A/N: Hoped that everyone liked the last chapter. Now, with this chapter it was focused on Matt and I know that my OC didn't have a lot of dialogue. Well, in future chapters, I'll try to make sure that she has more dialogue. As always happy reading!
Shoutouts:
"Matt! Hey Matt!" yelled Tai.
"Matt!" shouted Izzy.
"Matt, where are you?" asked Sora.
"I'm worried. What do you think could've happened to him, Tai?" asked Kari.
"Where could he have gone?" asked Emily.
"Matt's a big boy, he can take care of himself." said Tai.
"Now, wait a minute, what if he was kidnapped by Puppetmon." said Agumon.
"Yeah he might have been. Or something worse." said Izzy.
"No, it wasn't anything like that." said Joe and everyone turns to look at him, looking confused.
"Huh? What?" they asked.
"How do you know?" asked Tai.
[Flashback]
"Come on, let's go." Matt whispered as he and Gabumon walk off but Joe notices them.
[Flashback ends]
"What? He just walked away? And you didn't even try to stop him." said Tai.
"Well no, was I supposed to? I thought he was just going over to use the bushes or something." said Joe.
"But lately, Matt's been acting a little strange or is it just me?" asked Sora.
"He has been acting a little weird." said Izzy.
"Remember when Gabumon had that digivolving problem?" asked Biyomon.
"Yeah, I bet there's a connection." said Palmon.
Just then, Kari gasps and looks behind her. "Kari, what is it?" asked Gatomon.
"I thought I heard a voice out there." said Kari.
"Where?" asked Emily.
"A voice? Was it Matt?" asked Tai, trying to hear the voice but heard nothing. "I don't hear anything. Come on, Kari, don't you start losing it too."
"He couldn't be very far away, you know." said Izzy. "Maybe we should look for him."
"Yeah, I suppose. Okay guys, let's go." said Tai and they start walking off.
"Gatomon, Emily, Falcomon, it wasn't Matt's voice I heard." Kari said to them.
"Who was it?" asked Gatomon.
"I believe you, Kari." said Emily.
"So do I." said Falcomon.
Meanwhile, Matt and Gabumon were walking alongside a lake. "Matt, come on. I'm all for exercise but I'm really not built for long distances." said Gabumon, panting. "Where are we going?"
"Just away. I need some space." said Matt. Unknown to them, Puppetmon was sitting on the branch of a tree digimon, watching Matt and Gabumon.
"Oh, the poor little kid needs a little space." said Puppetmon. "Some place far away from his nice little friends and closer to me."
"I agree completely." said the tree digimon.
"I'm not waiting. I'll put him out of his misery. Those digidestined kids really bug me." Puppetmon said as he stands up.
"Wait a minute, Puppetmon, I have a better idea." said the tree digimon. "You can take care of those other digidestined children if you want to, but as for this one, leave him to me. I'll have him climbing up a tree before I'm through with him." Matt decided to take a rest near the lake and sits down while Gabumon stands beside him.
"Ever felt like a fifth wheel, Gabumon? That's what I feel like. All this time, I thought I had a purpose you know, to look out for my little brother. I thought TK wouldn't be able to survive without me watching over him but suddenly it's like he's growing him. He doesn't need me anymore." said Matt, looking over the lake. "Oh, and it's not just him, its everybody man. I mean, when I think of Tai and Mimi and Sora and the others, this place has changed them for the better. They're stronger now, it's like they've digivolved or something. But you see, the problem is I haven't, I'm still stuck in the same place, I haven't changed a bit."
"You may not see it, Matt, but you've changed a lot." said Gabumon.
"Oh please, Gabumon, give me a break. I'm the same jerk I always was." said Matt.
"Hey, come on." Gabumon said, trying to make him think differently.
"It'll never happen. not this way. I finally figured it out. if I ever want to change, I have to do it on my own. on my own." Matt said, sadly. "The others can't help me."
"Well, well, well. Look what we have here." said the tree digimon. the two of them turned and face to see the tree digimon come towards them.
"Greetings nature lovers. What? You never seen a talking tree?" said the tree digimon.
"Not many." said Matt.
"Be careful. That's Cherrymon, Lord of the forest and the best reason for the existence of termites." said Gabumon as he stood in front of Matt. "Stop right there or I'll turn you into toothpicks."
"You really shouldn't be that rude. Calm down." said Cherrymon. "My fighting days are over. I only want to talk to you. In fact, you might even say I've turned over a new leaf."
Meanwhile, the rest of the DigiDestined were still searching for Matt. "Hmm, it's no use. I'm getting nothing. For some reason, the digivices aren't working in this forest." said Izzy.
"You know, I'm not so sure we should be trying to find him." said Gatomon. "Everyone needs to be alone sometimes."
"I'm not going to let him break up this team." Tai said to them. "We're going to find him whether he wants us to or not."
"This is going to be the longest day of our lives." said Emily.
"I wonder how long Tai is going to be like this." said Falcomon.
"We're always walking around searching or someone. I've never done so much walking in my life." said Joe.
"Yeah, it's disgusting. My calves are starting to look like a body builder's." said Mimi.
"Huh?" asked Falcomon.
"Like a what?" asked Palmon.
"Oh, Mimi." said Sora.
"No wonder she complains so much." said Falcomon.
"I don't think I'll ever complain again." Emily said in agreement.
"Yoo-hoo." said a voice behind them.
"Huh?" they said as they look up to see Puppetmon sitting on a branch.
"Puppetmon." said Tai.
"Hi, everybody. Hi TK, did you miss me?" Puppetmon asked.
"No, not at all and I'm not going to play with you anymore." TK tells him.
"No? well fine, you're not a lot of fun anymore. Front and center everybody." said Puppetmon, then suddenly three of the same digimon who were in garbage cans, holding what looks like to be a bazooka in their hands appeared from behind the trees.
"Yes, sir." said the first one.
"Yes, sir." said the second one.
"Yes, sir." said the third one.
"Uh-oh, Garbagemon…they're as tough as they are mean! And they don't smell very good either." said Palmon.
"Junk Chunker, ready, aim, fire!" yelled the first Garbagemon as they fired pink sludge from their bazookas. The all digidestined made a run for it, well…all of them except Mimi who stood her ground. "Mimi." said Palmon. The sludge makes its way towards Mimi, but she then reaches out and grabs one of the pink sludges. "I wont budge!" yelled Mimi. "Let's let them do the running for a change!"
Suddenly Mimi throws the sludge right back at Garbagemon. "Huh?" the Garbagemon asked in shock.
"Hmm?" Puppetmon asked in shock as well.
"Mimi, come on." said Sora, taking the girl's hand.
"Yeah, good idea. I must be nuts. I touched that stuff." said Mimi as she and Sora ran to catch up with the others.
Meanwhile, Matt and Gabumon were still looking at Cherrymon. "No offense, but even if I felt like talking, it would be a tree. See ya around." said Matt as he turns to leave by Cherrymon wouldn't let him go. He stretched out his arm to stop him from leaving. "Hey, what's the idea?" asked Matt.
"Young man, didn't anyone tell you should listen to your elders? Or was it redwoods you should listen to?" asked Cherrymon, trying to remember the last part. "I never quite get those two straight. Anyway, I digress. So, you still stuck in the same place? Still the same jerk you always were?"
Matt gasped, wondering if Cherrymon had overheard him. "Surprised, huh? I know all about it. Must be tough being in such a rut." He said.
"You've been spying on me, huh?" asked Matt, annoyed while the tree digimon chuckled.
"Listen to me, kid, I don't need to spy because there's nothing that happens in this forest that I don't know about." said Cherrymon.
"Huh. All right then; if you're so smart, what am I supposed to do?" asked Matt. "Tell me that!"
"Ah, simple as that, huh? Kids; you want all the answers just handed to ya on a mahogany platter." Cherrymon said to Matt. "But you never want to do the hard work of looking within yourself where all the answers truly lie."
Matt looked to be in a trance as he listened to what Cherrymon was telling him, hanging on to every word while Gabumon glared at the tree with a lot of distrust. "Lets go. Don't listen to that talking firewood, Matt." said Gabumon.
"That's right, go on." said Cherrymon. But you'll never learn how to change. You'll always be what you are right now."
"I wanna change." said Matt, determined.
"Yes, but are you really ready? After all, change isn't always a pleasant thing. You'll do a few things you wished you hadn't." said Cherrymon.
"I'm ready. More than ready." said Matt. "Enough talking big guy, if you've got answers, let's see them!"
"Ha ha, he fell for it like an over ripe fig." thought Cherrymon. "Okay kid, I'll help. First off, you're gonna have to defeat your rival."
"My rival?" asked Matt.
"There in that lake, you will see the face of the one preventing you from becoming as strong as you can be." said Cherrymon as he points to the lake. Matt looked over to the lake, then started walking over to it.
"Where are you going?" asked Gabumon.
"I know it sounds pretty bogus, but I might as well take a look." said Matt.
"Listen, Matt. You don't really believe him, do you?" Gabumon asked. Bending down, Matt looked into the lake with narrow eyes, causing Gabumon to gasp as the image appeared on the water's surface. "Tai?! Come on! What kind of trick is this?" asked Matt.
Meanwhile the digidestined were still running with the Garbagemon right on their trail behind them. "Don't you know that wherever you go, there will always be garbage?" asked the first Garbagemon.
The Garbagemon then came to a clearing after the digidestined hid themselves. "Okay, ready guys? Make a mess!" shouted the first Garbagemon as the three of them start spinning around, firing pink sludge everywhere.
Just then, Birdramon and Kabuterimon fly out of the trees while Greymon, Ikkakumon and Togemon walk out from behind the trees. "Meteor Wing! Electro Shocker! Harpoon Torpedo! Gang way for Needle Spray! Nova Blast!" said the five champion level digimon as they fired their attacks at the Garbagemon, causing a cloud of smoke to form.
"Way to go!" shouted Tai, running out from behind the trees with the others.
"That trash is trashed." said Joe as the smoke clears, revealing no sign of the Garbagemon.
"Great, you've totally ruined my garbage fun. I'm beat. I'm going home. Psyche, look behind you." said Puppetmon, causing Mimi to turn around to see one of the Garbagemon heading right for her.
"Spoke too soon, Joe." said Emily.
"Yeah." said Falcomon.
"Its trash! Look out!" yelled Mimi.
"Here's mud in your eye!" yelled Garbagemon, ready to fire his attack.
"Uh, no! Help!" shouted Mimi.
"Junk Chunker!" shouted Garbagemon, about to fire his attack.
"Nightmare!" screamed Mimi as she becomes surrounded by green light, causing her digivice to turn green and the crest of Sincerity shoots out of her crest.
"Togemon digivolve to…Lillymon!"
As Garbagemon fires his attack, Lillymon pushes Mimi and herself away from the pink sludge. Lillymon flies over the Garbagemon but then another Garbagemon comes out from behind the first one. "Twice is nice." said the second Garbagemon, making Lillymon gasp. The Garbagemon fire their attacks at Lillymon but she manages to dodge the attacks. "Trash that petunia." said the third Garbagemon from above.
Lillymon moves quickly, stepping on the first Garbagemon's face, using it as a booster. "This chick is heavier than she looks." said the first Garbagemon.
"Flower Cannon!" shouted Lillymon, firing her attack at the Garbagemon, destroying him.
"Alright, finish them off." said Tai and was surrounded by orange light, his digivice turns a solid orange and the crest of Courage shoots out from his tag.
"Greymon digivolve to…MetalGreymon!"
"Giga Blaster!" shouted MetalGreymon, firing his two missiles at the two remaining Garbagemon, but the second one jumps in front of the first and fires his Junk Chunker, but his attack bounces off the missile, causing a huge explosion. The second Garbagemon was then destroyed and Puppetmon was holding onto the top of the tree, screaming as the pink sludge from the attack hits him in the face, making him scream even more.
Back with Matt, Gabumon and Cherrymon.
"Behold. The face of your rival." said Cherrymon.
"so, you're saying…I've got to fight Tai. Is that it?" asked Matt. Matt stood up and laughs mockingly. "Nice try, foliage face. You had me going there, but you have to do better than that." He said, causing Cherrymon to laugh.
"I had nothing to do with that. The lake of truth reflects only whats in a person's heart, hence the name." said Cherrymon.
"You've got to be kidding." said Matt.
"Sorry kid, its never wrong." said Cherrymon.
"That right? I've got news for you, its off this time. Way off." said Matt, glaring at him.
"Well, you can argue with me all you want, but you're really arguing with yourself. Its about time you face the truth." said Cherrymon. "The one you call Tai is your leader and everything he says you do, everywhere he goes you follow and in your heart, you resent it because you know you're just as qualified to be the boss as he is."
Matt was standing with his fists clenched as he thinks about every fight that he had with Tai, vocal and physical, he was then falling for the lies.
[Flashback]
"Stop it!" Tai yelled at Matt.
"Who do you think you are, huh? Who died and left you in charge of the world?" asked Matt, angrily.
"What do you mean?" asked Tai.
"I've just about had it!" yelled Matt.
[Flashback ends]
"Don't be ashamed of your resentment. Don't hide it. Embrace it for in your anger lies your strength." Cherrymon tells Matt. "Only when you recognize that will you be free to grow, to change. So face your rival and prove you are his equal or better by defeating him."
"Don't listen! He's just trying to cause trouble. He's playing games with your mind. Its all part of some trap. Tai is your friend, Matt." said Gabumon.
"He's my friend, yeah. He may not always act like it, but…he's right. Tai is my friend. You don't fight your friends." said Matt.
"Friends? Ha! Now that's a good one. You don't believe that such a thing really exists." scoffs Cherrymon, causing Matt to gasp as he looks at him. "Not in your heart of hearts anyway. Hit the mail on the head, didn't I?"
Matt was completely shocked by what he said. "What does he mean?" Gabumon asked.
"Friendship, loyalty, comrades. Fine sounding words, but that's all they are; words. Illusions. And you're wise enough to see that now. You know that ultimately, the only person you can depend on is yourself. Isn't that right, Matt?" asked Cherrymon as the images of Tai, Sora, Joe, Mimi, Izzy, TK, Emily and Kari played through Matt's mind.
"He's wrong. Isn't he?" asked Gabumon.
"I don't know. I…I don't know." whimpered Matt as he feels conflicted.
"You don't?" asked Gabumon in shock.
"All right then. That's enough moping around for now." said Cherrymon. "Look kid; stop staring at your shoes. The choice in front of you is simple. If you truly want to change to reach your full potential, you must defeat Tai. Its either that or be content to your life with following in the shadows to him forever."
Wind suddenly blew around them, sending his leaves floating off in the wind around Matt and Gabumon. "What choice do I have? What do I do?" asked Matt as he falls to his knees. "Oh, what do I do?"
Gabumon looks at him sadly as Matt cries and wipes away the tears that were falling down his face. Matt then holds his crest and looks down at it in misery. "Oh, that's a laugh. Wouldn't you know it that my crest had to be the crest of Friendship." Matt scowls.
"Matt, there's one thing he's right about. Whatever you're going to do, do it." said Gabumon.
"But do what?" asked Matt.
"You've got to choose what your own conscience is telling you and not listen to anyone else." said Gabumon. "Not Tai or Cherrymon or me. You've got to have faith in yourself, Matt."
"What if I make the wrong decision?" asked Matt.
"I know that whatever it is, it'll be the right one because I have faith in you and whichever path you take, I'll be there with you." said Gabumon.
"You mean that?" Matt asked.
"You do have a friend. Never forget that. I'll always be there, Matt no matter what." said Gabumon.
Tears were starting to fall from Matt's eyes at his partner's words. "Gabumon…" cried Matt. Matt's crest of Friendship glowed brightly as a pillar of blue light shot out from him, surrounding both him and Gabumon.
"Gabumon warp digivolve to…MetalGarurumon!"
"Ready, lead the way." said MetalGarurumon.
"Right." said Matt as he mounted the metal wolf. They then took off as Cherrymon laughed.
"Well, that went well." said Cherrymon.
"Still, I'm surprised by the strength of the bond between them. It took every trick I had just to under mind it. If Puppetmon isn't careful, this game could be lost."
Meanwhile, Matt and MetalGarurumon were on their way back to the others. "I meant what I said, Matt. Cherrymon was wrong. Friendship, loyalty, they're more than just words. They're real and they matter. I'm going to prove it to you." said MetalGarurumon.
Meanwhile Puppetmon was washing his face by a stream. "Yuck! Splattering me with their gunk. Those bucket brains will pay for this." said Puppetmon.
"There you are." said Cherrymon, causing Puppetmon to turn around. "The plan went perfectly just as I thought."
"Plan? What plan?" asked Puppetmon.
"You should have seen it. I played that trusting sap like a violin." said Cherrymon. "He's going to do our dirty work for us, Puppetmon."
"Well, sounds like a plan." said Puppetmon.
"Any second now, we'll hear the sounds of WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon locked in mortal combat." said Cherrymon.
"You're serious?" asked Puppetmon.
"Oh, yeah. With any luck, they'll destroy each other. And with one of the strongest digimon out of the way, the rest will fall like rotten fruit." Cherrymon tells him.
"Mortal Combat? This I gotta see! Lets go, what are we waiting for?" asked Puppetmon.
"Wait a minute, we gotta be careful! The digidestined is strong-stronger than I suspected and to underestimate them could be disastrous!" shouted Cherrymon.
"What?! Spit it out already! Are you saying that I might lose?" asked Puppetmon.
"I'm only saying that I think you should take them seriously." said Cherrymon. "There's something about them."
"Something? Hmm." said Puppetmon. "you mean like, something I might be missing?"
"Well, not…totally." replied Cherrymon.
"I have everything I need to take care of you. Puppet Pummel!" shouted Puppetmon, attacking Cherrymon with his mallet, slamming him into the ground, causing flames to shoot out.
"Oh, the horror!" screamed Cherrymon as he is destroyed.
"Man, that kind of negative attitude really brings me down." said Puppetmon.
Back with the digidestined, all of the digimon expect MetalGreymon had de-digivolved into their rookie forms. "Okay, okay, I know when I'm beat. You win. I surrender!" yelled Garbagemon as he hops out of his trash can. "Just kidding!"
He then holds up his trashcan which sucks everything inside. "Trash day, everybody in the can. If you're lucky, you'll get recycled." He said.
Sora, Mimi, Izzy, Joe and their digimon were holding onto trees while TK was holding onto Patamon. MetalGreymon pushed his claws into the ground, as Tai, Kari and Emily were holding onto his leg. Gatomon was holding onto Kari's leg while Falcomon held onto Emily's waist.
"This nasty little creep is really getting on my nerves." said Tai but then both Kari and Emily lose their grips as well as Gatomon and Falcomon.
"Tai, help us!" the twins yelled at their brother as they were getting sucked in by the wind.
"Kari! Emily!" shouted Gatomon and Falcomon as they both were getting pulled in too.
"Kari, Emily no!" screamed Tai with his arm extended. Garbagemon laughs as continues to pull the twins, Gatomon and Falcomon towards him with his trashcan. "Ice Wolf Claw!" shouted MetalGarurumon, blasting Garbagemon in the back, causing him to freeze before being destroyed.
"Its MetalGarurumon!" exclaimed Gatomon and Falcomon once they were on the ground with the twins.
Matt then walks out from behind the trees and in view of the others. "Matt." Joe calls out.
"Matt, you're back." said Sora.
"Better late than never. Where you been, buddy?" asked Tai as he ran over to Matt while MetalGreymon turned back into Agumon. Matt's eyes were as cold as ice as he stood there watching Tai and Agumon as they both ran over to them.
"Thanks for saving our necks, but did you have to cut it this close?" joked Agumon.
MetalGarurumon's eyes glowed blue as he shot two tiny ice beams at him, cutting the dinosaur off. "What's he doing?" demanded Tai.
"Hey, what's this?" asked Agumon.
"What do you think? It's a challenge. You might want to digivolve and fast." growled MetalGarurumon.
"What have you been eating out there in the forest?" asked Agumon. "You want to fight me?"
"I don't like where this is going, do you?" Emily asked.
"No I don't." said Kari.
"Neither do I." said Gatomon.
"This is bad." said Falcomon.
"This is insane. Matt, what's going on? Is this some kind of joke?" asked Sora.
"Matt, I don't know what he'd doing, but call him off now." Tai demanded.
"No Tai. I won't." said Matt, darkly.
"What did you say? You won't?" Tai asked in total shock.
"I'm warning you. Hurry up and digivolve into WarGreymon because I wont miss next time." said MetalGarurumon.
"I think he really means it." said Agumon.
Everyone else stood frozen in shock and confusion at what was going on in front of them. They started to wonder if Matt and MetalGarurumon had lost their minds. "Well? Time's running out, Agumon." said MetalGarurumon.
"Tai, stop him." TK called out.
"I wish I could, but there's only one person who can stop him." said Tai.