Y/N: Okay, so the internet was down last night, so I couldn't update it, but it's back now, and I've got the chapter for you! Yay! Anyway, I was a grandpa again, and I hope you enjoy it, it's a bit rushed, but I kind of like it. Gives a bit of perspective into Iori's character and home life in any case. Review if you can, thanks!

U/N: She says the internet was down but it wasn't (it was, and he wasn't even here to know it, he was at his friend's house…), and it doesn't matter because her part of the chapter wasn't done anyway… but like… yeah I wrote it… enjoy it, I'm sorry it's late and stuff, review.

Title: Digimon Adventure 04

By: Yukira and Urazamay King

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or its characters.

Part 3: Choices

Chapter 29: The Offer

Kurayami:

Where was I?

What had I just done?

I vaguely remembered seeing Daisuke's closest friend Ken... I remembered an egg, I remembered his partner and I remembered that purple digimon that lived at Daisuke's house... But as I looked around... I saw that they were not there any longer. I was surrounded by dark trees, standing tall in a forest.

The Digital World.

That was right... I had come here with Daisuke and the others by using my crest... I found my hands instantly reaching into my pocket to pull out my crest, but as I did so I pulled out something else as well, something I hadn't remembered putting in there. I was shocked to see that it was my digivice... how had I gotten that back? How long had I been out of it? Why was I out of it?

I knew the answer to that... and I knew that I had to get out of the Digital World, and fast. I stopped walking the direction I had mindlessly been heading and turned around to see Daisuke walk past me... but there was something wrong with him—something different. His eyes were shallow and lifeless...

"D-Daisuke?" I asked him slowly, not proud of the quiver of fear my voice let on, "Are you okay?" He looked to me quizzically before nodding and smiling, his eyes seemingly staring through me.

He reached out his hand and took mine gently. "Of course I am okay. I'm with you." He smiled to me again before turning and leading the way to wherever we were going.

What had happened to him? Had... had He gotten to Daisuke too? Is that what was going on? Had He managed to take over my thoughts again... control me? And somehow He had managed to grab a hold of Daisuke as well, the most innocent person on the planet... besides Hikari of course...

There was no way I could allow Him to control Daisuke like this... not the way he had done to me. I had to find a way to break Diasuke free of whatever hold, or spell he was under. Something that would break the curse of the most powerful dark being of all time...

But there was nothing that was coming to my mind. Hikari had done it for me... she had helped me see that choosing the darkness was not the right path—I needed Hikari... I needed light. Without both of them Daisuke would be stuck like this...

"Are you okay?" He asked me suddenly, still half dragging me toward the place we were headed through the trees. The ground was covered in damp gray sand, and the sun was dancing through the small gaps in the leaves above our head. I didn't answer Daisuke at first, I didn't know what to say... I didn't know how I was feeling, I just knew I felt wrong... I felt off.

"No." I told him.

Suddenly I fell to the ground on my knees, my head in my hands, pain searing in my temples as I let out a mangled scream. Daisuke stood shocked, staring at me, so I looked away and closed my eyes as the pain began to spread from my temples to my whole head.

"Kurayami...?" He asked, he reached his hand out to touch me.

"Shut up." I snapped at him, the pain suddenly gone. "Hurry up. We have to get to the cave before the others do." I pulled myself to my feet and strode past him and continued on my way. Fanglongmon wanted us to be at his cave. Of course... he was no longer there. He had heard news of the Digidestined coming to him... and he had changed his action plans—but mine stayed the same. I still had only one goal in this world, and that was to obey Fanglongmon no matter what he wanted me to do. I heard Daisuke stumble to keep up with my brisk walk but didn't look back.

I wasn't sure how much longer it would take us to get to the cave, my memory must have been slipping... I couldn't remember why I had been on the ground...

No matter...

Daisuke had caught up to me. He was walking next to me silently. I could tell he wanted to go back... he wanted to see his digital partner, but the time to do that was not now. He would see his partner when the others came after us... and I knew they would. And when they did... I'd be there... waiting for them...

And so Daisuke and I walked in silence for a while. I knew we'd only be walking for a few more minutes before Ichijouji and the others caught up to us, and for some reason that bothered me. I was enjoying the time I was spending alone with Daisuke.

Stop.

A simple word brought me to my senses. Fanglongmon was right. Enjoying time with a stupid boy such as Daisuke wasn't worth my time. I needed to focus on fulfilling Fanglongmon's needs...

Even if his goals were nearly impossible. I was starting to question him actually... if what he wanted was literally impossible, then how on earth did he expect me to pull it off? And if I couldn't do what he wanted, then he wouldn't succeed... and so joining him would be like joining a losing sports team just to watch yourself fail. I wasn't in the mood to fail again...

You won't fail.

I wouldn't fail? Ha! I was no miracle worker—but Kennedy was! I could just use Kennedy! But Kennedy wasn't with the others...

Have faith in yourself Kura...

Right! I could do this! I was strong, independent and brilliant. If anyone could do this... I could. And I had Daisuke to help me... and although the seemed pretty useless a lot of the time, he was still company, and even Daisuke's company was better than no company at all.

I suddenly remembered Fanglongmon's words to me... in the last half hour that I had been in the Digital World last time he had told me that he was done with me—that I wasn't good enough for him... and that he was going to use my body for the time being... but... that wasn't the case anymore... what had changed his mind?

I waited for a moment for Fanglongmon's eerie voice to fill my head and respond to my question, but there was only silence.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and set off at a quicker pace toward my destination. Fanglongmon's cave. Daisuke began walking faster as well, without a word. We walked in silence through the trees until finally the large stone cave came into sight. It was a cliff really, a hollowed out cliff where Fanglongmon once lived. Thankfully he wasn't actually here, he may have been my master but I wasn't one to really... enjoy his presence.

"We beat them here." Daisuke smiled at me as we closed the distance between us and the cave.

"We left before them." I pointed out simply. "We were bound to be here first."

"You're right." He said, still smiling. "How long do you think we'll have to wait for them to show up?"

"Not long." I said simply. "Ichijouji will lead them here as soon as he gathers them all together."

"Ken's so dependable." Daisuke smiled. "He's my best friend you know. Well, him and Veemon. I like other people too, like you and Hikari... but I like you both differently. Hikari's like my sister, but I like you more like—"

"Help me up here?" I asked him. We had reached the Cliffside and I was requesting his help to climb onto a ledge by the cave entrance.

"Sure thing." He smiled at me again as he held his hands out for me to step on. I quickly pulled myself onto the ledge and sat down, leaning against the ledge and relaxing. Daisuke simply pulled himself up after me and sat next to me. "You're a fun person."

"Ha... ha." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I'm serious!" He insisted, "I like being around you."

"Oh..." I said, looking away from him, "Thank... you?" I wasn't sure exactly how to reply to him... no one had ever said that to me. I spent most of my time with my father in New York... he wasn't a very good conversationalist—I supposed that was where I got it from too though. Ever since mom left the two of us rarely spoke. Sometimes we'd talk about her, or he'd try to help me with my homework, but nothing more. And when I wasn't spending time with my dad, I was in Japan visiting my Grandfather who, although he was very nice and I loved him, he was a little... too talkative. I didn't want to know the story of how he met my deceased Grandmother... I mean, it was cute and romantic... but he'd always end up crying and I wasn't good at dealing with other's emotions...

I wasn't even good at dealing with my own.

I reached into the pocket of my cloak and pulled out my digivice once more. I stared at the small black device... why was this back with me? How had I managed to get this back without myself knowing? Was I really that absentminded?

Focus Kura...

I dropped my digivice onto the ledge next to me and nodded to the voice. I quickly scooped the digivice back up and put it in my pocket so I didn't forget it. Fanglongmon was right though. I needed to keep focused. I was soon going to have to do exactly what he wanted me to, and if I didn't do it right, then I would be punished severely and I wasn't sure I could survive if that happened...

Here they are.

Fanglongmon was right. The moment he spoke those words I heard a familiar voice in the nearby trees.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" It was the Tachikawa girl.

"For the last time Mimi!" Ichijouji insisted, "You have to trust me. Even Gennai says I'm going the right way."

"And that's exactly why I'm questioning you!" Tachikawa insisted. "I don't really trust Gennai at all if you haven't noticed."

"I'm right here..." Gennai said. And he was right. There he was, with the others all around him, Ichijouji in the lead with Wormmon and Otamamon in his arms. His face lit up excitedly when he saw the cave, and he turned back to the others with a smile.

"We're here!" He shouted out. Tachikawa looked shocked to see that Gennai and Ichijouji had been right. Izumi, Takenouchi and Yagami were walking nearby with Tentomon and Agumon guarding them from either side. Takeru Takaishi and his brother were walking together, Patamon on the younger boy's head and Gabumon dragging his feet next to them. Inoue was right behind Gennai, clearly off in her own world as she followed along with everyone else as Kido and Hida followed behind her with their digimon.

"Finally!" Betamon roared, "I'm exhausted."

"I was carrying you until a couple minutes ago." The Washington boy said with a sigh.

Washington was in the back of the group with Betamon, but neither of them interested me, what was riding on top of Betamon was really the interesting sight. Demiveemon was smiling brightly as he enjoyed his ride. I looked to Daisuke who was staring toward the sky, watching the early stages of the sunset. He hadn't noticed his partner yet.

"So where is Fanglongmon?" Izumi asked.

"Yeah!" The well dressed boy agreed, I often had trouble remembering his name... Ishida? "I'm ready to kick some digi-butt!"

"He's keeping Momoe in that cave?" Kido asked sharply, "That can't be healthy for the baby..."

"I'm not sure that the baby's health is on the top of his priority list Jou..." Gomamon told him slowly, "And... why didn't you tell me you were having a baby?"

"You were in a sealed off alternate dimension that I had no chance of ever returning to until Koushiro figured out the miracle and helped us all back into the world only to find out that it was in so much more danger than ever before." Kido explained.

"That's a good excuse." Inoue said suddenly, "And what's your excuse for me? Why didn't you tell me?"

"And me!" Iori added, "I thought we were friends..."

"Now isn't the time for this pointless argument." Gennai informed them. "If you care to notice, the sun is going down. You'll have to leave this world before even two hours are up. We need to find Daisuke and Kurayami and get you all out of here before the worlds combine and become one forever more."

"That sounds frightening..." Otamamon piped up.

"I agree, but if it means I'll get to see Ken for a longer time..." Wormmon added.

"Could you at least try to make it sound less menacing?" the Takenouchi asked, "It's not like we're all going to die if that happens."

"You might." Gennai said flatly, "And I'm just stating facts Sora, I shall not downplay the seriousness of the situation."

"But if we all leave then we'll probably just drop dead like flies anyway. You said so yourself!" Takaishi added, "And apparently we're not allowed to be in a relationship, and we can't have kids so what's the point? Let's just let the worlds combine."

I couldn't help it, but I smiled...

"I never said you couldn't reproduce." Gennai said snidely, "I only said that it was unwise to do so with one another."

"Well if I can't have babies with a digidestined then what is the point?" Takaishi asked, raising his arms in defeat. Everyone stared at him strangely for a moment until he laughed nervously and said, "I'm joking..."

"Let's just hurry up and get into the cave." Agumon said.

"I want to show Fanglongmon who's boss!" Gabumon growled.

"But we need to focus on saving Natsuko, Noriko and Momoe!" Armadillomon shot quickly, "It's more important for you all to be safe."

"I agree!" Tachikawa said quickly only to receive a well crafted glare from the Inoue girl.

"We still have to get back to the Temple and save Hikari too!" Yagami said, "I don't want anything bad to happen to her... and besides, if we have to leave the Digital World again, we'll have to take her too. So let's hurry up and get this over with."

"Then let's go." Tentomon buzzed, soaring into the air. "We've got to end this quickly!"

"Yeah!" Patamon laughed, "Because I'm hungry and I don't want to be late for supper!" Takaishi laughed at his partner.

"Daisuke." A simple and soft voice said suddenly. Every one of them turned to look toward Demiveemon whose eyes were closed as he sat perched upon Betamon. He suddenly jumped to his feet and ran across the leaf covered ground. "Daisuke!" He said again pointing up to Daisuke and myself. Everyone turned to look to us, staring, shocked up toward us.

"Daisuke!" some of them called in surprise.

"Ah! There you are!" Ichijouji smiled at me. I smiled slyly back to him. I knew he'd make his way here. Fanglongmon may not have been nice, and he was not my favourite being ever, but he was certainly trustworthy. Ichijouji and I stared at each other for a moment.

"You knew they'd be here?" Inoue asked, stepping up to stand next to him, breaking our connection. She looked cautiously toward me and then, looked quickly back to Ichijouji.

"What? No!" He shook his head quickly. The others gave him a strange look as he led them toward us. Soon they were all standing around us and looking up at us.

"Shouldn't we worry more about defeating Fanglongmon?" Yagami asked.

"And saving the others?" Hida added.

"Fanglongmon is not here." I said to them, sliding forward and sitting at the edge of the ledge. Daisuke slid forward as well, sitting next to me. "Neither are any of his prisoners."

"Dammit!" Kido called out in anguish. "Where the hell is he? Where did he take Momoe?"

"Jou!" Tachikawa said quickly stepping toward him. "Listen to me! We are going to find Momoe. We're going to go find her. Right now."

"Oh so now you start caring." Inoue shot over her shoulder.

"Miyako—not now." Tachikawa growled. She then turned to look at me. "Where is he then? Where is Fanglongmon? Where is he keeping Momoe?"

"Mimi!" Takaishi warned, placing his hand on her shoulder, "She probably doesn't know... "

"Oh I know." I smiled at them.

"I was under the impression that you were through with him..." Takaishi said.

I shook my head. "I'm full of surprises."

Stop talking.

His voice boomed through my head sharply and painfully. I nodded sharply hoping none of the others had noticed.

Let the conversation unfold. You'll know when to continue.

"And you?" Demiveemon asked. "Daisuke? Where do you fit in here?"

"I am sitting by Kurayami's side. I thought that my role was evident." Daisuke said, a grin still on his face.

"So you're joining the dark side...?" Washington asked. "What purpose does that serve?"

"What the hell Daisuke!" Yagami snapped, "What are you saying?"

"You're on the opposite side as... me?" Demiveemon asked.

"No!" Daisuke said quickly, "I'm just on a different side. You're supposed to come join me! We'd make a great addition to Fanglongmon's team!"

"No." Demiveemon said flatly.

"You're my partner, you're supposed to just follow me wherever I go!" Daisuke said sharply, jumping from the ledge and landing only a few feet in front of the group.

"I'm not a lost puppy Daisuke." Demiveemon said, leaping onto Kido's shoulder and jumping from shoulder to shoulder until he was resting on Ichijouji's shoulder just in front of Daisuke. "I have a mind of my own. I can tell the difference between right and wrong. I am right. And you are wrong."

"D-Demiveemon..." Daisuke said, "Just—just come." He reached toward Ichijouji's shoulder to grab his partner.

"No!" Ichijouji shot, slapping Daisuke's hand away, dropping both Otamamon and Wormmon in the process. I was ready to jump down and help Daisuke if he needed it. "He said no Daisuke."

Daisuke bit his bottom lip and balled his fists. "What does this mean?"

"It means he doesn't want to follow you in your quest for the King of Stupid!" Takaishi growled, stepping toward the front of the group.

Daisuke swung his fist toward Takaishi face. Takaishi jumped back quickly as Daisuke growled.

"I meant... Does this mean we aren't friends anymore?" Daisuke asked Demiveemon.

"I... don't know." Demiveemon admitted. "What it means is that you're a fool and that I refuse to return to your side as your partner until you set yourself on the right track."

Daisuke shook his head. "No! You can't!" He tried once more to grab toward Demiveemon.

"Dude!" Takaishi snapped, "He said no!" Takaishi stepped forward, in between Ken and Daisuke.

"You know what Takeru? Who asked you?" Daisuke said sharply. "You don't seem to understand no either. You keep chasing Hikari—but where is she now?"

Takeru lunged forward and tackled Daisuke to the ground.

Don't you dare!

I clenched my fists and bit my lip, watching Takaishi and Daisuke roll around, trying to best each other in their quarrel.

"Children!" Gennai's voice boomed as Yagami and Ishida rushed forward to pull the boys apart. After a short struggle the boys were being held tightly apart.

"Daisuke don't be a jerk!" Demiveemon shot.

"Takeru please don't fight!" Patamon pleaded, "We don't have time for this."

"We don't have any time." Gennai corrected. I noticed that Gennai was holding a simple egg in his arms. I wasn't sure what purpose that egg served but he didn't look overly pleased to be holding it. "If Fanglongmon isn't here then we need to get to his new hideout. Now."

"Why?" Kido asked, "All you care about getting us out of this digital world because you don't want the worlds to become one!"

"Well... yes." Gennai said flatly.

"You don't care about the safety of any of us!" Hida sighed, grabbing his head with his hands.

"Guys!" Takenouchi hissed, "This isn't the time to be arguing!"

"Sora's right." Izumi said shaking his head, "We're just getting worked up because we're all stressed out."

"Of course we're stressed out!" Yagami snapped, "This is getting ridiculous! We have like five hours to find and kill Fanglongmon, Dragomon and all those other evil digimon, get back to Hikari and Willis and get of this damn world! And it wouldn't hurt to find Biyomon, Gatomon, Palmon and Hawkmon before we have to leave just so the girls can say bye to their digimon before we get locked out again!"

"Taichi, there's no way we can get all of that done..." Ishida sighed, "We have to set our priorities straight."

"Well what are our priorities?" Gomamon asked from Ishida's feet, "No one has any ideas so far!"

"Gomamon has a good point." Tentomon agreed, "Someone should spout out some sort of idea."

"Why doesn't she?" Ichijouji said. His head was facing the ground, his dark hair hanging. He was pointing directly at me. "She has an idea."

"How do you know that?" Inoue asked.

"I just do." Ichijouji said. "Kurayami... speak."

I smiled to myself and slid off of the ledge, landing smoothly. "I do indeed have an idea." I wasn't sure how to word this, but I was positive that this was the moment Fanglongmon wanted me to join in. "I have a question to ask you all." I paced toward Yagami who was holding Daisuke so he wouldn't continue his attack on the blonde one. I put my hand on Yagami's shoulder and he instantly released Daisuke. "But first I just... have to say. Michael, you are looking radiant today." I winked foolishly at him and then looked away. Why did I do that? I didn't... mean to... I cleared my throat and composed myself before I turned back to them and smiled. "Why are you doing what you're doing?"

"Because my pregnant girlfriend could die at any moment." Kido said before anyone had even registered my question.

"Why are you trying to keep the worlds from becoming one?" I found myself saying without planning it... he was doing it again. He was using my body to voice his words...

"Because that's the only safe plan." Gennai shot. "It's not safe for the worlds to become one. Or do you want every human to die?"

"Oh shut up." Fanglongmon said from my mouth. "No one cares what you have to say. You're uptight and annoying—and that ponytail down your back looks like a dirty unwashed snake. You're bossy and stupid and you need to just back off and let other people speak for a change."

I noticed that Tachikawa was trying not to smile.

"Now I shall ask again." I said, "Why do you want the worlds to remain apart?"

"B-Because Gennai said they would be better that way." Takaishi said. "We need to trust Gennai—otherwise..."

"Otherwise...?" I asked them.

"Otherwise you'll all die." Gennai snapped.

"But you said that we might die if we leave anyway." Izumi said slowly.

"We've been through this!" Gennai shot. "Either you risk all of your health and safety, or you risk the entire civilization of earth. Which is more important to you? If the worlds combine then everyone will die."

"Not if we're there to save them..." Yagami said slowly.

"And this world isn't safe anyway!" Agumon agreed.

"Not with the Dark Ocean invading us..." Gabumon added.

"This is crazy!" Gennai snapped, "You're all looking past the obvious answer. You all need to leave or everyone will die."

"Says who?" I asked him.

"Says me." Gennai said, stepping toward me.

"Look," I said, "I'm sick of your presence. Your breathe smells like my father's fish tacos and the look in your eyes is making me want to vomit. I'm going to go." The others looked around slowly to one another before I smiled again. "I'll be back in an hour. You can join me... or fight me. I won't bombard you with reasons to join me. But they are there."

Daisuke tried to take my hand but I shook him off.

"So you... want us to join... you?" Tachikawa asked.

"Yes." I said with a smile.

"You want us to decide whether to be evil or good?" She asked me, "Well this isn't a very hard decision. No one is joining you! We all know how this is going to go down. Kurayami—Daisuke! Just... come back. Stay with us."

"No." I shook my head, "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to go think about all the different places Fanglongmon could be hiding Momoe... Noriko... and Natsuni—oh wait. I know exactly where he's hiding them. And I'll be heading there later tonight." I looked at Hida, and then Kido and then smiled and turned around. "Like I said... I'll be back in an hour."

And then I was gone, leading Daisuke into the darkness of the trees. I knew Daisuke was looking back, watching his partner, but I refused to look back. I needed to make sure Daisuke and I left the others around the entrance of the cave to think over my offer... I needed them to say yes... To make Him happy...

Chikara:

I was at a loss of what to do with Yuck and Huh. They wanted so desperately to get home, yet I was unable to think of a single way in which I could assist them with that journey. I was not interested in technology. Mostly I avoided it. I used the telephone, but I did not even watch the television, preferring to spend time speaking with my family instead.

Iori would have known what to do though. I wished on more than one occasion that he was there with me, rather than off in some mysterious world that I knew nothing about.

And Yuck and Huh were getting on my nerves. They were not as sweet and innocent looking as Meiyo was, and they had rather nasally voices. They also complained a lot. I was actually thankful for my somewhat difficult hearing.

"Are we going to Hikari's house, huh?"

"Yeah, yuck, are we finding Queen Hikari or not?"

"She's out of our reach at the moment," I reminded them. "She's in your world, while you are in hers."

"That sucks, huh," Huh said.

"Yeah, yuck."

"Sure does," I said trying not to roll my eyes. "We are simply trying to find a way for you to go home, where you will meet up with her."

"Right, right, yuck," Yuck said. "We forgot."

"I know," I said through gritted teeth. Could they not savour the silence for a minute or two? Did they really feel that every moment needed to be filled with their incessant chatter? I longed for the quiet evenings I shared with young Iori—though he was not as young anymore. He was growing into a fine man, but I worried over him. He was scorned by his first attraction, and has pushed anything close to love as far away as he could. Even his mother could feel the strain. He'd closed himself off, and if he could just open himself up to the possibility, I was sure he could finally live up to his full potential.

He had been talking about Hikari a lot lately, now that I thought of it. Always taking his little brother to go and visit twice a week at the least. There was possibility there. Or perhaps the Ando girl. He spent plenty of time with her at the movie theatre. I know when his father was younger, he'd be excited about those kind of dates—because that's what it was, a movie date. Iori never took anyone else with him. His mother was furious over the subject, however, so I stopped teasing him about it. She didn't want to see her baby grow up, stop needing her. She didn't like his friends for taking him away from her either. But she kept it all behind a well placed mask, one that Iori was happily ignorant of.

This would come back to haunt her, I was sure. Iori was a strong boy, bound by honour, and the restraints she placed on him were not going to hold much longer.

"What's that, huh?"

"What is what?" I asked, having ignored the past three minutes of their conversation. The street was barely inhabited. Signs of digimon activity were everywhere, but they must have moved on from the area. There were a few people that would look at me—with my kendo stick strapped across my back—and then Yuck and Huh, before quickly fleeing the scene. They were so frightened.

I could hardly believe my grandson, so virtuous, was a part of this mess. Had been facing them for years. Was facing them now, or something much worse. And he had a digimon of his very own.

And my adopted grandson…he was one of them.

I shook the terrible thoughts from my mind. Meiyo was a brave—if slightly destructive—lad, and was a lot like my son was, with his vast imagination. He didn't cause this…

Not this time

I had to rid the thoughts again, before turning to see just what it was that Huh was looking at, as he had no arms to point me in the right direction. I was shocked to find a digimon flying towards us. A digimon…or a woman? She had long silvery hair, and a black mask that covered half of her face. She was wearing…something rather scandalous for being in public as she was…that appeared to be made of leather, and her wings were, well, off-putting, tattered as they were.

"Old man," she said, coming to a stop beside me. I held my ground. Lesson one: being fearless is foolish but never allow your opponent to think you are scared. "You are the one called Hida, correct?"

"Chikara Hida," I agreed.

"Excellent. I'd hoped I'd found the right old man this time. I assumed, with the Numemon following you that I couldn't be wrong but…I wanted the pleasure of knowing I'd caught the right man," she said with a vicious grin. "It is so hard to find good workers these days. I've had to search all by my lonesome."

Her act was not working on me. I kept my guard up. Yuck and Huh were cowering behind my legs. This woman…no this digimon—I could not afford the mix up—was frightening them. She, I assumed, was powerful, much more dangerous than any of these small digimon wreaking havoc about Odaiba.

"You were looking for me," I offered, trying to gather information.

"Oh, leverage works wonders, old man. The digidestined are destined to fall, but we need the right…bait to get them to us. You, will bring the Hida boy to us. You are his idol, are you not? Fanglongmon has seen it to be true, so there is no denying it. Why we need you, I haven't a clue, as we've already got the simpering girl and his friend. She's being unfortunately brave about the whole thing. It will make it all the more fun to kill her later."

"You have Miss Ando?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"Oh, the brave one, yes. She's trying to protect Kido's hostage. We're well on our way to laying the most successful trap ever implemented," she said maliciously. "And you will do your job perfectly, I can see it. Poor little Hida, running in unawares to save his precious grandfather, can you just see it?"

"No."

"No?" she asked taken aback, as if she'd never thought I could refuse.

"No," I said, taking the kendo stick off of my back. "I will not come easily. You cannot use me against my grandson. Either of them."

"Oh? Does Hida have a brother? This will be excellent for our plan," she said, though it sounded like purring.

"Good luck taking Meiyo," I said. "He's got a thing about explosives."

"Human explosives will not derail me or my master on our quest," she shouted.

"Ah, but I said nothing about human explosives," I said, running at her and taking a swing. She was caught off guard, and ducked her head down, closing her eyes. I disoriented her with the attack to the head, but it was Yuck and Huh that astounded me.

"Nume-Sludge!" they shouted together, throwing what appeared to be bright pink excrement at her. They kept throwing and throwing, despite her shrieks and demands for them to stop. She was covered from head to toe in pink…stuff.

"Let's go," I said, leading the two digimon down the stairway leading to the subway. We would board the soonest train, and take it to whatever stop that was not our current one, and we'd have to find a way to insure the other children's families' safety. If they were after me, they would be after Fumiko, Meiyo, Mr and Mrs Yagami, the band boy's family, anyone with a connection to any of the digidestined. And I knew for a fact that some of their mother's were searching frantically for them, running about the streets, fainting in panic.

Then again, they could already be taken…

Next on Digimon Adventure 04: Next time we find out the choices of the digidestined. Will they choose the path of good, and obey Gennai, or will they follow Kurayami in her path toward Lord Fanglongmon? Arc three ends in darkness as the sun goes down. Will they get out of the digital world in time, or will they be too late, causing the worlds to become one. Find out next time!
( i had no way of including the fact that it's Iori/Hikari this tiem ;) )