Neverworld
This is a story full of restless nights.
Of do or do not 'cause there is no try.
Across a decade we flew high and we fell low.
And getting up when we're dragged down is all we know.
- Yellowcard, "Surface of the Sun"
Episode 24
Sora Takenouchi had heard the rumors of an attack on Isthmian. She didn't get much from upstairs as they didn't have many details, which was worrying in itself. It was on her mind, but so was the relief that she and Biyomon weren't being deployed and she and Suzie could spend an afternoon giving the floor of the hall a much-needed polishing.
She had almost finished sweeping when the front doors swung open. "Naturally," she mumbled under her breath, hoping the shoes about to trample through wouldn't undo her work too much. When she turned, the last thing she expected was for Nene to own them. Sora steeled herself for whatever came next; her disdain aside, this was surely not a social visit.
"You're under attack," Nene said. That was all it took; Sora dropped her broom and the two ran to the elevator.
"Where's TK?" the Fusion Fighter asked inside, eyes focused on the elevator doors.
"Upstairs, probably," Sora replied. "He took over Zoe's duties. Why?"
"They're after Patamon. They came to us looking for Gabumon, but-"
"Gabumon?! Is..." Sora wanted to ask, but she didn't want to ask her. There was no way the subject wouldn't be awkward.
Nene took a deep breath. "He's... he's fine." Sora could tell there was more. She didn't hear it.
The doors slid open to the top floor. The girls spilled out and ran up to Tai's desk, simultaneously shouting, "We're under attack!"
Tai narrowed his eyes, darting between the two of them. "Okay..." he settled on Nene. "You're here... and getting along with Sora."
"Tai, this is serious!" Sora exclaimed.
"I know, I know..." He stood. "We've got them on radar. We just hit the alarm. What happened up there? Why are you here?"
"More importantly, what are we facing?" asked Thomas. "We can estimate the size of the threat, but we can't ID all of the signatures."
Nene nodded. "That's why I'm here. I know who they are- and what they're after." She turned to TK. Like everyone, he was staring back at her. "They want Patamon."
"Patamon?!" burst Tai. TK's face paled. Kari patted his knee.
"What do they want with Patamon?" Davis asked.
"I don't know." Nene looked down. "I missed that part. There must be something special about him."
"That mutation..." Sora mumbled, turning to TK. "Did Joe tell you about that?"
TK squirmed. "Yeah, but... we don't know what it is."
"But didn't you say they were looking for Gabumon?" Sora asked Nene.
"Yes, and they got to him," Nene said, voice grim. "He wasn't what they wanted."
"How did they get to him?" Thomas asked. "I mean given what you have at your disposal. ShineGreymon... Shoutmon X7..."
"We... tried to fuse X7..." Nene's hands shook. "I wasn't able to make it work." She bit her lip, her eyes cheating up. First at Sora, who narrowed an eye, then at Tai, who only nodded.
"Happens to all of us," mumbled the commander.
"What about Susanoomon?" Thomas continued.
"Susanoomon?"
Davis snickered. "Yeah, get this- Takuya and Koji digifuse. We needed it for a battle a few years ago. It was crazy."
"Takuya? Oh, um..." Nene looked at everybody and suddenly felt a sense of dread. "Did Zoe make it back here?"
"Zoe?" Kari leaned forward. "What do you mean? Why would she be here?"
"Apparently she took her spirits and left a couple days ago. That limited Takuya." She leaned back on Tai's desk. "Something tells me she didn't make it."
Kari fell back into her chair in stunned silence. TK rubbed her shoulder.
"Well..." Tai shook his head. "First thing's first. How long do we have before they get here?"
"At their rate of travel, less than an hour," Thomas said, signaling to TK to sound the alarm.
Clutching at his goggles, Tai nodded. "Nene, tell Thomas everything you can about the enemy. Davis? TK? Meet me downstairs. We've defended this place before. We'll just have to do it again."
Yoshi Fujieda wished she could have plodded with Sunflowmon after a few hours planted on MegaKabuterimon's back. Maybe it wouldn't have been bad if she could ride alone, but between her, Izzy, Takuya and Mikey there was no room to spare. It was still probably better than Matt and Takato awkwardly trying to share space on KendoGarurumon speeding down the train tracks or Tommy clinging to MetalKabuterimon tearing through the dirt.
Even worse, the buzzing wings didn't do enough to deafen the conversation on board. So she not only had to huddle close to these guys, she had to hear them as well.
"Still bummed?" Mikey asked Takuya. Yoshi was trying not to pay attention to the despondent expression on his face. Mikey was too nosy for that.
"You don't understand," Takuya mumbled. "I was dreaming of this for years. To get out... to do things our way. To just... explore. It felt so good to break away, and now..."
Mikey shrugged. "Hey, the important thing is we tried."
Takuya glared back. "Screw that! We did all that planning! We burned all those bridges just to watch everything blow up in our face! And now everyone's in trouble and we're crawling back." He scoffed. "We tried? Did you care about this at all?"
"Look, the important thing now is taking care of these guys and making sure there's a place to crawl back to."
"Yeah, and then spend the rest of eternity back on Tai's leash. God, I don't want to deal with him right now. We're never getting out of here."
"Hey, don't give up. You'll get another chance."
Takuya stared at Mikey for a while, then grumbled, "I'm starting to get why everyone hates you."
Mikey turned to Izzy. "You guys aren't going to be too harsh on everyone who left, right? No sense to keep fighting with each other."
"Hmm?" Izzy looked back at him. "What were you talking about?" He shook his head. "I was trying to figure out what's going on with Algomon."
"What do you mean? He won't stay dead. Seems pretty simple. I mean, sure we couldn't fuse X7, but we still hit him pretty hard. You'd think it would have been enough. I mean, didn't Rosemon finish him off last time?"
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Lalamon snapped. Yoshi held her down.
"The problem instead might be that he's already dead," Izzy surmised. "Far as we know, the world is still reacting to his death. What if he isn't back after all?"
"What, like a zombie?" Mikey asked.
Izzy shook his head. "I'd prefer a more scientific description... but I'm not sure there is one. But how do you kill something that's already dead?"
"And what does a dead Digimon want with Patamon anyway?" asked Yoshi.
Scratching his chin, Izzy said, "Who knows how long he had Patamon and Gabumon captive? It must have been for a reason. What could he do with them?"
"They sure didn't make very good guards. But he must have needed them for something."
"And he must not have known which one." Izzy shook his head. "The trouble is we don't know how long Algomon had them or what went on in there. Matt and TK don't remember anything."
"Just the dream TK had about our world." Izzy looked over his shoulder at Yoshi, suddenly concerned. Yoshi leaned away. "What? Rika told me about it."
"That dream where Algomon invaded the human world..." Izzy mumbled. Facing forward, his expression hadn't changed. "This could be bad."
Kari Kamiya listened to her brother explain the defensive strategy. Throughout the years, they had gotten comfortable with the notion of an unstoppable united force capable of meeting any threat. Without the Isthmian crew, the castle had just ten viable partnerships able to fight. They would never have stood a chance without Nene's scouting report cluing them into enemy attack patterns, targets, and tricks.
Davis and Ken had already DNA digivolved Imperialdramon, shielding Wormmon from the risk of exposure to TyrantKabuterimon's mind control. If the dragon were to fall, Ken's partner could still succumb. Their lack of numbers and the enemy's resilience made it unwise for anyone to advance on them, forcing the battle to take place entirely in or over the castle. Kari even had to listen to the precautions to keep TK and Patamon out of harm's way. It was a smart tactic, but dangerous. Tai sounded unconvinced explaining it, frequently glancing at Thomas in a way that suggested a tense argument preceding this briefing.
As frightening as all of this was, it barely stirred Kari. All of her friends were in tremendous danger and their home was sure to take considerable damage, but it was background noise in her mind. She couldn't stop worrying about Zoe. She never got the chance to get all the details from Nene, but Kari could picture it. She knew Zoe was growing sick of everything at Isthmian and losing her faith in Takuya. But using her spirits and leaving on her own? Was she in trouble? Was anyone looking for her? Was anyone going to, or were they too occupied with this attack to dwell on it?
"Koichi, you'll be on lookout upstairs." Tai paced across the stage as the briefing wound down. "Let us know what's going on and try to get in contact with Takuya so we now when the cavalry's coming." He clasped his hands together and smiled at the team. "Okay, I know it's tough but we just need to bear down and take care of these creeps. Let's go!" There was no cheer or rousing cry from anyone. They stood, some with firm nods, and joined their Digimon to get into position.
"Ready for this, Kari?" Gatomon found her first.
Kari didn't answer, instead picking her partner up and running up to Tai. He had jumped off the stage, pulling his goggles from his neck to around his forehead. "So... Tai, um..."
"Is something wrong?" he asked. He gave his sister a look of concern, but mixed it with stuttered glances across the room.
"Tai, I know I'm supposed to be-"
He nodded, reiterating her role: "Backing up Henry, but close to Yolei in case you need to-"
"Actually..." She took a deep breath, setting Gatomon down. "I want to go look for Zoe."
"What?! Now?! Are you crazy?"
"What if she's in real trouble? Are we just going to forget about her?"
"Well, no, but we kinda got our hands full right now!"
"I just..." Kari slammed her eyes closed. "I have a bad feeling. She needs help."
"Who doesn't?" Tai sighed. "Look, I know we should send help, but let's get through this and then worry about it."
"I can't not worry about it, Tai. She's my friend. She left a bad situation up there and I'm afraid she's in a worse one. I don't think we can afford to-"
"Kari?" Tai put his hands on her shoulders. "If we mess this up, we could lose everything. And you know who they're after. We need you."
Kari looked down. "Zoe needs me too. Tai, we'll be okay. Everyone's here for you." She draped a hand over her chest. "But someone needs to be there for her. She needs to know she has friends that won't let her suffer."
Tai could only shake his head. He wanted to say more, but she wasn't budging. And every minute mattered. In a deep exhale, he finally said, "Okay fine." Kari didn't react. "But I'm not letting you go alone. I want you to go with... um..." He didn't actually have anyone in mind that wouldn't threaten his operation.
"I'll find someone. Thanks, Tai." She hugged him, squeezing him longer than he was comfortable with. He hugged back only reluctantly, still unsure about her mission and desperate to get back to his.
"Just don't let them see you. Please be careful." He pulled away, stared at her for a moment longer than he needed to, and ran off when Thomas called his name.
Kari smiled only briefly, dropping it when Gatomon said, "I know this is important to you, but what's your plan? I hope you're not thinking of grabbing who I think you are."
"Yep." Kari turned around and walked to the outside door.
Gatomon followed, mumbling, "I can think of at least two problems with that."
He was handing out radios to everybody as they headed into position. "Done passing out walkie-talkies, Jeremy?" Kari asked.
Jeremy tapped his foot as he handed one to her. "Walkie-talkies?! These are high-end tactical radios specifically calibrated for critical situations like this!"
Kari passed it to Gatomon, who looked it over and said, "I bet they work just as well as the squawkers."
The digidestined took Jeremy's wrist. "You need to come with me. Zoe's in trouble. We're going after her."
Jeremy pulled his wrist back, almost jumping. "What?! What happened?!"
"Sounds like she couldn't take what was happening up there and tried to fly back here." Kari lowered her head. "She didn't make it."
He narrowed his eyes and stared into hers. They didn't waver. Finally, he broke it off, setting down the leftover radios and marching outside. Kari followed. He waved her away and said, "Nope! If she's going to do something that stupid, I'm not going along with it."
"She used her spirits," Kari replied, freezing him. "She hasn't used her spirits in years. She always said the memories were too intense for her. That's how much getting back here meant to her. That's how much she regrets leaving us."
Kari could sense his wavering, but he didn't answer. She went on: "Jeremy, I'm not asking you to take her back. Only you can decide that and I don't know if it's what she even wants. But she needs us right now. And I know you care about her enough to help me find her."
He stalled for a long time, but finally his shoulders slumped. "I don't have a Digimon," he said.
Kari smiled. "It doesn't matter if you don't have a Digimon."
Jeremy turned around, staring at Kari and the determined smile on her face. Gatomon said, "Do we need to get Davis? Davis is really good at this speech."
Finally, he sighed and walked up to her. "So where do we start looking and how do we get there?"
Her grin widened. "We fly, of course." She held out her D3 and shouted, "Digi-Armor Energize!"
Nene Amano stared ahead at the castle towers, trying to focus on the battle they'd soon witness. She had done what she had set out to do: TK was safe in hiding while the team tailored its strategy to the intelligence she provided. Now, aboard Imperialdramon perched high on the mountain overlooking the flying Digimon assigned to clear out the first wave, she hoped it was enough.
"I've got visual!" came the report from the Monitamon stationed on the other side. "Engagement in five minutes." Koichi relayed the same message over the radio.
"Ten-four," Davis replied, turning to his team. "Ready ladies?"
"Remember, you'll need to be ready to jump on your Digimon quickly if we need to change to Fighter Mode," Ken said. Yolei and Sora nodded. Nene heard it, but barely processed it. She had too much else on her mind.
"Are you okay?" Sora asked. It wasn't the token call making sure a teammate had her head in the game. Nene thought she hadn't given anything away, but Sora was not only staring at her, but looked genuinely worried. "Something's bothering you," she reiterated.
"It's... nothing," Nene replied, her voice low, her lip quivering. "We have bigger things to worry about."
"What happened with Matt?" Nene winced. She hated giving herself away.
"It's personal," she mumbled back. "I'll deal with it later. It was my fault anyway."
Sora sighed. "What, not being able to fuse right?" Nene looked away, holding back an annoyed grunt. "Thought so. He doesn't like when that happens. And with Gabumon in danger?"
Clenching a fist, Nene grimaced and turned back to her companion. "You don't understand what goes into it. I don't know if it's the same as with..." She gestured towards Imperialdramon below them. "But it requires a strong bond between all three of us. Recently my opinion of Mikey has changed too much."
"That's not your fault," Sora replied. "I'm a bit leery of him, actually. It's one thing to be close to someone you're fighting a war with. You can't be blamed if you see him differently now."
"That's nice of you to say, but-"
"But nothing!" Sora exclaimed. "If Matt's upset about that, he's wrong."
"Right or wrong, I don't know where we stood when I left."
"Well, if he still doesn't get it, I'll yell at him." Sora shook her head in anger.
Nene faced forward, occasionally glancing at Sora. The digidestined also stared ahead, focused squarely on Garudamon. With a faint grin, Nene said, "Thank you. I feel better now."
"And I feel like taking something out." Sora clutched her digivice.
Monitamon checked in again: "They're heading over the mountain now! Ready Miss Nene?"
"Ready." Nene stood. They looked up as the swarm of Flybeemon passed over their heads.
Just as she was about to give Sparrowmon the command, Sora popped to her feet, digivice in the air. "Garudamon! Digivolve!" Garudamon glowed, retaining its shine even after digivolving into a giant bird with four golden wings.
"Crimson Flare!" The massive flames from Hououmon's mouth flew forward and incinerated much of the first wave of attackers.
Nene raised an eyebrow at Sora, but her concentration was solely on her partner.
"Not bad, but watch me!" Sparrowmon zoomed into the action, wildly firing her pistols at some of the stragglers. Nene let slip a chuckle under her breath.
Suzie Wong sat back on a couch in the library, calmly watching MirageGaogamon fight a TigerVespamon outside. She was aware of the situation, and careful to sit well away from the windows in case they shattered in the battle. At the same time, she also wished she could run to the kitchen as the notion of daintily sipping a cup of tea while this was going on felt totally badass.
Yet she knew she had a job to do, and only a matter of time before she was up to bat. She chose her position carefully indeed, with not only a view of the window but also the security door leading to Leo Tower. The pounding began, and Suzie casually stood and watched as an intense pressure from outside blasted the door off, allowing a Kongoumon in. It scanned the room and saw Suzie standing alone. Easy prey, it figured, and it charged at her.
Suzie didn't move, waited for Kongoumon to reach its mark and commanded, "Now!"
"Snake Punch!" Mervamon's serpent arm lashed out of the stacks, chomping Kongoumon and crushing it to death. She stepped out and winked at Suzie. "With you, it's too easy."
"Look out!" Suzie shouted. The humanoid snake Digimon turned around in time to slice through a web attack fired by a Dokugumon. More were on the way- eight scaling down the walls through the busted door.
Mervamon readied herself. "I can handle this!"
"Don't chance it! Run!" Suzie was already backpedaling, and once she turned around and sprinted, Mervamon was quick to follow. Suzie pushed a button on her radio and said, "They're coming in the east entrance. Meet in the hallway!"
That was their destination, and they almost made it. A shot of web hit Suzie's leg, taking her down and sticking her to the floor. As Mervamon tried slicing through, the Dokugumon fired on her too, hitting her with enough web to bring her to the ground.
"Double Impact!" Beelzemon rushed in and provided the cover fire needed for Jeri to slide in with a kitchen knife to free them.
"Keep going, Beelzemon, I've almost got them!" Jeri shouted.
By now the Dokugumon had turned their attention to him. Beelzemon kept firing, shouting, "Fight me all you want! I'm not afraid to die!"
Jeri paused her rescue to turn to him and say, "Um, don't go that far."
"Yeah, don't ruin this for us," Suzie added.
"You are not putting me through that again!" Mervamon exclaimed.
Beelzemon held the Dokugumon off long enough for Jeri to free Mervamon, but another problem arose when TigerVespamon crashed through the front door. The cyborg bee popped into the air quickly and buzzed, "Where is the one our lord seeks?"
"Oblivion Cannon!" Beelzemon turned and instantly fired a huge shot from his right arm. Vespamon dodged it. The shell almost hit Gaogamon and Thomas rushing in behind them.
Suzie heard Thomas over the radio: "MirageGaogamon's too big to fight in the castle. Can you two take it?"
"Stall the spiders and we're on it!" Suzie replied. Gaogamon charged at the remaining Dokugumon as Mervamon joined Beelzemon. "You're up, Angie!"
The Fusion Fighter popped out from her cover, jumping on the stage, Loader in the air. "Okay! Mervamon! Beelzemon! Digifuse!" The resulting fusion added a cannon to Mervamon's snake arm, which it rapidly fired at TigerVespamon.
It still didn't land, so she charged at the enemy, finally connecting with her sword, piercing its shell midair and slamming it into the ground.
Now with the upper hand, Jeri and Suzie joined Angie on stage. The fused Mervamon dominated the fight, while Gaogamon was on top of the Dokugumon threat. Suzie folded her arms and grinned at the other two girls. "Those boys make it look so hard."
Tai Kamiya questioned his positioning. Unsure where the heavy hitters in the opposing army would strike, WarGreymon perched on the roof of Wizard Keep, ready to assist wherever a battle got dicey. That part was going fine: the reports from the front courtyard and inside the castle were encouraging, GrandisKuwagamon could evade MegaGargomon's heaviest attacks but failed to do any damage of his own, while Hououmon was a master at keeping anything else from dropping in from above. WarGreymon's position was perfect. Tai just wished he had his partner's view instead of being stuck on the ground relying on reports from Koichi.
He lost focus for a moment, mesmerized by Hououmon laying waste to everything in the air. Maybe it's what made him flinch at the slightest movement on the mountain. Algomon crept down the cliff face, almost low enough to pounce on MegaGargomon. Tai flagged down Joe and pulled him and his partner over. Somehow Algomon didn't react when Vikemon stormed into position.
"Viking Axe!" The morning stars on his back shot forward on chains, smashing Algomon and sending him crashing to the ground.
Tai grinned, then shouted, "Henry! Knock him down, then clear out!"
"Mega Twister!" MegaGargomon charged at GrandisKuwagamon, who slipped away from his arms.
"Viking Flail!" He was in no position, however, to avoid Vikemon smashing him to the ground.
"Power Pummel!" Once recovering, MegaGargomon punched the ground, rippling across the courtyard and keeping both enemies on the ground.
"Great, now get out!" Tai shouted, looking up and raising an arm. He and Joe backed away as well.
"Terra Force!" WarGreymon had already charged his primary attack and now launched his giant energy ball straight on top of Algomon. The resulting force threw Tai and Joe off their feet and separated Henry and Terriermon. With his face in the dirt, Tai saw nothing and heard the shattering of windows and felt the warmth of the atmosphere as the energy wave rippled across the courtyard.
Silence followed, followed by the radio crackling and Davis over the air: "Dude, everyone okay down there?"
Tai picked himself up. The first thing he saw was Bukamon. He scrambled to his feet as Joe stared back at him. "Bit much, maybe?" he asked.
Helping Joe to his feet, Tai looked up at WarGreymon, still floating above the courtyard. "Not with this thing."
GrandisKuwagamon was no longer there. Algomon was, but didn't move. Tai, Joe and Bukamon approached cautiously to survey the damage. The sealed door to the train platform had been blown clean off and the windows to every room in Wizard Keep save the upper command center had shattered.
"I am so glad I'm in a tower," Joe muttered.
On the other side, Henry and Terriermon looked over Algomon. "Did that do it?"
The moment Algomon stirred, the three boys eased back. The creature's head snapped backwards, eyeing Tai and Joe. Its eyes fired rounds of energy bullets at them. Tai tackled Joe to the ground, barely dodging.
WarGreymon descended and was met with a strong punch from Algomon, giving it time to get to its feet. Still on the ground, Tai looked back as the two fired attacks at each other.
"What is up with this guy?" Tai mumbled.
Mimi Tachikawa clutched both Palmon and TK as the explosions outside shook the entire train platform. Ewan, in turn, clutched her. They all found the decision to hide Patamon in the station surprising, and the loud evidence of attacks outside didn't reassure them. The logic was that stashing him in some hidden corner inside the castle penned him in. If Algomon was as hard to bring down as the reports indicated, his penetrating the building could be inevitable, leaving Patamon with no escape. The platform was harder to secure, but the less obvious spot offered an escape route should it be breached.
Tuwarmon patrolled the far exit, making sure the door was sealed and maintaining an illusion technique to hide it from the outside. Once the battle started and the enemy army didn't threaten the exit, it was clear it had worked, but the battering outside was still worrying.
"Let's hope we're causing all that," Mimi said.
Ewan gritted his teeth. "Even if we are, what are we fighting?" Another boom made him dig his nails into Mimi's shoulder.
TK shook his head rapidly, squeezing the bundle in his arms. "And they're after Patamon?" Mimi set Palmon down and pulled him into a full hug.
"They won't get him," Mimi insisted. "We'll do whatever it takes."
"But Mimi..." Palmon waited for eye contact. "Does that mean..."
Mimi's grip on TK softened. She darted her eyes between him and her partner. Another explosion, this one the loudest yet, rattled the chamber, knocked Palmon over and had them all huddling again. Bits of rock fell from the ceiling into Mimi's hair.
"That was a bad one," TK whispered, shivering in Mimi's arms.
"Oh no..." Ewan pointed toward the station entrance and the natural light coming in. "Hide!"
Clutching their Digimon, Mimi and TK frantically jumped off the platform ahead of Ewan. He stayed behind while the two digidestined ran past the platform into the narrow tunnel. With them safely out of sight, Ewan peeked over the platform floor to see if anyone stormed in.
The Digimon didn't storm in so much as it was swept in. Whatever pushed GrandisKuwagamon along the floor into the terminal left him to crawl the rest of the way. He forced his way to his feet, but still struggled to stand. Despite this, he limped onto the platform, looking around. Ewan sneaked back to Mimi and TK.
"Not good..." he mumbled. "I don't suppose you're strong enough to take on GrandisKuwagamon?"
"We can't even beat a regular Kuwagamon." TK tried to peer over Ewan's shoulder at the threat, but they were too far in the tunnel.
"Let's go." Ewan motioned them down the tunnel. TK shuffled his partner to one hand and turned on a flashlight as they walked. One sound from GrandisKuwagamon behind them turned it into a run, Ewan hoisting Palmon into his arms.
"Sure you can't carry me instead?" Mimi huffed.
They ran as long as they could, which was far shorter for someone who didn't play basketball. Mimi started to slow, but Ewan grabbed her hand and pulled her back to their pace. It was only a matter of time before their shoes clanging on the metal track gave them away. Halfway down the tunnel they could sense GrandisKuwagamon chasing after them. TK dared to shine the light back to confirm it.
Despite his injuries, GrandisKuwagamon gained on them. With the exit still fifty yards away, Mimi and now TK had slowed to a jog while their pursuer kept his pace. He was closer to them than they were to the door.
"Get down!" Ewan tackled Mimi to the ground. TK fell when he saw Tuwarmon in front of them.
"Fujin's Waves!" The powerful gust of wind knocked GrandisKuwagamon off his feet. Tuwarmon leaped over his partner and landed between them and the enemy. "Get going!"
They did, although Ewan looked back to see how Tuwarmon fared against the Mega. Once TK had gotten the flashlight far enough away, the battle was in darkness- probably an advantage for the armored ninja. Either way, it bought them enough time to reach the portal. Mimi raised her digivice to open the security doorway.
The sunlight blinded them, giving them no clue what to expect on the other side of the door, especially as none of them had ever ridden the train out or had a hand in the tunnel's construction. The track exited on a grassy hill, gradually sloping down the rest of the mountain. Cliffs surrounded them, save for a ridge on their left leading back around the mountain towards the castle. Most importantly, there were no enemies in sight.
Ewan clicked on his radio as Mimi and TK stood clear of the tunnel. "This is Ewan! We got smoked out! What should we do?" The radio only echoed static. He turned to the others. "I don't know if they can hear us."
GrandisKuwagamon burst out of the tunnel, dragging along both a dazed Tuwarmon and one of his ninja copies. Ewan winced and pulled his partner into his Fusion Loader, then backpedaled, stopping in front of Mimi and TK. With the big bug closing in on them, he held his arms in front of the two digidestined and their Digimon.
"What are you trying to do here, Ewan?" TK asked.
"Keep you alive. That's all I got."
Palmon tried to squirm out of Mimi's arms. "Mimi... please..."
"Palmon, no, he's a Mega," Mimi whimpered. "He'd tear you apart. I can't watch that again."
They eased back further, their backs against the rock. "There's nothing else we can do!" Palmon pleaded, finally shaking free. She jumped in front of Ewan. "You're afraid of me dying again... what about all of you?"
Mimi trembled as she looked over at Ewan and TK. Neither were begging her on or forcing her to fight; they had been through it before. They understood. Even so, they were in danger. Mimi couldn't have that. No matter if it put Palmon in the crosshairs, it was her duty to protect, no matter the odds. Mimi squeezed her digivice. Even with her eyes closed she could sense the glow.
She held them shut until the process ended, and even then had to force them open. How could she bear to watch the inevitable mismatch? Togemon may have offered some protection and could buy them some time, but it was hopeless. To her surprise, however, she didn't see a giant cactus. She was far beyond a a giant cactus.
"Rose Spear!" Rosemon used her whip to parry GrandisKuwagamon's claws, striking her again once free. This was a fairer fight.
It did, however, pose a different problem. GrandisKuwagamon evaded Rosemon's attack and lunged straight at TK, who barely dodged in time. Rosemon stepped in to protect him from another attack. Ewan mumbled, "She's stronger, but we can't hide behind her."
Raising his voice, he shouted, "TK! The path! Get Patamon out of here!"
TK popped to his feet, eyeing the ridge. "What about you guys?!"
"We're not as important! They're after Patamon! Get to the woods! Go!" With one long, worried stare at Mimi, TK held his partner closer and navigated the narrow cliffside path.
Mimi and Ewan watched him scramble to safety and missed GrandisKuwagamon clutch Rosemon with his pincers and toss her to the ground. He tried to pursue TK, but Rosemon's whip grabbed her arm and pulled him back to her. She had to somersault back to avoid his claws. He didn't give up, slashing away at her as she scrambled backwards along the grass.
Finally, GrandisKuwagamon used his Scissor attack to grip her again, throwing her against a rock face. The blow rattled Rosemon and made her an easy target. Mimi drove her head into Ewan's shoulder and mumbled, "No... please..."
"Forbidden Temptation!" She didn't see the attack, but when she opened her eyes Rosemon was on the other side of GrandisKuwagamon, at a distance, and firing a blast of rose petals at him. GrandisKuwagamon fell to his knees, allowing Rosemon to escape.
"Wait, what?" Ewan mumbled. "She can clone herself too?"
"Huh?" Mimi saw what were clearly two Rosemon. "That would be new."
Suddenly, they were in the shadow of MegaKabuterimon, flying overhead and descending enough to allow its four occupants to disembark. Yoshi rushed up to Mimi and said, "Looked like you needed a hand."
"Where's TK?" asked Izzy.
Ewan pointed to the trail. "Heading to the woods."
As he said that, TyrantKabuterimon appeared overhead, soaring over both Rosemon and swooping low over the path. Izzy frantically held out his digivice, de-evolving his partner all the way to Motimon just before his Ultimate form could turn on them.
Mikey shouted into his squawker: "Takato! Head around to the woods and find TK." He turned to Takuya and nodded. As soon as GrandisKuwagamon was occupied and away from the tunnel, the two goggleboys charged towards it and ran in.
As Izzy retrieved his partner and joined the group, Ewan pointed to Mikey and Takuya and asked, "Are they..."
Izzy nodded. "Koichi hasn't just been talking to you guys. We know what's going on." All the same, his eyes widened at the sight of a pair of Rosemon engaging GrandisKuwagamon. "Mimi... did you...?"
Mimi didn't respond. She stood in front of them alongside Yoshi, both putting all their concentration on the battle. Izzy and Ewan stood beside them, the former mumbling, "All the way to Mega?"
"Guess I've had this built up for a while." Her reply was barely above a whisper.
"Um... who's got which one?" Ewan asked.
TK Takaishi knew he needed to go faster. The path was wide enough for walking, but the ridge had too many bends and no guardrails to run. One wrong move and he'd topple over into an abyss of tree branches. His pace was slow enough that he even had time to look down and ponder the feasibility of jumping should it come to that. That wasn't an option. So he kept speedwalking, as fast as he could while keeping his balance with the Digimon in his arms.
He could feel the path's descent as the ridge took him under the tree cover. It wasn't a guarantee of safety, but at least took plummeting to his death off the table. Just as the road straightened enough to break into a run, he felt a vibration in his head, severe enough that he almost dropped his parcel to clutch it. The vibrations seemed to have voice. It didn't sound like speech, but he understood the message: "Release him or die."
TK stopped and looked back in time to see the black form of TyrantKabuterimon above him. The digidestined took a few steps back, wondering how safe the woods really were with a giant insect trailing him. TyrantKabuterimon approached him, but not in a rapid swoop. It was slow, cautious even. Whatever it wanted with Patamon, it wanted him alive and refused to do anything to jeopardize that. TK considered something drastic like holding him over the cliff but nobody, not even a giant sadistic beetle, was going to buy that ruse. Besides, holding him the way he was shielded part of his body, which may have been the only reason he was still alive.
"Shield of the Just!" The beam attack bothered TyrantKabuterimon enough for Gallantmon to leap past it and in front of TK. The united voices of Takato and Guilmon commanded, "Keep going, TK! We'll hold him off!"
The concept of bio-merge still blew TK's mind, but he wasn't going to stay and admire it. TK ran into the woods, now sprinting in whichever direction offered the least resistance. In the back of his mind, he knew he should be angling back towards the castle, but his mind was racing too fast for it to be anything but a tie-breaker between two feasible paths. His top priority was getting away, no matter how lost he got or how tired or how many stray branches tugged at and tore his clothes.
After running for several minutes, he saw a clearing and an easy path to it. Making sure nothing was chasing him, he slowed down and carefully looked over it, staying under the cover of the trees. He recognized the waterfall immediately and sighed in relief. TK knew where this was; Davis and Ken had dragged him out a few times for some late-night swimming. If he could find his way back to the castle in the dark, he could hide out here until everything died down.
He didn't feel the silk around his wrists until they tugged him up, pulling his arms apart and forcing him to drop his Digimon. TK watched him as he was hoisted against a tree, his arms tied to branches eight feet in the air. A pair of Kunemon covered his hands and wrists in web, then bound his legs as well. TK fought for a minute, but nothing gave. The two Kunemon hung in the air, staring at the Digimon motionless on the ground. TK banged his head against the tree in frustration; all of his work undone by two possessed Rookies.
TK fought as much as he could, but TyrantKabuterimon's arrival was inevitable, dropping from high in the sky, well away from Gallantmon's reach. It skimmed the pool below the waterfall, gliding to a stop in front of TK. TK didn't have the energy to plead with it, and could only close his eyes as it poked at the Digimon that had been bundled in TK's arms the whole time.
The vibrations returned, louder and more painful than before, making TK scream in agony. It subsided enough to let the voice through: "What is this?" TK forced his eyes open just enough to watch TyrantKabuterimon smash his horn through the orange-painted cloth wrapped around a wire frame shaped like Terriermon's head.
Despite the pain, TK forced a smirk. "You think I'd be dumb enough to actually walk around with him?" He was ready for the mind attack that followed, but it was still felt like his head was being torn to shreds from the inside. TK hoped he would slip into unconsciousness; as excruciating as this was, it was still surely easier to survive than whatever TyrantKabuterimon was about to do to him with his claws.
"Howling Blaster!" TK didn't feel those claws eviscerating him. Instead, he felt the blast against the tree, loosening his restraints enough for him to snap out of them and fall to the ground. His legs were bruised and the vibrations continued, but they were less focused now. He was undamaged enough to scramble away, following his brother's voice.
"TK!" Matt cried as his brother jumped into his arms. "Is Patamon okay?"
"I think so," TK said, still huffing. The vibrations had mostly died down and he was safe with his brother. After the endless torture since running from the platform, he finally thought things were all right.
"Uh, Garurumon's not going to last long."
TK opened his eyes to find the new voice. "Oh, uh... hey, Koji." He hadn't realized someone was standing next to him and his brother during their emotional reunion.
Koji was right, however. TyrantKabuterimon charged at Garurumon and swatted him away with its horn. Garurumon popped back onto its feet and lunged, but again TyrantKabuterimon tossed him aside. Its sights were still set on TK.
"Can't you do anything, Koji?" TK asked, teeth gritted.
With a heavy sigh, Koji replied, "I drove. I won't last a-" Both Matt and TK frowned at him until he pulled out his D-Tector. "Fine... Execute! Hybrid Spirit Evolution!" Beowolfmon appeared and stood in TyrantKabuterimon's way. "Beo Saber!"
TyrantKabuterimon stood in place as the attack bounced off him. It kept moving forward, slashing at Beowolfmon, who resisted as long as he could before the force overwhelmed him and a claw slammed him to the ground. Only Matt and TK remained.
"Get behind me," Matt said, stepping in front of TK. The younger brother did, clutching the back of Matt's shoulders and cowering.
The vibrations picked up again, now hitting both of them. Both clutched their heads, resisting the urge to fall to their knees. Both boys heard the subconscious voice: "I should destroy both of you. How dare you desert him? The power of the Digimon you have enslaved should have led to a new glorious era. His destruction will not go unpunished. His bidding will still be completed!" TyrantKabuterimon reared back, horn aimed at Matt's chest. He charged ahead.
"Gotcha!" RaptorSparrowmon picked it out of the air and flew up to the sky, never letting TyrantKabuterimon out of its grasp. Matt and TK lost sight of her, but backed away nonetheless, wondering if they should make a run for it.
"Raptor Grapple!" They heard her cry from above, diving straight down at full speed. Now the brothers took cover, diving into the pond as RaptorSparrowmon slammed TyrantKabuterimon straight into the ground, sending dirt flying over their heads and leaving a crater.
"Who's that?" TK asked as he shimmied water out of his hair.
Matt didn't answer. He was busy looking for it. RaptorSparrowmon had no rider, but Hououmon had two. Sora and Nene each sat at one of its feet. Both were smirking.
"She told you she was going to protect TK," said Sora.
As Matt looked at both of them and thought about diving underwater. TK patted his shoulder and smiled. "And here I thought I was in trouble."
"Hey, he's still not dead," Koji muttered, taking labored strides toward the pond. TyrantKabuterimon was in the middle of a hole and struggling, but its data was still very much intact. "Unless you've got a-"
"Lightning Joust!" Gallantmon returned, diving from atop the waterfall, its chrome digizoid lance striking against the helpless TyrantKabuterimon's shell. He kept the force up, finally exposing cracks. All at once, he penetrated the shell, bursting through and obliterating the Digimon as the lance drove through its entire body.
With the job done, Takato and Guilmon separated. The tamer smiled at Matt and TK as Nene and Sora jumped off to pull them out of the pond. Takato grinned. "So, how was that?"
Koji folded his arms and rolled his eyes, muttering, "Fine, I won't kill you."
After retrieving Matt, Nene kept holding his hands. She took a deep breath. "Matt?" she asked.
One look into her eyes made Matt recoil. He looked back, but darted between her and TK. TK was smiling, but Sora frowned. Matt lowered his head, let go of her hands and walked up to Takato and Koji.
"We'd better get back to the castle," he mumbled.
Nene narrowed her eyes at him, shook her head, then turned to Sora. Now she was smiling.
"Right?!" Sora said, eyebrows raised. Nene chuckled back.
Mikey Kudo was having second doubts about the plan, but had to admit he liked it when Koichi first relayed it to Takuya. Between Jeremy and Dorulumon, Mikey had enough contacts familiar with the platform's construction to learn about the extra supply rooms bolstered with secure doors. This was for surplus storage, some of which was for sensitive items like servers, radios and a cache of protective armor that could be used if the train needed to be deployed for a response team mission. The rooms were also a perfect place to hide Patamon.
If anybody did infiltrate the station, they'd be lured out by TK and his escorts using the tunnel to escape. Patamon remained secure, although Mikey questioned if TK would be safe on his own. He struggled to shake the thought off. He and Takuya were responsible for getting back to Patamon.
Once the light from the entrance gave out, Mikey asked, "Don't suppose you brought a flashlight?" Takuya responded by turning into Agunimon and illuminating the tunnel with his fire. "That works too."
They marched along the tracks in silence, Mikey asked, "So is Tai really capable of stopping Algomon? I haven't seen WarGreymon fight since Quartzmon."
"I hope not," Agunimon muttered.
"What? But if he doesn't-"
Agunimon grunted. "Sorry. I just... I don't know. It's just that we couldn't, you know? And if he can..."
Mikey smirked. "Well, I guess we'd better get up there quick so he can't say he did it alone."
The spirit of fire didn't respond, but he did jog faster. Mikey reloaded Dorulumon and jumped on his back to hitch a ride. Now Agunimon had to run to keep up.
They reached the platform quickly, but stopped before climbing up. As Mikey pulled Dorulumon back, Agunimon looked around. None of the doors had been disturbed except the one at the entrance. They could hear a battle outside, including a flurry of bullets and a violent blow to the mountain itself. The light from the entrance increased in size, then became obscured as a figure entered. Algomon creeped onto the platform and spread his vines everywhere.
"Dammit!" Agunimon spat. Too loud, unfortunately, as Algomon saw him and fired a round of energy bullets, sending both Agunimon and Mikey scrambling for cover.
"Reload- Shoutmon!" Mikey commanded. He turned to survey how much power he'd need, not that he'd have enough without Christopher, but only saw Algomon's vines wrapped around every door in the station. With one tug, they were all off- hunks of metal clanging across the room and hinges flying everywhere.
Patamon didn't wait for the vines to find him. He flew out of the open doorway, evading all the vines in his path, desperate for protection. Shoutmon jumped in front of him, slashing at the vines with his microphone. Patamon hid behind Mikey.
Algomon jumped off the platform and landed on the track, his giant legs smashing and warping the rail. His sights were fixed on Patamon and stepped towards him. Agunimon was the first line of defense and didn't have enough time to evolve fully. He settled for the next best thing: "Slide Evolution! BurningGreymon!"
He hacked away the first vines fired his way, then released the fires within him. This was always one of the most painful things Takuya ever did as a Digimon; he felt the flames against his body scorch him as he fought to keep them under his command. With Algomon drawing near he sent the inferno bursting forward. "Wildfire Tsunami!"
The first waves connected, incinerating the most threatening vines and knocking Algomon aside. It also revealed WarGreymon spiraling towards him at high speeds, only grazing Algomon but spinning uncontrollably into BurningGreymon. They collided, sending both crashing to the ground. Stray fire shot everywhere and forced Shoutmon and Mikey to take cover.
Algomon brushed it off and took a vine-assisted leap over both Takuya and Koromon writhing on the floor. One punch sent Shoutmon into the tunnel wall, knocking him out.
Tai saw everything as he chased WarGreymon into the station. After the collision, after watching his partner brought down in a fiery explosion, he leaped off the platform, planted his feet against the mangled track and tackled Takuya.
"What the hell are you doing?!" Tai pinned him to the ground, clutching his shoulders. "Didn't you see him there?!"
Takuya needed a moment for his eyes to focus. Once they did, he saw Tai's enraged face and the exhaustion in his own through the goggles. Takuya shook off the sight, grabbed Tai's arms and pushed off. "No! What was he even doing?! I had him stopped!"
"Yeah, sure you did! Nothing can stop him!" Tai slammed him to the ground again, snarling. "This is your problem! You just do things! You never look!"
"You're the one who let him in here!" Takuya charged at him, rolling Tai onto his back. "At least I'm trying to do something!"
"Help!" Both Tai and Takuya heard Patamon's cry and looked down the tunnel. Mikey was down alongside his partner. Beyond them, Patamon struggled to free himself from the vines wrapped around his whole body. As Algomon drew closer, the eyes on each of his limbs started to glow. All of them shot beams into Patamon's eyes.
"No!" Tai shouted. He motioned to get up, but Takuya held him down. Tai had to watch as the vines fell off and Patamon hovered, now emitting a bright glow. So bright in fact that the rest of the tunnel seemed to darken. Then it shook. The overhead platform lights shattered as rocks and dirt fell from the ceiling on top of them. Takuya let go of Tai in order to cover his own head.
Tai forced himself to watch as Patamon's mouth snapped open and the light shot out in every direction, passing just over Tai's head. He turned to watch it fan out, completely surrounding them. He could no longer see the exit. As the light spread, he lost sight of the platform, then Algomon, then Mikey and Shoutmon, then Koromon and Takuya. Before he knew what was happening, he lost sight of himself.
The only thing in the sea of white was Patamon. In an instant, it all went black.
Joe Kido kept his eyes on the platform entrance, as he had since Tai and WarGreymon rushed in. The bright light and shaking inside was troubling, but he was in no position to actually do anything. WarGreymon had hit Algomon with everything he had, pummeling him with slashes and energy missiles alike. Imperialdramon even dropped down for a few licks once the aerial bombardment became manageable enough for Aquilamon to handle on her own. Nothing worked. Algomon got up every time, unfazed by the damage and ready to dish some out in return. One attack, one bad position offered enough cover for Algomon to sneak into the station.
"Well, we can't just look at it!" Terriermon ran past Joe into the station while Henry was still surveying the situation above their heads. The light acted as a force field, knocking Terriermon backward once he ran into it.
"I think that's all we can do right now," Joe muttered.
As the surviving Flybeemon eased off and dispersed peacefully above them, Henry said, "Well, that's over at least." He flagged down Davis and Ken aboard Imperialdramon. "You should be safe to split up." The dragon landed and reverted back to Veemon and Wormmon.
"Where's Tai?" Davis asked. Henry pointed to the station.
Ken recoiled at the light from within it. "Something tells me they got Patamon."
The light pulsed for a few moments and they heard one final rumble from the mountain before everything stopped. The glowing subsided and the entrance turned completely black before anyone saw the sheen of metal supports and the occasional brown of a wooden beam.
"Tai?!" Joe shouted into the station. There wasn't a response. At least the echo confirmed they could now enter. Not that he was in any hurry to.
It took a moment for Davis to step forward, handing Henry his radio. "Get everyone up to speed and make sure everyone's okay." The tamer nodded and stepped away from the door. Veemon was already sniffing inside of it. "Well, come on, Joe," Davis said.
Joe sighed. "I knew you'd say that." He secured Bukamon on his shoulder and followed Davis and Ken in. The light fixtures had blown and all they could make out were dying fires in each corner.
As Joe and Veemon called out for Tai again, Davis felt his way through the dark platform, his feet crunching on the shattered light fixtures. He found the supply room, cutting his hand on the jagged metal remnants of the door hinge. After wiping blood on his slacks, he felt around until he reached the flashlights, grabbing a pair and turning one on.
"Ken, catch," he said, tossing Ken a flashlight in the darkness. Ken caught it anyway. Together they scoped out the entire platform, only to find a few mangled security doors and dirt from above.
Keeping Wormmon close, Ken shined his light down onto the track. It was warped in front of him, covered in debris and still revealed nothing useful. He angled the flashlight to cover as much of the tunnel as he could. A little lifeless lump in the middle of the track was the only thing he spotted.
Veemon recognized it immediately. "Patamon!" he shouted, leaping off the platform and running up to him. Davis, Ken and Joe followed quickly.
"C'mon, buddy..." Veemon rocked Patamon's shoulder but got no reaction.
Ken gasped. "Is he..."
"He hasn't turned into data," Joe said, shooing Veemon away and checking for any injuries or vital signs. "He's alive..."
"Wait, I'm confused," said Davis as Joe scooped Patamon into his arms. "If he's still here, where's the big guy? And where's Tai?"
"What's that?" Ken said hurriedly, shining his light away from Patamon and farther down the tunnel. It sounded like insect wings. Joe pulled Patamon behind Ken as Davis pulled out his D3.
Thankfully, it was Kabuterimon, regular old Kabuterimon, arriving from the other side of the tunnel with Izzy, Mimi and Tanemon on board.
Izzy jumped off even before his partner came to a stop."What happened?" he asked, shuffling past Davis and Ken to see Patamon. He took Ken's flashlight and surveyed the orange Rookie up and down.
"Don't know," said Davis. "No Algomon. No Tai. Doesn't make any sense, does it?"
"What about Takuya and Mikey?" asked Mimi, still atop Kabuterimon. "They came in from our side." Davis waved his flashlight around, but there was no sign of them either.
Meanwhile, Izzy kept inspecting Patamon. "Are you thinking this has something to do with that extra data in him?" Joe asked.
"Yes, and there's really only one possibility where that data came from," Izzy replied.
Patamon's eyes flew open and he jerked upright, flapping his way out of Izzy's arm. He looked around frantically, calming somewhat when he saw his company. "Oh... hi Izzy," he said.
"Do you remember anything that happened?"
"Um..." Patamon looked around again. "I remember running from the monster. And Mikey tried to protect me. Then there was a big boom and now I'm here."
Izzy frowned, stepping away from the group and taking a few paces down the tunnel. Joe glanced at Patamon once before turning to him. "It's bad, isn't it?"
He stopped. Back still to the group, he said, "In his fully evolved form, Algomon has some ability to manipulate dimensions. If he was able to harness dimensional energy from another source, he may be able to travel to another world."
"Another world?!" Joe exclaimed.
"You mean like the human world?" Davis asked.
"Maybe," Izzy said, turning around. "In fact, it's entirely possible he's done this before."
"TK's dream!" Davis turned to Patamon, who frowned.
"But what does that have to do with me and TK?" Patamon asked. "I can't... whatever you said."
"You can as MagnaAngemon," Izzy walked back, holding his chin. "I bet that's how it happened."
Ken's mouth fell open. "Oh no, you don't mean..."
Izzy nodded. "That's where that data came from. All those years ago, on the day we lost him."
Joe gave a worried look at Patamon before saying the name: "Millenniummon."
"But... where are Tai and the others?" Mimi asked.
Izzy lowered his head. "Trapped wherever Algomon ended up." Shaking, he added, "If they're lucky."
Takuya Kanbara had a pounding headache and was sore everywhere. He didn't want to wake up, opening his eyes involuntarily and slamming them shut as soon as the light came in. Whatever had happened with Algomon and Patamon, it knocked him out before he could register it. Between the absolute silence and the brightness surrounding him, he knew he wasn't in the tunnel anymore. So he forced his eyes open, knowing whatever was going on, he was going to have to deal with it no matter how badly he needed to rest.
Once his eyes finally adjusted to the light, he found himself in a completely white room. Perhaps it was a cave: the floor wasn't level and made of smooth pebble. Blue accents glistened off the walls, providing enough contrast to identify a domed ceiling and a cold hearth on one end. Halfway between him and the hearth, Mikey and Shoutmon started to stir. On either side of Takuya, Tai and Koromon did the same. There was no exit.
Takuya forced himself up, his body fighting every step. He was next to the wall opposite the hallway and brushed his hand across it. The surface was uneven. If it was rock, erosion had smoothed it over. It didn't feel manmade, but it was too clean and too symmetrical to be natural. This place was somehow otherworldly.
By the time Takuya finished scoping out the room, Tai was on his knees and doing the same. He caught Takuya out of the corner of his eye and scoffed. "Well... we're out," he muttered. "Hope you're happy."
Takuya rubbed his eyes. "Oh, go to hell. You think I wanted this?"
Tai shrugged. "It's not the castle. Might not even be the same world. That's what you were looking for."
Clenching a fist, Takuya had to keep the tears in. "No! I just... wanted to be... doing something." Tai stood and faced Takuya, his sullen expression begging him to continue. "I can't just hide in a bubble. I need to be out there. Don't you get that?"
Tai shook his head. "Not here. Here... maybe if you're looking for something real. Maybe if you had a goal." He moved two steps toward Takuya. "Maybe if you knew what you were doing."
Takuya's fist shot up and connected with Tai's cheek instantly. Tai turned his head and took half a step back, but other than the new scowl on his face, he didn't react.
"Come on..." Takuya spat, his fists still up. Now his tears flowed uncontrollably. "You wanna pretend this is my fault? Fine! But-"
Before he could get any more out, Tai charged forward, grabbing Takuya's shoulders and shoving them against the wall. Pinning them in place, he snarled, "Eleven years... I just wanted to have a home. I put everything into it. Just to not have to worry about surviving and knowing my friends are safe. That's a lot to ask for here!"
Even with the pressure on his shoulders, Takuya still brought his hands up, clutching Tai's arms, trying to wrestle them away. "Well you got it! Let me have a turn!"
"We don't have it!" Tai pressed harder. "Look what happened! Ten years of work thrown away in a week! Because you think you're too good for it!" In one motion, he pulled Takuya forward and slammed him back, his head colliding with the white wall. "You know how this has to work! Whatever we do, we do it together!"
Takuya was exhausted, physically and mentally, wanting nothing more than to close his eyes either to sleep or cry. His project had blown up in his face, he had spent the last day fighting or traveling, and now he was stranded in a foreign place with no way out. Yet he still found the strength to rip Tai's hands away and shove him back. "Together?! You and your suck-ups make all the decisions! That's not together!"
Tai charged at him again, this time met with Takuya's open hands. The two abandoned their words, grappling angrily with only the occasional grunt breaking the silence.
"Hey, knock it off!" Shoutmon tried to wedge his microphone between them, but it didn't budge either of them. Shoutmon grunted himself and called, "Mikey! Give me a hand here!" When he didn't get a response, he turned around.
Mikey stared at the empty hearth, his face expressionless and ignorant of Tai and Takuya's scuffling. Koromon had joined him. "What are you looking at?" the little Digimon asked.
"Who are you?" Mikey asked the wall. His question stopped Tai and Takuya, both stepping back to catch a look. But nobody was there.
After a quick glance to make sure Takuya didn't take a cheap shot, Tai approached Mikey. Koromon jumped into Tai's arms. When both of them stared at the hearth, they too became transfixed. As did Takuya when he joined them. Once all three boys were staring forward, the figure appeared and snapped them out of their trance.
It was a girl, who looked about nine or ten, with an aqua dress and pink hair with a large sheer bow on the back resembling butterfly wings. She eyed all three intently, but took deep breaths as her knees shook. With a quick exhale and a determined smile, she nodded and said, "Hi."
Mikey looked at Takuya and Tai, both with the same blank stare as him. "So who are you?"
She nodded repeatedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet. As if reading off a grocery list, she answered, "Well, let's see... I'm the master of creation and destruction... of heaven and earth... of life and death... and of light and darkness."
The three boys took a step back. The girl's smile grew. "It's an honor to finally meet you all," she said. "I'm Rhythm."
Next Time on Neverworld- Episode 25: "Sub-reality"
Confronted with one of the creators of the world, Mikey's faith in his theory is put to the test. Davis rallies for a chance to go after Tai, Takuya, and Mikey. The teams trying to rescue Zoe and Kazu near their goals.
"I can't do nothing. That doesn't work for me."
Author Notes
One of the points of having a more passive setting was to allow every character's natural personality to come out rather than having everybody in crisis mode. Increased tensions change people, which can lead to more passionate, heated arguments (as seen with Tai and Takuya), but also more unity as everyone is more focused on the threat than each other. Like the sudden peace between Nene and Sora, some of the personal conflicts that may have risen again get suppressed because of what's going on. Koji knows he has to put up with Takato while Mimi almost certainly would have had an earful for Izzy had they reunited under calmer circumstances.
The Davis speech Gatomon was referring to was to the dark spore children, where he reassured them that they could be valuable without Digimon. This is followed by them getting Digimon.
Other than needing crucial ingredients like Armor digieggs, spirits, or DNA (Data Squad edition), all restrictions are off for digivolution in this world. Although their entrance to the Digital World was before Hououmon's debut in tri., we assume Sora's always had the ability to do it, and she has probably done it before.
There are two ways to explain Mimi's ability to digivolve Palmon to Mega without having done it before in her partner's current life. One is that the bond has still existed and has still gotten strong enough even if it wasn't feasible. The other is that Marcus did it once.
After introducing him in episode 7, I had to have some final appearance/contribution from Terriermech. Since he never ended up functional, this was the best way for him to go out!
Rhythm, like Algomon, appears in the Savers movie and there are a few hints that the two are linked. I could go on forever about the ditheistic nature of the world, but you're probably running off to watch the Savers movie so all I'll say is to note the differences in Rhythm's speech and Algomon's in episode 13.
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