9, ATTACK OF THE GIANT AUTOMOMON

The DigiDestined had decided not to go through the Forest this time. They decided to take the long way around. They had no idea what they were going to do next. They had been utterly and completely beaten, and worse off, by one of their own.

Tai looked around angrily. He felt so helpless, he wanted to punch something. His little sister, Hikari, was still grieving the death of her dear friend Gatomon. The other Digimon didn't seem to want to talk about it. Koushiro buried his head in his computer. Joe took off his glasses and cleaned them. Mimi kept staring into the cool hat of hers. Sora held on to the little girl, consoling her during her fits of depression.

Tai looked around at Matt. He just sat next to a thin tree, looking down at the ground. He would repeatedly look up at Taichi and then quickly gaze at the ground again. Tai thought he wanted to say something to him, but didn't have the guts. Or maybe it was something else.

He looked back at his poor sister. He wanted so much to console her, now in her greatest moment of grief. Hikari, however, seemed to want nothing to do with him. She ignored his looks and stayed with Sora. Sora looked at Tai, almost apologetically. Taichi smiled and looked down at Koromon, who seemed to be looking to Tai for direction.

Finally, Joe broke the silence. "So what are we going to do now?"

"We're going back to save T.K." Tai answered quickly. " It's just… we need a plan." He kicked the ground and stirred up a cloud of dust. " We need a way to get close enough to him and to break whatever hold this 'Dawoemon' has on the little guy."

"Fat chance getting near him." Mimi said quietly. " That new Angemon isn't gonna let anyone of us close to him again. Besides, he might even…." Tears flooded her eyes and she hid her face in her hat.

"That's not going to happen again." Tai swore. " We just have to get stronger." He looked down at Koromon, who looked ready to weep all over again.

"I should have Warp-Digivolved when I had the chance." He whined. " I was to weak after his first attack, and I had to fight him as MetalGreymon. It's all my fault."

Tai picked him up and pulled on his ear. "What are you talking about buddy?" He smiled. "It wasn't your fault. We just have to get stronger that's all." He looked at the others. "We need some major help."

Koushiro piped up. "Gennai wants us to visit him." The others looked at him with surprise. " He sent me an e-mail. It seems he knows exactly what's been going on and he wants us to see him right away."

"But Gennai lives so far away." Sora mused. " How are we supposed to get there. I don't think we have too much time to fool around."

Izzy stood and actually smiled. " He knew you'd say that." He revealed. " He actually has another cottage that he lives in, and he's given me directions. He said he should be there shortly after we arrive, if we hurry."

"Well," Tai thought. " if there's anyone who can help us now, it's Gennai." He looked at Matt. Matt said nothing, but got up carrying Tsunomon and started walking. Koushiro shrugged, picked up Motimon,, and followed. The others followed as well. Tai stood back , scratching his head. "Come on Mat…" he thought "…we have to keep strong."

Sora suddenly turned to Kari, "You know what, I bet Angewomon isn't gone. I bet she's just waiting somewhere for you, like she did last time." She laid her hand on Hikari's head. " Until she comes back, I'll tell you what, I'll be your Digimon." Sora smiled. "You can call me Soramon."

Yokomon's eyes widened. "Hey! If you're gonna be her Digimon, then I'll be her Digimon too!" Sora smiled and looked back at Kari.

"See, now you have 2!" Hikari gave a weak smile and shrugged. She continued onward with the others. Tai noticed that Her crest hadn't changed like Takeru's Crest had changed. Maybe that was a good sign.

************

It's been a couple of days since the incident in the Throne Room. The courtyard had been repaired, and the Throne Room redecorated. Now Takeru practically lived there. In his huge comfy throne he slept. It wasn't a dreamless sleep, but it was sleep nevertheless.

Celamon sat in the courtroom, a flower pot placed in front of her. Her knees were up, holding a notepad close to her chest. She was drawing, or at least, trying to draw. It had been a slow couple of days, and she had decided to try this to alleviate her boredom. Now she wished she hadn't, looking at her drawing of the flower in front of her with contempt.

"Boy do I suck." Celamon lamented. Just then she turned her head, and FallenAngemon walked into the courtyard. He strode normally, but Celamon knew that in a blink of an eye, his short blade would be pulled out, ready to kill anyone who tried to harm the little boy inside the Throne Room.

He looked down at the small Digimon and smiled. "What are you doing?" he asked. Celamon quickly hugged the notepad to her chest and blushed.

"Nothing!" she lied. She froze as Fallen sat next to her, looking at the balcony that accompanied the courtyard. She relaxed slightly. "What…how are you doing?"

Fallen shrugged in response, continuing to stare at the horizon. Celamon concentrated on his shiny black hair, how it fell all the way loosely to his waist. She examined to shape of his face, his strong nose and handsome chin, and of course that very nice smile he wore. It was a tight smile, she thought, but it was still a nice one. Suddenly that smile turned at her, and she found herself staring directly into Fallen's face.

She blushed furiously and turned away. Fallen looked surprised. He faced the horizon again and sighed. "This is so frustrating." He scowled. "I feel like…like…"

He turned and looked at the potted plant next to Celamon. With a swift movement, he picked it up and prepared to hurl it across the courtyard. Celamon reached out frantically. "NO WAIT!!!"

Fallen paused and looked at the frantic Digimon. "Wha-?"

Celamon whipped the plant out of his hands violently. "I'm drawing that you idiot!" She shouted. Brushing it off, she sat back down and continued to draw.

"Can I see it?" Fallen asked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because you wouldn't understand it!" Celamon said viciously. She looked up at him and wore a wicked smile. " You should start slowly. I'll draw a dot and you can examine that for a few hours."

FallenAngemon was taken aback, then he laughed. "Ah you're just jealous 'cause I could beat you in a fight." He smiled and Celamon fumed.

"Y-You…." She grated. Fallen smiled again and flared his wings. He hovered briefly in the air and waved. He was just about to fly off when Celamon suddenly stood. "Hey wait!"

Fallen looked back. Celamon continued. "Come find me later OK? I'll show you the drawing."

Fallen nodded quickly and took off. Celamon looked at his disappearing figure and smiled. "Idiot." She thought to herself. " Big, handsome idiot."

************

The DigiDestined had walked for quite a while, and had now reached a strange complex. It looked like a factory, similar to the one they visited when they first entered the Digital World. They looked at it as it loomed in the horizon, only a few blocks away.

The others sat down for a rest. Tai stretched and conked out on the grass. The forest was to their right and they were in a clear meadow. Joe thought it wouldn't be too safe to be out in the open like this, but they were too tired to care.

Taichi got up on his elbows and looked at Matt. He stared at the ground, then looked at Tai. He quickly glanced away. Tai thought he was fighting something. He got up and went to his friend's side.

"All right Matt," Tai started. "if got something to say to me, say it now." He stared down the blonde boy. Yamato stared down at the ground, and his eyes filled with tears.

"I'm sorry." He whispered. "It's my fault your sister is in such pain. It's my fault Gatomon is gone." Yamato brought his arms up against his head, as if to hide the whole world away from him. " If only…." He trailed off.

Taichi stared incredulously. "You're fault?" He flopped to the ground and sighed. "I'm sure tired of everyone saying it's their fault. Why don't we blame…um…Joe! He's always blamable!" Tai grinned.

Yamato squared off on him angrily. "This isn't a freakin' joke, Tai!" He grated through clenched teeth. " Don't treat it that way! You're just pissing me off!"

Tai glanced back at him. " And you're pissing me off, all of you with your, 'It's my fault' and 'no it's my fault.'" Taichi got up on his elbows and sighed. "You're not your brothers keeper Mat, and I'm not my sisters. The fact is, this Dawoemon poisoned his mind. It's obviously her fault." He looked at Mat and grinned. "Tell you what, next time we find her, I'll hold her while you give her serious beat down."

Yamato tried not to, but he grinned anyway. He looked away, as if ashamed to be smiling. Tai laughed, then stopped as a strange grating sound reached his ears.

The others heard it too. "What the heck's that." Joe said. He got up and looked around. The sound seemed to be coming from the forest.

Koushiro got up slowly. " I dunno….it almost sounds like."

"AUTOMOMONS!" Mimi burst out.

The exploded from the trees, hundreds of white and black striped Automomons. Their hideous breathing made the sound that the DigiDestined had heard before. The screeched and headed straight for the group of kids.


The Digimon Digivolved, but Tai got a hold of Agumon. "RUN!" he screamed, and the all got up and frantically fled. They raced as hard as they could, the vicious Automomons right on their heels.

Joe was gasping painfully. "Where….are ….we going…..to ….." he huffed.

Taichi looked back. "Dammit! We have to fight!"

"No!" Sora whizzed by at full speed, running with Hikari in tow, and grabbing Taichi as she went by. "We have….to get….there!" She pointed to the factory that was ahead.

The DigiDestined ran through the huge opening in the front of the Factory. It seemed relatively empty, with only a few hydraulic arms here and there, and lots of weeds and vines growing around the dead equipment.

They stopped and stared ahead dejectedly. There was no other opening, and they had hit a dead end. The kids looked behind themselves and gulped. Blocking the only entrance were piles upon piles of stir mad Automomon.

************

Dawoemon entered the Throne Room. She had been having a great time, torturing the DigiDestined, making them feel as much pain as possible. She reveled when Angewomon died. She would have preferred if it was actually one of the kids, but this was good enough. A few minutes ago she had sent the whole army of her Automomons to destroy them completely.

Now she was being called to a room by a pint-sized brat and was being treated like a servant. She ground her teeth…this wouldn't last long, she hoped.

Takeru sat before her, he didn't look at all to pleased. Dawoemon gulped and readied herself. She had to remember that this was only a boy, no matter what power he had, he would be hers to manipulate. Easily.

She strode up to the boy. FallenAngemon floated silently on his right side, and Celamon stood off on the East Wall of the Throne Room. Takeru leaned forward and narrowed his eyes.

"When do I get to save the Digiworld?" He asked simply.

Dawoemon gulped again. " You see, Takeru-sama, I am planning it as we speak. It is a very delicate process, but once it is do-"

T.K. got on his feet and roared. "I'M NOT GONNA SIT HERE AND WAIT ANYMORE DAWOEMON! TELL ME HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AND TELL ME NOW!!!!"

Dawoemon was blown back and hit the door of the room with an ugly thud. Everyone in the room was pushed back by the force of Takeru's rage. The impact had formed a large crack in the Throne Room door and Dawoemon slumped down. Celamon stared wide-eyed, and T.K. narrowed his eyes, staring coldly at the downed plant-mon.

Dawoemon got up slowly and brushed herself off. She had to calm herself down. Takeru didn't know it, but he had gotten really close to killing her right then and there.

"The Crests were created on a blueprint forged from people of another age." She began. " The Crest of Despair had been created a long time ago, and was used by a powerful King. He used the Crest to unleash the Pixel, another dimension tucked away in the Digital World."

She strode forward and grimaced. She didn't want to tell so much so soon, but she had no choice. " The Pixel is the ultimate source of power. It was so powerful, the others that lived in the time moved to depose the King and to use the Crest of Despair to seal it." She took a breath and continued. " My people found the ruins that led to the Pixel Gate, and are now, as we speak, preparing the way to it for you, Takeru-sama."

"I'm going to open the gate?" T.K. asked.

Dawoemon nodded. " With the power of the Pixel Dimension, no other Digimon would be able to stand up to you. You could keep the Digiworld at peace, forever." She smiled knowingly.

T.K. sat back. "How long is this going to take? You know, getting the ruins open"

Dawoemon shook her head. " They are trying as hard as they can, Takeru-sama." She glared at the boy on the Throne. " I could force them to work harder on your behalf, if you so wish."

"No." T.K. sighed. "I'll wait." Dawoemon had the feeling she had been dismissed and excused herself from the room.

"I can wait too, Takeru." She thought to herself as she left for her chambers. " I'll wait for the chance to kill you and put this world on its knees." She smiled wickedly and disappeared into the hallway.

************

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted. A ball of fire escaped his mouth and exploded on a section of machinery, bursting it into pieces. Oil and Gas spilled on the ground in front of the scrambling Automomons. The other Digimon followed suit and destroyed more equipment, spilling oil in front of them.

"OK, Now!" Joe shouted. The Digimon aimed and fired their attacks on the slick ground. It burst into flames, creating a fire wall between them and the Automomons. The DigiDestined cheered as the foul creatures were driven back.

"Great plan Joe!" Tai cheered. "Look at them, not so tough now are ya!?" He taunted the monsters.

Suddenly they began to jump on each other and melt. The DigiDestined looked at them in horror, then looked up, and up, and up, as a huge creature loomed in front of them.

The Automomons had fused into one gigantic version of the smaller Monster. It hunched over, trying not to hit its head on the ceiling that was 2 stories away from the ground. It took a step and put out the puny fire that had started only a minute before.

"Die." It growled.

"Okay." Joe gulped. "This is cute." And trembled with the ground, as the Automomon took a booming step forward towards the hapless kids.

TO BE CONTINUED

Ooooooooh. What's gonna happen. I hope you like it. Tell me if you don't and I do take suggestions, so please review. OOOOoooooooh - Incognito.