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

Author's Notes: Good evening readers! Welcome to another exciting installment of The Tamer A Digimon Adventure! I want to thank all the readers who left reviews and followed or favorited the story. A special thanks goes out to reader Ace Spiritwell for their work in producing the cover art for the Tamer A Digimon Adventure. Finally, this is a reminder that guest reviews need to be signed to earn a response. I won't waste anymore time, all I ask is that you guys enjoy the chapter!


The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure

Chapter 50: Piedmon

It took the digidestined several trips to get to the final zone of the Digital World - a barren wasteland devoid of sunlight reminiscent of the realm around the Myotismon's Castle. It took them several trips to transport everyone from the forest zone - the rescued prisoners, the digimon from Leomon and ShogunGekomon's armies, and the remaining leader himself. ShogunGekomon required both Garudamon and MegaKabuterimon to carry him at the same time because of his size and weight alone. The digimon who worked for MetalEtemon fled the camp as soon as he was defeated and the Dark Master Puppetmon was captured.

Despite their victory, the mood quiet for an obvious reason - their losses were much greater than expected even though they'd taken down the Dark Network. In total, the number of fighting digimon after the battle had stayed roughly the same after their losses were counted even with their gains. The deaths of Leomon and Wizardmon weighed heavily on both the Agumons' and digidestined's minds - but nowhere nearly as bad as it did on Mimi's as she felt personally responsible for what happened to Leomon.

Everyone dealt with it in their own way. Gatomon especially had become uncharacteristically reserved and only gave one word responses when she was spoken to. This didn't stop TK, Patamon, or Kari from trying to cheer her up. Izzy kept himself busy by referencing the database on his laptop to find a way to beat Piedmon, specifically looking for something that didn't say 'run away'. Matt tried to liven the mood with his harmonica but was only able to produce melancholic melodies. Joe provided medical help to any injured digimon with some help from Gomamon but his supplies were low and there was little else for him to do. Sora helped coordinate MetalGarurumon, Garudamon, MegaKabuterimon, and WarGreymon with transporting the digimon across the zones. For her part, Palmon helped her partner by creating mounds on with sticks atop them like graves.

Tamer passively observed and asked the girl, "Who are these for?"

She pointed to each one down the line as she answered, "Gotsumon, Pumpkinmon, Agumon, Gekomon, Otamamon, Piximon, Leomon, Wizardmon, and my mom."

He nodded quietly, "It hurts to lose someone, but it's part of the deal. Everyone has their own way of handling it. I'll let you have yours."

"Hey, Tamer," Mimi said before he turned to leave, "I always meant to ask. Um…Palmon, could we have a minute?"

"What's going on?" Palmon cocked her head to the side curiously. Tamer patted the little flower on her head, "I wouldn't worry about it. We'll be right here."

"Mimi?" Palmon eyed her partner worriedly. Mimi nodded, "It'll be okay Palmon. I just want a minute."

"Okay, but Izzy is going to get jealous," Palmon answered before stepping back to leave her partner alone with Tamer. Tamer clasped his hands behind his back, "So what did you want to talk about?"

"Back at that house you had, the one under the lake, who were you talking to? The one in that white stone?" Mimi asked curiously. Silence was the only answer he gave so Mimi pressed the question, "That thing that took over Kari. It showed us that he past - and how you got stuck in the Digital World. There was that guy in that vision - the one who found you. It was him, wasn't it? Jenna or Ginger or whatever."

Tamer still didn't answer but she noticed his gaze shifting over to Izzy, then Sora, and finally Kari. He finally cracked a smile, "It was someone who was supposed to be here, but couldn't. So I'm here instead to do what they can't."

"Does it ever get any easier?" she asked him quietly. He shook his head, "No. It never does. In a way, that's a good thing though. If you think about it, the fact that it hurts means that it was someone you cared about. So if it didn't hurt, that could only mean you didn't care. And I don't think you'll ever be that kind of person."

He parted with a nod to check in on Kari and Gatomon, leaving Mimi to finish making the mounds for the ones they'd lost. Palmon took Tamer's departure to mean it was okay to talk and came back, "What did you two talk about?"

"Just a secret," Mimi answered, giving a soft wink to Palmon that left the plant confused, "You know, Izzy's going to freak out if it turns out you actually like Tamer, right?"

Mimi shivered at the idea of her actually dating the boy, "Ew, no way. He's way older than us and still looks our age. Not to mention he's creepy and weird."

"Tamer or Izzy?" Palmon asked with a snicker. Mimi rolled her eyes and returned to working on the mounds.


Kari slumped down as Gatomon sat on the ground, drawing a circle into the dirt with a single claw. She still appeared to be digesting the fact that Wizardmon was gone even though she'd just got him back after so nearly losing him again. As if the world was determined to make sure they'd be separated. TK and Patamon were cracking jokes to try and get her to smile. Kari wished desperately for her partner to say something and she got her wish the moment Tamer appeared beside them. Without a word of warning, Gatomon leapt onto the boy and pinned him to the ground with one claw raised above the rest, "DID YOU KNOW!?"

"Are we back to trying to kill me Gatomon?" Tamer asked stupidly, "That didn't take nearly as long as I thought it would."

The little cat snarled, "DID YOU KNOW!? DID YOU LET HIM DIE!?"

"Gatomon! Stop!" Kari said, trying to pull her partner off of her brother with Patamon's help. Gatomon responded by digging her claw deeper into Tamer's robes and into his skin, "Ow! OW! Okay! Stop! STOP! I didn't know! GET OFF!"

Gatomon relaxed and finally climbed off his now messy robes. While he straightened himself out, Kari chastised her partner, "Gatomon, you shouldn't have attacked like that."

"I needed to be sure he wasn't lying," Gatomon offered as simply as she could for an explanation. At that time, Sora arrived with the remaining digimon whom they set down on the ground. As the digimon scattered about, Sora joined them while WarGreymon dragged along the captive Puppetmon and DemiDevimon, "We're back."

"What's going on?" Sora asked, noting Tamer's scuffed look and the scowl on Gatomon's face, "You guys weren't fighting were you?"

"She wanted to be sure I wasn't lying when I said I didn't expect Wizardmon to die the way he did," Tamer said as he straightened out his robe. Sora's eyes narrowed curiously, "Did you know?"

"No, I didn't," her brother folded his arms defensively, "You think if I did, I wouldn't have tried to stop him?"

"You were always talking about how he was supposed to die," Gatomon's tone carried her disapproval while he retorted, "I saved his life twice. I'm pretty sure I was trying to keep him from dying."

Gatomon's expression didn't change and the tension between the two became oddly reminiscent of the tension between Tamer and Gomamon. Although she blamed Tamer, it was obvious to everyone that she was consumed with guilt since it was her arrow that killed Wizardmon. There was nothing to be done about it now but to defuse the tension. WarGreymon pulled the two captives forward, "What should we do with them?"

"What else?" Tamer said seriously, nodding at WarGreymon to finish the job. Puppetmon's mouth had been gagged by Tamer so that no one would have to hear him shouting any more but that didn't stop him from casting pleading looks in the direction of the various digidestined and their digimon partners. Kari saw the defeated look in TK as he tried to look away when Puppetmon looked at him for help and understood why. TK offered Puppetmon a helping hand but it was the Dark Master who used Wizardmon as a shield. Kari locked eyes briefly with the Dark Master before Tamer stepped between the two of them. There were no brave words or actions in that moment. Only silence as WarGreymon use his cestus to put a massive claw through Puppetmon's back. The wooden puppet's body twitched once before disappearing into a cloud of data. Then it was DemiDevimon's turn. WarGreymon did the same by putting the claws of his deaths through the bat's face to end her. When all was said and done, Tamer sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "Well, that's that."

Even though they'd just beaten another Dark Master, the Digidestined couldn't help but feel terrible about the way it was done. It had to be done after everything that had happened. They just wished it hadn't been done in such a terrible way. WarGreymon stretched and Tamer cracked a tired yawn. Before either of them could retire, they were all approached by the surviving Agumon of Leomon's group. Her brother rested his arms behind his head while one asked, "What should we do now that Leomon's gone?"

"Carry on where he left off. It's what WarGreymon and I have been doing anyway," Tamer replied with a straight face, "I think we should scout the area, make sure that Piedmon's not going to get the jump on us."

"We'll come with you," one Agumon said excitedly, only to be stopped in his tracks by WarGreymon, "No offense to you guys - but you won't be able to cover as much ground as we can. That, and this is Piedmon's turf. If we run into trouble, we won't be able to protect ourselves and you guys at the same time."

The Agumon was downtrodden while Tamer climbed onto his partner's back and took off into the darkened skies. Matt rejoined the group just as they left and asked, "Where are they going?"

"They're going to scout the area," Sora answered, "Garudamon, let's go make sure they don't try to leave without saying a word again."

"They really do like just leaving, don't they?" Garudamon scooped Sora up in her claws. Before they left, the girl said, "The rest of you guys should help set up camp."

"Yeah, good luck," Gatomon clicked her tongue sarcastically as she set off on the giant bird. Kari looked between Gatomon and the group of Agumon nervously looking for guidance on what to do. To her surprise, TK was the one who gave them direction, "Come on. Let's get camp started."

"Uh guys, I think we're forgetting about him," Matt thumbed over at Ogremon who was standing awkwardly just outside the main group. TK looked at his older brother and asked, "Does anyone know what's going on with him?"

"No idea, but he hasn't said or done anything since Leomon...died. But he won't stop following us," one of the Agumon replied. TK watched the green ogre step aside as a pair of Gekomon hurried past him to get supplies for food and thought aloud, "I think I'll go talk to him."

"Do you think that's such a good idea, TK?" Patamon asked, following alongside his partner. TK shrugged, "No idea. But you'll protect me, right?"

"Does any one else get the feeling that my little brother is acting more and more like Tai? Because it's starting to freak me out," Matt said with a sigh. MetalGarurumon nodded, "No, I see it too."

Matt sighed, "Man. I hope this doesn't stick. One Tamer is bad enough. I don't want another one."

"I'm surprised Matt. Before, you'd be worrying over your brother going over to Ogremon by himself - like with Devimon," MetalGarurumon observed pf his partner, "Now you're just watching him go off on his own without a care in the world. It's a little surprising, y'know?"

"I trust him - he knows how to take care of himself. Besides, it's not like I can be there to help him all the time," Matt sighed, "I guess I just realized it'd be better to help him only when he needs it."

"That's really grown up of you Matt," MetalGarurumon commented. Kari watched TK and Patamon carefully, seeing them talk to the big green monster who gave them quizical looks. After they talked to each other for the longest time, all three returned together although Ogremon was unnerved by the apprehensive looks he received from them. TK excitedly reported, "Guys! Ogremon says he'll help us fight Piedmon."

"You're kidding," Matt's eyes widened in disbelief, "You fought us with Puppetmon!"

"No, I fought Leomon," Ogremon growled apprehensively, "That doesn't mean I actually agreed with Puppetmon or MetalEtemon."

"That didn't stop you from helping Devimon," MetalGarurumon said accusingly. Ogremon's eyes narrowed but he calmly explained, "I know you digidestined and I have a bad history so I understand if you don't like me. I don't like you guys either, but that's less to do with you guys and more to do with Leomon."

"Wait, what?" Matt asked the ogre. He seemed to be smiling but it was hard to tell behind the razor sharp teeth, "Yeah, I only ever did what I did to fight Leomon. The ultimate challenge that a warrior digimon like myself needed. The greatest test of skill and might would be to fight and defeat Leomon in mortal combat. We've been fighting for as long as either of us could remember. Whenever there was a war or a conflict, we'd always end up on opposite sides. Sometimes it would be a battle of good vs evil. Other times, it would be a battle of whether the toilet paper goes over or under. One time, it was over whether cake was better than pie. And it was obviously pie but Leomon had to stand with cake. But now that he's gone, I don't know what to do with myself. I spent so long thinking about beating him that I never actually thought about what I'd do after I beat him. Helping you guys out seems like a good place to start if it means I can keep fighting."

"You've gotta be kidding," an Agumon's mouth fell open in disbelief. Ogremon shot him a wicked glare, "Is this the face of a digimon who's kidding?"

"It's kinda hard to tell when you always look like you have to poop," TK pointed out. Kari did her best to hide a laugh and knew TK was right now that he'd pointed it out. Ogremon didn't seem used to being laughed at and sighed, "Whatever. You said we had to set up camp, right? So let's set up camp!"


Piedmon inspected through his telescope as the forest zone vanished off the face of the Digital World. With a sigh, he looked into the shadows and felt another presence. His lips curled into a smile, "Hello LadyDevimon. Anxious to go?"

"Only to serve," a pale woman emerged from the darkness clad in black leather and chains. The left side over her torso tore apart and held itself over her side in a patter resembling a face. On her back were two black wings folded down to resemble a flowing cape behind her. Beneath her black mask, Piedmon could clearly see the crimson eyes that hungered for blood. Eager to see her work, Piedmon waved his hands in the air, "Take some of the Vilemon with you and go greet our new arrivals. Oh, and do make sure you don't get tangled with the cat."

"Yes, Lord Piedmon," the dark figured disappeared back into the darkness. Piedmon resumed observing the digidestined through his scope, "Three down, one to go. Oh, it's been such a long build up to this climax. Let's not waste any more time!"


It didn't take long for Garudamon to catch up to WarGreymon and Tamer. They pulled along side the two and Sora called out to them, "Hey! WarGreymon! Tamer!"

"Hey Sora. Here to help us scout?" Tamer scanned the horizon, "Nothing to the east. Let's start checking the south now."

"No, we're here to make sure you two don't run off again!" Sora told him. WarGreymon joked, "Like I'd let him!"

Tamer glanced at her quietly and patted his partner, "Hey, let's land for a minute."

"There's no where safe to land. It's just open field in all directions. We'll be spotted right away if Piedmon or anyone else shows up," WarGreymon pointed out. Tamer patted his armor so loudly it made a clang, "It'll be fine buddy. What's the matter? Cockatrimon? Besides, if they can see us then we can see them. Let's land!"

"Fine," WarGreymon banked hard and came to the ground softly. Sora and Garudamon joined them on the ground, "Why are we landing?"

"You looked like you wanted to talk so I thought I'd get the distractions out of the way," Tamer replied with a goofy smile. WarGreymon rolled his eyes, "Yeah, so we landed in a desert in the middle of Piedmon's turf."

Tamer ignored him, "Let me guess - you think I had something to do with Wizardmon. Maybe Leomon?"

"No. I don't think you did anything," Sora answered him despite the suspect look he gave her. Tamer's raised eyebrow lowered, "Good, because I didn't know that would happen. At least, I knew Wizardmon was supposed to die. Supposed is the operative word by the way. He didn't because I saved him - twice. Both times, he told me it would've been better to let him die. But that doesn't mean I let him or that I wanted him to."

"Wait, what? Tai, er, Tamer, we only came to make sure you didn't try to leave again. What are you talking about?" Sora asked him with her hands on her hips. WarGreymon answered, "Oh, he's just moping. It's only a problem when he starts being a pain, kinda like right now. My guess is he's upset because he never got to deal with whatever had him upset when we left the first time."

"One of the Ethereals showed up. It showed them the past. Not everything, just a few bad memories," Tamer remarked somberly, "A few minutes of the Battle for Aca'dehmia and the fall of Bastion."

"Well…now I'm depressed," WarGreymon's shoulders sank. Sora looked at their morose expressions and remembered the few moments they'd seen of the past. Ancient and digimon alike who died in numerous ways, over and over again in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. All while worlds above were blown apart and the city below burned to nothing. The thought made her shiver and she stated, "I'm not saying you shouldn't deal with it. I'm just saying you shouldn't leave again without saying anything."

"No, we agree. Right Tamer?" WarGreymon's tone was less than forgiving. The boy nodded quietly looked over at WarGreymon sheepishly. Seeing how uneasy he was, she said, "I know you said you can't talk about it with us, but there's always WarGreymon."

He patted his partner's armor quietly and walked towards her. When he was just feet away he looked her in the eye and asked, "Can I...um...share something with you."

"What?" she asked nervously, watching him put his hand on her forehead, "Just a memory."

"Tamer, what are you doing?" Garudamon warned more than asked. Sora saw him swallow a lump in his throat and prepared for the worst. Without a word he, he closed his eyes and the world around Sora changed. The gray, barren fields became a hellish landscape of black and orange. She could hear gunfire, explosions and screams all around her. In the distance was Myotismon's castle which she felt an overwhelming need to call the Hallowed Bastion. Suddenly, two figures ran by - The Tamer and Agumon, both running towards a middle figure in the distance.

Devimon. They both fought as hard as they could and were able to take it down with the help of fellow Ancients who joined the fray. Then something else happened. Something that made Sora sick as she looked upon it. The images disappeared as Sora sank to her knees from nausea. Tamer and WarGreymon were there, backing away from Garudamon, "What did you do to her!?"

Tamer didn't reply which upset her partner more until she blurted out, "It's okay. I'm fine!"

She didn't sound it though and forced herself up while those images still haunted her mind. She looked at Tamer, realizing that those moments were moments from his past. And it made her cry, "I'm sorry."

"No. I am. But...that's why I don't like talking about it," Tamer said. Without warning, he hugged her but she wasn't sure if it was for her or himself. In either case, she had to hug him back as they shared that horrible memory between them. When they finally stepped away from each other, he climbed back on to WarGreymon, "We should finish scouting and make sure we don't get attacked by surprise."

"Yeah," Sora nodded. They continued scouting in silence. Occasionally, Tamer would say something like the area was safe and WarGreymon would change direction. After a while, Tamer asked, "Hey Sora. "

"Yeah?" Sora looked over at him. He didn't look at her but did say, "I know I said I wanted you to keep your options open and leave if things got hairy. For what it's worth, I'm glad you decided not to use it."

She offered him a smile but he didn't seem to notice. Sora heard distant noises coming from a far away storm cloud. As she narrowed her eyes, she could vaguely see thousands of tiny digimon flying together, their wings beating in a thunderous rhythm. Garudamon asked, "What's that?"

"Vilemon," WarGreymon answered, "They're weaker than a Gazimon by themselves. But get that many together like that and they're a menace."

"How many are there?" Sora asked aloud. Tamer narrowed his eyes, "I can't tell. They won't stop moving. I think I counted a few of them more than once. A cloud that big though has to at least be ten thousand."

"Why are you counting them and why are we acting like nothing's wrong? Let's get out of here!" WarGreymon turned towards the camp. Tamer shouted, "We can't lead them back to the camp. It'll be a massacre!"

"You want us to fight them?" Sora asked in disbelief. Tamer pointed out in the distance, "No. We lure them away - get them as far as possible then try to lose them. WarGreymon! You'll need to get their attention!"

"Got it," WarGreymon said, hoisting Tamer off his back and handing him to Garudamon. Once he was clear, WarGreymon ascended high into the air and began spinning in place, "GREAT TORNADO!"

He spiraled straight into the heart of the cloud of Vilemon and they broke their formation to avoid catching fire. The few caught straight in his path were swept away with his vortex and turned to data. Once the flames ignited, any Vilemon too close to heat was burnt to a crisp. Tamer whistled as the cloud of Vilemon split in two to pursue Garudamon and WarGreymon. The two regrouped and began flying as fast as they could away from the camp and out into the wasteland. Behind, the cloud of Vilemon gave chase and remained close behind for the entire pursuit. They led the Vilemon on over wasteland for as far as they could, occasionally stopping so their digimon could take shots at them to keep the Vilemon's attention.

After their pursuit led them some distance with no sign of the Vilemon slowing down, Sora shouted, "This isn't working. We can't keep running forever."

"I hate it but you're right. Head back to the camp and get the others. Tamer and I will buy as much time as we can," WarGreymon said. Tamer took hold of Sora's digivice and flashed a blinding light with a press of a button. The Vilemon at the front of the cloud stopped in their tracks, forcing the ones behind them to collide and bringing the entire swarm to a halt. Tamer returned her digivice and leapt off Garudamon while she was still in the air to land onto WarGreymon. Sora rolled her eyes at his insane display and held tight to her partner once the bird started fleeing. As she left, she heard WarGreymon scream, "TERRA FORCE!"


It didn't take them long to set up a camp to rest - tents were pitched and a fire was going for the Gekomon and Otamamon to begin preparing meals. The Numemon busied themselves with whatever menial labor they could, mostly to avoid talking to the other digimon. There wasn't any infighting after the losses they'd had that day, so the Agumon were able to get a share of the food without any incident. Gatomon opted to eat away from the rest of the group although this didn't stop Kari from joining her. Neither of them said a word as they ate their helping of nuts and berries in total silence. Thanks to Ogremon's help, the camp was set up more quickly than normal although TK had to keep vouching for the digimon every time he got a weird look.

Their meal was interrupted only when Andromon loudly announced, "Two life signs detected, approaching quickly from the south west!"

"Is it Tai?" Kari jumped up and scanned the darkness for some sign of her brother or WarGreymon. Andromon replied, "Negative. Subjects identified as Sora and Garudamon."

No sooner did he say this, Sora and Garudamon skidded to a halt at the edge of the camp while Sora shouted, "Guys! There's trouble!"

"What's going on?" Matt said while Ogremon appeared along side them. Garudamon pointed over her shoulder, "Vilemon. Enough that they looked like a cloud. A big black cloud of...blackness. They came after us. WarGreymon and Tamer stayed behind to hold them off. But there was a lot. WarGreymon used Great Tornado and barely got any of them!"

"Sounds like a job for me then," MetalGarurumon stepped up. Garudamon warned, "We'll need everyone who can fight to stop them."

"Hmph. Sounds like he's where all the action is! Let's get going!" Ogremon raised his club and draped it over his shoulders. Sora raised an eyebrow at the sight of the ogre, "What's with him?"

"It's a long story," TK said, "Let's go help Kari's brother!"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about them if I were you," a shrill voice said from behind Sora. Andromon called out, "Alarm! Hostile detected! Lady Devimon!"

"Yeah, we noticed," an Agumon replied snidely at the late warning. Kari looked up at the twisted demonic woman hovering above their camp and asked, "Gatomon, who's that? She looks scary."

"LadyDevimon. She's the twisted digivolution of Angewomon. If Myotismon actually wanted to...he could have made me into that," Gatomon felt a chill run down her body upon saying those words. LadyDevimon smiled down upon the cat and replied, "Yes. If only you'd remained loyal to him. Not that it matters with The Digimon Tamer and Piedmon constantly going on about destiny and whatever. I'm tired of talk though. Let's get started! Darkness Wave!"

She threw her arms forward and summoned a throng of bats that came forward to attack. Andromon and ShogunGekomon moved in front to counter, "Gatling Attack!"

"Musical Fist!"

The deafening blast from ShogunGekomon's horn disrupted the bats long enough for Andromon to arm his guns and shoot them all out of the sky. ShogunGekomon looked over his shoulder and commanded, "Go! We'll hold her here! Help WarGreymon and the Digimon Tamer!"

LadyDevimon laughed out loud upon hearing this, "Do you think I'll let any of you leave. Oh no. Piedmon wants me to keep you here."

"We have numbers you don't," Centarumon said while aiming his cannon on her, making her laugh again, "Quality over quantity. You had trouble fighting Myotismon! What hope you do have against me?"

"Why are you doing this?" Kari asked the devil digimon. With the smile widening on her pale skin, she answered, "Why else? So that Lord Piedmon can kill The Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon."

"Better digimon than you have tried," ShogunGekomon shouted at the devil, "Musical Fist!"

LadyDevimon moved aside and raced towards the cat digimon. With a wicked smile, she raised her left arm above her head and turned her nails into long red talons which she aimed at Gatomon. Gatomon readied to fight and Kari's digivice came aglow, "I'm tired of bats and I'm really not in the mood for this you Myotismon knock-off! Gatomon! Digivolve to! Angewomon!"

The flash of light staggered LadyDevimon long enough for Angewomon to slam into her at full force and smack her across the face, "I'll handle her! You guys go help WarGreymon!"

"And Tai," Kari added. Angewomon paused for the longest time before agreeing, "Yeah. And The Tamer, I guess."

"You bitch!" LadyDevimon corrected herself in the air and grabbed a hold of Angewomon's hair. She spun the angel in the air, twirling around until throwing her into Garudamon. She caught the angel but struggled to hold her from going back into fight, "Let me at her!"

"Oh you want to go you dumb cat? I'll give you a cat fight you won't ever forget! You'll learn to dread my hand the way you dread Myotismon!" LadyDevimon hissed. At that provocation, Angewomon broke out of Garudamon's hands and started pulling at LadyDevimon's hair. Watching from below, Izzy said, "I feel like I'm watching something that would make my mom mad at me."

"My older brother had a magazine with something like this once. Mom grounded him for a year," Joe commented while his eyes were fixed on the two. Matt sighed, "I know I shouldn't watch but I can't look away."

TK looked at the older boys in confusion, "Why are you guys just standing there? We have to help her."

"I'll go!" Patamon cried out as he digivolved, "Patamon! Digivolve to! Angemon!"

The angel digimon hurried into the fray and raised his fist against LadyDevimon, "Hand of fate!"

The beam of light struck her from behind and she groaned in agony, until she bit her lip and smiled, "Thank you sir, that felt so good. May have I another? I've been a bad girl!"

"What?" asked the collective voices of Angemon, TK, Matt, Izzy, Joe, Gomamon, Ogremon, ShogunGekomon, and MegaKabuterimon. Mimi scoffed and rolled her eyes, "You boys are so dumb. Let's show this bad girl what we're made of! Go for it Palmon!"

"You got it Mimi!" Palmon ran ahead with the light of Mimi's digivice and crest behind her, "Palmon! Digivolve to! Togemon!"

"Togemon! Digivolve to! Lillymon!"

The pixie joined Angemon and Angewomon to fight LadyDevimon together. Despite the numbers advantage, LadyDevimon was proving to be as dangerous an enemy on her own as she picked her attacks carefully and always knew what to say to throw them off. When Angewomon used her celestial arrow, LadyDevimon mocked her, "You just can't hit anything, can you? It's because I remind you so much of Myotismon, doesn't it? Pathethic. It's no wonder your friend died."

"Don't you dare say that about her! Hand of Fate!" Angemon's attack struck LadyDevimon, making her scream in agony but she recovered quickly with a smile, "Oh look, Angemon tried the same attack twice. I'm not complaining, though. It sends ecstasy through my body. Honestly, is it any wonder that you had to resort to you suicidal attack to beat Devimon? Hey, why not do it again and try to kill me that way? It worked before so it'll definitely work again, right?"

"Why, when he has friends like us to help him! Flower Cannon!" Lillymon's blast was swatted away with little effort. LadyDevimon jeered her, "And of course, you - the failure of a digimon who couldn't save her partner's mother. How do you deal with being such a spectacular failure?"

Lilymon retorted, "I'm not a failure! I did my best to save as many people as I could. I can't change who I couldn't save, but I can stop you from taking anyone else! I'll only be a failure when I give up!"

"Our sacrifices aren't for nothing, as long as we continue the fight to save the Digital World," Angemon answered as LadyDevimon whipped past him to deal a blow onto Angewomon. She blocked the demon's fist with her arm and smiled, "I've done plenty of terrible things. But I'm trying to make up for it. That's what counts! Otherwise, it would make everything Wizardmon ever did for me meaningless!"

"Yeah, that's right Angewomon!" Kari loudly cheered her partner, "Now kick her butt and send her packing!"

"On it! Celestial Arrow!" Angewomon aimed her bow and fired an arrow of light which LadyDevimon skillfully dodged with a laugh. Breaking out of her stupor, Sora said to the others, "Guys! This is our chance! Let's sneak past her while she's preoccu-"

Before she could finish, Garudamon screeched and was thrown to the ground beside her. LadyDevimon cackled, "Sorry, but no one is going anywhere until-"

"I've arrived," Piedmon appeared beside her and took a grand bow, "Greetings and salutations my dear digidestined and digimon. It seems you've gathered quite the audience for your own execution today. Well, being the showman I am, I'd hate to leave you all waiting in suspense to watch your deaths."

"Lord Piedmon," LadyDevimon did something similar to a curtsy in the air. The digidestined and the digimon gasped at the arrival of the clown prince of darkness. LadyDevimon asked, "Is it done?"

"The defeat of The Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon? Oh handidly so!" Piedmon said with a big smile, that had Kari gasping, "But it was so easy that it was hardly sporting. So I thought we'd try again before we finished them off."

He snapped his fingers and a swarm of Vilemon large enough to resemble a dark cloud appeared beside them. In the middle of the swarm were the unconscious Digimon Tamer and WarGreymon held captive while Piedmon continued, "They put up a fight. Not a good one. They never were the best fighters and it's simply far too easy to get inside their heads. Let's change it up again and give them a handicap, LadyDevimon. Vilemon, do return them to their friends if you'd be so kind."

The Vilemon giggled away as they rested the two down to the ground. They retreated away, allowing Kari to run to her brother and the Agumon to run to WarGreymon. Piedmon laughed, "Here are the new rules of engagement! You'll be granted twenty minutes to wake them up and make any preparations you'll need to. After that, it's open season upon you digidestined in the ultimate battle for destiny with heroes, villains, and explosions as far as can be seen in the domain of near darkness! Only one side can survive and we know who it will be!"

"Yeah we do," Sora said bravely, only to make the clown laugh harder. Piedmon cackled away, hovering in the air with LadyDevimon and his cloud of Vilemon behind him. They retreated to a safe position within their camp. ShogunGekomon with his loyal Gekomon and Otamamon formed the very front of their line of digimon. Behind them were Centarumon, Andromon, Meramon, and the other rescued digimon, ready to reinforce their defense as they needed to. Unsure of what to do, TK and Izzy did their best to come up with ideas while Sora and Kari tried to awaken the beaten Tamer and WarGreymon. They tried everything from shouting, to shaking, and even slapping them to see them still asleep. Mimi suggested, "It's no good. I think we'll have to do this on our own. Did you come up with any ideas Izzy?"

"No, nothing," Izzy admitted quietly while he continued scanning the database on his laptop, "Nothing in here on how to beat Piedmon. We already know he's 'theatrical' like it says here, but there's nothing on how to beat him. Just run in really big letters."

"Don't forget all those Vilemon over there," Tentomon added anxiously. Izzy went on, "There's another problem we haven't thought about yet. Once we defeat Piedmon, the final zone will disappear and there's no way we can save everyone."

A silence fell over the digidestined as the familiarity to Koromon Village sank in. Only now, Tamer and WarGreymon weren't there to help. They were on their own with nowhere to run and no options but to fight. Sora looked down at her digivice, contemplating whether or not to use the gate. She swore she wouldn't but there was no way out of this situation for them. TK looked at her and asked, "Sora, what's wrong?"

"Just something Tamer gave me," Sora began, swallowing a lump in her throat, "I didn't bring it up before and I never wanted to use it. He put something in my digivice that would let us go back to the Real World, just us and our partners. There would be no way back and nothing would be able to pass between the worlds after I used it. It would be a one way ticket home."

"We're not leaving them," Mimi stated. Joe wholeheartedly disagreed with the girl, "I hate to say it but we should leave it open as an option."

"How can you say that Joe?" Gomamon asked, disappointedly. Joe threw up his hands defensively, "I'm just thinking, like I always do. If things get dicey, we should keep that option open."

"Except it won't," TK said, "Remember what Leomon said? We're digidestined! We're supposed to beat the bad guys."

"That's correct. We can't give up hope after coming so far," Angemon added. Joe's shoulder slumped down and he admitted, "And Tamer's been reminding us that destiny isn't on track any more. Let's be honest. We might not make it out of this. We should still give it our best shot but also be ready to leave if things get dicey."

"I still don't know know how we can fight and win though," Sora said quietly, giving the others pause as they tried to think of a plan. She noticed Kari still trying to budge her brother awake, gently shaking his chest. With each motion, Sora noticed a lumped that looked like it was moving underneath his robes with each gentle press. She asked Kari aside and reached into his robes, "Hey, what's that?"

From within, she retrieved three white robes similar to the ones he wore, all neatly folded and pressed. Mimi commented, "Where was he keeping extras?"

"He got them from the temple," Joe recalled quietly, "When we went after them in File Island. We never asked what they were for, though."

"But it gives me an idea," Izzy said excitedly, throwing worried looks onto TK, Kari, and Matt. The older brother warned Izzy, "This better not be another idea that sends them out into trouble."

"Not them, Matt. You!" Izzy pointed at the taller boy. They listened carefully as the boy explained, "You, Sora, and Mimi! You three are all about Tamer's height so these robes should just about fit you guys! Well...more or less. And we have the Agumon from Koromon Village! We just dress you guys up and have you run around. It'll confuse the Vilemon if there are more than one running around, plus it'll buy us more time to actually wake him up."

"Good plan, Izzy. There's just one problem: Tamer and WarGreymon are right there! It'll be hard to pretend to be them when they're in plain sight!" Matt pointed out matter of factly. Izzy looked at them carefully and said, "MegaKabuterimon can use his size to hide them. Besides, this looks like the kind of thing Tamer would do - isn't it? Like I said, it seems like he gives these things more thought than he lets on. Why else would he have three robes on him?"

"I still want to know where he was keeping them," Mimi said quietly.

"Ten minutes digidestined!" Piedmon sang aloud, bringing a chorus of laughter from his ever anxious Vilemon. Sora looked around, "Does any one else have any better ideas?"

"Okay, let's assume we do this. What happens next? We can't keep relying on them to solve our problems. We need to have a fall back in case they don't wake up," Joe stated, "And I still think using that button on the digivice is the best fall back plan we have."

"MetalGarurumon. How many of those guys do you think you can take out on your own?" Matt asked, "We could just empty all your missiles into those guys and take out as many Vilemon as possible."

"I can try to focus on them once they're farther away but if they get too mixed with the digimon on our side, I might end up hitting them," MetalGarurumon answered nervously. Angewomon replied, "It'll have to do. That'll give us the time to concentrate on Piedmon and LadyDevimon! I still have a Celestial Arrow with her name on it."

"So we're okay with this plan?" Izzy asked them all, "If we are, I'll go get three Agumon to come help us out! MegaKabuterimon?"

"Got it!" the large bug hunched over them and Mimi felt a shiver down her spine at the up close sight of a giant insect, "Gross, gross, gross."

"I'm not that disgusting am I?" MegaKabuterimon asked.

"Forget about it," Izzy said while putting a robe in Mimi's hands, "Put these on quick. I'll be right back!"

He dashed out from under MegaKabuterimon while Mimi looked at the robes in her hand. Sora and Matt were halfway through putting theirs on when they noticed her hesitation, "What's up Mimi?"

"Nothing. Just thinking about how Tamer was unconscious the last time I handled one of these," Mimi said jokingly as she threw it around herself, "Like I said before - these are really comfortable."

"Yeah," Matt raised his hood to cover his face, making everyone pause nervously, "What?"

"It's scary how you could pass for him right now," Sora commented while adjusting the robes to fit her. It took a few tries and Mimi had to help her fashion the buttons before it would fit properly, "I know these plans never seem like they'll work, but they always do. Might as well have a little faith in this one."

Izzy returned with three excited Agumon who had the plan explained to them, "We're here! We'll help out any way we can!"

"We'll stick with you guys no matter what!" another said. Izzy clapped his hands together, "Okay! Let's get ready to roll out."

"What should we do?" Lillymon asked quietly. Sora answered as she paired with an Agumon, "Help fight the Dark Master and Vilemon. Garudamon, do your best!"

"Kick some butt!" Matt added. As they readied, they heard Piedmon declare, "Time's up! Let the main event commence! Attack my minions! Kill the digidestined and their digimon!"

"Okay! Let's get out there!" TK said encouragingly, running towards the fight only for Matt to grab him by the collar, "No you don't."

"Aw. Come on-" TK began to whine until Matt chastised him, "Sorry buddy but this plan won't work if they notice some of us aren't out there. It'll be better if only we go."

"Matt makes a good point. I say you guys exit one at a time," Izzy said, "Matt, you go first."

"Okay. Let's go Agumon!" Matt adjusted his hood and hurried out.


Piedmon watched with silent amusement as the Vilemon swarmed around ShogunGekomon and his army. They fought well but Piedmon knew they couldn't fight forever. The Vilemon simply outnumbered them. The Agumon behind the first line began attacking, led by Andromon and Centarumon into blanketing the skies with fire. Piedmon intentionally held back LadyDevimon so that the Vilemon could swarm the hopeless digimon army first.

As ShogunGekomon's line began to falter, Piedmon noticed the two he was after, The Digimon Tamer and Agumon, running for their lives away from the fighting. MetalGarurumon and Angemon joined him as they moved away until Tamer signaled them. On cue, MetalGarurumon stopped to arm his weapons and fired into the formation of Vilemon, "Ice Wolf Claw!"

The combined mass of rockets struck the Vilemon in the air and ripped apart the initial line. Seeing the newly presented threat, the Vilemon began to swarm the Tamer and Agumon. To his surprise, the two did not attempt to digivolve or fight - much to Piedmon's confusion. If he knew those two the way he did, then he would have to act quickly. He grinned with anticipation and drew his sword, "The stars have entered the stage. Let's begin our grand finale! Hahahaha! LadyDevimon, please wait here and supervise the Vilemon. Make sure to clean up after them if they make a mess!"

He drew a sword from his back and charged towards Tamer. As quickly as he closed the gap, Angemon raised his fist and shot a beam of light at the clown, "Hand of Fate."

The angel missed and Piedmon took a swing at Tamer - mostly to separate him from Agumon. Again, he was surprised that the little dinosaur didn't digivolve but kept his guard up as he swung away. Agumon used his Pepper Breath to strike the ground, kicking up a dust cloud which put Piedmon on his guard, "What's this? Another trick?"

When the dust finally settled, Tamer and Agumon were gone - leaving him surrounded by Angemon and MetalGarurumon, "Oh, I see. Luring me into a fight with another Mega level digimon and a Holy type. Oh whatever shall I do?"

"You could always give up," Angemon surrendered, "The forces of darkness will never prevail against the powers of light."

"Oh my. Impassioned speeches about good and evil are so overplayed. But please, do go on about your cliche while I dispose of your pet dog," Piedmon declared, grabbing MetalGarurumon by his leg and effortlessly throwing him aside. Angemon used his staff to strike the clown and was blocked by another of his swords, "Oh. That just won't do here. Your leg work is just awful and your posture is...well, let's say it leaves something to be desired. Allow me to educate you in proper form."

With a few quick strokes, Piedmon overwhelmed the angel and left him open for a kick that knocked him aside. Piedmon mused happily and carried on, "Now where are they?"

Across the battlefield, he sighted Tamer and Agumon again. This time, they were alongside Garudamon and Zudomon to help fight off the swarm of Vilemon. Despite how far away they were, Piedmon could only conclude that they had used the power of the Ancients to transport across the Digital World to move there. He kept his sword drawn and mused, "Running won't save you this time!"

He chased after them, cutting down any digimon unfortunate enough to be in his way regardless of whether they were on his side or not. Tamer saw him coming and squeaked in surprise, still running as fast as he could while Zudomon and Garudamon turned to attack, "Vulcan's Hammer!"

"Wing Blade!"

Using half of his skill, Piedmon danced around the two blasts and used his blades to parry the Ultimate level digimon away. Piedmon smirked as Tamer tripped over the dirt and Agumon made an attempt to stand between them. Again, Agumon made no attempt to digivolve and instead spat a ball of fire towards him. He caught it in his hands and sneered, "Fire breathing is such an old trick, and you've brought nothing new to its application in the performing arts. I do hope that you have something better planned for the finale besides spitting fire at me."

Tamer was silent, but the motion of his mouth indicated a dumbfounded stupor. It wasn't surprising, really. Neither of these two had ever really been able to defeat him in a straight battle. Piedmon mused upon his quick victory and prepared to deliver a killing blow when he heard LadyDevimon call out to him, "Lord Piedmon!"

"My dear LadyDevimon, I hope you have a good reason for interrupting our bout," Piedmon said to her, glancing over his shoulder expectantly and finding her caught in battle with Angewomon. He sighed, "Hmm, it seems you've got your hands full. You weren't expecting a helping hand were you? Because I expect all of you to be able to do what I ask when I ask."

"I can handle this blonde-dyed bitch just fine my lord," LadyDevimon grunted as the two of them grappled in the air, "It's Tamer and Agumon. There's another one over there!"

LadyDevimon pointed out another Tamer and Agumon pair running across the battlefield with Lillymon. They were helping reinforce ShogunGekomon and his loyal army as the Vilemon scattered them around the camp. At the mere sight of him, individual Vilemon would hesitate long enough for Agumon and Lillymon to defeat them. Piedmon's eyes narrowed as he tried to understand how there were two Tamers and two Agumons at the same time. It didn't take long for him to reach a single conclusion - Tamer was violating his people's own laws and attempting to retcon something. The Digital World was already off course with destiny and there was plenty of destruction going around. This was not beyond them to do - to attempt to change fate to their advantage.

"Breaking the rules again? You did a number on Machinedramon with this trick. You'll need to come up with something new to get the drop on me," Piedmon mocked, "It's quite ironic when you think about it though. All you ever had to do to beat us was break the flow of destiny and violate your people's own laws. In short: to beat us, you had to become us. But you know what they say about staring into the abyss."

Piedmon paused and waited for a retort or quip, but was met with unwelcome silence. A silence that made him uncomfortable enough to question his initial conclusion. He hid it behind another jovial response, "What's the matter? Has the clown got your tongue?"

Tamer took a step backwards and Agumon fired another blast, "Pepper Breath!"

Piedmon took the hit and rushed forwards towards the hooded figure, now certain that it was not the Digimon Tamer before him. He took hold of the figure before it could flee and forced the hood down to reveal long red hair. Piedmon scowled at the revelation, "YOU! You're not The Digimon Tamer!"

"Fooled ya," she smirked. Piedmon recognized her as the partner of Garudamon but hardly cared for either her or her life. He tightened his hold on his sword and growled, "Did a side character just try to upstage a lead such as myself? Unacceptable! We must reduce you to something that reflects your role in this story."

"Do whatever you want. I won't let you hurt my friends, my family, or our worlds!" she spat at him. Puppetmon wanted to be furious as he wiped the spit of his cheek, but calmed himself enough to realize that she would serve a better purpose. Tamer and WarGreymon would do anything to keep destiny on track. And this would create the perfect bait. He adjusted his grip so that he was holding her neck instead of her body and smiled, "Oh, don't worry my dear. I have good plans for you."


Kari watched Sora get taken hostage by Piedmon. Garudamon and Zudomon did their best to help her but Piedmon was able to use his swords without holding them. With a flick of his wrists, the swords danced through the air and left the two Ultimates reeling away. The Agumon tried to help but was swarmed by Vilemon immediately. Kari gasped in horror as things went bad and Joe grunted, "Oh man. This doesn't look good."

"We have to get out there and help!" TK declared, "We can't just leave Sora."

"And do what? Get ourselves killed? Maybe she'll use her digivice and try to send us back into the Real World," Joe said more hopefully than he should have. Izzy cursed under his breath and reviewed the data on Piedmon again and again. The closest thing there was to a weakness was the fact that he was a dark type digimon, and thus weak to the holy digimon like Angewomon and Angemon. Despite that, he'd effortlessly dispatched Angemon which left Izzy theorizing that the gap in strength between them was too large - and he was a level above Myotismon so there was no way to tell how much Angewomon could do. He tried to think of something, looking back at everything they'd learned and couldn't think of any good way to beat Piedmon. Kari returned to trying to stir her brother and WarGreymon, but nothing could make either stir.

She nearly resigned to its futility and began to whimper when TK assured her, "Hey. Don't cry Kari. We can't give up yet."

"How can't we?" Kari asked, "Tai! Please! WAKE UP!"

With a sudden jolt, Tamer bolted upright with his digivice aimed outwards at Piedmon. A beam of light shot forth from it and hit him square in the eye - blinding him enough to stagger, "AH!"

He dropped Sora and she safely scrambled towards her partners who took the chance to free her Agumon partner. At the same moment, WarGreymon arose - forcing MegaKabuterimon to stand up so that the Mega level could have enough room to move. Both of them wobbled slightly, as if they were forcing themselves up through sheer force of will and both looked worse for wear. Kari saw her brother adjust his hood to hide face, lower the goggles over his eyes, and open the length of robe to give him more freedom of motion. Although his face was half hidden, she could plainly see a ferocity in his eyes. He looked at her once and cracked a half smile, as if to reassure her. Joe said, "You're awake! Quick! Piedmon has Sor-"

Before he could finish, both WarGreymon and Tamer dashed straight for the staggered Piedmon. Just as they were close enough to hit the clown, the swords acted in their master's defense by blocking WarGreymon's claws. On the other hand, Tamer took hold of one sword and used its own momentum to swing it back at the Dark Master. The clown opened his eyes in time to avoid the swing and laughed, "Oh. I'm sorry, did you think that actually blinded me?"

"No. I just wanted you to let her go," Tamer replied, putting distance between himself and the clown. WarGreymon did the same in the opposite direction so that they could have him cornered. While the clown corrected himself, the digidestined could see Sora adjusting her hood to hide her face again and aiming her digivice ahead of her. Piedmon and LadyDevimon may have known that she wasn't the Tamer, but the Vilemon didn't and avoided having to actively fight her and the Agumon accompanying the situation.

The digimon on their side were holding their ground for now but the mass of Vilemon was encircling them and soon they wouldn't have anywhere to run. This didn't stop ShogunGekomon and Centarumon from fighting hard as they could. When Sora entered the mix in her robes, the other digimon cheered and followed her attack - oblivious to the fact that Tamer was actually right behind them with WarGreymon.

When Piedmon saw them rallying, he cracked a smile, "Well. Isn't this an entirely expected and predictable plot twist. Fortunately, I have something that can spice it up and make it more interesting. DARK SPORE!"

He reached into his pocket and scattered a handful of black dust into the air. WarGreymon used his shield to block the attack but Kari had to watch as her brother screamed when the specks knocked him back. He was scrambling on the ground in pain, dropping the sword on the ground beside him and writhing, "AH!"

"Tamer!" WarGreymon hurried towards him and was kicked aside by Piedmon for his effort.

"Tai!" Kari called out in a panic, "Angewomon! He needs help!"

Her partner was still caught up in her fight with LadyDevimon and was helpless to do anything of help. TK and Joe called out to their partners, "Angemon!"

"Zudomon!"

"I see it, Hand of Fate!"

"Vulcan's Hammer!"

Piedmon sidestepped both attacks and mocked them for missing. With his back turned, WarGreymon raced in and tried to jab him in the back with his claws only to find himself more swords blocking his path. Piedmon laughed, flicking his wrists to make the swords each take a turn swinging at his shield. With all four swords concentrated on him, the Mega level dragon was forced into playing defense. Satisified that he was no longer a threat, Piedmon walked towards Tamer as he lay on the ground convulsing. Kari wanted to run to help him, but Joe held her back, "Kari! Don't! You'll be killed!"

Even though he held her back, Kari still reached out her hand, "TAI!"

"Tai?" Piedmon repeated with a cheery smile, "Oh, Digimon Tamer! Of all the names you've taken, this one has to be my favorite. Tai! Oh, Tai! No! Tai! Hahahaha!"

He blew a raspberry over Tamer and picked the boy off the ground, holding him close to his face, "Oh, if only they knew. If only the all knew the secrets you keep inside your little head. Oh, I know! Let's reveal one!"

He looked over at the digidestined and tilted his head in a smile, made all the more unsettling by the fighting and death all around him. He took one step towards them and asked, "Did you know? His people had a trick that allowed them long life without age! It's why he can be so impossibly old and still look as young as you digidestined. I can see from your faces that he didn't tell you. Now let's see what happens when we take that gift away!"

He tightened his hold on Tamer and the boy gave a short drawn croak as he gasped for breath. His body writhed in agony as he grew: his limbs increased in size, his skin aged and sagged, his hair grayed prior to falling out, and his eyes became sunken. In an instant, the boy had aged to an old man but that wasn't where Piedmon stopped.

"Older, and older we go. Where we stop? Nobody knows!" the clown sang along while the man before them began to shrink, shriveling until he was just a bony lump that resembled a corpse. Right away, he dropped the Tamer and laughed out loud, "Oh dear, the look on his face! And yours!"

"No! Tai! NO!" Kari shrieked in terror. Izzy swallowed a lump in his throats and commented, "What did he do? How did he do that?"

Piedmon covered his face and continued laughing, nudging Tamer's body with a kick so that he could face them, "Oh. Don't worry. He's not dead. Not yet anyway. First, he needs to be punished for his transgressions! Let's start by making him watch you die!"


Author's Notes: Will the digidestined be okay? What will become of Tamer in his current state? Can the digidestined save the world without him? Find all this and more on the next chapter of The Tamer: A Digimon Adventure due out next week on Friday, January 20th 5 PM CST. If you loved it, let me know in the review section! I always make a point of replying to any speculation, guesses on what will happen next, and even welcome constructive criticism. Once again, guest reviews need to be signed to get a response. And hey, why not follow or favorite the story to stay up to date on new chapters! That's all I have for now, let's go on to previews for the next chapter:

"Come on! I'm right here! You got nothing on me! TAKE THIS! AND THIS! HAHAHAHA!"

"What the crap was THAT!?" Matt exclaimed in surprise when the winds finally died down.

"Matt! He got Matt!" TK whimpered.

He struggled to draw in breath before saying, "Hope."

He heard his partner cry out, "TK! Kari! I'LL PROTECT YOU!"