Digimon World Tour Chapter 33: En tung förlust, a digimon fanfic

Digimon World Tour

Recap

[T.K.] The band checked in at Dusseldorf, Germany; but we wouldn't be staying there for long. It seemed Commander Sampson had pulled a few strings and moved us to a new label, RCA Records. We even got to meet Justin Timberlake, which was kinda cool. The label wanted us to record some new original material, which actually turned out to be stuff written by Maroon 5's lead singer. Marcus thought it was crap and got in a fight with Matt, so I ended up laying down the law. We blew a lot of the label's money in London, then went right back to Abbey Road. Marcus ended up fighting Garbagemon in an alleyway, but RizeGreymon finished the job. But now, Lord Bagra just unsealed Tactimon's Sword of Shadows and- wait, I'm not supposed to know that yet?

Chapter 33: En tung förlust

Thomas

It was becoming clearer and clearer. Our new label, RCA Records, wanted us to focus on a genre Matt had tried to step away from: pop. We contemplated our fates on the private plane ride to Stockholm on the 23rd. "...We're a pop group, they say. It sucks," Matt lamented. Kari, as usual, tried to cheer us up. "Hey, it can't be all bad. I like pop." Marcus slammed his fist into his palm and shook his head. "We're becoming closer and closer to trained monkeys."

Rika

The ringtone went off on my phone, so I took it in another room. "Rika here. Start talking." "Rika, this is Christophe Beck. How are you doing?" "Christophe who?" "Beck. I wrote a lot of music for 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer'." "I'm sorry, I don't watch a lot of reruns." "Ha ha ha, that's OK. I'm calling on behalf of Walt Disney Studios. They're working on this new animated film called 'Frozen', and they're looking for fresh new talent. Word got around fast, and the label wants you and Kari to audition."

Something was up with this. "'Frozen'? Who would name a movie that?" I asked. Christophe just laughed. "You'd be surprised. Anyway, Disney called RCA and they suggested you. I even asked one of your managers, uh... Kazuki, I think his name was." I dropped my head. "Yeah, that's right." "Well, we've got this new song we really want to take for a test run. We've got the rough mix ready, and that'll be good enough. Will you and Kari meet us at King Island Music AB Studios on the 26th at 10:30 AM?" I let out a heavy sigh. "Sure. Why not? If Kazuki gave you my phone number, then he must've given you my e-mail address too." "Great. See you then." He hung up, and I followed.

I called Kari in for a meeting and we looked at the song together on my laptop. I checked over the lyrics, "'The snow glows white on the mountain tonight/Not a footprint to be seen/A kingdom of isolation,/And it looks like I'm the queen.' Huh. 'Kingdom of isolation'. Interesting." "'Don't let them in, don't let them see/Be the good girl you always have to be/Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know/Well, now they know!' Who wrote this?" "Eh, some guy named Robert Lopez and his wife, it looks like." Kari looked him up on her phone, gasped, then got really excited. "He wrote the lyrics to 'Book of Mormon'! I've got the original Broadway cast recording on CD!" she cheered. I looked at her strangely. "You know, Kari... that's pretty disturbing." "There's a lot about me that you don't know."

I instantly started looking for any profanity in the lyrics. I couldn't find any. "Well whaddya know? There's no profanity. This really is a Disney song," I said.

Greg

We touched down in Stockholm, and checked in at the Sheraton Stockholm Hotel. What we didn't know was that there was a surprise waiting for us in the lobby that night. It was two bearded men, and one of the beards was intensely greying. When we walked in with our bags, they calmly walked up to us with big smiles on their faces and hugged the daylights out of all of us. "Welcome to Sweden!" they repeated over and over. It took me just a little bit to process, but I just returned the hug like the rest of them.

Finally, Matt said something. "Well thanks, but, uh... who are you two?" The one with the greyer beard spoke first. "My name is Benny, and this is my friend and writing partner Björn." Björn slightly nodded his head. "And?" Matt asked. The two men looked confused. "We're the two Bs of ABBA," Björn finally answered.

"Wait, whoa... hold on there, you mean the ABBA? The 'Does Your Mother Know?' ABBA?" I asked, coming to a realization. They excitedly nodded their heads. "Whoa... that's awesome. You two really helped me out. Your song helped me friendzone Rika." "It did?" Benny wondered. "Yeah. She was making a move on me, and I had to shut her down. Thankfully, she found someone else to give her what she wanted." Rika decisively stomped on my foot. "OW!" "Shut up," Rika growled through clenched teeth.

Things went well that night. We had dinner at the 360° Restaurant and Bar, and it was delicious. It was just too bad the bar didn't have a piano, otherwise I would've kept Benny and Björn there all night. My mom really loves ABBA, so Gary and I grew up with it. I learned a lot of trade secrets from them, tips for the next album. Thomas took a lot of notes as well.

We met with one of the executives at SME Sweden, who thought she knew how to create decent music and music videos.

["Voulez-Vous"

Written by Benny Andersson & Björn Ulvaeus

Electro-House Remix by Tijs Michiel "DJ Tiësto" Verwest

Performed by The Teenage Wolves

Lead Singer: Anya Rădulescu (Kate Higgins)]

The scene begins at what looks like a knock off of a modern Studio 54, located in Stockholm. It's complete with a laser show, a multi-colored LED dance floor, and various seating arrangements. DJ Tiësto is standing at his turntables. The club is packed with people. It looks like the joint is proverbially jumping as everyone is dancing to a fast beat. Just then, the band members enter the club ready to rock. Rika's wearing her usual outfit with the broken-heart top. Anya is dressed in a light green sleeveless buttoned shirt with yellow collar, pink and blue bracelets, navy shorts with a light blue belt, white thigh-high socks, and blue platform sandals. Thomas is sporting a blue long-tailed jacket with white trimmings over a purple shirt, dark blue pants and brown shoes. Greg is wearing a black long-sleeve shirt, a gray sleeve-less vest, dark blue pants and black shoes. Marcus wears a simple red shirt with a thick, silver-buckled brown belt over it, green pants, and magenta shoes, as well as crimson wristbands. Kari's outfit consists of a sleeveless light-blue and white shirt with a musical note on the right collar, along with a red tie, which she wears with a dark red skirt and dark stockings. T.K. sports blue jeans, a yellow t-shirt, and a sleeveless brown cargo vest. As for Matt, he's been chosen to wear the most outrageous of outfits; a punk-style outfit, with a dull green formal shirt and dark blue tie, as well as a black cape-like garment with ripped sleeves and edges.

Anya approaches the turntable and gives DJ Tiësto a disc. He nods and puts it in his system. An option box pops up on his computer, asking if he'd like to remix it. He selects "yes". A few minutes later, it's ready to go. In the meantime, the others clear the dance floor to give them some room. Anya joins the others and get in position. Anya raises her hand and snaps her fingers as a count-in while DJ Tiësto starts up the newly-remixed song. It's a faster, radio-friendly, Electro-House remix of ABBA's "Voulez-Vous". They enter into an intricate dance routine, and soon the others join in.

Anya:

People everywhere
A sense of expectation hanging in the air
Giving out a spark
Across the room your eyes are glowing in the dark
And here we go again, we know the start, we know the end
Masters of the scene
We've done it all before and now we're back to get some more
You know what I mean

Band:

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Take it now or leave it
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Now is all we get

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Nothing promised, no regrets

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Ain't no big decision
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

You know what to do

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
La question c'est voulez-vous

Voulez-vous

Now this, ladies and gentlemen, is something any club's occupants can jump on. Everyone breaks in wild dancing to a fast beat. Thomas, quickly tiring, moves to a table.

Band:

I know what you think

Anya:
"The girl means business so..."

Band:

"I'll offer her a drink"

From the bar, Greg holds up a bottle of water, offering it to Anya. She collects it.

Band:
Looking mighty proud

Just then, Thomas spots a young lady who he thinks is very interesting far off on the other side of the club. He gets up, leaving his table and pushing through the crowd to find her.

Anya:
I see you leave your table

Band:

pushing through the crowd

Unfortunately for him, he gets caught in the middle of their routine and joins in in a bid to get by. He of course has no luck as the girl gets deeper and deeper into the crowd. He does run into Rika, though.

Anya:
I'm really glad you came, you know the rules, you know the game
Master of the scene
We've done it all before and now we're back to get some more
You know what I mean

Band:

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Take it now or leave it
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Now is all we get

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Nothing promised, no regrets

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Ain't no big decision
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

You know what to do

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
La question c'est voulez-vous

Voulez-vous

We enter a label-mandated instrumental break, complete with more dancing and more of DJ Tiësto's interpretation of the song.

Rika/Anya:

And here we go again

Band:

we know the start, we know the end

Rika/Anya:
Masters of the scene
We've done it all before

Band:

and now we're back to get some more
You know what I mean

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Take it now or leave it
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Now is all we get

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Nothing promised, no regrets

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Ain't no big decision
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

You know what to do

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
La question c'est voulez-vous

Voulez-vous

And once again, Thomas continues his quest to find this girl. A dancer who looks just like Henry Wong does a backflip over the band, whose other members are just tearing up the dance floor.

Band:

Voulez-vous (ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha)
Voulez-vous (ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha)
Voulez-vous (ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha)
Voulez-vous (ah-ha, ah-ha, ah-ha)

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Take it now or leave it
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

Now is all we get

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Nothing promised, no regrets

Voulez-vous

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
Ain't no big decision
(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)

You know what to do

(Greg/T.K.: Ah-ha)
La question c'est voulez-vous

Voulez-vous

In an effort to get more story in, Thomas continues dancing his way through the club. This girl is so close and yet so far. By the time he gets there, she disappears. Thomas appears very disappointed, but joins the throng accepting his fate. The scene continues to more dancing. By the time the song is over, the audience is cheering, and the members of the band are tired. Everyone offers them a bottle of water, which they humbly and graciously accept.

Marcus

I let her know right away what I thought. "What kind of trained monkeys do you take us for, lady? That is absolute crap, and I'm not gonna do it." She didn't look happy either. "Oh really? And what do you prefer?" "How about something like this?" I laid out a treatment I'd been writing inside my head for one of my favorite Foreigner songs, "Tooth and Nail". It mostly involved Rika and me beating the snot out of these street thugs in Yokohama, mixed with footage of the band.

Thomas

Ah, yes. Marcus showing off his violent fighting styles and pounding his chest sounded very appealing. The executive looked like she'd just been electrocuted. "Åh du måste skämt. Det är alldeles för våldsam. Långt, alldeles för våldsam. Våld gör inte en bra musikvideo. [Oh you must be joking. This is far too violent. Far, far too violent. Violence does not make a good music video.]" She kept looking at us like we had all gone mad. "Ni är alla galna. Det är allt. Ni har alla rymt från ett mentalsjukhus, jag vet det! Jag är ledsen, men jag kan inte hantera detta. [You're all mad. That's it. You've all escaped from a mental institution, I know it! I'm sorry, but I just cannot handle this.]" She quickly got up and made her way to the door.

Matt just smiled and put his arm around Marcus. "You're actually siding with him?" I asked in disbelief. "Well duh. Of course. We don't need ABBA covers or DJs, we're good enough as is." The two fistbumped.

We spent the next few days exploring the city and preparing for the concert. Rika and Kari asked me to help with their audition. I examined the piano-vocal score Disney had enclosed. The song was in the key of A-flat major overall, but began in F minor. The vocal range went from F3 to E 5 at quadruple meter, around 137 beats per minute. "Hmm... Broadway caliber. I'm impressed. It's no Eric Woolfson, but I must give them a lot of credit." Rika cracked open a bottle of water and chugged it down. "Then we better get started," she replied.

On the 26th, Kari and Rika left for the studio while the rest of us did the necessary soundchecks and rehearsals. Since I am a multi-instrumentalist and Kari is only a backup vocalist, it was no problem to have two members leave. We were in the middle of rehearsing when our Digivices went off. We stopped playing right in the middle of a measure, put our instruments down, and calmly rushed off to the green room. T.K. converted his Digivice to its normal mode, then answered. "This is T.K." Commander Sampson's voice came in. "Takeru, Tactimon has been spotted in Södermalm, and he's more powerful than ever." That was startling news.

"More powerful than ever?" I repeated. The commander continued. "Exactly. We've been doing some research on him, and it seems his legendary Sword of Storms has been unsealed, increasing his statistics dramatically. We're attempting to reach Hikari and Rika, but we've lost contact with them. Where are they?" I hesitated to answer.

["Let It Go" (from Frozen)

Written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez & Robert Lopez

Performed by Rika Nonaka (Melissa Fahn)]

At the King Island Music AB Studios, Rika prepares to record while Kari watches. Their Digivices are turned off for the time being. From his side, Christophe comes in over the P.A. system. "All right, Rika. Are you ready over there?" Rika gives the producer a thumbs up, takes a second to compose herself, and then puts on her headphones and stands by. The producers and engineers start the recording, and things get underway.

Rika:

The snow glows white on the mountain tonight
Not a footprint to be seen
A kingdom of isolation,
And it looks like I'm the queen.
The wind is howling like this swirling storm inside
Couldn't keep it in, heaven knows I tried

Don't let them in, don't let them see
Be the good girl you always have to be
Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know
Well, now they know!

From inside the producer's booth, Kari imagines herself as Elsa and does her own choreography. The producer and engineers are too busy to notice.

Rika:
Let it go, let it go
Can't hold it back anymore
Let it go, let it go
Turn away and slam the door!

I don't care
What they're going to say
Let the storm rage on,
The cold never bothered me anyway!

And outside, in Södermalm, Tactimon is using the powers of his newly unsealed Sword of Storms. He stabs the ground twice, awakening one hundred dead Swedish warriors from the ground and causing all manner of chaos. They wreak havoc on the streets.

Rika: (VO)
It's funny how some distance
Makes everything seem small
And the fears that once controlled me
Can't get to me at all!

It's time to see what I can do
To test the limits and break through
No right, no wrong, no rules for me

I'm free!

Back inside, Kari continues her dance, throwing her hand around and creating imaginary structures made of ice and snow. It seems all that ballet practice in school wasn't a waste after all. Rika's starting to get involved with it as well.

Rika:
Let it go, let it go
I am one with the wind and sky
Let it go, let it go
You'll never see me cry!

Right at the moment Rika sings the word "stand", Tactimon thrusts the Sword of Storms into the ground, creating a small mountain range right in the middle of traffic.

Rika: (VO)
Here I stand
And here I'll stay
Let the storm rage on!

Tactimon continues his rampage, stabbing the ground thrice with the Sword of Storms, collapsing the surrounding land with a shock wave.

Rika: (VO)
My power flurries through the air into the ground
My soul is spiraling in frozen fractals all around
And one thought crystallizes like an icy blast

Back in the studio, Rika is really giving her all as sweatdrops form on her forehead.

Rika:

I'm never going back,
The past is in the past!

We go back outside as Tactimon teleports to Gamla Stan, the Old Town, and quickly seizes control of the Royal Palace by slashing at the guards. Even the Royal Guard isn't enough for Tactimon. Laylamon quickly makes herself at home in the Bernadotte Apartments.

Rika: (VO)
Let it go, let it go
And I'll rise like the break of dawn
Let it go, let it go
That perfect girl is gone!

Here I stand
In the light of day
Let the storm rage on!

The camera comes back to Rika who finishes the song with a sly smile on her face and plenty of attitude.

Rika:
The cold never bothered me anyway.

Once the song ends and the producer clears her, Rika slumps back onto a stool, opens a bottle of water, pours some on her face, then drinks the rest. Kari loudly cheers inside the producer's booth.

Rika

That song was exhausting. I gave it everything I had. I wasn't doing this to get the role. I was doing it to prove I was excellent. I'm a perfectionist, and I thought I'd just given the performance of my life.

It was up to the producers. They huddled together and discussed it. Just a few seconds later, one of them answered their cell phone. After five minutes, one of the producers whispered something into Christophe's ear. Christophe came in again over the PA. "That was excellent, Rika, especially for someone your age. However, there is one little thing we forgot to mention. This song was specifically written for Idina Menzel, whom we originally cast for this role. " My eyes glazed over while he continued. "We just got a call from headquarters in Burbank. They want to keep Menzel. I'm sorry." I couldn't believe it.

I brought my vision back into focus. "Wait... so let me get this straight. I just spent three days learning and practicing this song that was completely out of my league, I nail the song in one take, and now you're telling me I'm getting passed over for a Broadway legend? Are you kidding me!?" He put his hands up in defense. "Hey, it wasn't my decision. I thought you were great, it's just not what we're looking for. Sorry, kid." "'Just not what you're looking for?' AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" "Aww, jeez..."

Kari rushed to the microphone. "Rika, it's OK. You did great. That was the best I've heard you sing, ever." "Shut up, Kari. We've wasted our time here. How am I supposed to compete with someone like Menzel, huh? I give it my all, and now I'm being replaced!" "Rika..." "No! I don't want to hear another word. We're out of here. You can tell the Mickey Mouse Club over there to get stuffed!" I stormed out of the recording studio, grabbing Kari by the arm. "You'll never work for the Mouse again!" one of the engineers shouted on the way out. "Fine! The role never bothered me anyway!" I roared back.

Once we were safely away, we turned our Digivices back on. They started going off right away, and I answered mine. "What do you want?" I barked. It was Sampson, as usual. "Rika! Is that any way for you to speak to your commanding officer?" "Oh crap... uh, sorry, Commander, just had a rough audition. I got turned down in favor of Idina Menzel." "My condolences. However, that's not important at the moment. Tactimon has taken over the Royal Palace, and Södermalm has a small mountain range and a hundred undead soldiers in the middle of the district. We'll have to split up. You, Hikari, Anya, and Thomas take on the undead warriors, the rest will fight in the Royal Palace." "Ten-four, Commander," Kari quickly answered. We hung up.

Before I could bring out Renamon, Kari turned me around and forced me to look at her. "I'm sorry I have to strongarm you like this, but I have to know you're not going to let this audition get to you." Her face softened. "Please tell me you're not going to let this get to you," she pleaded. "Don't worry about it, kid. I'll be fine. This'll give me a chance to let out some aggression," I said. She smiled, then let me go.

At that point, Anya came flying in. She was in Sunflowmon's hands, literally. The Digimon lowered herself to the ground. "Next stop, Södermalm," Sunflowmon called. We got on board and she went up and off. "So, how was the audition?" Anya asked. I groaned. "Please don't ask her, she's upset about it," Kari said. "You bet I am. I got turned down by the Mouse. You want to hear it?" "Um, sure." So, all the way to Södermalm, I sang the song again. We got there quickly, so I had to cut it short.

I looked over the scene. "...whoa." Little, jagged peaks came out of the road, cutting into stores and restaurants. This undead Swedish zombie attacked a woman like it was nothing. Anya looked to me. "You think we should suit up?" "Yeah." So, we used our Digivices to suit up.

A few seconds later, we got in position. "Renamon/Gatomon... realize!" Our Digimon came out of our Digivices and stood ready for battle. "I'm ready when you are," Renamon said, ready to go."Then let's do this!" Kari and I flipped open the sensors. I touched all five fingers of my free hand to my chest. Kari used her fist, while Anya swung her handheld Digivice around. All three of us charged up our DigiSoul to the highest it could go.

"DigiSoul! Full... CHARGE!"

"Sunflowmon Digivolve to... Lilamon!"

"Gatomon Warp Digivolve to... Magnadramon!"

"Renamon Warp Digivolve to... Taomon!"

The three Digimon went to work as they flew into battle. Lilamon slapped one of the undead warriors around until he fell in love with her, and I mean head over heels. She sent him off to kill a few of his own. Taomon jumped from peak to peak, fighting off zombies with her brush strokes, while Magnadramon fired random energy bolts from the sky.

Something tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around, and it was a drooling zombie trying to murmur something in Swedish or something like that. "I just got turned down by Disney, you don't want to start with me," I warned him. He tried to make a move on me, so I used a side kick that Marcus taught me on him. I took down two more zombies that way before Thomas showed up, riding Gaogamon.

"Hmmm... Swedish undead warriors. Fascinating, but bordering on cliche," he observed as he jumped off his partner's back. "Quite," Gaogamon agreed. Thomas popped out the sensor on his Digivice, then charged up his DigiSoul. "DigiSoul... Full, CHARGE!" "Gaogamon Digivolve to... MachGaogamon!"

MachGaogamon flew in with his jet pack and started punching away. "How's Marcus?" I asked Norstein. "Oh, knowing him, he'll probably punch his way through. Either that, or he'll fall flat on his face."

Matt

This was a huge job that required a lot of people on hand. RizeGreymon worked from the air, while Baronmon, Flamedramon, and WereGarurumon ran through the castle, taking out Troopmon as they went. We humans fought off whatever we could while we searched for where Tactimon might be hiding. We checked every room we could think of, until we finally stumbled on one of the Bernadotte Apartments. The three ground Digimon followed us in. We didn't find Tactimon, but we found this mix between a demonic priestess and a feudal Japanese courtesan, with long, purple robes over a leather catsuit.

She shrieked when she saw us. "AHHHHHHHHHH!" But then, she stopped when she looked my way. "Oh wait... I know you. You're Matt, aren't you?" "Uh, do I know you?" I asked her. She gave me a seductive smile. "Oh, but of course you do. We had that night together, in Zurich... hm hm hm." Zurich... I'd heard that chuckle before. It was all coming to me. "You! You put me under that evil spell!"

"Ding ding ding, we have a winner. Ha ha ha ha! My name's Laylamon, the Great Demon Lady of Lust. And boy were you lusting after me. I never thought a human could provide so much pleasure... grrrrr." T.K. picked up where I left off. "You monster! He nearly killed me because of you! He nearly killed all of us because of you!" "So you must be T.K.. I remember Matt saying something about you. I'm the one who filled his little brain with lies about you."

WereGarurumon got in front of us. "Matt, get back. I'll handle this one," he bravely said. Laylamon wagged her finger at him. "Now now now, you wouldn't hit a lady, would you?" she taunted. "That's the thing, you're no lady!" "Suit yourself. Phantom Pain!" A ghost fired out of her body and hit WereGarurumon, rotting away his body and making him roar in pain. This was too much.

"WereGarurumon!" I cried out. This was becoming too much for T.K. to take as well. "Rrrrrrgh... NOOOOOO!" He rushed over and grabbed one of WereGarurumon's fists. "T.K., what are you doing!?" my partner grunted. T.K.'s hands lit up with the Crest of Hope as he tried to reverse the effect. "I'm not going to let you die like this, WereGarurumon. You can't die, I won't let you. Ergh... I'll do- whatever it takes to... save you!" He was starting to wear down.

That gave Marcus some inspiration. "If T.K.'s got the chutzpah to do that, then I'm gonna do this!" He ran as fast as he could and tried to punch Laylamon, but she disappeared without a trace, only to reappear and kick him down into the ground. Marcus showed his teeth. "Now that ain't ladylike at all," he growled.

T.K. let out a huge yell, giving it everything he had. It was enough to keep WereGarurumon from getting corrupted, but barely. Both of them dropped to their knees, punched open a window using his DigiSoul, then called out the window. "RizeGreymon! We could use your help down here!"

Baronmon helped my brother up, and the rest of us left. "Are we really gonna leave Marcus in there?" Greg wondered. I hesitated, then shook my head. "Uhhhh... no. I can't do that to him. T.K., you and Greg fight Tactimon. I'll back Marcus up." "Right," T.K. confirmed. The four of them went looking for Tactimon, while WereGarurumon and I went back inside.

That Laylamon was one tough cookie. I looked her up on my Digivice. "A Mega level? Oh boy... we're screwed," I concluded.

Greg

We kept looking for Tactimon throughout the palace. "Now, if I were an evil Digimon, where would I.-" I stopped mid-sentence as it came to me. "Oh, duh! Of course. The Throne Room. Tactimon's on a throne right now." "That's right! Why didn't we think of it earlier?" T.K. wondered. "No time to worry about that now, let's go!" Flamedramon urged. So, we continued moving on. I ran, while T.K. sort of walked, recovering from what he did.

Thomas

"Howling Cannon!" MachGaogamon let out a supersonic howl, killing off the last of the zombies. Taomon used her yin-yang bubble to transport innocents to safety. "Well, that's the last of them," Kari said. Our Digivices went off a few seconds later. We answered them. "This is Thomas. Over."

"Thomas, this is Matt. We're in deep crap right now. There's a Mega-level at the Royal Palace and she nearly killed WereGarurumon." "Oh no... we're on our way." I hung up, then looked up to MachGaogamon. "MachGaogamon, we need to get to the Royal Palace, and fast!" Magnadramon lowered herself. "Everyone, climb aboard," she said. We rode through the sky, paying no mind to the helicopters that were following us. More than likely, it was the press.

Greg

We arrived in the throne room, where Tactimon was, in fact, sitting on a throne and drawing something on the floor with his sword. Since Flamedramon was the Fire of Courage, he got to point at Tactimon and accuse him of something. "Tactimon! Your reign ends now!" he shouted.

Tactimon looked up. "Oh, it's only you. I'm a bit disappointed you defeated my Troopmon at Armor levels. I was expecting to see so much more out of you." I stepped up to the plate. "Well you're gonna see it in just a few minutes, buddy! We'd outnumber you again, but it seems your friend Laylamon wanted to play with WereGarurumon. And by play, I mean kill!" "Of course she did, you idiot! The only reason I don't kill both of you where you stand is because I prefer to win fairly. Just admit it, you two are completely in over your heads. You're outmatched, outskilled, and out of luck."

"Enough of your talk. It's time for a little action!" I called. As if on cue, Flamedramon powered down to Veemon. I turned to T.K. "T.K., do you think you've got enough energy for a DigiSoul Full Charge?" T.K. was still a bit winded from trying to save WereGarurumon. "Uh huh... but you go first." He sank into a nearby chair. I shook my head. "You mean your Crest of Hope doesn't come with a built-in second wind? Wow." "Just Digivolve your Digimon already. Please? Huhhh..."

"All right." I turned to my partner. "This one's for T.K." I said. "Right." I let out a short roar, flipped open the sensor on my Digivice, and charged up my DigiSoul all the way. "DigiSoul! Full... CHARGE! RRRAGH!" "Veemon Warp Digivolve to... AeroVeedramon!"

AeroVeedramon was so big, he had to break open the ceiling just so he could fit. I got T.K. and Baronmon out of the way as the fight quickly went to the roof. The battle heated up quickly as Tactimon drew out his sword and started slashing it in the air. With six slashes, he generated a massive vortex that started sucking in everything it could. "Dragon Impulse!" AeroVeedramon sent his dragon-shaped shockwave into the vortex, stopping it in its tracks.

The others arrived, but so had the media. One by one, they fired their attacks. "Dragon Fire!" "Marvel Shot!" "Gaoga Tornade!" "Thousand Spells!"

Soon, Marcus and Matt's fight with Laylamon spilled over into ours. "Empress Emblaze!" This hand-like abomination grabbed WereGarurumon and completely destroyed him, reverting him back into a DigiEgg.

T.K.

The chaos. The destruction. Everything was falling apart at the seams in that battle. I looked up Tactimon on my Digivice again, and he didn't have a level. I stared at what was happening, and it didn't look good. It reminded me of the final battle with Piedmon. ...No, that was different. Everyone was being turned into keychains, they weren't getting corrupted or killed. There was so much more damage now than there ever was then.

I forced myself to find my second wind, got back up on my feet with my head held high, and focused. I promised myself that I'd never give up again, and this was my chance to prove it. "Baronmon! It's time!" I called. Baronmon powered down to Patamon and flew to my side. "It doesn't look good out there," he said. "Right, but you know what they say. Where there's life, there's hope. And I've got plenty of both!" I flipped open the sensor and ignited my DigiSoul as high as I could take it. "DigiSoul! Full... Charge!" After the Digivice absorbed my DigiSoul, I fell back on my knees while Patamon Digivolved. "Patamon Warp Digivolve to... MagnaAngemon!"

MagnaAngemon drew out his sword Excalibur as he joined the fight. He pulled off a few combos with AeroVeedramon and MachGaogamon, but Tactimon countered all the attacks while mockingly laughing at us. "Is this really the best you can do? You're all hopeless!"

"You're wrong!" I shouted up to him. MagnaAngemon healed everyone that could still fight with his Magna Antidote, and they went in for round two. All we humans could do now was watch, pray, and hope for the best. I looked around and saw news helicopters everywhere. It was even louder than our concerts. We had to put our earplugs in, it was so loud.

Words can't even describe how bad the battle was. Even with everyone's full soul and strength, we were ultimately no match for Tactimon and Laylamon. After WereGarurumon died, RizeGreymon was the next to go. One by one, our Digimon reverted back to DigiEggs. Magnadramon dropped off Thomas, Kari, and the others before she sacrificed herself. Soon, it was down to MagnaAngemon, Laylamon, and Tactimon.

Tactimon lowered his sword. "Hmmph... this is too easy. This entire fight was too simple. I could easily slay all of you now, and finish off this entire district if I so chose. However, you've intrigued me all. I want to see all of you at your best, so I can destroy you at your best! It would make your defeat that much sweeter. So, I will end this now as it stands. Once you have all reached your maximum potential, then we shall continue." "Hmmm? Are you crazy, Tactimon? Why aren't we finishing them!?" Laylamon protested. "All in good time, my dear. Au revoir!" With that, the two of them disappeared. All that was left were the choppers.

We had to cancel our tour stop in Stockholm and fly home to Japan. On the plane, the only one not holding a DigiEgg was me. "I guess we're all even now, huh?" I asked Matt and Kari in a half-hearted joke. My brother looked down at his DigiEgg. "Yeah, I guess we are."

Author's Notes:

Oddly enough, both Lara Jill Miller and Melissa Fahn have Broadway experience. Lara was cast as Amaryllis in a 17-day revival of The Music Man in 1980 (starring Dick Van Dyke), while Melissa was in the ensemble and was an understudy and replacement for Glinda in the original Broadway run of Wicked. (So, she might have worked with Idina Menzel.)

"Let it Go" was actually recorded in 2012, but since Frozen didn't come out until November 2013, the time lapse allowed some flexibility.

The title of this chapter means "A heavy loss" in Swedish.

If you're playing this at home and you want to recreate the wardrobe, here are the anime characters I stole clothes from.

Greg- Yugi Muto, The "Dungeon Dice Monsters" arc of Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 1

Thomas– Chazz Princeton, Yu-Gi-Oh! GX

Anya - Téa Gardner, Yu-Gi-Oh! Season 2

Marcus – Yuya Sakaki, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc V

Kari - Yuzu Hiragi, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V

T.K. - Crow Hogan, Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds

Matt – Yuto, Yu-Gi-Oh! Arc-V

You may have noticed I'm not posting new chapters every week or every two weeks like I used to. I probably won't finish this fanfic by the end of the year, or be close to finished (like I had the first two). I know Do the Locomon has been pulled down, and some of you have asked about it. I will get to it when I finish this fanfic. This is a hobby for me, one that I really enjoy. However, I need a job, and I'll be going to school in Winter 2015, so please be aware of that.

With that, the second arc of this series ends. The closing sequence will be up soon, as well as the opening sequence for the second half.