Cats, Bats, and Wizards' Hats
By: SilvorMoon
p Mr. Kido was a creature of habit. Perhaps it was his scientific mindset that made him so,
or perhaps it was a side effect from his hectic job as a doctor. Whatever the reason was, he had
his morning routine worked out to the last second, and there was very little in the world that
could have altered it. Unfortunately for him, there were other worlds that needed taking into
account, and a small part of one of those worlds seemed to have moved in with him.
P He started his day just like always. His alarm clock went off at seven sharp, and he turned
it off and bounded out of bed, determined not to waste a single second. He found his robe,
hanging on the bedpost just like always, and picked up his towel, folded precisely on the towel
rod inside his closet. He left his bedroom and walked down the hall to the bathroom. At that
point, his game plan called for him to open the door, step inside, and take his shower. Instead, he
opened the door, looked inside, stared a moment, and closed the door again. Brimming with
annoyance, he stomped into the kitchen.
p Joe was in the kitchen. Living proof of heredity, he had inherited his father's workaholic
tendencies, and he had been up since six so he could get more study time in. Never mind that this
was summer; he wanted a head start on next year's schoolwork. Right now, though, he was busy
slurping down his breakfast.
P "Joe, could I have a word with you?" asked Mr. Kido.
P "Sure, Dad," said Joe through a mouthful of corn flakes.
P "Why is there a purple polkadotted seal and a dozen multicolored fish paddling around in
my bathtub?"
P "Gee, I don't know," Joe replied. "I guess because they couldn't find the swimming pool.
And he isn't a seal, he's a Digimon. His name's Gomamon."
P "I don't care about his name or what he is," Mr. Kido snapped. "I want him and those fish
out of my tub!"
p "How are the fish going to survive out of the water?"
p "I don't know! Put them in a fishtank or a bucket or something, but get them out!"
p "All right, all right!" said Joe, cringing. "Just give me a minute, okay?"
p Mr. Kido did not look at all mollified, and his son slunk out of the room looking hunted.
Joe tiptoed upstairs, trying not to disturb his brother and mother, but he need not have worried.
Very little could have been heard over the sounds of rushing water, splashing, and playful
shouting. He knocked on the door.
P "Hey, Gomamon, can I come in? Are you decent?"
p "Sure, Joe! Come on in! The water's fine!"
P Joe opened the door and was met by a wall of steam, and he was instantly blinded as his
glassed fogged up. He took them off and blinked myopically, trying to see through the milky wet
whiteness that filled the air. What he saw was worse than he had expected.
P His bathroom had been transformed into a water park. Not only was the bathtub filled, but
both sinks were on duty as well. The shower was putting out a steady stream of hot water, and
the tub was overflowing with suds, not to mention small moving creatures. The fish leaped from
the sinks to the tub and back again, dripping and splashing. Everything from the floor to the
towels was soaking wet. Gomamon was in the middle of it all, blowing bubbles and clearly
having the time of his life.
P "What - what - what?" Joe stammered. "Gomamon, what on Earth do you think you're
doing?"
P "I think I'm blowing bubbles," said Gomamon, catching one and balancing it on his nose
like a seal. "What do you think I'm doing?"
p "I think you destroyed the bathroom!" Joe blurted. "Look at this mess! Everything's
soaked! What were you thinking?"
p "I just wanted to invite the fish over to play," said Gomamon.
p "Well, could you please tell them to go play somewhere else? You guys just about gave
my dad a heart attack, and I never did get the hang of CPR."
P "Sure, whatever," Gomamon replied. He turned to a pink fish. "Hey, Schoolmaster, you
and your pals are going to have to go home now, before Joe has a fit."
P "All right. Bye, Gomamon!" the fish chirped.
P In a rainbow wave, the fish turned and swirled down the drain. Joe watched them in faint
amazement.
p "How did they do that?" he wondered.
p Gomamon gave him teasing grin.
P "Don't say it!" said Joe. "They learned it in school, right?"
P "You got it!" Gomamon replied.
P "Figures," Joe sighed. "Did your fish buddies ever teach you anything about cleaning the
bathroom?"
P "Nope," said Gomamon. "Is it anything like having to scrub Piximon's floors?"
p "Kinda, yeah."
p Gomamon looked doleful. "I wish iI/i could go down the drain right about now."
P "So do I," Joe replied. "Shut off the water. I'm going to go look for some dry towels."
p Joe sloshed out of the room, leaving a trail of wet footprints behind him. A few minutes
later, he returned with an armload of cleaning rags, which he dumped on the floor in front of
Gomamon.
P "You start drying things off," he commanded. "I'll get to work wringing out the wash
cloths."
p "Yes, sir, general, sir!" said Gomamon with his usual impudence. With surprising deftness,
he picked up a rag in his flippers and began to scrub. Joe collected the wet towels and got to
work drying them. For a while, they worked in silence, Joe still silently fuming about having to
clean up after his Digimon companion, Gomamon looking thoughtful.
P "You know something, Joe?" he said at last. "I think still having Myotismon around might
actually be a good thing."
P "How can you say that?" Joe replied. "Myotismon's an evil monster, remember? He drinks
human blood, hangs around with bats, and wants to take over the world! How can that possibly
be a good thing?"
P "Because it gives us something to do," Gomamon replied. "Us Digimon, I mean. If he
wasn't gone, we'd just be hanging around for no good reason. We don't really belong here. We
don't really know how to fit in."
P "Yeah," said Joe, looking around the sodden room. "I can kind of see that."
P "You know what I think?" asked Gomamon. "I think that when we ido/i finally beat
Myotismon, the door back home will open again."
p "It might already be open," Joe pointed out. "Remember, Gennai sent us that helper to
watch us. If he can get in, why can't we get out?"
p "I don't know. No good reason, I guess."
P "I thought so," Gomamon nodded. "Joe, do you want to go back to Digiworld?"
P "Should I?" Joe replied. "I'm not much better at living there than you are here."
P "No way, Joe! You were great back there!" Gomamon replied. "Besides, wouldn't you
want to be with me?"
P Joe smiled a little. "Well... maybe with you around, it would be okay."
P Gomamon grinned. "I thought it would be... Hey!" He yelped as Joe threw a wet towel at
him, and then sloshed some of the water from the sink back at his human friend. Then the fight
was on.
P Out in the hall, Joe's older brother Jim heard the commotion and sighed.
P "I never will figure out that kid," he said. "At least that Digimon of his is teaching him
how to play. That's an improvement."
P Just then, the doorbell rang. Jim glanced at the kitchen, where his father was grumpily
perusing the paper, and then at the closed door to the bathroom, where it sounded like a small
naval war was going on.
P "I'll get it!" Jim shouted, and went to open the front door.
P He was glad to be met with a smiling face. Standing on the doorstep was a girl with short
red hair escaping the confines of her blue hat, and she was accompanied by a larger-than-average
pink bird.
P "Hi. You must be Sora. Joe told me about you and Biyomon," said Jim. "Hey, you'd
better not let my dad see her here. He's already kind of mad at Gomamon right now, and I don't
think he'd be happy to see any more Digimon hanging around."
P "That's okay," said Sora. "I just came looking for Joe. Is he here?"
P "Yeah. He's busy cleaning the bathroom."
p "He is? What for?"
p "Gomamon."
p "Ah," said Sora. "That explains it."
p "Gomamon's in trouble!" Biyomon chirped, giggling.
p "Well, maybe we'd better help him out," said Sora. "The others are waiting for him,
remember?"
p "More trouble?" asked Jim. "I thought Joe told me you guys had finished off that vampire
thing."
p "Well, he's back, and as bad as ever," Sora replied. "That's why we're having a meeting.
Izzy couldn't get through to Joe, so he sent me to look for him."
P "Well, he's right in there, and he'd probably be glad to be somewhere else," Jim replied.
P "Thanks. I'll see you around, Jim."
P "Okay. See you, Sora."
P Sora opened the bathroom door and looked in on the war zone. Joe looked back at her
from under a dripping towel.
P "What happened in here?" asked Sora.
p "Gomamon and his marching fish threw a water party," Joe replied. "I'm cleaning."
P "I ... see," said Sora, looking at the cleaning rags and towels, now equally soaked, that
covered the room. "You have an interesting way of cleaning."
P "Blame Gomamon. He started it," Joe replied.
p "If you say so... where iis/i Gomamon, anyway?"
P "Boo!" yelled one of the cleaning rags, leaping at Sora. She yelped and jumped
backwards, neatly falling in the tub.
P "Help! A Bakemon!" she cried.
p "No it isn't. It's only Gomamon," said Joe, picking up the rag to reveal his Digimon
beneath.
P "Well, she asked where I was," Gomamon said.
P "I guess that's one way of showing yourself," Sora grumbled, trying to pull herself out of
the slippery tub. "Anyway, Joe, if you've been here the whole time, how come you didn't answer
Izzy's call?"
P "Call? What call? I didn't get any call."
p "That's funny. You should have," Sora replied. "Where's your Digivice? Aren't you
wearing it?"
p "Sure, I always wear it. It's right here."
p Joe reached into his pocket and pulled the gadget out. A few drips of water fell from it
and splattered onto the floor.
P "Oops," said Joe. "No wonder it wasn't working. I guess soapsuds aren't very good for
Digivices. Hope it still works."
P He shook it a few times and slapped it against his palm, sending more water flying. Sure
enough, there was a hiss of static, and then Izzy's voice came through.
P "Hey, Joe are you there? Joe, come in!"
p "I'm here. What's up?" Joe replied.
P "There you are! I've been trying to reach you all morning. Where's Sora? Isn't she there
yet?"
P "Sure, she's over there in the bathtub," Joe replied.
P "She's iwhat?/i"
P "Oh, never mind."
P "Where have you been, Joe? Your Digivice blinked out, and I haven't been able to find
you at all."
p "Well, I've been right here in the bathroom all morning."
p "You have? What have you been doing in there?" Izzy replied. "Wait a minute, maybe I
shouldn't ask."
P "I've been cleaning, okay?" Joe snapped. "Anyway, what's up?"
p "A meeting," Izzy replied. "We're all getting together at Matt's place. Something's come
up."
P "Oh, great. Just what we didn't need," Joe replied. "Why are we meeting at Matt's? I
thought we went to the park when we wanted to meet."
P "I know. That's why we have to meet somewhere different this time. We're too easy to
find in the park," Izzy replied. "Besides, Matt's dad understands Digimon a lot better than most
people."
P "I wish my dad did that," Joe replied.
p "We don't have time to worry about your domestic problems right now," said Izzy.
"Hurry up! We don't have any time to waste!"
P There was a click as communications were cut off. Joe sighed.
p "My dad isn't going to like this much," he said.
P "Tell him the fate of the world is more important than a clean bathroom," said Sora.
p "I guess you're right. Oh, well, let's get going."
p "Not yet," said Sora. "There's something we've got to do first."
P "Huh? What's that?"
P "Could you help me get out of this bathtub?"
Pcenter~*~/center
P It was DemiDevimon's opinion that Wizardmon's eyes looked a bit redder even than was
usual. Unusual a situation as it was, he was actually correct. While the bat Digimon had snored
peacefully at the front entrance, oblivious to the chaos that was going on around him, Wizardmon
had stayed awake the entire night, working desperately to come up with something,
ianything/i, that he could show his master when he returned. It was understandable that he
should be tense and exhausted while is partner was bright-eyed and ready to go. Wizardmon
toyed nervously with his staff with one hand, trying to stifle his yawns.
P "You're gonna get it when the boss gets home," DemiDevimon taunted. "Do you know
what Myotismon does to people he doesn't like? He'll hang you upside down over a roasting pit!
He'll lock you in a dungeon without food or water! He'll feed you to a Tyranomon! And that's
just when he's in a igood/i mood!"
P "Oh, shut up, you mindless molting mess," Wizardmon snapped.
p "Touchy, aren't you? You know I'm right - you just don't want to admit it," said
DemiDevimon. "If I were you, I'd make some tracks. You might just get away from him if you
leave now."
P "If you were me, you'd have a brain," said Wizardmon. "However, since that isn't the
case, I advise you to sit back, watch, and learn."
P "Learn what?" asked DemiDevimon, suddenly interested. "What do you know that I
don't?"
p "It would take all day to list," Wizardmon retorted. "Quit flapping your fangs and wait for
the master to get home."
P "Humph," DemiDevimon muttered, ruffling his feathers. "I think you're just bluffing."
P "Shows what you know."
P At that moment, there was a whirring of machinery, and the hatch to the outside world
opened, allowing Myotismon's carriage to sink down into the earth, accompanied by two
Bakemon guards. The ghost carriage rolled forward, bringing with it a chill mist that shrouded
the room. Then it paused, and Myotismon stepped regally out. His two servants stood at
attention.
P It was lucky for Wizardmon that his master was in a good mood. His hunting had gone
well, and he was visibly revitalized. Even his bats had a fresher look about them, fluttering and
chattering with what seemed to be boundless energy.
P "Well," he said, "what have you two been doing while I was gone?"
P "Warding off an attack," Wizardmon replied. "At least, I was. Your animate featherduster
slept through the whole thing."
P "I did not!" DemiDevimon protested.
P "If you didn't, how do you explain the fact that one of the Digidestined humans managed
to get in here?" asked Wizardmon. "Not to mention his companion and that traitor Gatomon. The
three of them destroyed one of the Bakemon, infiltrated the complex, thwarted the Gizamon
guards, and stole back the computer, and you never once intervened."
P "Is this true, DemiDevimon?" Myotismon demanded.
P "I - I - I..."
P "I thought so," said Myotismon. "Those brats are more daring than I thought. Where is
the Gizamon leader? Have him report."
P "I am here, my lord," hissed one of the Gizamon, slipping out of the shadows. "It is as
your servant said - the Digidestined human and two Digimon were here tonight. We pursued
them, but they destroyed two of our number and then escaped - how, I don't know. If I didn't
know better, I'd say they walked right through the walls!"
P "A likely story," Myotismon muttered. "Enough! You are dismissed. Don't any of you
expect any rations this morning."
P "Yes, my lord," said the Gizamon leader. It turned and hopped off into the darkness.
P "Well, Wizardmon," Myotismon continued, "I suppose you're going to use this as an
excuse for getting nothing accomplished. Am I right?"
P "Now you're going to get it," DemiDevimon chuckled.
P "Actually, my lord, I do have something to show," said Wizardmon. "The first thing I did
was study the information on the Digivices, the Tags, and the Crests, trying to see how it is that
they function. It seems that each of them is somehow keyed to the Digidestined's strongest traits.
They draw on their owners' strengths to make the Digimon digivolve. Based on that theory, I
designed this."
P Reaching in his pocket, Wizardmon withdrew a shiny chunk of black rock and pitched it at
Myotismon. One of the bats swooped down and caught it, delivering it to the open hand of its
master. Myostimon studied the stone with a look of skepticism.
P "Nothing much to look at," he said. "What does it do?"
P "It's a Black Lens," said Wizardmon matter-of-factly. "Just as a true lens takes light and
focuses it, this Black Lens focuses power. Theoretically, you should be able to use it make your
servants more powerful."
P "Theoretically?" Myotismon repeated.
P "It hasn't been tested," said Wizardmon. "I thought you should be the one to choose who
has the honor of receiving its power."
p Myotismon nodded thoughtfully. The idea of a Black Lens was appealing, but the
possibility that it might not work was not. There was a chance that it might destroy whoever he
used it on, or make them so powerful that he wouldn't be able to control them. Well, then, he
would have to test it on someone weak and expendable. Who? Not one of his warrior Digimon -
most of them were too strong, and he needed every one of them for his conquest of the world. He
glanced at his two subordinates, who seemed to have gone back to squabbling with each other.
Sooner or later, he mused, he was going to have to be rid of one, before they started fighting with
each other seriously. Wizardmon was strong enough and intelligent enough to be a valuable aide,
but he was also proud and independent, and that was dangerous. Still, he needed him too much
right now to sacrifice him. He shifted his gaze to DemiDevimon, who was generally
incompetent, useless, annoying, and unswervingly loyal... Perfect!
p "DemiDevimon," he said, "how would you like to try digivolving?"
pcenter~*~/center
P "There they are! Better late than never!" said Tai, hearing the door open.
P "Took them long enough. Where have you been, Joe?" Matt asked. "And how did you get
so wet?"
p "Long story," said Joe, looking glumly at his soaked clothes. "I guess I should have
changed my shoes, anyway. It's hot out there. I'll probably get athlete's foot."
P "Can you die of hypochondria?" asked Tai.
p "If anyone can, it's Joe," Sora replied.
P "Don't just stand there, guys!" said T.K. "Come on in! Have a cookie!"
P "You don't have to tell me twice!" Gomamon replied, bounding for the cookie platter.
P Joe, Sora, and Biyomon went to join the rest of the group. They were all sitting around
Matt's kitchen table - a tight fit, with eight humans and eight Digimon, plus Izzy's precious
laptop. He was holding it a bit more defensively than usual in the wake of its brush with disaster,
glaring at anyone who dared get too close to it. Even Tentomon was giving him a wider berth
than usual.
p "Okay, can anyone explain why I had to come all the way out here?" asked Mimi. "I'm
supposed to be having my morning bubble bath, and my pedicure, and my facial, and-"
p "Man, and I thought she was growing out of that," Tai muttered.
P "You know Mimi," Sora replied. "If she grows out of anything, she's got to have a new
one."
P "Probably in six different colors," Matt added.
P "You mean she's always like this?" asked Kari.
P "Actually," said Palmon, "this is one of her good days."
p "Why does everybody always pick on me?" Mimi whined.
P "Don't make us answer that!" Tai shot back.
p "She's right, it is unnecessary," said Joe, taking on the role of peacemaker. "I want to
know why we're here, too, after all... So, why are we?"
p "Communication," said Izzy. "More specifically, because Gennai wants to talk to us."
P "So, we're all here," said Tai. "Let's get this over with!"
P "Fine. Just let me open a channel..." Izzy replied. His fingers moved across the keyboard
in a fair imitation of a small hailstorm, and the computer screen flickered as it kept pace. Then a
small window opened, revealing their mentor's smiling face.
P "Greetings, Digidestined!" he announced. "It's good to see you all again. I hear some of
you had an interesting time last night."
P "You could say that," Tentomon muttered.
P "I'm afraid your troubles aren't over yet," said Gennai. "There's no telling what kind of
information Myotismon could have taken from your computer, so you're going to have to be on
full alert."
P "What about that helper you promised?" said Tai. "Where is he? Why isn't he... you
know, helping us?"
P "He is," Gennai replied. "Who do you think was in there stealing Izzy's computer or
creating magical doors?"
P "So that was who found my laptop!" Izzy exclaimed. "I wondered about that."
p "He must be very brave," said Gatomon, "to go into Myotismon's hideout."
p "He is very brave," answered Gennai, "and very dedicated to helping you all. However, he
is a bit shy - you probably won't be seeing him very often, not unless it absolutely can't be
avoided."
P "How come?" asked TK. "If he's our friend, he shouldn't have to be shy around us."
p "It's all a matter of safety," said Izzy. "Our Digivices only record information on Digimon
we've seen. If we never see this helper Digimon, we can't track him - and neither will Myotismon,
even if he gets hold of my computer again."
p "Exactly," said Gennai. "I want you all to be very careful - especially you, Gatomon. I'm
almost sure Myotismon will try something after what happened last night."
p The Digidestined and their companions nodded agreement, and Gennai said goodbye and
closed the link.
P "He sounded kind of worried," said Sora. "Do you think he knows something he's not
telling?"
p "I, for one, think he knows a ilot/i of things he's not telling," Gabumon commented.
P "He's a weird guy, that's for sure," Tai agreed. "I wish we had asked him for some more
information when we were visiting him."
p "We didn't know what we were up against then," said Matt. "We still don't. Sometimes
being Digidestined is a real drag."
P "Only sometimes?" asked Joe. Nobody paid attention.
P "So now we've got a helper," said Biyomon thoughtfully. "I wonder what he's like?"
P "I thought I got a look at him," said Gatomon. "He ran around a corner, so I only got a
little glimpse. When I chased after him, he disappeared."
p "Weird," said Tai. "Well, I guess if we're lucky, we'll see him later."
P "If we're not lucky," Joe corrected. "Remember what Gennai said? Whoever this Digimon
is, he's not going to show his face unless we have a real emergency. If that's the case, I'd be just
as happy to let him have some privacy."
p "Does anyone know what time it is?" asked Palmon suddenly.
P Matt glanced at the clock. "It's about ten o'clock. Why?"
P "Is there usually fog on the road this late in the day?" she replied.
P "Huh?" Everyone ran over to the window, where the plant Digimon was already standing
on the tips of her roots to look out at the street below.
P "There really is a fog out there," said Matt. "This can't be good."
P "You're right," Mimi agreed. "Do you have any idea what humidity does to my hair?"
P "There she goes again," muttered Tai. "Doesn't she ever quit?"
P "Fog is Myotismon's outrider," said Gatomon. "First comes the haze of confusion and
uncertainty, and then Myotismon comes under cover of its darkness. I once heard him say he
intended to take the world by fog."
P There was a small rattling sound, and no one had to look to know that Izzy was back to
work on his computer.
P "Gatomon's right," he replied. "Myotismon is on the move, and he's got some helpers
with him."
P "Oh, no, not again," said Joe. "How many times to we have to kill him before he stays
dead?"
p "What are we going to do?" asked Patomon, he and his companion wearing identical wide
eyed expressions.
P "The only thing we can do," Tai replied. "Go find them before they find us."
P "Are you sure hiding wouldn't be a better idea?" asked Tentomon.
P "Negative," said Izzy. "Tai's right. Sooner or later, Myotismon would find us. We should
strike first while we've got the chance. Maybe this time we can finish off Myotismon once and for
all!"
P "I don't know," said Matt. "Sounds risky to me."
p "So is sitting here waiting for Myotismon to come," Kari pointed out. "My big brother's
not a genius, but he's not stupid, either."
p "That's debatable," muttered Matt under his breath, but he didn't push the issue.
P "All right, that's settled," said Tai. "You guys said I'm the leader, and I say we're going
after Myotismon! Can your computer take us there, Izzy?"
p "Sure thing. Just give me a nano to process the rest of this data," Izzy replied. "There!
Got it! He's on the corner of Cherry Tree and 4th street and moving east."
p "Great. We can circle around and sneak up on them from behind," Tai decided. "Come on,
everyone! We've got a ghost to bust!"
P The other Digidestined made sounds of agreement - except Mimi, who looked puzzled.
P "Don't you mean a vampire?" she asked.
P Tai rolled his eyes. "Well, Izzy's computer says he's a Ghost-type Digimon... right, Izzy?"
P "Hmm?" asked Izzy. "What did you say? These readings I'm getting are crazy.
Myotismon's goons must have corrupted some of my files."
P "Never mind," Tai sighed. "Let's just get moving, okay?"
P They trekked out of the apartment, with Izzy in the back, still pecking away at his
computer.
p "Extremely strange," he muttered. "My Digimon tracking system is picking up
Myotismon, DemiDevimon, and iWizardmon./i But that's impossible... isn't it?"
Pcenter~*~/center
P Wizardmon was lurking. With his shadow-colored cloak pulled tightly around himself, he
slid silently through the fog filled city. Myotismon had not given him permission to come along,
and there would probably be retribution if he was discovered, but Wizardmon was not one to
back down just because there might be danger involved. After all, his pride was at stake. After all
the hours of hard work, all that time and effort he had put into creating the Black Lens, and it was
DemiDevimon who would reap its benefits! DemiDevimon was of no use for anything save spying
and brown-nosing, and he didn't even do those very well. He was certainly not fit to go up against
the Digidestined. Even with the Black Lens's power on his side, he would lose through sheer
stupidity, and then Myotismon would likely conclude that the object was worthless, and all
Wizardmon's pains would come to nothing. He wasn't going to stand for that. Even when he was
given orders to stay in the hideout and await his master's return, he had slipped out along with
them, hidden in Myotismon's own fog, and trailed along to watch the battle... and to wait for a
chance to intervene.
P Meanwhile, the Digidestined were also out hunting. Gabumon and Gatomon had taken the
lead, the former lighting the area by breathing a steady stream of blue flame while the latter kept
her sharp eyes and ears peeled for trouble. Izzy followed close behind, charting their course with
his laptop. Matt and Kari came next, keeping watch over their Digimon, while Tai and Agumon
trailed them, unwilling to be left behind. The rest of the group tagged along in a haphazard
fashion, watching for sneak attacks.
P "Are we there yet?" Joe asked. "This fog keeps fogging up my glasses!"
P "Shh!" Sora hissed. "We're trying to sneak up on them, remember?"
P "Yeah, Joe, put a sock in it," Tai called. "Hey, Izzy, what's that computer of yours say?
Are we anywhere close?"
P "That's what I wanted to know," grumbled Joe.
P "We're getting there," Izzy replied. "They should be just up ahead, so stay very quiet!"
p The group tensed. They tiptoed along as quietly as they could, trying to ignore the way
the fog seemed to wrap around them, becoming thicker and colder and wetter until they almost
felt like they were drowning. Gomamon was tempted to jump into the air to see if he could swim
in it, and Biyomon shuffled her sticky feathers uneasily. Suddenly, Gatomon froze in place, and
Matt, not watching closely, tripped on her.
p "Oof!" he cried as he hit the pavement.
p "Me-yow!" Gatomon wailed as Matt fell on her.
P "What was that?" asked a voice from the fog.
P "Now you've done it," muttered Tai.
P "Sorry," said Gatomon. "I just wanted to tell you that-"
P "-Myotismon is here," Izzy finished.
P "Right," she said.
P A shape began to emerge from the darkness, and the fog-muffled air was slowly
penetrated by the steady thudding of boots and fluttering of wings. As the Digidestined watched,
the shadowy shape began to resolve itself into a tall, cloaked figure.
P "I knew this was a bad idea, but nobody listens to me," Matt complained.
p "Well, well, well," said Myotismon, "isn't this a pleasant surprise? Eight Digidestined and
their little Digi-pets, all lost in the fog. How nice of you to come looking for me - it saves me the
trouble of trying to find you."
P "You don't scare us!" said TK bravely. "We beat you once, and we can do it again!"
P "That's right, Myotismon," Gatomon added. "You're still weak from the last battle.
There's no way you can stand up to us all."
p "Think you're clever, do you?" answered Myotismon smoothly. "Did you really think I
would walk into a battle unless I was sure I could win?"
P "It never stopped you before," Tai replied.
p "Silence!" Myotismon barked. "You're beginning to annoy me. I think it's time I showed
you my new plaything. Allow me to reintroduce you to an old friend."
P The Digidestined stared into the fog, where they could just barely see something moving.
They ran through their memories of past battles, thinking of every evil Digimon they had ever
faced, wondering who it was that Myotismon had called forth to meet them. With bated breath,
they watched as their new opponent finally came into view...
p "DemiDevimon?" Patamon exclaimed, wrinkling his nose. He still hadn't forgiven the bat-
creature for trying to steal his companion.
p "It's official," said Matt. "Myotismon has gone bananas. That last hit knocked him off his
rocker."
p Myotismon laughed, enjoying their discomfiture, and DemiDevimon echoed with his own
raspy chuckle. He was enjoying himself immensely. He didn't quite understand just why he had
suddenly come into his master's favor after failing so many times before, but he wasn't about to
let that stop him from enjoying this chance.
p "I'm back! Did you miss me?" he asked.
p "Not hardly," Sora replied. "What are you doing here, DemiDevimon? You should be
afraid to show your face around here. I've still got a score to settle with you for poisoning
Biyomon."
P "That was one of my better moves, wasn't it?" said DemiDevimon. "But that doesn't
begin to compare with what I'm going to do now!"
p "Yes! The time has come," Myotismon replied. "I call on the power of the Black Lens!
iTransform!/i"
P He raised the dark crystal skyward, and a wide sheet of darkness beamed from it and
wrapped around DemiDevimon. It wrapped around him like a spiraling black hole, obscuring him
in solid shadow for a moment... and then the lights started.
P "What's going on?" asked Mimi, shying away from the eerie red-orange glow.
P "I think... I think he's digivolving!" said Izzy.
P "Into what?" asked Sora.
P "Nothing good," Gatomon replied.
P "I'll tell you what," laughed DemiDevimon's voice, echoing as if from far away and
insanely exultant. "DemiDevimon digivolve to... iVilemon!/i"
P The ring of shadow suddenly exploded, spraying little chips of darkness everywhere, and
out of the explosion stepped what could only be identified as a ithing./i It had a hairy body
like an emaciated ape, all greasy black and grey fur. It's feet were tipped with short, stubby claws,
but its bony hands terminated in needle-like talons. Its head was too big for its body, hanging off
its hunched back without benefit of a neck. Its enormous mouth lolled open, showing a long red
tongue and an abundance of teeth. Sunken red eyes with green centers squinted out of the dark
skin of its face. A mane of red-orange fur went from its forehead to its shoulder blades, from
which sprouted a double pair of bat's wings.
P "How do you like me now, Digidestined?" it laughed.
P "What in the world is that thing?" Matt wondered.
P "That's Vilemon," said Tentomon, "a Digimon of the pure Evil category. He's really not
the kind you want to invite to your birthday party."
P "Well, he's still just a Champion Digimon," said Izzy. "We ought to be able to take him."
P "Go ahead and try me!" Vilemon replied.
P "You asked for it, then!" said Tai. "Ready, you guys? It's digivolving time!"
P "Agumon, digivolve to... Greymon!"
P "Gabumon, digivolve to... Garurumon!"
P "Tentomon, digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"
P "Palmon, digivolve to... Togemon!"
P "Biyomon, digivolve to... Birdramon!"
P "Gomamon, digivolve to... Ikkakumon!"
P "Patamon, digivolve to... Angemon!"
P "How do you like ius/i now, Vilemon?" growled Greymon.
P "Not much," Vilemon replied. "I think I'll just have to get rid of you! iNightmare
Shocker!/i"
P With a flick of his claws, Vilemon threw a ball of black energy at the nearest cluster of
Digimon. Garurumon leaped out of the way, but Greymon was slower, and he fell heavily against
a building.
P "Hey, you can't do that to him!" Garurumon growled. "I'll teach you to mess with my
friends. iHowling Blaster!/i"
P Blue flames roared from the great white wolf's mouth, rushing over the place Vilemon
was... only he wasn't there anymore. He was up in the air, humming around them like a moth near
a flame.
P "Catch me if you can, wolfman!" he taunted.
P "The air is iour/i territory," said Birdramon, nodding to Kabuterimon. "Let's show
him how it's done. iMeteor Wing!/i"
P "iElectro Shocker!/i" Kabuterimon added.
P Balls of fire and lightning rolled across the sky, only to be deflected by a flick of
Vilemon's claws. The bat-monster laughed maniacally, but his laughter turned to a howl of pain as
a smoking missile slammed into his unprotected underside. He swooped out of the way in time to
avoid a second shot and looked down to see Ikkakumon firing a steady barrage of Harpoon
Torpedoes. He dove at the shaggy walrus Digimon and got a face full of needles for his trouble.
P "How do you like that, huh?" Togemon called. "Come down here and I'll give you some
more!"
P "Not today!" Vilemon replied, clawing the spikes away from his face. "iNightmare
Shocker!/i"
P The blast of dark energy shot through the air again, and ungainly Ikkakumon couldn't get
out of the way. Togemon could, though, and she did. She dove and rolled, narrowly avoiding
turning Mimi into a pincushion as she did. Then she sprang to her feet and sent another Needle
Spray flying at her attacker. Vilemon was too quick, though - he shot straight up into the air, and
the needles stabbed at Birdramon instead. She screeched and plummeted to earth.
P "Four down, four to go!" Vilemon cackled, watching delightedly as Sora ran to her
companion. "Man, this is so cool! Who wants to be next?"
P "How about me?" boomed a voice.
P Vilemon turned and found himself staring into Angemon's iron visage, holding his
gleaming Angel Rod at ready. The monster winced.
P "Uh, hi," he managed.
P "Do you feel like taking me on, Vilemon?" Angemon asked. "I destroyed Devimon, and I
can do the same to you."
P "Maybe," said Vilemon, "but you didn't do so well against Myotismon, did you?"
P "What?" Angemon turned and saw a wave of red light coming straight at him.
P "iCrimson Lightning!/i" Myotismon shouted.
P There was no time to counter-attack, or even react at all. Angemon let out a scream of
pain and fell, landing in a pile of crumpled white feathers.
P "Angemon!" TK screamed, running to join his protector. "Angemon, are you okay? Say
something!"
P "I'm all right," Angemon managed, struggling to his feet.
P Myotismon watched the scene with a cold smile. This was working out better than he had
expected! Who would have imagined that a bit of black glass could transform DemiDevimon from
a worthless peon into a powerful fighter? This experiment was definitely paying off. He might not
even need to keep Wizardmon around after all!
P A sizzling sound warned him just in time to dodge a ball of blue and lilac electricity. The
close escape was shock enough to draw him back to the matter at hand, and Myotismon wheeled
in midair to send a flight of screeching bats to deal with Kabuterimon. He made a mental note not
to start daydreaming in the middle of a battle again - that had been close almost to the point of
being embarrassing.
P Meanwhile, Gatomon was working herself into a fighting fury, her white fur bristling and
tail twitching. When she saw Angemon go down, she leaped into action. In a snowy blur, she
raced down the street, hit the wall of a building, and rebounded, using her sharp claws to give her
leverage as she propelled herself into the air and across the street, landing on the side of another
skyscraper. Letting her momentum carry her onward and upward, she streaked into the sky and
landed squarely on Vilemon's face.
P "I never liked you anyway," she growled. "iLightning Claw!/i"
P Vilemon screamed again and clawed the cat off his face, which was now marked with
eight crisscrossing red marks from her claws. She spun through the air, caterwauling in terror,
until she landed on the head of the prone Greymon.
p "Umph!" he snorted, startled out of unconsciousness as a flying feline fell on his snout.
P "Gatomon, are you all right?" Kari called.
P "I'm fine," she replied, bouncing nimbly off her friend's nose. "Cats ido/i land on
their feet, you know."
P "What's going on?" asked Greymon dazedly. "I was having this weird dream about
DemiDevimon..."
P "It's no dream, Greymon!" Tai called. "We need your help, before Vilemon and
Myotismon toast us all!"
p "They can't do that!" said Greymon, surging to his feet. "Toasting's imy/i job!"
P "And mine!" Garurumon added. "Let's get this job done! iHowling Blaster!/i"
P "iNova Blast!/i" Greymon added.
P Waves of blue and orange fire shot up into the sky in a dazzling display of pyrotechnics.
Vilemon didn't even bother to dodge - he just shouted and waved his claws, and the fires
dispersed as soon as they touched him. Greymon and Garurumon exchanged looks of shock, as
did their companions.
P "Wha' happened?" asked Tai. "That should have blown him right out of the sky!"
P "I don't know," Matt replied, "but I don't like it one little bit."
P They stood staring up at the sky, where Kabuterimon was filling the air with lightning as
he tried to dodge attacks from Vilemon and Myotismon - and occasionally Togemon, as she fired
off rounds of spines. It was in that moment that they both became aware of a sound, a small,
familiar, and not particularly welcome sound. Matt and Tai turned in disbelief to stare at Izzy,
who was sitting on the ground, oblivious to everything that was going on around him, tapping on
his computer.
P "What do you think you're doing?!" Matt demanded, outraged. "Your Digimon is up
there fighting for his life! This is no time to be playing solitaire!"
P Izzy turned and gave his friend a look that said he was wondering just what cave Matt had
crawled out of.
P "I know that," he said. "For your information, I'm trying to help him win this battle.
There's something strange going on here, and I'm trying to pin it down so we can fight it."
p "What are you talking about?" asked Tai.
P "There is no way Vilemon can be as powerful as he is," said Izzy. "It just doesn't
compute. He's only a Champion Digimon. Our eight Champions ought to be able to out-muscle
him, but we're barely holding our own. He's getting energy from somewhere, and if we can find
where it's coming from... Ah! Here it is!"
P "What? What?" Tai dropped to his hands and knees to peer at the screen.
P "Right there. You see?" asked Izzy, pointing at the readout. "It's that stone Myotismon
was carrying. He's using it like a Digivice! We've got to get it away from him!"
P "All right! You hear that?" Tai shouted to whoever might be listening. "Aim for
Myotismon! Get rid of that rock!"
P "Rock and roll!" Garurumon agreed. He gathered himself up and sprang, soaring through
the air with his jaws wide, flying toward Myotismon.
P "iGrisly Wing!/i" the vampire shouted. He flung his arms and cloak wide,
summoning forth a flight of bats.
P "iHowling Blaster!/i" Garurumon retorted. Blue flame jetted from his mouth, and the
bats perished with tiny squeaks. The white wolf flew on unharmed.
P It would not be fair to say that Myotismon was worried. He did, however, make some
quick decisions. Despite his great power, he was not all that physically imposing, unlike the
bristling, snarling beast that was hurtling toward him and showing off its teeth, claws, and
firepower. His first attack had obviously done nothing useful, and there wasn't enough time to call
up a second. Instead, Myotismon flicked his wings and let himself drop out of the sky. Garurumon
passed harmlessly over his head. The vampire congratulated himself on a move well made... and
then something hit him.
P "iHand of Fate!/i" shouted an all-too-familiar voice, and Myotismon felt the ball of
golden-white light energy burning into him. Angemon had finally recovered his strength, and now
he was back for revenge.
P Vilemon saw the danger his master was in and tried to thwart it with another Nightmare
Shocker, but the combined interference of Kabuterimon, Togemon, and Greymon kept him too
busy dodging needles and fireballs to even think about attacking. Meanwhile, Myotismon
struggled to recover himself, but that wasn't easy with an avenging angel bearing down on him.
He hissed and bared his sharp teeth at the white-winged wonder, determined to go down fighting.
P "iCrimson Lightning!/i" he shouted, flailing whips of red energy at his foe.
P Angemon countered by producing his Angel Rod and twirling it expertly, deflecting the
beams of light and sending them ricocheting back to strike at Myotismon. The monster screamed
in pain and frustration as he lost control of his spell and his flight capabilities all at once. He
landed with an undignified grunt in the street, his cloak falling around him in a heap of crumpled
crimson and black. The Black Lens tumbled from his pocket as he fell and bounced on the
pavement, spinning in the air and flashing with sparks of power for a brief instant before falling
again and becoming lost in the darkness of an alley.
P High above, Vilemon let out a squawk as he felt a sudden sinking sensation come over
him.
P "What's going on?" he wailed. "I'm losing my strength! Aaaargh!"
P He plummeted like a stone but landed safely in a garbage can, which emitted a flicker of
flame and shadow colors as his power dissipated. The other nearby Digimon scrambled over to
have a look. What they found was a grungy and malodorous DemiDevimon crawling out of the
trash. He looked up at all the curious eyes staring down at him.
P "Uhhh..." he said. "I gotta go now. Bye!"
P With a flutter of his wings, DemiDevimon bounded out of the trash can and scurried off
into the night.
P Meanwhile, Angemon had alighted on the ground next to the battered Myotismon, who
glared up at him with pure hatred burning in his eyes.
P "You think you've won," he snarled, pulling himself painfully off the ground. "Well, you
haven't. This was only the practice round. Remember, Digidestined, I can make more Black
Lenses, and I can use them on far more powerful Digimon. Think of that, and be afraid." He
vanished in a swirl of bats.
P As soon as their human friends were out of danger, the Digimon returned to their base
states, and their companions went to tend to them, praising their bravery and comforting their
injuries. It wasn't until a few moments had gone by that anyone thought to look for the Black
Lens.
P "Where did that thing go, anyway?" Tai wondered. "We fought hard enough for it. I want
to see it!"
P "You're crazy, Tai," said Matt. "You don't need to mess with that thing. Who
knows what kind of trouble it would cause!"
P "We should find it, though," Sora replied. "Someone needs to get rid of it, so Myotismon
can't use it again. Did anyone see where it landed?"
P "I think it went over there," said Gatomon, trotting off in the direction she'd seen it fall.
P Joe was the closest to the alley, so he had the best view of what happened next. Gatomon
padded along on her silent cat feet, slipping through the slowly clearing wisps of fog. As the
shadows gradually drifted away, she looked up to see a dark shape gliding toward her. Her eyes
widened, trying to assure herself that she was really seeing what she thought she saw. Her ears
and whiskers pricked up as she discerned the tall pointed hat, the flapping cape, the staff tipped
with a sunburst...
P "Wizardmon?" she whispered. "Is that you?"
P Joe stared. A psychic he was not, but he was cautious to the bone, and something was
telling him that this situation was very, very wrong. He clearly remembered Wizardmon - he had
been there when Zudomon had fished the sodden wizard out of the Tokyo bay and listened to his
whispery voice demanding to be brought to Kari and Gatomon. He remembered the pain in his
voice and the weariness in his eyes... His eyes! That was it. That was what was bothering him - he
didn't remember Wizardmon's eyes being that particular shade of red, or seeing them glow like
that...
P "Gatomon, get back!" he called.
P Gatomon looked at him in disbelief. "But - but that's Wizardmon! Don't you see him?"
P "No! Gatomon, something isn't right! You should stay away, before-"
p "iMagical Game!/i" Wizardmon shouted, pitching a ball of glowing energy at
Gatomon. She stared, too shocked even to cry out, as the burning light flew toward her...
P Something slammed into her from the side, sending her spinning along the ground until
they both tumbled to a halt, and the energy bolt flew harmlessly past. Gatomon sat up and shook
herself, finding Joe sprawled next to her. His glasses lay a short distance away, thrown off in his
wild dive to rescue her.
P "I told you to get out of the way," he muttered.
P Gatomon blinked, uncomprehending, at the scorched spot where the attack had struck the
pavement. She looked back up with pain and confusion in her eyes.
P "Wizardmon, what are you doing?" she asked.
P Wizardmon chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement. Those intense blue eyes, once
filled with pride and defiance, were nearly brimming with tears.
p "You little ifool/i," he spat. "Did you think you could get away with your treachery?
You have defied the master of ghosts, the lord of the undead, the great Myotismon! You served
him long enough to know that he does not take kindly to betrayal. That is why I am here. He has
sent me to deliver the punishment you deserve... because you really can't stop me, can you?"
P "What has he done to you?" Gatomon cried.
p "He has brought me to his side, where I should be," said Wizardmon, "and where you
should be as well. The price of treachery will be a return to abject loyalty... or utter annihilation!"
P "You keep away from her!" shouted Gomamon, bounding into the alley to put himself
between Wizardmon and his friends. "Are you crazy? We saved your life! You can't turn against
us!"
P "I owe you nothing," said Wizardmon firmly. "I belong to Myotismon. Behold his power!"
P From a fold of his cape, Wizardmon produced the Black Lens, holding it up and letting its
fire-shadow fall around him.
P "No! Stop him!" Gatomon shouted, trying to leap at him, but Joe held her back.
P "Keep away from that thing!" he said. "If you get caught in there, you might turn into a
monster too!"
P "But... but..."she stammered.
p The swirling shadows wove their net of darkness around the wizard, enveloping him in
their power, and he felt the change coming over him.
P "iTransform!/i" he shouted. "Wizardmon, digivolve to...iAsuramon!/i"
P The darkness exploded, sending the occupants of the alley tumbling head over heels into
the street. The rest of the Digidestined and their Digimon ran to make sure they were all right...
and then they looked up to see what had become of Wizardmon.
P "Oh, man," Matt muttered. "Does anyone else get the feeling this is not good?"
P Out of the shadows stepped hulking, musclebound humanoid with flames dancing over its
charcoal-black skin. It wore heavy gold cuffs and bracelets on each of its four arms, more around
its ankles, and ropes of golden beads around its neck. It had three masked faces, each covered in a
different color - one red, one blue, and one gold - and all of them were scowling ferociously,
baring sharp fangs. On the whole, it looked like some kind of angry fire-idol had escaped from
some lost temple.
P "Hold on, guys. I'm starting to get a reading on him," said Izzy, tapping frantically at his
keyboard. "That's Asuramon, an Ultimate-level wizard digimon with a fiery temper. Even when
he puts his best face forward, he still looks mean!"
p "Ultimate, huh?" said Tai, reaching for his Tag and Crest. "Guess it's time to take it up a
level!"
P The other Digidestined nodded, each reaching for the magical amulets that would boost
their Digimon's strength... all except for Joe, who was busy scrambling around on the ground,
feeling for his missing glasses.
P "What's going on? I can't see!" he complained.
P Agumon and Gabumon, who had come through the last battle in reasonably good shape,
had already transformed their way up to MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon. They squared off
with Asuramon, who locked eyes with both of them at once.
P "You don't look like you're impressed," he said through his main face, as the other two
glared at his enemies. "I may have to do something about that."
P "Not a chance," growled MetalGreymon. "iGiga Blasters!/i"
P "iFist of Asura!/i" Asuramon countered.
P MetalGreymon's front panels opened, releasing two smoking torpedoes, but they were
met head on by two balls of fire thrown from Asuramon's fists. They struck each other with a
rocking explosion, leaving both parties unharmed.
P "You see?" said Asuramon. "You can't fight fire with fire! Now, get out of the way. You
aren't the ones I came for. iShe's/i the one I want." He pointed at Gatomon, who was still
staring in frozen shock.
p "Not if I can help it!" said WereGarurumon. "In case you didn't know, I pack quite a
punch myself. iWolf Claw!/i"
P He sprang at Asuramon, and the two became locked in a flaming fistfight, with flashes of
fire from Asuramon mingling with the glints of WereGarurumon's spiked brass knuckles. The
other Digimon looked on, unsure of how to intervene without finding themselves stabbed or
scorched.
P "Joe, what are you doing?" called Gomamon, nearly jumping up and down in excitement.
"They need our help! They need a water Digimon to fight that fire Digimon, and I can't turn into
Zudomon without you!"
P "But I can't see!" Joe complained. "If I could just find my... huh?"
P There was a small clatter as he felt something being dropped on his hand, and he fumbled
with the object. He was amazed to find that he had just had his glasses returned to him... but by
whom? He unfolded them and shoved them on just in time to see a flapping dark shape
disappearing into the shadows.
p "Did you see that?" he asked, turning to Gomamon.
p "See what?" Gomamon replied. He was staring at the fight between Asuramon and
WereGarurumon.
P "I thought I saw... well, never mind," Joe replied. "Whoa, what's that thing? Is that
Wizardmon?"
P "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" shouted Gomamon. "The others need our
help!"
p "All right, already!" Joe replied.
p Light flared from Joe's Crest as Gomamon transformed into Ikkakumon, and then again
into Zudomon. In the next instant, something whizzed through the air, and there was a loud
ibonk!/i WereGarurumon watched in bafflement at Asuramon, who had suddenly dropped to
the ground, groaning and rubbing his head. Zudomon caught his hammer expertly as it
boomeranged back to him and grinned with all his sharp teeth. WereGarurumon looked at him
and grinned as well.
p "Nice timing!" he rumbled. "What do you say we finish this now?"
P "I'm all for it!" said MetalGreymon.
P "Same here!" Zudomon agreed. "iVulcan's Hammer!/i"
P "iGiga Blaster!/i"
P "iWolf Claw!/i"
P All three attacks struck the prone Asuramon, combining to make a huge explosion and a
mushrooming cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Asuramon was gone.
P "Did we get him?" asked Tai, looking around.
p "No! How could you?" Gatomon yelped, bounding into the street.
P "Gatomon, come back here!" Kari called.
p A fireball dropped out of the sky, and Gatomon just barely had time to react. She dodged
the main impact, but the rushing flames wrapped around her, solidifying into the dark shape of
Asuramon. He gripped the struggling cat tightly and grinned at the stunned Digidestined.
P "It's going to take more than that to defeat the power of Myotismon and the Black Lens!"
he boasted. "iMultiple Faces!/i"
P His three pairs of eyes lit up, firing searing streaks of light at the three Ultimate Digimon.
They flew through the air and crunched into the pavement, much to their companions' dismay.
The other Digimon, weakened by the earlier attacks, could only watch.
P "The game is over, little one," said Asuramon to Gatomon. "Now is the time to pay for
your treachery. Say goodbye to your little friend!"
P "Gatomon, digivolve!" Kari shouted, waving her Tag. "Turn into Angewomon and fight
him off!"
P "I... I can't!" Gatomon wailed, tears streaming down her face. "I can't do it! I can't fight
my best friend!"
By: SilvorMoon
p Mr. Kido was a creature of habit. Perhaps it was his scientific mindset that made him so,
or perhaps it was a side effect from his hectic job as a doctor. Whatever the reason was, he had
his morning routine worked out to the last second, and there was very little in the world that
could have altered it. Unfortunately for him, there were other worlds that needed taking into
account, and a small part of one of those worlds seemed to have moved in with him.
P He started his day just like always. His alarm clock went off at seven sharp, and he turned
it off and bounded out of bed, determined not to waste a single second. He found his robe,
hanging on the bedpost just like always, and picked up his towel, folded precisely on the towel
rod inside his closet. He left his bedroom and walked down the hall to the bathroom. At that
point, his game plan called for him to open the door, step inside, and take his shower. Instead, he
opened the door, looked inside, stared a moment, and closed the door again. Brimming with
annoyance, he stomped into the kitchen.
p Joe was in the kitchen. Living proof of heredity, he had inherited his father's workaholic
tendencies, and he had been up since six so he could get more study time in. Never mind that this
was summer; he wanted a head start on next year's schoolwork. Right now, though, he was busy
slurping down his breakfast.
P "Joe, could I have a word with you?" asked Mr. Kido.
P "Sure, Dad," said Joe through a mouthful of corn flakes.
P "Why is there a purple polkadotted seal and a dozen multicolored fish paddling around in
my bathtub?"
P "Gee, I don't know," Joe replied. "I guess because they couldn't find the swimming pool.
And he isn't a seal, he's a Digimon. His name's Gomamon."
P "I don't care about his name or what he is," Mr. Kido snapped. "I want him and those fish
out of my tub!"
p "How are the fish going to survive out of the water?"
p "I don't know! Put them in a fishtank or a bucket or something, but get them out!"
p "All right, all right!" said Joe, cringing. "Just give me a minute, okay?"
p Mr. Kido did not look at all mollified, and his son slunk out of the room looking hunted.
Joe tiptoed upstairs, trying not to disturb his brother and mother, but he need not have worried.
Very little could have been heard over the sounds of rushing water, splashing, and playful
shouting. He knocked on the door.
P "Hey, Gomamon, can I come in? Are you decent?"
p "Sure, Joe! Come on in! The water's fine!"
P Joe opened the door and was met by a wall of steam, and he was instantly blinded as his
glassed fogged up. He took them off and blinked myopically, trying to see through the milky wet
whiteness that filled the air. What he saw was worse than he had expected.
P His bathroom had been transformed into a water park. Not only was the bathtub filled, but
both sinks were on duty as well. The shower was putting out a steady stream of hot water, and
the tub was overflowing with suds, not to mention small moving creatures. The fish leaped from
the sinks to the tub and back again, dripping and splashing. Everything from the floor to the
towels was soaking wet. Gomamon was in the middle of it all, blowing bubbles and clearly
having the time of his life.
P "What - what - what?" Joe stammered. "Gomamon, what on Earth do you think you're
doing?"
P "I think I'm blowing bubbles," said Gomamon, catching one and balancing it on his nose
like a seal. "What do you think I'm doing?"
p "I think you destroyed the bathroom!" Joe blurted. "Look at this mess! Everything's
soaked! What were you thinking?"
p "I just wanted to invite the fish over to play," said Gomamon.
p "Well, could you please tell them to go play somewhere else? You guys just about gave
my dad a heart attack, and I never did get the hang of CPR."
P "Sure, whatever," Gomamon replied. He turned to a pink fish. "Hey, Schoolmaster, you
and your pals are going to have to go home now, before Joe has a fit."
P "All right. Bye, Gomamon!" the fish chirped.
P In a rainbow wave, the fish turned and swirled down the drain. Joe watched them in faint
amazement.
p "How did they do that?" he wondered.
p Gomamon gave him teasing grin.
P "Don't say it!" said Joe. "They learned it in school, right?"
P "You got it!" Gomamon replied.
P "Figures," Joe sighed. "Did your fish buddies ever teach you anything about cleaning the
bathroom?"
P "Nope," said Gomamon. "Is it anything like having to scrub Piximon's floors?"
p "Kinda, yeah."
p Gomamon looked doleful. "I wish iI/i could go down the drain right about now."
P "So do I," Joe replied. "Shut off the water. I'm going to go look for some dry towels."
p Joe sloshed out of the room, leaving a trail of wet footprints behind him. A few minutes
later, he returned with an armload of cleaning rags, which he dumped on the floor in front of
Gomamon.
P "You start drying things off," he commanded. "I'll get to work wringing out the wash
cloths."
p "Yes, sir, general, sir!" said Gomamon with his usual impudence. With surprising deftness,
he picked up a rag in his flippers and began to scrub. Joe collected the wet towels and got to
work drying them. For a while, they worked in silence, Joe still silently fuming about having to
clean up after his Digimon companion, Gomamon looking thoughtful.
P "You know something, Joe?" he said at last. "I think still having Myotismon around might
actually be a good thing."
P "How can you say that?" Joe replied. "Myotismon's an evil monster, remember? He drinks
human blood, hangs around with bats, and wants to take over the world! How can that possibly
be a good thing?"
P "Because it gives us something to do," Gomamon replied. "Us Digimon, I mean. If he
wasn't gone, we'd just be hanging around for no good reason. We don't really belong here. We
don't really know how to fit in."
P "Yeah," said Joe, looking around the sodden room. "I can kind of see that."
P "You know what I think?" asked Gomamon. "I think that when we ido/i finally beat
Myotismon, the door back home will open again."
p "It might already be open," Joe pointed out. "Remember, Gennai sent us that helper to
watch us. If he can get in, why can't we get out?"
p "I don't know. No good reason, I guess."
P "I thought so," Gomamon nodded. "Joe, do you want to go back to Digiworld?"
P "Should I?" Joe replied. "I'm not much better at living there than you are here."
P "No way, Joe! You were great back there!" Gomamon replied. "Besides, wouldn't you
want to be with me?"
P Joe smiled a little. "Well... maybe with you around, it would be okay."
P Gomamon grinned. "I thought it would be... Hey!" He yelped as Joe threw a wet towel at
him, and then sloshed some of the water from the sink back at his human friend. Then the fight
was on.
P Out in the hall, Joe's older brother Jim heard the commotion and sighed.
P "I never will figure out that kid," he said. "At least that Digimon of his is teaching him
how to play. That's an improvement."
P Just then, the doorbell rang. Jim glanced at the kitchen, where his father was grumpily
perusing the paper, and then at the closed door to the bathroom, where it sounded like a small
naval war was going on.
P "I'll get it!" Jim shouted, and went to open the front door.
P He was glad to be met with a smiling face. Standing on the doorstep was a girl with short
red hair escaping the confines of her blue hat, and she was accompanied by a larger-than-average
pink bird.
P "Hi. You must be Sora. Joe told me about you and Biyomon," said Jim. "Hey, you'd
better not let my dad see her here. He's already kind of mad at Gomamon right now, and I don't
think he'd be happy to see any more Digimon hanging around."
P "That's okay," said Sora. "I just came looking for Joe. Is he here?"
P "Yeah. He's busy cleaning the bathroom."
p "He is? What for?"
p "Gomamon."
p "Ah," said Sora. "That explains it."
p "Gomamon's in trouble!" Biyomon chirped, giggling.
p "Well, maybe we'd better help him out," said Sora. "The others are waiting for him,
remember?"
p "More trouble?" asked Jim. "I thought Joe told me you guys had finished off that vampire
thing."
p "Well, he's back, and as bad as ever," Sora replied. "That's why we're having a meeting.
Izzy couldn't get through to Joe, so he sent me to look for him."
P "Well, he's right in there, and he'd probably be glad to be somewhere else," Jim replied.
P "Thanks. I'll see you around, Jim."
P "Okay. See you, Sora."
P Sora opened the bathroom door and looked in on the war zone. Joe looked back at her
from under a dripping towel.
P "What happened in here?" asked Sora.
p "Gomamon and his marching fish threw a water party," Joe replied. "I'm cleaning."
P "I ... see," said Sora, looking at the cleaning rags and towels, now equally soaked, that
covered the room. "You have an interesting way of cleaning."
P "Blame Gomamon. He started it," Joe replied.
p "If you say so... where iis/i Gomamon, anyway?"
P "Boo!" yelled one of the cleaning rags, leaping at Sora. She yelped and jumped
backwards, neatly falling in the tub.
P "Help! A Bakemon!" she cried.
p "No it isn't. It's only Gomamon," said Joe, picking up the rag to reveal his Digimon
beneath.
P "Well, she asked where I was," Gomamon said.
P "I guess that's one way of showing yourself," Sora grumbled, trying to pull herself out of
the slippery tub. "Anyway, Joe, if you've been here the whole time, how come you didn't answer
Izzy's call?"
P "Call? What call? I didn't get any call."
p "That's funny. You should have," Sora replied. "Where's your Digivice? Aren't you
wearing it?"
p "Sure, I always wear it. It's right here."
p Joe reached into his pocket and pulled the gadget out. A few drips of water fell from it
and splattered onto the floor.
P "Oops," said Joe. "No wonder it wasn't working. I guess soapsuds aren't very good for
Digivices. Hope it still works."
P He shook it a few times and slapped it against his palm, sending more water flying. Sure
enough, there was a hiss of static, and then Izzy's voice came through.
P "Hey, Joe are you there? Joe, come in!"
p "I'm here. What's up?" Joe replied.
P "There you are! I've been trying to reach you all morning. Where's Sora? Isn't she there
yet?"
P "Sure, she's over there in the bathtub," Joe replied.
P "She's iwhat?/i"
P "Oh, never mind."
P "Where have you been, Joe? Your Digivice blinked out, and I haven't been able to find
you at all."
p "Well, I've been right here in the bathroom all morning."
p "You have? What have you been doing in there?" Izzy replied. "Wait a minute, maybe I
shouldn't ask."
P "I've been cleaning, okay?" Joe snapped. "Anyway, what's up?"
p "A meeting," Izzy replied. "We're all getting together at Matt's place. Something's come
up."
P "Oh, great. Just what we didn't need," Joe replied. "Why are we meeting at Matt's? I
thought we went to the park when we wanted to meet."
P "I know. That's why we have to meet somewhere different this time. We're too easy to
find in the park," Izzy replied. "Besides, Matt's dad understands Digimon a lot better than most
people."
P "I wish my dad did that," Joe replied.
p "We don't have time to worry about your domestic problems right now," said Izzy.
"Hurry up! We don't have any time to waste!"
P There was a click as communications were cut off. Joe sighed.
p "My dad isn't going to like this much," he said.
P "Tell him the fate of the world is more important than a clean bathroom," said Sora.
p "I guess you're right. Oh, well, let's get going."
p "Not yet," said Sora. "There's something we've got to do first."
P "Huh? What's that?"
P "Could you help me get out of this bathtub?"
Pcenter~*~/center
P It was DemiDevimon's opinion that Wizardmon's eyes looked a bit redder even than was
usual. Unusual a situation as it was, he was actually correct. While the bat Digimon had snored
peacefully at the front entrance, oblivious to the chaos that was going on around him, Wizardmon
had stayed awake the entire night, working desperately to come up with something,
ianything/i, that he could show his master when he returned. It was understandable that he
should be tense and exhausted while is partner was bright-eyed and ready to go. Wizardmon
toyed nervously with his staff with one hand, trying to stifle his yawns.
P "You're gonna get it when the boss gets home," DemiDevimon taunted. "Do you know
what Myotismon does to people he doesn't like? He'll hang you upside down over a roasting pit!
He'll lock you in a dungeon without food or water! He'll feed you to a Tyranomon! And that's
just when he's in a igood/i mood!"
P "Oh, shut up, you mindless molting mess," Wizardmon snapped.
p "Touchy, aren't you? You know I'm right - you just don't want to admit it," said
DemiDevimon. "If I were you, I'd make some tracks. You might just get away from him if you
leave now."
P "If you were me, you'd have a brain," said Wizardmon. "However, since that isn't the
case, I advise you to sit back, watch, and learn."
P "Learn what?" asked DemiDevimon, suddenly interested. "What do you know that I
don't?"
p "It would take all day to list," Wizardmon retorted. "Quit flapping your fangs and wait for
the master to get home."
P "Humph," DemiDevimon muttered, ruffling his feathers. "I think you're just bluffing."
P "Shows what you know."
P At that moment, there was a whirring of machinery, and the hatch to the outside world
opened, allowing Myotismon's carriage to sink down into the earth, accompanied by two
Bakemon guards. The ghost carriage rolled forward, bringing with it a chill mist that shrouded
the room. Then it paused, and Myotismon stepped regally out. His two servants stood at
attention.
P It was lucky for Wizardmon that his master was in a good mood. His hunting had gone
well, and he was visibly revitalized. Even his bats had a fresher look about them, fluttering and
chattering with what seemed to be boundless energy.
P "Well," he said, "what have you two been doing while I was gone?"
P "Warding off an attack," Wizardmon replied. "At least, I was. Your animate featherduster
slept through the whole thing."
P "I did not!" DemiDevimon protested.
P "If you didn't, how do you explain the fact that one of the Digidestined humans managed
to get in here?" asked Wizardmon. "Not to mention his companion and that traitor Gatomon. The
three of them destroyed one of the Bakemon, infiltrated the complex, thwarted the Gizamon
guards, and stole back the computer, and you never once intervened."
P "Is this true, DemiDevimon?" Myotismon demanded.
P "I - I - I..."
P "I thought so," said Myotismon. "Those brats are more daring than I thought. Where is
the Gizamon leader? Have him report."
P "I am here, my lord," hissed one of the Gizamon, slipping out of the shadows. "It is as
your servant said - the Digidestined human and two Digimon were here tonight. We pursued
them, but they destroyed two of our number and then escaped - how, I don't know. If I didn't
know better, I'd say they walked right through the walls!"
P "A likely story," Myotismon muttered. "Enough! You are dismissed. Don't any of you
expect any rations this morning."
P "Yes, my lord," said the Gizamon leader. It turned and hopped off into the darkness.
P "Well, Wizardmon," Myotismon continued, "I suppose you're going to use this as an
excuse for getting nothing accomplished. Am I right?"
P "Now you're going to get it," DemiDevimon chuckled.
P "Actually, my lord, I do have something to show," said Wizardmon. "The first thing I did
was study the information on the Digivices, the Tags, and the Crests, trying to see how it is that
they function. It seems that each of them is somehow keyed to the Digidestined's strongest traits.
They draw on their owners' strengths to make the Digimon digivolve. Based on that theory, I
designed this."
P Reaching in his pocket, Wizardmon withdrew a shiny chunk of black rock and pitched it at
Myotismon. One of the bats swooped down and caught it, delivering it to the open hand of its
master. Myostimon studied the stone with a look of skepticism.
P "Nothing much to look at," he said. "What does it do?"
P "It's a Black Lens," said Wizardmon matter-of-factly. "Just as a true lens takes light and
focuses it, this Black Lens focuses power. Theoretically, you should be able to use it make your
servants more powerful."
P "Theoretically?" Myotismon repeated.
P "It hasn't been tested," said Wizardmon. "I thought you should be the one to choose who
has the honor of receiving its power."
p Myotismon nodded thoughtfully. The idea of a Black Lens was appealing, but the
possibility that it might not work was not. There was a chance that it might destroy whoever he
used it on, or make them so powerful that he wouldn't be able to control them. Well, then, he
would have to test it on someone weak and expendable. Who? Not one of his warrior Digimon -
most of them were too strong, and he needed every one of them for his conquest of the world. He
glanced at his two subordinates, who seemed to have gone back to squabbling with each other.
Sooner or later, he mused, he was going to have to be rid of one, before they started fighting with
each other seriously. Wizardmon was strong enough and intelligent enough to be a valuable aide,
but he was also proud and independent, and that was dangerous. Still, he needed him too much
right now to sacrifice him. He shifted his gaze to DemiDevimon, who was generally
incompetent, useless, annoying, and unswervingly loyal... Perfect!
p "DemiDevimon," he said, "how would you like to try digivolving?"
pcenter~*~/center
P "There they are! Better late than never!" said Tai, hearing the door open.
P "Took them long enough. Where have you been, Joe?" Matt asked. "And how did you get
so wet?"
p "Long story," said Joe, looking glumly at his soaked clothes. "I guess I should have
changed my shoes, anyway. It's hot out there. I'll probably get athlete's foot."
P "Can you die of hypochondria?" asked Tai.
p "If anyone can, it's Joe," Sora replied.
P "Don't just stand there, guys!" said T.K. "Come on in! Have a cookie!"
P "You don't have to tell me twice!" Gomamon replied, bounding for the cookie platter.
P Joe, Sora, and Biyomon went to join the rest of the group. They were all sitting around
Matt's kitchen table - a tight fit, with eight humans and eight Digimon, plus Izzy's precious
laptop. He was holding it a bit more defensively than usual in the wake of its brush with disaster,
glaring at anyone who dared get too close to it. Even Tentomon was giving him a wider berth
than usual.
p "Okay, can anyone explain why I had to come all the way out here?" asked Mimi. "I'm
supposed to be having my morning bubble bath, and my pedicure, and my facial, and-"
p "Man, and I thought she was growing out of that," Tai muttered.
P "You know Mimi," Sora replied. "If she grows out of anything, she's got to have a new
one."
P "Probably in six different colors," Matt added.
P "You mean she's always like this?" asked Kari.
P "Actually," said Palmon, "this is one of her good days."
p "Why does everybody always pick on me?" Mimi whined.
P "Don't make us answer that!" Tai shot back.
p "She's right, it is unnecessary," said Joe, taking on the role of peacemaker. "I want to
know why we're here, too, after all... So, why are we?"
p "Communication," said Izzy. "More specifically, because Gennai wants to talk to us."
P "So, we're all here," said Tai. "Let's get this over with!"
P "Fine. Just let me open a channel..." Izzy replied. His fingers moved across the keyboard
in a fair imitation of a small hailstorm, and the computer screen flickered as it kept pace. Then a
small window opened, revealing their mentor's smiling face.
P "Greetings, Digidestined!" he announced. "It's good to see you all again. I hear some of
you had an interesting time last night."
P "You could say that," Tentomon muttered.
P "I'm afraid your troubles aren't over yet," said Gennai. "There's no telling what kind of
information Myotismon could have taken from your computer, so you're going to have to be on
full alert."
P "What about that helper you promised?" said Tai. "Where is he? Why isn't he... you
know, helping us?"
P "He is," Gennai replied. "Who do you think was in there stealing Izzy's computer or
creating magical doors?"
P "So that was who found my laptop!" Izzy exclaimed. "I wondered about that."
p "He must be very brave," said Gatomon, "to go into Myotismon's hideout."
p "He is very brave," answered Gennai, "and very dedicated to helping you all. However, he
is a bit shy - you probably won't be seeing him very often, not unless it absolutely can't be
avoided."
P "How come?" asked TK. "If he's our friend, he shouldn't have to be shy around us."
p "It's all a matter of safety," said Izzy. "Our Digivices only record information on Digimon
we've seen. If we never see this helper Digimon, we can't track him - and neither will Myotismon,
even if he gets hold of my computer again."
p "Exactly," said Gennai. "I want you all to be very careful - especially you, Gatomon. I'm
almost sure Myotismon will try something after what happened last night."
p The Digidestined and their companions nodded agreement, and Gennai said goodbye and
closed the link.
P "He sounded kind of worried," said Sora. "Do you think he knows something he's not
telling?"
p "I, for one, think he knows a ilot/i of things he's not telling," Gabumon commented.
P "He's a weird guy, that's for sure," Tai agreed. "I wish we had asked him for some more
information when we were visiting him."
p "We didn't know what we were up against then," said Matt. "We still don't. Sometimes
being Digidestined is a real drag."
P "Only sometimes?" asked Joe. Nobody paid attention.
P "So now we've got a helper," said Biyomon thoughtfully. "I wonder what he's like?"
P "I thought I got a look at him," said Gatomon. "He ran around a corner, so I only got a
little glimpse. When I chased after him, he disappeared."
p "Weird," said Tai. "Well, I guess if we're lucky, we'll see him later."
P "If we're not lucky," Joe corrected. "Remember what Gennai said? Whoever this Digimon
is, he's not going to show his face unless we have a real emergency. If that's the case, I'd be just
as happy to let him have some privacy."
p "Does anyone know what time it is?" asked Palmon suddenly.
P Matt glanced at the clock. "It's about ten o'clock. Why?"
P "Is there usually fog on the road this late in the day?" she replied.
P "Huh?" Everyone ran over to the window, where the plant Digimon was already standing
on the tips of her roots to look out at the street below.
P "There really is a fog out there," said Matt. "This can't be good."
P "You're right," Mimi agreed. "Do you have any idea what humidity does to my hair?"
P "There she goes again," muttered Tai. "Doesn't she ever quit?"
P "Fog is Myotismon's outrider," said Gatomon. "First comes the haze of confusion and
uncertainty, and then Myotismon comes under cover of its darkness. I once heard him say he
intended to take the world by fog."
P There was a small rattling sound, and no one had to look to know that Izzy was back to
work on his computer.
P "Gatomon's right," he replied. "Myotismon is on the move, and he's got some helpers
with him."
P "Oh, no, not again," said Joe. "How many times to we have to kill him before he stays
dead?"
p "What are we going to do?" asked Patomon, he and his companion wearing identical wide
eyed expressions.
P "The only thing we can do," Tai replied. "Go find them before they find us."
P "Are you sure hiding wouldn't be a better idea?" asked Tentomon.
P "Negative," said Izzy. "Tai's right. Sooner or later, Myotismon would find us. We should
strike first while we've got the chance. Maybe this time we can finish off Myotismon once and for
all!"
P "I don't know," said Matt. "Sounds risky to me."
p "So is sitting here waiting for Myotismon to come," Kari pointed out. "My big brother's
not a genius, but he's not stupid, either."
p "That's debatable," muttered Matt under his breath, but he didn't push the issue.
P "All right, that's settled," said Tai. "You guys said I'm the leader, and I say we're going
after Myotismon! Can your computer take us there, Izzy?"
p "Sure thing. Just give me a nano to process the rest of this data," Izzy replied. "There!
Got it! He's on the corner of Cherry Tree and 4th street and moving east."
p "Great. We can circle around and sneak up on them from behind," Tai decided. "Come on,
everyone! We've got a ghost to bust!"
P The other Digidestined made sounds of agreement - except Mimi, who looked puzzled.
P "Don't you mean a vampire?" she asked.
P Tai rolled his eyes. "Well, Izzy's computer says he's a Ghost-type Digimon... right, Izzy?"
P "Hmm?" asked Izzy. "What did you say? These readings I'm getting are crazy.
Myotismon's goons must have corrupted some of my files."
P "Never mind," Tai sighed. "Let's just get moving, okay?"
P They trekked out of the apartment, with Izzy in the back, still pecking away at his
computer.
p "Extremely strange," he muttered. "My Digimon tracking system is picking up
Myotismon, DemiDevimon, and iWizardmon./i But that's impossible... isn't it?"
Pcenter~*~/center
P Wizardmon was lurking. With his shadow-colored cloak pulled tightly around himself, he
slid silently through the fog filled city. Myotismon had not given him permission to come along,
and there would probably be retribution if he was discovered, but Wizardmon was not one to
back down just because there might be danger involved. After all, his pride was at stake. After all
the hours of hard work, all that time and effort he had put into creating the Black Lens, and it was
DemiDevimon who would reap its benefits! DemiDevimon was of no use for anything save spying
and brown-nosing, and he didn't even do those very well. He was certainly not fit to go up against
the Digidestined. Even with the Black Lens's power on his side, he would lose through sheer
stupidity, and then Myotismon would likely conclude that the object was worthless, and all
Wizardmon's pains would come to nothing. He wasn't going to stand for that. Even when he was
given orders to stay in the hideout and await his master's return, he had slipped out along with
them, hidden in Myotismon's own fog, and trailed along to watch the battle... and to wait for a
chance to intervene.
P Meanwhile, the Digidestined were also out hunting. Gabumon and Gatomon had taken the
lead, the former lighting the area by breathing a steady stream of blue flame while the latter kept
her sharp eyes and ears peeled for trouble. Izzy followed close behind, charting their course with
his laptop. Matt and Kari came next, keeping watch over their Digimon, while Tai and Agumon
trailed them, unwilling to be left behind. The rest of the group tagged along in a haphazard
fashion, watching for sneak attacks.
P "Are we there yet?" Joe asked. "This fog keeps fogging up my glasses!"
P "Shh!" Sora hissed. "We're trying to sneak up on them, remember?"
P "Yeah, Joe, put a sock in it," Tai called. "Hey, Izzy, what's that computer of yours say?
Are we anywhere close?"
P "That's what I wanted to know," grumbled Joe.
P "We're getting there," Izzy replied. "They should be just up ahead, so stay very quiet!"
p The group tensed. They tiptoed along as quietly as they could, trying to ignore the way
the fog seemed to wrap around them, becoming thicker and colder and wetter until they almost
felt like they were drowning. Gomamon was tempted to jump into the air to see if he could swim
in it, and Biyomon shuffled her sticky feathers uneasily. Suddenly, Gatomon froze in place, and
Matt, not watching closely, tripped on her.
p "Oof!" he cried as he hit the pavement.
p "Me-yow!" Gatomon wailed as Matt fell on her.
P "What was that?" asked a voice from the fog.
P "Now you've done it," muttered Tai.
P "Sorry," said Gatomon. "I just wanted to tell you that-"
P "-Myotismon is here," Izzy finished.
P "Right," she said.
P A shape began to emerge from the darkness, and the fog-muffled air was slowly
penetrated by the steady thudding of boots and fluttering of wings. As the Digidestined watched,
the shadowy shape began to resolve itself into a tall, cloaked figure.
P "I knew this was a bad idea, but nobody listens to me," Matt complained.
p "Well, well, well," said Myotismon, "isn't this a pleasant surprise? Eight Digidestined and
their little Digi-pets, all lost in the fog. How nice of you to come looking for me - it saves me the
trouble of trying to find you."
P "You don't scare us!" said TK bravely. "We beat you once, and we can do it again!"
P "That's right, Myotismon," Gatomon added. "You're still weak from the last battle.
There's no way you can stand up to us all."
p "Think you're clever, do you?" answered Myotismon smoothly. "Did you really think I
would walk into a battle unless I was sure I could win?"
P "It never stopped you before," Tai replied.
p "Silence!" Myotismon barked. "You're beginning to annoy me. I think it's time I showed
you my new plaything. Allow me to reintroduce you to an old friend."
P The Digidestined stared into the fog, where they could just barely see something moving.
They ran through their memories of past battles, thinking of every evil Digimon they had ever
faced, wondering who it was that Myotismon had called forth to meet them. With bated breath,
they watched as their new opponent finally came into view...
p "DemiDevimon?" Patamon exclaimed, wrinkling his nose. He still hadn't forgiven the bat-
creature for trying to steal his companion.
p "It's official," said Matt. "Myotismon has gone bananas. That last hit knocked him off his
rocker."
p Myotismon laughed, enjoying their discomfiture, and DemiDevimon echoed with his own
raspy chuckle. He was enjoying himself immensely. He didn't quite understand just why he had
suddenly come into his master's favor after failing so many times before, but he wasn't about to
let that stop him from enjoying this chance.
p "I'm back! Did you miss me?" he asked.
p "Not hardly," Sora replied. "What are you doing here, DemiDevimon? You should be
afraid to show your face around here. I've still got a score to settle with you for poisoning
Biyomon."
P "That was one of my better moves, wasn't it?" said DemiDevimon. "But that doesn't
begin to compare with what I'm going to do now!"
p "Yes! The time has come," Myotismon replied. "I call on the power of the Black Lens!
iTransform!/i"
P He raised the dark crystal skyward, and a wide sheet of darkness beamed from it and
wrapped around DemiDevimon. It wrapped around him like a spiraling black hole, obscuring him
in solid shadow for a moment... and then the lights started.
P "What's going on?" asked Mimi, shying away from the eerie red-orange glow.
P "I think... I think he's digivolving!" said Izzy.
P "Into what?" asked Sora.
P "Nothing good," Gatomon replied.
P "I'll tell you what," laughed DemiDevimon's voice, echoing as if from far away and
insanely exultant. "DemiDevimon digivolve to... iVilemon!/i"
P The ring of shadow suddenly exploded, spraying little chips of darkness everywhere, and
out of the explosion stepped what could only be identified as a ithing./i It had a hairy body
like an emaciated ape, all greasy black and grey fur. It's feet were tipped with short, stubby claws,
but its bony hands terminated in needle-like talons. Its head was too big for its body, hanging off
its hunched back without benefit of a neck. Its enormous mouth lolled open, showing a long red
tongue and an abundance of teeth. Sunken red eyes with green centers squinted out of the dark
skin of its face. A mane of red-orange fur went from its forehead to its shoulder blades, from
which sprouted a double pair of bat's wings.
P "How do you like me now, Digidestined?" it laughed.
P "What in the world is that thing?" Matt wondered.
P "That's Vilemon," said Tentomon, "a Digimon of the pure Evil category. He's really not
the kind you want to invite to your birthday party."
P "Well, he's still just a Champion Digimon," said Izzy. "We ought to be able to take him."
P "Go ahead and try me!" Vilemon replied.
P "You asked for it, then!" said Tai. "Ready, you guys? It's digivolving time!"
P "Agumon, digivolve to... Greymon!"
P "Gabumon, digivolve to... Garurumon!"
P "Tentomon, digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"
P "Palmon, digivolve to... Togemon!"
P "Biyomon, digivolve to... Birdramon!"
P "Gomamon, digivolve to... Ikkakumon!"
P "Patamon, digivolve to... Angemon!"
P "How do you like ius/i now, Vilemon?" growled Greymon.
P "Not much," Vilemon replied. "I think I'll just have to get rid of you! iNightmare
Shocker!/i"
P With a flick of his claws, Vilemon threw a ball of black energy at the nearest cluster of
Digimon. Garurumon leaped out of the way, but Greymon was slower, and he fell heavily against
a building.
P "Hey, you can't do that to him!" Garurumon growled. "I'll teach you to mess with my
friends. iHowling Blaster!/i"
P Blue flames roared from the great white wolf's mouth, rushing over the place Vilemon
was... only he wasn't there anymore. He was up in the air, humming around them like a moth near
a flame.
P "Catch me if you can, wolfman!" he taunted.
P "The air is iour/i territory," said Birdramon, nodding to Kabuterimon. "Let's show
him how it's done. iMeteor Wing!/i"
P "iElectro Shocker!/i" Kabuterimon added.
P Balls of fire and lightning rolled across the sky, only to be deflected by a flick of
Vilemon's claws. The bat-monster laughed maniacally, but his laughter turned to a howl of pain as
a smoking missile slammed into his unprotected underside. He swooped out of the way in time to
avoid a second shot and looked down to see Ikkakumon firing a steady barrage of Harpoon
Torpedoes. He dove at the shaggy walrus Digimon and got a face full of needles for his trouble.
P "How do you like that, huh?" Togemon called. "Come down here and I'll give you some
more!"
P "Not today!" Vilemon replied, clawing the spikes away from his face. "iNightmare
Shocker!/i"
P The blast of dark energy shot through the air again, and ungainly Ikkakumon couldn't get
out of the way. Togemon could, though, and she did. She dove and rolled, narrowly avoiding
turning Mimi into a pincushion as she did. Then she sprang to her feet and sent another Needle
Spray flying at her attacker. Vilemon was too quick, though - he shot straight up into the air, and
the needles stabbed at Birdramon instead. She screeched and plummeted to earth.
P "Four down, four to go!" Vilemon cackled, watching delightedly as Sora ran to her
companion. "Man, this is so cool! Who wants to be next?"
P "How about me?" boomed a voice.
P Vilemon turned and found himself staring into Angemon's iron visage, holding his
gleaming Angel Rod at ready. The monster winced.
P "Uh, hi," he managed.
P "Do you feel like taking me on, Vilemon?" Angemon asked. "I destroyed Devimon, and I
can do the same to you."
P "Maybe," said Vilemon, "but you didn't do so well against Myotismon, did you?"
P "What?" Angemon turned and saw a wave of red light coming straight at him.
P "iCrimson Lightning!/i" Myotismon shouted.
P There was no time to counter-attack, or even react at all. Angemon let out a scream of
pain and fell, landing in a pile of crumpled white feathers.
P "Angemon!" TK screamed, running to join his protector. "Angemon, are you okay? Say
something!"
P "I'm all right," Angemon managed, struggling to his feet.
P Myotismon watched the scene with a cold smile. This was working out better than he had
expected! Who would have imagined that a bit of black glass could transform DemiDevimon from
a worthless peon into a powerful fighter? This experiment was definitely paying off. He might not
even need to keep Wizardmon around after all!
P A sizzling sound warned him just in time to dodge a ball of blue and lilac electricity. The
close escape was shock enough to draw him back to the matter at hand, and Myotismon wheeled
in midair to send a flight of screeching bats to deal with Kabuterimon. He made a mental note not
to start daydreaming in the middle of a battle again - that had been close almost to the point of
being embarrassing.
P Meanwhile, Gatomon was working herself into a fighting fury, her white fur bristling and
tail twitching. When she saw Angemon go down, she leaped into action. In a snowy blur, she
raced down the street, hit the wall of a building, and rebounded, using her sharp claws to give her
leverage as she propelled herself into the air and across the street, landing on the side of another
skyscraper. Letting her momentum carry her onward and upward, she streaked into the sky and
landed squarely on Vilemon's face.
P "I never liked you anyway," she growled. "iLightning Claw!/i"
P Vilemon screamed again and clawed the cat off his face, which was now marked with
eight crisscrossing red marks from her claws. She spun through the air, caterwauling in terror,
until she landed on the head of the prone Greymon.
p "Umph!" he snorted, startled out of unconsciousness as a flying feline fell on his snout.
P "Gatomon, are you all right?" Kari called.
P "I'm fine," she replied, bouncing nimbly off her friend's nose. "Cats ido/i land on
their feet, you know."
P "What's going on?" asked Greymon dazedly. "I was having this weird dream about
DemiDevimon..."
P "It's no dream, Greymon!" Tai called. "We need your help, before Vilemon and
Myotismon toast us all!"
p "They can't do that!" said Greymon, surging to his feet. "Toasting's imy/i job!"
P "And mine!" Garurumon added. "Let's get this job done! iHowling Blaster!/i"
P "iNova Blast!/i" Greymon added.
P Waves of blue and orange fire shot up into the sky in a dazzling display of pyrotechnics.
Vilemon didn't even bother to dodge - he just shouted and waved his claws, and the fires
dispersed as soon as they touched him. Greymon and Garurumon exchanged looks of shock, as
did their companions.
P "Wha' happened?" asked Tai. "That should have blown him right out of the sky!"
P "I don't know," Matt replied, "but I don't like it one little bit."
P They stood staring up at the sky, where Kabuterimon was filling the air with lightning as
he tried to dodge attacks from Vilemon and Myotismon - and occasionally Togemon, as she fired
off rounds of spines. It was in that moment that they both became aware of a sound, a small,
familiar, and not particularly welcome sound. Matt and Tai turned in disbelief to stare at Izzy,
who was sitting on the ground, oblivious to everything that was going on around him, tapping on
his computer.
P "What do you think you're doing?!" Matt demanded, outraged. "Your Digimon is up
there fighting for his life! This is no time to be playing solitaire!"
P Izzy turned and gave his friend a look that said he was wondering just what cave Matt had
crawled out of.
P "I know that," he said. "For your information, I'm trying to help him win this battle.
There's something strange going on here, and I'm trying to pin it down so we can fight it."
p "What are you talking about?" asked Tai.
P "There is no way Vilemon can be as powerful as he is," said Izzy. "It just doesn't
compute. He's only a Champion Digimon. Our eight Champions ought to be able to out-muscle
him, but we're barely holding our own. He's getting energy from somewhere, and if we can find
where it's coming from... Ah! Here it is!"
P "What? What?" Tai dropped to his hands and knees to peer at the screen.
P "Right there. You see?" asked Izzy, pointing at the readout. "It's that stone Myotismon
was carrying. He's using it like a Digivice! We've got to get it away from him!"
P "All right! You hear that?" Tai shouted to whoever might be listening. "Aim for
Myotismon! Get rid of that rock!"
P "Rock and roll!" Garurumon agreed. He gathered himself up and sprang, soaring through
the air with his jaws wide, flying toward Myotismon.
P "iGrisly Wing!/i" the vampire shouted. He flung his arms and cloak wide,
summoning forth a flight of bats.
P "iHowling Blaster!/i" Garurumon retorted. Blue flame jetted from his mouth, and the
bats perished with tiny squeaks. The white wolf flew on unharmed.
P It would not be fair to say that Myotismon was worried. He did, however, make some
quick decisions. Despite his great power, he was not all that physically imposing, unlike the
bristling, snarling beast that was hurtling toward him and showing off its teeth, claws, and
firepower. His first attack had obviously done nothing useful, and there wasn't enough time to call
up a second. Instead, Myotismon flicked his wings and let himself drop out of the sky. Garurumon
passed harmlessly over his head. The vampire congratulated himself on a move well made... and
then something hit him.
P "iHand of Fate!/i" shouted an all-too-familiar voice, and Myotismon felt the ball of
golden-white light energy burning into him. Angemon had finally recovered his strength, and now
he was back for revenge.
P Vilemon saw the danger his master was in and tried to thwart it with another Nightmare
Shocker, but the combined interference of Kabuterimon, Togemon, and Greymon kept him too
busy dodging needles and fireballs to even think about attacking. Meanwhile, Myotismon
struggled to recover himself, but that wasn't easy with an avenging angel bearing down on him.
He hissed and bared his sharp teeth at the white-winged wonder, determined to go down fighting.
P "iCrimson Lightning!/i" he shouted, flailing whips of red energy at his foe.
P Angemon countered by producing his Angel Rod and twirling it expertly, deflecting the
beams of light and sending them ricocheting back to strike at Myotismon. The monster screamed
in pain and frustration as he lost control of his spell and his flight capabilities all at once. He
landed with an undignified grunt in the street, his cloak falling around him in a heap of crumpled
crimson and black. The Black Lens tumbled from his pocket as he fell and bounced on the
pavement, spinning in the air and flashing with sparks of power for a brief instant before falling
again and becoming lost in the darkness of an alley.
P High above, Vilemon let out a squawk as he felt a sudden sinking sensation come over
him.
P "What's going on?" he wailed. "I'm losing my strength! Aaaargh!"
P He plummeted like a stone but landed safely in a garbage can, which emitted a flicker of
flame and shadow colors as his power dissipated. The other nearby Digimon scrambled over to
have a look. What they found was a grungy and malodorous DemiDevimon crawling out of the
trash. He looked up at all the curious eyes staring down at him.
P "Uhhh..." he said. "I gotta go now. Bye!"
P With a flutter of his wings, DemiDevimon bounded out of the trash can and scurried off
into the night.
P Meanwhile, Angemon had alighted on the ground next to the battered Myotismon, who
glared up at him with pure hatred burning in his eyes.
P "You think you've won," he snarled, pulling himself painfully off the ground. "Well, you
haven't. This was only the practice round. Remember, Digidestined, I can make more Black
Lenses, and I can use them on far more powerful Digimon. Think of that, and be afraid." He
vanished in a swirl of bats.
P As soon as their human friends were out of danger, the Digimon returned to their base
states, and their companions went to tend to them, praising their bravery and comforting their
injuries. It wasn't until a few moments had gone by that anyone thought to look for the Black
Lens.
P "Where did that thing go, anyway?" Tai wondered. "We fought hard enough for it. I want
to see it!"
P "You're crazy, Tai," said Matt. "You don't need to mess with that thing. Who
knows what kind of trouble it would cause!"
P "We should find it, though," Sora replied. "Someone needs to get rid of it, so Myotismon
can't use it again. Did anyone see where it landed?"
P "I think it went over there," said Gatomon, trotting off in the direction she'd seen it fall.
P Joe was the closest to the alley, so he had the best view of what happened next. Gatomon
padded along on her silent cat feet, slipping through the slowly clearing wisps of fog. As the
shadows gradually drifted away, she looked up to see a dark shape gliding toward her. Her eyes
widened, trying to assure herself that she was really seeing what she thought she saw. Her ears
and whiskers pricked up as she discerned the tall pointed hat, the flapping cape, the staff tipped
with a sunburst...
P "Wizardmon?" she whispered. "Is that you?"
P Joe stared. A psychic he was not, but he was cautious to the bone, and something was
telling him that this situation was very, very wrong. He clearly remembered Wizardmon - he had
been there when Zudomon had fished the sodden wizard out of the Tokyo bay and listened to his
whispery voice demanding to be brought to Kari and Gatomon. He remembered the pain in his
voice and the weariness in his eyes... His eyes! That was it. That was what was bothering him - he
didn't remember Wizardmon's eyes being that particular shade of red, or seeing them glow like
that...
P "Gatomon, get back!" he called.
P Gatomon looked at him in disbelief. "But - but that's Wizardmon! Don't you see him?"
P "No! Gatomon, something isn't right! You should stay away, before-"
p "iMagical Game!/i" Wizardmon shouted, pitching a ball of glowing energy at
Gatomon. She stared, too shocked even to cry out, as the burning light flew toward her...
P Something slammed into her from the side, sending her spinning along the ground until
they both tumbled to a halt, and the energy bolt flew harmlessly past. Gatomon sat up and shook
herself, finding Joe sprawled next to her. His glasses lay a short distance away, thrown off in his
wild dive to rescue her.
P "I told you to get out of the way," he muttered.
P Gatomon blinked, uncomprehending, at the scorched spot where the attack had struck the
pavement. She looked back up with pain and confusion in her eyes.
P "Wizardmon, what are you doing?" she asked.
P Wizardmon chuckled softly, shaking his head in amusement. Those intense blue eyes, once
filled with pride and defiance, were nearly brimming with tears.
p "You little ifool/i," he spat. "Did you think you could get away with your treachery?
You have defied the master of ghosts, the lord of the undead, the great Myotismon! You served
him long enough to know that he does not take kindly to betrayal. That is why I am here. He has
sent me to deliver the punishment you deserve... because you really can't stop me, can you?"
P "What has he done to you?" Gatomon cried.
p "He has brought me to his side, where I should be," said Wizardmon, "and where you
should be as well. The price of treachery will be a return to abject loyalty... or utter annihilation!"
P "You keep away from her!" shouted Gomamon, bounding into the alley to put himself
between Wizardmon and his friends. "Are you crazy? We saved your life! You can't turn against
us!"
P "I owe you nothing," said Wizardmon firmly. "I belong to Myotismon. Behold his power!"
P From a fold of his cape, Wizardmon produced the Black Lens, holding it up and letting its
fire-shadow fall around him.
P "No! Stop him!" Gatomon shouted, trying to leap at him, but Joe held her back.
P "Keep away from that thing!" he said. "If you get caught in there, you might turn into a
monster too!"
P "But... but..."she stammered.
p The swirling shadows wove their net of darkness around the wizard, enveloping him in
their power, and he felt the change coming over him.
P "iTransform!/i" he shouted. "Wizardmon, digivolve to...iAsuramon!/i"
P The darkness exploded, sending the occupants of the alley tumbling head over heels into
the street. The rest of the Digidestined and their Digimon ran to make sure they were all right...
and then they looked up to see what had become of Wizardmon.
P "Oh, man," Matt muttered. "Does anyone else get the feeling this is not good?"
P Out of the shadows stepped hulking, musclebound humanoid with flames dancing over its
charcoal-black skin. It wore heavy gold cuffs and bracelets on each of its four arms, more around
its ankles, and ropes of golden beads around its neck. It had three masked faces, each covered in a
different color - one red, one blue, and one gold - and all of them were scowling ferociously,
baring sharp fangs. On the whole, it looked like some kind of angry fire-idol had escaped from
some lost temple.
P "Hold on, guys. I'm starting to get a reading on him," said Izzy, tapping frantically at his
keyboard. "That's Asuramon, an Ultimate-level wizard digimon with a fiery temper. Even when
he puts his best face forward, he still looks mean!"
p "Ultimate, huh?" said Tai, reaching for his Tag and Crest. "Guess it's time to take it up a
level!"
P The other Digidestined nodded, each reaching for the magical amulets that would boost
their Digimon's strength... all except for Joe, who was busy scrambling around on the ground,
feeling for his missing glasses.
P "What's going on? I can't see!" he complained.
P Agumon and Gabumon, who had come through the last battle in reasonably good shape,
had already transformed their way up to MetalGreymon and WereGarurumon. They squared off
with Asuramon, who locked eyes with both of them at once.
P "You don't look like you're impressed," he said through his main face, as the other two
glared at his enemies. "I may have to do something about that."
P "Not a chance," growled MetalGreymon. "iGiga Blasters!/i"
P "iFist of Asura!/i" Asuramon countered.
P MetalGreymon's front panels opened, releasing two smoking torpedoes, but they were
met head on by two balls of fire thrown from Asuramon's fists. They struck each other with a
rocking explosion, leaving both parties unharmed.
P "You see?" said Asuramon. "You can't fight fire with fire! Now, get out of the way. You
aren't the ones I came for. iShe's/i the one I want." He pointed at Gatomon, who was still
staring in frozen shock.
p "Not if I can help it!" said WereGarurumon. "In case you didn't know, I pack quite a
punch myself. iWolf Claw!/i"
P He sprang at Asuramon, and the two became locked in a flaming fistfight, with flashes of
fire from Asuramon mingling with the glints of WereGarurumon's spiked brass knuckles. The
other Digimon looked on, unsure of how to intervene without finding themselves stabbed or
scorched.
P "Joe, what are you doing?" called Gomamon, nearly jumping up and down in excitement.
"They need our help! They need a water Digimon to fight that fire Digimon, and I can't turn into
Zudomon without you!"
P "But I can't see!" Joe complained. "If I could just find my... huh?"
P There was a small clatter as he felt something being dropped on his hand, and he fumbled
with the object. He was amazed to find that he had just had his glasses returned to him... but by
whom? He unfolded them and shoved them on just in time to see a flapping dark shape
disappearing into the shadows.
p "Did you see that?" he asked, turning to Gomamon.
p "See what?" Gomamon replied. He was staring at the fight between Asuramon and
WereGarurumon.
P "I thought I saw... well, never mind," Joe replied. "Whoa, what's that thing? Is that
Wizardmon?"
P "That's what I've been trying to tell you!" shouted Gomamon. "The others need our
help!"
p "All right, already!" Joe replied.
p Light flared from Joe's Crest as Gomamon transformed into Ikkakumon, and then again
into Zudomon. In the next instant, something whizzed through the air, and there was a loud
ibonk!/i WereGarurumon watched in bafflement at Asuramon, who had suddenly dropped to
the ground, groaning and rubbing his head. Zudomon caught his hammer expertly as it
boomeranged back to him and grinned with all his sharp teeth. WereGarurumon looked at him
and grinned as well.
p "Nice timing!" he rumbled. "What do you say we finish this now?"
P "I'm all for it!" said MetalGreymon.
P "Same here!" Zudomon agreed. "iVulcan's Hammer!/i"
P "iGiga Blaster!/i"
P "iWolf Claw!/i"
P All three attacks struck the prone Asuramon, combining to make a huge explosion and a
mushrooming cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared, Asuramon was gone.
P "Did we get him?" asked Tai, looking around.
p "No! How could you?" Gatomon yelped, bounding into the street.
P "Gatomon, come back here!" Kari called.
p A fireball dropped out of the sky, and Gatomon just barely had time to react. She dodged
the main impact, but the rushing flames wrapped around her, solidifying into the dark shape of
Asuramon. He gripped the struggling cat tightly and grinned at the stunned Digidestined.
P "It's going to take more than that to defeat the power of Myotismon and the Black Lens!"
he boasted. "iMultiple Faces!/i"
P His three pairs of eyes lit up, firing searing streaks of light at the three Ultimate Digimon.
They flew through the air and crunched into the pavement, much to their companions' dismay.
The other Digimon, weakened by the earlier attacks, could only watch.
P "The game is over, little one," said Asuramon to Gatomon. "Now is the time to pay for
your treachery. Say goodbye to your little friend!"
P "Gatomon, digivolve!" Kari shouted, waving her Tag. "Turn into Angewomon and fight
him off!"
P "I... I can't!" Gatomon wailed, tears streaming down her face. "I can't do it! I can't fight
my best friend!"