Author's Notes (3): Okay people, you may notice that I said Michael's last name was Ando. I have no way of knowing this is true or not, so if you do know his last name, please tell me by putting it in a review. I'll edit and give credit to whoever tells me. Thank you.



Chapter 2:

Regardless of Tai...



Tai, TK, and Davis looked back and forth at each other. Or as close as they could get to that, since TK and Davis wouldn't actually look at each other. "So..." Tai said, "what ARE you guys doing here?"

"Um, wishing Kari a happy birthday, of course," Davis stammered. He knew it wouldn't fool Tai. His old soccer teacher knew him too well.

"Right," Tai sighed. "I guess I can leave it at that... So how have you boys been?"

"Pretty good!" Davis exclaimed, eager to portray his new life to his role-model. "I... almost beat Ken's team during the soccer championships this year, my grades are definitely good enough to get me through high-school and into that spiffy new noodle cart I've always wanted, and Veemon's been in the Digiworld for the past week, which means I get to sleep in."

TK rolled his eyes at the last comment, then started up his own story. "Well, we DID win the basketball tournaments, Matt and Sora are getting married, and Patamon's been cleaning my room for me. What a great friend."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" Tai yelled, startling the two rivals. "Back that up a bit. Matt... and Sora... are getting..."

TK looked at Tai appalled. "I-I'm sorry Tai! I forgot that I wasn't supposed to have heard..."

"What do you mean?"

"Well... how can I tell you this?"



~Flash back back back...~



"Hey Mom! I'm gonna head over to Kari's for a bit!" TK yelled back to his mom.

"Wait TK!" his mom said, walking into the room while rubbing her hands with a dish towel. "Did you talk to your brother yet?"

"Matt?! What's he doing here?"

"Well, he had some time off from classes, and after visiting... your father... he came here to talk to you..."

"That's great!"

"...and Sora."

"That's... interesting."

"Just make sure you talk to him before you go. He just went out to the hall. If you hurry, you might catch him before he gets out of the building."

"Okay! Thanks Mom!"

"Mm, hmm. Bye honey."

"Yeah, see ya."

TK walked out the door and began to run down the hall in an attempt to catch his older brother. He skidded to a stop before going out the outside door, because he heard Matt's voice. That meant that Matt must have been close to the door, and he didn't want to hit him. Before he could knock, or do something of the like, he heard Sora's voice following Matt's.

"So Sora," Matt said slowly, "I've thought this over for a long while, and..." Matt grunted, as if he was getting down onto his knees. He heard some shuffling around, then Matt continued. "Sora Takenouchi, will you... marry me?"

Sora gasped, appalled maybe, but stammered on. "A-are you SURE?"

"Sure I'm sure! Yes or no?"

Sora paused for a long time. TK knew what she was thinking. Worried about what Tai would say... Apparently, Matt knew too.

"Regardless of Tai, regardless of what he'll say when he gets that invitation, will you?"

"Matt-I... yes, I will."

Matt's shoes scuffed the floor. He probably stood up to hug Sora, or even more. Maybe he was kissing her. TK figured it was time to knock, and he did so.

"Hey Matt!"

"TK?" Matt asked, startled.

"You got it. Mom said you were around."

"Yeah. Come on out."



~Flash forward ward ward ward...~



"So you see Tai, they might not even know that I know," TK said.

"Yeah..." Tai responded.

"You mad buddy?" Davis asked shortly.

Tai took a deep breath and waited. "No," he said at last. "It's their decision, not mine. If that's how our destiny is going to run, then it's best that I NOT fight against it."

"That's so true," Davis said, looking at where Kari had left from, then glaring over at TK.

"Yes, it is," TK added, mimicking Davis's actions.

"There aren't gonna be any fights in here, are there guys?" Tai mused, easily picking up on the boys' anger. "Mom's not a fan for cleaning blood..."

"Huh?!" the two said simultaneously, forcing a chuckle from Tai despite his current situation.



* * *



Mimi Tachikawa yawned and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. Finally back in Odaiba, she thought. She shook her light brown hair loosely and blinked her brown eyes. And with Michael too. It had taken a lot of persuading, but Mimi had finally convinced her boyfriend, Michael Ando, that a career in cooking would best be suited for the cook's home country. He wasn't ecstatic about leaving America, but he had. Michael was definitely a keeper.

Palmon yawned and covered her mouth with a large, pale green hand. "Tired?" Mimi asked.

"Well," Palmon yawned, "you were yawning too."

"So I was."

"Are Michael and Betamon still back there? I haven't heard any grumbling from him for a while."

"They'd better be," Mimi said brusquely. "It's not like he could just go home NOW..."

"That's true."

As if on cue, Michael walked off the subway they had taken to Odaiba from the airport, cradling a sleeping Betamon and narrowly clipping his head against the doorframe. "Geez Mimi," he mumbled between long yawns, "is ANYTHING here set to a more normal height?"

"Oh calm down Michael. You'll get used to it."

"Yes, I hope. I guess it's not all bad," Michael said, turning towards the sun. "Your sunsets sure are pretty."

"Um, Michael? That's... a sunrise."

"You gotta be kidding me..."

"Different time zones. We ARE on the opposite side of the earth..."

"Yeah," Palmon muttered, not wanting to be left from a conversation. "Make sure you change your watches and everything."

"That's right Palmon!" Mimi exclaimed, reaching down to her wrist watch. "Thanks for reminding me!"

"Ah, no problem."

"So... where are we gonna live Meems?" Michael asked, with a slight bit of sarcasm.

"I'm sure we could move in with Sora. Or Yolei. Or even Kari, if we need to."

"Or, we can get an apartment and get into a college as soon as possible."

"One way or the other. Let's just hope we get this done, get a nice home, get married, have kids, so on and so on."

"Ugh, Mimi. I thought we weren't gonna discuss that far in our relationship yet..."

"No. I guess we can wait... but not much longer."

"Right..." Michael sighed.



* * *



"Professor!" Jim yelled, stepping into the study hall where he and Professor Takenouchi were running experiments on their digital partners. "Professor!"

Jim looked around the small room; a few microscopes in one corner, a couple of cobwebs scattered about, and a few long desks that contained such utensils as hand-held lenses and data splicers. No sign of the professor, nor were Sivimon and Fabreimon around the area. Sivimon... Jim's thoughts turned toward his digital partner. Joe's friend, Izzy, had told him about Sivimon's digivolution pattern. Right now, Sivimon would be an In-Training level. If Jim had a digivice or if Sivimon had attained a lot of experience through battles, then Sivimon would "digivolve" to Shakomon, and again to Octomon. Since Jim didn't have the treasured device and preferred to study Sivimon, he probably wouldn't be leveling up. Jim liked it that way. The smaller they are, the less they eat.

A tinny voice cut through Jim's pondering. "Jim?" it called out meekly.

"Is that you Sivimon?"

The small purple, octopus-like creature came out from behind a desk. On the lower side of the creature were four thin tentacles, two to each side, and two thick tentacles between those four. His bright black eyes blinked a few times, adjusting to the light.

"Where's Professor Takenouchi, Siv?"

"I was afraid you'd ask that..."

"Why?"

"Well... let me explain this slowly..."



~Flash back back back...~



Professor Takenouchi scampered back and forth through the lab, picking up small disks and putting them under a microscope, or perhaps poking Fabreimon lightly with a needle, or even just prodding her curiously with his finger. Sivimon watched intently from the floor.

"Yes, there's definitely something in that data-formed body of yours," the professor mumbled. Fabreimon twitched in frustration, white body quivering. She wanted to know what the thing that the professor was talking about was even more than Takenouchi himself.

"Did you analyze those data bits?" Fabreimon asked, her long white nose bouncing up and down.

"I sure did."

"Are they virus, vaccine, or data?"

"Virus, but you're a vaccine digimon, aren't you?"

Fabreimon fluttered her wings. They resembled a penguin's wings, since they wouldn't grow feathers until the next stage. "That's right."

"Interesting. There must be something a..."

What the professor said next was drowned out. A big black bubble swallowed him up. Sivimon turned, shocked, at Fabreimon. The hummingbird-like digimon was blowing another black bubble to encase the mollusk-digimon in. Sivimon squirmed out of the way, narrowly dodging the speeding bubble. He looked back at Fabreimon, who had taken flight and was approaching like a helicopter, bubble poised on her beak. Sivimon caught a flash of red in the bird's eyes, but that was the last thing he saw as he crashed head-first into the back of a desk drawer. When he looked back, he noticed that he was inside the drawer, and quickly pulled it shut, with a gap for oxygen to come in. Fabreimon tried to get in, but eventually gave up and fluttered away to do who knows what.



~Flash forward ward ward ward...~



"See Jim?" Sivimon asked.

"Any idea what made Fabrei act like that?" Jim asked back.

"No. But it should be obvious that that strange data had something to do with it."

"Yeah. But you have it on you too, which means... uh oh!"

Jim jumped away from Sivimon, but he was too late. The little squid was already firing the aforementioned black bubbles at him. Jim jumped backwards again, but accidently slammed his head against the door frame. The last thing he saw was Sivimon's now red eyes looking down at him...