Ch. 5—Secrets, Lies, and Other Things that Go Bump In the Night Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I do own Trikmon©, and the concept of this story. If you want to see fanart for this fic, go to "http://www.crosswinds.net/~filldnothingness." The site isn't complete, yet, but the Digimon fanfiction and fanart sections are up.

Also, I've been getting some requests (mostly from my friend, "L") to make this a Digimon/Pokemon crossover. It isn't happening for two reasons. 1) I never planned on making this a crossover, in any way, shape, or form. And 2) As it stands now, I'm writing 11 Digidestined, Ken, all their digimon, Jun, Trikmon, and some miscellaneous Ghastlymon and people. That's a lot of characters to juggle, and to put more in would dilute the story. So, no crossover. Sorry, L. ;)

And, I'd like to thank two people:

~Kay~: Girl, you rock. Thanks so much for the great story. You made my day. (hey, people. read her stories!) If you were wondering, yes, the Kenyako part of this chapter is for you. ;)

Aardwulf: Thanks for writing such great, in depth reviews since the first chapter, and I do hope you continue to do so as I go along. It's people like you that make posting my stories worth it.

And I do appreciate mature feedback!


The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

Chapter 5: Secrets, Lies, and Other Things that Go Bump In the Night

The next day passed by without incident, save for the eating contest between Agumon and Veemon, that Sora had quickly put a stop to. The Ghastlymon still held its post outside the house, never moving an inch.

Nothing was happening. Not even a change in weather. The phone lines were still down, the TV was still only playing Ken's message, and the radio was simply white noise. In short, by evening, everyone was a bit stir crazy.

"Spiral Twister!"

"Poison Ivy!"

Biyomon opened her eyes, and looked around the backyard. Frowning, she shook her head. "Nothing happened."

"Same here," Palmon pouted, wiggling her fingers. "They didn't even twitch."

"I hate this!" Biyomon declared, stamping her foot. "I just want to be able to defend myself, and the best I can do is... is... yell a whole lot!" she finished, frustrated.

"I want to protect Mimi," Palmon whispered, her eyes still on her hands. "How can I do that like this? Who will keep Mimi safe now that I'm like this? I'm useless to her, now."

"Hey, hey," Biyomon gave her friend a reassuring nudge. "You're not useless. We're just gonna have to find other ways to fight."

"Like how?" Palmon asked, challenge coloring her question.

Biyomon inhaled sharply, then frowned. "I don't know, exactly," she admitted. "But there's gotta be a way."

"Well, if you ever find it," Palmon said, turning to go back into the house, "tell me."


"Wormmie-kun!"

Wormmon froze in the hallway. He had been trying to walk all the way from one end to the other without tripping. He had been so close. Just a few more steps, and he would've made it...

Had Gatomon not glomped him, that is. The two young digimon fell to the floor, she on top of him.

"Evenin'!" Gatomon declared, cheerfully enough.

Underneath her, Wormmon tried his best to breathe.

"Patamon and I are going to play hop-scotch in the basement," she continued, oblivious to his discomfort. "Wanna play with us?"

"I... " he gasped, desperate for air, "I don't know how t-to play."

"Oh," Gatomon blinked, stumped for a moment. Then, she beamed, and practically yanked him to his feet. "Well, we'll just teach you! It's really simple. It'll help you learn how to walk."

Before he could answer her, she proceeded to pull Wormmon along, blissfully ignoring the fact that he was barely staying upright.

From his room, Ken heard the exchange. A smile tugged at his lips as he heard his digimon be dragged along. He was relieved that Wormmon had been accepted so quickly. At least one of them was.

Not that he was shocked that everyone was treating him like a leper. In fact, Ken had expected it, and accepted it. He didn't fool himself into hoping that they'd ever forgive him, even if he proved himself worthy of their forgiveness. He had done many horrific things, and the idea that they'd pardon him for any of it was ludicrous. Chances were, none of the Digidestined would forgive him.

"Ken?"

Well, almost none.

He turned to his now open door. "Yes, Miyako?"

He kept his face stony, even when he felt a smile of amusement try to appear when she blushed. He never understood why she'd want to go by her middle name. Yolei. Not a bad name, mind you, but Ken thought that "Miyako" just suited her more.

She hesitantly walked into the room, letting the door swing closed behind her. "Can we talk?"

Ken shrugged. "Of course. What do you wish to talk about?" He smiled softly, in a deliberately teasing manner.

He expected her to blush from her forehead to her toes. Instead, Yolei frowned and looked down at her shoes. Ken blinked. That wasn't a good sign. For a moment, he panicked. Was she turning her back on him, too? For some unknown reason, Ken felt sick at the thought. Not that he was fond of Yolei in that sort of way. No, he was far too intellectual for that. It was just nice to have someone to talk to whose IQ was not so inferior to his own. Yes.

"Well, I was wondering... ," she took a deep breath, "If we could talk about Trikmon."

Something in Ken's stomach turned, uneasy. "What about him?"

"Ya know, it's kinda funny," Yolei laughed, humorlessly. "I always complained about my sisters nagging me. They drove me crazy with all their stupid, super-girly things. But now that they're not here, I miss them. My parents, too." She looked up at him. "Do you miss your parents, Ken?"

"Hn?" he raised a brow. "What does this have to do with Trikmon?"

"Do you miss them?" Yolei repeated, as if he never spoke.

"Sure, I guess," he shrugged, finally relenting, though still unsure as to what she was getting at. "I mean, they are my parents."

Apparently, that was the answer she was looking for. A small smile graced her face, and she looked down, almost shyly at her feet. The instant she did that, Ken felt vastly more comfortable. She'd gone back to being the timid girl with a crush on him. He could easily handle her like this.

"Is that all?" he asked, giving her a charming smirk.

Yolei froze momentarily. Hesitantly, she gazed up at him. "There is one more question."

Ken nodded, patiently waiting.

"You see, when Trikmon attacked us, he didn't tell us anything but his name. We—I was wondering," she bit her lip, "did he tell you anything about himself? Anything at all?"

Ken's stomach plummeted to his feet. He had been told who Trikmon was. Oh, how he had been told...

'Why, I'm you, Ken.'

Trikmon's statement echoed through the boy's head. He should tell her the truth. What did he care what she, or anyone else thought of it? No one was at his level. It didn't matter what they felt towards him. They were his inferiors; barely worthy of his attention, and certainly unworthy of his affection.

It was his fault that Trikmon was around, terrorizing people. It was his fault that their parents and siblings were gone. It was his fault their digimon had been turned into humans. It was completely Ken Ichijouji's fault.

And he shouldn't have cared a whit.

But he did.

How very odd the sensation was. To actually care about what someone else thought of him. Of course, he didn't give a damn what most of the Digidestined thought of him, but Yolei... The very idea that Yolei would think less of him made him twitch.

But, that was stupid. He was superior to even her. It did not matter what her opinion of him was. She was just like the rest, only she had foolish notions that she was good enough for him. Pathetic, really. Totally childlike, and not worth his time or effort. An intelligent brain wasted by caring for others, shopping, and other foolish, female things.

Ken didn't care at all about her. No, he didn't.

So, she would know the awful truth. And she'd hate him like everyone else in the household did. Because she didn't matter to him. She didn't matter at all.

Ken stared her in the eyes, ice blue meeting warm brown. She was waiting, an expectant, innocent look on her face. Stupid girl. Useless, inane, little girl!

"He... " Ken began, his eyes still locked with hers. "Trikmon said... "

"Yes?" Yolei prompted, tilting her head. Trusting. She was so damn trusting!

"He said... nothing," he sighed, finally. "Nothing at all."

"Oh," she frowned, obviously disappointed that there was nothing to learn. "Well, that's okay," Yolei smiled, trying to cheer up. "We'll just try to find out something in another way. Izzy's still trying to connect to the Digital World. Maybe he'll have some luck."

"Maybe," Ken offered, feeling rather disgusted, and yet, surprised with himself. She broke him. How could she have done that? She, of all people!

"I'll talk to you later, Ken," Yolei said, blushing slightly as she walked to the door.

"Sweet dreams, Miyako," he whispered, still stunned with himself.

Her already reddened cheeks darkened, and she waved farewell as she walked out. Ken stared at the closed door for a while, his mind wandering over the scene that had just taken place. What had happened to him? Why hadn't he said it? Why had he not been able to tell the truth? What did it matter if Yolei hated him, like everyone else did?

"I'm... " Ken breathed, trying desperately to clear his head. "I'm... in trouble."


She couldn't believe it. No matter how long she looked, she just couldn't believe it. They had only been stranded in the house for three days, and this... this was ridiculous!

"We're almost outta food," Jun frowned, glaring at the nearly empty refrigerator. "Whatever happened to conservation?"

She was answered by a rudely loud burp from Veemon in the living room. Jun rolled her eyes. The digimon seemed to eat twice their body weight in one sitting. Or, at the very least, Veemon and Agumon did. The others seemed to show a bit more restraint, but not much.

"At this rate we'll be starving by tomorrow," Jun muttered, shutting the fridge. "We need to get food."

A rather good idea, had it not been for the Ghastlymon that still held its post at the front of the house. There was no way she could just walk out there, fine as you please, and expect the thing not to attack her. Jun doubted she'd even make it a step outside the firewall before she got a face full of acid.

Justifiably, she didn't find that a very pleasant thought at all.

Of course, the problem still remained. If they were going to keep this place up like a fort for more than a couple days, they needed food. Soon. Now.

Jun didn't expect any of the other people in the house to risk their lives for it. After all, they were the Digidestined, and their digimon. They were to be the heroes, right? They were needed. She, on the other hand, was in the same house with them by a twist of fate. By the luck of being the older sister to one of The Chosen. All in all, what did she really matter to the grand scheme of things?

Jun was never one to go around being useless for long. She was much too headstrong for that. And, well, if none of the others could go and get supplies, then it looked like she was it. She nodded, strengthening her resolve. Yes, she could do this! She was Jun Motomiya! She was smart! She was strong! She was—

She was still stuck in the house with a Ghastlymon waiting outside.

Jun felt her ego deflate. Well, now what? She couldn't very well just walk into the front lawn, and ask the thing to politely let her go because she had to get dinner. She frowned. Stupid Ghastlymon. Just standing there in the front of the house, waiting. Just waiting there, never moving.

Never leaving its post...

It never looked in the back of the house, did it?

Jun's eyebrow twitched, and a small smile slid onto her face. Well, well... maybe she did have a way to get out.

Being as quiet as she possibly could be, she slipped outside to the deck, and quickly dashed down its steps, making a beeline to the backyard fence. A seven foot picket fence, at that. Jun smirked. Not a problem. She used to climb these things, and trees all the time when she was younger.

She rubbed her hands together, then grabbed a good hold of the fence, hoisting herself up on it, trying to make as little noise as possible, as well as keep her balance. Jun climbed to the top in such an easy manner, she couldn't help but grin with pride. She guessed things like this were liking riding a bike; once you learn, you never forget.

"What do you think you're doing?" a sharp voice asked, making Jun nearly fall off. She looked down into the backyard, and saw Joe, glaring up at her. "Are you crazy?" he scowled. "Get back down here!"

"Sorry. Can't do that," Jun apologized, giving him her brightest smile. "We need food. I'm gonna get it."

"You're gonna get it, all right," Joe snapped. "You're gonna get killed! Now, get back here before that Ghastlymon decides to check the back."

"It won't do that if you keep quiet," she pointed out, sighing. She knew he was just trying to make sure she was safe, but really! She could take care of herself. Jun suddenly smiled again, and waved. "Ja ne!"

She hopped off to the other side.

Joe felt his heart stop when she disappeared from sight. Davis' stupid sister was going to get herself into the deepest trouble of her life. What was wrong with her? Didn't she know the danger she was in? Joe sighed. He probably should tell Tai or Davis about this, but, as the oldest of them, it was his responsibility to—

"Wait," he muttered, frowning. His eye ticked with irritation. "Isn't Jun technically the oldest? This isn't how you take on responsibility!" he cried softly, as if she was still in front of him. Of course, she wasn't.

Mumbling a streamline of curses that probably would've made Jim smack him one, Joe climbed clumsily up the fence, tripped over, and landed on his back. After regaining his ability to breathe, and still cursing up a storm, Joe ran after the receding figure of the auburn haired girl.


click, click, clack...

Izzy's eyes were getting heavy. He'd been at the computer for over six hours, not even breaking for dinner.

clack, click, clack, clack, click...

He needed to find a way to get into the DigiWorld. Or, to get in touch with Gennai. Gennai had to still be free. He just had to be. They needed someway of knowing who they were up against. Without Gennai, that hope was gone.

click, click, clack, click, clack, click...

Izzy supposed he could've asked Ken to help him with this. But, he just couldn't find it in him. Not after all the things Ken had done. He wanted to forgive him, wanted to believe that Ken was now on their side, but... Izzy rubbed his bleary eyes.

click, clack, clack, click, clack...

But, his heart just wasn't in it. Not yet, anyway. He didn't know why that was, really. He tended to be the forgiving type. There was just something about Ken that made Izzy furious, even to this day.

"Izzy?"

He turned his head, and blinked a few times, clearing his vision. Yolei stood in the doorway, an eager smile on her face.

"Can I help?" she asked, brown eyes glittering. "I've helped open up the DigiPortal a few times, when it was being stubborn. Maybe I can help you figure this out."

His stomach fluttered a bit, but he ignored it. "Sure. The more help, the better."

"Perfecto," Yolei nodded, walking over. "So, how far have you got?"

"Well, as near as I can tell," he began, "There's some sort of complex firewall blocking our access to the Digital World. Same with our connection to Gennai, though, his block is a little less difficult. In fact, I believe I'm making some progress on it."

"If we can crack it, do you think Gennai will be able to help us?" Yolei asked, biting her lip in worry.

She leaned over Izzy's shoulder to get a better look at the screen, and he felt his face redden furiously.

Trying to cover his face and the suddenly loud beating of his heart, Izzy coughed into his fist. "Um, well, if he can't, I can't think of anyone who can."

"Hmm," Yolei mulled over the situation with a frown. Suddenly, her face brightened. "Ya know, we should ask Ken to help! He's so good with computers."

Some strange form of anger flared in the pit of Izzy's stomach, and he did his best to hide a scowl. "We can handle it," he said, unable to hid all of his bitterness.

"Oh. Okay," she blinked, shocked by his sudden foul mood. She smiled, trying to get him to cheer up. "Well, then. Let's get crackin'!"

Izzy looked up at her, and found himself smiling back. It was hard not to smile at Yolei. "All right," he agreed.


He should've been dead by now.

That's how Joe figured it. After running down the street after Jun like a moron, he thought that, with his luck, something would've killed him. Trikmon himself. A Ghastlymon. A desperate kid. A bee sting. Anything!

And yet, there he was, in the grocery store, alive and well.

"C'mon, Joe!"

Well, not necessarily well.

Jun strolled along the aisles, dumping certain items in her cart with a carefree manner. If the store hadn't been nearly ransacked when the first got there and deserted, she would've looked like a typical shopper having a typical shopping day.

"Are you done yet?" he asked, catching up to her.

"Oh, I still should get a few more things," she replied, looking critically into her shopping cart. "I mean, there's twenty five of us, you know? It's like feeding a horde!"

Joe blinked. He never thought of it like that. After all, the house was big enough so that you only bumped into a few people during the entire day. It was only at meals did it show just how many were in the mansion.

Jun suddenly stopped in the middle of the aisle, causing Joe to halt and turn, half expecting her to start screaming at an enemy he hadn't seen. But Jun didn't look like she was going to scream at all. In fact, there was a half smile on her face, and her brown eyes were sparkling with mischief.

Joe gulped down his dread. "... Jun?"

She offered him a fleeting glance, before returning her eyes past him. Suddenly, she ran past him with the cart. With a loud, "Whoo, hoo!" Jun planted her feet on the back of the cart, allowing it to zoom down the aisle by use of her momentum. When it looked like she was about to hit into the wall, Jun jumped off, hands still on the handles, and stopped the shopping cart from a collision.

She turned back to a stunned Joe, a childlike grin plastered on her face. "I've always wanted to do that!"

He stared at her in shocked silence for a moment, until he finally found his voice. "You... are... insane!"

Jun just giggled.


Kari did her best not to shiver as she stared off at nothing in particular, her mind a million miles away. She was supposed to be the positive one of the group. The optimist. But, she found it very hard to be optimistic when everything looked so very bleak.

How could they defeat an enemy they knew nothing about? And without their digimon in their normal forms and able to digivolve?

Still, Kari had to admit it was interesting to see their digimon in human form. They seemed to be adapting to their new conditions rather quickly. In fact, Kari had a suspicion that Gatomon loved it; the cat digimon seemed to take delight in the fact that she was so more apt to it than Wormmon. Poor Wormmon, Kari smiled. How Gatomon teased him so. She idly wondered if that was the sign of a crush. After all, they were in the forms a young children. Then again, could digimon even have feelings like that?

"You okay, Kari?" T.K. asked, placing his arms on the living room couch, and resting his chin on them. "You're staring into The Great Unknown."

"There's nothing on TV," she stated, dryly, pointing to the screen.

"Of course, there is!" he jokingly protested, scooping up the remote, and turning the channels. "Why, it's Ken TV! All Ken, all the time!" T.K. waved his hand, smirking. "Yolei must be loving this."

Kari giggled. "Probably. But, then again, why get your dose second hand, when you can get it from the primary source? He is in the house, ya know?"

"Yippee," he rolled his eyes. "Don't remind me. How can she even stand looking at him?"

"Maybe she has a soft spot for lost causes?" she offered, grinning.

"Or maybe," T.K. grinned back, "she has a soft spot for poor, pathetically hopeless creatures?"

From the shadows of the staircase, Ken fumed as he heard Kari laugh at T.K.'s joke. He balled his fists so tight, his small nails drew blood. He shouldn't care. It shouldn't matter what they thought. With a great amount of will power, Ken loosened his fingers, and turned back up the stairs, ascending calmly.

It didn't matter, he decided. None of them mattered. Not even Yo—

"You think we're being too harsh?" Kari asked. "I mean, Yolei's usually a good judge of character."

"Yeah," T.K. snorted. "For a girl who developed a crush on a guy who was planning world domination!"

"I suppose," she sighed. "I just keep hoping he really has changed for the better."

"Well, we'll see," T.K. said, his voice barely colored with cynicism. "On the plus side, he hasn't tried to kill us yet."

Kari's musical giggled floated up the stairs again. Ken twitched. They were still not worth his time. But maybe he needed to give them as much of a chance as they did him. Maybe.


The old man dangled in the cold, bitter air. The more he struggled, the tighter the already sharp knots around his arms and legs became. The decievingly weak looking strings held him up like a toy, and viciously cut into him at the slightest hint of resistance.

But still, out of determination --or maybe out of desperation-- he continued to fight for his freedom. It was in vain, for all it did was cause him to bleed in various areas.

His captor seemed highly amused at the display, showing his rows of pointed teeth in a perverted version of a smile.

Trikmon seemed to hiss a chuckle, if that was possible. "One of your children is out of the house, Gennai," he tsked. "And he brought someone out with him. Maybe I should send some... associates to show them the way home. Hmmm?"

Unable to do nothing but hang helplessly, the old man bowed his head in sorrow.


"Is that everything?" Joe asked, hefting the bags that Jun had shoved into his arms.

"I think so," she nodded, holding a few bags in her own arms. "It's a shame we can't just bring the shopping cart with us."

"Oh, yeah. That would be great," he muttered, sarcastically, trying to see around the bags. "With those squeaky wheels, why, we could get everyone in town to know we're out in the open. Why don't we just paint targets on our backs?"

"Well, there's no reason to be obnoxious about it," Jun, huffed, walking out the door. "I just thought it would be easier."

Her voice and her feet stopped at the same time.

"What is it?" Joe sighed, trying to look. "You see another cart you want to ride?"

Jun responded with a small squeak. A squeak that made Joe's stomach tighten. Dreading what he'd see, he peered over the bags. Coming toward them in the parking lot, with slow, sludging footsteps, was a group of Ghastlymon. And not a small group; Joe counted fifteen in all.

Jun turned to him, her eyes wide in fright. He turned to her, and gave her the same reassurance he had given to everyone while they were in the DigiWorld.

"We're gonna die," he stated, flatly.


Wearily, Yolei took off her glasses and gave her tired eyes a good rub. Cracking the code of the firewall around the connection to Gennai's e-mail was harder than she thought it would be. Then again, Izzy had been working on it for a few days, and had barely scratched the surface. With the two of them working together, the progress actually seemed to quicken.

"Hey," she smiled, trying to joke, "give us a few more months, and we might actually get it."

"Yeah," Izzy allowed a small grin to appear on his face, before he became serious again. "I've never seen a block like this before. Just when we think we've got it, it seems to shift and change on us. It's like it's adapting."

Yolei blinked. "Adapting? You mean, it's alive?"

"Not technically. Not that I think," Izzy shook his head. "Though, considering the DigiWorld, that is a possibility. But actually, I'm thinking along the lines of it being programmed to alter itself according to apparent threats."

"I didn't know firewalls could do that," she said, tilting her head in curiosity.

"They can't," he admitted, frowning. "But I just can't think of any other explanation."

"Can we work around it somehow?" Yolei pondered, out loud. "Find a way through the firewall without it noticing in time to adapt?"

"It's possible, but... " Izzy sighed. "But not very probable. I really hate to say this, but this is baffling even me."

Yolei was about to hesitantly suggest they bring Ken in on this, when the computer screen flickered in front of them. The two teenagers tensed, eyes fixated on the flashing screen.

"Izzy, what did you do?" she asked.

"Nothing!" he answered, staring at the display in shock. "I didn't press anything."

"It wouldn't have mattered if you did, boy," a sickly familiar voice floated around the room. Izzy's ears perked, as he tried to find the source. It took him only a moment to realize it was coming from the computer speakers.

The machine sparked, sending smoke wafting. Izzy hollered in shock when two glowing eyes stared back at him from the monitor. A thin arm reached out from the screen, its claws trying to grasp the startled teen. With a yelp, Izzy fell backwards off his chair, and backed away. Over the pounding of his heart, he could just hear Yolei whimpering in fright behind him.

When the arm found nothing, it pulled back, but only so that the figure could make its way out of the screen. Or, more precisely, half the figure. Trikmon oozed the top half of his body out, grinning at the two shaking Digidestined in front of him.

"So, you're the ones who've been trying to contact your dear Gennai." He wagged his finger. "Shame, shame. You should know better than to tamper with things that are above you."

"Th-the firewall," Yolei stuttered, her arms wrapped fiercely around Izzy's shoulders. "How is he i-in here when the f-firewall is up?"

Izzy shook his head, unable to think of an answer. He stared at Trikmon, unable to even blink. And then, he noticed how translucent Trikmon seemed to be. Almost as if he wasn't real. With shaky legs, Izzy walked over to Trikmon, and bravely slapped his hand at his enemy's face.

"Izzy!" Yolei cried, shocked and terrified.

But Izzy's hand went right through, touching nothing but air. He made another swipe, just to make sure. Again, his hand hit nothing.

"It's just an illusion," Izzy murmured. "It's a projection. He's not here."

Trikmon, or more to the point, Trikmon's image smiled. "Now, now, boy. You're missing the point."

"Trying to scare us half to death?" Izzy ventured, bitterly.

"Awfully brave now that you think you're safe, aren't you?" Trikmon chuckled. "For such a smart boy, you are so very stupid."

"I'm smart enough to know if I turn off my monitor I won't have to listen to your rambling," Izzy spat, reaching for the computer.

"I have Gennai, you know?" Trikmon informed them. Izzy's hand froze over the 'off' button. The digimon smiled.

"What?" the redhead growled.

"Gennai's my... guest," Trikmon chose his words carefully, as if tasting each one before saying it. "He's been so for a while now. I'm afraid, however, that I didn't, ah, invite him before he sent you the annoying little firewall you have up."

"So help me God, if you kill him... " Izzy started, threateningly.

"Missing the point again, dear boy," Trikmon clicked his tongue. "You see, I have no intention of killing Gennai. I don't even want to hurt him... yet. I'd much rather have him watch me kill you." He reached out a long finger towards Yolei, and even though she knew it was only an illusion, the girl couldn't help but flinch. He smiled, showing off his needle-like teeth. "I'll kill you all. One by one.
"I'll pick you off, like pieces of a chess game. I'll make you suffer and scream. Plead for your lives. I'll devour your hopes, your dreams."

"Shut up," Yolei fiercely whispered, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. "Shut up!"

"I'll strip you of your faith," Trikmon continued, his almost white eyes boaring into the small girl's brown ones. "In yourself and others. I'll take away anything that makes you who you are. And when you're nothing more than an empty shell," he grinned, "I'll rip away at your flesh, and serve your carcass for dinner. I'll sup on your legs, and suck the marrow from your bones... "

Yolei gagged, throwing her hands over her ears.

"That's enough," Izzy snarled. He reached over, and turned off the monitor. Trikmon's image flickered, then vanished. He walked to Yolei, who was trembling ever so slightly. Concerned, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"

She looked up at him, shining tears finally spilling from her eyes. With a strange whimper, she wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. "I just want everything to be normal again," she sobbed.

His arms slipped around her, and he patted her back, softly. In a different situation, Izzy might actually have enjoyed this, blushing and stammering. However, he pushed those thoughts aside, and simply held her, trying his best to comfort.


Joe had a tendency to panic and overreact. Sometimes, those bad habits were good things, especially when in the unforgiving Digital World. However, his panic attacks also had the tendency to cause him to freeze like a statue. Not a good thing when there were fifteen Ghastlymon slowly make their way towards him.

And there were.

With his feet locked in place, Joe's brain went into overdrive. Fight or flight? Not much of a decision. Flight, obviously. But where? They couldn't get past the Ghastlymon without getting attacked. If they went back into the store, they could be surrounded before they made their way to the back exit. So what was left? They couldn't just stand still, and hope the Ghastlymon thought they were statues.

"Car!" Jun yelled, running to her right.

"Huh?" Joe blinked. "Hey! Wait!"

The auburn haired girl stopped in front of a white Honda, its driver's side door wide open. "The keys are still in!" she declared. "The owner must've been zapped away when they were getting in. Or out." She threw the grocery bags hastily into the back. "C'mon, Joe! Throw those in the back and jump in."

He thought about arguing that it wasn't their car to take, but a sizzling shot of something whizzed past his ear and landed on the ground. As the acid made a large hole in the ground, Joe decided that a little theft was necessary at this point in time. He chucked his bags in, ignoring how close the Ghastlymon were coming, and pushed Jun over to the passenger's side to get behind the wheel himself.

"Hey!" she pouted as he shut the door. "I can drive."

"If you drive any way like you do everything else," Joe muttered, hastily turning the car on, "I'll pass."

The wheels squealed as the car went in reverse out of the parking space. When they turned around, they were surrounded by Ghastlymon. Jun squeaked.

"Run them over?" Joe questioned.

She nodded, vigorously. "Run `em over. Run `em over!"

He pressed on the gas pedal, hard. The car screamed in protest for a moment, then bolted forward, slamming the two occupants back into their seats. Joe couldn't help but squint his eyes in disgust as the front of the car collided with a few Ghastlymon. The gelatinous digimon slammed onto the hood and windshield, covering it with green ooze. Next to him, Joe could hear Jun gag.

Not knowing how much good it would do, he turned on the windshield wipers, still sailing down the street faster than he knew was legal. Not that there would be police to stop him.

"Joe!" Jun screamed.

He dared to look over to her, and blinked. Her mouth was hanging open, her brown eyes fixated on the roof of the car. Dreading what he'd see, Joe glanced up, and felt his mouth go dry at the sight of the roof being eaten away. There was a Ghastlymon still on top of the car.

"We are so going to die!" Joe swore.

His grip on the wheel tightened, and he began to swerve the car back and forth, trying to shake off their unwanted passenger. It didn't work. The creature hung on, allowing acid to drip down, dangerously close to them.

"Floor it!" Jun cried.

"B-but, I don't know if I can control the car," Joe stuttered. He wasn't that good at driving!

Apparently, Jun couldn't have care less. With a scowl, she put her foot over Joe's, pressing the gas pedal as far down as it would go. Joe yelped as they sped off, the world going by in a dark blur. If it was light outside, there was a possibility that he wouldn't have felt his heart scream in terror. However, that was not the case, and it took every ounce of self-restraint Joe had not to yell at the top of his lungs.

The Ghastlymon reached in, its dripping hands grasping. Eyes wide, Jun ripped open the glove compartment, grabbing anything that was in there. Papers, pens, the occasional pocket knife; everything her hands touched was flung up at the invading digimon.

Suddenly Joe made a dangerously sharp left turn. The result of which was Jun slamming hard into his side, and the Ghastlymon sliding off the roof with an odd, wet slurp.

"Ow," she mumbled, her face still in his shoulder.

"Sorry," he apologized. "Hey, at least it's off the car."

Jun's response was a groan, and she made no attempt to sit up. Joe wondered just how hard she had hit into him. The thought was pushed aside when he spotted the house, the original Ghastlymon still standing guard in front. Knowing Mimi would kill him and also knowing he had no choice, Joe went straight for the lawn, squealing onto the grass, not missing the sound of acid hissing on the hood of the car. The Ghastlymon had missed them, but Joe knew the acid was already making its way into the organs of the car. They weren't going to be driving it again any time soon.

He looked down at Jun, who was still leaning against him, and shook her. "Hey. You okay?"

With a moan, she turned her face up to him. Her cloudy eyes focused somewhat on him, and she croaked, "Are we there yet?"

Jun's eyes shut closed, and she slumped into him, unconscious. Blushing slightly, Joe got out of the car, and pulled her into his arms. He'd have to leave the groceries in the car for a while, possibly the night, but he wanted to put her in bed, and check to see if she had a concussion.

The thought of putting Jun in her bed made Joe blush even more furiously, but he shook it off. He was, after all, going to be a doctor. And besides, only an idiot would fall for the crazy girl he had in his arms. Though, he had to admit she was kinda cute... when she was unconscious, anyway.

Joe's dark eyes spotted the Ghastlymon outside the invisible firewall, staring at them. He couldn't tell if it was angry it had missed, or if it was simply trying to figure out what had just happened. The thing gave Joe the creeps. He didn't like the fact that he couldn't tell what it was thinking.

Adjusting Jun into a more comfortable position in his arms, Joe walked to the house. Had he stared at the Ghastlymon a bit longer, he would've noticed it shifting its gaze from him and Jun, to Iori's window. The creature's hollow eyes never left its target for the rest of the night.

Next chapter: Sweet Dreams Are Made of These