Chapter 8: The Episode that Caused the Shipping
Davis:
"Davis! Are you alright!?"
As quickly as it started the dream was over. The former leader had woken up, covered in sweat. Veemon was standing over him.
"What's wrong?" the cat said. "Was it that dream again?"
"Yeah, it was."
The last few nights Davis had been having some variation of the dream he just had. That... thing drawing him toward it, toward its world. When he described the tentacled monster to his partner he was told it looked like a digimon, but he knew it was not a digimon. He did not know how, but he knew it was some other being from some other world, and it wanted him in its world.
"What do you think it means?" Davis went on to ask.
"I don't know." Veemon replied.
Davis could see the sun beginning to rise through his window.
"It doesn't matter." He finally said. "I'll just go ahead and get up."
He changed into his school uniform fairly quickly and went downstairs. No one else was there. It seemed the former gogglehead had been the first to wake up.
"Figures." He thought.
He sat down at the table anyway and decided to wait there for breakfast. It didn't take him long to get bored though.
He pulled out his new cell phone, another perk of Kari's life he'd grown to love. The first thing he saw opening it up was a message from Jun.
"Hey bro, call me back when you get this message."
It seemed as though the former boy had not been called "bro" in quite a while. In a way he appreciated it. In another it felt... weird? He could not explain it. Either way, he was also glad no one else had been up already to hear Matt's voice call him that.
"Note to self, answer voice mail in private." He thought. He looked up at the clock. Jun had said "call me back when you get this message," but her brother doubted she would be up now... on the other hand, with Tai and his new parents also asleep now seemed to be the best time to call her back and not be overheard.
"Eh, she can get up early too if I have to."
He returned the call. The phone rang several times but it was answered.
"Mattikins! You're finally calling me back!" Jun squeed into the phone.
"Actually it's me, Davis."
"Oh..." his sister stuttered. She paused, Davis guessed looking at a clock. "Why are you calling me at this hour?'
"You called me 'bro' and wanted me to call you back. Now's a good a time to do it in private."
The former girl only groaned.
"This isn't what I had in mind... Couldn't you have just done it in the bathroom later or something?"
"I could have." he admitted. "But I had to get up now and misery loves company.
Jun groaned again.
"Why couldn't you have been Matt? I must have asked him to call me back 30 times now!" she whined. "Ugh, I suppose you are the next best thing."
What did that mean?
Before Davis could ask Jun seemed to change the subject.
"How is your marriage going?" she asked.
"You're more screwed up than I am if you still think this is a marriage." he thought in response. Still, he humored her.
"It's been amazing." He said. It wasn't a lie.
"Good to hear." his sister replied. "Mine's been going really well too. There are a couple of short comings, though. Matt not replying to me is the big one. I don't think you can help me with that, but you might be able to help me with the other."
"What are you getting at Jun?"
"So far, my marriage has been better than I thought it would be. Matt's body... his life.. it's more than I dreamed of. There is one thing I kind of miss though... I do regret that I only got to date him once before all this. Did you ever date Kari? I'd feel even worse if that happened with me."
Davis had never dated his crush. It had made him feel bad more than once before. Now, however, now that he'd accepted her life... it didn't seem to bother him anymore. He still decided to humor his sister.
"I have felt bad about that..."
"I thought so." Jun continued. "I've been trying to get Matt to go out like this, but he won't return my calls, so I started thinking of an alternative. I don't think we can replicate the experience of dating Matt or Kari exactly, but I think we can make a good approximation with the rings."
"Where are you going with this, Jun?" he asked cautiously.
She hesitated for a moment, but then said.
"Why don't we use the rings, to swap our current bodies, and then go out like that? It will be like I'm dating Matt and you're dating Kari."
"Jun, that's disgusting." he replied. "We're brother and sister. You know we can't do that."
"Not in these bodies." Jun countered. "Matt and Kari aren't related."
"Jun, listen to yourself! Matt and Kari aren't related, but we are." He said "Besides, what about your marriage? Do you really what 'Matt' going out with 'Kari'? Do you really want to break up what you already have?"
"I... I will admit I'm not keen on that." she replied. "It's not the best-case scenario, but I think it works. It's not meant to be permanent, just until Matt comes to his senses. We don't even have to stay switched the whole time, just on days we go out. Believe me I wouldn't want to be Kari to long anyway, especially not when I could be Matt."
"She really is more messed up that I am." Davis thought.
He decided to use a pragmatic counter-argument.
"We couldn't do that if we wanted to at this point." He said. "If Matt isn't returning your calls there's no way he'll let us use his ring. Kari won't loan me hers either. We'd need another pair."
"We can get one easily." Jun countered. "Ken said he'd give us as many as we wanted. Just come up with some phony intelligence to give him."
"I think you're missing the point Jun." Davis said, changing back to the main issue. "We are brother and sister. You know this isn't going to work as well as I do."
It was a while before Jun responded.
"All right." She said in a tone Davis couldn't quite make sense of.
"Is she relieved?" He thought.
"If you change your mind call me back." she continued
Davis just hung up then.
"Why can't I have a normal sibling?" he thought.
The thought of that reminded him.
Mrs. Kamiya came down shortly there after. Taking the cue Davis went back to wake his new, more than normal sibling.
"Who needs Jun?" he asked himself.
"Wake up, big brother."
"Morning sis" His idol replied.
They ate breakfast together like they had every other day since Davis acquired this body. It was as great as ever.
"Tai is my sibling now, not Jun." He thought as they did. "No more of Jun's creepiness for me, just Tai."
A part of him then replied "If Jun isn't your sibling anymore why not date her in Kari's body?" The rest of Davis was disgusted. "Because she's Jun! Ew!"
"Did you sleep well, big brother?" He asked Tai, as much as anything to get his mind off of this.
"I did" Tai answered. "I had a dream I was a Kamen Rider. That was fun. Did you have any interesting dreams last night?"
From one awkward topic to another...
"Do I want to tell Tai about this?" he wondered. "I didn't have a problem telling Veemon..."
"These last few nights I've been having a nightmare about a giant squid-man dragging me into its world." he said truthfully. "I don't know what to make of it."
"That's horrible!" Tai said. "Are you worried about being kidnapped? I hope seeing Agumon captured didn't do that to you..."
"I don't think that's it..." Davis replied. "I don't know though."
"Don't worry about it either way." Her brother said. "Nobody's taking the girl that brought down MetalGreymon."
"Thanks."
"Whatever it is you can take it on." His idol continued. "We can take it on. We overthrew the Dark Masters after all!"
Somehow that seemed to have the opposite effect as the last thing Tai said. Davis chose not to outwardly show it. They discussed other things for the rest of the meal.
Afterwords they walked together to school. Davis kept thinking back to the dreams, despite everything Tai had said.
"I didn't overthrow the Dark Masters," he thought "but I did take out MetalGreymon. That's enough isn't it? Surely this thing can't be worse than that?"
As much as he tried to convince himself otherwise, somehow the former gogglehead could not believe it.
"See you this afternoon!'" Tai said when they arrived at the highschool.
"See you then!" Davis replied. They parted ways and he continued toward his middle school.
"It doesn't matter." he thought "Tai is my brother now. He's there to protect me, like never before. He'll stop the... whatever it is."
Davis was not sure how much he liked that thought. As much as he looked up to the older leader, he had never felt dependent on him. Imagining his idol protecting him... it was comforting, but somehow it seemed... weak? He knew it was something he'd never have done before. It was something he'd expect of Kari.
"I am Kari now." He thought. "What does that matter?"
It did matter. He couldn't escape that. He knew he couldn't depend on Tai for everything... and yet, right now, he didn't know what else to do.
"What am I going to do?" he thought
Suddenly, Davis felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Hey Kari!"
He grabbed the hand and twisted it.
Davis turned around to see TK bawking in pain.
The former gogglehead released him. "What do you want?"
"Jesus Kari, what was that for?" his rival asked.
"I'm not in the mood for you right now." Was all Davis said in reply. TK had no response.
They went on to class. Davis did feel bad about snapping at TK, but he decided not to show it...
Class began, and the teacher droned on lecturing them...
"Is it dark in here?"
He was still sitting at his desk, but he couldn't see anyone else around him. He felt his legs become wet and cold. Looking down he saw a shallow pool around him of the same black water from his dreams.
"How is this possible?" He thought "I… I can't be dreaming, can I? I'm awake."
"Hello? Is anyone there?" He called and out no one answered.
He sat there in the cold darkness for several minutes. He felt as though he were slowly sinking into the dark water.
"Kari! KARI!"
In a flash he was back in the classroom, the students around him. He found himself standing up, having sprung to attention.
"Are you alright there, Hikari?" The teacher asked.
"I… I'm fine."
He was about to sit down when things got dark again for second. When he came to, he was in the arms of the student that had been sitting behind him. It seemed he had almost fainted.
"Obviously not." The teacher said. "You need to go to the nurse's office."
Davis complied. He couldn't stop thinking back to what has just happened.
"This isn't just a dream is it?" He thought. "That thing really is trying to abduct me."
Somehow, he had known that, even from the first dream. Having it confirmed though only made him more afraid.
"I… I really like being you." Davis heard. He turned toward the voice and saw… himself, both his current body and his old one. The new spoke to the old "I never would have guessed I would, but I do. Also, Veemon likes Gatomon's body a lot more than I like this one. I don't think we can go back, sorry."
"I'm hallucinating." Davis thought. "That has to be it. It's all still a dream, just a really weird one."
Somehow, he could not get himself to believe it.
He kept walking down the hall. As he progressed he got the feeling he was being followed. Turning around he saw…
"Oh my god!"
Davis had never seen a creature quite like it, even in the digital world. It was the same dark color as the monster from his dreams and almost the same shape, but it was much shorter and more humanoid, lacking its octopus head or dragon wings. Still "humanoid" wasn't quite the word to describe it. Somehow it reminded him of a fish. Either way seeing it in real life was more than enough to frighten him.
The former gogglehead grabbed the bookbag from his back into his hand.
"Leave me alone!" He shouted. He charged the monster, swinging the bag like a club. Before he could reach it, however, it had disappeared.
Veemon:
The former dragon stared at his now barren tail. Davis had forbidden him to wear the ring to school.
"The blood is already chipping off. They'll know it's a dark ring." He had said. "Give it to me and I'll get some paint for it later."
That had been the day after the dreams stared. Veemon did not think his partner remembered that pledge in the stress they were causing. The new cat had decided not to pressure him in his current state.
"You okay Gatomon?" Patamon asked.
"Yeah I'm fine."
As had quickly become the norm, or, to an outside glance, remained the norm, the former rivals were hanging out in the tree, waiting for their partners. Veemon hadn't stopped exploring the campus by any means, but somehow leaving the runt here by himself all day felt… wrong.
He continued "I just miss my old tail ring."
"Yeah," Patamon sighed. "I figured as much. I'm sorry about that. I wish I could get you a new one."
"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault anyway."
He knew Gatomon had missed her ring quite a bit. It wasn't hard to see why. If Veemon missed his equivalent after having it for less than a day, it was hard to grasp just how much she ought to miss the real thing she had for most of her life. He knew digimon had an innate drive for power. To have so much and then lose it… The former dragon would feel sorry for the new one whenever he thought about that.
Then he would remember loosing much more power every day in his old body, and that sympathy melted away.
"Enjoy it, Gatomon." He thought. "I'm free now."
The final bell rang not long after that.
"Looks like it's time for another digital world trip." Patamon said.
The schoolkids began filing out of the front door. The digimon knew the drill by now. Once it looked like they were all gone one of the digidedestined would open the window to the computer lab. They would check to be sure no one was there to see them, then make their way into the lab through the window.
Something slightly out of the ordinary happened this time, however. As the torrent of kids leaving the school petered out to a trickle, one of the last kids they saw leaving was Davis.
"Did Kari forget we have a trip planned today?" Patamon asked.
Given the context it seemed likely.
"I think so." Veemon replied. "I'll go get her."
Taking advantage of his catlike appearance and of few students to see him anyway, the former dragon went down the tree and began to follow his partner.
"I'll wait until there aren't any other kids around and then call out to him." He thought.
As they crossed the street that began to happen, the last other student in eyesight taking a different turn. Veemon was about to call out to his partner when something… very much out of the ordinary began to happen. It almost looked like Davis was… fading?
"Da... Davis?" the digimon stuttered.
As the words left his mouth the fading was complete. The human disappeared altogether, leaving behind only his bookbag. It fell to the ground in his absence.
"DAVIS!"
Kari:
"By increasing the system memory, I'm expanding the D-terminals' capabilities."
"Excellent work, Yolie." Kari responded.
Before she could continue, TK walked into the room. Looking at him, Kari could tell he was very upset.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
"I… it's nothing." He responded.
"If you need to talk about it, you can always do it with me."
TK seemed a bit surprised now in addition to gloomy, then some of the gloom seemed to vanish.
"Thanks, Davis." He said, cracking a brief smile.
"Anyway," Yolie continued "I thought it would be a good idea if we could communicate in the digital world in real time, not just through e-mail."
"That sounds like a great idea." Cody said. "It could help us keep tabs on the Digimon Emperor."
"I agree," Kari concurred. "Great job."
Before the conversation could continue, Veemon burst into the room.
"Kari disappeared!" he yelled.
The group turned to him and gasped.
"Are you positive she's not just running late?" Cody asked.
"Yes!" the former dragon said "She's not just missing, she literally just disappeared! Right in front of me!"
"That's… disturbing." TK responded.
"Tell me about it." The real Kari said.
"It's crazy is what it is. How could somebody just disappear?" Yolie questioned.
"Maybe she went to went to the digital world?" Cody suggested. "I could see inter-dimensional transportation working like that."
"Doesn't it usually involve being sucked through a portal?" The bespectacled girl countered.
"Usually yeah," TK answered, "but maybe not always. Kari and I, we saw digimon just appear and disappear in the real world four years ago. I only saw it once, right after Myotismon died, but Kari says she saw it a lot while the rest of us were in the digital world."
On one hand, Kari was disappointed he had beaten her to pointing that out. On the other hand, she was kind of relieved.
"She is in another dimension, but she's not in the digital world." Veemon said. "For the last few days she's been having dreams about some other creature taking her to its world. I think that's what just happened."
"Did she tell you what that creature was like?" The current gogglehead asked.
"It was a giant humanoid with an octopus for a head and dragon wings." He replied.
Yolie brought her hand to her chin, seemingly in thought.
"That sounds like something I read in a book once… I can't quite remember where."
"It sounds to me like a Dragomon." Patamon said.
"Dragomon, eh?" Yolie said. "Let me pull that up in Izzy's digimon analyzer."
She pulled up an image on the computer screen. It did resemble what Veemon had described quite a bit, but there was one major difference.
"I guess that is the right shape, but Kari said the thing she saw was all black and had red eyes." He pointed out.
"Red eyes make it sound like it was under the Digimon Emperor's control." TK said. "I don't know about being all black, but the MetalGreymon he made out of Agumon was a lot darker than usual, too. Do you think that's what's happening with this Dragomon?"
"I really don't think so." Veemon insisted. "My partner was convinced it wasn't a digimon at all."
"I still think Dragomon is probably the best clue we have." Kari said, much to the digimon's apparent chagrin. "Did she say anything else? Where exactly is the thing taking Kari in her dream? You said it was its world, but was it any more specific?"
"The beach." Veemon added. "She was on a beach with a black ocean."
"Sounds like she dreams of that color a lot." Yolie japed.
"Yeah, I've heard of beaches, but never black oceans." TK added.
"What if there's oil in the water?" Cody asked. "That could make the water look black, maybe even cover the digimon in the water too. Maybe that's why the Dragomon is discolored."
"That is true." Yolie said. "Is there anywhere in the digital world with off shore rigs?"
"There's telephone booths, RV's and robot factories there." TK observed. "Why not?
"I'm telling you, she's not in the digital world." The cat interjected before anyone could answer that. "She's… somewhere else."
"I'm sorry… Gatomon," Kari began "I'm afraid this is a much better lead."
The former dragon glared at her with a disgusted look in his eyes.
"Chase your bogus lead then!" he yelled. "I'm getting real help!"
He charged down the hallway before any of them could respond. Most of them gaped in confusion
"He doesn't trust me." The former girl thought, knowing the situation better. Veemon, it seemed, believed she would have no reason to look out for Davis after what he did. It made sense. It wasn't completely true, though. For one thing if Kari ever wanted her body back she couldn't have it lost in some alternate dimension. That as the main reason she wanted to save Davis right now. Even neglecting that, some part of her still wanted to save him, just for the sake of saving him. Veemon had underestimated her.
"Or has he overestimated me?" Kari did not know if that part of her was pure or stupid. Either way it was an issue for another time. Saving her own body came first.
She turned to her partner. "Do you know of any place in the digital world with oil rigs?"
"I'm afraid I don't." Gatomon replied.
"I don't either." Patamon interjected. "And I've known it a lot longer."
The conversation had been full of cruel ironies.
"Might one of the other chosen digimon know?" Upamon asked.
"Maybe?" Patamon answered. "They have been in the digital world while we've been staying here."
"I'll try to e-mail them." Yolie said typing away at her D-Terminal. "Crying shame, I haven't finished upgrading them yet…"
Jun:
"63, 49, 12"
Jun had not needed to exchange locks with Matt; she already knew his combination. As it had several times before, the locker opened, revealing her new books. They had been rearranged to allow the former girl a direct view to the locker's newest addition, it's mirror. She stared at her new reflection for several seconds.
"Perfect" she mouthed under her breath.
Her previous locker had a similar arrangement, albeit with a picture of her beloved in place of the mirror. Somehow, that didn't compare to seeing his face like this.
Once she was satisfied, Jun shifted to practical matters and began exchanging books. She only needed one more for the last period, and a couple to take home for Matt's homework. There were readings assigned for another book, but she did not need to read them; she had already done so the previous year.
That was the third major advantage she found to Matt's body; the first, of course, being the body itself. Going back a grade level alone would have made her academic career a lot easier. Add to that the loss of AP classes and she had instantly gone from an average student to the top of her class with less effort put in. Repeating so much material had been more than a bit boring, but it's not as though school wasn't boring before.
As she finished exchanging books, Jun got the feeling she was being watched. She glanced over her shoulder as subtly as she could. Sure enough, there was a girl on the other side of the hallway, staring at her. The switched one turned around and waved at her, making as lovestruck an expression as she could muster. The other girl blushed profusely and then ran away.
Going out in public as Matt had been a much better experience than Jun had anticipated. That was the second big advantage to his life. The band hadn't practiced yet, though that was an upcoming treat Jun was looking forward to. It was just going out in general that was so amazing. Matt wasn't quite the celebrity Ichijochi was, but he had a decent amount of local fame. She had gotten a couple of looks just walking down the street. That pleased her. She had never had attention like that before.
The reaction was strongest at school; being around the band's target demographic helped a lot. Jun had gotten more than a few looks here, especially from the girls. Some of their looks she knew were how she used to look at Matt. She had no intention of returning their affections. She even if she were into girls she already had Matt now. She still relished it anyway.
She walked into her last class with a smile on her face.
Her mind wandered as the teacher gave another lecture on material she already knew. She decided to try her luck again with a text to Matt.
"Hey babe, Bio is still easy. The offer to tutor you in AP Chem still stands 3"
"Surely he'll respond this time!" she thought.
The lack of responses from Matt had been the one of few disappointments Jun had in her young marriage, and the only thing she did not understand about it. It didn't bother her at first; it felt like the bride hiding her face from the groom on the day of their wedding, but surely they were long past that now. Where was their honeymoon?
"He just needs more time." Jun told herself. "He's always been shy about us. A bit more nudging should do the trick."
She thought back over the days she had been in Matt's body. Even without responses from him it was plain these days had been the best of her life. It's not as though lack of responses from Matt were new to her, but everything else that had happened was like nothing she had ever experienced. So what if she had to take it bit slower than she'd liked? Things were going extremely well.
At that point the feeling of being watched returned to the former girl.
"Do we have a fan in this class we never noticed before?"
Her eyes darted about the classroom, but no one seemed to be focused on her this time. Everyone was either looking at the board or at some other distraction.
"Why do I have this feeling then?"
She tried to focus on the board herself but couldn't shake the emotion. She looked around a second time and once again did not notice anyone staring at her... no one in the classroom itself at least. Glancing out the window Jun saw a large white cat standing on the windowsill looking directly at her.
"A cat? Really?" She made eye contact with the animal. It instantly leaped from the windowsill and ran away.
"That was odd."
For the rest of the class Jun kept looking back and forth between the board and her phone, hoping to catch a response from Matt that never came. All the time she still retained the feeling of being observed, but she couldn't find anyone watching her, even the cat.
When the last bell rang Jun decided to see an old friend. She did not walk to the exit, or to her new locker, but to Monoe's. Yolie's sister was finishing up there as she arrived.
"Hey" the switched one said.
Monoe looked over at her and almost jumped back in shock.
"Ma.. Matt!" She stuttered. "Um, hi there."
Jun's best friend had been almost as much of a fan of the Teenage Wolves as she had been. Unlike the newlywed, however, she had never had the privilege of actually talking with a band member before. Jun had decided to fix that for her.
"What's up?" she asked.
They talked about several things as they left the school. It had started about the minutia of the day and of their lives. There were several things Monoe wanted to know about Matt, and her friend was happy to reveal them for her. She didn't have much new to offer this early in her marriage, but if nothing else Monoe seemed happy to hear old news confirmed fist hand. Of course, it was not long before the discussion turned to band matters.
"So, um, do you know when the next concert is?" She asked.
"Not yet." Jun said truthfully. "When we decide that you will be the first to know, however."
"Really?" her friend asked. "Why would you do that for me?"
Jun looked around in mock secrecy.
"You didn't hear it from me," she began "but I think Akira might have a bit of a crush on you."
Monoe gasped. In the same position Jun had placed the picture of Matt in her old locker, her friend had placed a picture of his band mate Akira in hers.
"Wha… why do you say that?" she asked.
"He's been talking quite a bit about you lately, about our mixer's sister anyway. I doubt he means Chizaru."
It was a complete lie. If Akira had said anything of the sort Jun would have no way to know about it. She wanted her friend to believe it, though.
"I think if you make a move you've got a good chance of scoring." Jun continued. "I saw how you looked at him that time you came to pick up Yolie. It looks to me like your feelings are mutual."
"Cou… could it really be?" Monoe almost whimpered.
"It is." her friend said. "Like I said, though, you didn't hear it from me. We can be a bit… shy at the Teenage Wolves. He might need a bit of nudging, but I'm confident he'll come around to you if you stay the course. I'll push for you on my end."
"I.. don't know what to say… I guess, thank you?"
"You're very welcome."
Jun did intend to put in the proverbial good word for her friend with her new bandmate. She was confident with two sources of nudging she could set Monoe up with him fairly easily. If that didn't work, there was always the nuclear option. If she had needed to, she could always arrange another marriage.
"Of course, I have a higher priority on that front." She thought. "Don't worry Matt. I'll make your dream come true!"
At that point they arrived at Monoe's apartment complex.
"Thanks for taking me here, Matt." She said. "And for everything. I still don't know how to thank you."
"You already did." Jun replied. "Don't worry about it."
They parted ways after that, Jun heading back to her own new home. She felt good about how that went.
As she progressed, however, the feeling of being watched returned. She looked behind her. There is was again, that same white cat.
"Are you following me?" She asked it.
The cat seemed to look around. Following its gaze, Jun saw several other people on the street.
Once again, the cat bolted from her.
This is really weird…
She continued home. She could feel the animal watching her as she did, but she could not locate it.
"Hey dad, I'm home!' She said finally reaching her new apartment.
"Hey Matt." Mr Ishaida said returning the greeting. They exchanged some small talk of their own and then Jun went up to her new room.
Stepping in the door Jun was greeted by the full body mirror she had gotten for the room. It was like the locker mirror, only a million times better. She stared at herself for several moments.
Eventually her stare was interrupted by a tapping coming from her window. The newlywed looked over and saw… that cat there again.
"What do you want from me!?" She yelled.
She expected the cat to run away like it always did, but what it did instead was the most shocking thing she could have imagined.
"I need your help." The cat replied.
Jun felt her face contort in horror.
"Wha… you can talk!"
"Yeah, I can talk." It responded. "Could you let me in?"
She was going insane. That had to be what was happening.
"You can't talk you're a cat!" Was all she managed to say.
"I'm not a cat, not technically" The apparently not cat replied. "I'm a digimon."
"Di.. digimon?"
Davis had told her about those creatures. If she had not seen them herself four years ago she would never have believed they existed. A part of her still didn't. Her captivity under them had been years back and she'd been trying to think of it as little as possible, almost to forget it. Now she was getting a grim reminder.
"Go away!" She yelled. "You won't take me again. I... I'll fight you!"
Jun almost felt like she could fight the beast now. The difference in strength between her new body and her old was the fourth good thing she noticed about it. She didn't think she really would, however. Almost every part of her mind was screaming "Run!"
"I don't want to fight you." The monster said. "I need your help. Davis needs your help!"
"Da.. Davis?" Jun stuttered "What are you doing with him!?"
Knowing the creature had taken Davis, her mind shifted from flight to fight. She would engage it now. The new boy stepped toward the window.
"I'm trying to save him!" It interjected. "He disappeared. I don't know how but he just did, literally, right in front of my eyes."
Jun stopped her advance. "What are you talking about?" She demanded. "Who are you?"
"My name is Veemon." The monster said. "Davis said he told you about me. I'm his partner. I… I need help. Please, help me save him!"
"You're lying!" Jun spat. "Davis said his partner was a blue dragon."
"That's me… or at least it was me. I used the rings with him. This is my new body. It's called "Gatomon" by the way; she was Kari's partner."
The former dragon sighed.
"Look Jun, you were the only one I could find at the high school. I need your help. Davis needs your help. You have to trust me."
Could she do that? Jun stared at the creature for several moments. Was what it said true? If it was, the former girl knew she had to trust the beast, whether she wanted to or not. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Matt's phone. She dialed Kari's number… no response.
"Couldn't he just be away from his phone now?" part of her asked. It seemed unlikely given how much he'd wanted one in his old body… Either way it didn't matter. Jun did not think she could take the chance.
She stepped up to the window and opened it.
"Tell me what happened."
The possessed cat went on to tell her about its partner waking up screaming in the nights before now and recanted descriptions of some horrible tentacled monster abducting her brother in his dreams. It told her about watching Davis literally vanish into thin air, and about failed attempts to get his friends to help him in a meaningful way.
"They're convinced it's a digimon, but I know it isn't" It said. "Davis knew it wasn't."
Jun would not have been surprised if this thing that had taken him truly were a digimon, despite these assertions to the contrary. She kind of suspected it in fact. She didn't let that on, though.
"Please, you have to help me." The other digimon repeated. "I don't know where else to go. Davis told me you were really smart. Surely you have an idea!"
Jun thought about it.
"I don't know much about you digimon, let alone even weirder monsters." She finally said. "I do know someone who does, though. He might be able to help."
"That's wonderful!" Veemon exclaimed. "Who is that?"
"Ken Ichijochi." Jun answered.
Gatomon's borrowed face quickly changed expression from excitement to terror.
"Bu… but he's the Digimon Emperor!" It whimpered. "He enslaves digimon! We... we can't go to him."
"We don't have any other choice." The former girl said in counter. "I don't know anyone else who can help."
In her mind she added "Not to mention, if he really does dominate you monsters, he's the best one to help anyway." She knew better than to say that out loud too.
"Is this really what this is coming to?" Veemon whined. "Alright, if there's really no other option, I'll do it. I'll go with you when we see Ken. Can I just ask for one thing?"
"We?" The human thought.
"What would that be?"
"Can I hide in your bookbag while you talk to him?" It asked. "I… I don't want him to enslave me."
"Absolutely not!" Jun yelled in reply. "What makes you think I'm even taking you to begin with?"
"Look, I'm trying to save Davis as much as you are." It answered. "If you can't appreciate that, at least acknowledge you need my help too. You say you can fight me, but what are you going to do if you have to fight against that giant monster Davis described?"
That… was a better argument than she had been expecting. The former girl glanced at that the bookbag, then back at Veemon. The thought of carrying the monster on her back horrified her, but more she thought about it, far more did the abomination it had described.
She opened up the bag. "Get in."
The possessed cat complied. Jun started to seal it up, but before she finished, it decided to add another demand.
"One more thing, can I borrow that ring on your finger?"
"Excuse me!" the newlywed yelled back. "I'm not giving you my wedding ring, never!"
Jun had not taken off the ring since she arrived in this body, not even to bathe.
"I need it to fight." The creature said. "If I don't have a ring like that on my tail I fight… at a much weaker level: better than a real cat, probably better than you can, but still not enough. With that ring I'll be many times stronger."
"That's insane!" Jun countered. "I'm not giving you my ring. Can't you just use some ring pop from a vending machine?"
"No, I tried that." The monster answered. "It has to be a ring like that, a switching ring. It doesn't work otherwise."
"I'm still not giving it you. You'll have to fight without it."
"That thing will crush us if I do." The thing that resembled a cat argued. "I've never been able to beat anything of its level without armor digivolving. If we meet that thing before we run into Davis it is going to flatten us unless I'm at my fullest. Having that ring is the same as being digivolved for me."
Jun did not understand half of what she just heard.
"Please," Veemon continued "I'll give it back, I just need it for this encounter. Don't do it for me; do it for your brother."
Jun sighed. She looked at the ring on her finger and though of Matt. Then she thought of Davis.
"Let Ken handle it." Part of her said. "He can just mind control the digimon and we'll be on our way without this thing's help."
Another part of her countered "But what if he's right and it's not really a digimon?"
The two of them stood silently for several seconds.
"All right," Jun finally said sliding off the ring. She slid it on Veemon's tail. "you will return it to me the second we find Davis."
It nodded in agreement. "Thanks"
Jun did not reply as she closed the bag. She left for Tamashi as fast as she could...
Arriving at Ken's apartment she banged on the door.
"Ken open up! I need to see you now!" She yelled.
The door opened, revealing the young emperor.
"I take it you're Jun or Davis." he answered "Which one?"
"I'm Jun," she replied. "I need your help!"
"Do you want another pair of rings? I can get you one for some intelligence, as we agreed."
"I actually do want another set, but that's not why I'm here. Davis disappeared! I need you to help me find him."
"Why should I do that?" Ken asked. "Are you offering me intelligence for my help there instead?"
"Why should you do that? You'd better do it! You're not getting any intelligence if your spy is gone."
"That is a good counter" the emperor replied. "Not quite good enough, though. I still don't have any evidence besides your word I'll actually get anything out of him."
Jun was about to explode on him, but he continued before that happened.
"How about this compromise: buy two rings, get help for free. I'll give you the rings and help your brother, but I want some intel now as an ante."
Jun did not bother thinking up a lie. She didn't think she understood the digidestined or their mission well enough to make a convincing untruth, and time was off the essence.
"The other digidestined are looking for off shore oil rigs to go to in the digital world." She remembered that from Veemon's explanation. "They'll be searching one for Davis."
She could feel the cat beast writhing in her bookbag as she said that.
Ken seemed not to notice. "That works." He said smiling. Stepping aside he continued, "Come on in and tell me what happened. I'll see what I can do to help. My parents are not home as of now, so they will not bother us."
Jun went inside. She told her host about the dreams Davis had been having.
"I don't know if that thing is a digimon or not, but he swears it isn't." she went on. "Whatever it was, Veemon is convinced it took Davis to its world. Do you have any idea what it is?"
"As a matter of fact, I do." Ken answered. "If I am interpreting this description correctly, the thing that took you brother is indeed not a digimon… not exactly."
"Not exactly? What does that mean?"
"It is like unto a digimon." Her host explained. "Like enough to be influenced by my dark spiral but, it seems, not quite fully. Your brother was correct, the monster he describes does not reside in the digital world, though, to a certain extent, it does."
"That doesn't make sense." Jun said. "Can you explain it better?"
Ken obliged her. "This other world, it would not be to the Digital World what Mars is to Venus. It would be what the moon is to the Earth, separate from the Digital World, but still a part of it, in its own way. It's not a double world like, say, Pluto and Charon; their relationship is too unequal for that, but it is there. The two share the same orbit, so to speak, apart from each other but inexorably linked in ways few are."
That… kind of made sense…
"That's enough technobabble." Jun finally said. "Can you help him there?"
"I believe I can." Her host replied. "Follow me." He led her to his computer and pulled... apparently a black digivice out of his pocket and held it up to the screen. An image Jun did not recognize appeared on it.
"Do you know what this is?" He asked.
Jun shook her head.
"This is a portal to the Digital World. It is what I use to go there. All you need to use it is your digivice."
"I don't have a digivice," the former girl replied.
"You do actually." He pointed at her side. "It's right there hanging off your backpack."
Jun grabbed at where Ken was pointing. She felt in her hands the strange decoration that had been hanging in a sling from Matt's bookbag.
"That's a digivice?" She asked. "Davis showed me his, and it didn't look like that at all."
"Matt's brand of digivice is an older model from what we younger kids have." The emperor replied. "The newer model has some extra features, most relevantly the ability to open portals rather than having to wait on them to open naturally. My dark digivice takes this ability a step further. It can open portals not only to the digital world, but also this other world connected to it, to the Dark Ocean. That is where you will find your brother."
He held his digivice to the computer screen again. "Dark port open!" He yelled.
The image that filled the screen was a very good match for the secondhand description of her brother's dream: the beach of a black ocean with a black sky. It seemed at first glance like a typical nighttime seascape, but, somehow, it was eerie in way she had never quite known.
"Davis should be just beyond this portal." Ken said. "Just hold your digivice up to the screen to use it."
"Are you coming with me?" The former girl asked.
"I could, but I won't." Ken said. "I will be exploiting that intelligence you gave me at the door while you go."
"That's not very helpful of you." Jun complained.
"If what you're saying is true and the denizens of this world are beyond my control, I won't be of much help anyway." He responded. "Look on the bright side! I'll be sure to have your new rings ready when you get back."
"You'd better." Jun said. She took Matt's digivice from the sling and held it to the computer. She had more complaints to make to her host, but she never got the chance to make them. Before she could speak again she found herself being pulled into the computer screen. It was like nothing she ever experienced. Her body stretched and contorted it's way into the portal and then she was in transit in her spaghettified state. See could not see anything inside the portal. It was completely dark. It was also the coldest she'd ever remembered it feeling. She screamed but no sound left her mouth.
Then it was over. She found herself on the shore of the same black ocean she had seen on the screen. It was still dark and cold but seemingly not as much so. If nothing else her body was back the way it should be.
"I'm still not looking forward to the return trip" She thought. "Then again I don't know how long I want to stay in this place either."
She turned around. Behind her was a hill with what looked like an extremely old tv, maybe a Farnsworth model, sticking out of it. Jun figured that was where she had emerged from. Looking up she saw the hill reach up to a plateau. In the distance she could see... was that a lighthouse with black light?
Before she could make sense of it a call came from her bookbag.
"Um, we are there now, right? No emperors around to make me their slave?"
She took of her bookbag and released Veemon from it. "Yeah." Was all she said.
Seeing the monster again was less than pleasant. It was nice to have it off of her back again, though.
There was only one way to search. They marched up the hill and to the plateau on top. There they saw the cliff edge on the other side of the plateau curving around, the strange lighthouse at the far end of the cliff.
"Is that black light?" The possessed cat asked.
"That is what it looks like." She said. "Good to think it least knows that is abnormal" she thought.
As if to defy her the digimon began walking toward it.
"Where are you going?" Jun yelled. "We're looking for Davis."
"I know" Veemon replied "But right now our options are 'Climb down a cliff or investigate an ominous thing while looking for a kidnapper.' I think the latter makes more sense, don't you?"
It had her there. She followed the monster up to the strange light house.
As they approached the building, however, the sound of an explosion came from over the cliff. Turing that way Jun saw the scariest thing she had seen in four years. A serpentine dragon was flying inland from the sea, and was shooting its breath the cliff wall.
As if to escape its fire, a small troop of digimon came out from a cave in the wall, and among them was… Davis! The dragon shot another fireball at them that they barely dodged.
"You!" Jun yelled, turning back to Veemon. "You said you could fight. Kill that thing!"
The cat nodded, but instead of turning to engage the dragon it keep running toward the light house.
"What are you doing?"
It did not respond to her. It only shouted "Lightning Paw!" as it ran into the building.
It looked as if the lighthouse dissolved when Veemon's paw hit it, revealing a strange black tower formally hidden within it.
"I knew it!" Veemon said. He then repeated "Lightning Paw!" This time the new building shattered, leaving nothing behind.
"Why are you not..." Jun began to chastise the beast for its distraction, but before she could finish doing so, the sky opened up and the pink light came from the opening, filling the area. The last thing she saw before the light blinded her to everything else was her brother looking up toward the opening, toward the source of the strange light.
Davis
Davis was standing in the middle of a desert. Above him the sun took up most of the sky. It was the hottest and brightest he ever remembered, but somehow, he was comfortable in it. He looked up, directly into the sun, and there was no pain in his eyes as he did.
Floating high above him, seemingly within the sun itself, there was a young angel. It looked back at the digidestined.
"Who are you?" He asked.
Then the light faded and Davis was back in the Dark Ocean surrounded by the Scubamon he had hid with. There was still an angel above him, though not the boy he had seen in the sun, but a woman he had never met before. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.
The former boy's attention was drawn to Airdramon's roar. Looking over toward it he saw the dragon slave sharing the sky with the beautiful angel. It did not for long, however.
"Heaven's Charm!" She said, and an arc of pink light shot from her hands and once it hit the dragon disintegrated.
"I... thank you!" He yelled up at his savior. "Who are you?"
She yelled back. "It's me, Veemon!"
"Veemon!?" He repeated. "Looking good!"
His partner smiled. "I know right."
TK had told him about "Angewomon" not long before he had gotten the rings. Back then the goggleboy was upset Kari had so similar a potential partner to his rival's Angemon. After he became Kari he began to get upset about his own potential partner being so similar to TK's. Now... now that he was seeing her like this in his hour of need...
"She's majestic." He thought.
"You're okay right?" another voice came "The monsters didn't hurt you, did they?"
The former gogglehead looked down a bit and saw Matt's old body standing on the top of the cliff.
"Jun?" He continued. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your hide, that's what!" She responded. "Now get up here so we can leave this horrible place!"
"Um, that's kind of a problem." the former boy did not think he could scale that cliff in his old body, let alone his new one.
"Don't worry," Veemon said happily "I'll give you a lift." He floated down to the beach and extended a hand.
"One thing real quick," Davis said. He pointed to the Scubamon. "Could you break those dark spirals?"
"Of course!" Beams of pink light shot out again and struck the dark spirals, shattering them to pieces.
"It's over now guys, you're fr-" before he could finish the word the "Scubamon" began to transform. No longer were they digimon, but monsters like he had seen in his hallucination. He could hear Jun screaming from atop the cliff.
"You have driven the forces of the digimon emperor from out domain, sweet Kari," one of them... said? It did not move its mouth; it no longer had a mouth in fact, and the sound did not seem to come directly from it. "Now you can marry our master and become our queen."
"Wha... what?" Davis stuttered.
The creature grabbed her by the arm "Our master wishes to be one with you." It continued. "Come with us, and accept him."
"Um, no thank you." The new girl answered.
"Our master will not be denied."
He heard a crash behind him.
Another of Veemon's beams struck the outstretched arm. It made no indication it was in pain, but it released the former boy and drew back. The troop began retreating, walking backwards into the ocean.
"We thought you would love to be our queen," the speaker said again. "but it looks like we were wrong. Beware child; our master knows your power too. He will come for you again."
Before he could find his wits the monsters were gone, lost beneath the sea.
He turned around toward Veemon.
"Partner... thank you." It was all he could say.
Facing that direction he saw Jun limping toward him.
"Davis!" She yelled. "Please tell me you're alright! What did they do to you!?"
"Nothing," her brother replied. "What happened to you?" It was not hard to see that his sister was in pain as she carried one arm in the other and dragged the matching leg behind her as she walked.
"I... I'm okay, really. I think the sand broke my fall." She turned to the angel. "Thank you for saving him from those things. Remind me not to jump off a cliff when you're here next time."
"Jump off a cliff?" Davis stuttered. He looked up and saw the where she had been standing before... "You jumped down here, why?"
"I couldn't let, those digimon take you."
"Those weren't digimon, you know." Veemon said, beating his partner to a response.
Jun turned toward him again, seemingly about to make some slide comeback, but she stopped herself, the words crumbling in her mouth.
"That is what Ken said, isn't it." She sighed. "I... I owe you an apology. You saved my brother! I shouldn't have distrusted you like I did. You... you aren't like those things from 4 years ago. You're not like any of them."
Somehow he did not look particularly impressed by that.
"Thank you for doing that for me." Davis said. He was impressed, even if his partner was not. "I... I'm sorry to say I would not have expected that of you."
"I had to do it, you're still my little brother, right?" She responded. "Besides, I'm a guy now. I'm supposed to save the distressed damsel, aren't I? It's like the prince in the stories"
Davis was not 100% certain she was serious about that, but he could see no indications that she wasn't.
"Those sound like they're, um," How had Izzy said it? "mutually exclusive, being my sibling and a prince." He said.
"Yeah, they are." Jun replied. "As much as I feel like a prince though you still want to be my sibling."
"I'm not sure what I want anymore." Davis answered. "I still feel like your sibling, but I suppose I'm not anymore... and as much as I hate it, I do feel like a damsel."
It was hard to deny that was what he was at this point.
He laughed unsure if it was bitter or genuine.
"Are you really gonna do it?" part of him asked... He was.
"You know, in those stories the damsel marries the prince after he saves her. I won't go that far, but..." the words almost crumbled in his mouth too, but he managed to spit them out "but I will go on that date you wanted."
"Wha.. really?" She said. "Thank you so much Davis! This is going to be awesome!"
He stopped her before she could continue "One date." he emphasized. "That's all I'm committing to."
That was what he told both Jun and the part of him still objecting.
"I need to support my prince, don't I?" He thought. That part of him began to yield to that, but another part of him voiced its own objection.
"But you're a guy!" it said. "You should be the prince."
"I will be when I have that body." He countered. That seemed to silence it.
"One date is fine. Matt is my husband, not you." The current prince said. "I wouldn't want to take things to seriously with you."
That was comforting.
"Though I probably will want more if he doesn't come around soon."
And that wasn't.
"Maybe." Was all the damsel said in reply. "I'm still only committing to one now."
"Fair enough"
"Um, guys," Veemon interjected. "We might not want to linger in this world to long. Can we go back to the gate."
Neither of the humans could disagree.
The digimon lifted them in his arms a flew them over the cliff and back down its other side, then then the humans down on the beach. A very old tv was sticking out of the hillside.
"Is that a digiport?" Davis asked. "I thought we weren't in the digital world."
"We aren't" Jun answered. "Apparently this place is... sort of like the digital world's moon."
"If that's true then it must be the dark side of the moon."
"Bah," she replied. "the moon doesn't have a 'dark side' just one that's farther away."
"With the digital world, you never know."
"Whatever," the prince replied. "Can we just leave it?"
The damsel did not object. He reached for his digivice, and… crap…
Jun pulled out Matt's digivice. "What are you waiting for, let's go?"
"Umm… we may have a problem. I… think my digivice is in my bookbag… which is back on Earth."
"What?"
"I… don't think I can use that portal."
To be thwarted by something so simple…
"This is really not good."
"What about that portal?" Veemon asked, pointing up.
The humans looked up. The opening that had formed in the sky when the control spire was destroyed was still there.
"What are you talking about?" Jun asked. "That's just a big pink light."
"No," the angel said. "Look harder."
Davis stared into the light, sure enough, he saw in it the beach by the school."
"Ow!" Jun yelled. She covered her eyes and looked away.
"Looks good to me, partner." the former gogglehead said. "Let's go."
Veemon grabbed both of them and started flying up toward the portal.
"What are you doing!?" Jun screamed. Their carrier ignored her.
As they passed though the opening, the light enveloped everything they could see. I felt warm and pleasant.
Then the light faded, and they were flying over the sea, a real blue sea. Tokyo was easily visible on the shore. Veemon landed there, on a secluded hill, and let them down.
"That… that burned! That was horrible!" Jun whined. "It was as bad as the trip there!"
"Really?" Veemon asked. "The trip there was horrible, but that felt kind of nice."
"Nice! Are you insane? It was like walking through fire!"
She did not look like she had walked though fire.
"It felt nice to me too." Davis said. "I don't know about the trip there… One second I was here then I was in the Dark Ocean… though I guess I didn't travel though a portal then at all."
"You guys are freaks!" She bawked. "Whatever! Just give me back my wedding ring!"
Veemon nodded, and in a second he was back to his Gatomon form. He held his tail up, and Jun pulled off… her blue gemmed ring? She slid it back on her finger eagerly.
Davis was visibly confused by that exchange.
"I'll explain it later." Jun said, seeing that. She looked around a bit, seemingly gathering her bearings, then began walking off.
"Where are you going?" Davis asked.
"Back to Ken's to get our rings." The prince replied. "We'll need them for out date."
"Back to Ken's?"
"I..." Veemon began "I'll go ahead an explain it now."
TK:
"Kari!" TK shouted.
"Kari!" Patamon repeated. "Where are you!?"
Noone else was on the beach to answer them.
Try as they might, the digidestined had not been able to open a digiport on their own, but somehow, right when they were staring to talk about giving up, a portal opened for them. Tentomon was able to confirm it lead to an area with an off-shore oil rig. He was also able to confirm the area was under the control of the Digimon Emperor. It seemed very convenient. Cody had suggested it might be a trap and Yolie agreed. Davis said that didn't matter; they'd freed conquered areas many times before, and this time they had to do it to rescue Kari. It was hard to argue with, yet somehow TK had wanted to find a reason to argue with it. Some part of him didn't want to take the risk… not for her. The thought of that disgusted him.
"She's my friend." He told himself. "I have to take the risk. She'd do it for me, right?"
And yet, after what had happened this past week, TK almost got the impression she wouldn't. It was blasphemous. He knew her better than that, but somehow, he couldn't shake the thought. He had seen a side to his friend he had never known was there, a violent vengeful side that seemed to hate him. Seeing it had made the assaulted boy more disappointed, more betrayed than he ever remembered feeling, almost to the point of depression.
"Why is this bothering me so much?" He asked himself, not for the first time; he had endured similar behavior before without issue. Nothing Kari had done recently would be out of character for Davis, and he had blown off his insults more than once. Heck, he'd endured far worse. Human meanness seemed pretty insignificant thinking back to the digimon that had straight-up tried to kill him. Even that hadn't bothered him... not to this extent at least. Attacks against Patamon had been far, far harder to handle.
"And yet..."
It didn't matter. Like it or not Kari was still his friend and a member of the digidestined. He owned it to her and to the digital world. Bad as this week was, he couldn't let it ruin years of friendship. He had to risk his life to save her, like he would for any member of the team, even Davis. Intellectually he new even his rival would do that for him.
And nowadays it was seeming easier and easier to return the favor.
Before he could could ponder that further however, the ground gave way beneath him.
"TK!" Patamon cried out.
The fall was light, sand seeming to break the impact. Looking around, the Christian found himself at the bottom of a sink hole, about two or three of his heights deep.
"Are you alright?" His partner called.
"I'm fine." He responded. He tried to climb up but sandy wall fell down under his weight.
"Hang on! I'll go get help." Patamon said flying away. The digimon had tried to carry him in flight before 4 years ago, and it hadn't worked then. Trying it now would have been idiotic.
TK sighed and sat down. He'd have to wait for his partner's return. Unable to do much else, his thoughts returned to the situation with Kari.
"This should not bother me so much." He thought once again.
It was the betrayal of it, he decided after some reflection. He expected to clash with Davis. Of course doing the same with his life-long friend would have a greater impact.
"TK!" a familiar voice called out... Davis's in fact.
"Speak of the devil." TK thought. "Hey!" He called out himself.
The gogglehead's face peered over the edge of the hole. "You okay down there?" He asked.
"I'm fine," his rival answered. "Can you help me up?"
Veemon threw a vine into the hole. "Grab this!" He said.
TK did, and with the digimon's help he was quickly on the surface again.
"Thank you very much."
"You're welcome."
Davis pulled a water bottle out of his back pack and held it out toward him. "You want some?" He asked.
"I've got my own, thank you though."
He really meant it. Helping him out of the hole was a necessary part of their digidestined duties. That offer was a step beyond, and one the gogglehead had never taken for him before.
While he had brought water, the growl of his stomach quickly reminded him he had not brought food. Usually the digidestined went to the digital world knowing they had to be home by dinner time anyway, to keep the new kids' parents in the dark about where they went. The extended search for Kari had not been an exception that TK had prepared for.
The leader seemed to hear the growl and started taking bento out of his bag as well.
"Sounds like you didn't bring food, though." He said. "I brought some extra you can have if you want. Ga... erm, Veemon and I also found some fruit while we were looking for that vine we used to get you out. He says it's safe to eat."
That was several steps beyond what Davis normally did.
"That I will have to accept," TK said, impressed. "That... did you do that before? It's really thoughtful."
"I didn't" he responded. "It just had the idea recently. I figured it would make me a better leader if I were prepared for emergencies. I don't think I can carry enough for everyone, but for just the four of us, this should be fine."
"That sounds good to me." The blonde answered. He bit into one of the fruits. "Tastes good too!"
The boys and their digimon sat down their and ate. As they ate TK began to appreciate his leader in ways he never had before. The sun began to set over the sea and as the boy took it all in, it almost felt... romantic.
"Wait... what?"
He looked over at Davis. He could not deny it. That is absolutely what this felt like. He was...
"Oh God."
That atmosphere instantly changed from one of romance to one of horror.
"You alright TK?" The source of his horror asked.
The Christian did not know how to answer. In a strange sort of way, the unfortunate distraction that came then was welcome.
"BOOOOOM!"
The explosion shook the ground beneath them. Turning toward its sound the boys saw a plume of smoke rising up from the inland jungle.
"That can not be good." The gogglehead stated. TK could not disagree. They and their partners began rushing toward the smoke. The blonde's adrenaline form earlier found new purpose.
They were not long into the jungle when they saw, through a hole in the canopy, a Halsemon-mounted Yolie race above them. A pair of Airdramon gave chase behind her.
"We have to help her." TK yelled. His partner nodded in agreement and began flying up toward the hole.
"Digiarmor ener-" The call to digivolution was interrupted by another cry from above the trees. "Poison Breath!"
Patamon fell from the sky, revealing a Bakemon who had seemingly lagged behind the earlier Airdramon.
"Patamon!" TK cried out, running to catch his partner as the Bakemon descended down on them through the hole.
"Digiarmor Energize!" This time it was Davis who called his partner to digivolution, and this time the call was not interrupted.
"Veemon armor digivolve to, Flamedramon the Fire of Courage!"
In a fiery burst the armor digimon leaped up at their attacker.
"Fire Rocket!"
He struck the ghost's dark ring, shattering it. The Bakemon was blown back and crashed into the ground, unconscious.
"I... thanks again Davis." It was the second time today the leader had saved him.
"Don't mention it." He replied. "We need to meet up with Yolie and Cody now! They were right; it was a trap, and we fell for it!"
Flamedramon pointed off in the direction Yolie and flown.
"They went that way." He said. "We need to go after them."
His partner nodded and then the dragon took off in that direction. The humans followed after him as quickly as they could, TK holding the injured Patamon in his arms.
"Gold Rush!"
Before long they came unto a clearing, in it Digmon was fighting a trio of Bakemon, Cody hiding behind him.
"Fire Rocket!"
Flamedramon's attack once more destroyed a dark ring. With two armor digimon on either side of them, the other slaves were quickly overtaken as well, their dark rings shattered.
"Cody, are you alright?" Davis pleaded.
"I... I'm fine, but we need to get out of here now!"
"Couldn't agree more."
"I'm afraid I can't allow that." A feminine voice said.
The boys turned in the direction of the sound, and standing there, in the direction of the portal, was a fox-like digimon with a dark spiral.
"Is that an ultimate?" TK asked.
"Yes it is." Patamon answered "Doumon."
"That is my name." The kistune replied. "As I said, you are not allowed to leave this area. The Digimon Emperor forbids it."
"We're leaving and you can't stop us!" Flamedramon spat back. "Fire Rocket!"
"Talisman Spell!"
A force field formed around Doumon, the fire attack disappearing it touched the barrier.
"Rock Cracking!" Digmon yelled. He charged the barrier and tried to drill away, but the drills screeched to a sparking halt against it, unable to do damage.
"You'll have to do better than that."
"Try it together." Davis lead. Digmon stepped back and attacked at the same time as Flamedramon.
"Gold Rush!" "Fire Rocket!"
"We shall aid you." One of the newly freed Bakemon said. Three cries of "Poison Breath" came out from the ghosts, along with three bursts of noxious gas. They hit the barrier at the same time as the other attacks and exploded.
"Yes! That has to have her." TK boomed.
When the smoke cleared however the barrier was still firmly in place, the villain unharmed behind it.
"How quaint" She said.
"No way!" Cody interjected.
"Allow me to show you a real attack." Doumon said. "Thousand Spells!"
Talismans shot out from the fox's body and exploded as they stuck the digimon before her. In the one attack the Bakemon fell to the ground and the partner digimon regressed to their Rookie forms.
"Armadillomon!" Cody cried out. He and Davis ran to pick up their partners.
"All of you are coming with me." Doumon continued. "I'm sure you can see by now resistance is futile."
"Never!" One of the ghosts replied. "I would sooner die than be a slave again."
"That can be arranged." The fox said. "Talisman of Shadow!"
She drew a large brush and threw it at the Bakemon, impaling him with it. The former slave disintegrated instantly.
"As I said, all of you are coming with me."
"Tempest wing!"
A tornado formed around the force field. The group looked up and flying toward them was Yolie on Halsemon. One of the Airdramon was still trailing her, but in her arms was… a TV?
"Digiport open!" She yelled, and disappeared into the screen along with her partner. The TV kept its momentum and landed in front of them.
"Ingenious!" Cody exclaimed. "We couldn't get to the digiport, so Yolie brought it to us!"
With Halsemon gone, the tornado he created disappeared, revealing an unharmed Doumon beneath it. "I'm getting annoyed now." She said. The airdramon that had been chasing Yolie was now right above her.
The Bakemon rose up into the air. "Go quickly!" One of them said. "Go and defy the emperor another day. We shall cover you."
The humans did not need to be told twice. Davis, Cody and their partners were through the gate almost before TK could process the situation.
"Poison Breath!"
"Thousand Spells!"
The last thing TK saw before passing through the gate himself was the remaining ghosts disintegrating as well.
Then he was back in the computer lab, the new kids and their now in-training digimon gasping for breath before him. He looked back at the computer screen; the portal was closed, presumptively because the TV had been destroyed along with the Bakemon.
"Tha… that was horrifying." Cody whimpered.
The blonde could not disagree with him. It horrified him too, and, unlike the new digidestined, he had seen digimon die before. He knew the impression it must have on the young boy. Seeing Myotismon and the Dark Masters do that to friends of his had not boded well four years ago.
He looked over at Upamon. "At least his partner is safe." He thought.
Yolie turned toward Davis. "All of this is your fault." She growled. "We knew this was a trap and you walked us into it anyway. Those digimon died because of you!" The leader looked down in shame, unable to look her in the eye.
"It's okay." TK said defending him. "We had to do it to save Kari. Besides, those Bakemon are free now. They'll be reborn at Primary Village. The emperor can't hurt them anymore."
"What if the emperor takes Primary Village too?" Cody asked. "Can we stop him if we encounter that… fox again?"
"There's nothing fundamentally different about beating that Doumon than beating Metal Greymon; we just need new tactics to deal with the barrier." TK responded. "Big as the digital world is we might not encounter her again anyway."
"It would also really help if Kari were here." Yolie said.
None of them could deny it. She was the one who had defeated Metal Greymon, after-all.
Awkward silence followed for several moments. It was broken by a beeping from their D-Terminals. Another digidestined was trying to contact them. The blonde pulled his out and saw an e-mail… from Kari?
"Hey guys, don't worry about me. I escaped from the bad guys. Am heading home now."
Looking up, TK saw the others were reading that same e-mail.
Davis burst out laughing.
"Stop that!" Yolie shouted. "This isn't funny."
Somehow it was.
TK began laughing too.