I do not own InuYasha or Digimon Adventure in any way! Nor any of the songs I will be using!
Speech Key:
"The" – Oral/Normal Speech
'The' – Thoughts
PLEASE READ THIS BEFORE BEGINNING!
AN: This chapter will be a combination of "Dramon Power" and the "Digimon World Tour" episodes, though I'll be making mine up as I go along. And this definitely might sound like it was done real quick or choppy, but please don't mind once again!
I tacked on a few more lines, nothing too noticeable, thought the most noticeable change would actually happen to be the change in the song used for the lullaby towards the end. I changed it from "Feather of Love" from Tsubasa Chronicles to "Sleepsong" by Secret Garden, and it really is a beautiful and sweet song, that I highly recommend listening to.
Review, but if you don't have anything nice to say, then don't say anything at all!
-The Ninth Child-
xX-Benvenuti in Italia!-Xx
-Earth; Kamiya Residence-
"Come on, we have to get to Izzy's!" Tai yelled out to his sisters, tying his sneakers as quickly as he could before slipping a hoodie onto Agumon.
"We know! Would you just wait a minute?" Kagome scowled at her brother as she laced up her boots before slinging her messenger bag over her shoulder, her laptop and D-Terminal inside. "We did need to get changed, we weren't about to go out in our PJs!"
(AN: I don't really have the patience to come up with a whole new outfit for any of them right now, so everyone will be wearing exactly what they had been in the previous chapter, which is the same thing that, I believe, happened in the episode this one is based off of.)
"Okay, I'm done!" Kari said, as she ran out of their room, Gatomon in on arm as she pulled on her beret with her free hand. "Let's go!"
"Bye Mom!" "Bye Mama!" The three Kamiya siblings chorused as they ran out the door.
Airi Kamiya could only watch the news and look back at where her children once were. 'Oh please be careful!'
The~Ninth~Child
The Kamiya siblings ran down the pavement to the crosswalk, where they spotted Matt running across with Gabumon with Agumon beside them their other Digimon in their arms, or in Kudamon's case, around Kagome's shoulders.
Suddenly, Tai stopped when he heard the footsteps behind him stop. The brown-haired teen looked back to see Davis standing there with DemiVeemon in his arms, a pensive expression on his face. "Davis? What are you standing around for? We have to get to Izzy's house!"
"That's the thing," Davis spoke, fists clenched, "I can't, I have to go to Tamachi!"
"You have to go where?" Tai blinked, unable to believe what he'd just heard.
"Didn't you hear the news/" the maroon-haired boy asked. "There are Digimon in Tamachi! Ken lives there and I need to go and help him!"
"Hold on, Tamachi isn't the only place that's in trouble," Tai protested, "people all over the world need our help! We can't worry about just one individual, so let's get going to Izzy's house so we can form some sort of plan!"
"But that's just it!" Davis burst out. "He's not just 'one individual', he's a DigiDestined! He's one of us and I'm not gonna stand around in some room waiting for some plan while he takes on everything over there alone!"
"But Davis—" Kari tried pleading with him.
"Let him go," Kagome spoke up calmly.
"What?" Tai looked at his sister.
"I said 'let him go'," the raven-haired girl looked to her brother, "He wants to help his friend and teammate; what's so wrong about that? You'd do just about the same if we weren't here to keep your head on straight." She looked back to Davis. "Go on and help Ken, we'll join up with you later or you can join us, whichever you feel works."
"Sorry about that," Tai rubbed the back of his head, "I guess I'm just wound up from all the stuff that's going on. I'll take charge of everything on this end, so get going and help Ken."
Davis gave a wide grin before running off for the train station.
"Now, let's get going," Tai ran back in the direction towards Izzy's home, his sisters and Agumon right behind him, "The others are waiting for us!"
-Izumi Residence; Izzy's Room-
"Oh man, look at this!" Izzy exclaimed. "I'm getting emails from kids all over the world! Talk about déjà vu…And they're not just kids, these are all from DigiDestined All over the world!"
"How can that be?" Cody gaped. "There's over two-hundred emails already!"
"Are you telling me that we're not the only DigiDestined in existence?" Yolei asked, jaw dropped.
"You know we aren't," Kagome told the girl, "Don't you remember Izzy's friend, Willis, in America? Or Mimi's friend, Michael? And that's definitely not the end of it, by the looks of those emails. But there's no definite way to know just how many there could be out there."
Izzy nodded. "Kagome's right, but I'm guessing that any kid that's seen a Digimon in the past qualified as one; like how Yolei and so many others saw Omnimon or Diaboromon a while back. If that's the case, then there could be thousands of DigiDestined all over the world and we may not even know it!"
"Well, I guess we'd better start off answering all those emails to see who's got a Digivive and who doesn't," Tai suggested, eyes growing wider with each new 'ping' that came from Izzy's computer, signaling a new received message.
"Tai, you'll take Australia," Izzy ordered, "Matt, North America; Sora, you've got Africa; Joe, take South America; I'll take Asia; And Kagome, you can answer the ones from Europe."
One by one, everyone took out their D-Terminals and began replying to the messages from each region they were designated, the younger DigiDestined going out into the living room to keep up with the news as they did so.
The~Ninth~Child
-A While Later-
Izzy rapidly typed a few keys as he brought up a map of the world with lights flashing in certain places anywhere and everywhere around the map. "This is a map of where the DigiPorts have opened and where the Digimon have appeared. Good grief, there's more flashing lights on this thing than on a Christmas tree!"
"So all we need to do is find a way to send all those Digimon back through those same DigiPorts, right?" Cody asked.
"It's not so simple," the auburn-haired genius answered, "All the DigiPorts have closed off. I'm afraid we're gonna have to go to each of these locations and use the D3s to open up new Gates. Isn't Yolei's uncle a travel agent?"
"Yeah," Yolei said slowly, "But he's no miracle worker!"
"Maybe we can all travel through the Digital World," Tai suggested.
"Only problem is that only one DigiPort in each sector of the Digital World can be opened at a time," Kari told him, "If we did it like that, then it could take months for us to send all these Digimon back to the Digital World."
"We don't have months, though!" T.K burst out. "The way the Control Spires are popping up, it's more like days! If we don't destroy those things, then we won't have to worry about travel plans 'cause there'd be no place to travel to!"
Kagome stood over Izzy's shoulder and read over a new message that just arrived. "Is that…?"
"I think so," Izzy glanced at the older girl and nodded. He turned to everyone else, "We've got one chance. Things might get a little crazy, so everyone stand back at least three feet." He got up and turned his laptop screen and desktop monitor so the screens faced each other and clicked his mouse once.
"Oh, I hope you know what you're doing!" Tentomon fretted.
The group watched in awe as the screens glowed brightly before a light shot out from each, colliding with each other to slowly created a tall figure. When the light died away, a human-like figure in a white robe stood there before them.
Yolei screamed. "A ghost!"
The figure chuckled as he pulled down his hood to reveal a face that only the older DigiDestined had known. "No, I'm not a ghost. Seriously, would a ghost look this good?"
'I see he's not modest about his looks,' Kagome sweat-dropped. 'Though I guess it wouldn't hurt to admit that he is cute…'
"We're real glad you were able to make it, Gennai," Izzy told the older man, "Thanks!"
"I've always told you," the young man that was older than he looked spoke, "If you ever need me, just call."
"You mean you're Gennai?" Cody gaped once more. "But I thought…uh…"
"Last time we saw you, you were an old man!" T.K chuckled. "My hat's off to whatever plastic surgeon you employed!"
"Gennai, I think you already know, but our world's in danger," the auburn-haired teen told the older man, "We know we can't do this on our own and so we need help."
"I know," Gennai nodded, "That's why I'm here." He reached into his sleeved and took out a clear orb that glowed from within with multicoloured lights; it was about twice the size of a baseball.
"What's that?" Cody looked at the orb in awe. "It looks so cool!"
"Listen carefully," Gennai told them. "This was given to me by the Guardians; it contains power from one of each of their twelve DigiCores. It contains an immense amount of energy, so if anyone's not ready for that kind of power, then I suggest you back out now."
When no one moved from where they were, Gennai nodded in acceptance. "I guess you're all in, then. Hold out your Digivices!"
The group of DigiDestined, both old and new took out their Digivices and D3s as per Gennai's order. The light from the centre of the orb spread to fill it as a bright light filled the room, enveloping everyone in it, with one large bolt shooting through the ceiling, but leaving no mark behind.
"Hey, I kind feel…fuzzy," Gatomon said, as though she were in a trance.
"You're always fuzzy, silly," Patamon commented, "Oh wait, now I'm feeling it, too!"
"What's this?" Kudamon looked to see his golden braces had turned into rose-gold bands with DigiCode etched in blue.
"Upamon Digivolve to: Armadillomon!"
"Poromon Digivolve to: Hawkmon!"
"They Digivolved in our world!" Yolei gasped when Cody did.
"Hey there's something on the news!" Kagome called back to the others when she searched up a live stream of the network.
"I don't believe it," the anchor spoke, "One of the strange monsters had a strange light hit him and changed in a strange way, turning him into another strange monster! This really is all very strange…"
"Who the heck is that?" Tai asked in shock.
"That is Imperialdramon," Gennai told them all, "He is Paildramon's Mega form. The power of the DigiCore was stronger than I anticipated."
"Gennai," Gatomon piped up, "Is that the same light that hit us?"
"It certainly is, Gatomon," the older man smiled down at the female Digimon, "Which means that you all should now be able to Digivolve to Ultimate!"
"I can let the cat out of the bag?" Gatomon perked up. "Cool!"
T.K gasped and ran up to the window. "Hey look!"
The rest of the DigiDestined ran up to the window to see whatever had caught the young blonde's attention. The blonde pointed up above where a think white streak cut through the sky, leaving a trail in the otherwise clear blue sky.
"I think that's Imperialdramon," T.K told them, "They must be going after the other areas with Control Spires here in Japan."
"But I'm afraid that it just won't be enough," Gennai shook his head, getting everyone's attention, "It's just too big a job for just the two of them. You must all work together to rectify the problems that have cropped or all will be lost."
"So how are going to do that?" Izzy asked. "The transportation situation's been taken care of since we can easily use Imperialdramon to get to our destinations. But what about the rest? It's still too many places to take care of in so little time!"
"I have a question," Cody interrupted with an apologetic glance at Izzy, who shook his head, "If it's been four years, then what have you been doing all this time?"
"I've been cleaning up some unfinished business," Gennai replied. "You were very young at the time, Cody, but do you remember four years ago when the Digital World appeared in the sky?"
"Yes," Cody nodded.
"Well, unfortunately, so did the rest of the world," the older man explained, "They also witnessed the final battle against Apocalymon. Since then, scientists and military from all over have been trying to get to the Digital World. Can you imagine if they were to succeed? People would want to start going to the Digital World for vacation like it was the Bahamas or something! Militaries would try and use Digimon as weapons! And so, we've been changing the data in all of the computers here on Earth with information of the Digital World so as to keep it hidden."
"Excuse me," Yolei spoke up, "But you said 'we'? So there are more people just like you?"
"That's right," Gennai nodded, "Only they're not as good looking! My allies are positioned around the world, working with other DigiDestined like you to stop this disaster."
"We understand what we need to do," Izzy nodded, "All you need to do, Gennai, is point us in the right direction."
"My allies and I have picked seven other strategic locations around the world where the Digimon have recently appeared. The other DigiDestined will be meeting my allies at those spots.," Gennai raised his hand to Izzy's computer, automatically bringing up a map of the world with only seven lights glowing on it now, "Those command posts are in Hong Kong, Moscow, Mexico City, Sydney, Paris, and Rome."
(AN: I LOVE Italy! Such a beautifully country…a beautiful language…)
"Hey!" Kari exclaimed. "Ken and Davis are back!"
"Good," Gennai nodded, "Because there's one last thing I need to give."
'I wonder what he means by that?' Kagome tilted her head curiously in the older man's direction.
The~Ninth~Child
"Now the DigiPorts will not be opened unless you have a D3," Gennai explained, "So Imperialdramon will drop each of you off at one of the seven locations. I want you to join forces with the other DigiDestined and lead them into battle. You mustn't stop until all of the Digimon have been defeated. Any questions?"
"I've got one," Davis raised his hand. "Flying on Imperialdramon was cool, but do you think we'd be able to get a movie and one of those headphone things?"
"Imperialdramon travels faster than the blink of an eye," Gennai answered, "So there won't be time for a movie, trust me." He turned to Ken. "And now, I have something the Guardians sent for you; consider it a gift." He took out another orb exactly the same as the one he'd shown them before. "I think you'll be glad to have this back…"
"A gift?" Ken looked confused. "Have what back?"
"But I need your help to unlock whatever's in side, Kagome," the older man looked at the raven-haired girl, who blinked in surprise. He held out the orb to her.
Kagome stepped up and took it in her hands, having passed Kapurimon off to Tai. The raven-haired gasped when she probed the aura of the orb. 'It feels like it's alive! No…wait, it feels like it contains something that's alive!' The raven-haired girl closed her eyes and concentrated, never noticing her tattoo beginning to glow brighter with each passing moment.
Everyone gasped and covered their eyes when a bright light engulfed the area. When they opened their eyes, everyone, including Kagome, was shocked at the young boy in her arms. "I can't believe it…" the raven-haired girl breathed out.
The~Ninth~Child
The boy in her arms had short spiky navy hair and skin the same shade as Ken. He wore a green hoodie and light-brown shorts coupled with black sneakers.
The~Ninth~Child
Ken's eyes were wide in shock and began hyperventilating. "Ken?" Davis asked worriedly. "Ken!" he gave him a gentle thump on the back, knocking the vay-haired boy back to reality. "What's up?"
"T-That's my brother, Sam?" Ken stuttered out. "But I thought he was—"
"And he nearly did," Gennai had a grave look on his face, "There were forces beyond your control that instigated the accident. The Guardians were able to locate him when those powers touched him and brought him to safety. Unfortunately, this meant, having to freeze his body in an non-aging sleep until they were able to find a way to set him free."
"So he's still nine?" Ken asked quietly. 'Does that mean I'm the older brother now or what?'
The older man only nodded.
"How am I going to explain this to—" the navy-haired boy's mouth snapped shut when the boy in Kagome's arms groaned, moving slightly.
"Ugh, what happened to—KEN!" Sam snapped up, looking around for his little brother. "Wait a second," he looked around at the unfamiliar group of people and the strange creatures with them, "Where am I? Where's Ken? Is he okay?"
"Calm down," Kagome helped the boy up before taking Kapurimon back into her arms, "You're safe and Ken is fine, too. Where are you? Well, you're in Odaiba, of course."
"There's no way I'm in Odaiba, lady," Sam snapped, "Last I checked, we didn't have weird monsters roaming around!"
"Has he always been this rude?" Kagome glanced at Ken.
"I don't think so?" the navy-haired preteen looked unsure.
"Who the heck are you talking—" Sam's words were halted when he caught sight of the navy-haired preteen that stood a little off to the side. "Who are you?" he took a few steps closer to Ken and peered into his face. "And why do you looks so much like—"
"Ken?" the navy-haired preteen finished for him. "That's because I am Ken Ichijouji. It's been six years since I last saw you, Sam."
"W-What?" the glasses-wearing boy stepped back in shock. "That can't be right? Time travel hasn't been proven to be a more than an idea or theory yet!"
"And it won't be for a while yet," Izzy interjected, "You were nearly killed in an accidenet caused by dark forces. You were saved, though by others and placed into an un-aging sleep in order to keep you safe. You've only just awoken."
"But how am I supposed to explain this to Mom and Dad?" Ken asked worriedly. "They were devastated when he died! If they find him now looking like this, who knows what could happen! And that's when you add to the fact that I won't be there to verify anything!"
"What do you mean you won—" Sam was cut off by another voice breaking in.
"We could film a message for you, if you want," Matt's father said, stepping up to where the DigiDestined stood. "There might be a little static, but I should be able to catch whatever message you want to send on."
"Dad?" Matt looked surprised to see Hiroto. "What are you doing here?"
"When I saw that battle last night during your concert, I knew you and T.K were gonna go off and save the world again. I just wanted to see you to off and wish you luck."
"And I wanted to give you all some snacks for the journey," Kae Izumi stepped up to give her son a large wrapped package.
"Thanks, Mom," Izzy smiled, "I love you!"
"Well?" Davis said loudly. "Let's get to recording that message!"
The next half hour was spent filming the message Ken wanted to send to his parents with everyone pitching in for a little blurb or two to verify the existence of Digimon so that the Ichijoujis wouldn't be so skeptical.
"They seriously won't believe any of this will they?" Sam asked in disbelief. "Monsters are not real! They're just a figment of everyone's imagination!"
"I doubt anyone would agree with you on that," Matt snorted. "Everyone knows of the existence of Digimon, especially since the events of four years ago. And they'll be able to confirm it now because of what's happening today.
"Tell me you don't believe it," Sam said to his little, now big, brother almost trying to intimidate the boy. "Tell me this isn't real."
"I'm sorry, Sam," Ken steeled himself, "But it's happening and this is real. Besides, my partner would get offended if I said he wasn't real, wouldn't you?" He looked up at Imperialdramon.
"Not much," Stingmon's voice spoke, "But I know you wouldn't mean it."
"We really need to get going if we want to keep on schedule," Izzy looked at his wristwatch. "Mr. Ishida, could you take Sam home for us?"
"My pleasure, Izzy," Hiroto nodded.
"We'll be back soon, Dad!" T.K hugged his father tightly as Matt did the same, but quicker than his little brother.
"Be careful, Izzy," Kae told her son.
"We will," the auburn-haired teen nodded.
And with that, the group climbed up onto Imperialdramon, who launched immediately.
"I wish you all the best on your journey," Gennai said as he dissipated into nothingness.
The~Ninth~Child
"So who's going where?" Tai asked. "We never really arranged that."
"Kari and I could go to Hong Kong," Izzy suggested, "I've gotten into contact with a few DigiDestined there and they've agreed to help us."
"Then I guess I'll take Paris with my little buddy here," Tai grinned as he pulled T.K close. "And don't think I won't grill you for dating my little sister without telling me," he whispered to the now paling blonde preteen.
"Cody and I can take Sydney if it all right with him," Joe suggested, looking down at the younger boy.
"Sure," Cody nodded with a smile.
"I'll take New York, then" Davis spoke up, "I've always wanted to see the Big Apple! Besides, Michael said he'd be there, too!"
"I can take Mexico City if that's okay with everyone," Ken added, "I can speak Spanish, so I'd be able to get by well enough."
"Then I guess I'll tag along with you," Matt told the navy-haired boy.
"I'll take Italy, then," Kagome told them, "I have a Penpal down there and coincidentally enough, he's a DigiDestined, too!"
"'He'?!" Tai's eyes twitched. "There's no way I'm letting you stay alone with some boy I've never met!"
"Tai—" Kagome tried reasoning with her brother, but the brown-haired teen would have none of it.
"No, Kagome," Tai told her sternly, "Either find someone to go with you or you're going with another group and we'll stop off at Italy on our way home."
Kagome glared at her brother. 'I know he's overprotective, but this takes the cake!'
Matt saw the look on Kagome's face and cringed. "Hey," he spoke to Ken quietly, "Would it be okay if you went to Mexico City alone?"
"I don't mind," Ken shook his head with a small smile, "Besides, I know you're thinking of going with Kagome, aren't you?"
Matt nodded. "We need to get everything done as quickly as we can, but Tai doesn't look like he'll budge, so if someone's there at least, then he wouldn't worry so much."
"It's okay," Ken nodded, "I understand." 'Though I kinda feel sorry for Kagome and Kari for having such a protective brother…'
"Hey, Tai, if it makes you feel better I'll go with Kagome," Matt spoke up, "Ken's said that he'll be fine with the other DigiDestined in Mexico. So I'm free if you want me to go with Kagome."
Tai grumbled a bit but agreed to the idea, nevertheless. However, the brown-haired teen was worried about the pairing. He knew that Kagome sincerely loved Matt and was slowly trying to get over those feelings, but being paired with him wasn't probably the best idea. 'Except everyone else has someone to go with except Kagome, and I guess that's why I kinda flipped out…'
"Thanks, Matt," Kagome smiled weakly at the blonde boy she loved.
"No problem," the blonde winked at the raven-haired girl, "I know what it's like to have Tai on your case about something."
"I guess that leaves Moscow for us," Sora turned to Yolei with a smile.
"I still wish we got a warmer place, though…" Yolei muttered under her breath.
-Rome, Italy; The Roman Coliseum-
"So where's that friend of yours?" Matt asked after having been dropped off near the Roman Coliseum with Kagome.
"He said he'd be waiting for us," Kagome looked around for her friend.
"Kagome!" Came a smooth voice. "La mia bellezza! Cara mia, over here!"
The Japanese duo looked around for the source of the voice until they saw a boy about their age running over to meet them, a Bakumon flying by his side.
"Leone!" Kagome called out with a smile.
The~Ninth~Child
Leone was a sixteen-year-old boy with lightly tanned skin, hazel eyes, and surly sandy-blonde hair half pulled back in a ponytail. He stood about a full head taller than Kagome.
He wore a pair of black leather pants, a navy-blue polo-neck, a leather jacket, and a pair of black biker boots.
The~Ninth~Child
"Cara mia, it's wonderfully to finally meet you!" Leone took one of Kagome's hands and pressed a light kiss on the back of it. "You are much more stunning in person than I ever imagined!"
Kigome giggled, flushing lightly. "Likewise, Leone! I'm so glad to finally meet you in person! Those videochats and letters are practically nothing in comparison to this!" The raven-haired girl went over to hug the taller boy gently, carefully cradling Kapurimon in her arm.
Neither saw Matt's eyebrow twitching at them and Gabumon trying to calm his partner. 'Why the heck are they acting so forward with each other?! In all the time I've known Kagome, she's never acted so familiar with a boy! And—wait, why the heck am I acting like this?'
"So what's the situation here?" Kagome asked as Leone led them to a parking lot a bit away from the Coliseum.
"Wild and confusing," Leone chuckled, his accent coming through clearly, "While other countries seem to have Digimon terrorizing them, Italia seems to have become a playground for the children."
"Playground?" Kagome and Matt said in unison, blinking in confusion.
"I'm afraid that unlike other places, we have an abundance of young Digimon," the curly-haired boy sighed.
"Uh, how are we supposed to round 'em up, then?" Matt asked.
Kagome had a pensive look on her face as she remembered back to something Elecmon had told her.
-Flashback-
"There's so many of them," Kagome gaped at the sheer number of unhatched eggs and cradles as well as young Digimon bouncing around the Primary Village, "How do you keep track of them all? Better yet, how do you find them if you need to call them?"
Elecmon chuckled at the look on the raven-haired girl's face. "Digimon, especially babies and young ones, have an affinity for music. They just love it! Lullabys'll get 'em to sleep, as you know. But, if you ever need to call 'em to one place, just sing. Any song'll do. They'll follow the music right to you; just make sure you don't sing any lullabies until they're all there, or you'll be going around trying to pick up baby Digimon all over the place!"
"Can it be just an instrumental or something?" the raven-haired teen asked. "Or does it need to be an actual song?"
"It has to be a song with sung lyrics," Elecmon specified, "Instrumentals'll just put the little critters to sleep and that won't do you much good, now would it?'
-End Flashback-
"Kagome?" Kudamon asked. "Is everything all right?"
"I know how to get them to one place," Kagome told Matt and Leone, "I need your help, though. Where are we having all the Digimon gather?"
"I've talked it over with the other DigiDestined coming our way," Leone answered, "And we agreed that it would be best to lead the Digimon all into the Piazza della Repubblica. It's got a lot of open space so if have a large number of Digimon to send back, it won't be much of a problem. Another DigiDestined and our DataHuman contact, Alonzo, should be meeting us there. The others in other countries should be heading towards Paris."
"One question," Matt interjected, "How are we supposed to get there?"
"We'll be taking my bike, of course," Leone gestured to the black motorcycle leaning on its kickstand, "Had to install the sidecar for tonight, of course."
"Can you even drive that thing?" Matt eyed the bike with apprehension, as did Kagome.
"Is it safe?" the raven-haired girl asked.
"It should be if you wear, these," Leone pulled out two black helmets, having already pulled his on.
Kagome and Matt looked at each other nervously before slipping on the headwear. "So where are we supposed to sit?" Kagome asked.
"You'll be sitting behind me, Cara mia," Leone helped the girl sit sidesaddle on his bike, getting on in front of her, "You'll need to hold on tight, though." He looked at Matt, "You and Gabumon will have to sit in the sidecar, Matt. Bakumon should be following us from the shadows." He started up the bike and waited for the blonde to get in the sidecar.
Matt gave the Italian boy a glare from behind his helmet as he got into the sidecar, holding Kapurimon securely in his arms. His glare intensified when he saw Kagome's arms winding around Leone's waist firmly. 'I bet he likes having her arms around him like that…being so close to her…and—there I go again! Why the heck am I acting like this?! I feel like some jealous boyfriend or someth—no…No no no no, there's no way I like Kagome! I like Sora! I know I do…Right?'
"Hold on!" Leone shouted as he lifted the kickstand and zoomed off, Matt giving out a loud yelp and Kagome a startled squeal.
'This is amazing,' Kagome looked around at the blurred surroundings that became meshes of colour flooding together. She let out a gleeful laugh.
Matt, on the other hand, was grumbling to himself and brooding over how close Kagome was to Leone. He looked over to his friend when she hear her laugh giddily. 'Oh,if only I could get my hands on him…'
The~Ninth~Child
-Piazza della Repubblica-
"Well," Leone shifted his bike stop a slow stop, "Here we are; La Piazza della Repubblica!"
"It's wonderful," Kagome'es eyes widened at the architecture when she got off the bike and handed the helmet back to Leone. "Oh dear, and I understand what you were talking about back there…"
Matt looked around with Kagome and cringed. Both young and baby Digimon were running rampant all over the place with people running around or away in fright. "This is worse than I imagined it…"
"So now you see?" Leone sighed. "I just don't know what to do! I've tried coaxing them, bribing them, but still nothing!"
"Leone!" came a feminine voice.
The trio looked in the direction of the sound and saw a girl that seemed younger than them running over with her Bearmon and a taller figure robed in white by her side.
The~Ninth~Child
The girl looked to be about twelve and had healthy, but pale skin; warm amber eyes, and auburn hair pulled into pigtails.
She wore a white skirt with brown leggings, a cream polo-neck, and a long magenta coat over them. On her feet were a pair of black ankle boots and a pair of fuzzy white earmuffs rested on her head.
The~Ninth~Child
"Hello!" The girl chirped cheerfully. "My name is Lisa and this is my partner, Bearmon!" She gestured to the robed man who revealed himself to be a Gennai look-alike. "And this is Alonzo!"
"A pleasure to meet you all," Alonzo nodded with a smile.
"My name's Matt, and this is my partner, Gabumon," the blonde introduced. "This is Kagome, her partner, Kudamon, and the little Digimon in her arms is Kapurimon. We're a few of the DigiDestined from Japan."
"Kagome," Leone turned towards the raven-haired girl, "You said you had an idea of how to lure the young ones here?"
"Um, I need speakers and a microphone, if it's possible," Kagome rattled off her list of needed items slowly. "But can we even get them here? I want it to be possible for sound to broadcast loud enough so that the Digimon scattered everywhere will hear."
"Oh that's easy!" Lisa piped up. "We can borrow some speakers and a generator from the street performers! They're always around here somewhere…"
"Over there!" Leone pointed to a few places were the performers seemed to have abandoned their posts in favour of fleeing from the baby Digimon. A couple speakers, amps, chairs, mikes, and instruments were left scattered in different areas, looking a little roughened up, but still good nevertheless.
"Place the speakers towards the entrance of the Piazza," Kagome ordered, "this should allow the sound to reach farther and out into the city." She turned to Lisa, "Can you help me set up my laptop?"
"Absolutely!" Lisa nodded with a grin. She dashed off and found a chair that wasn't so battered and helped Kagome hook it up with wires after syncing it with the speakers and the mike.
"So what now?" Matt asked.
"Kudamon, could you Digivolve?" Kagome asked.
The fox-like Digimon nodded. "Kudamon Digivolve to: Reppamon!"
With the power that Gennai had given them, Reppamon didn't need Kagome to sing in order for him to Digivolve to Ultimate, something she sensed herself. "Reppamon Digivovle to: Chirinmon!"
"You'd better Digivolve too, Gabumon," Matt nodded at his partner once he snapped out of his shock.
"Gabumon Digivolve to: Garurumon!"
"Garurumon Digivolve to: WereGarurumon!"
"You, too, Bakumon!" Leone nodded.
"Go, Bearmon!" Lisa grinned.
"Bakumon Digivolve to: Unimon!"
"Bearmon Digivolve to: Grizzlymon!"
"Go and stand at the entrance," Kagome ordered, "When the Digimon start coming, herd them into the Piazza and make sure they don't get out." She turned to Matt. 'I can't believe I'm doing this…' "Matt, I left my laptop on a list of music tracks, so could you pick which ones that'll play?"
The blonde smiled softly. "Sure," he face grew confused, "But what're you gonna do with the mike, then?"
"You'll see," Kagome smiled weakly. 'Deep breaths Kagome, everything's going to be just fine. Everything'll be just fine…'
"Okay," Matt muttered, seeing the tracks in a long list down the screen, "since all these are numbered, I can't tell what's what, so I guess…I'll go with this one!" He clicked on a random track.
A piano tune filtered through the speakers.
(AN: I won't be putting the full song of the following one in, only half of it, since putting the full song in would mean using several different translations to come up with a suitable one and I'm just not up to it right now.)
Moments – Ayumi Hamasaki
La la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
Lisa looked excited as she heard Kagome sing while Leone has a soft smile on his face.
Matt…well, he looked shocked, to say the last. 'Is that her real voice? Then what did I hear last night when Reppamon Digivolved? And why does that voice sound so familiar?'
La la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la
When your heart began to burn
The scent of it was in the air
It was the end of your dream
But the start of everything
Whatever you adored seemed beautiful to you
It only shone brighter when you couldn't reach it
The small group looked shocked when little Digimon began bouncing slowly into the Piazza. "It's actually working!" Leone laughed. "I can't believe it!"
"I can," Matt looked at the girl who gained confidence with each line she sang, "It's Kagome, after all. She's always got something up her sleeve."
Those broken pieces of your dream
Struck into my heart
Leaving a pain that I would never forget
If my life were fleeting like a flower
I would be in full bloom by your side
After watching your smile
I would along just quietly
La la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la
"Quick," Kagome told Matt, "Click on another two songs in succession, we need to keep the little ones here until the other DigiDestined lead their packs of Digimon to the Piazza so we can send them all back together!"
The blonde nodded as he quickly clicked on two more songs, the music for the first song quickly pouring out through the speakers.
It's Not Just Make Believe – Ella Enchanted
Hey yeah! Oh-h-h yeah!
Oh-h-h yeah, yeah, yeah!
I thought that I was too old to believe in fairytales
But there's a letter from you waitin' when I check my mail
I start to shakin' like seven on the Richter scale
When you say you love me
I look in the mirror
And I'm not who I used to be at all
It's comin' clearer
I'm Cinderella at the ball
I'm Alice grown' ten feet tall
It's not just make believe
Kagome had gained a little courage by now and had stared moving about a bit now and then.
Here comes the prince's kiss
I'm positive the slipper fits
It's not just make believe
It started out just like another ordinary day
Now suddenly my life is different in every way
The sun is bright and my happiness is here to stay
It's like I'm dreamin'
Thank you for showin' me
That true love doesn't hurt when you fall
You got me glowin'
I'm Cinderella at the ball
I'm Alice growin' ten feet tall
It's not just make believe
Here comes the prince's kiss
I'm positive the slipper fits
It's not just make believe
Matt looked up with a grin when he saw more little Digimon flooding into the Piazza. 'I guess it won't be long now until the last of the baby Digimon get here. I just wonder when the other DigiDestined will be arriving…'
Whenever, wherever, forever
I'll be with you
We have it
It's magic—Oh-h-h-h
[Music]
Look in the mirror
And I'm not who I used to be at all
It's comin' clearer
I'm Cinderella at the ball
I'm Alice growin' ten feet tall
It's not just make believe
It's really happening
I feel so good I gotta sing
It's not just make believe
I'm Ariel above the sea
I'm Beauty dancin' with the Beast
It's not just make believe
Here come the prince's kiss
I'm positive the slipper fits
It's not just make believe
'Wait a second!' Matt's eyes widened in shock. 'That's why this voice sounded familiar! And this song! It's one of Masquerade's! But wait—that would mean that Kagome's a part of—'
Oh-h-h yeah
It's not just make believe
Oh-h-h yeah, yeah
Oh-h-h yeah
It's not just make believe
The next song came up as quickly as the final bars for the first song faded off.
(AN: I found that this song had a pretty tune and nice lyrics, so I decided to place it in here.)
Shine – Cassidy Laden & Kelly Sheridan
There's a place you can go
Where your heart is free
There's a rhythm
That's right for your soul
Take a breath, find your courage
And make the leap
'Cause your feet always know where to go
Lisa, at this point, had begun to dance around with the baby Digimon that had filtered into the Piazza, giggling and laughing the entire time.
Leone looked on at the proceedings with amazement, unable to believe what was happening before him.
Matt, however, was looking at Kagome in a new light. 'Looks like you've been keeping way more secrets than you let on, Kagome…'
And you dance and you dance in an endless flow
In the grace of a perfect design
Stepping out of the dark and into the glow
The whole world will see when you shine
You can shine (shine)
Shine (shine)
Matt and the others looked shocked when they heard a second voice providing background singing for the song and support to Kagome's voice. "What the—?" Leone looked at Kagome's laptop oddly.
'A pre-made track, then?' the blonde thought interestedly. 'That's something, but why have one without her voice a only another's? Could that be her partner?'
There's a beauty already inside of you
There's a difference that only you'll make
Every place that you spin brings you somewhere new
Finding hope every step that you take
And you dance and you dance in an endless flow
In the grace of a perfect design
Stepping out of the dark and into the glow
The whole world will see when you shine
You can shine (shine)
Shine
(Shine)
Suddenly sparkling bright (shine)
Making a magical light (shine)
You will (shine)
Friends are there by your side
Love will be your guide
And we dance and we dance in an endless flow
In the grace of a perfect design
Stepping out of the dark and into the glow
The whole world will see when we shine
We will shine (shine)
Shine (shine)
'I guess I never really had a chance, did I?' Leone gave a small smile as he watched Matt gaze at Kagome. 'She loves him and he loves her, except there's something…off about him. Almost like…he doesn't know he loves her…'
(And we dance and we dance in an endless flow)
Stepping out of the dark and into the glow
(Stepping out of the dark and into the glow)
We will shine (we can shine)
(And we dance and we dance in an endless flow)
Stepping out of the dark and into the glow
(Stepping out of the dark and into the glow)
We will shine (we can shine)
(And we dance and we dance in an endless flow)
"Are these all the Digimon?" Kagome asked, taking a few breaths.
The Italian boy looked around at the large crowd of baby Digimon within the Piazza. "They should be, I think," he looked up at Unimon, "Unimon, are there anymore Digimon coming through?"
"There aren't any more baby Digimon coming your way, if that's what you meant," the Unimon answered, "But I see one Digimon that's definitely no baby!"
"What?" Matt looked at the itlaian boy in shock. "What is it?" this question was directed at WereGarurumon.
"Looks like a Parrotmon to me!" the wolf-like Digimon called down to his partner.
"Well, take care of him," Kagome told the Digimon, "I'll give these little ones a lullaby to get them to sleep!"
"Is that going to work?" Lisa looked doubtfully at the happily bouncing Digimon.
"How do you know so much about baby Digimon, anyway?" Leone asked.
"Elecmon taught me," Kagome shrugged as though it were nothing, "He cares for the eggs and hatchlings at Primary Village. I occasionally go and play with the Digimon or help take care of them with Elecmon."
'And that's another thing I've learned about her in such a short time…' Matt added to his growing mental list of things he seemed to be learning about his raven-haired friend.
"Go!" the raven-haired girl ordered. "I'll take care of the little ones, you go and take care of that Parrotmon!"
"Right!" the other three DigiDestined nodded before turning to their partners.
"WereGarurumon—"
"Unimon—"
"Grizzlymon—"
"Attack!" Matt, Lisa, and Leone said together.
Kagome ran up to her laptop, watching the fight all the while, and quickly clicked on a music track she'd categorized into another section. Bars of a calming melody filtered out of the speakers, filling the area.
(AN: I LOVE Secret Garden's pieces!
Sleepsong – Secret Garden
Lay down your head
And I'll sing you a lullaby
Back to the years
Of loo-li lai-lay
And I'll sing you to sleep
And I'll sing you tomorrow
Bless you with love
For the road that you go
"Aerial Attack!" Unimon shot a blast of energy at the bird-like Digimon, but it had no effect on said Digimon.
May you sail fair
To the far fields of fortune
With diamonds and pearls
At your head and your feet
And may you need never
To banish misfortune
May you find kindness
In all that you meet
"Mjollnir Lightning!" Parrotmon unleashed a powerful lightning bolt at the flying horse Digimon, knocking it into the ground with a loud 'crash'.
"Crescent Dawn!"
"Heaven's Gale!"
May there always be angels
To watch over you
To guide you each step of the way
To guard you and keep you
Safe from all harm
Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay
[Music]
A magnified crescent moon shape appeared before the large bear Digimon and glowed a pure white, letting out a blast of the same shape at the Parrotmon, combining with Chirinmon's Heaven's Gale to send the Parrotmon flying back a few metres.
May you bring love
And may you bring happiness
Be loved in return
Till the end of your days
Now fall off to sleep
I'm not meaning to keep you
I'll just sit for a while
And sing loo-li lai-lay
"Wolf Claw!"
Were Garurumon's attack seemed to have finished everything off as the Parrot was sent straight into the ground, creating a giant crater. They waited for the Parrotmon to get up and start attacking again, but he didn't, signaling that he was unconscious.
May there always be angels
To watch over you
To guide you each step of the way
To guard you and keep you
Safe from all harm
Loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay
The Digimon all reverted back to their Rookie forms as the DigiDestined turned to look at Kagome, who was finishing up the lullaby she was singing for the nearly asleep Digimon. Some tried fighting the call of the sandman, but in the end lost and passed on into the world of dreams with sweet smiles on their faces.
Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay
Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay
Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay
Loo-li, loo-li, loo-li, lai-lay...
Kagome smiled at the sight of the snoozing baby Digimon but looked up when she heard a shout.
"Hello!" a girl called from above, riding atop an Airdramon. "I'm sorry ve're so late, but it took a vhile to gather all of the Digimon in our countries!"
Matt, Lisa, and Leone glanced up to see a few other children riding in on their Digimon with small hers of others following behind them.
"My name is Agathe," the girl that had shouted introduced herself with a slightly gruff accent, "I come from Germany." She had blonde hair up in a bun, light skin, and warm brown eyes.
"My name is Emilio," a lightly-tanned boy with green eyes and dark hair spoke, "I'm from Spain."
"My name is Leone, and this is Lisa," the Italian boy introduced, "We are the DigiDestined of Italy."
"My name is Kagome, and this is Matt," the raven-haired girl spoke, "We're from Japan. It's a pleasure to meet you all!"
"I think we'd better get these guys back to the Digital ASAP," Matt commented, "The others'll probably have finished by now and they'll be picking us up soon."
"Right," Kagome nodded. She went over to her laptop and bright up the DigiPort. "DigiPort: Open!"
"She's quite a girl, isn't she?" Alonzo said to Matt. "It's too bad she doesn't have anyone special…"
"Are you trying to imply something?" the blonde raised an eyebrow.
"Oh nothing, nothing," the Gennai look-alike put his hands up, "I'm only saying that whatever man ends up with her will be very lucky."
"Hmm," Matt hummed softly, "Yeah, they will…" 'I just wish it were m—Say WHAT?! Why the heck am—No, I can't be! I-I'm in…love with Kagome?! When did that happen?!' The blonde froze at his next thought. 'But what about Sora?'
In a flash of light and shadows, the large group of Digimon was returned to the Digital World. "This was an eventful night," Kagome sighed, placing her laptop into her bag, secure and safe.
"I'll say," the blonde teen told his friend, "You have some explaining to do, you know."
"I know," Kagome sweat-dropped, "I know."
-On the Way to Siberia on Imperialdramon-
Imperialdramon had arrived at the Coliseum with everyone but Sora, Yolei and their Digimon, to pick up Matt and Kagome. Everyone regaled each other with tales of what happened in the areas they were assigned, though Matt and Kagome kept some of the details of Italy muted to keep others from asking too many questions that Kagome probably wouldn't have been able to answer.
"So Masquerade, huh?" Matt asked the raven-haired girl quietly.
"Mariposa," Kagome bowed her head lightly, flushing, "At your service."
"Why keep it a secret?" the blonde asked after a moment.
"Stella and I didn't want the attention," Kagome replied, "So we made our music and posted them online. Of course, her uncle discovered what we were doing and helped our 'career' take off, I guess. Besides, we live in two different countries, so that wouldn't exactly help with the whole thing."
"Wait, then how did you guys make your music if you live in two different places?" the blonde blinked.
"We have music programs on our computers and we just used those to make whatever we wanted and added our vocals to them before sending them back and forth between each other," Kagome shrugged. "It was for fun at first, but like I said, Stella's uncle got interested and it just took off."
"You're really something, you know that?" Matt chuckled. "I'd have never been able to keep such a secret for so long! Does your family know?"
"Mama and Papa know that I'm a part of Masquerade and they know I have a partner as well as her family," Kagome replied, "Only Tai and Kari don't know because we all decided that the fewer people knew, the better it would be."
"Hey where are we going?" Gabumon asked suddenly.
"Siberia," Kagome sighed, "Apparently something was going on there and the Gennai clone down in Moscow sent Sora and Yolei there to take care of it."
"Siberia?!" Matt yelped. 'I hope Sora's okay…'
The~Ninth~Child
-Siberia-
"Hey, Imperialdramon, step on it!" Davis shouted. "Sora and Yolei are about to become a pair of girl-flavoured pancakes!"
"Hold on, everyone!" The Mega Digimon shouted as he suddenly took a nose dive before looping around a bit to land on the ground.
"Imperialdramon!" Sora and Yolei chorused in relief as the DigiDestined on his back climbed out.
"Who were you expecting?" the mega Digimon asked. "Santa?"
"Great timing, huh?" Davis grinned.
"Oh brother," Kagome sighed with a small smile.
"If you like drama," Yolei retorted. "Iliya!" she looked at the Gennai look-alike in surprise.
"No time to waste," Iliya told the as he opened a laptop, "These fellows will be home in time for dinner! DigiPort: Open!"
And just like that, the Digimon on the Siberian landscape were taken back to the Digital World in a matter of moments.
"It was nice meeting the two of you," Iliya nodded to Sora and Yolei, "Very resourceful you two are. Most girls would have crumbled under pressure like stale peruski!"
"Goodbye Iliya!" Yolei waved as the DataHuman clone disappeared into a rainbow light. "Stay busy!"
"All right, let's go grab Kari and Izzy from Hong Kong and head on home," the maroon-haired preteen told everyone, "I really need a nap!"
"Wait!" Yolei shouted. "We can't go home!"
"It's almost Christmas morning," Ken pointed out, "If we're not home in time for presents, our parents are gonna get worried. Besides, I kind of have other problems to sort of deal with anyway…"
"No!" Yolei yelled. " I wanted Peruski and Borscht!"
"What's so bad about an old fashioned rice ball?" Davis asked obliviously.
"They're just a bit emotional because they didn't have lunch, I'm assuming?" Kagome directed her question at the two sobbing girls that were clutching at each other like their Digimon were.
"Yuri was going to take us out to dinner!" Sora sobbed.
"Yuri?!" Matt blanched. "Who's Yuri?!"
"Oh man, this is beyond embarrassing," Davis groaned. "Come on, let's get 'em on Imperialdramon before they freeze their eyelids together!"
Ciao,
TsukiyoTenshi