Italics = thoughts

"Quotes" = dialogue

underlined = reading something that is written

Bold= words and thoughts of "The Mistress"

Disclaimer: I do not own digimon or any of its characters. I do however claim ownership of any original characters introduced.

Chapter 38: Contemplations of Fearful Minds

Takato and Atticus are dropped by the data stream and roll through wet foliage before finally stopping in a patch of mud. Takato pushes himself to his feet and adjusts his goggles before looking over towards Atticus and asking, "You all right?"

Atticus twitches and grunts before stating, "…I can't move anything…" Takato pushes himself through the mud towards him, looping his arm around his shoulder to brace and lift him from the thick mud. He pulls him over to the grass and lays him flat. "You paralyzed?"

"Seems so…" Atticus says while trying to crane his neck. "Where is Tankdramon?" Takato looks in all directions before answering, "I don't think he was pulled through with us. You don't think Zhendalumon got him, do you?"

Atticus stiffly shakes his head before grunting from annoyance. "He'll be alright, but not for a good reason…"

"How did he digivolve?" Takato asks, his excitement clear. "I didn't think a digimon could digivolve without either a tamer or absorbing data."

"…They can't…but Commandramon and I have the misfortune of being implanted with Millenniummon's dark spores. Sadly, I think he tried to use it…"

"You mean those things that turn you evil like with Ken in the TV show?" Atticus scowls at Takato before saying, "What is it with you and the TV show?"

When Takato's only response is a confused look, Atticus gives a sigh before saying, "It can have negative influences but it really just works like a parasite: it grants its host some additional power and strength, but only because it is attempting to expand and grow. Eventually, it kills its host and creates a digi-egg, which would hatch into a new body for Millenniummon. It's how he has managed to return after defeat, always stronger then last time."

"So Sealsdramon used a dark spore to digivolve? Does that mean it's growing?" Takato asks. Atticus flexes his fingers as some feeling restores to them and states, "Yes," when nodding proves ineffective.

"What do we do about it?" Takato asks.

"I don't know…" Atticus responds sadly. "We had suppressed the spores' growth for so long… To see him willingly try to use the spore's power is very disheartening…"

"I'm sure he'll make it out ok. If he stops using it, it'll stop growing, right?"

Atticus bites his lip. "It can't be stopped. It's merely a matter of how slow it grows and influences us. Till this point, we've mostly not given it fertile enough 'soil' to grow in but now…"

Takato looks away from him and peers around before facing Atticus once more. "Any ideas on where we might be?" he asks, trying to change the subject. Atticus sighs and strains to move but still finds himself unable and grunts in annoyance. "My guess is the swampy level. There's a direct connection from this one to the desert level somewhere. We'd just need to find it…"

"You think we should go to the desert level?" Takato asks.

"Only thing I can think to do. We have to start looking for the others somewhere and now we have reason to believe that the devas are back…"

"Do you think somehow Millenniummon restored the ones he captured in the Real World? Takato asks. "What if the others are in danger?!"

"Hold on!" Atticus shouts as Takato shoots up to his feet. "It's not likely that they're after the others."

Takato gives him a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Whoever they're working for must know about your…condition. That chicken specifically targeted you, so it's a safe bet that the only ones they might be after are you and your partner."

"Then Guilmon could be in trouble!" Takato states in worried tone.

"There's a strong possibility that he's in danger, yes, but let's keep our heads. The last place we know we saw him was the Dark Forest level. We can head towards the desert level then there and see if we can find any leads."

"But who could be after us now? Millenniummon is gone, right?"

"Well, that's difficult to determine but he was defeated, at least for the time," Atticus responds, still twitching and hoping to regain muscular control. "I doubt that Millenniummon is behind this. That chicken seemed keen on destroying you, not capturing you. My guess it is someone of similar mind to me: they view you as a threat and are looking to neutralize that threat."

Takato visibly sags, sitting next to Atticus and sighing. "So this is all because I released Megidramon?"

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," Atticus says, finally managing to move his hands. "Right now, we should focus on finding any of the others. Until we do, we're completely vulnerable and if any of the other devas are around, they're sure to come looking for us. We'll have to avoid them: move slowly and stick to areas where we can hide if needed."

"Hey! What are you doing in our mud pit?" a lispy voice asks.

Ai, Mako, and Masahiko gleefully stuff their faces with the food Babamon had prepared as she, Jijimon, and Kotemon look on. "How does that taste?" she asks proudly, to which the children respond, "Delicious!" through mouths full of food."

"How long do these wind storms usually last?" Kotemon asks, turning his attention entirely on Jijimon.

"Eh, it varies. We haven't ever really timed it." Kotemon sighs with exasperation before Masahiko walks over to him to hand him a plate of food. "Aren't you hungry, Kotemon?"

"Well I…"

"Eh, go ahead and eat it!" Babamon insists. "What else am I going to do with it?" Kotemon takes the plate, bows graciously to Babamon and sits at the table, quickly scarfing down the food and refilling his plate.

"Excuse me, Mr. Jijimon?" Masahiko asks.

"Eh, what is it?" the old man of a digimon asks.

"Well, when Mako and I were looking around, we saw a tub and I was wondering if…"

"What, you wanna go soaking in the bath?" Jijimon asks.

"Yes please!" Mako shouts out upon gulping down the food in his mouth.

"We've been trekking through the desert for days and…" Masahiko begins.

"They don't need a reason for a bath," Babamon adds. "Tell you what: you take a bath and then you battle each other, like our old partners did."

"Old partners?" Kotemon asks after swallowing his food.

"Of course," Jijimon responds. "Couple years back, we had two humans begging to be partners with us. What were they called again?"

"BlackWarKazumon and MegaMightyKentamon you senile old can!" Babamon shouts back.

"Oh, that's right…"

"Wait… what kind of humans are called BlackWar…" Kotemon begins to ask before Masahiko interrupts by shouting, "Yay bath!" He and Mako dash from the dining area and disappear deeper into the homestead.

Ai lets out a sigh and says, "Boys…" Kotemon shrugs at her and returns to his meal.

"Oh, I can't wait to see how well they fight. Maybe even better then BlackWarKazumon and MegaMightyKentamon!" Babamon says, tapping her broom staff.

"How about a preliminary?" Jijimon asks, raising his and rushing at Babamon. They clash and cross their staves, fighting across the room and dashing to and from each other. Kotemon only stares and sweat drops before hearing a knock on the door.

"More visitors!" Babamon cheers before pointing her broom at Kotemon. "Get that, won't you?" Kotemon bows and jumps from his seat, making his way over to the large circular door and lifting the stock. The door immediately swings open and he ducks down. Through it fall the forms of Renamon, Rika, and Chiblynmon, each groaning as the door shuts behind them.

"Rika! Renamon! You found us!" Ai shouts jubilantly while jumping from her seat. Rika pushes herself up, a look of disappointment on her face, but she quickly rids herself of it.

"Good to see you are alright Ai," she says before turning to Kotemon and nodding. "You're here too, huh?" Kotemon only shrugs.

"That was some nasty wind…" Chiblynmon states, dusting himself off.

"Hey, it's the human that took our partners away last time!" Jijimon exclaims, holding his staff at the ready. "That ain't gonna happen again!"

"Wait! She's one of my friends!" Ai pleads, waving her arms up and down.

"Oh great… These two again…" Rika says with an annoyed groan while Renamon chuckles somewhat. "We picked up two signals here. Where's the other one Kotemon?"

"Hey, it's Rika!" Masahiko exclaims. Rika turns to see him before turning pink and looking away upon noticing both Masahiko and Mako had seemingly just gotten out of the bath.

"Great to see you too, Masahiko. Maybe put your clothes back on?" Rika asks, while looking the other direction. Masahiko and Mako look at each other, shrug, and run back into the homestead.

"Anyone else with you?" Rika asks. Kotemon only shakes his head. "I'm really glad to be found though. We have a major problem…" Rika raises an eyebrow at him before Babamon interjects, "Why don't you sit down instead of standing at the door? You're in our fighting space! And put that stock back!" Kotemon bows in apology before complying as Rika, Renamon, and Chiblynmon cross the room and take a seat at the table, Chiblynmon diving into the food without hesitation or asking permission.

"So what's the big problem? We have to wait for this silly windstorm to pass anyway…"

"Well…" Kotemon states nervously before sitting at the table as well, "you're not going to believe this, but I saw the devas."

"The devas?" Renamon asks in an obviously surprised tone. "But we defeated Millenniummon. He couldn't have possibly…"

"Of course he could have," Chiblynmon says after swallowing. "He had eleven of them before being deleted. What would stop him from restoring them?"

"All twelve have been restored actually…" Kotemon states while hanging his head. This grabs Rika's attention.

"Lopmon is back too?"

"Yes…and no…" Kotemon responds. "It's her, but she's different, and I don't think any of them are friendly."

"What makes you say that?" Renamon asks cautiously. Kotemon fidgets a little before responding. "They were looking for the Hazard Tamer. Lopmon wanted me to tell them where all of you were and she was talking about avenging Suzie."

"I'd say it's a safe bet the devas are out to destroy the Hazard…" Chiblynmon interjects after swallowing a mouthful and jumping into a chair.

"Then we have to find Takato first…" Rika says, pushing herself up from her chair. "Ai, get your brother and Masahiko. We're leaving."

As Ai runs off to fetch them, Jijimon taps his staff. "You can't leave yet! They haven't fought for us!"

"Sorry gramps, but we have a friend in trouble, and I don't have time to waste here."

"Look at that, scaring off another bunch of humans…" Babamon states in taunting tone to Jijimon.

"I ain't done nothing!" Jijimon shouts, swinging his staff at Babamon, leading them to enter another fight. Kotemon sweat drops once more as Ai, Mako, and Masahiko enter the dining area. "Let's get moving…" Rika say, turning towards the door.

Guilmon lets out a loud sigh as he blinks his eyes and adjusts himself to lie more comfortably on the cavern floor. He raises his head and peers around the cavern, testing the air with his nostrils before drooping his ears. "I'm lost again… If only Takatomon was here…"

Calumon suddenly bursts from the water near him and waddles up from the rocky waterline. "The water seems to just go on forever…" Guilmon sighs loudly again before asking, "Do you know where we are, Calumon?" The little digimon scratches his chin with his tiny hand while adopting a look of deep thought. "I don't know. All I remember was Lopmon being all mean to us and then falling into the water. Now there's a whole lot of water, and I don't think we can swim through all of it…"

The red saurian moans before rolling himself back to his stomach and curling up. "Why are you all sad?" Calumon asks, while waddling over to him.

"I don't want to talk or play right now Calumon…" he responds in a depressed tone.

"Aww, why not? We have to try to find a way out of here. How else can we find Jeri and the others?"

"I don't think I should find the others…" Guilmon grumbles from his position on the cave floor.

"But if we don't find the others, how will we go home?" Guilmon seems to ignore him for a few moments before letting out a sigh. "Lopmon says I hurt Suzie…and I dreamed that I hurt people. What if I really did?"

"But you would never hurt anyone…would you?" the little creampuff asks in response.

"But I think I did. I don't remember but I think I did. What if I'm dangerous? What if I accidentally hurt Takatomon or one of the others?" Calumon groans in confusion and sadness. "Maybe you should go find the others without me… I don't want to hurt anybody anymore…"

"But Guilmon…" Guilmon only buries his snout in his forearms and curls himself up tighter while Calumon plops down next to him, leaning his head against the saurian's haunches. "But I don't want to go alone…"

What if what Lopmon said is true? Did I really hurt Suzie? Was I bad? Will Takato be angry at me? What if I hurt Takatomon or one of the others too? What should I do? Oh Takatomon, where are you? I wish you were here: you'd know what I should do and everything would be ok…

Guilmon shifts his head to uncover his eyes and look at Calumon. "Calumon, do you think I'm dangerous?" The creampuff digimon's only response is a snore. "Guilmon sighs and says, "Never mind…" I wish I had someone to talk to who understood. Renamon would know what to say… With that he shut his eyes and practically cried himself to sleep.

Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, Guardromon, and MarineAngemon continue their trek, moving deeper into the Dark Forest level. "Are you sure you know where you're going, amigo?" Kazu asks. "It feels like it's been days and we're not any closer to finding the others…"

"I'm almost sure the desert level was in this direction…" Kenta replies.

"We've been walking awhile," Jeri points out. "Maybe we should take a break and a moment to think?"

"Puh piu puh!" MarineAngemon chirps.

"Ok, ok. We can take a break…" Kenta says with some exasperation before Kazu claps him on the back. "Cheer up, man. We just need to break for a moment." Kenta nods and takes a seat against a tree; Kazu sitting almost right next to him while Jeri sits across from them amongst the roots of another.

"I'm beginning to get nervous," Kenta suddenly says after a few moments of silence. "What if more of those devas find us before we get to the others?"

"Well, we'll just have to try to be careful, and if we do run into any of them, we'll have to fight," is Kazu's confident response.

"We barely beat Guanpilumon though. What if we can't handle the next one? Or what if more then one of them find us?" Kenta asks frantically.

"Dude, calm down!" Kazu retorts. "Don't worry yourself too much over it! Tell him, Jeri."

Jeri seems not to have heard him and maintains a blank stare off to the side. Kazu leans forward and snaps his fingers in her face, jolting her from her thoughts and causing her to look at him in bewilderment. "Is something wrong?" she asks.

"Yea, you were in lala land again. What's eating you, Jeri?" Kazu asks firmly. Jeri rubs her arm and responds, "It's nothing. Just… thinking…"

"What about?" Kenta asks.

Jeri purses her lips and bites down on them before responding, "You know…about Takato…"

"Here we go again…" Kazu groans.

"You seem rather obsessive over young Takato," Guardromon points out. Jeri hits him with an annoyed glare but quickly allows her face to settle back to a saddened expression.

"So, what about Takato?" Kenta asks as MarineAngemon settles onto his shoulder.

"Well… do you remember…before the demon lords appeared…my brother's partner was on the verge of deletion?" Kenta and Kazu exchange glances before turning and nodding. "It sort of reminded me of what happened to Leomon…There was nothing any of us could do…but then…"

"But did not little Kotemon survive?" Guardromon asks. Jeri grits her teeth. "Yes…because Takato, Rika, and Atticus literally burst out of the ground, forcing that TigerVespamon back before he could deliver a final blow and allowing my brother the chance to help his partner…" she says, her voice slowly adopting a more monotonous tone. "He saved Musyamon but not Leomon…"

"He couldn't!" Kazu reminds her. "What was he going to do? All of our partners were down, including Guilmon."

Jeri shakes her head. "He had the power. He only unlocked it too late to help. Why is it fair that my partner is gone but my brother's saved in nearly the same situation?" Kenta bows his head and Kazu stutters before conceding. "…well I can't argue with you there… It isn't fair, but it's what happened and the point is, it's not Chumly's fault…"

"Why not? Why is his failure not his fault?" Jeri asks, barely an inflection in her question while her eyes stare blankly at Kazu.

The visored tamer scratches the back of his head. "We all failed then, didn't we? I failed… You failed… Henry and Rika failed…" Jeri's expression and tone does not change as she counters, "But a leader is always responsible for the shortcomings of his followers. We followed his lead and we failed. None of you acted, not because you didn't want to, but because he did not act."

"I'm afraid I've lost your logic, Lady Jeri…" Guardromon confesses. Kazu slumps down while Kenta scratches his chin. "She's right…"

"You have to be kidding me…" Kazu says, looking up at him while his partner chirps with disagreement.

"My dad once told me a leader guides humbly and takes the blame when things go wrong…" Kenta adds. Jeri nods to him and Guardromon creaks as he shifts.

"I understand where you're coming from now Jeri…"

"Seriously amigo? He's our friend, you know," Kazu interjects. Kenta nods at him. "He is our friend, but that doesn't change that he did fail and that he is responsible. We, as his friends, just choose to forgive him for it. I can both acknowledge that it's his fault while still believing him to be a good person and close friend."

"Forgiveness, however, doesn't change his responsibility for Leomon's death…" Jeri states out monotonously before normal inflection returns to her voice, "…and I can't ever forgive him…"

"That really isn't fair though," Kazu points out. "I mean, by that logic, Suzie's death is all his fault despite the fact that he did everything he could to stop it while the rest of us did nothing…"

Kenta shakes his head. "We all tried to stop Megidramon. It's all of our faults she's gone…"

"No… it's just Takato's…" Jeri responds, both anger and sadness clear in her voice. "He unleashed Megidramon and that's the only reason she is dead. Just like he led us into a battle with Beelzemon that we could never win, he unleashed a monstrosity that none of us could combat…"

"But even you said if he didn't we might all be dead?" Kazu retorts.

Jeri nods before adding, "It was the lesser of two evils, but it was still wrong and he is still responsible…"

Before Kazu can counter, a loud boom echoes in the distance and the tamers and digimon turn towards it. Kazu's d-ark beeps to life and he looks at it. "There's something over there…and there's also…two more d-ark signatures that way!"

"Pi puh piu!" MarineAngemon chirps.

"You're right," Kenta says, jumping to his feet. "Someone could be in trouble!"

Kazu stands and pulls Jeri up to her feet as well. "Well, let's not waste any more time then!"

"I am thoroughly convinced that you have all lost your minds!" Shibumi paces back and forth while the Monster Makers, Yamaki, and Riley stand and sit idly, listening to his rant. "I mean a genocide of digital life is bad enough, but you at least tried to support it on bringing home the children. Now you're telling me you want to purposely ensure one of them dies in the Digital World and then lie to the family about what happened?"

"Do you have a better idea, Gorou?" Daisy asks in sad tone. "Our goal is to save as many of the children as possible."

"This is insane!" Shibumi fumes. "It's silly enough that we are taking direction from an informant whom we cannot identify and thus do not know the motives of, but this same informant is telling us that a human child is infected with a digital virus which we have all apparently just so happened to have missed for the past two years?!"

"I admit that it sounds bizarre to me as well," Janyuu starts, "but we received a message from Henry confirming as much: that the anomaly we detected was an alternate evolution of Guilmon, a digimon Takato created himself. Regardless of whether or not this whole virus business is true, this anomaly is definitely connected to him and we have confirmed that it nearly caused, and thus still poses a danger of, digital destabilization in the digital world."

"And we are talking about preventing him from returning to the REAL world, where no threat of digital destabilization would matter!" Shibumi shouts louder. "I mean are we seriously going to make a decision based on an unknown person who obviously shares Kurota's genocidal dream?"

"We don't have a choice but to comply," Dolphin interjects. "It's we do this or none of them come home. I'd rather get all but one of them home then none of them, Shibumi."

"I strongly agree with Mr. Mizuno on this," Yamaki says, pushing his glasses back up onto his nose. "There has to be a limit to what terrible thing we will do. We have to find another way. I for one do not trust whoever this confidential informant is."

"May I see the message prompting all this?" Riley asks. Yamaki snatches a paper from his desk and hands it over to her before she clears her throat and reads it aloud:

I have discovered you are scanning the digital network looking for the anomaly regarding which I have already addressed you on. Do not concern yourself with my sources. I can inform you that your current assumption of a digital life form as the source is incorrect. The human to which this digital life form is attached is the host of the virus causing the anomaly and is the target, which must be prevented from escaping the digital network's destruction. Attached to this correspondence is the digital signature, which I have managed to acquire. Plug it into your delivery program and set it's targeting as the prime directive. It must not be allowed to escape the calamity you intend to unleash, as it will undoubtedly bring harm to your own denizens.

Riley pales and frowns upon finishing. "How did this person come by this information and how is Kurota even considering trusting it?"

"It doesn't matter," Babel responds. "This anonymous informant has the prime minister's ear and has provided us a program to transport our virus into the Digital World. There's nothing left to do but test it in the algorithm and, if it works, begin constructing it. Kurota is watching…"

"How would this person have even come by this program?" Shibumi asks. "Isn't it odd that we fail for days on end and suddenly some random stranger already has a program ready to do exactly what Kurota wants? For goodness sake: it's a digimon without a heart. Who thinks of something like that?"

"…killers…" Janyuu admits. "Heartless killers… It's exactly what we are."

"But we don't have to be!" Shibumi remarks, moving over to the computer and moving the mouse. He clicks and the message pops up:

Are you sure you wish to delete "Project X"? Yes/No

"We don't need to do what Kurota is demanding. We don't need to go this far." The other Monster Makers consider what he says for a few suspenseful moments before a beep suddenly rings out. Riley checks her PDA before plugging in a USB drive to one of the computer consoles. "Tally says we just received a message from the tamers. I'm pulling it up on screen." The Monster Makers and Yamaki crowd around to see the message as it appears on screen.

Riley:

I have yet to successfully regroup with any of the others, although I can confirm that Alice McCoy and Impmon survived the encounter with Megidramon. I also should inform you that a new tamer joined our group: Takato's cousin, Kai. He is likely one of the signals you picked up and I believe he is still with Alice, though I cannot confirm as they were pulled away from me before I could regroup with them by a stray data stream.

Another of the signals you may have detected is another tamer we discovered here, named Atticus. We don't know much about him, but we have reason to believe he is hostile, as he attempted to attack Takato while most of us were distracted with attempting to fight off Megidramon. If you have anything on him, information would be appreciated. Both his and Takato's whereabouts remain unknown to me.

I also must confess that I have hidden the truth from you: I am aware of the whereabouts of one other tamer: my sister Suzie. I apologize for withholding it and please apologize to my father for me, but I needed time to process the truth and severity of what happened. We did not all escape Megidramon: Suzie and her partner, Lopmon, were deleted in a battle with him before we were all separated. It is not likely that any of the signals you detected are her.

It is absolutely vital that you send that ark soon. I will spend what time I have left attempting to regroup with those who have survived and get them to the location where you retrieved us from last time. Please urge my dad and his friends to finish the ark as soon as possible, and again…tell him I'm sorry…I know that I failed…

-Henry

The Monster Makers, Yamaki, and Riley slowly turn to look at Janyuu, who has yet to remove his eyes from the screen. His eyes flit about and his face contorts, as if holding back tears as well as shouts of pain. "Janyuu…?" Curly asks, laying a hand on his shoulder.

"She's…dead…? She…she can't be…"

"I can hardly believe it myself…" Dolphin mutters as he backs away to slump into a chair. "One of the tamers died…"

"…because of this anomaly…" Janyuu states, some anger slipping through his voice.

"Hold on Janyuu," Shibumi says, making a placating gesture. "Let's try not to be rash."

Janyuu brushes past him and moves over to the computer console, selecting 'no' on the delete request. "Janyuu…" Shibumi says warily.

"I can't change what happened, but I can make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else…" he says, entering the program into the test algorithm. Shibumi looks to Yamaki, whose own face appears grave, even with his sunglasses obscuring his eyes. The algorithm completes. "It's a success. The program is compatible," Janyuu says, plugging in a USB drive. "We should start constructing it…now…"

"Yamaki… please, tell him this is a mistake… We…we can't do this…" Shibumi pleads. Yamaki bites his lip and makes no statement.

"…I'll get started on the ark program again…" Babel says after a moment or so of eerie silence. We should make this quick and clean."

"Ms. Ootori…" Shibumi says as he looks over at the red haired woman. She only hangs her head and asks, "What are your orders, sir?"

Yamaki removes his glasses, revealing glossed over and dazed eyes. "I want you to send a reply to Henry, acknowledging our receipt of his message and to relay any information regarding the other tamer's locations you can. Do not disclose anything else to him at this time. After that, call Kurota and get me the anomaly signature from that email. Compare it to the signature you found. If they match, send it to me…"

"Yamaki, if that signal happens to be Takato Matsuki…"

"Then we will act accordingly…" Yamaki states, his voice somewhat cold and dry. "If this anomaly killed one of the tamers, then we need to ensure it doesn't kill anymore of them…no matter what that costs…"

"Yamaki…"

"Get me the anomaly's signature, Riley…" he says, ignoring the frantic Monster Maker. "I will make my call based on what you find…"