EPISODE 54: Lingering Sadness

Bearmon was the first to wake up after being hit by Boogeymon's Dimensional Warp attack. Upon waking up, he noticed that his fur was just covered with sand, so he shook it all off like a dog shaking water all over the place after finishing a bath. He also noticed that his arm was slightly bruised and his upper back hurt a little, but the sand broke his, and their, fall, so it's likely they didn't sustain any fatal or life-threatening injuries lest they fell on some big, jagged rocks. Bearmon saw a few tall rocks, but they were far away, so it's likely they didn't fall onto them or hit them. Bearmon stood up, wiped some sand off of his fur, and looked around. He began to sweat a little since his fur is so thick, but he paid no mind.

"Wow. It doesn't look like we're in Fruitful Desert anymore. Who was that Digimon, and what's happening to Fruitful Desert?" Bearmon asked himself with worry. He looked around and saw Yun, Lopmon, Cutemon, Terriermon, and Isao lying near him. He decided to run up to Isao first. He put his big, bulky paws on Isao's small shoulders and shook him gently.

"Isao? Isao! Wake up! You've gotta wake up!" Bearmon pleaded quietly. Isao grimaced a little, but not enough to wake up. To Bearmon, though, this was a suble harbinger that showed that Isao is alive, and this is enough for him. For now, anyway. Bearmon did, however, fear some more grunting noises. He turned around to find Yun opening her eyes and waking up.

"Urgh...wha? What in the world?" Yun murmured. Bearmon ran up to her with delight.

"Yun-chan! You're okay!" Bearmon said as he proceeded to help her up. But as he tried to make her stand up, Yun felt a throe of pain travel all through her back.

"Ow! Ow ow ow!" Yun yelped in pain as she fell back down on the sand.

"Your back hurts?" Bearmon asked sadly. Yun rubbed it with one of her hands, though she could tell it wasn't working.

"Kinda. But I think I can go on," Yun said as she stood up again. She did feel another jolt of pain strike her back, but it wasn't as bad as before because she made sure to get up slowly. Bearmon helped her out.

"That sure was some surprise, wasn't it?" Bearmon said.

"Indeed it was! Do you think maybe that Boogeymon creature might be working with this so-called Master?" Yun asked.

"Maybe, but we still don't know yet, so we still have to confirm it," Bearmon said. Yun turned to find all three little rabbit Digimon lying on the sand. She very slowly ambled to them and cradled all three of them into her warm, loving arms.

"Lopmon! Cutemon! Terriermon! Are you all okay?" Yun yelped, hoping that they were alive. Thankfully they are, because once they heard Yun's slightly pained voice, all three of them woke up instantly, which made Yun squeal with relief.

"Oh, thank the lord! You're alright!" Yun cried out as she hugged them.

"What happened to us exactly?" Lopmon asked. Terriermon leaped out of Yun's arms.

"We were attacked by some weird Digimon named Boogeymon! Remember?" Terriermon exclaimed, balling one of his pale green hands into a little fist.

"Oh! I remember, kyu! He sure was scary, kyu," Cutemon said, her long pink ears drooping a little in a sad way.

"Where are we?" Bearmon asked. Yun put her hand above her eyebrows and looked around on all sides.

"I have no idea. Maybe that attack took us away from Fruitful Desert. I just hope we're not too far away," Yun muttered.

Cutemon's ears perked up again. "You're right, kyu! We're not far away after all, kyu!"

"Do you hear something, Cutemon?" Lopmon asked with curiosity in her sweet voice.

"Yep! I hear voices coming from over there!" Cutemon proclaimed, pointing east. "Mel-chan, Birdramon, and Angemon are among them! I know it! We just have to keep walking this way, and we'll be back in Fruitful Desert!"

"Great! Thanks so much, Cutemon!" Yun slowly kneeled before her and stroke her pink head with her hand, smiling sweetly, which also made Cutemon smile. "I'm so glad we have someone like you in the Digimon Brigade!"

"I'm glad I could help, kyu," Cutemon cooed sweetly.

"Well thank goodness for that," Bearmon said. "We better get moving soon. Who knows what Boogeymon could be doing to the Digimon right now!"

"I know. Why don't-" Yun was about to say something, but a loud wail stopped her from saying what she wanted to say. Bearmon turned around to find Isao, wailing and covering his face in his sleep.

"Isao!" Bearmon yelled as he ran over to the flailing child.

"Isao-kun!" Yun and the rabbits followed him. Yun decided to shake Isao first.

"Isao-kun! Isao-kun! Wake up!" Yun pleaded. She did get a response, but it wasn't what she, or anyone, expected.

"D-D-Dad! Dad! Please! Don't go! Don't leave me!" Isao cried out passionately in his sleep, seemingly not cognizant of the fact that he's trapped in the confines of a dream.

What he said made Yun and everyone else confused. 'Isao-kun's dad?'

"No! Please! Don't go! Don't die! I...I need you!" It broke everyone's heart to see that tears are actually streaming out of Isao's eyes, which are squeezed shut right now. Finally, Yun has had enough.

"WAKE UP!"

Yun's vociferous voice finally pulled Isao out of his dream and made him open his midnight blue eyes. "Whoa!"

Once Isao woke up, he looked around himself, surprised to see that he's not in his dream anymore. "Wha...what happened?"

"You were having a nightmare. Are you okay?" Lopmon asked with concern, putting her small rosy pink hand in Isao's tender one. Isao smiled a bit.

"Yeah, thanks to all of you," Isao said.

Bearmon noticed the tears. "You're crying."

Isao cocked his head to one side at first, looking confused until he touched his face. Bearmon's right. His face is wet with tears. Upon seeing, and feeling, this, Isao quickly rubbed them away from his eyes in a hurry.

"Sorry about that. I won't cry anymore!" Isao said as he finished rubbing the tears away. Yun tried to help him up, but her back acted up again, only this time with full force. It kept her from getting up.

"Oh! Yun, dear! Are you alright?" Lopmon asked with concern upon seeing Yun grimace with pain.

"K-Kinda. My back...I think I fell on it really hard," Yun croaked out.

"I can help you with that, kyu! Healing Light!" Cutemon pulled the back of Yun's shirt up gently, and put both hands on Yun's bare back. A soft pink light came out from Cutemon's tiny hands. Yun could feel the warmth of Cutemon's healing power, and the pain disappearing. It took about a minute and a half, but after a while, Cutemon stopped and Yun stood up straight without feeling any pain.

"Wow! I feel better! Thanks, Cutemon!" Yun said with gratitude, which made Cutemon blush a bit. Bearmon helped Isao stand up.

"So are we gonna go back to Fruitful Desert or not?" Terriermon asked.

"Yes we will!" Yun said.

"Do you think maybe your Digimon can digivolve? I don't think Bearmon can since he already did, and I think your Digimon can cover more ground if they do, since they didn't digivolve earlier," Isao suggested.

"Great idea!" Yun cried out happily as she ruffled Isao's hair with her hand, which made Isao laugh. Yun got her digivice out.

"Oh! Oh! Can I digivolve into Rapidmon? I'll be able to fly you guys there without a hitch!" Terriermon exclaimed happily, jumping up and down as he did.

"Now now. Patience, Terriermon. We don't know if Yun's digivice will help us digivolve in this kind of circumstance," Lopmon advised kindly.

"What does circumstance mean?" Isao asked Yun with curiosity in his midnight blue eyes. Yun crossed her arms and ruminated for a bit, then she spoke again.

"If you're trapped in a big hole and don't know how to get out, then you're in a bad circumstance. Does that make sense?" Yun explained. Isao smiled brightly.

"Yep! I get it! Boy, you sure are smart, Yun-chan," Isao told her, smiling brightly. Yun blushed a bit.

"Oh, no, I'm not smart at all. Lucero and Mina-chan are much smarter than me," Yun said.

"That may be, but you're still very intelligent in your own way," Lopmon told her reassuringly.

"Yeah! You taught us lots of cool things!" Terriermon piped in.

"She did. But let's get to Fruitful Desert first!" Bearmon reminded them.

Yun got her digivice out, put it in her hands, and closed her eyes. She wished for a reaction, but nothing came. A few minutes passed, but neither Lopmon, Cutemon, or Terriermon digivolved.

"Awwww! Are you kidding me?" Yun complained angrily. Lopmon shook her head.

"I guess we can't digivolve after all...unless we're in a bad situation," Lopmon muttered sadly.

"Man! This bites! I can't believe we can't digivolve when we need to do so right now!" Terriermon cried out angrily. Isao's head drooped downward a bit.

"I guess my idea won't work after all," Isao murmured sadly. Bearmon put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay. Stuff like this just happens," Bearmon told him.

"Yeah. Well, since we can't digivolve right now, we better make do with what we have and get moving while we still can," Yun said as she put her digivice away.

With this, Yun, Isao, Lopmon, Cutemon, Terriermon, and Bearmon began walking east. Cutemon kept her ears wide and open so she could continue hearing the distant voices she heard earlier, hoping that they'll last long enough for them to follow them and reach Fruitful Desert, though she did wish that either Lopmon or Terriermon could digivolve. Nobody saw why they couldn't. Perhaps digivolving only happens under certain circumstances. Nobody liked this, but they couldn't complain about it, as they knew that complaining wouldn't help, so they marched onward. The digital sun rained it's excessive warmth and blazing golden effulgence on the small group, making their skin turn a little red, sweat a little, and feel very slightly thirsty. Yun cursed herself for not having brought a bottle of water with her, or even a few, but there was no way she could have known they were going to get into a situation like this, so it was inevitable. Despite the heat rising, nobody complained about it...except for Terriermon.

"AGH! Why does it have to be so hot?" Terriermon yelped angrily.

"It's the desert, kyu. Of course it's going to be hot, kyu," Cutemon told him. Lopmon didn't say a word. Yun noticed that Isao didn't say a word either. She knew that little kids were very likely to complain about excessive heat and humidity, but she found it odd that Isao didn't. She did, however, notice that Isao looked rather dejected. Seeing this to be strange, she decided to snap him out of it.

"Is something wrong, Isao-kun?" Yun asked gently.

"Huh? What?" Isao asked, a little confused.

"You look sad."

"Oh. Yeah. I...sorry, I..." Isao stammered. He didn't know what to say.

"Want to talk about it?" Yun asked. Isao looked up a bit.

"If you don't want to, that's fine," Yun told him. Isao then looked up at her.

"No. I...I want to talk about it," Isao told her quietly. He held onto her hand and clung to it gently.

"My nightmare. I...I dreamt about my dad going away," Isao murmured.

"Your dad?"

"Yeah. I miss him."

"Where is he?"

Isao stopped and looked down at the sand. Since he stopped in the middle of his tracks, everyone else stopped to.

"He's...in Heaven."

Everyone's heart sank upon hearing this. As if it wasn't bad enough Aria had to deal with a parent drying, now Isao too?

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't know," Yun said sadly.

"It's okay. I never did tell you," Isao replied.

"How did he die?" Terriermon asked. Lopmon gave him a whack on the head.

"Ow!" Terriermon yelped in pain.

"I told you not to ask sensitive questions like that!" Lopmon reproved her brother for being so careless, but Isao decided to answer them anyway.

"Mom says he had something called cancer. He...got really sick. Medicine didn't help. The doctors couldn't save him, but they tried really hard to do so," Isao replied. "It's been three months now. It's just me and my mom now."

"Oh," Yun muttered. "I'll bet your mom's pretty sad too."

Isao looked up at Yun when she said that. "Actually, she's not sad anymore."

"What do you mean?" Terriermon asked.

"At first she was sad. She cried a lot. But after a while, she's been acting like nothing's ever happened," Isao explained.

"Lucky," Terriermon said.

"I don't feel lucky," Isao replied.

"Why not?" Terriermon asked again.

Isao let go of Yun's hand. "I know Mom has her reasons, but I'm not happy all the time like she is, like I'm supposed to be. She always wants to do stuff like throw a football or go get ice cream or go bowling, and I do like all those things, but sometimes I just don't want to do all that stuff 'cause I'm sad."

Yun thought a little about Aria. 'At least he's faring better than she did,' She thought, remembering the pain Aria went through in not just losing her mother, but her father who lost himself in his grief and turned it into rancor toward his daughters.

"I think maybe your mom's trying to move on, Isao," Bearmon said.

"Move on? Like forget about Dad?" Isao asked.

"No. I don't think that's it. She probably thinks that maybe your Dad will be sad if she's sad all the time while he's gone, and knows that there are more important things than being sad all the time," Bearmon explained.

"Is being sad a bad thing?"

"No. It's okay to be sad and to cry, but it's not okay to do too much of it, especially for the rest of your life."

Isao looked down at his feet, looking a bit dejected. Yun saw this, kneeled down to his level, and put a hand on his shoulder, which got his attention.

"If you want to cry, you're allowed to. I'm sure you miss your dad a lot, and I'm sure your mom does too," Yun told him gently. Isao turned to look at her with a surprised face.

"I want to cry sometimes, but some people say that crying is for crybabies and sissies," Isao told her.

"Who told you that?"

"My friends at school?"

"Aria-chan's not one of them, right?"

"She's my friend but she doesn't say that. These boys I play soccer with say it though."

"To you?"

"Just once. They said crying is for crybabies and sissies, and that they won't play with kids like them. I don't cry in front of them, but I do it at home."

Yun thought for a minute that maybe Isao's trying to join a crowd that he shouldn't. She didn't know that Bearmon and the others are thinking the same thing. Both she and Bearmon looked at Isao.

"Isao-kun. I want you to listen very carefully. These boys you're playing soccer with...they don't sound like they're very nice. If they tell you things that don't make you very comfortable, then you shouldn't listen. You shouldn't try to be something you're not, especially something that others, like mean kids, want you to be, and especially if they want you to be something you don't want to be just so they can look cool for bad reasons. You shouldn't limit yourself to the opinions of others, save for parents and teachers who want you to be happy and do the right thing. Find out what makes you you. If you try to put up a front all the time, you won't be happy. You should find the strength to be yourself no matter what," Yun told him.

"That's right. I like you the way you are, Isao, and you should too. You should be whoever you want to be, not what mean kids want you to be. If you want to cry because you're sad, then you should do it. It's good to let your sadness out. If you want to be nice to other kids, then you should. You're nice to me and I like that about you," Bearmon said. "Plus you're good friends with Aria-chan, and she likes you a lot, so you should continue being friends with her."

Isao looked down and ruminated. Ever since his father died, Isao did find himself in a state of grief and sadness, but he remembered that the boys he met mocked him for being sad and he wanted to prove to them that he was strong, so he played soccer with them and hung out with them a few times in school. Isao tried to keep an upbeat attitude all the time, even though he didn't like it, and he let out his grievances at home, so he at least didn't keep them all bottled up inside all the time. But still, he missed his dear father and he didn't like his mother's drastic mood change. He didn't tell anyone, but he put up a front for the Digimon Brigade as well. He didn't want to be scared, and he loved being with them, and he didn't want to be a burden to them or not be useful to them. He thought that being sad and crying in front of them would make them call him a crybaby. Now Yun is actually allowing him to be himself? Isao smiled a bit and looked at Yun and Bearmon.

"Thanks. I'll do that," Isao said. They smiled a bit.

"Let's go back to Fruitful Desert, shall we?" Bearmon said as he took Isao by the hand. They walked on again despite the heat. Yun, feeling a little bored and suspecting that Isao was too, decided to start a conversation.

"Hey Isao-kun."

"Yeah?"

"Your dad...what was he like? Did you like him?"

Isao beamed. "Yep! He's a cool guy! He's nice and funny and awesome and loves everybody! He always played soccer and football with me in the backyard and in the park, and he always took me to our favorite food places or got me new toys when I did well in school or soccer or just about everything. His favorite color is blue, his favorite food is chocolate. Wanna know a secret? Sometimes, when mom wasn't around, he'd secretly give me a piece of candy to eat before dinner as an extra treat for doing well on tests. But not all the time. She'd get mad if she caught me eating candy before dinner. Dad says sweets make you smile, and it's true! But he got angry sometimes too. He got mad when I broke his phone by accident once. I didn't mean to, but he was mad. Mom said he was having a really bad day and had to be left alone. I cried a lot then, but he said he was sorry, though I have to admit I was still kinda mad at him. But after a while, I forgave him and we're back to being buddy-buddy again. Adults are so weird, aren't they?"

Yun nodded. "Yep. They make things too weird sometimes."

"That's true! Like one minute they'll be nice and listen to you, but then they get mad and don't listen to a thing you say and twist it up so they give you the wrong idea!" Terriermon piped in excitedly, referring to the incident with Teruki. Lopmon didn't say a word, nor did she scold him about it. Lopmon knew very well that sometimes adults don't stay true to their word and act up when they don't need to. Yun laughed a bit.

"Isn't that the truth!" Yun laughed a little.

"Isao-kun? Do you have any hobbies? Things you like to do?" Lopmon asked politely.

"I'm glad you asked! I love playing soccer, and I love collecting Pokemon and Digimon toys, games, and cards! I don't have all of them though, and Mom says stuff is getting kinda expensive so I can't get all of them. Expensive means it costs a lot of money," Isao explained, beaming.

"Yep. That's true," Yun said with her arms crossed.

"Anyway, when I'm older, I wanna be a star soccer player! Or if I can't do that, maybe I'll be a fire man, or a comedian! Hey! Wanna hear some jokes a kid in school made up?" Isao palavered happily.

"Sure! I love jokes! Go ahead!" Terriermon cheered, feeling happy that the mood has been lightened a little. Lopmon smiled a little too.

"Okay! Why did the football coach go to the bank?"

"Why?"

"To get his quarterback!"

Everyone laughed out loud.

"That actually makes sense!" Lopmon giggled happily.

"Another one! Where did the fish get his money?"

"Where?"

"The riverbank!"

More laughter.

"How do sheep get clean?"

"How?"

"They take a baa-aa-aa-th!"

More laugher ensued. Then Yun raised her hand. "I heard this one on TV once! Why did the man put the clock under his desk?"

"Why?"

"Because he wanted to work overtime!"

Laughter filled the barren desert, and the kids, despite the dire situation they needed to tend to once they got back to Fruitful Desert, were happy to laugh some stress off and lighten the mood. Sadly, the mood got killed by an oncoming stampede of Digimon, which Cutemon noticed before anyone else did.

"Everyone! Run!" Cutemon yelled. Immediately when they saw a cloud of dust and some brown and green creatures running toward them, the kids and Digimon ran behind a big rock that's much taller than them. They did, however, manage to get a good look at the stampeding Digimon, and none of them had Dark Emblems on them. Isao got his digivice out.

"What are those things?" Bearmon asked.

"They're Jagamon, ultimate levels. Their attacks are Potato Smash and Potato Charge," Isao said.

Yun became irked. "Those things? Potatoes? No way!"

"It's the truth, Yun," Lopmon said.

Bearmon turned around and yelped.

"OH NO! We're cornered!" Bearmon screamed, which caused everyone else to turn around. Much to their horror, a small group of Jagamon have them cornered against the rock! They don't have Dark Emblems on them, but the kids could clearly see that their expressions had nothing but anger in them, and that they were quite intent on hurting them.

Finally, their digivices reacted. Lopmon digivolved into Turuiemon, then into Antylamon. Terriermon digivolved into Gargomon, then into Rapidmon, Cutemon to Rabbitmon, and Bearmon to Grizzlymon.

"Yay! They digivolved!" Isao cheered.

Yun didn't want to fight the Jagamon, but she could tell that as of now, this isn't a time to reason with them. The Jagamon made the first move.

"Potato Smash!" The Jagamon shot rocks from their bodies. Rapidmon, who flew into the air, made his move.

"Rapid Fire!" He shot two missles from his hands, which managed to destroy a few of the rocks.

"Ear Lancer!"

"Bunny Blades!"

Both Antylamon and Rabbitmon both managed to slice the rest of the rocks. The Jagamon began charging at them, but Grizzlymon rammed himself against them.

"Maul Attack!" With his great strength, Grizzlymon rammed against the Jagamon, managing to knock them off of their feet. Grizzlymon approached one of them and made it cower in fear.

"Alright, you mongrels! Speak up! Why are you assaulting us?" Grizzlymon demanded in a booming, authoritative voice. The Jagamon put their forelegs over their heads in fear and trembled. Yun could see that they were scared. Yun wanted to try and comfort them, but Antylamon beat her to it, using one of her big fingers to gently stroke the hard Jagamon's skin.

"Do not cower so. We won't hurt you. But will you please tell us why you attacked us just now? We won't be mad, we promise. If it's something we did, then we're very sorry," Antylamon told them in her kind, mature, lady-like voice, which prompted one of the Jagamon to speak up.

"P-P-P-P-Please have mercy on us! We didn't want to attack you, but Boogeymon and Phantomon made us do it! We were only acting on their orders!" The Jagamon leader cried out sadly.

"Boogeymon?" Yun recognized it. It's the Digimon who sent them here and are attacking Fruitful Desert. She decided to press them a bit on this subject. "What is he doing?"

"He-He and some of his minions took our village hostage, and he wants us to bring Fruitful Desert to the ground! We don't want to do it! Really, we don't! But Boogeymon and Phantomon are too strong for us! They said that if we didn't do as they said, they would kill all of our family and friends or make them members of their army! They even told us to exterminate you, even though we don't see any reason to do so!" The Jagamon leader confessed, crying as he did.

Rapidmon was a little irked upon being assaulted by them, but once he heard the story, he decided to forgive them. "We're glad you disagree with them. In fact, maybe you can help us! We're actually on our way to Fruitful Desert right now!"

"Help you?" Jagamon asked. "We-We-We'd honestly love to, but our village is at stake! If Boogeymon sees that we've disobeyed him, our friends and family will be hurt!"

"But more Digimon will be hurt if we don't act now. Besides, do you really think this Boogeymon character would be the type to keep his word?" Yun asked them gently.

The group of Jagamon looked at each other, nodded, and looked at the kids.

"Okay. We'll help you defeat them, since you seem to be very strong," Jagamon said.

"Hop on my back, Isao! We'll make it to Fruitful Desert in no time!" Grizzlymon commanded with a smile. Isao climbed on his back happily and cheered.

"You bet! Come on! Now that we've digivolved, let's get to it!" Isao cheered. Yun and Rabbitmon both hopped onto Rapidmon. Rapidmon, Antylamon, and Grizzlymon, at the best speed they could go, sped all the way to Fruitful Desert. Finally, they managed to get there, but what they saw was horrifying.

The trees were stripped bare of both their leaves and fruit! The fruits have either been stepped on or had some kind of strange toxic chemical thrown on them, contaminating them from both inside and out. Some DigiEggs are scattered around, and a thick cloud of dust is just dissipating. Big rocks have been knocked into pieces, both small pieces and huge chunks, leaving big stumps behind. Some Digimon are unconscious. Yun managed to catch sight of Melody, Otoya, Kosuke, Biyomon, Patamon, and Labramon on the ground, along with some summoned Digimon. Maildramon, Opossumon, Sheepmon, Kangarumon, and Owlmon are among them, along with Pegasusmon, whose wing is injured. Yun ran over to them.

"Kosuke-kun! Mel-chan! Otoya-chan! Wake up! Please tell me you're alive!" Yun pleaded as she shook them and got scared upon seeing the injuries they've sustained. Melody was the first to react, and she was NOT happy.

"I survive all those battles, and I get defeated by a stupid chunk of rock!" Melody complained angrily as she clung to her right arm, which is bleeding a little.

"Ugh! My feathers are all dusty!" Biyomon whined.

"Ouch! Yun-chan? W-We're okay," Patamon muttered. Yun was relieved to find that they're alright.

"Oh my! Those wounds look terrible! What happened to you?" Lopmon asked as she tended to Otoya, who has a big scratch on her leg.

"They happened!" Otoya yelled, pointing to Boogeymon and a small ghost-like Digimon draped in a grey and red hood and cape, with only eerie blue eyes shining through the hidden part of his face. On his red hood is a grey skull picture surrounded by three odd shapes. In his hand is a long, gold scythe that looks as though it has been well used, and hanging from his other hand is a silver chain with a black ball on the end, which has a gold eye painted on it.

"That's Phantomon, an ultimate level! His attacks are Shadow Scythe and Diabolic Star!" Yun exclaimed. Rabbitmon decided to get their attention.

"Carrot Bomb!" A rain of carrots fell onto Boogeymon and Phantomon. Phantomon managed to cut some of them with his scythe, and Boogeymon caught a few with his pitch fork and even ate two of them. They then looked down at Yun, Isao, Rabbitmon, Antylamon, Rapidmon, and Grizzlymon, who are all ready for battle.

"It looks like we have some uninvited guests. Shall we give them a welcome party, Boogeymon?" Phantomon asked Boogeymon in a very low and very eerie voice that sounds as though it would make shivers run down anyone's spine. Boogeymon smiled wickedly, clutching his pitch fork tightly.

"Yes, my friend! Let's!" Boogeymon said as he took the liberty of attacking first.

"Ruby Eye!" Two red beams of light shot out from both of his eyes.

"Diabolic Star!" Phantomon swung his chain around in the air in a lasso-like style as it glowed in a black light, then threw it at them.

"Tri-Beam!" Rapidmon positioned himself in a triangle-like formation and a pale green beam of light shot out from him, causing Boogeymon's attack to dissipate.

"Bunny Blades!" While spinning in a rapid tornado-like fashion, Antylamon managed to knock the ball and chain back at Phantomon, which hit him on the forehead.

"Hey! That's no fair!" Phantomon complained.

"Calm yourself, Phantomon. These Digimon won't be able to defeat us that easily!" Boogeymon advised calmly. The two evil Digimon were quite oblivious to the fact that they had let both their guard down and themselves wide open for an attack.

"Grizzlymon! Go get 'em!" Isao commanded while still riding on top of Grizzlymon.

"Crescent Dawn!" The crescent shape on Grizzlymon's forehead glowed brightly, and a blue beam of light shot out from it, actually managing to scratch Boogeymon and Phantomon, who didn't have time to evade it all the way.

"Who are you to gain the upper hand?" Boogeymon screamed angrily.

"And who are you to terrorize these innocent creatures who did nothing wrong?" Antylamon asked back in a calm but austere tone of voice, not happy with what has transpired in Fruitful Desert. A Jagamon helped Otoya and Labramon up as they talked.

"I'm merely following orders! Our Master told us to seize whatever small Digimon villages we can find and convert all of their citizens into members of his army!" Boogeymon replied.

"Tell us! Who's your Master?" Yun yelled.

"Is this any of your business? Go die already! Shadow Scythe!" Phantomon swung his scythe in an arc, which shot out a large form of black and purple energy in the shape of a crescent.

"Digishield!" Yun threw her digishield up, which managed to block the attack.

"Potato Smash!" The small group of Jagamon shot rocks from their bodies. Phantomon stepped in and trapped all the attacks into an orb of energy he created.

"You incompetent dolts! Why are you helping them? You've disobeyed us!" Phantomon yelled.

"We're sick and tired of you ordering us around! We're not your slaves!" One Jagamon screamed back.

"Do you not care about the fate of your town and your worthless families?" Boogeymon retorted wickedly, but the Jagamon didn't back down.

"Yes! Yes we do, but we also care about these Digimon here! Don't go bullying anyone anymore!" Another Jagamon yelled, and the entire group attacked them again.

"Potato Smash!"

This time, back up arrived.

"Lightning Spear!"

"Star Shower!"

"Rapid Fire!"

"Bunny Blades!"

"Crescent Dawn!"

Boogeymon managed to escape the attacks, but Phantomon took the blow. He roared in pain as the Digimon's attacks consumed him from both inside and out, and he dissipated into particles of indigo data that floated away. Boogeymon clutched his pitch fork, becoming quite choleric.

"Stand down, now! You're outnumbered!" Antylamon told him.

"Yeah! We can beat you easy!" Rapidmon yelled.

"Care to pay for the damage you caused our town?" Maildramon chided as Opossumon helped Melody and Biyomon up.

"Grrr! I'll back down for now. But I won't forget this!" Boogeymon sneered as he flew away.

"Awww! He got away! We could have taken him down!" Isao exclaimed, a little sad that they didn't get to defeat Boogeymon.

"It's alright. I don't think this will be the last time we see him," Yun said.

"Ouch!" Kosuke yelped as he and Patamon plodded over to Yun.

"Are you okay?" Yun asked as she tried to keep him steady.

"Yeah. My leg's a little banged up, but I'll live," Kosuke muttered.

"By God! These guys just came out of nowhere and wiped us all out within minutes! I still can't believe we even lost to them!" Melody whined a little.

"Well, Boogeymon's a champion level and Phantomon was an ultimate level, and Yun, Isao, and their Digimon got separated from us so I guess us losing was rather inevitable, but at least we came through in the end!" Biyomon told her reassuringly while dusting off her feathers.

"Come on inside. I'll take care of you all," Opossumon told them kindly and escorted the kids and Digimon (except for Antylamon, Rabbitmon, and Rapidmon) inside one of their houses.

As it turns out, Opossumon is quite experienced in the medical field despite her cute and innocent appearance, and managed to treat the wounds of all the kids and Digimon. It took them about a while to fix up everybody, but they managed to get everyone all patched up and well fed. The kids weren't injured that badly, and no bones were broken, so they could still move around to an extent.

"We're very sorry you had to go through such a horrible ordeal," Owlmon told them.

"It's quite alright. None of us could tell that they were coming so I suppose it was inevitable," Labramon said. "But at least Yun, Isao, and their Digimon managed to defeat Phantomon in the end, so it's not all bad."

Otoya smiled and stroke her friend's fur. "I agree."

Antylamon saw the group of Jagamon leaving the village and approached them.

"Are you all going back to your village?" Antylamon asked gently as she kneeled before them. The Jagamon group smiled at her.

"Yes we are. Thanks a whole lot for taking the time to understand us and help us. We're going to go home and take back our village. We'll fight all of Boogeymon's minions and we'll never give up!" The Jagamon leader replied.

"Would you like some assistance? We can help you if you want," Antylamon told them kindly. Jagamon shook his head.

"Thanks, but no thanks. You've done enough for us already. We'll take on this task ourselves. We hope you take care," Jagamon said and left the now tattered Fruitful Desert with his group. Rapidmon came up behind her.

"I still wish we could have defeated Boogeymon too. Do you think he's in cahoots with Witchmon or LadyDevimon?" Rapidmon asked.

"Probably so, but we have no definite proof yet. However, I do not feel that it'll be the last time we see him, so let's still keep our eyes open," Antylamon said.

Right after she said that, both she, Rapidmon, and Rabbitmon all de-digivolved back into Kokomon, Gummymon, and Cutemon and trotted back into the house. Yun saw them, and immediately the Digimon lit up.

"Yun!" Kokomon, Gummymon, and Cutemon all leaped into Yun's warm, loving arms. Yun laughed as she held onto them.

"Looks like you've used up a lot of energy there, huh?" Yun said with a chuckle.

"Yes, we did. But it was worth it!" Kokomon piped in sweetly.

"Hey! Are we gonna eat soon? I'm getting kinda hungry," Gummymon asked. Yun could actually hear his stomach growl.

"I'm getting rather hungry too," Kokomon said. Kangarumon came into the room.

"There's still some food left if you want some," Kangarumon told them.

"But I thought Boogeymon and Phantomon destroyed it all," Gummymon said.

"Isn't it the only food you have left? I mean, you worked so hard to make it, but now it's all been destroyed. You should save what you have for yourselves," Kokomon told him kindly.

"It's quite alright. Besides, we still have plenty of seeds, so we can always grow more. In fact, this season is the perfect time to plant some more seeds! Plus, consider it a thank you from us for at least stopping them from causing more destruction," Kangarumon said. Yun and the Digimon nodded and decided to eat with them. The food filled them up nicely. Soon, it was time for the Digimon Brigade to leave and they were about to leave until Sheepmon, Opossumon, Maildramon, Owlmon, and Kangarumon approached them.

"Should you really go?" Opossumon asked, clasping her red gloved hands together and making a cute, pitiful puppy eyes face.

"We'd love to have you stay here a while longer," Maildramon said.

"We'd like to, but we can't. We have obligations in our world we have to take care of," Otoya said.

Owlmon looked at everyone. "It's true. Even humans have responsibilities they must tend to, and we shouldn't get in the way of that."

Maildramon nodded. "You're right. Don't let us stop you."

"We're sorry we couldn't save your village," Yun told them ruefully, feeling a little dejected that they couldn't save Fruitful Desert from Boogeymon and Phantomon.

"It's quite alright. It could happen to anyone. Besides, it's not as bad as it was when the Digital World got destroyed, so you could say we've gotten quite lucky," Sheepmon told them with a smile. "We hope you have a safe journey home!"

"Bye!" The kids and Digimon waved goodbye to the grateful citizens of Fruitful Desert, opened their digivices, opened a digital portal, and walked into it.

Before they knew it, they were back to where they started. Behind the school, and nobody saw them come out of the digital portal! Like Kokomon and Gummymon, the Digimon de-digivolved. Biyomon to Yokomon, Patamon to Tokomon, Labramon to Xiaomon, and Bearmon to Tsunomon. Xiaomon hopped on Otoya's shoulder.

"That was quite the adventure!" Xiaomon piped in.

"Yeah! Let's do it again!" Isao cheered.

Yun began to look worried, and Yokomon saw it. "What's wrong, Yun? You look worried."

"We're at school, and the Digimon are here..." Yun muttered.

Gummymon suddenly beamed. "Oh! Oh! Yun! Can we stay with you and watch you live out your school day?"

Yun gasped. "What? No way! Shimizu and Nemoto are gonna see you! The teachers will catch you!"

"Don't worry! We'll be super duper extra careful to make sure nobody sees us!" Gummymon piped in with a big smile on his face.

"Isn't that rather dangerous? I don't want anyone thinking I'm some scary monster!" Yokomon piped in.

"Yes. I don't agree with this idea either," Kokomon backed her up.

Melody looked at her cell phone. "The bell's about to ring, so I don't think there'll be much time to send them back, and it'll be too dangerous to send them home out in the open and in broad daylight."

Yun sighed. "Alright. You can come. You can fit in my bag so nobody will see you."

Melody looked down at Yokomon with her arms crossed. "I'm definitely not bringing you into school. You're too big. Someone will definitely notice you and make a fuss."

"You do have a point," Yokomon said. "I wasn't really interested in going in there anyway, but I will hang around a little just so I can check things out."

"We'll head on back, too," Tsunomon said.

"I better go now. Bye!" Isao said as he waved to them and ran off with Tsunomon hopping behind him.

"Hey! Wait for me! Don't run so fast, Isao!" Tsunomon cried as he chased after him.

"Isao and Tsunomon are great together. They're so energetic," Tokomon said with a smile.

"Yeah," Kosuke said. Soon, the kids squeezed the small Digimon in their bags and kept them in there so nobody would see them. Soon, the bell rang, so school began. Yun, Melody, Kosuke, and Otoya, with their Digimon in their bags, ran into school.

Meanwhile, in MoonMillenniummon's inner sanctum, MoonMillenniummon is sleeping in his rock formation while Candlemon, a very delirious looking Monitormon who's bawling his pixelated eyes out, and two DemiMeramon are sitting in front of them. Candlemon is scolding Monitormon.

"Didn't I tell you to quit hitting yourself on the head? I know you're upset about Witchmon, but this isn't the way to go about it!" Candlemon scolded, but Monitormon, delirious as he is, kept on crying and cowering and covering his TV-sized head with his hands in fear. The DemiMeramon looked dejected just from looking at him.

"He's hopeless, Candlemon. He's just too stubborn to change his ways," The first DemiMeramon said, looking quite despondent.

"I agree. There's just no helping him," The second DemiMeramon said, shaking his head. Even Candlemon became dejected.

"He's just sad. He lost the only Digimon who accepted him and didn't treat him bad. I'd probably feel the same way. Maybe Witchmon or Roachmon or LadyDevimon too," Candlemon said. Suddenly, the two DemiMeramon became alert.

"What's up?" Candlemon asked.

"Someone's coming," The first DemiMeramon said. Out from one of the tunnels came Boogeymon, who looked the same as he did earlier.

"Boogeymon! You said something about going to Fruitful Desert with Phantomon...wait, why isn't Phantomon with you?" Candlemon asked, then became apprehensive when he noticed Phantomon's absence.

In a paroxysm of anger, Boogeymon screamed and dredged his pitch fork into the ground. The scream and the force combined were so powerful that it woke up both Monitormon and MoonMillenniummon.

"EEEP!" Monitormon squeaked sadly.

"Can you keep it down please? I'm trying to catch some sleep, even though I have plenty of it!" MoonMillenniummon bellowed, feeling a little crabby because of his sudden wake up call.

"Those blasted creatures! They destroyed Phantomon and thwarted my plan to seize both Fruitful Desert and Potato Parlor!" Boogeymon yelled.

"Creatures? You don't mean just Digimon, right?" Candlemon asked.

"You won't believe this! These bags of bones called humans commanded Digimon to do their bidding and somehow managed to beat us! They destroyed Phantomon and I was powerless to stop them!" Boogeymon explained angrily.

"Humans? Awww, not you too!" Candlemon complained. The two DemiMeramon looked at each other with confused and shocked faces while little Monitormon continued to cry. MoonMillenniummon closed his eyes and didn't say a word.

"I WILL avenge Phantomon and take down those blasted humans, even if it kills me!" Boogeymon bellowed angrily.

"I wouldn't go about it so recklessly if I were you. The Digimon they have...wait!" Candlemon was about to say something, but then remembered that MoonMillenniummon is watching and looked up at him.

"You don't mind if I tell him, do you, Master?" Candlemon asked.

MoonMillenniummon fell silent. He didn't say a word. But he did nod a little, which, to Candlemon, was a yes. Candlemon looked at one of his DemiMeramon friends.

"You tell him!" Candlemon told the first DemiMeramon. The little glowing ball of fire floated up to Boogeymon's left ear and whispered something into it. Right when Boogeymon heard it, he literally flew up so hard and fast that he hit the inner sanctum's ceiling, which is full of Digimon encased in ice! He didn't hit any of the ice crystals, but he fell back down with just as much force.

"Uh...you okay?" The second DemiMeramon asked.

"That HAS to be a lie! It HAS to be!" Boogeymon yelled.

Candlemon shook his head. "I'm afraid it's true, Boogeymon. HV-Monitormon's got proof. Now where is that fellow anyway?" Candlemon mused as he hopped away to look for HiVisionMonitormon. The two DemiMeramon stayed behind to look after MoonMillenniummon, Monitormon, and Boogeymon, who has become quite choleric.

"Master! You aren't seriously going to believe this ridiculous calumny, are you?" Boogeymon yelled.

Again, MoonMillenniummon didn't respond, which only irritated Boogeymon even more.

"I think it'd be best if we left him alone," The first DemiMeramon told him.

"Yeah. Whenever one of our own is gone, he gets all silent and doesn't say a word for a LONG time. Hey! Do you wanna go watch Lilithmon take over Shimmering Grove?" The second DemiMeramon explained.

Boogeymon was quite surprised, not by just what the DemiMeramon are telling him, but the fact that MoonMillenniummon isn't doing anything! He did know that MoonMillenniummon is unable to do anything because he's trapped in the rock formation and is unable to break himself free, but he could at least respond to one of his questions! Seeing that communicating with MoonMillenniummon is futile, Boogeymon finally abdicated and conceded defeat.

"Alright. I'll go to Shimmering Grove with you. Lilithmon is always so amusing when she gets fired up about something," Boogeymon said as he followed the two DemiMeramon out of one of the caves, leaving alone a pensive and silent MoonMillenniummon and a heartbroken and possibly mentally destroyed Monitormon.

MoonMillenniummon ruminated deeply. 'This is getting out of hand. The DarkSuperStarmon, Witchmon, Roachmon, LadyDevimon, Doumon, and now Phantomon. My beloved children are falling one by one, and there's not a thing that I can do about it! Why do I have to be stuck in this abominable rock formation when my children are being swayed by this nonsense and getting killed one by one? WHY? They shouldn't have to die because of what I've done! I'm supposed to protect them, yet I can't even do that! I suppose destroying the Digital World was a mistake after all. How could I be such a fool?'

MoonMillenniummon was quite inundated by everything that's going on. The sudden appearance of humans (who he is still obstinate enough to not believe that they exist), the sudden deaths of the abandoned and neglected Digimon that he adopted, and all the pandemonium going on both in the inner sanctum and outside of it. He wished that he could do something. This was what hurt him the most: being stuck in the rock formation unable to do anything or break free while his children are falling like flies one by one. It just broke his heart (if he even has a heart). He loathed those who abandoned the Digimon who he took in, those who betrayed them, left them behind, and cast them aside like trash when they needed their caretakers the most. He took them all in, and wanted to raise them and have them feel the love that they've been deprived of. He loathed himself for being so weak and so useless, not that it was his fault. Something went wrong as he destroyed the Digital World, and it resulted in him being trapped in the rock formation and becoming MoonMillenniummon as a result. He was not, however, willing to concede defeat. He wasn't going to let more and more of his children die.

He looked down at the crying Monitormon, who continued to slap his hard TV face incessantly. The screen on his face made static as he kept on hitting himself. It made MoonMillenniummon's heart sink. Two swirls of blue energy slithered out of his crystal, slid down to the bawling Monitormon, and wrapped themselves around him, preventing him from hitting himself any longer.

"Monitormon. Please. Stop hitting yourself. It's not going to do anyone any good. Witchmon wouldn't want to see you like this. Please, don't cry. You're making me sad too," MoonMillenniummon told Monitormon gently, but the little TV Digimon just wasn't having it.

"W-W-W-Witchmon is dead! She's dead and never coming back!" Monitormon bawled loudly. MoonMillenniummon closed his eyes again, his attempt to mollify the bawling Monitormon having been in vain.

"She will come back. She just won't be one of us anymore. Perhaps she will be happier in her new life. Maybe she will find the happiness that she had been deprived of for so long," MoonMillenniummon whispered again. He wondered if Monitormon would ever return to his old self again.