Matt did not look back. It wasn't that he had a place in mind to go, more like he wanted to get away from there as far as possible. Gabumon frantically chased after him.
Well… Well, there was no helping that, was there? We may be brothers by blood, but we aren't living together.
The T.K. that I know is the baby T.K. from when we lived together as a family. T.K. is a crybaby, who's extremely shy around other people, and who would always hide behind my back whenever someone came to visit. That small T.K. . That cute T.K. who always begged to hear my harmonica…
He's in the second grade now.
But the T.K. that's within me is still the baby from back then. He hasn't grown up at all.
No… The one who hasn't grown up here is me.
Ever since we came to the Digital World, T.K. has changed from being a crybaby to a stronger person day by day. He even overcame Angemon's death to become a worthy fighter who holds up his own now, without dragging anyone else down. He handled himself on his own in the Village of Beginnings, even without me around.
That's right.
He doesn't need me. Compared to him, I'm… I'm…
Lady Despair was pacing in front of some trees, and Puppetmon was held in her arms as she petted his head and snuggled him close.
"So, that's what I want you to do," Lady Despair orders. "They mocked my children, they killed my children, and now made Puppetmon feel like he has no friends."
Lady Despair shuts her eyes, and strokes at Puppetmon's head, who just snuggles into her arms silently, and lets her suck out the negative emotions.
"So, I want you to take away their friendship," Lady Despair states. "And to do that, we go for the wielder of the crest of friendship, and I know you are the only one I can count on to turn him against his friends."
Lady Despair turns with a sinister smile.
"That is what I want, Old One. Do this for me, and I'll see to it you are rewarded."
The words reached out to a large tree, but then it moved, and revealed itself to Lady Despair.
"It shall be done, My Mad Artist."
In the meantime, the group had gone from celebrating T.K.'s bravery and Dana's cunning to trying to find where Matt and Gabumon had run off to. Kari continued hearing a mysterious voice but knew it didn't belong to Matt or any of their foes.
"The Digivice isn't reacting." Izzy informed. "It doesn't seem to be functioning properly within these woods."
"I think we should take a break somewhere and wait for him." Gatomon said. "Everyone wants to be alone once in a while."
"No, we have to find Matt." Tai refused. "We're useless unless we're all together!"
"He's got a point." Zaira acknowledged.
"But everyone is tired." Joe told him. "Why don't we sit down around here and rest our legs?"
"Just because we be together and fight… Everyone else has to die…" Mimi grumbled under her breath.
"Mimi…" Palmon tried to comfort her human partner.
"A fact, I couldn't be happier to agree with..."
The group gasped, crying out in alarm, as they looked up, and spotted Lady Despair, sitting on the tip of a tree with Puppetmon resting on her shoulders in piggyback ride.
"Hey, T.K., Dana! I'm so happy to see you," Puppetmon said with a grin.
"Well, we're not!" T.K. shouts up.
Dana added, "And we're not gonna play with you anymore, you can forget it!"
"That's right!" Patamon chimed in.
"You stay away from my little sister!" Kylie shouts up at them. "It's bad enough what you did to my original family, my mother, my holy beast brothers, my father..."
"Your father!?" Lady Despair cuts her off with a surprised look. "Why Kylie, I knew next to nothing about him, if I did he would've been kept for torment."
Kylie shuts her mouth in surprise. "So, you didn't..."
Lady Despair laughs. "Oh, I wish that I had but he was gone long before I took care of your mother," Lady Despair states. "I never could find much about him, some say he was a digimon from another server, another digital world all together which was cut off from this world after your mother's death."
Sierra's scepter appears in hand, pointed at the group threateningly.
"I don't know, and I don't care, except for the indignity you've brought on my poor little sprout!" Lady Despair makes a kissing face as she pats Puppetmon's head.
"YOU HAVE ANGERED ME, DANA PANTHEON!" Lady Despair hissed, her face contorting in anger.
She spins her scepter with both hands, and a darkness falls upon the forest, causing everyone to look about in alarm.
~Oh slumbering servants in the mists of the Earth, rise up now, and put an end to these wretched fools!~
The shadows of the trees simmered like smoke, and revealed glowing yellow eyes as they morphed into big, hulking beasts.
"NOW! MY SHADOW DEMONS, END THESE WRETCHED BRATS!" Lady Despair orders.
"YEAH! PLAYTIME IS OVER!" Puppetmon shouts.
The creatures roar, and charge towards the group, where the beasts just stumble backwards from a bright flash as the fairies were transformed. The kids ran for cover, except for Mimi, who was just standing still.
She then looked up angrily. "I'm not scared of some stupid shadows! Just leave us alone already!"
Immediately, Sora and Haruna reached over to grab the younger girl by her arms and pull her into the underbrush just as one of the shadow demons left a large claw mark where Mimi had been standing just seconds earlier.
"Agni's Anger!" Theo chanted, and formed two balls of fire in the form of spiked balls on chains.
She whirled around and struck several of the Shadow Demons, but they were impervious to the attack.
"What the!?" Theo gasped in shock.
"Harpoon Vulcan!" Ikkakumon roared.
"Meteor Wings!" Birdramon squawks as she flaps her wings to send her fire balls down.
"Electro Shocker!" Kabuterimon roared and hurled a ball of electricity at the creatures.
"Mega Flame!" Greymon belted a ball of fire at the demons too.
"Naiad Strike!" Sara chants, aiming to shoot her attack.
But the attacks hit the beasts, who shrugged it off with a merciless laugh.
"Our attacks have no effect on them!" Beth gasped in shock.
"It makes sense," Izzy spoke up. "The digital world is riff with misery, Lady Despair's powers are near absolute with Puppetmon here!"
The Shadow Demon's charged, one shoulder charged into Greymon, sending him flying backwards, with the children crying out in alarm as they ran to avoid being stepped on. The other brutes looked up, and yellow beams shot out of their eyes, striking Kabuterimon and Garudamon. The two digimon turning back into Motimon and Yokomon.
"Yes, get them my pets!" Lady Despair cackled.
The kids yelled in alarm, as the shadow demons attacked.
"Kari!" Kylie grabbed the young girl and pulled her to the side.
"Dana!" Patamon quickly fluttered over and knocks her and T.K. to the side to avoid a swipe from a brute shadow demon.
"Rip them to shreds like a paper doll!" Puppetmon cheers.
"Needle Spray!" Togemon shouted, and fired off several needles.
But the needles just bounced off the demons.
"Nothing seems to effect these creatures!" Beth shouts.
"Starlight beam!" Yui fired beams at the demons, who roared in agony.
The beam went straight the demons.
"Oh!" Lady Despair jerks in surprise.
"Oh, my magic hurt them..." Yui said in surprise.
"Of course," T.K. perked up. "If their shadows, light hurts them."
"And where there's angels," Gatomon grins.
"There's light shining!" Patamon declared.
The two quickly digivolved, and became Angemon and Angewomon.
"UGH! Not you two miserable bugs!" Lady Despair shrieks.
"Arrr! They're going to ruin our fun!" Puppetmon whines.
"Not if mama can help it." Lady Despair said and leaps through the air.
"BANSHEE CRY!" Lady Despair opens her mouth, and unleashed a sonic cry that struck at the group, scattering them apart.
"Hand of Fate!" Angemon fired a blast at Lady Despair.
"Ahh!" Lady Despair barely dodges the beam.
"Stifle it, Witch Queen!" Togemon runs up, and upper cuts Despair.
The sorceress is startled, and flies backwards into a tree.
"Mama!" Puppetmon yells.
Lady Despair wipes at her face to wipe off leaves that fell from tree onto her face.
"Oh, time for some weed killer!" Lady Despair hissed, and reached out towards Togemon.
A burst of vines exploded to strangle and entangle the cactus digimon.
"Hang on!" Kylie cried. "Deity blades!"
A sharp swipe at the vines cut her loose. Allowing Togemon enough time to become Lilymon.
"There's still more of us!" She declared flying upwards and firing her flower cannon.
"Girls, let's regroup and use the convergence attack - I got a crazy idea!" Beth called top the other guardians.
"We're on it!" Haruna replied.
"Flower Canon!" Lilymon former her blossom canon and shot at Despair. She twirled her scepter and negated the attack.
"Die you miserable bloom!" Lady Despair crosses her arms and her eyes glow blood red. "Death Vision!"
Lady Despair's shadow morphed into a grim reaper shape and swirled around Lilymon, who screamed in pain, suffering worse than when exposed to Myotismon Nightmare Claw.
"LILYMON!" Mimi cries out in horror, despairing over the sight of her digimon partner being hurt.
Finally the girls put Beth's plan into action: they formed together back to back in a circle, then shot their attack for them to blend before spinning - they caused bits of their attack to scatter around them to obliterate the shadows demons until only one remained.
"Cocytus Breath!"
MetalGarurumon's attack was shouted out, the power passed through the icy breath and onto the remaining shadow demon finishing it.
Matt then walked out from behind a tree looking grim.
"Matt!" Sora exclaimed.
"Arrrr!" Lady Despair growls. "I thought you'd be elsewhere, but no matter, ill deal with you like the others."
"Vines entwine!" Haruna chants.
Vines burst from the ground as Despair aims her scepter at Matt, and entangled her in their grasp.
"Enough of your petty tricks!" Lady Despair shouts.
But Yui felt something come over her, and her eyes closed bright golden, as she formed a triangle over her eyes with her hands.
"HELIOS RAY!" Yui shouts.
A super nova beam of light exploded in the shape of a sun from around Yui eyes, and struck Lady Despair right in the face.
"AHHHHH! My eyes! I can't see!" Lady Despair grabs at her eyes.
"Mama!" Puppetmon shouts and hurries to her side.
But she shoves him to the side, screaming and groaning in pain as she runs away, Puppetmon hurrying after her, while calling out in alarm.
"At last, we can catch our breath." Haruna sighed. "For now."
"Amazing. Is that a new spell, Yui?" Dana asked.
"It must be...I guess I'm close to reaching the new level." Yui said lowering her arms.
"Knowing Despair, it won't hold her off for too long." Theo remarks.
"That damn starlight fairy," Lady Despair almost whimpers, as Puppetmon holds up a small chest which Sierra reaches into and pulls out some dried up herbs. "Inflicting such a devastating attack, and against me! Ouch! Ah! Oh, that stings..." Sierra gasps as she pressed the herbs to her eyes, letting the substance coat her eyelids to soak into the skin.
"Poor Mama..." Puppetmon shines.
"No fear, my little seedling. Mama will recover and show that fairy a thing or two about darkness," Lady Despair chuckles.
"Matt!" Tai greeted. "Where were you this whole time?"
"Thank you! That was a close one! Thanks!" Agumon rushed to MetalGarurumon.
But the metallic wolf's eyes glowed and fired an energy beam that hit the ground right next to him.
"Agumon, fight me! Evolve to Ultimate!" He commanded.
"No thanks! Why do I have to fight you?" MetalGarurumon launched two missiles that landed in front of Agumon.
"Stop that! Are you nuts?!" Beth yelled.
"Matt, wh-What is this? What are you doing?!" Sora demanded.
"Matt! Hurry up and stop him!" Tai asked.
"No. I won't." Matt said darkly.
"You won't? You…!"
"I won't miss next time!" MetalGarurumon warned. "Now… hurry up and evolve to WarGreymon!"
"You're being serious." Agumon muttered.
"Onii-chan!" T.K. cried.
MetalGarurumon was staring down Agumon and Matt was silently encouraging it.
Theo whispers, "Yui, you go and get some strong twine!"
Yui looked perplexed. "To tie down Puppetmon? That'll never work!"
"No, to tie down Matt. I think the pressure has gone to his head..."
As the others watch in desperation, Matt looks on, unmoved, a dark look on his face.
"Q-Quit kidding around, Matt!" Joe hurried over. "We're all friends here, aren't we?"
"Friends?" Matt questioned.
"That's right, friends! We're all Chosen Children, so that makes us friends with eight amateur fairies!" Matt scoffed. "Then here's a question. Who chose us?"
"Well…"
"If you don't even know that, what makes you think we're friends?"
"You have a point there…"
"That's got nothing to do with it!" Dana retorted indignantly.
"Agreed. It's a spurious excuse considering everything you all went through together." Sara G acknowledged Dana's words with a stiff nod.
"There's no use arguing with him." Tai said a little too calmly. "That's just how Matt is."
"How I am?" Matt repeated. "What do you know about me anyway?!"
"I know you! This is your way of throwing a tantrum, isn't it? Just because things aren't going the way you want them to!"
"Well, aren't you amazing! I don't even have any idea what kind of person I am, but you do!"
"Could have fooled me." Beth said sarcastically.
Tai and Agumon attempted to walk away and avoid the fight but neither Matt nor MetalGarurumon would let up.
"None of you get it, do you? This punch isn't coming from me! This is from Pixiemon!" Tai yelled as he punched Matt. "This one's from Chuumon!" Another punch. "And this is from Whamon's!" Tai's fourth punch knocked Matt ot the ground.
"Matt. Do you really think the Digimon who died for us would want us to fight this senseless battle? Now do you understand?"
"No, I don't!" Matt than gave Tai an upper cut. "I don't get it at all!"
Above, MetalGarurumon fires a volley of rockets at Wargreymon, who dodges them.
"What should we do?" Palmon worried.
"We have to stop them…" Piyomon said.
"But we're not strong enough to do that against their Mega-Level forms…" Tentomon reminded them.
"Let them fight until they've tired themselves out." Gatomon suggested.
"Hey! Don't you care about what happens to our friends?" Gomamon said indignantly. "You're just a newcomer so you know nothing…!"
"Stop! We don't need you guys to start fighting, too!" Tentomon interrupted them.
Gatomon was rather unphased. That was when Zaira, who had kept herself from arguing with anyone before over petty matters, said sternly, "Knock it off, this is exactly what the enemy wants!"
Kylie stepped forward, "Matt, just because you don't know why you and the others were chosen doesn't mean you have to take it out on Tai! Let alone drag your digimon partner into petty grudge matches!"
Matt took on a nasty attitude expressing his frustration. "And why should any of us listen to you most of all Kylie? You fell in love with Myotismon, but HE only loved you because you're Sirene's daughter!"
Kylie's eyes grow wide.
Beth's scowl deepened, "Ooh! Low blow shrimp, even for you!"
Even T.K. knew that was going too far. "Matt, that's not fair!"
Theo rolled her eyes at Matt's remark, "OH PUH-LEEZE! You make it sound so seamy. All they did was walk together and talk together."
Matt continued, "And besides this is YOUR kingdom but you don't even know half of what's goes on - "-
WHAP! Kylie did what she would never have done to any child – she just slapped Matt across the face. Everyone gasped.
Puppetmon looks amused. "Ooh! Looks like he just struck a nerve…"
Matt glared back, "That was a very big mistake, Kylie."
Kylie's eyes were teary but her words were cold as ice. "Well…Let me tell you something little Matt… I don't have the answers!" She'd had never spoken to anyone in a quarrelsome manner before save in battle, and it shocked Matt.
"Well," he said, trying to put up a tough front, "I guess I should expect that coming from one of Tai's fans."
But she hadn't spoken out of loyalty to a single party.
Zaira then intervened, "Matthew Ishida, you're unfit for leadership because you're too biased. If the leader lets past grudges get the better of him, then he loses his followers."
The people around Matt may have thought that he was a cold, aloof person, but that was only because he didn't show what he thought to other people. When had he become like that? He hadn't been like that when he was younger. But after his parents decided to divorce and his mom took T.K. by the hand and left home…
Don't go! Please don't go! Don't leave me!
The truth was, he had wanted to plead with her and cry — but he couldn't. Part of it had to do with his father standing by his side.
Maybe his mother had secretly wished for Matt to say that to her.
But at that moment, Matt had thought that he would never show weakness in front of his mom, even if he died from it. It was his own decision to follow his dad.
Ever since coming to the Digital World, even Matt was surprised by how much emotion he expressed. All of the emotion that he'd held back while at home, at school, had come bursting out without pause.
And so far this Matt was the only one that the eight guardians knew.
"Stop it, Onii-chan!" T.K. cried. "Fighting is bad!"
"With each other." Theo added.
T.K. had tried to urge his brother to listen but to no avail. "Onii-chan…"
"I've had enough!" Mimi turned away to sit and sulk in one section of the clearing.
"Mimi!" Sora went after her.
"We fight, and fight, and then what do we gain from it? Nothing is born out of it. All that comes out of it is sadness and hate. I don't want to deal with this anymore!"
"Mimi…"
"Well I don't see you doing anything about it!" Beth snarled back.
Lady Despair watched from the branch of a tree, laying on her side, smiling as the waves of anger and fear flowed from Matt and the others to herself, flowing into the eyes and mouth of the black, crystal horned skull that was her scepter, now turned into a ring. Her pink eyes glowed brighter, even if she couldn't use her magic, she could still build up her powers in the digital world. And with all the negative emotions abound, she was going to be as powerful as the Great Ak, if not more so.
Puppetmon was laughing as he sat on branch of tree with Lady Despair. "Mama, they're such kids, fighting over nothing..." Puppetmon cheered.
"Oh, not nothing, my little wood chip," Lady Despair smiled at Puppetmon. "To them, friendship is something serious, and to have it threatened causes all this delicious negativity!"
Puppetmon laughed, kicking his legs wildly, as he floated up into the air, Sierra grabs his ankle to float up with him. But Puppetmon was too giddy to hear his mother, and was bouncing from branch to branch, cheering as he dragged her along.
"Do it! Do it!" Puppetmon cheers. "Then die, both of you!"
"Shhhhush!" Lady Despair hissed. "They might turn that anger towards you, let them beat each other till they can't anymore, then we can take care of them, for now, sit down and watch the show."
"Awww~ Mama, such a downer." Puppetmon pouts.
"Don't take sass with me, little splinter." Lady Despair wags a finger at him consolingly, the one with the silver talon on it.
Matt and Tai were punching each other, Tai on top of Matt, but then Matt kicked Tai off of him.
"Enough!" Beth puts Matt into a hammerlock. "We can't let underage kids beat on each other."
"No matter how entertaining." Theo joked.
"Theo!" Sara G. exclaimed.
Beth continued angrily, "If you don't shape up - especially the crybaby wimping out behind us - I know you're listening Mimi, don't pretend not to! I don't know whether it's possible or not but I'm sending you both back WITHOUT your Digimon, we can save the world ourselves without you two dead weights to slow us down!"
"Stay out this!" Matt actually freed his right arm to angrily punch her away. "I'm sick of you always bossing me and everyone else around!"
Everyone had gasped in shock. Beth however counters, "It's to keep you all out of trouble which is exactly what you're starting over a lame reason!"
Lady Despair hung herself upside down, laughing her head off in glee.
"Oh this is DELICIOUS, this is DIVINE!" Lady Despair cackled as she vanished in pink smoke.
"Cocytus Breath!" "Gaia Force!"
It was already chaos with Tai, Agumon fighting with MetalGarurumon and Matt and the others telling them to stop – someone was going to get hurt or worse, killed. And the growing frustration was already start to wear Beth out.
"I said, STOP IT!" The leader of the guardians roared furiously, she'd stomped in between the two boys and shoved them to the opposite sides.
Except in her rage, her strength had unintentionally sent them flying in different directions. This shocked the others, fortunately for the feuding boys they were unharmed save for their pride but Beth was clearly horrified what happened.
A few paces away, Kari had heard the voice again. And this time, she was going to find out who it was. "Are you our friends? Or our enemies?" She stared up at the sparkling lights, hearing a voice that was unheard to others, but she heard it loud and clear.
"Are...are you really HER?" Kari gasped. "But...you can't be here, you're dead."
Izzy, Gatomon and Kylie showed up, and stared at Kari who was speaking to no one.
"Who is Kari talking to?" Izzy asked confused.
"I don't know, seeing spirits isn't my talent." Kylie remarked blankly.
"You mean she's talking to ghosts!?" Izzy asked.
"Well, it's not hard to believe, if there are fairies, witches and Gods." Kylie said with a shrug.
"Oh, you want to talk to the others?" Kari smiles. "Kylie has wanted to talk to you for a long time, so I'll allow it."
Kari shut her eyes, as the sparkling lights grew brighter, and soon a rainbow of light shot out as a beam onto Kari, engulfing her with its radiance.
"KARI!" Kylie screamed in time with Gatomon.
Kari held up her crest of light, and as the light intensified, and it caused Gatomon, Izzy and Kylie to stop from rushing up to Kari, covering their eyes to shield from the blinding aura.
"Izzy" Tentomon called out.
But as he flew up, a supernova of white light burst out, and it expanded, encompassing almost the entire forest, swooping up the others in its light as well. It hit Puppetmon, who cried out in pain and fear.
"AAHHH!' Puppetmon wailed clutching himself.
"NOO! IT CAN'T BE HER!" Lady Despair screams.
The sorceress was bending over in pain as she grabs onto Puppetmon, the two sent flying away, the white light burning horrible, and Puppetmon clinging to his mother as they were hurtled far from the forest.
Elsewhere, Machinedramon and Piedmon fell over in agony, the black blood of sierra's boiling and bubbling in their body, reacting to the painful white light.
They were in a place filled with bright white light.
Dana suddenly gulped, "Beth, the heart . . . it's clouded over."
Yui looks around fearfully. "That means something's REALLY wrong!"
Kari spoke. "Wherever there is light there is darkness. Both the light and the dark are related like a two faced coin, however if the darkness were to grow…"
Then the darkness began to grow.
"What is this place?" Joe worried. "Did we get sucked into another dimension?"
"The Twilight zone?" Theo shrugged.
But when it cleared they all found themselves in Hikarigaoka aka Heighton View terrace.
An image of two digimon hovering in mid-air then appeared. One digimon was Greymon, the other was an unknown bird like digimon. It was called a Parrotmon that was the Digimon that appeared four years ago.
"Several years ago a digi-egg passed through the rift between the two dimensions."
"What are you talking about Kari?" Tai questioned.
"It's not Kari talking." Gatomon informed.
"Someone is using her body to talk to us." Izzy explained.
This got concerned reactions, thou the fairies were in particular concerned, especially given how Lady Despair threatened to expel Kari's soul to take over her body to extend her life.
Kari turned to look at them all, but it was on Gatomon and Kylie that her eyes seemed to well with tears, as a happy smile burst out on her face. A smile to melt an iceberg with its warmth, as she stepped forward, and her eyes turned completely green, shining with an ethereal light. "My Beloved Children."
And she began to sing a gentle lullaby.
"Constant as the stars above, always know that you are loved and my love shining in you. Will help you make your dreams come true."
The voice sang softly out of Kari's mouth, and Kylie covered her mouth in surprise, tears welling in her and Gatomon's eyes.
Gatomon remembered little as a Digiegg, but a soft voice, singing gently to her from outside, and a warmth that now exuded from Kari. And Kylie, she remembered, those eyes, smiling and shimmering down at her as the voice sang her to sleep.
That voice...the voice of...
"Mother..." Kylie whispered in stunned amazement.
Sirene spoke through Kari, "Gatomon, I'm so proud of you."
Kylie was almost in tears. "Mother, I'm so sorry . . . I didn't mean to . . .!"
"Say no more, Kylie . . . it couldn't be helped." she reassured then cast her gaze on the others. "Since my death, I've become one with the world I've come to treasure so much. However, as an unseen spirit I now lack corporeal shape so I am borrowing Kari's momentarily."
"Why Kari?" asked Tai.
"She was the only who could hear me. The truth is I wanted to speak to you all since you first arrived on File Island but I didn't have a chance. Now come, there is something you must see."
At once all eight children with their digimon and the Guardians were lifted up into the air as though they were flying. Each child and guardian recognized themselves in the past illuminated by bright white spotlights on the apartment complexes or on the street.
"Where are we?" Haruna asked.
Dana pointed, "There we are over there! Er, me and Beth that is - I think we're on vacation leave something."
"It was on that day, I first cast eyes upon you, and the children who would become my daughters stalwart friends," Sirene smiles at Kylie and the others with Kari's face. "Never have I stopped being grateful to you all, especially you Dana, darling of the animal kingdom, grace of fauna, when you and Brave Beth became sisters in word and deed to my child."
Beth grinned proudly with a blush. Dana smiled warmly, as she walked over to Kylie, who wrapped an arm around Dana, smiling and tears still falling from this reunion.
"There's me on the phone!" Joe points to himself down on the balcony of his apartment.
"And me too." Mimi declared.
"Oh, cute and girly even then," Haruna chuckled.
"And me with Big Brother," T.K. said.
"What are those lights?" Izzy asked.
"They're me, in a sense." Sirene answered. "I still have influence over the digital world, and through my own element, I am able to manifest and directly affect things in other worlds."
"Your element?" Kylie asked.
"Light, my Darling Daughter. Thus why Kari cold hear me, her crest is of light, and it's why Gatomon is so powerful with her," Sirene pets and strokes Gatomon's head who purrs happily. "She is of my blood, as you are and thus is strengthened by the element of light. It's why you three are so close, Kari and you, both have a heart that is practically devoid of all darkness."
"And the lights are you using magic on us?" Sora asked. "But what for?"
"So, I could scan you, and prepare you," Sirene looked downcast.
Sirene carries them off ward and into another world, a room full of machines and such.
"Where...where are we?" Zaira asked, looking around in confusion.
"We are in the past," Sirene states. "What you see and hear are but shadows, which may not be altered, and will reveal all that needs to be known."
As they walked through the room, TK. spotted a large glass case, he hurried over with Dana and the others.
"I see something over here," T.K. called out. "Oh, they're digi eggs!"
"The digivices and Crests are here too," Koromon said.
And indeed, the crests and digivice were there, and attached by suction cup like cables to the eggs.
"Ahhh!" Joe yelled.
The others spun around, surprised at the sight of transparent hooded figures that walked through the room.
"Uh, forgive us for the intrusion!" Joe stammered.
"Wait...Joe, I don't think they're just holograms." Yui said in assuring tone.
"As I said: These are the shadows of things that have been," Sirene spoke up. "They can neither see, hear, nor feel you."
"So, it's like Dickens' Christmas Carol?" Beth asked.
"Wow, I didn't think Sirene could do this," Tai said. "But she was so powerful as a Nymph, and is a ghost now."
"This is but a sample of what Kylie will be able to achieve in the future," Sirene spoke up. "And many other wonderful gifts."
Kylie blushed a little at the proud tone in Sirene's voice, though felt odd with it coming out of Kari.
"Hey, look over here!" Izzy called out, directing everyone to a pedestal, a familiar looking one. "It's the pedestal from Myotismon's castle!"
"No way!" Theo exclaimed.
"The gate is here too!" Piyomon called out. "It's the same room."
Everyone walked over, and had a million questions in their minds.
"What are those people over there doing?" Joe asked. "Are they your children too?"
Kari/Sirene smiled in amusement and shook her head. "No, they were around before I came to this world. When I..." Sirene froze, and look at Kylie with saddened eyes. "When I was taken from my daughter, and she was sent out of this world, I had entrusted them to carry on my work."
"Your work?" Zaira asked, as Kylie had walked up to Sirene with a worried look.
"I had made Gatomon's Digiegg, but the others needed creating, and tending too, since I could no longer do it." Sirene said with a heartbroken expression. "So many little children I left behind, all because I couldn't stand up to the Queen of Darkness." Sirene had a tear run down her cheek. "I was unprepared, Kylie's father..." Kylie snaps to attention. "His loss had heavily affected me, and I had not recovered from having creating the Holy Beasts, so these friends of mine had to prepare for when Lady Despair and her monstrous brood overrun the world."
Sirene was covering her mouth, and her body, Kari's body shook.
"I let so much happen, so much pain and despair...what I let Lady Despair do without me around..." Sirene hiccupped back a sob.
She gasped trying to steady herself, "The final preparations before the forces of evil invaded the Digiworld. First the digivices were created and the crests from the information we've received."
"So you're the ones who chose us. But why us?"
"You and your sister raised the egg until it became a Greymon didn't you?"
"No, he evolved on his own!"
"There is no such thing as a spontaneous evolution. T'was not a mere coincidence. It was because of your presence there that allowed him to evolve into Greymon!"
"But… we didn't do anything! We didn't even have a Digivice!" Tai protested.
"A digivice isn't just an enchanted tool to help digievolution it's only to join your abilities and the Digimon's to make the change easier. The same is with the crests, I suppose you're all familiar with the virtues you've been assigned to."
Each one names theirs, Matt was hesitant but Joe slapped him on the back cheerily.
"After studying the information we all found that the rest of you had something in common with Tai and Kari which up until today remains a mystery. However the Dark masters got wind of the plan and sent an army to destroy everything."
Right on cue some big robots came in and started attacking the workers - Mechanorimon and Guardromon. Then Joe saw something that made him yell in horror. "Aargh! It's Piedmon! Don't come any closer!"
"Get a grip Joe! They're only illusions!" Zaira said rolling her eyes in annoyance.
"You're not in any danger." Gomamon added.
Said Dark Master laughed and broke the glass casing, pulling out the eight crests.
"Piedmon, you'll never take them!" One of the men in robes shouted.
"Gennai." The jester said darkly.
"That man is Gennai?" T.K. questioned is surprise.
"Wow, so that's him younger." commented Yui.
Young Gennai charged forward but Piedmon jumped over his swing and then put some sort of black ball in his back that made Gennai cringe in pain. Another swing missed and a Mechanorimon went beside him and tried to use his Twinkle Beam at point blank range. Gennai dodged it and jumped on top where he used his sword to open the blue dome on top of the Digimon and hijacked a Bakemon that was driving the suit of armor.
"Out of my way!" He cried. He used the suit to pick up the Digieggs and Digivices before using the rocket boosters on the back of Mechanorimon to fly out the ceiling of the chamber.
"Follow him and bring back those crests!" Piedmon ordered multiple Mechanorimon and Guardromon to follow along.
"We must follow them." Sirene's said as they took flight to watch the pursuit.
They attacked and one Digi-Egg fell in a nearby forest on Server.
"That's me!" Gatomon exclaimed, watching her own egg fall. "So that's why I grew up all alone from the other digimon."
"And how you were found by Sierra," Sirene said sadly. "I regretted it sorely, Lady Despair was the cause of yet me losing another daughter to grow up without me, even if it was indirectly, and worse you fell into the clutches of darkness."
Sirene smiles as Piyomon pats Gatomon on the head.
"But we're together now," Piyomon said cheerfully. "And you got Kari and Kylie as well."
"That is true," Gatomon said with a smile. "And I've met you finally...Mother."
Sirene beams at these words.
"I will say this much, at least you were raised 'somewhat' lovingly by Lady Despair," Beth said. "Though considering she left you in Myotismon's 'tender mercy' that sorta goofed up whatever 'kindness' she gave you before."
"But she was there for me, for a short while..." Gatomon admits. "It's easy to see, why Myotismon, Etemon and the Dark Masters adore her so much."
"True..." Sirene said softly. "We are all not without our light spots, and dark spots. But balance is the key."
The lone Agent that survived— In other words, Gennai— seized an enemy Mechanorimon and made off with the eight Digieggs with their digivices attached to them. The Crests alone he could not recover. The Digieggs were what reacted with the children in Odaiba.
It was at that time that Piedmon buried a black ball, a clump of pure darkness, in Gennai's back. It was to assure that even if Gennai made it out of there alive, he would be prevented from moving around freely. This black ball was the prototype for what would later be reformed into the Dark Seed, a vital weapon for the Digimon of darkness.
Gennai shook off his pursuers, crossed the ocean, and hid the Digieggs on File Island, which was a remote area in the world at the time that was still covered by a thick glacier. Then, he immediately flew off again, burrowing at the bottom of Temp Lake. He needed to create a barrier that would prevent the black ball from activating.
While inside that barrier, Gennai had to think about what he could do to suppress the black ball's power. The conclusion that he came up with was to "grow old." By disabling his regenerative function, he could prevent the black ball from enlarging.
They came to File Island, where it was a frozen wasteland.
"Know this, I never stopped watching over you all," Sirene said. "To me, you were just as much my children as Kylie, all of the denizens of this world were..."
A ghostly image is seen, it is Sirene, watching over the eggs, lying next to them, blowing them kisses and tracing her phantom hands over the eggs.
"I looked after you all, I sung to you, even if you couldn't hear me for many, many, many years. And finally..."
'Past Sirene' is seen smiling overjoyed, as one egg shifts, and hatches.
"Ah! I hatched!" Koromon exclaimed joyfully.
"And I continued to watch over you, as you all waited. Waited for the ones who would be your most beloved partners," Sirene said. "Those who would be there for you, when I could not and fill in my vacant position."
Each of the baby digimon hopped around carrying the Digivices in their mouths.
Time passed and the seven babies digivolved to their In-Training levels.
"I remember, we've always been waiting. For Tai!"
Each Digimon said the name of their human partner in nostalgia. The glacier covering the island gradually melted away and greenery sprouted. And then, when it looked like their prospects of defeating the Four Holy Beasts looked brighter, the Dark Masters dispatched one of their subordinates, Devimon, to the remote File Island in order to commence the spread of the powers of darkness throughout the Digital world.
The time had come. Equilibrium in the Digital world fell out of balance as the powers of darkness increased, and the digivices flew towards the human world to summon the Chosen Children and the guardians to join them… Soon the kids arrived to file island much to the Digimon's delight.
"So that's what happened." Tai nodded.
"So much has gone ire, but here you all are now, united. And I have hope again, and was able to speak to you now," Sirene said. "You are stronger united, you must not let anything compromise your virtues, or Lady Despair will win. And what started when I first came to this world, will die as I did so long ago."
"You were so young then, much younger than the Chosen children here. Yet born with an unforeseeable power many wanted for themselves to exploit or destroy."
"So, what happened to me, then?" Kylie questioned, referring to past events.
"Nothing that doesn't happen to everyone. You had doubts. You were afraid. You came to believe everything that you loved most dearly could be taken away from you. But the truth is no one in the whole universe could ever steal your past, your values, your dreams, or your magic powers. No one owns them, not a soul. They are yours to keep forever."
"I've just learned about my mother's great sacrifice. How she saved my life. Mother, I swear to you, as soon as I'm done with the Dark Masters, I'm off to find out what happened to my father and restore this world.
"That's how a guardian should talk. I'm proud of you, Kylie." She then cast her gaze on the group, "It's up to you to decide what your future will be! We don't know what the Dark Masters' final objective is or what must be done to save this world. All we can do for now is watch over the peace of the Digimon world and prepare a system that will repair damages before they take effect."
"What do you think we should do from here?"
"I don't know. But I believe that, through using your own abilities, you will find the answer. I must go now. My dear Kylie and Gatomon, remember, whatever happens, you have a mother, and she's truly proud of you both."
Once more their vision was filled with a bright white light…
And they were back with the forest where they last were. Kari was now on the ground with her eyes closed in Tai's arms.
"Kari?"
"Are you okay, Kari?"
Kari's eyes fluttered open. "Onii-chan… Gatomon."
"Oh...I wanted to say good-bye, maybe get a hug and kiss too." Kylie pouted sadly.
"Well, that'd be a little weird, since she was in Kari." Mimi said glumly.
"Hey, you can give me a hug and kiss," Gomamon said with a grin.
"Gomamon, you're not possessed by my mother," Kylie laughed lightly.
"I know, but I'd still very much like a hug and kiss from you," Gomamon said and puckered up his lips.
Joe was blushing furiously at Gomamon's blunt declaration.
"Gomamon!" Joe sputtered incredulously, as Kylie laughed loudly with the others.
Though she obliged by hugging the little seal digimon.
"Kari, do you remember what happened to you earlier…?" Tai asked.
"Earlier..?"
"Uh, if you don't remember, never mind!"
"You mean when Sirene wanted to talk to Kylie and everyone? Now I do."
Clearing his throat, Tai looked to Matt. "Now we know why we're the Chosen Children."
"Yeah." Matt nodded glumly.
"Just as I'd thought… It looks like we're the only ones who can straighten out this world's distortions." He walked over and held out his hand. "Matt. Let's fight side by side again."
"I'm sorry."
"Onii-chan." T.K. was worried.
"Could I have been wrong this whole time?" Tai wondered.
"No… This was all my fault."
Some of the older girls looked dubious. Most likely they were still sore from how Matt tried to fight Tai, risking everyone's safety.
"That's not what I meant! I was talking about how I've been acting up until now…" Tai tried to explain.
"It's not my place to say this after how I've behaved, but… I don't think there is ever a right or wrong way of doing things. It's simply that you have your path and I have mine. I don't have a clue what sort of path is waiting for me. I thought that if I fought you, I'd be able to find out what it was. Apologizing probably won't be enough for you to forgive me, but… I'm sorry… I want to find my own path." Matt turned to face the group. "No, I have to! That's why I've decided to leave you guys and go on alone from here. Just me and Tsunomon."
"Please reconsider!" Izzy insisted. "After all, Matt, your crest… I mean, your best quality is…!"
"Friendship, I know. But friendship is such a flakey word, don't you think? No… Maybe it just sounds that way to me because I don't know what true friendship really is."
"H-Hey… How about this? We break into two groups and go on from there." Sora suggested.
Haruna said, "Sora's got a point we can't afford to isolate each other more and more."
"Sorry, but I need to do this alone."
"Oh… But I know you'll be fine, Matt. I believe in you."
"Onii-chan… What should I do without you?" T.K. asked.
"You can take care of yourself now."
"But…"
"You're with us, T.K." Sora placed her hands on his shoulders. "Matt has something he wants to think about on his own. Let him go."
However Beth didn't even bother to be understanding. She was feeling anything but forgiving towards Matt or Mimi at this moment. "Then you can forget about coming back!"
"What?"
"But Beth!"
The older redhead looked furious her hands were in fists and her blue eyes were blazing.
"Come on, Beth don't be like that!" Sara G tried to calm her.
"Save it." Beth stopped her flatly. "We already tried talking it out at first, Matt still refused to listen as a result someone could've been killed and that's what gets me!"
Catching Dana's eye, Yui knew the youngest Pantheon was worried. They knew Beth had an infamous short temper, however the next cold reaction was from the last one they expected it.
"Beth might be taking this to the extreme but she has a point: Trust is earned. Especially if someone who we believed was a friend turned on us all for one angry little fit." Kylie was glaring coolly at Matt. "And I've always carried myself a certain dignity, Matt. Today, you robbed me of it. If you leave now, then I don't know whether we'll ever see you again." She then turns her back on him and leaves.
The kids were greatly uncomfortable.
Beth added, "You're just running away because your lousy pride won't allow let you admit the truth: You feel you've been abandoned by your parents and younger brother. Friends don't try to kill each other for questions, let alone someone who should know better."
"Beth, I made a mistake shouldn't that-"
"No, no, no! A mistake is accidentally stepping on someone's foot or when a ball hits someone's window. What you did could land you in juvie for a long time! There's a VERY big difference between a mistake and a crime!"
Matt had then turned and walked away from us. Mimi didn't even bother to stand up. Did she not have the energy to stand? Sora held out her hand to help her up. But Mimi didn't take it. Instead, she said, "I'm sorry, I'm not going."
The way that she said it wasn't in her usual pleading whine, but in a gloomy, oppressed tone. It threw Sora off.
"Not going? You want to stay here?"
"Yeah. Others may get hurt and die again… I don't want to see that anymore."
Beth huffed. "So you're shocked by all those deaths. Who isn't? But we need to fight, or someone else will get killed just like them. Do you want that blood on your hands?!"
"Of course not! But I just can't see fighting as the only answer to our problem!"
"What other choice is there? They're not going to sit down and talk things out, the world doesn't work that way! I doubt they'd even bother to agree to that. Believe me I know!"
Another uncomfortable silence fell among them. Then Joe hurried to Mimi's side.
"It's dangerous for Mimi to be here on her own. I'll do my best to convince her to come back, and after I've done that, we'll join up with you guys again. Is that okay?"
"Yeah." Tai nodded. "We're counting on you, Joe."
"Okay." He ran over to Mimi.
"So that's it?! We're all just going to let the groups split up and get us all killed faster?!" Beth suddenly yells.
Haruna tried to appeal to the older redhead. "Beth, don't you think you're being a little inflexible? They're just children."
Surprisingly, Theo and Yui walk over to where Joe and Mimi are standing.
Theo interrupts. "No, Beth's right. Can't you see we got better things to do than sulk all over the forest?! Don't forget we STILL got 3 creeps out to get us? And I'm not leaving until you two shape up! Nuff said!" She sits down scowling.
Yui looked to the others awkwardly, "I'll try to cool her off, be seeing you guys."
Beth scoffed. "Good luck with talking sense into her, then. But I've just had enough of all this 'no more fights' crud! You know you can't avoid it! Cowards!"
Mimi actually stammered. "But Beth, I..."
Sora hurried after the older redhead, "Beth wait! We won't solve things like this."
"Then you don't know me too well, Sora. I'll bend backwards over for a friend, but this time both Matt and Mimi's on her own!"
Joe sounded a little irked. "Go ahead and leave Beth, but think about it! Mimi's our friend."
Beth spat her reply, "I certainly won't stop you . . . but this time count me out! From now on, you're on your own -alone!"
She storms off without a backward glance.
Dana looked back. "I know her. She's just mad that you don't just face the problem and get it over with."
After discussing it with Joe, Yui decided that either of them should accompany Mimi and continue to persuade her, rejoining with the others once Mimi understood. Sora said that she would take on that role, because it would be better for girls to travel together.
"Leave her to me." Joe was unusually assertive. "I think that each of us has a part to play, in the same way that each of our Crests has a different meaning. And I think that this is my job. Please, let me go with her."
Beth and Theo were the angriest at them (Matt, Joe and Mimi). She just couldn't believe they'd preferred to abandon the team after all they went through together.
"Having someone like her will just drag us down. You should know that." Beth was grumbling.
"I did know that. That's why Yui, Theo and Joe are trying to persuade her, aren't they?!"
Dana actually sighed in near frustration, "How're we supposed to protect the Veil, if we all keep splitting up every time there's a fight?"
"Everyone is being separated again…" Patamon shared her sentiment.
"And just when all nine of us got together, too…" Piyomon sadly added.
Gatomon then said sagely. "The roads we take are different… But the place we'll end up in is the same. We'll get there, no matter how thorny our paths get."
The Dark Spectre Queen watched this all in the mirror, her handmaiden Mira being the mirror, and the one in silver, Keller watching, while holding a tray with a glass chalice full of a bubbling, steaming green liquid.
"Oh dear, it seems Sirene's contact might have just made things worse," Keller said with a sigh. "What's to be done?"
"Nothing..." Vanessa said and took the glass chalice. "For the moment they need separation so that they can see clearly what must be done, before reuniting stronger than ever. You'll see it all in the end is true."
To be continued…