We have reached the first of what I consider to be the big plot chapters. If you pay attention to the chapter titles at all, I'm sure you'll see the pattern soon enough. This was an interesting one to write because, except for a few short little scenes that I added to give a better sense of time passing in the main storyline, this chapter was written almost exclusively to follow one character. The next chapter goes back to being something of a scrambled mess, jumping from one character's story to another. (Though, personally, I kind of like writing that way, and it's a little bit inevitable if we're to keep up with everyone.)

Thank you for reviewing chapter twelve: Guest, ToastyToaster22, ReaperOfShadows125, Berry Doyle, Sweet Cari, and dnofsunshine!

Chapter Thirteen: Sincerity

Later, Yolei wouldn't be able to explain how it felt, exactly, to cross the portal to the Digital World. And perhaps it was just her prior knowledge of what this world was and how it worked that would lead her to describing it as the sensation of having all her parts disassembled and then put back together. But once she was whole again, Yolei found she was still very, very lost.

She got to her feet very slowly, her hands trembling. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the moon being the only source of light. But when they did, she found… a whole lot of nothing. She stood on a crude dirt path alongside an empty, open field of grass. There were no landmarks for her to try and place her location, and most importantly, she was alone. The strange boy who had appeared so suddenly was nowhere to be found.

However… Yolei suddenly realized that the strange device he'd been holding remained in her hand. Except. She could have sworn it had been smaller and blue back in her world. Perhaps it was not just her own parts that had been reassembled during the journey. Now the device had grown to fit perfectly in her hand, with red grips around the sides for her fingers. She was sure it must be one of the strange devices Hiroaki had been describing. A Digivice.

Yolei took a moment to examine it more closely, fascinated. TK's dad was right… It seemed to be responding to her and only her, the string of data running across the little screen at a much faster rate when she skimmed a finger across its surface. It looked and sounded mechanical… but she couldn't see any screws or openings… no hind of how it had been put together in the first place. To Yolei, this sort of mystery was near impossible to simply push aside… but she would need better lighting first.

Just as she was giving up on feeling out any buttons, the screen lit up with a hologram. She jumped but brought the image up to her face for a closer look when she realized there was no danger. A map was projected out towards her with coordinates and a guiding arrow, but what the map was guiding her to she had no idea.

Well, here she was, lost in a foreign world. Yolei figured she had nothing to lose now. She'd wanted to be of some use to Kari. It was time to follow through. If ever there was a time to be brave, it was now. So she made a note of her current coordinates and took off in the direction provided by the arrows.

Yolei walked for a long time and encountered nothing but more nothing. She'd never experienced true wilderness quite like this, untouched by humankind. She supposed it was beautiful in a way. But Yolei had grown up in the city, and soon the utter emptiness of her surroundings was more unsettling than anything else.

She kept walking. And walking. And walking. Until the periodic pulsing sound from the map seemed in tune with her very being. Until she was too exhausted to be unsettled. Maybe she'd been wrong. Maybe she wasn't in the Digital World after all but some strange in-between world that was just entirely empty. The familiar fear was just beginning to creep up on her… when Yolei lost her footing.

Her eyes flew open as she tumbled down the little embankment with a shriek. She was wide awake once more when she landed on her butt in the dirt, if a little winded. She leaned forward for a better look at her new surroundings, only to jerk back. She had landed on a narrow ledge. Below her was another steep drop and then a fast-moving river. She brought a hand up to her chest in relief at her luck and then looked down at the Digivice in her other hand. She did seem to be closer to the destination on the map. Yolei took another look around and spotted something else in the distance. The river flowed down into a cave and blocking that cave from the outside world… Iron bars! She was sure of it. This was the first sign she'd seen of sentient life since arriving in this world.

Yolei took another second to catch her breath before getting resolutely to her feet. No going back now, she reminded herself and started a careful pace down the ledge in the direction of the cave.

…

"So what now, TK?" Patamon crawled up his partner's shoulder with a worried little frown. The boy had awoken shortly before dawn, and the two sat in silence, watching the sun rise. TK had taken Kari's departure rather gracefully, but Patamon was uneasy. "This kinda means we're back where we started."

"Kind of," he agreed, getting to his feet. "But that just means we still have a mission to complete. Kari said she would come back, remember? So until then, we'll just have to do our part as best we can."

Patamon relaxed a little and did his best to smile. TK didn't possess the crest of Hope for nothing. Patamon would do what he could to make sure TK never lost that optimism. And so they set out for another long day.

…

The sun was just beginning to rise when Yolei finally reached the cave, and she was exhausted. It had been a harrowing journey, powered mostly by adrenaline. She'd moved with the knowledge that a single misstep could send her crashing down to a much rougher landing, and she was feeling the effects of that heightened awareness now.

Yolei stifled a yawn as she pressed herself up against the bars, peering inside. The cave was dark, but she could see a torch set up inside, its flame throwing a little light, at least. The river snaked to the left, leaving her a sizable beach to stand on. And on that beach, inside the cave, she could just make out an iron cage, housing something she couldn't quite a name to.

All she could be certain of was that the creature inside the cave was alive, but she couldn't be sure for how long. It drooped a little more even as she watched, sighing softly—in pain or despair, she couldn't tell. Not only that, her Digivice was going haywire, pulsing in her hand like it had its own heartbeat.

Yolei glanced around, trying to determine her next move. The bars were all evenly spaced apart and too close together for her to ever hope to fit through. But there at the end… yes! The cave wall sloped upwards at an awkward angle, giving her just enough extra room to squeeze through the gap.

And that was one more obstacle overcome. Once inside, Yolei rushed over to the imprisoned creature and crouched down beside the cage. With no way to know how or why it had ended up in this state, she kept her voice to a whisper. "Hey, are you okay?"

The creature was… odd. If it wasn't in such poor condition, it might be cute, she could give it that. The creature was a small pink… bird. Though really it looked like a little pink ball with bird features. A tiny beak jutting out from its front, wings sticking out at its sides, and the most striking feature of all. A single bright red feather sticking up where its tail would be. Big blue eyes fluttered open at the sound of her voice.

But the creature didn't seem able to manage much more than another breathy sigh. The sound made her heart ache. Yolei's hand closed a little tighter around her Digivice, which had finally calmed down and grown very warm.

"You're going to be okay," she whispered. "I'm going to get you out of there."

But how to go about doing so? There weren't any large rocks around to try and smash the cage open. And even if there were, the sound could bring the creature's captors running. Biting her lip, Yolei ran her fingers over the bars. Well, they certainly were… solid. She realized the little bird's eyes had remained open, weakly tracking her every move. Yolei steeled her expression, nodding once and trying to look like she knew what she was doing.

At last, her fingers found the big bulky padlock keeping the cage shut tight. She searched her pockets fruitlessly for a second, hoping to find a stray hair pin or something, knowing all the while that she would come up empty. Yolei sighed, resting her head against the hard metal. The exhaustion was catching up to her, making all of her muscles ache. But she had to save the little creature in the cage. It was depending on her. It had no one else.

Slowly, she brought her other hand up to the bars too, the one still clutching her Digivice. Its steady warmth was comforting, and she wished she could share that comfort with the creature. Yolei jumped a little when the device suddenly began to glow again. The light was reflected for a moment in the little bird's eyes, and then it died down with a loud metallic click.

Hardly daring to believe her luck, Yolei gave the padlock an experimental tug. It came away easily, and she pulled open the cage. Finally pocketing the Digivice, she reached both hands into the cage to gently pull out the bird. She held the creature close, feeling its heartbeat against her own, and got to her feet.

Yolei didn't know what lay before her. All she knew was that the thought of retreating back out of the cave made her feel very exposed. So, feeling herself starting to fade, she ran deeper into the cave. Yolei ducked into the first crevice she found that could fit them and wedged herself up onto the little ledge made by the rack, hoping this would be enough for any passersby to overlook them. And finally, the rescue complete, soothed by the tiniest sense of safety, Yolei let herself drift off to sleep.

…

Centarumon didn't turn from the wall of the ruins he was scrutinizing when TK and Patamon entered, but this was not so strange. TK had become well acquainted with the wise old Digimon's serious nature.

"You have returned," he commented mildly, eye scanning the rough images before him. At last, he turned to face his visitors. "I am glad you are well, child. But perhaps your movements are becoming over conspicuous? There was a lot of activity in the forest yesterday."

TK smiled humbly. "Yeah, we had a… surprise yesterday. Patamon had to Digivolve, so they had a way to track us again. But we got it sorted out. I hope it didn't cause any problems for you?"

Centarumon shook his head and made a sound that TK would have described as a snort had it come from a less dignified throat. "Hardly. The Emperor's lackeys believe me to be an old fool, studying prophesies that their master has already overwritten."

TK grinned, stepping closer. "Well, it's a good thing we know better, right?"

Centarumon's eye sparkled from the depths of his helmet. If he'd been able to see his face, TK was sure he would finally have proof he'd made the old Digimon smile. "Indeed. They are the fools. To not realize the prophecy could simply rewrite itself to adjust for their interference…"

His words sent a sharp thrill down TK's spine. Atop his hat, he could feel Patamon pushing himself up a little too. "Has something changed again?"

Centarumon simply nodded to the wall before them. TK gave it his full attention until he finally spotted something that had not been there the last time. "Is that… an egg?"

The Digimon nodded. Along the wall were images of the eight Digivices and corresponding crests—as well as the barely visible ninth crest—each one in varying states of erosion. Only TK's crest of Hope remained looking as if it had been etched into the wall just the day before. But now a tiny little egg had appeared next to the crest of Sincerity with lines shooting out from it. These lines were meant to portray light or power. He had seen them somewhere else too.

TK ran into the next room where a different part of the story was played out on the walls. This room showed eight figures on the ground and a dark, ominous cloud up at the top. But between those two were eight monsters in various forms, those same jets of light connecting each form, as well as connecting the monsters to the figures below.

"Yes, I came to the same conclusion," came Centarumon's voice behind him. "Those markings seem to denote Digivolution. More specifically, the connection between the Chosen Digimon and the Digidestined that allows for Digivolution. If I had to guess, I would say that egg is a new type of Digivolution. Perhaps a type that will allow the others to Digivolve even without getting their crests purified first."

TK's eyebrows shot up out of sight. "You think so? But… how is that possible? Wouldn't the other Digimon still need their partners to Digivolve? And if the partners were in a state of mind clear enough to help them Digivolve, the crests would become pure, and we wouldn't need some roundabout way to Digivolve."

"It is not for me to understand all the workings of this world. But perhaps there is more than one new development under day," Centarumon said simply before pointing to another section of the picture.

It took TK a second to spot the extra change. At first the eight figures of the Digidestined just looked a little… blockier. It was only after much scrutiny that he realized there were extra lines entirely. But only attached to six of the eight. And what was it supposed to mean? Were they shadows? Second figures standing behind the originals? He only knew one things for certain. Things had gotten very complicated, indeed.

…

Yolei was woken by the sound of a gasp. Her eyes flew open, and she immediately tried to stretch out from her cramped position. Her head struck the rock wall she was settled up against and for a moment she saw stars. But when her sight cleared and the pain started to dull, she had to resist the urge to scream. Staring in at her crevice, carrying a tray of food and water, was a plant monster.

It stood on two legs and would not have been much shorter than Yolei, had she been standing up. But its legs ended in vine-like roots and its arms in claws. There were sharp little teeth sticking out of its grotesquely wide mouth and large pink flower adorning its head that Yolei may have found pretty in other settings. As it was, she viewed it as being more akin to a Venus flytrap. Predatory.

Yolei turned in towards the wall, trying to shield the smaller creature in her arms from this new threat. "B-back off! I'm warning you!"

She supposed it would have come out sounding a little more authoritative had her voice not been shaking so much, but the attack she feared didn't come. The plant creature started to reach out for her then seemed to think better of it, moving very slowly to set down the tray first.

"Don't be afraid," the creature whispered in a voice that was a little rough but also… sweet. "I won't hurt you, but how did you get here?" She shook her head sharply. "Actually, never mind that right now—how's Poromon?"

Yolei stared blankly at her for a second before glancing down at the little ball of feathers in her lap. And then at the tray of food on the cave floor. Had this new creature been coming to take care of the little one?

"Poromon?" She repeated the name slowly. Then made a split decision and uncovered the little bird, holding it out for inspection. "I think it's really sick. Can you help us?"

"Of course. Poromon will be fine. He's just really weak." She winced ruefully. "I haven't been able to get away to check on him lately, and the Emperor's lackeys would just as soon not take care of him. Their orders are just to keep him under control. I'm Palmon, by the way."

Palmon gently took Poromon from her and knelt down beside the tray. Poromon seemed barely able to keep his eyes open, but Palmon was able to slowly coax some food into him. Yolei finally eased herself out of the crevice and stretched out.

"Palmon? Who is this Emperor? Why did he want Poromon locked up in the first place? And wait… how did you get in here? I mean, you don't serve the Emperor… right?"

Palmon sighed, her big green eyes becoming impossibly sad. "No… I serve the Princess."

"The Princess? Don't the Princess and the Emperor work together?"

"Not exactly." Palmon seemed to consider something for a moment. When she met Yolei's eyes again, she was very serious. "Do you know the story of the Digidestined?"

Yolei felt a little jolt go through her. She nodded quickly. "So you're both… Digimon then?"

Palmon nodded. "Yes. At one point, there were only Digimon in this world. But there was always the prophecy of the coming darkness and the eight humans who would arrive to save us from it. The Princess was one of those eight. And I was her partner."

Palmon's hands had stilled, so Yolei knelt down beside her to make sure Poromon kept eating. He did seem to be regaining strength already. "Palmon… Who is the Princess?"

Palmon's eyes finally filled with tears. "Her name is Mimi, and she's my best friend in the whole world. She's brave and honest and she hates fighting more than anything. When the Emperor took over and split up the land, we weren't strong enough to stop him. The crests started to lose their shine, and we couldn't Digivolve anymore. We ran away." Palmon hung her head. "And then we found this awful castle. One of the Emperor's generals is in charge of this area. When he saw we couldn't fight, he offered Mimi a job as the Digimon Princess, where she'd be safe and treated like royalty. We've been here ever since."

So this was what Hiroaki had meant when he'd described the crests as being 'tainted by darkness.' Had this 'Emperor' targeted all of their weaknesses like this? But why?

"Who is this Emperor you keep talking about? Why is he doing this? What does he gain from hurting all of you?"

Palmon shrugged despondently. "Control, I guess. We don't really know who he is. Just that he's human. He showed up in the Digital World one day with a dark Digivice and started calling himself the Digimon Emperor. He found a way to control the Digimon here through dark towers and collars and took over."

"Another human apart from the original eight? Well, I guess I shouldn't be so surprised… I made it here." Yolei thought for a moment and then pulled the little red device from her pocket. "The Emperor's Digivice… Does it look like this one?"

She could tell she'd startled Palmon. The Digimon's mouth fell open, giving her a better look at all those jagged little teeth. "Yes! It's exactly like that one, except his is black. But… if you have a Digivice, that makes you a Digidestined too."

Palmon looked down on Poromon again who was now working through the meal completely unsupported. "Maybe… I never considered that there could be more Digidestined out there. This Poromon was being kept prisoner here because it was reacting to Mimi's crest of Sincerity… the same way I used to. It was the first time the crest had glowed—even a little—in years. And it seemed to clear Mimi's head a bit. So the Emperor locked him up here to monitor that. He wasn't born that long ago… If I had to guess, I'd say he was created just to be your partner."

"My partner?" Yolei looked down at the little creature with a new sense of wonder. Poromon finally finished eating and seemed to be back at full strength. He smiled at Yolei and nuzzled up against the hand that held her—their—Digivice. Immediately, both Poromon and the Digivice were enveloped in a powerful glow. The light grew until Yolei had to look away, but out of the corner of her eye, she saw the little bird growing and growing…

When the light died down, she was looking at… a much bigger bird. He stood on two legs and the feathers covering his body and wings had darkened to a deep red. Only his head was white, and a strap kept the one elegant feather she'd admired before in place. Yolei was having a hard time believing this Digimon had been the cute little ball of feathers she'd held on her lap just a few minutes earlier. But any doubts she had were assuaged by those familiar bright blue eyes smiling at her now.

"It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance," he said, fluffing out his feathers. "I am Hawkmon."

"Finally?" she said with a little laugh, surprising herself with the emotion behind it. "I've only known about all this for a day."

"Nevertheless, I am your partner. I look forward to working with you." Where Poromon had been cute, Hawkmon was refined. Very proper, just a little stuffy, and with an accent distinctly… British. It made her smile and wonder again at how these creatures and this world were created.

"I'm Yolei. It's nice to meet you too. Though I'm not entirely sure what it is we're working on."

Hawkmon blinked as if he'd thought that part was obvious. "Why, whatever you think is right."

"This might be the Digital World's attempt to right itself," Palmon posited thoughtfully. "Mimi's crest shouldn't react to anyone but me. But already you've made it glow. Maybe that means it's not Mimi's crest anymore. Maybe the power has been transferred over to the two of you. It could be that all of the crests are choosing new owners. Maybe the Digital World has decided it needs new saviors…"

The word 'savior' echoed around her head, feeling too loud. Too… heavy. All she'd wanted to do was help her friends. She wasn't hero material. Yolei quickly brought her hands up as if she could physically ward off this idea. "Um, let's not get ahead of ourselves here, okay? I'm still not sure I even really understand the problem. And… are you really okay with just handing over your crest?"

There was a steely quality in Palmon's eyes that Yolei never would have expected out of a plant monster. "If it helps Mimi, I don't care who has the stupid crest."

Well, that settled things, didn't it? Yolei had never met Mimi, but right now, if Yolei was the only one who could help her, how could she possibly just look the other way? "Okay. Lead the way."

Mission decided, the three resolutely got to their feet. Palmon did take the lead, saying, "This cave is the very outskirts of the dungeon of ShogunGekomon's castle. He's the general who rules this region for the Emperor. The Gekomon make up his army. Out there, they're more like actual soldiers, keeping the peace. But the Gekomon in the castle are just glorified servants, waiting hand and foot on the Princess. Without specific orders to stop us, I doubt they'll give us any trouble."

She was right. They encountered more Gekomon—strange, bipedal frog Digimon with tuba-like instruments wrapped around their bodies—than Yolei could count as they made their way up through the proper dungeon and into a glamorous main entry hall, but no one tried to stop them. The few who did give them second looks were easily dissuaded by a firm glance from Palmon. After a while, Yolei ceased to be surprised. This castle was huge and it had to be a huge job to keep it in such good shape.

Palmon kept them moving—up, up, and up, one elegant staircase after another. When they finally reached the top—where the ceilings were still impossibly high—they stopped in front of the most regal-looking set of doors yet. Yolei took a deep breath as Palmon pushed them open.

"Princess, there's someone here to see you."

A high-pitched laugh came from the other room. "Is he here already?"

The girl who walked out to meet them certainly looked like royalty. Granted, the sparkly shoes, puffy dress, and tiara adorning her styled hair helped, but it was more than that. It was the way she carried herself. Yolei had seen the pictures sent out four years ago when Mimi Tachikawa had gone missing, and she'd heard a little about her from Kari's meetings with the other families. She'd been the only child of a wealthy couple who were heartbroken after her disappearance. From what she'd heard, Mimi had always been treated like a princess. Stepping into the role now likely felt completely natural. But was she really the type of person who felt no gratitude towards the people who allowed her to live so comfortably?

"Palmon? Who are these people?" Her mouth had popped open into a perfect little O at the sight of them. But Yolei realized then that something was a little off about her. Mimi's eyes seemed a little clouded. As if her curiosity couldn't quite reach the surface. It was then that Yolei spotted something else. A necklace hung around her neck, with a little square charm at the end. The crest, no doubt. And Palmon wasn't wrong. From here, it looked like a lifeless piece of jewelry.

"This is Yolei. She's a Digidestined. Like you."

Mimi blinked. "What? But she can't be…"

Yolei slowly held up her Digivice, and Mimi's eyes were immediately glued to it. Palmon went on. "And you remember Hawkmon. He was the Poromon who was connecting with your crest. Even when I couldn't. Why do you think that is?"

"Why?" Mimi repeated faintly.

"Palmon thinks the crest has chosen a new owner," Yolei spoke up finally.

"But… that can't be…"

"I don't really want that either," she admitted. "I don't want to take your crest. But if you can't use it, someone has to. Your friends still need you, Mimi."

"Stop!" Mimi's voice was suddenly strong again. "I've heard enough! Palmon, take these two to the dungeons. And you are to address me as 'Princess.'"

Palmon shook her head sadly. "You never needed a fancy title to be a princess to me, Mimi. You were always so kind and brave, never afraid to be yourself. But then you started to doubt yourself."

"I don't really know what it means to deserve and be the bearer of the crest of Sincerity," Yolei went on. "But some power out there seems to think I do. And there are people depending on me. So I guess I'd better find out. Maybe I've never even been completely honest with myself, so…"

Yolei took a deep breath, aware of three pairs on curious eyes on her. "I'm too stubborn. I have a hard time admitting when I'm wrong. I'm selfish. I've spent my whole life fighting with my siblings for my parents' attention. When I found out Hawkmon was my partner, I felt… special. Like maybe I really could do this. Normally, I get scared off too easily. I can't begin to imagine all you've seen since you arrived here, but I understand why you might have wanted to hide away from it in this nice, safe castle. I tried to hide too, for a little while. I pulled away while my friends threw their all into investigating this world, pretending there could be some other explanation. But the problems don't go away just because you aren't looking at them. Your friends are still out there somewhere, Mimi. And maybe their castles aren't so safe."

Mimi brought a trembling hand up to her crest, which had begun to glow.

"What do we have here?" Yolei jumped at the sudden gravelly voice. Standing behind them in the doorway was the visitor Mimi had been expecting before they'd barged in. Suddenly, Yolei knew exactly why all the ceilings were so high.

This Digimon was another frog, except bright orange and giant in every sense of the word. It had a tuba over each shoulder, reminiscent of cannons. And a dark collar snug around its neck. Yolei knew immediately this was the general Palmon had mentioned. ShogunGekomon.

"Your Highness, these two are the usurpers the Emperor warned us about. We must have them detained immediately."

Yolei shrank back, not managing to escape his shadow. His voice was pleasant enough, but she didn't like his sneer. She had no doubts about who had the real power here.

She turned back to Mimi with a new urgency. "Listen. I'm not the type of person prophecies are written about. I'm not generous like Kari or brave like Davis. I'm not as levelheaded as Cody… I've never even been as dedicated as TK. To anything."

Mimi's eyes had drifted up to the general, but now Yolei had her full attention. "Did you say TK?"

"Yes! He came back for all of you, Mimi. He's been moving back and forth between the worlds for two years, trying to help you all."

"What? No…" Her voice was weak, shaking. "No, he can't come back. He was supposed to be safe…"

"But he wasn't, Mimi," Yolei rushed to assert. "I talked to his dad. He said TK could barely function, knowing he'd left you all behind."

"No!" The wail ripped out of her and, very suddenly, the fog clouding her eyes cleared away. Mimi crumpled to her knees, and ShogunGekomon ran out of patience.

"Seize them!" he ordered. The servant Gekomon were not his well-trained soldiers, however, and their hesitation gave them all just enough time. Palmon shot vines out from her fingertips, grasping onto a bookcase and dragging it across their path, blocking their attackers' way. Yolei ran forward, throwing herself down beside Mimi and grabbing her free hand.

The Princess was nearing hysterics, shaking her head so hard that her tiara went flying across the room, lost in the destruction. Her words were punctuated by sobs. "No! I don't want to know! I can't take any more fighting!"

Yolei's grip on her hand tightened as ShogunGekomon roared in anger, the sound much too loud for this space. Her own voice was shaking and pitched a little too high as she asserted, "Mimi! We have to do something!"

Her friends' words came back to her then, impossibly clear in the chaos.

I think, in this case, not choosing is a choice.

If you think I'm not scared… Well, that's the craziest thing so far.

If that's the case, then I'll just become a Digi-whatever!

She squeezed Mimi's hand and repeated what she'd been telling Kari since their investigation first started. "We're in this together. I know you're scared. I don't like fighting either. I've already told you that I'm not the bravest or strongest or most dependable person out there. But I swear to you, right now, that I'm going to become that person."

Mimi finally looked up, meeting her eyes. There was a moment, when their eyes locked, when everything seemed to stop. And then, the crest of Sincerity began to glow again, at full strength this time, the light shooting out from between Mimi's fingers. In tandem, Yolei's Digivice began to shine, a holographic egg shot out of the screen, patterned with a teardrop-shaped image with two inner circles. The same image, she saw now, on Mimi's crest of Sincerity.

The egg paved a straight path for Hawkmon, where it was absorbed into his data, and Hawkmon too began to glow. But it was a familiar glow this time. And Yolei was less surprised when her partner's form began to rapidly change and expand.

But this didn't stop her from gasping as she took in his new, completed transformation. Her partner no longer resembled a bird. His shape resembled a human body, swathed in white cloth, with a headband and mask covering his face. Only a bright red tuft of hair sticking out from the back of his head indicated this Digimon's previous form. There were definite plan influences this time, physically stating the bond they now shared with Mimi and Palmon. His arms were vines, his hands blades. And she saw another giant shuriken tool secured to his back. For a moment, she could only stare in awe. Her little bird had become a deadly ninja.

"Hawkmon, you…" She couldn't find the words.

"It's Shurimon now," he told her, his new voice deep. "And we've got work to do."

She nodded, pulling Mimi up to her feet too. Palmon had been fending them off alone with her vines but was starting to tire. And then ShogunGekomon burst through the debris.

Mimi kept one hand clasped in Yolei's. She finally brought the other one away from her crest, letting its glow light up the room without restraint, and pulled something else from the folds of her dress. With a start, Yolei realized it was a Digivice like her own used to be. But after a moment, she frowned down at it. "What? It's not working."

Palmon shook her head, staring up at Shurimon. "This isn't a regular Digivolution. It uses the power of the crest almost as an armor. This is amazing! You've found a way around the Emperor's Digivolution block!"

Mimi's partner quickly shepherded the two girls to a corner of the room where they would be out of harm's way. And not a moment too soon. The general let out another roar, and this time, it was accompanied by a blast of wind from each tuba. Shurimon used his new, springy limbs to jump over the attack, using his blades to root himself to the ceiling.

There was one stroke of luck, at least. Cowed by their leader's power, the Gekomon were staying out of the way. The debris Palmon had piled up had been blown against the opposite wall by that single attack. Even so, Palmon remained firmly between the girls and the danger. "Shurimon! Aim for the dark ring around his neck!"

Yolei's partner nodded and dropped lithely down behind the general. Before the larger Digimon could get himself turned around, Shurimon wrapped his own legs around ShogunGekomon's, tangling him up. His next movement was so quick and fluid, Yolei gasped again in admiration. Shurimon twisted his body up, pulling the shuriken off his back as he did so, and used his momentum to bring the sharp edge down hard on the dark ring around ShogunGekomon's neck.

There was a moment, accompanied by an awful scream from the victim, where it didn't look like the ring would give. But then, finally, it shattered, falling to the floor with a resounding clang before dissolving back into data entirely. Freed from the Emperor's influence, ShogunGekomon looked dazed. He wobbled for a minute before toppling over, bringing Shurimon down with him.

"Oh!" Yolei finally let go of Mimi's hand, rushing over. It was a bruised-up Hawkmon who crawled out of the wreckage, and Yolei didn't hesitate to wrap him up in her arms. "Hawkmon! You're you again! That was amazing! You were amazing!"

Her partner chuckled weakly in her embrace. "Yes, well, only because you allowed me to be amazing. I must say, baring your soul was an interesting battle strategy."

Yolei laughed, tears of relief streaming down her face and into his feathers. "I had no idea what I was doing! But you were great!"

"I'd say we make quite a team."

She nodded, but it dimmed her euphoria, just a bit. It was a reminder that the war was still underway, even if this battle was won. There would be future battles. Yolei looked up and saw the Gekomon surrounding their leader as he finally regained consciousness. She saw tears of joy on many of their faces as well. It was a wonderful scene. But when the excitement of this victory died down, there would be decisions to be made, and frankly, Yolei couldn't begin to imagine what came next.

Review please!

I don't own Digimon.

I think we can officially say this story is truly underway. I don't know if I can be counted on to write any more chapters this long… But I really wanted to get this whole event in one.