I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way!
Speech Key:
"The" – Oral/Normal Speech
'The' – Thoughts
AN: This really isn't too long, but I hope I wrote it well enough… Though this might even sound a little rushed, actually, mainly because I haven't been able to really concentrate since I got sick, but them again, who can control things like that? Que sera sera, I suppose. Oh yes, and before I forget, I won't be updating my Digimon Frontier/InuYasha story very much since I really want to get Book One of this finished as I'm really close to it.
Anyway, enjoy the chapter!
Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!
-The Ninth Child-
xX-In Which the Strings are Cut-Xx
"What's going on?!" Sora asked, holding onto a tree with the Digimon holding onto their partners.
Tai and what was left of the DigiDestined, had been walking for no more than nearly half an hour since they'd separated when a great tremor rocked the earth.
"I don't know," Tai shouted.
"Just hold on," Kagome told T.K and Kari, who were in her arms as she rested against a tree for stability, "It'll blow over in a bit…" 'I hope…'
But sure enough, the shaking stopped after a few more minutes, allowing the children and the Digimon to sigh in relief.
"What could that have been?" T.K asked, stepping out of kagome's arms, but still staying close to the older girl.
"Some sort of explosion?" Kagome suggested.
"An earthquake?" Kari added.
"I would wager a guess and say that the Digital World could be shifting again," Izzy shrugged.
"It was a meteor!" Tentomon flew down from the sky, where he'd gone to scout out their surroundings. "And I mean a whooper! It just crashed into the forest!"
"Why don't we go and check it out?" Tai proposed.
"I don't know," Sora said hesitantly. "It sounds kinda dangerous."
T.K nodded in agreement. "Yeah, so why don't we go to Puppetmon's Mansion?"
Patamon nodded from T.K's arms. "We can show you where it is no problem!"
"I suppose it's inevitable," Izzy said contemplatively, "After all, he is one of the Dark Master and we'll have to face him sooner or later."
"It's time somebody cut his strings instead of waiting around here!" Gatomon said approvingly. "Let's take the fight to him for a change; I'm afraid if we don't, then both our worlds will be destroyed!"
Kari looked frightened at her partner's words, despite Kagome trying to calm her. "Come on, Tai, let's go!" she looked pleadingly at her older brother.
"Wait a second, you guys," Sora warned, "this could be really dangerous. Puppetmon's a Mega Digimon, remember?"
Kagome nodded in agreement. "Sora's right. We know we have to defeat the Dark Masters, the most current being Puppetmon. We can't just rush in without a plan; it'd be building a tower or something. The entire thing would fall apart at some point because you weren't prepared or hadn't planned ahead."
"Then what are we supposed to do?" T.K asked. "Sit around and watch cartoons all day?"
"Let's fight!" Patamon's wings waved up and down with his statement.
"The most logical way to determine our next course of action would be to take a vote," Izzy pointed out. "All those in favor of going to Puppetmon's mansion, say 'Aye'."
And with that said, everyone but Tai, Kagome, Sora, Biyomon, and Kudamon voted to go.
"Tai?" the young genius asked. "Is something wrong? You haven't voted."
'He's actually thinking it over,' Kagome blinked in astonishment. But the she saw her brother look to the young blonde in their group and realized the reason why. 'He's considering T.K's safety now that Matt's not here…Tai probably thinks that it's his job to look after T.K until Matt gets back.'
"What should we do, Tai?" Kari asked.
"We're waiting for an answer~!" Tentomon sang.
'He's not really thinking of going?' Sora thought nervously. 'Not after everything we've been through recently?'
The group watched as Tai closed his eyes to think for a few more moments before they snapped open once more. "We'll go," Tai decided, causing T.K and Patamon to cheer.
"What?" Sora all but shouted in alarm. "Tai—"
"But," Tai, held a hand up for silence, "only to look around and get a feel for how he operates. We don't have to start any trouble today."
"C'mon, it's this way!" T.K exclaimed, running with ahead with everyone except Sora and Tai behind them.
Kagome glanced back to see what was going on between the two and saw the serious expressions on both preteens' faces. 'Sora's still uncomfortable with Tai's decision…I just hope we don't get into trouble and regret doing this at all…'
The~Ninth~Child
With T.K and Patamon leading the way, it didn't take too long for the group to reach Puppetmon's Mansion.
"That's…charming," Kagome tried finding the right word to describe the house that looked more like child's dollhouse. But considering the fact that it was Puppetmon who the structure belonged to, it wasn't really any surprise that the house looked as such.
"You don't have to be nice," T.K stuck his tongue out at the manor. "It looks gross!"
"Well," Sora sweat-dropped, "That's one way to put it…"
"Hey," Tai whispered, looking through his tiny spyglass, "there're two guards standing out front!" He handed his digivice to Izzy. "Can you analyze them?"
"Done," the auburn-haired boy nodded, plugging the digivice into a small compartment on his laptop. "Okay, the first is Floramon; She's a plant-type Digimon who digivolves like a reptile. Her attack is Rain of Pollen." He punched a few more buttons and brought up the other Digimon Tai had seen. "The other guard is Deramon. At first glance it looks like a bird-type Digimon, but it's actually got a plant growing out of its back. Prodigious!"
"So they're not Ultimate Digimon, right?" Tai clarified.
"No," Izzy confirmed, "but it would still be best t stay on our guard."
Tentomon nodded with his partner's statement. "Even the most harmless of creatures can still be quite dangerous…"
"Then let's get going," Biyomon said, leading the way for everyone to follow.
"Wait," Tai stopped them. "There may be more guards inside; I'll go in alone with Koromon while the rest of you stay out here."
"Aw, but Tai!" T.K protested. "Can't Patamon and I come? After all, we know the place the best!"
Tai shook his head. "Sorry, but it's too dangerous, and that's a risk I'm not willing to take."
"Then why don't we go together?" Kagome suggested. "There's always safety in numbers and besides, if you go alone, I swear that we'll follow you in, whether you want us to or not."
"I agree," Izzy raised his arm as the rest nodded and made sounds of agreement, "To both accounts, actually."
Tai raised his hands as a sign of resignation. "All right, all right, we'll all go together."
That said, the group made their way down to just behind the bushes near the entrance to Puppetmon's Mansion.
"There they are," Sora whispered, peeking over the bush to look at the figures of Deramon and Floramon standing in front of the Mansion entrance.
"Let's do it!" Koromon said determinedly. "Koromon Digivolve to: Agumon!"
"Super Shocker!" Tentomon flew out from behind and shot a minor electrical ray at Floramon.
"Pepper Breath!" Agumon blew a fireball at Deramon, charring the bird-like Digimon.
"If you wanted fried chicken, you could've asked!" Deramon snapped at the small orange dinosaur.
"Sorry," Agumon apologized. "We thought you were here to protect Puppetmon's mansion."
"Oh, so you barbeque me?!" Deramon sneered.
"You've got it all wrong!" the Floramon ran up and waved her hands back and forth. "We're not protecting anything! We're Puppetmon's 'Playmates'."
"You know," Deramon added, "Someone to chase around and attack when he gets bored. But seriously, he's just a jerk that none of us here can stand!"
"Oh," T.K nodded, "I remember now; it's 'cause he's got no friends, right? At least any real ones."
"It must be sad," Kari commented, "having no friends around to talk or play with…What could be worse than that?"
Gatomon looked at the group and the two new Digimon for a moment before making a comment. "Litterbox lined with flypaper?"
Surprised, the group looked over to the feline Digimon, to find her smirking and burst out into laughter. 'Mission accomplished,' Gatmon nodded to herself.
"Is Puppetmon inside right now?" Kagome spoke up.
Deramon shook his head. "I think he's out getting fumigated for termites."
"So what should we do now?" Agumon looked up at his partner.
"Well," Tai said contemplatively, "since he's not here, it'd be a good chance for us to take a look around the house for a bit."
"Could you show us around, Deramon?" T.K asked.
"Sure," the bird-like Digimon replied, "I was a tour guide at Digi-Studios a while back. Come on!" He and Floramon walked side by side as the DigiDestined and their partners followed behind.
"Digi-Studios?" Kagome glanced at her partner, questioningly.
"I honestly have no idea," Kudamon said, baffled. "I've never heard of nor seen the place he's talking about." He narrowed his eyes at the bird-like Digimon for a moment. "Do you think he's delusional?"
"He doesn't look like it," Kagome said quietly.
"Oh," Deramon turned around to face the group, "No video cameras, flash photography, and food or drink allowed during the tour." He turned back around and started walking into the mansion, babbling about its history and whatnot as if it were an actual tour.
'He does know that this really isn't an actual tour, right? I wonder if anything he's saying even happened…' Kagome sweat-dropped. "Then again, he might be a tad off-kilter…"
At this point, Kagome had noticed the orange-haired girl of their group looking around nervously, as though waiting for something, maybe even someone to burst through the trees.
"Are you okay, Sora?" Kagome asked quietly.
"Huh?" Sora looked over at the raven-haired girl. "Oh no! It's nothing, really!"
Kagome looked into Sora's eyes for a moment. "You're still worried about doing this," she stated finally.
"What the—how did you know?" the orange-haired girl asked.
"You looked uncomfortable when Tai decided to come here and right now you seemed really nervous," Kagome shrugged.
"It's just that it's a little too convenient for Puppetmon to not be here," Sora said eventually. "I can't help but feel that we could be waling straight into a trap."
Kagome nodded. "I know how you feel because, to you the truth, I had the same idea. But that's not all that bothering you is it? Does it have something to do with what you and Tai were talking about earlier?"
Sora nodded. "He said that if anything went wrong, he'd distract everyone with Agumon so that I could lead everyone away to safety."
"But?" Kagome prompted.
"But what if something happens to him? To all of us?" Sora burst out.
"Listen," Kagome sighed. "If there's something I know about Tai it's that he never breaks a promise, no matter what. If he said that he'll protect us, he'll do it. If he says that he'll come back, he will, no matter what it takes. Whatever he promises, he always comes through for them. All we need to do is have faith in him and Fate will take care of the rest."
The orange-haired girl looked at the raven-haired preteen for a moment, contemplating the wise words before nodding silently.
"Hey, what's that?" T.K asked when they all walked into the mansion. He pointed to a blue box atop the staircase with a large red ribbon on the lid.
"Get away!" Floramon shouted, pushing Kagome, Tentomon, Izzy, Patamon, T.K, and Agumon into one room while Deramon shoved Kari, Gatomon, Sora, Biyomon, and Tai in another.
"What was that?" Kagome asked, alarmed.
"One of Puppetmon's toys," Floramon panted, trying to compose herself.
"And he has toys like this everywhere?" Kudamon asked slowly.
"Most of his dangerous toys are usually left out," Floramon nodded. "But the ones that aren't as dangerous, or at least the ones that won't try and destroy you, are up in his toy attic."
And with that, the smaller group began to walk behind Floramon once more, asking the occasional question now and then.
It wasn't until they came upon a small red fire truck in the middle of the hall did they stop.
"Oh, look!" Patatmon flew over to the toy. "It's a toy!"
"You're right," Agumon went over to the plaything and began to poke at it, trying to see how it would turn on.
"Don't touch anything!" Floramon tried telling them, but it was too late. A small light began flashing as a soft siren-like sound filled the hall.
"No!" Floramon shouted, picked up the toy, and threw it out the window. "Get down!"
BOOM!
"What was that?" T.K asked.
"The toy was a bomb," Kagome said with wide eyes.
"A heat-activated bomb," Izzy clarified, "to be precise."
"That was why I said not to touch anything!" Floramon said exasperatedly.
"Sorry," Patamon and Agumon said with bowed heads.
And with that said, the small group resumed their tour, Floramon telling them what was safe and what wasn't, which happened to be nearly everything in sight.
It wasn't long before this small group reunited with the other half of the DigiDestined and their Digimon. And while it seemed that the tour was over, the children and their Digimon still went into random rooms, to look but not touch, and get a feel for the area for when they really did take on Puppetmon.
"You, guys!" T.K shouted from a room. "Look at what I found!"
"A cannon?" Sora said in surprise when she came in, followed by the rest, looking at the large weapon. "Here?"
"It is Puppetmon's mansion," Kagome pointed out.
"That's true," Biyomon nodded. 'He looks like all he wants to do is play games, but his idea of fun is really warped!"
"Hey," Tai spoke up as he looked through his mini-spyglass, "Quiet down, Puppetmon's coming!"
Izzy squatted down next to the cannon and proceeded to look it over with Agumon and Tentomon's help. "If I knew how this thing worked, we could use it to keep Puppetmon away from here."
"Didn't we just say that we were only going to look around and not fight?" Sora asked worriedly.
"I know what I said," Tai nodded. "But in this case, we really don't have a choice. And unless you want to take on Puppetmon right now, we have to find some way to keep him away from here long enough for us to get away!"
Sora looked like she was going to protest, but a hand on her shoulder stopped her. The orange-haired girl looked back and saw Kagome shaking her head silently.
"Tai's right," Kagome said softly, "by the time we get out of here, Puppetmon'll have caught up to us and then we might not be able to avoid a fight. But if we can keep him away from here long enough, we have a chance to escape."
"And if we don't get that chance even after doing this?" Sora asked.
"I know you don't want to," Icy-blue eyes softened, "But if it comes to that, then we'll have no choice but to fight. We wouldn't be able to get away otherwise and you know that we won't have another chance to get Puppetmon like this. You know as well as I do that eventually we'll be facing more and more of the Dark Masters, running away won't make them go away."
Sora looked at the raven-haired girl and nodded after a moment's hesitation. "I guess you're right…" 'But I don't have to like doing this, especially when it's so dangerous…'
"Why don't you do it?" Agumon turned to Deramon and Floramon.
"We can't!" Floramon shook her head rapidly.
"That goes against all my principles!" Deramon said, offended.
"And what principles would those be?" Kudamon asked, getting a smirk from Kagome and the others. "Go on, tell us what these 'principles' you've set for yourself are."
"Well that's—It's like this—" Deramon tried saying, but comtinued to stumble over his words hen he couldn't find the right words to say.
"You don't have anything, do you?" Kagome asked.
Deramon sighed, "All right, all right, what the heck? I'll do it; just don't tell Puppetmon, okay?"
"We know, we know!" Patamon replied.
That said, Deramon and Floramon began pushing the cannon towards the window so that the long bore stuck out of the window.
The children and their Digimon partners watched and waited with their hands over their ears as the two Digimon readied the cannon to be fire.
"I've got him in my sights," Deramon reported. "Ready…Aim…FIRE!"
"Take this, Puppetmon!" Floramon muttered under her breath as she gripped the trigger string and tugged hard.
BANG! BANG!
A cloud of smoke rose from the bore of the cannon as the first shot was launched, followed by another and then another. Soon enough, Deramon and Floramon were each taking turns, pulling the trigger, feeling a bit more comfortable with the task that was forced onto them.
"Shouldn't we be stopping them? They look like they're having a little too much fun, don't you think?" Biyomon whispered.
"Do you really want to disturb them?" Kudamon muttered back.
Biyomon only paled and shook her head back and forth rapidly.
"Shouldn't we be taking this chance to run?" Sora asked.
"Deramon said that the only way in or out of the house was through the front door," Izzy shook his head. "Apparently, he wasn't smart enough to build in a back entrance or we'd be out of here by now."
"Besides," Tentomon added, "Puppetmon's still out there, and way too close to the mansion! We wouldn't be able to get out without fighting him!"
"GET OUT NOW!" the group heard Puppetmon shout, a little louder than they'd expected, indicating that he was very close to the mansion.
Deramon and Flora peeked out of the window and screamed before running away and out of the room, leaving the DigiDestined and their partners behind.
"You guys know you'we not awwowed upstaiws!" they heard Puppetmon rant. "My woom is off-wimits! You'we supposed to take cawe of my toys! Not pway with them!"
"I'd say you need to learn some manners," Gatomon said, hopping up onto the end of the bose of the cannon. "We're not hurting anything, expect maybe you," she added.
Just then the front doors burst open as Tai and Agumon kicked them, revealing the group of children with their Digimon, all ready to fight.
"You're toast, Puppetmon!" Tai glared at the marionette Digimon. "We've had it with you and your games!"
"Oh so now you wanna pway, huh?" the wooden Digimon mocked. "How about a game of fowwow the weader!"
"Get back here you oversized toothpick!" Tai shouted as the group ran after wooden Digimon.
Suddenly the group stopped, gasping when they saw sprouts growing out fo the ground along with a horde of plant-like Digimon.
"See, T.K?" Puppetmon laughed. "I do have fwiends! And what my fwiends don't like, they destwoy!"
"We ran straight into a trap," Gatomon muttered. "Not our best move…"
"But it's not very surprising, now that you think about it, is it?" Kagome asked quietly. "Puppetmon isn't really known for playing fair…"
"Go get 'em!" Puppetmon ordered the Digimon now surrounding the DigiDestined.
"Right, Boss!" the Digimon chorused.
"RedVeggiemon have extremely volatile tempers," Izzy recited from his laptop, "That's why their faces are always red. Not exactly what I'd call 'the friendly type'!"
"Ten I guess it's time to do a little weed whacking," Tai drew out his digivice, as did the others.
"Tentomon Digivolve to: Kabuterimon!"
"Biyomon Digivolve to: Birdramon!"
"Patamon Digivolve to: Angemon!"
"Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"
"Electroshocker!"
"Meteor Wing!"
"Hand of Fate!"
"Lightning Paw!"
"Sky Fissure!"
"Pepper Breath!"
One by one, each of the Digimon knocked out a cluster of RedVeggiemon until they all were slumped on the ground, unconscious, before Puppetmon.
"You guys awe about as useless as a bunch of stinky, wotten vegetables!" Puppetmon fumed. "I've had it with you!"
"And just what are you going to do about that?" Tai asked, holding his digivice up.
"Agumon Warp Digivolve to: WarGreymon!"
"Mega Claw!" WarGreymon zipped forward with his clawed gauntlets.
"Puppet Pummel!" Puppetmon swung his hammer forward the same time, both attack intercepting each other with a large 'bang'.
"Think you'we so tough?" Puppetmon said. "Nobody toys with me! I toy with them! Take this!" He stuck his hands out, allowing marionette strings to flit out of his fingertips and attach onto WarGreymon's body.
The dragon-knight Digimon tried struggling, but it was no use, Pupetmon's hold on him was too strong.
"The enemy's that way!" Puppetmon laughed as he maneuvered the strings to turn WarGreymon in the DigiDestined's direction.
"Stay away!" WarGreymon told his human companions as he was manipulated to swing his gauntlets at them. "I don't know what he could make me do!"
First it was Tai and Sora who were targeted; then soon it was Kagome, Kari, and T.K. Unfortunately while running, Kari had tripped, causing Kagome and T.K to hang back to help the young girl, only to find it to be too late. WarGreymon was already behind them, his gauntlets poised to attack.
"Kari!" Gatomon shouted
"Kagome!" Reppamon roared.
"T.K!' Angemon called out.
"No!" Tai's eyes widened in fear for his siblings and the small boy left in his care.
"Gatomon Digivolve to: Angewomon!"
"Reppamon Digivolve to: Chirinmon!"
The two Ultimate and one Champion Digimon swooped in and gathered their partners into this arms, or in Chirinmon's case, his back.
Puppetmon smiled maliciously as he moved his hands once more, setting the Mega Digimon under his control after Sora and Izzy.
"Kabuterimon Digivolve to: MegaKabuterimon!"
"Birdramon Digivolve to: Garudamon!"
"Horn Buster!" MegaKabuterimon shot a ray of electricity at Puppetmon severing his connection to, and over, WarGreymon. However, this also caused the wood Digimon to release his hammer, which was caught and destroyed by Garudamon.
"I-I'm not afwaid of you!" Puppetmon stuttered out as the Digimon all surrounded him, their partners right by their side. "I'ww g-get you!"
"I'd reconsider, if I were you," Tai glared at the marionette Digimon, stepping up next to WarGreymon.
Suddenly, Kagome gave a nearly inaudible gasp. An image of a frozen Puppetmon flashed before her eyes before the image switched to a large lion and a metal monkey.
'What was that?' Kagome asked herself. 'Another vision? Is this going to be a regular thing?'
"You're fools if you think I'd lose to a bunch of kids like you!" Puppetmon shouted. Suddenly, his eyes glowed a bright white.
Just then, a loud rumbling and groaning could be heard as Puppetmon's Mansion rose up from the ground, parts shifting to create what looked like a giant wooden fighter.
'This looks a lot like one of those thing on the Super Sentai shows Tai likes to watch…' Kagome sweat-dropped.
"Ha ha haha ha!" Puppetmon snickered as he fled into the forest. "I have something you don't!"
Just then, the large house-robot took a step forward, nearly crushing Tai with its foot, had WarGreymon not stepped in. "Go! I've got it covered!"
Kari screamed as she got separated from Kagome and T.K in the rush to get away from the giant walking house. "Come on, Kari!" Tai shouted, picking his sister up into his arms as Angewomon held off the giant wooden hand from getting her partner.
It wasn't long before WarGreymon had to jump out of the way to avoid being squashed by the large foot while Angewomon was flicked away by a wooden finger.
"Wing Blade!" Garudamon sent a large firebird at the house, only for it to fizzle out the moment it hit the house, leaving no even a scratch behind.
"It didn't even leave a scratch!" Sora exclaimed.
"MegaKabuterimon!" Izzy shouted when his Digimon was backhanded away into a cluster of trees.
"Hurry and get away, you two!" Angemon shouted to Kagome and T.K.
"Right!" the young boy nodded. "Be careful!"
"Hold on tight, T.K!" Kagome shouted, picking the young blonde up into her arms as she ran for cover.
"Heaven's Gale!" Chirinmon flew high into the air before swooping down abruptly, his horn glowing along the way as he passed the giant structure they were all fighting. Unfortunately, the dragon-like Digimon's attack had little to no effect on the structure. Only a cut was left behind, but no more than that.
WarGreymon's grunt echoed around them all as he slashed at the giant house-robot, but like Chirinmon's attack, it left no more than a tiny scratch.
"How're we supposed to beat it if nothing's working?" T.K asked, his arms holding tight around Kagome's neck.
"I don't know…" Tai shook his head, arms full with his youngest sister. "Izzy?"
"I really don't know, Tai," Izzy said worriedly, "I know a lot, but even I can't tell how this can end. None of our Digimon's attacks are working on that thing and even then all that's being left behind are small cuts that don't really do much damage."
"Then does that mean we need to beat Puppetmon to get that thing to stop?" Sora asked.
Kagome opened her mouth to answer, when she felt two familiar auras nearby, very close to their own location, actually. "Guys, I think we won't have to worry about Puppetmon for long," she said, her mind flashing back to the image of a frozen Puppetmon.
"What do you mean?" Sora asked.
"Over there," Kagome nodded in the direction she felt the familiar auras. "Someone we know is getting rid of him as we speak."
"Let's go and check it out," Tai nodded to the group, walking through the cover of the trees to where a frozen Puppetmon laid, Matt and WereGarurumon standing next to the marionette Digimon's body.
They all watched as the wooden Dark Master dissolved into tiny particles. AT the same time, the Digimon backed away from the now crumbling house-robot.
"Matt?" Tai asked. "Is that really you?"
"Thanks for your help!" Sora said gratefully.
Matt looked up, startled at the group before him before looking away, grimacing a little, still feeling guilty over what he's done before. The blonde turned to walk away but glanced back once more, his eyes softening at the sight of his brother, safe and sound in Kagome's arms. That done, the blonde preteen went on ahead with WereGarurumon following him.
"Matt," T.K whispered.
The rest of the group watched with sad eyes as their friends disappeared into the forest. "I really did hope he'd stay with us this time," Tai sighed.
"Give him some time," Kari told her brother, "Everyone needs to be alone sometimes."
Suddenly, the ground beneath them began trembling violently as it cracked and shifted. "It's the forest!" Izzy shouted. "Now that Puppetmon's gone, it's disappearing!"
"Let get out of here and to a safe place!" Tai said, climbing onto MegaKabuterimon's back with Kari and Izzy. Kagome and T.K climbed onto Chirinmon as Sora onto Garudamon while Angemon and Angewomon flew behind them all.
Quickly, the DigiDestined and their Digimon flew away from the Forest region, watching as it dissipated and the green strip on Spiral Mountain disappeared as well.
"So where to now?" Kagome called out to Tai.
"What's left to go to?" Sora asked.
"Puppetmon was in charge of the Forest Domain as MetalSeadramon was connected to the Ocean Domain," Izzy told them, "All that's left is the Urban-Desert and the Wastelands!"
Ciao,
TsukiyoTenshi