As Izzy, Teddie, and I fought against the Shadows in the TV World, Matt and Sora, who were watching everything unfold from the Real World, looked at the TV, flabbergasted.
"Matt, did you see that," Sora asked.
"I did," Matt replied.
"See what," TK asked.
"The TV," Sora explained. "The Midnight Channel was on just a moment ago."
"But it's not even midnight," Kari said.
"Sora's telling the truth," Matt continued. "It showed Tai and everyone confronting with the Fake Mimi. You guys didn't see it?"
"No, we didn't," TK replied.
"We were wondering why you were staring at the TV so intently all of a sudden," Kari added.
"Odd," Sora said. "We can see it, but TK and Kari can't. What does this mean? Does it come on whenever something is happening in the TV World while the screen is blank?"
"And are there others who might be able to see the same thing we did when we were facing our other selves," Matt questioned.
"If that's true I'd be so embarrassed about what my other self did on TV," Sora replied.
"And I said all those terrible things about everyone," Matt replied.
Kari and TK looked at each other with confusion as Matt and Sora mumbled to themselves.
Episode 12
Meanwhile, Mimi continued to run around the toy store, desperately looking for Palmon. She opened a couple of doors hoping to find Palmon on the other side. Instead, all she found were memories she wanted to forget, such as her time at the castle with Gekomon and Otamamon, her despair when she lost the will to fight as a DigiDestined, and her anger when she tried to show the media that Digimon are nice creatures.
"See, no one understands you," a voice echoed throughout the toy store.
Mimi turned to where the voice was coming from, but did not see anything. She shook the voice out of her mind and continued to run. Finally, she entered a room that was filled with toys pinned all over the walls of the room. However, the dolls were pinned in a painful manner, as if begging someone to save them from their misery. In the middle of the room was a large open dollhouse filled with more toys, stuffed to the brim on each side. Front and center of the dollhouse was Shadow Mimi, who was idly playing with the toys on the floor around her.
"Why won't anyone listen to me," Shadow Mimi said. "All I ever wanted was do things my way, to have things done on my terms. Is that so much to ask? Is it wrong to be selfish every once in a while? Why are my actions looked at so negatively? I wish people would just listen to me and obey me rather than talk down on me like I'm some sort of kid."
"Listen, you're right," Mimi said, desperately. "You're absolutely right, okay? Everything you say about me is true. That's what you want to hear, right? I accept you. You're me, and I'm you. Now, give Palmon back to me, okay?"
"You're not being sincere."
"Huh?"
"Everyone knows you're a spoiled brat. That's why they treat you like a kid, like a little stupid kid. No one really cares about you, and you know it."
"Hey, that's…"
"When you want to take center stage, things go south. And when you aren't on the forefront, you get angry. When things don't go your way, you throw a tantrum. You want others to listen to you, but you won't listen to others. What are you trying to accomplish? How are any of your actions justified?"
"No, you're wrong. I just…."
"I'm wrong? Then let's look at it from another angle. How do you actually feel about your friends?"
"What are you trying to get at?"
"Tai is a good leader, but he can be a real pain when he gets all wishy-washy. Matt looks cool, but that's the only thing he's got going for him. Sora acts like she's my mom, but I wished she'd stop babying me like that. Izzy is computer smart, but is dumb in every other subject. I can care less about TK; he's never on my radar. And everyone treats Kari like a princess more than me, and it's so unfair. See, you don't see them as your friends, and you know they see you the same light: a self-centered child."
"That's not true. I…."
"But, Joe, Joe-senpai, he's different."
"What?"
"Whenever anything bad happens to be, Joe-senpai is the first and only person to reach out his hand and help me. He puts up with my selfishness and goes along with my changing whims. Joe is my prince, my knight in shining armor, my hero. He brings light and color into my world when everyone else tries to paint me in black and white. Surely, Joe-senpai will pick me up and rescue me from all the people who are unwilling to follow my lead. That why, I can just sit on my behind and do whatever I want without any repercussions."
"No, that's not…."
"But, in the end, even Joe-senpai left me behind. I came back to Japan to study in high school and be with everyone again, and what was one of the first things that I hear? That Joe-senpai has a girlfriend? How lame is that? Sure, a part of me thinks he's lying, because there's no way anyone can like someone as boring-looking as Joe-senpai. But, what if, just maybe, she really does exist?"
"Stop it!"
"Joe's girlfriend? Who is she!? I don't know her, and I don't care who she is! How dare she take the one thing that's most precious to me! I'll maul her, tear her apart, and take everything away from her. Then, Joe-senpai will be mine, all mine, just the way he should be! Without! Any! Blemishes!"
Shadow Mimi grabbed a doll that looked like Joe and ripped his head off right in front of Mimi, who gasped as the headless doll fell from Shadow Mimi's hands and bounced on the floor.
"Alright, we finally made it," I said, opening the door to the final room. "Now, where's Mimi?"
"Look, over there," Greymon said, pointing to the center of the room.
"She's confronting her other self," Teddie said. "We have to help her!"
"Mimi," Izzy said, running over to Mimi.
"I'm sorry, Tai; I'm sorry, Izzy, but I can't do it," Mimi muttered.
"Mimi, don't," I said, running towards her.
"Don't say it," Izzy shouted, trying to run faster.
"YOU'RE NOT ME!" Mimi screamed at her other self.
A distortion appeared behind Shadow Mimi. From it came a blue pot, of which a purple slime girl emerged from it. The slime girl began to merge itself with Shadow Mimi.
"Yes. Yes! Here it comes," Shadow Mimi said. "Now, I can finally be myself and do what I want!"
Shadow Mimi transformed into a beautiful humanoid lilac that had flowers for its spine, hands, and feet. Purple slime drenched most of its body and continuously dripped from its hands and feet.
"I am DarkLilamon, the darkness within your true inner self," it replied.
"Oh no, we're too late," Tai said to himself.
"Oh no," Sora said, watching the TV.
"This is why I said we needed to be there," Matt replied.
"What's going on in the TV World," Kari asked.
"Tai and the others are in danger," Matt explained. "We have to go help them."
Suddenly, TK's phone started vibrating. TK looked through his phone to read the message he received.
"What the heck is this," TK questioned.
"What is it, TK," Kari asked.
"A fog suddenly covered Tsukishima," TK said.
"What," Sora said, surprised.
Sora, Matt, and Kari quickly looked through their phones. While Matt, TK, and Kari were reading the news articles, Sora watched a video of a live feed of various reporters discussing this sudden weather phenomenon.
"We interrupt this program for a very special announcement," the news reporter said. "A sudden heavy fog has covered most of Tsukishima with the heaviest at the center of the Tsukishima Shopping District. It is advised that everyone near the area should stay indoors as much as possible until the fog clears as experts try to figure out the cause of this fog and how long it will last."
"But, how," Kari said. "It hasn't rained at all today, and it's not even midnight," Kari said. "The sun is still on the horizon."
"Do you think this has to do with what we saw on the Midnight Channel," Sora asked.
"It has to be," Matt replied.
"You said Tai and the others are in trouble, right," TK asked.
"Do they need our help," Kari asked.
"Don't worry; I'm sure they can overcome this," Sora said. "Matt, we have to go to Tsukishima."
"But the TV world," Matt stated.
"Trust in Tai and Izzy," Sora replied. "I'm sure they'll figure out a solution to all of this. We need to save the people who are caught in the fog right now. Isn't that why Tai and Izzy want us to stay out here, in case something like this happens?"
Matt pondered a bit before making his decision.
"Okay, TK, Kari, you two stay here and wait for Tai, Izzy, and Mimi to come back," Matt said. "Sora and I are heading over to Tsukishima."
"We're coming with you," TK said.
"We can be helpful, too," Kari replied.
"We need someone to tell Tai and the others what is happening in the Real World if we are unable to return by the time they come back," Matt replied.
"Don't worry; we'll be back as soon as possible," Sora said. "Come on, Matt; let's go."
Sora and Matt left the office as TK and Kari remained in the room in silence.
"So, this is what it feels like to be powerless," TK said.
"TK," Kari said.
Meanwhile, Mimi crumbled to the floor as DarkLilamon loomed over her.
"I want to go home," Mimi said. "I don't want to deal with this anymore."
"Beauty Slap," DarkLilamon said.
"Mimi," Izzy shouted.
DarkLilamon extended its grotesque hand and tried to slam it onto Mimi, but Kabuterimon flew in just in time to rescue her.
"I got you, Mimi, just hang on tight," Kabuterimon said.
"Lila Shower," DarkLilamon shouted.
DarkLilamon fired several beams of light from its hands at Kabuterimon, who dodged them whenever one was too close to him.
"Nova Blast," Greymon shouted.
Greymon fired a fireball at DarkLilamon, who quickly hid her body inside a blue pot to dodge the attack. Greymon fired a few more fireballs at DarkLilamon as she hopped around from inside the pot.
"Mimi, are you okay," I asked, as Kabuterimon brought her over to us.
"I don't want to deal with this anymore," Mimi said. "I don't want to deal with any of this pain."
"Mimi, snap out of it," Izzy said.
"That Shadow came from a part of you," Teddie explained. "You have to accept it, or else it will continue to go bearserk."
"No, I don't want to," Mimi said. "I can't accept someone like her."
"Izzy, watch over Mimi," I said. "Teddie, help me take care of the Shadow."
"You got it," Teddie said. "I'll do my beary best!"
I kicked my soccer ball at the jumping pot, who stopped, took the attack, and absorbed it, which confused me. Kintoki-Douji encapsulated the pot in ice, but DarkLilamon absorbed that as well.
"I got this in the bag," Kabuterimon said. "Electro Shocker!"
Kabuterimon fired an electric ball at the pot. Again, it stopped to absorb the attack.
"Okay, maybe that didn't work," Kabuterimon said
"It's absorbing our attacks," I said.
"Thank you for the meal," DarkLilamon said. "Now, time for my counterattack!"
DarkLilamon emerged from the pot and fired several bolts of electricity from the sky, shocking most of us.
"Greymon, are you okay," I asked.
"Don't worry, Tai, I can still keep going," Greymon replied.
"I bet its weakness is your fire attacks," I said. "That's why it didn't do anything when Teddie's Persona, Kabuterimon, and I tried to attack it. Everyone, try to corner or capture DarkLilamon so that Greymon can hit a fatal blow at it."
"You got it," Kabuterimon said.
"Bearfect idea, Tai," Teddie said.
As we continued to chase after DarkLilamon, Izzy continued to console Mimi.
"Mimi, Mimi, you got to pull yourself together," Izzy said.
"I don't want to do this anymore," Mimi said. "Take me away from here."
"Mimi, you got to face your other self," Izzy said. "It's the only way."
"No, I don't want to! She isn't me," Mimi said, running away.
Noticing that Mimi was running towards the exit, DarkLilamon extended her arm and tried to slam Mimi with it, but Izzy managed to push her away just in time and took the brunt of the attack.
"Izzy," I shouted.
"Izzy, are you okay," Mimi said, running towards him.
"I'm okay, it just stings, that's all," Izzy said, clutching his arm.
"I'm sorry; this is all my fault," Mimi said.
"Greymon," I shouted.
"Got it," Greymon said. "Fire Wall!"
Greymon trapped DarkLilamon towards one side of the room with a wall of flames. Kabuterimon and Kintoki-Douji flew over the flames and landed on both sides of DarkLilamon, preparing to capture her. Noticing that she was surrounded, DarkLilamon went back inside her pot and unleased a large amount of pollen in the air. When a majority of the pollen reached the flames, it exploded, covering the entire room with pollen dust.
Meanwhile, Matt and Sora finally made it to the edge of Tsukishima, which was as far as the taxi driver was willing to drive. They stared towards the center of the city where the fog was the thickest. Putting their glasses on, they rushed towards the Tsukishima Shopping District. As they were running about, they noticed that there were several people who were in need of assistance. Families were huddled together, and several individuals were either sitting on the floor or leaning against something in order to stabilize themselves. Sora and Matt assisted them with finding the nearest building that was willing to let people inside to remain safe or bring them away from the thickest portion of the fog.
As they continued to head towards the shopping district, they heard several people screaming. Knowing that they were close, they quickened their pace. Out in the distance, they saw several distortions in front of a variety of electronic stores. From those distortions appeared ravens, magic hands, dice, and standing castles with cannons. They were attacking the civilians and dragging them over to the distortions.
"Matt, we got to save them," Sora said.
"You're right," Matt replied. "Let's go!"
"Persona!" the two shouted.
Shattering the cards in front of them, Matt and Sora donned their new attire as they released Gabumon and Biyomon respectively from the cards.
"Matt, Sora, it's good to see you again," Biyomon said.
"Where are we," Gabumon asked. "Are we back in your hometown? Is this Tokyo?"
"I thought we could only appear in that TV World thing," Biyomon said.
"We'll talk about it later," Sora said. "Right now, those people need our help."
"Can you two take care of the larger, more powerful Shadows that are in our way," Matt asked.
"Shadows are appearing in your world, Matt," Gabumon asked.
"Of course," Biyomon said. "We will do anything to protect that city that you love."
"Gabumon, Emperor Arcana Digivolve to... Garurumon," Gabumon said.
"Biyomon, Empress Arcana Digivolve to... Birdramon," Biyomon said.
As Garurumon and Birdramon attacked the dice and the castles, Sora and Matt took care of the hands and ravens that were dragging the civilians over to the distortions. As they were rescuing people and dwindling the number of Shadows, another set of distortions appeared. This time, various Champion-level Digimon came out of the distortions to attack the Shadows. This caused more Shadows to appear from their distortions, and another large battle ensued.
"No, everyone, please, stop fighting at return to the Digital World," Sora said to the Digimon.
"You might turn into one of those merged beings if you get caught," Matt continued.
However, the Digimon didn't listen and continued to attack the Shadows, damaging various vehicles and buildings. Garurumon and Birdramon had to switch their focus to make sure that the civilians who were hiding in those buildings and vehicles were safe from the Digimon and Shadow's attacks. At one point, the Magic Hands started to merge with one of the Digimon, attaching itself to its hands, feet, and, ultimately, its head, creating a hideous figure that used its new body to fling the Digimon left and right all over the city. Garurumon and Birdramon had to refocus their attention to make sure that the Digimon thrown didn't cause any more damage to the vicinity. Frightened, the remaining Digimon return to the Digital World through their distortions as the Shadows continued to rampage all over the city.
"Oh no, there's too many of them," Matt said.
"What do we do now," Sora questioned.
Back in the TV World, I slowly got up from the aftershock of the explosion, but something felt off. Everything looked bigger and taller than usual. Looking at my hands and body, I realized that I became a child. I knew I was doing something important, but I couldn't remember. Suddenly, a soccer ball rolled towards me, and I started juggling it with my knee and head.
On the other side of the room, Izzy, who also turned into a child, tried to get up, but couldn't. He didn't know why, but his arm was hurting, as though electricity was running through his arm. He was about to cry when he heard someone else crying. Mustering all the strength he could, he walked over to the person who was crying. Mimi, who also became a child, sobbed loudly as Izzy walked over to her.
"Mimi, what's wrong," Izzy asked.
"Izzy, is that you," Mimi asked. "I'm so glad you're here."
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I was alone. Without my friends. I got scared. Really scared. I thought… I thought no one liked me anymore. That everyone left me."
"Don't say that. You're not alone. Even if no one liked you, I'll like you. I'll always like you."
"Really?"
"Of course."
"You won't leave me?"
"I'll never leave you. Come on. Let's find a way out of here."
Izzy reached out his hand, which Mimi grabbed to bring herself up. He forgot it was his injured arm, but he didn't care. Mimi's safety was more important to him.
Meanwhile, Sora and Matt continued to fight against the large onslaught of Shadows that were causing havoc in the shopping district.
"Sora, look over there," Birdramon said. "There are two people wandering about in this fog and coming towards us."
"What," Sora said, turning around.
Beyond the fog were two familiar students trying to make their way through the fog.
"Are you sure this is the right way," Mina asked, tugging onto Michael's shirt from behind.
"It has to be," Michael said, putting his hand on the wall as a guide. "I heard noises coming from this side. This has to be where everyone is right now."
"What are those two doing here," Matt asked.
"Michael, Mina, get out of here. You're going to get hurt," Sora yelled out.
"Was that Sora," Mina asked.
"We must be getting close," Michael said.
"They're still coming towards us," Matt asked. "We got to go over there."
Noticing what was going on, the Shadows quickly rushed over to Mina and Michael. Feeling that they were in danger, Mina and Michael braced themselves. Sora, Matt, Birdramon, and Garurumon chased after the Shadows in hopes that they make it in time before the Shadows get them.
Back inside the TV World, Teddie, who was shrunken to a tiny cub, walked around the area wondering who he was and what he was doing here. He came across a large blue pot. Curiously, he looked into the pot to see what was inside. Believing it was in danger, DarkLilamon jumped out from the pot and prepared to strike, but Teddie ran away with his arms flailing up. While doing so, a shiny blue card floated down in front of him. Curious about it, he jumped up and down, trying to catch it. Eventually, he touched it, which shattered the card and brought out Kintoki-Douji. With his Persona unlocked, Teddie finally remembered what happened and what he needed to do.
"Quick, use the Energy Shower," Teddie said.
Kintoki-Douji covered the area with green energy, clearing away the pollen dust that used to cover the area. Teddie returned to his normal self, now rounder and full of fur. Mimi, Izzy, and I also returned to our normal selves.
"Hey, I'm back," I said.
"What just happened," Mimi said.
"I think we returned to our normal selves," Izzy explained.
"Tai, you came back," Agumon said, running towards me.
"Agumon, when did you revert to your Rookie form," I asked.
"I have no idea," Agumon replied. "I think it was when that large explosion happened."
"Izzy, thank goodness you're safe," Tentomon said, flying over to Izzy and Mimi.
"Tentomon, I'm so glad you're alright," Izzy said, heading over to Tentomon.
"No, this is not what was supposed to happen," DarkLilamon said. "Marvel Shot!"
DarkLilamon fired a quick energy shot from its arms at both Tentomon and Izzy. Teddie, Mimi, Agumon, and I ran over to try and save both of them from the attack. At that moment, my mind returned to that familiar blue room.
"Congratulations," Margaret said. "You have obtained another new power. You can now allow others the power to use multiple cards in order to power up their companions to their next potential."
"Izzy," I shouted, handing over the Strength, the Magician, the Wheel of Fortune, and the Fool Arcana towards Tentomon, creating a blue circle under him.
"Tentomon, Digivolve, now," Izzy shouted.
"Tentomon, Four Card Arcana Digivolve to…," Tentomon said.
As the four cards shattered and its energy was sent towards Tentomon, the energy shots fired at Tentomon and Izzy exploded. Teddie, Mimi, and I had to brace ourselves from the heavy explosion.
"Izzy," Mimi shouted.
Everyone fell silent as we waited for the dust to settle. Soon, the smoke cleared, revealing a large red beetle.
"MegaKabuterimon," I said.
"Izzy, are you okay," MegaKabuterimon asked.
"Yes, thanks to you," Izzy replied.
"To you who chose to harm my friends," MegaKabuterimon said to DarkLilamon. "I will show you what happens when you take advantage of their vulnerabilities. A cornered person is one who is the most dangerous."
"Don't forget about us," I said. "Are you ready, Agumon?"
"I'm always ready," Agumon replied.
I created a blue circle under Agumon using the Hermit, the Wheel of Fortune, the Magician, and the Fool Arcana. The four cards shattered and energy was sent towards Agumon's body.
"Agumon, Four Card Arcana Digivolve to… RizeGreymon," Agumon said.
"Now that's what I'm talking about," I replied.
Back in the Real World, a blue light shone in front of Michael and Mina creating a wall in between them and the Shadows and temporarily parting the fog. The Shadows stopped as they surveyed what was happening, which made Sora, Matt, Birdramon, and Garurumon pause as well. Summoned from the light were two demons. One was a purple winged warrior clad in grey blue armor under a white one-shoulder toga. Another was a beautiful woman with flowing yellow leggings, an orange shawl, and a gold tiara. The two demons turned to Michael and Mina, converted themselves into a grey blue sallet eyepiece and a golden orange glitter mask, and attached themselves onto Michael and Mina's faces respectively, who started to hear voices upon attachment.
"To you who shows no mercy as you protect those whom you love, I grant you my power," the purple demon said to Michael. "Call out the one whom you share a strong bond with and defend the ones whom you care about the most!"'
"To you who shall be the guiding light in the darkest of storms, I grant you my power," the beautiful demon said to Mina. "Call out the one whom you share a strong bond with, and may fortune smile upon you on your path to victory!"
"Persona!" Michael and Mina shouted.
Michael and Mina ripped off their individual headpieces and unlocked the power that came from them. Michael now donned a grey blue sallet, grey blue cuirass, grey blue vambrace, and a grey blue cuisse and was carrying a one-handed European double-edged sword. Mina now wore a gold tiara attached to a golden orange veil that covered her face, an orange shawl, and yellow leggings and wielded a chakram in each hand. In addition, Betamon and Candlemon appeared from the sky.
"Michael," Betamon said.
"Betamon, I'm so glad to see you again," Michael said, catching him.
"Mina, it's good to see you," Candlemon said, walking up to her.
"Hello there," Mina said. "You must be…."
"I'm Candlemon," Candlemon explained. "You might not recognize me in this form, but I am the Rookie level of Meramon."
"Did you say Meramon," Mina said, surprised.
With the light gone, the Shadows took this opportunity to continue to charge at Michael and Mina.
"I'm not afraid anymore," Michael said. "With Betamon by my side, I know we will get through this."
"Candlemon, let's show them what we are capable of," Mina said.
"Betamon, Magician Arcana Digivolve to… Seadramon," Betamon said.
"Candlemon, Fortune Arcana Digivolve to… Meramon," Candlemon said.
"They got their partners back," Sora said.
"Now, we can turn the tide in our favor," Matt said. "Let's go!"
Sora, Matt, Mina, and Micheal fought against the smaller Shadows while Garurumon, Birdramon, Seadramon, and Meramon took care of the larger and tougher Shadows. Once their numbers dwindled, the fused Shadow Digimon used its large hands to try and swat away Garurumon and the others, but they quickly moved away in order to prevent its attacks from connecting.
"Ice Blast," Seadramon shouted.
Seadramon froze the ground the fused Shadow Digimon was standing on, causing it to slip and fall down to the ground.
"Now's our chance," Matt said. "Everyone, attack at once!"
"Howling Blaster," Garurumon shouted.
"Bir-Flame," Birdramon shouted.
"Blazing Flames," Meramon shouted.
"Water Shock," Seadramon shouted.
Garurumon spewed blue flames from its mouth. Birdramon unleased a flamethrower from its mouth. Meramon fired several fireballs from its fists. Seadramon shot a blast of water from its mouth. The combined attack was too much for the fused Shadow Digimon to handle, causing it to disappear and disintegrate into the atmosphere.
Back in the TV World, DarkLilamon was frustrated that its plans were foiled, so it tired a different tactic.
"Lila Shower," DarkLilamon shouted.
DarkLilamon fired several beams from its hands at both MegaKabuterimon and RizeGreymon. MegaKabuterimon endured the attack with its tough exterior while RizeGreymon shielded himself with his gun barrel.
"Trident Revolver," RizeGreymon shouted.
RizeGreymon rapidly fired several balls of energy at DarkLilamon. Although DarkLilamon hid inside its pot, the attack was too much for the pot to handle, shattering it and exposing DarkLilamon.
"Horn Buster," MegaKabuterimon shouted.
MegaKabuterimon fired a large blast of lightning from its gigantic horn at DarkLilamon, stunning it and making it collapse to its knees.
"It's down," Izzy said. "Now's our chance!"
"Alright, everyone, give it everything you got," I said.
"Rising Destroyer," RizeGreymon shouted.
"Super Charge," MegaKabuterimon shouted.
"Fire the Tomahawk," Teddie shouted.
RizeGreymon fired several large beams from its wings and chest at DarkLilamon. MegaKabuterimon discharged multiple volts of electricity from his body at DarkLilamon. Kintoki-Douji threw the missile it was carrying above his head at DarkLilamon. The combined impact of those attacks was too much for DarkLilamon, who disintegrated and reverted back to Shadow Mimi. RizeGreymon and MegaKabuterimon reverted to Agumon and Tentomon respectively. Teddie returned Kintoki-Douji back into a card.
"I'm so sorry, everyone," Mimi said.
"Don't worry; it's not your fault," I told her.
"No, but this is something that 'I' did," Mimi replied.
Mimi walked over to her Shadow.
"Here, stand up," Mimi said.
Mimi extended her hand over to Shadow Mimi, who used it to help herself up.
"I'm sorry; you've must've been through a lot of pain," Mimi said. "You're right. Although I am outgoing, I am also insecure. There've been plenty of times where I would run away from my problems or blame it on someone else. I understand that what I did was wrong, yet I still did it. Instead of running away, I'm going to accept it as part of who I am. You are me. Everything about you is me."
Shadow Mimi nodded. She slowly ascended as light blue aura surrounded her, disintegrating her and releasing the sealed Digimon and tarot card associated with it.
"Palmon," Mimi cried as she caught him when she fell.
"Mimi," Palmon asked, weakly.
"Oh, I miss you so much," Mimi said, squeezing her tightly.
The card with the number "2" on it floated down towards Mimi.
"What's this," Mimi asked.
She reached out towards it, and the card disintegrated, embedding its power onto her.
"That is your Persona," I said.
"My Persona," Mimi said.
Mimi stumbled as she tried to regain her footing.
"Mimi," Izzy said, heading towards her.
"It's okay; I'm just a little dizzy; that's all," Mimi said.
"Don't push yourself too hard, okay," I said, having her lean on my shoulder.
"Don't worry, I won't," Mimi answered.
"Listen, Mimi," Izzy started. "About what I said before, when we were in our child form… that was… I mean… I just…."
"It's okay," Mimi said. "You don't have to repeat it if you don't want to."
"No, I'm going to, because it is out in the open," Izzy replied. "Mimi, I do like you. I know what your answer is, but I'm going to ask anyway. Will you go out with me?"
"What," Teddie said, shocked.
Even I was taken aback. I did not expect Izzy to openly admit it.
"Thank you for telling me that," Mimi said. "I'm sorry, but I still have feelings for Joe-senpai, and I don't know when I'm going to shake that off, if I ever will. I know it's not the answer you were hoping for, but I hope we can still stay as friends."
"No, it's alright; I expected that answer," Izzy replied. "It just feels good to finally get it off of my chest. I feel like another weight has been lifted off my shoulders."
"It's true what they say," Teddie said. "The quiet one's are beary dangerous."
"Teddie, you got your old fur back," I observed.
"I did," Teddie asked, checking himself. "You're right! I did! This is bearrific!"
"Congratulations," Izzy said. "It is much easier on the eyes to see you walk around like that."
"I'll have you know that I'm still the cutest even if I lost all of my fur," Teddie said.
"So, this is what you're supposed to look like," Mimi said, patting Teddie's fur. "You're just as I've imagined: cute and cuddly."
"This is nice," Teddie said. "Mimi's very nice."
"Alright, that's enough for today," I said. "Let's head back to the Real World so Mimi can recover."
"I told you, I'm okay," Mimi said, still wobbling.
"I think now is a good time to act a bit selfishly and let us take care of you," Izzy said.
"In that case, I'll take up your offer," Mimi said, leaning on both Izzy and my shoulder.
"You're leaving me alone already," Teddie asked.
"What are you talking about," I questioned. "You live in this world."
"Well, I guess you're right," Teddie said, downcast.
"I'm sorry, Teddie," Mimi said, patting his head again. "Let's have some proper fun when I recover, okay?"
"Alright, I'll be a good bear and wait for you," Teddie replied.
"Great, now can you help us get back to the studio," I asked.
"Right, right, I'm on my way," Teddie said.
The four of us left the toy store as it slowly dimmed its lights.
*To Be Continued*
Footnotes:
wiki/Lakshmi
wiki/Kresnik
wiki/Lilamon
wiki/Rainy_Pot