essentially an Escher drawing," Izzy stated excitedly. Tamer nodded, "More or less, one step to the left moves you to a point three hundred feet below. Or above for us. Then again, it'd be horizontal for the person who ends up there."

"Fascinating, how did your people manage to get this inside here?" Izzy asked, "This room seems to stretch on forever but the castle is so small."

"It's your standard Mobius loop. Go far enough in any direction and you'll end up where you started," Tamer replied with a proud smile, "Or close enough."

"You guys are doing that moon-man talk thing, where you say words that don't mean anything or make any sense. It's confusing. Why can't up just be up?" Joe frowned, adjusting his glasses to hide the annoyed expression on his face. TK and Tokomon peeked over the edge at them, "So if we jump, will we land on the other side like you guys did?"

"Eh, more like fall. It's all relative," Tamer positioned Sora off to the side, away from the ledge, "Are you guys coming? In a couple of seconds, that gap won't lead here anymore."

"Well, here goes nothing," Biyomon sighed. She eyed the fall before her, or perhaps the rise. A lumped formed in her throat when she saw the bottomless room before her. She swallowed the lump and took a jump, dragging everyone with her. Then landed on her butt as she hit the floor. The others were just as graceful in their landing, piling on top of each other as they hit the ground.

"Get off me Joe!" Palmon shouted, pushing the glasses wearing boy off her back.

"All of you get off!" Matt said at the bottom of the pile, buried beneath everyone. Tamer buried his face in his hands, "The heroes of the Digital World…can't even taken a step forward without tripping on themselves. We are doomed."

"Yes, you are," an unfamiliar voice to the digidestined echoed in the chamber. They all scrambled to their feet, with kids in the middle and the digimon surrounding them. The room was so large and there were so many moving obstacles to focus on that it was hard to tell where the voice came from. Palmon was the first to state, "Called it! Next, a cat will cross our path and give us bad luck!"

"What?" the voice asked.

Palmon explained, "Well, this castle's really spooky and the statues were creepy, so I guessed the next thing we'd meet would be a disembodied voice! And I was right!"

"Palmon, I don't think now's a good time for this," Gabumon added nervously, glancing around at the ever changing room for the source of the voice. It was impossible to tell where anything was coming from and the voice continued, "These are the digidestined? The chosen children to save this world?"

"Yeah we are! And we're here to kick butt! Scared?" Sora proclaimed to the voice.

"Underwhelmed," the voice had a hint of disappointment in its tone, "Years of planning and preparation for…this. I think I might have over-prepared. It almost seems pointless to do anything. I refuse to believe any of you beat Devimon or Etemon."

"Believe it!" Matt shouted at the darkness. Everyone turned on him with exasperated looks. They knew what he was trying to say, but his choice of words and the way he said it was so childish. Joe looked at the blonde haired boy and asked, "Seriously?"

"What?" Matt asked nervously.

"That was lame. Really lame! Like hyperactive knucklehead lame," Gomamon groaned. Tamer ad-libbed, "You have no idea."

"You've rubbed off on them you two. They're even copying your banter," the voice observed of the group. Agumon retorted with a smile at the darkness, "Imitation is the best form of flattery. Besides, if two of us are awesome, then fourteen will be amazing."

"You still play the fool. Is it to put me off guard or are you trying to hide your own anxieties?"

"Tamer, what's he talking about?" Izzy asked, looking at the goggle headed boy. Tamer returned the computer whiz's stare and winked, "Remember, he likes to get in your head. Just ignore him."

"So this is Myotismon?" Tentomon's voice cracked as he spoke.

"Can't be that tough if you're too scared to show up," Gomamon added, his confident voice betrayed by the way he shook. Myotismon laughed and the sound echoed throughout the whole room, "You want me to appear? Very well, fight me if you may be so bold."

There was a sudden gust of wind, and a tall thin man in blue clothes stood in the center of their formation. His red cape billowed from his earlier momentum, which he brought down to control with a wave of his hand, "Boo."

"That's not a cat," Palmon commented, ignoring the pink blur that was her partner running behind her. The kids scattered behind their digimon partners, except for Tamer and Agumon. Agumon bore his claws and readied to attack, holding his ground only because Tamer held out his hand to stop him. The boy adjusted his goggles over his face and smiled, "Long time no see, Myotismon."

"No quips? I'm disappointed," Myotismon answered with a smirk. He parted his lips just enough to show the razor sharp fangs underneath. Tamer adjusted his stance, adjusting his cloak to let his hands out, "Well, I noticed you…really let this place go. I never would've…guessed you were a slob. A hundred thousand years of…bachelor life. Also, I didn't see any of your digimon…when we came in. Are they on vacation…or did they finally get sick and leave? I know I would."

"There, doesn't it feel so much better to let that out? That may be the last relief any of you have," Myotismon explained softly. His tone was gentle now, less cold than it was moments ago. He continued, "Let me ask. Have you told them since we last spoke?"

"Told us what?" Sora looked at Tamer. It was hard to read his expression with his goggles masking his eyes but he appeared calm. Until he started swaying unevenly, like he did with Etemon at the pyramid. Myotismon continued, "So you didn't. That's fine. Children, you should know that these two are leading you to a blood bath. Not that I mind - the sanguine taste is refreshing. However, if you think for one moment that he isn't - then kill me. Strike me down."

"Guys…don't. It's a…trick," Tamer sounded sickly. Sora looked to her old friend, "Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine," Tamer said, massaging his temple. He certainly didn't look it, and this made the others uneasy. Gomamon looked especially antsy, ready to attack when needed. Myotismon burst into cold, mocking laughter, "No tricks. I'll give each of you one chance to kill me. I won't move. I won't even fight back. Although I doubt Agumon or the Digimon Tamer will. So, the rest of you must play your role as the digidestined and save the Digital World. Kill me!"

There was a moment's silence. Nobody dared to move, afraid that this was a trick but curious about what Myotismon meant. Tamer and Agumon never talked much about what was going on, but Myotismon made it clear that they weren't being completely honest. Something they needed to know. Tamer and Agumon held their spot in front of Myotismon. The seconds ticked by and Myotismon began tapping his foot impatiently, "I'm waiting."

Sora looked down at her partner Biyomon, and she looked back expectantly. She didn't know what was going to happen, whether it was a trick or Myotismon really was planning on letting them kill him. If this was their only chance, then they should take it. But the way Tamer talked about Myotismon suggested he was genuinely afraid of the vampire digimon. Even now, the boy and the dinosaur who laughed in the face of Etemon, and made fun of Devimon were too scared to make a move against Myotismon. Then there was the other problem. They all had their reservations against killing - and seeing Tamer's own disregard for death worried them. They did not want to be like him - kids who could see another creature suffering and be unmoved by its please for mercy. The vampire chuckled, "Is this fear I'm sensing? Well, that shouldn't be surprising. None of you have ever killed before. Do I have to goad you into fulfilling your destiny?"

"Sora?" Biyomon whispered. She nodded and reached for her digivice. It was now or never. They may never get a chance like this again, "Let's go."

Biyomon nodded and raced in, "Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

Invigorated by her actions, the others charged in with her.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

Myotismon stood unflinching before the five champions, although he offered each of them a curt smile that was more unnerving than polite. It knew more than it gave away, and that's what made it so terrifying. Sora refused to be cowed by that fear and looked at Birdramon - she knew her partner could beat him. She believed in her and the warmth that thought provided welled up inside her. Her crest glowed a bright red light and Birdramon roared, "Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garuda-"

"Pepper Breath!"

The blast of fire struck Birdramon mid-digivolution, and she learned first hand just how painful Agumon's attack could be. And how a rookie level digimon like him could so easily go against stronger foes - there was a lot of power behind that blast and it really hurt. Sora gasped in disbelief and stared at Agumon, "What are you doing?"

"She got in my way," Agumon said sheepishly. Myotismon laughed, "Really, is that what you call it?"

"Guys…don't…fight him. That's…what he wants," Tamer explained anxiously as he moved in front of Myotismon to face them, still swaying from side to side. Sora ran to her partner and helped her up, "So you attacked her?"

"She'll be fine. Agumon wasn't…he pulled…his punch. A few…minutes and she'll be…" Tamer sank to his knees, clutching at his head, "Ah!"

"Hey! Tamer! Snap out of it!" Joe called out to him. Something was definitely wrong, but Tamer continued to speak, "You…can't…beat him."

"They can't beat me or you won't let them?" Myotismon asked from behind Tamer. Agumon bore his claw again, "You better stop talking, right now!"

"It's a fair question, don't you think?" Myotismon mused between his laughs, casting his gaze to Izzy, "You. You're the most knowledgeable. At least, that's what you've devoted yourself to ever since you learned the truth of your family. Wouldn't you agree that is a fair question?"

Izzy's mind began racing with a different set of questions and one stood out louder than the rest: how did Myotismon know about his family? Kabuterimon sensed his partner's hesitation and asked, "Izzy, what's wrong?"

"You hesitate. That's fine. You're not the only one. She hesitates too," Myotismon's gaze moved to Mimi and Togemon, "She talks of helping others and doing the right thing, but she stumbles and falters when it counts. How self-serving. Be honest with yourself: do you really think you can beat me when you can't find the resolve to sing? The girl who crumbles at the first sign of difficulty?"

Mimi took a step away, "How do you know about that?"

"And the two brothers. The older relaxed brother whose protective attitude hides his dependence on the younger, and the younger carefree brother whose innocence serves as a mask for his own unmatched hate. Or perhaps I have it the other way around? Does it even matter? Nothing can fix the rift that keeps you two apart," Myotismon cackled. Matt jumped in front of TK and growled, "If you got something to say, then say it to my face."

"Guys! Don't…listen! He gets…in…your head!" Tamer mumbled. They were too unnerved by Myotismon's words to hear him. Even Tamer could be seen having a hard time ignoring the next part, "Yes. Tell them the same thing. Over and over again. Tell me, did that work for your friends? Your team? Oh, that's right. They're not around any more. Yet you still spout that nonsense - 'don't listen'. As if it would help them. And now you lead more to slaughter. Will they thank you?"

"Shut up," Tamer growled, still clutching his head. Myotismon continued to smile, "Why do you continue down your path? You know what awaits you at the end of it. But you still carry on - perhaps you two really want to die? Or perhaps it's the headaches. A being like you, so sensitive to the flow of destiny that even the slightest change throws you."

"What's the plan, Tamer?" Agumon asked. Tamer stayed on the ground, "Don't…have…one…"

"Then I shall grant you a swift death!" Myotismon cackled.

"I've heard enough! Garurumon! Shut him up!" Matt called out to his partner. The white wolf charged ahead with his jaw wide open to shred Myotismon to pieces. It stopped when Tamer threw himself in his way, "NO!"

Garurumon crashed into the floor to keep himself from crashing into the goggle headed boy. Izzy looked on, "Tamer! What are you doing?"

"Don't…FIGHT HIM!" Tamer screamed desperately from the floor.

"Why?"

"Because…not…supposed…to happen!" Tamer hissed, before turning to Myotismon, "Get…lost!"

"You won't even allow a chance to stop me from doing what I'm about to do. How long are you two going to try and preserve an order that has long since fallen apart?" Myotismon sneered, finally stepping forward to grab the boy by the collar of his shirt, "I could snap your neck right here and end this entire struggle in one move. I could kill you all and end this long, bitter, endless conflict. I could just trap you here; let you wander aimlessly in this ever-shifting room of infinity for all eternity. But that's not what's supposed to happen, is it?"

"You're the one who goes out of his way to change things," Agumon hissed. The orange dinosaur moved to attack, but Tamer held out his hand to stop him, "Don't!"

"He'll kill you!" Agumon pleaded, still in mid step. Tamer gave that sentiment a lot of consideration before he replied, "If he…was going to…kill me…he'd have…done it…already. So…why haven't…you?"

Myotismon released the boy with a shove into Agumon, "All in due time. Remember this moment digidestined. This was the moment you could have stopped what's about to happen, but you didn't because Agumon and the Digimon Tamer wouldn't let you."

Myotismon hovered off the ground and whirled his cape around him, disappearing into air while cackling madly. With him gone, Tamer looked like he was starting to recover. Agumon was relieved to see his partner was okay, until he realized they now had to face the frustration of the digidestined. Tamer readjusted his goggles over his head while Izzy opened the questioning, "What was that? We're supposed to stop Myotismon, so why didn't you let us?"

"Aren't you guys listening to me!? He likes to play games and mess with your head. If he tells you to do something, odds are you shouldn't do it!" Tamer growled at Izzy, still massaging his head, "He…really shouldn't have tried to do that."

"Do what?" Izzy asked.

"You don't need to know," Tamer replied. The two boys seethed angrily at each others while Joe ran to check Biyomon, "Biyomon, are you alright? You're not hurt too bad are you?"

"Agumon hit me with a fireball! What do you think!?" Biyomon snapped, massaging the spot on her back where she was hit, "How did one hit knock me back down to Biyomon?"

"Digimon are vulnerable during the digivolution process," Agumon explained, "It's a small window of opportunity but if you nail a good hit, you can knock them back down a level or two."

The explanation didn't offer any solace to Biyomon and she continued to glare at the two of them. Even Sora was brought to leering at Tai. She couldn't understand why he would do it. He was always crazy, but to attack his friends? What was wrong with him? Was it because of Myotismon?

Tamer sighed, "It doesn't matter. If you can still move, then we need to get going. Myotismon will-"

"No! I was willing to give it a pass before but not this time. What is going on? You said that fighting isn't what's supposed to happen! Why not? What does that even mean? It's 'not supposed to happen'!" Matt shouted, jumping in front of the Tamer with his arms spread out, "What aren't you telling us!?"

"Nothing that you need to know," Tamer spat back, "Get out of my way."

The two boys leered at each other, both looked ready to raise fists until Mimi played the peacemaker, "Geez. Boys. Will you guys chill out! If you're going to fight each other, just do it already. Get it out of your systems. But Tamer, I think it's about time you start letting us in."

"Mimi," Tamer shot her a betrayed look but she returned it with a disapproving glare, "I haven't said a word to the others, but maybe it's time you started talking."

"About what?" Palmon asked her partner curiously, "Mimi, did something happen between you two?"

"I promised not to say a word," Mimi replied, "And I won't. But I do think it's time you started letting people in. I'm sorry, but I'm with Matt on this one."

"I agree. What aren't you telling us? Myotismon knew an awful lot about us for someone who's never met us. How did he know all that!? And you! You looked ready to pass out! What happened?" Izzy's mind raced with questions and concerns, but it didn't keep him from thinking straight. Most would have cracked under personal revelations but it helped him to think more clearly - and he chose which questions he asked carefully amidst the unending torrent of riddles and puzzles. Kabuterimon added, "And why did you guys attack Birdramon!? Have you completely lost it?"

Tamer looked nervous, and circled around to face each of them. He saw the worry, the fear, and the anger in each of them. They couldn't tell what he was thinking, but he looked genuinely afraid. And the fear finally made him relent, "Okay. I'll try to explain this as simply as I can."

"Do we have time?" Agumon asked anxiously. Tamer shook his head; "It'll take more time if I don't tell them. Besides, I owe Mimi this one."

Everyone glanced at Mimi briefly, curious about what he was referring to. They listened carefully as he began, "Imagine that you read a book all the way through. The book wasn't great, but it wasn't bad. It was exactly what it needed to be. Picture that."

"Does the book have pictures?" TK asked, "Are the pictures cool? I like books that have pictures."

"I don't think that's pertinent to the matter at hand," Izzy answered. Tamer cleared his throat to get their attention, "If I can continue. Imagine someone who reads the same book, but they don't like it. They want to make changes - so they start ripping out pages and putting in blanks ones to rewrite the story. Or they destroy whole chapters to make it fit the new story they want to make. And they think the new story is better than the original - but they've done so much damage to the book in the process that the book is now falling apart at the seams and it looks like a mess."

"My parents would kill me if they ever saw me doing that to one of my books," Joe commented quietly. Mimi giggled, "I'd lend you some of mine. I never open the ones for school anyway. They're so boring and they always make you answer the questions at the back of the chapter."

"I'll say," Matt nodded his agreement. Tamer sighed, "Guys, the point is that Myotismon is the guy trying to make the changes. Agumon and I are the ones trying to make sure things play out the way they're supposed to. And you guys are the ones who are supposed to fight him. If he continues to have his way, the entire book falls apart. Only in this case, it's not a book - it's the Digital World. It's your world. It's every world that falls apart."

"So what you're saying is Myotismon is trying to change the future? Well what does that matter? The future is unpredictable - there are literally an infinite number of possible outcomes for any given moment," Izzy stated. Tamer muttered something under his breath about lesser life forms and continued, "Not true. Some things are set in stone and have to happen - like not fighting Myotismon until we get to the gate. A change on that scale would cause a ripple effect that drastically alters the future. Some things are inconsequential, like what you eat for breakfast or when you decide to take a shower - the overall impact is so small that it's negligible. But THIS is set in stone. We don't fight him until we get to the gate."

"What, are you a time traveller trying to protect the future you come from? How do you know all this?" Kabuterimon asked as a joke. Tamer shook his head, "No. My people were just sensitive to the flow of destiny. That's how we got one of our names: the Guardians of Destiny. We can tell what is, what should be, what cannot, and what must not. And looking at the last two always makes my head hurt."

"Let's say any of this is true, how are we supposed to trust you?" Joe demanded, stamping his foot on the ground, "I mean, how do we know that's what supposed to happen? For all we know, you're lying to us to keep us from doing something that we're not supposed to do. You already attacked Birdramon because you decided to NOT tell us that we don't fight Myotismon until he's at the gate. And if that were true, he's already shown he has some idea of what's supposed to happen. How do we know we're not walking into a giant trap? He's already made it clear that he doesn't want to do things the way you want them to happen. Besides, you said it yourself. We 'fight' him. You never said we beat him."

Silence followed Joe's rambling and it broke only when Gomamon commented, "That's my Joe."

"I said it before. Someone has to think about these things," Joe quietly mused. Izzy nodded, "Joe's observations are astute and raise several concerns. How can we know that we're supposed to succeed? If we're predetermined to fail, then it feels like hanging back and letting them through would be the safer alternative. However, if we're supposed to win - then why didn't you let us kill Myotismon? It seems like that would have moved things along faster. And there's one other pressing concern. If any of us were supposed to die, would you ever tell us? 'How it's supposed to happen', right?"

"I can't tell you," Tamer said, "The last time someone learned things they weren't supposed to, it ended horribly. You just need to trust us. Isn't that right Agumon?"

"He's talking about the war," Agumon said in annoyance, pressing forward, "You've really got to stop being so cryptic. It's annoying and isn't really helpful."

"So what I'm to understand is, digimon like Myotismon learned information about how they would die and set about trying to change destiny. Within that context, the actions of both Etemon and Devimon make perfect sense," Izzy mulled over loudly. Thinking out loud helped the others realize what he was thinking, but this was one thing they'd preferred him to keep to himself. It didn't help that neither Agumon nor Tamer answered. Was one of them supposed to die? The question had Matt snarl, "Are you taking us to get killed?"

"No, Marc," Tamer finally snapped, "But if you want a tip about what's supposed to happen, then here's the biggest one I can give: help out your friends when they need you."

"You and I are not friends," Matt hissed and Tamer said, "I never said we were."

"WILL YOU TWO JUST KISS ALREADY?" Agumon yelled, turning to walk away, "You fight like an old married couple!"

Agumon's comment had them back away from each other, both boys looking bashful at Agumon's comment. The little dinosaur stopped just a short distance away, turned and offered his claw, "Hands again. We don't want to get lost."

Matt scoffed, "Just take us to where we need to go. So we can do whatever it is we're supposed to do."

"Okay, but you guys might want to change back. The hallways will be kind of cramped going forward," Agumon said unapologetically. The champion level digimon looked at each other, briefly contemplating if hitting him would be a good idea but let it go. They continued entertaining the idea of punching the two as they regressed back to their rookie forms, if only to make themselves feel better.

Tamer and Agumon took the lead again - guiding them through the ever twisting room. They occasionally stopped to walk off the walkway, turn around, walk sideways up stairs, or took a blind jump backwards. It seemed odd and, for a moment, it seemed like the duo was just leading them in circles. Eventually, they walked to the end of the walkway and emerged in a darkened study illuminated only by a single lit candle on a desk. The dancing flames revealed empty shelves along the walls and the books scattered along the floor, many of them were left open with various scribbles in the margins. Torn pages were scattered around the floor, yellowed with time and from being read. Agumon remarked, "This place has seen better days."

"I'll say," Tamer sighed, examining the bookshelves quietly as he walked along the wall. Tentomon glanced around, "I don't see anything that looks like a gate."

Izzy came up with a solution right away, "Something that important sounds like it would be hidden to protect its contents. Is it concealed behind a hidden another illusion like Piximon's place?"

"Yes, it's hidden. No, not by an illusion. My people went simple for this one. Anyone who went looking for it would look for illusions or holograms. We just hid it behind a bookshelf," Tamer said as he retrieved a book from the middle most shelf. The entire wall sprang to life and slowly slid open to reveal a hidden passage behind it. A long staircase lay just beyond the hidden passage and led down into a cave.

"Spooky," Palmon commented in the eeriest voice she could produce - staring into the tunnel as it disappeared into darkness.

"Do you think Myotismon keeps the lights off to help make this place even creepier?" TK half joked, half whimpered.

"He's a vampire," Agumon reminded them - walking down into the darkness, "He hates the light."

"Speaking of light, shouldn't you bring a one? It's pitch black down there! You could trip and fall! Or worse, what if there's a trap!" Joe worriedly shouted at the orange dinosaur, "Hey! Are you even listening?"

"Come on Joe! Adventure time!" Tamer whisked the candle off the desk, and pursued his partner into the darkness. Joe groaned, "Am I the only one with a really bad feeling about this?"

"No," Gabumon grumbled.

They descended into the darkness, the only light coming from the candle in Tamer's hand. As they descended, they could hear a soft rumble of noise. As if hundreds of digimon were being really loud and really quiet at the same time. The stairs led them to a balcony that oversaw a large room packed with hundreds of digimon- many they'd never encountered before - standing in marching formations within a large room. It was difficult to make out anything besides how large and intimidating they were in the dark. Carved into the walls of the room were large statues of more gargoyles dressed as Devimon, casting their gaze forward at attention. Various wires and cables ran along the walls, connecting the gate to various computers and glowing containers.

Before the parade stood Myotismon alongside an entourage of digimon - Phantomon and Wizardmon they recognized. There were other large and intimidating digimon present there - one that looked like a giant spider wearing a yellow mask, another that looked like a man clad in leather with fire for hair, and another that looked like a black Tyrannomon. The one that stood out most was a small white cat wearing large yellow gloves with claws - an adorable little creature that looked out of place amidst such frightening digimon. Myotismon raised an arm as he spoke, "This is our time, the moment where we spread our cause and fulfill our destiny. Beyond this gate, the last gift the Ancients left for us, is another world - one prime for conquering like the Digital World before it. Together, we will usher in a new era! One free from the shackles of our so called destiny!"

There were roars of approval from the digimon assembled as Myotismon finished, "Come! Let us go forward in defiance of our fates!"

He stepped aside to reveal a stone slab with a large square divided into nine spaces. To the side, the rows were labeled with one star, two star, and three stars. The columns were marked by the drawings of a lion, a monkey, and a centaur. Myotismon produced a set of cards from his suit and aligned them carefully into each of the nine spaces, "Gate! OPEN!"

The room rumbled as the doors parted to reveal an open void of endless glowing light, with beams so bright that they blinded everyone who looked into it. Tamer took this chance to cover his eyes with his goggles while everyone else was forced to raise their arms to shield out the light. Winds raged and howled, sucking in anything that was close by. Myotismon turned to his army and declared, "Go forth my vanguard! Secure the world beyond for our advance."

"NO!" Mimi screamed out loud, giving away their position. The cheers died down and the assembled digimon turned to face the digidestined. Myotismon looked up at them and sneered, "Rear guard. Defensive positions."

"Now can we fight?" Gomamon mockingly asked. Tamer nodded, "Yeah. Go for it!"

"That's all I need! Go Gabumon!" Matt roared. Their digimon partners ran forward and the children's digivices hummed to life.

"Gabumon! Digivolve to! Garurumon!"

"Biyomon! Digivolve to! Birdramon!"

"Tentomon! Digivolve to! Kabuterimon!"

"Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Gomamon! Digivolve to! Ikakumon!"

The champion level digimon and Agumon stood at the base of the stairs ready to attack. The digimon in the back of the formation assembled a line to protect their advancing comrades. They disappeared into the glow of light as they marched into the gate, with the digimon beside Myotismon following suit, until only Wizardmon and the white cat remained. Myotismon looked at the digidestined and their partners, "Well, look who's finally decided to do something. Well, most of you anyway. I see the smallest still avoids the fighting."

TK stepped backwards uncomfortably, still holding Tokomon in his arms. Matt stepped in front of his little brother and shouted at the vampire, "If you want him you'll have to go through me!"

"That's the plan," Myotismon snapped his fingers. His rear guard advanced on their digimon. Agumon looked to Tamer, "Your call, chief."

"Crew expendable. Just don't touch Myotismon," he replied. Agumon nodded and ran in first.

"Howling Blaster!"

"Electroshocker!"

"Needle Spray!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Meteor Wing!"

The two groups of digimon clashed - the partners of the digidestined and the digimon in the rear of Myotismon's army. In their ranks were Gotsumon, Gazimon, Bakemon, and Tyrannomon. The smaller digimon fell behind their larger counterparts and let them take the bulk of the fight. The Tyrannomon had them outnumbered but were no match for the combined efforts of the digidestined's partners. They traded blows and each of the champions paired off against another enemy as the fight carried out. As the smallest member, Agumon zipped around going after the weaker rookies. One Gazimon learned this the hard way when Agumon set him ablaze with his pepper breath.

The Gazimon screamed as it died and Agumon raced to next digimon in his path - a Bakemon distracted by a fight between Kabuterimon and another Tyrannomon. It was looking for an opening to get at Kabuterimon, but Agumon used his claws to stab it in the back before it could get that chance. A Gotsumon saw the chance to get the orange dinosaur from behind, but was struck from the back by a kick from the Tamer. Unfortunately for him, the rock digimon was much harder than his leg and he hurt himself as much as he hurt the Gotsumon. The Gotsumon stumbled while he fell back to the ground, "Argh! Not a good idea! OW! Okay, I won't do that again."

Tamer staggered briefly, holding onto his leg in pain but Agumon kept any digimon from getting too close.

Meanwhile, the other champions were able to make quick work of the Tyrannomon. Garurumon especially was able to rush through the center of their formation and scared the smaller rookies by baring his fangs. The Bakemon weren't so easily intimidated and tried to swarm the unsuspecting wolf digimon. At the last second, Garurumon leapt aside and Togemon hopped in his place, "Needle Spray!"

The large cactus spun in place and released a spray of needles over everything. The ghost digimon scattered and this created a gap in the line of Myotismon's digimon. And through that was a straight shot at Myotismon. Matt pointed it out first and shouted, "There's our chance! Sora! Digivolve Birdramon!"

"Got it!" Sora and Birdramon said together. Birdramon swooped through the gap in the line towards Myotismon. Sora's crest began to glow and Birdramon underwent her digivolution process. Myotismon observed the spectacle unamused, folded his arms and commanded his servants, "Deal with them."

"On it," Wizardmon and the white cat said together. They rushed forward to try and stop Birdramon in her tracks. As they were about to strike, Agumon and Tamer appeared along side her. Agumon tackled Wizardmon and Tamer threw himself in the way of the cat's attack. Agumon managed to pin Wizardmon to the ground and the two grappled with each other. Meanwhile, that cat's claws dug into Tamer's stomach and he yelped in pain. He used whatever strength he had to latch onto the cat and body slam her into the ground.

With her path clear, Birdramon cried out, "Birdramon! Digivolve to! Garudamon!"

Garudamon continued forward and tried to punch Myotismon with her giant claw. She struck Myotismon with enough force to shake the cave and kick up a layer of dust that obscured the room. When the dust settled, they gasped in awe at the improbable. Myotismon was standing fine, holding back Garudamon's strike with his hand and looking no worse for wear. If anything, he looked bored and sighed, "Pathetic. I expected more from you digidestined."

He flicked his wrist, and managed to slam Garudamon to the ground. She shrieked in pain, and then Myotismon lifted her up to slam her again. And again. Myotismon laughed manically and this drove Sora to go out and help her partner, "NO! Garudamon!"

"No, you don't!" the white cat from crawled from under the injured Tamer to stop Sora in her tracks, "You won't get past me. In the name of Lord Myotismon, surrender and die!"

"Don't you mean 'or die'?" Togemon asked.

"No, I don't," the cat snarled with glee. The cactus blinked, then remarked, "Oh! Hey! A cat! A little late, but I called it!"

The cat dropped from its ready stance to shoot her a confused look, "What?"

"Togemon! Go help Garudamon!" Mimi said to her partner.

"You too Kabuterimon!" Izzy said. The two champions hurried forward but the little cat leapt into the air and struck them both down with one blow each. The two digimon regressed to their rookie forms and collapsed to the ground. The cat landed gracefully between them and licked the tip of her claw playfully, "Who's next?"

Izzy and Mimi called out to their unconscious partners while Myotismon slammed Garudamon on the ground one more time and she regressed to Yokomon. Sora tried to run past the cat digimon but was kicked to the ground for her efforts, "Nice try, but you'll have to try harder to get past a slick cat like me."

"Who is this digimon?" TK wailed out. The cat looked TK in the eye and introduced herself, "The name is Gatomon. I might look like a sweet, adorable kitty but I'm as ferocious as a wildcat. But why tell you and when I can show you little boy! YAH!"

The cat leapt through the air with such speed that she was in front of TK in the blink of an eye. Matt tried to move between the two, but was unable to keep up with Gatomon's pure speed. With no one else to help him, Tokomon leapt out of TK's arms to protect his partner. He was clearly outmatched - Gatomon took out Tamer, Kabuterimon, and Togemon with ease. But he still had to try, even if it cost him. He'd done this once before and he was prepared to do it again. And part of him could feel TK's faith in him.

"Tokomon! Digivolve to! Patamon!"

"What?" the light of the digivolution caught Gatomon off guard and let the little rookie tackle the cat to the ground. He had her pinned and he called out, "I won't let you hurt him."

"Yeah! Kick her butt Patamon! You can do it!" TK cheered on his partner. The encouragement helped drive Patamon forward, and he held her down with all his strength to head butt her. She had the same idea and the two hit their heads against each other, "Get off!"

The two locked their heads against each other, trying to knock the other back. In that moment, they locked eyes intensely. Gatomon was stumped, there was no way a digimon like her could be having such a hard time knocking a rookie digimon like Patamon away. But he had her pinned and she couldn't push him off her. She could see the ferocity in his eyes, the desire to protect his human partner - a sense of camaraderie she shared with only one other. He only fell away when Wizardmon swung his staff like a golf club and threw Patamon back into TK, "GET OFF HER!"

"Thanks Wizardmon," Gatomon hopped up to her feet and threw out her claws again.

"BACK OFF MY BROTHER!" Matt growled. He hadn't forgotten about Izzy's musings - the possibility that one of them might die. Seeing the danger TK and Patamon were in had him acting on pure brotherly instinct. He would kill anyone who tried to harm his little brother. Garurumon broke away from the fight to charge at both Wizardmon and Gatomon. The two of them fell away to keep their distance from the large wolf, with Gatomon commenting, "Dogs. I hate dogs."

"Wizardmon! What are you doing? I thought you were on our side!" Matt yelled as he ran behind Garurumon to TK and Patamon.

"I'm sorry. I'm not on your side. I've never been on Digimon Tamer's side. And I'm not on Myotismon's side either. I live strictly for Gatomon," Wizardmon stated quietly, "Everything else is second to me. But make no mistake, Tamer has always been aware of this. As has Master Myotismon. He tolerates my presence because he knows I will never go against Gatomon's wish to serve him."

"I don't think they want your life story Wizardmon," Gatomon commented wryly.

"Apologies, Gatomon. I will hold my tongue in the future," Wizardmon bowed, causing the cat to sigh, "Why are we friends again?"

"Because you saved my life and I owe you a debt of gratitude," Wizardmon answered.

"Right now, I really regret doing that," Gatomon replied.

"You always say that."

"I always mean it," Gatomon answered, and the two chuckled briefly. Myotismon cleared his throat, "If I may interrupt! Relieve Digimon Tamer of the eighth tag."

"Yes sir," the two said together, charging towards the Tamer.

Tamer was on all fours, clutching at his stomach while Agumon fought off the remainder of Myotismon's army. There were plenty of them lying unconscious on the ground, but it didn't seem to lower the amount of digimon still fighting. Izzy and Mimi were beside the partners while Ikakumon and Garurumon fended off any other digimon trying to attack. It was up to Matt and Joe now to keep the attacking digimon at bay. TK and Patamon were safe now, since the team of Gatomon and Wizardmon had left him alone. But now they had their sights squarely on Tamer. As he followed their movements, he saw Sora kneeling over Yokomon and bawling her eyes out. Beside her was Myotismon, amusedly watching the scene play out before him.

Tamer looked up and managed to block the first of Wizardmon's attacks, but his injured leg kept him from moving fast enough to either block or dodge the next. He yelped as Wizardmon struck him in the back of the head with his staff and he fell unconscious. Agumon tried to help but was knocked back by Gatomon. Try as he might, the digimon was just too tired to keep up with her faster movements - and he'd be beaten down if he tried to digivolve to Greymon. He was left with no choice but to tank Gatomon's hits for as long as he could.

"Got it," Wizardmon declared as he produced the empty tag from Tamer's pocket. Myotismon nodded, "Good work. Now finish them off."

"Yes sir," Wizardmon extended out his palm and a ball of fire formed it. At the same time, Myotismon looked down on Sora and Yokomon. A trail of red light appeared in his hand and extended downwards like a rope. He raised it overhead in preparation to deliver a killing blow to Sora and Yokomon.

Joe watched the fight around him. They were about to be killed. Digimon Tamer lay motionless and Sora was too distracted by Yokomon to notice anything was wrong. Izzy and Mimi's partners were out cold. As for TK and Patamon, there was no way Matt would ever let Garurumon stray too far. His instincts as an older brother kicked in and now his only concern was protecting TK. No, it had to be him. It was his responsibility to help his friends and he would do whatever it took.

"Ikakumon! Save her!" Joe cried out.

He was so distracted by the danger his friends were in, that he didn't notice his crest glowing a hue of gray. The lights shined brighter and caught everyone by surprise. The energy welled up inside and burst out in beams of light that let their partners glow.

"Ikakumon! Digivolve to! Zudomon!"

Ikakumon vanished, replaced by a large walrus with orange fur wearing a green shell and belts around his arm and chest. Unlike Ikakumon, he walked upright and wielded a large steel hammer that crackled with electricity. The newly digivolved Ultimate level digimon moved quickly, despite his immense size.

Zudomon slammed the ground with his mighty hammer, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

Sparks of electricity flew from the hammer and travelled along the ground towards Wizardmon and Gatomon. The ground cracked and popped as the current surged, singeing the two digimon as they narrowly moved out of its path. With a chance to move freely, Agumon moved back to Tamer's side and held out his arms to protect his partner.

Zudomon swung his hammer again and sent another blast of electricity towards Myotismon. The blow hit hard and sent Myotismon sliding back some distance. They watched in awe as Myotismon looked genuinely scared, backing away from Sora and Yokomon.

Wizardmon and Gatomon regrouped behind Myotismon, nervously glancing at Zudomon. Gatomon asked, "What do we do? I don't think this was supposed to happen."

"Which is exactly what we want to happen. How else are we to alter fate? We have the eighth tag and the eighth crest. We go to the Real World and begin our conquest," Myotismon hissed slyly, still smiling, "Leave them here."

"The eighth crest! You have it?" Joe asked. Myotismon smiled, "You'd be surprised what I have. Like knowledge of what lies ahead, and how to stop it. That future can't come to pass if I kill everyone involved."

"So you're going to kill the last digidestined!?" Zudomon asked. Myotismon's smile widened to reveal his razor sharp fangs, "This eighth crest is the first step to achieving that goal. Gatomon. Wizardmon. Let's go."

"What about the rear guard?" Gatomon asked. Myotismon laughed, "They will follow us once they've dealt with the digidestined. Let's go."

Myotismon turned to leave but Zudomon went after him, "No you don't!"

Two of the remaining Tyrannomon jumped in his way. They knew they wouldn't stand a chance; they were practically outclassed by the Ultimate. Still, it would slow the digimon down and buy their master time to escape - that was reason enough for the suicidal dive. The attacks connected and both Tyrannomon perished. Zudomon smashed the floor with his hammer - and the blast cracked the ground and shook the cave. Myotismon, Gatomon, and Wizardmon moved out of the way of the electricity. They took one last mocking smile at the digidestined before disappearing into the glowing gate.

It rumbled again, and the stone doors started closing. Myotismon's rearguard dropped everything they were doing and started fleeing through the gates. Zudomon took position by the closing doors, and this prompted those who couldn't get through to turn and run. The ultimate tried to wedge his hammer between the closing doors to keep it open. The doors stalled and shook against the hammer, eventually popping it out of its place with enough force to dent the wall behind them. Zudomon then tried to keep the door open with its bare arms but it slipped through their fingers and slammed shut.

There were no cheers of victory. There was no joy to be had. Yokomon, Tentomon, and Palmon were still out cold. Zudomon regressed back to Bukamon and Garurumon changed back to Gabumon. Patamon, Gabumon, and Agumon were the only ones to retain their rookie forms and still stay conscious. That offered little solace when they considered Myotismon, Wizardmon, and Gatomon had escaped through the gate with an army. To find the Eighth Digidestined in their world. And there was no way for them to get through - no way for them to open the gate without The Digimon Tamer. Every second he was out cold was another second they were free to do who knows what in their world. Myotismon's words from before echoed in their mind. They had one chance to kill him and prevent him from doing what he was going to do, and Tamer refused to let them. They shuddered to think about what he was doing now, in their world.

Author's Notes: And so we've concluded Chapter 21. If you loved it, leave a review to let me know! I usually reply in a day or two. I also welcome constructive criticism and speculation on future chapters! Unless you leave a guest review. Then I'll respond in the next Author's Notes. I'll be taking another two-week break, because I have conferences to attend for work. Come back in two Fridays on April 15, 2016 at 5 PM CST for another rousing chapter of The Tamer! And now for some teasers for next time! Much like before, these are in no particular order and were pulled randomly from the next chapter!

"Tai's sister? You mean Tamer has a sister!" Mimi asked.

Tamer growled, "We go through the gate, find the eighth child and kick Myotismon's butt."

Izzy countered logically, "Add to the current weather and factor in the rate snow melts, and I'd hypothesize that it's only been a few hours."

"Joe, there's a giant monster rampaging towards us. I'm not going to buy a half baked explanation like that!" Mr. Fujiyama scolded them.

"There were two monsters!" TK declared.