Myotismon's Revenge

by Kalming Waters

Incomplete and will never be finished. Read at your own risk.

4. Memoria

Myotismon's Revenge Four

Author Notes: It has been a while. Prune Juice had to be taken care of first. This needs my full attention. If it is not topnotch stuff, please forgive me. I have to get used to writing in such a serious and dark tone once again. Oh, I need a name for Matt/Myotismon. I mean it is bothersome to write that whole thing out. So, anyone out there, can you give me a unique name? Nothing hard on the tongue, stays in the brain, and fits my character. Can you readers complete the task? I hope you are…

      The moon reached its peak height in the zenith of the sky. Its moonlight briefly shined on the land beneath it, but large, ominous clouds blockaded the light. Darkness covered the digital world, making it easier for one certain individual. The digimon was extremely cautious in his walking, as if he did not want anyone to be able to follow him. The clouds continued on their path, and the moonlight continued shining. The light revealed the digimon's identity to be Gabumon. On his right shoulder, he carried Mimi, Chosen Child of Sincerity. On his other furry shoulder, he carried Palmon, Mimi's confidant and protector. His head faced downward, and melancholy filled his large burgundy eyes. Alone on his trek, he concentrated on his unknown mission.

"I told you we needed more ketchup! No one listens to me, and I always look out for everyone!" a Candlemon shouted to his companion Otamamon. His friend simply snorted. "I am serious! Last week, I told everyone we needed ketchup, but as usual, no one listened. Now I have to go out in the dead of night to buy ketchup!"
      "You are not the only one out here. You should have just went to buy some instead of complaining," his friend simply explained.
      "Then everyone would dump their responsibilities on me! I already do more then my fair share. Besides, I'm scared of the dark!"

Otamamon stopped in his walking. He turned toward his friend and gave him a strange look. "Did I hear you right? Are you scared of the dark?"
      "Yes!"
      "But… you are a candle."
      "That does not mean a thing. What do you think that night - light in my room is doing? Being a decoration? I think not!"

      "But… you are a candle."
      The Candlemon sighed loudly. He looked up to the moon, and continued his hopping. "It is really late. We should hurry."
      "Yes we should," his friend commented. They both continued hopping toward their goal. Several meters later, the Candlemon noticed something in the bushed. He raised a slowly melting hand over his eyes and squinted into the darkness. His comrade happened to see this happen and turned back.

      "What do you see?" He asked. His friend made no answer only continuing to scan the area.

      "A digimon," Candlemon said, still examining the area. "I think he is carrying something or someone."
      "Let's ask him," Otamamon said. He walked up a little and shouted, "Excuse me, anyone out there?"

      "Yes, there is someone out here." The digimon said.

      "You imbecile! What if it is a evil champion digimon just waiting for a midnight meal?!" Candlemon shouted at his friend. Otamamon just shrugged his shoulders.

      "Can we see who you are? We mean no harm," Otamamon said.

      "Fine," said Gabumon as he slowly began to stride toward the pair of digimon. At that same moment, clouds covered the moon and blanketed the land with darkness. Candlemon's light was the only source at that time. The light softly fell on Gabumon's tortured face, his two eyes filled with melancholy, and his tired body. The light also illuminated the grisly bite marks on Mimi's neck, and the several bruises covering Palmon. Otamamon and Candlemon gasped at the same time. Gabumon's face remained impassive, only his eyes conveying his internal pain.

      "What have you done? That is princess Mimi and Palmon! What have you done?" Otamamon screamed. Candlemon acted a little more reserved when he spoke.

      "Gabumon, we are willing to find out what happened, but first put down the princesses."

      Gabumon did as Candlemon told him to, gently placing the bodies on the floor. He placed his hands in the air, and said nothing.

      "Good. Just to know, we not blaming you-"

      That was when Gabumon struck. When Candlemon stepped forward, Gabumon savagely brought his claws across his face. Candlemon crashed to the floor, holding his face. Otamamon jumped in order to intercept Gabumon's attacks, but Gabumon smacked him aside.

      Gabumon picked the bodies and softly placed them on his shoulders. He looked at Otamamon and Candlemon, and then said, "This is something personal. I rather you not know what is going on."

      Several minutes after his encounter with Candlemon and Otamamon, Gabumon stopped. With the bodies still on his shoulders, he collected leaves and made beds. He then let the bodies slid off his shoulders onto the grassy beds he prepared. Collecting several twigs, he arranged them together and lit them ablaze with his Blue Blaster attack. After that, Gabumon moved toward the bed that Mimi laid on. He placed his ears directly over her chest and listened for her heartbeat. A faint beat was the only thing he heard. At least she is still alive, Gabumon thought, and some of the sadness left his eyes. He turned toward Palmon and shook her softly. "Palmon, Palmon, wake up. You had enough sleep." As at command, Palmon woke up. She looked around and grimaced. "Take your time. You had a nasty bruise," Gabumon said.

      "Gabumon?" Palmon said. She stood up, and a wave of vertigo knocked her to her knees. Gabumon helped her up to her feet. Palmon then remembered what had happened before Matt/Myotismon knocked her out. "Gabumon, where's Mimi?" Palmon asked. She glanced past Gabumon and ran to Mimi's side. She placed her finger up to Mimi's nose, and seemed relieved when she felt warm, moist air flow out onto her finger.

      "She's okay, just really tired," Gabumon explained. He sat next to Palmon and continued. "See those bite marks? The reason they are so red is that more skin was torn. That just means that he probably got very little blood, if any."

      "Is that supposed to comfort me?" Palmon wept, and fell on Mimi's stomach and cried, her little plant body shaking with the force of her tears.

      Gabumon seemed distraught for a moment, and then rubbed Palmon's back. "It just means that she will wake up soon."

      "Gabumon, how did we get away? I was pretty sure we were finished."
      "I… I joined up with him."
      This statement sent Palmon into a frenzy. "You joined up with him?! Gabumon, how could you? After all the things he did, you go and join him?"
      "You don't understand."
      "How could I understand? You teamed up with a monster and betrayed all of us!"
      "It is nothing like that! Myotismon may have control of his body, but Matt is still inside there somewhere. I had to join him, in order to save Matt. If the same thing happened to Mimi, you would have done the same things I did." Gabumon's eyes watered and salty tears dropped to the floor.
      Palmon calmed down after absorbing what Gabumon just stated. She also had tears in her eyes, but wiped them away. She sat down and sighed loudly. "What should I do then?"
      "Mimi may be unconscious, but she still needs water and food. Let us not to forget the digimon out here. You need to stay and take care of Mimi," Gabumon said. "Do you understand what I am talking about?" Palmon absentmindedly nodded her head. "Good, I will see you later." Giving her a short hug, Gabumon left the area.

      "Gabumon, wait. Where are you going?" Palmon asked.

      "Back to him."

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

      The sun slowly peeked over the mountains in the distance. Matt/Myotismon stood tall in the face approaching sun. He smiled as the rays warmed his skin. Just a few days ago, this very same sun would have killed me, he thought to himself. He laughed loudly. "I am perfect, do you hear me? No one can stop me, and there is nothing you pathetic fools can do about it!" he yelled to no one in particular. His cries echoed throughout the land, and Matt/Myotismon smile grew larger and more malevolent. He continued to smile as he asked, "What took you so long?"
      That question caught Gabumon off guard completely. "Matt, is that you?" Gabumon ran to embrace his partner. "I knew you could do it Matt!" Gabumon whispered, tears running down his furry face.

      "Matt died, realize that now. He will never return because I destroyed him, completely and slowly. I quite enjoyed his cries of anguish and his pleas for mercy." Matt/Myotismon commented. Kicking off Gabumon's embrace, he sauntered toward a tree. "It's the little things in life that make it so enjoyable, don't you agree?" he said while handling a caterpillar in his hands. The caterpillar slowly climbed over his fingers, trying to reach the tree. He clenched his fist, and the caterpillar knew no more. He watched as the blood dripped down his gloves, and he greedily licked any excess blood he found. Gabumon felt his stomach grow queasy, and he turned his eyes. Matt/Myotismon took no notice of this, and now had his eyes set upon a spider.

"You and I are the same, do you know that?" he whispered to the spider. The spider moved away from him, and spotted a fly caught in his trap. It swiftly moved to the fly in order to obtain its breakfast. It never had a chance. Matt/Myotismon, in one fluid movement, removed the spider from its web and dangled it above his face. "Do not ignore me when I try to improve your trivial life with my words. For that, you must die," he said in a gleeful tone, lowering the spider closer and closer to his mouth.

Gabumon lunged toward Matt/Myotismon, fury empowering his whole body. His teeth clamped onto his knee, knocking both of them to the floor. The spider in Matt/Myotismon's hand dropped on to its web, where it quickly scuttled away. Gabumon pinned his opponent to floor, and grappled with him in order to remain in control.

Matt/Myotismon had different ideas. He swung his knee into Gabumon's stomach, and then threw a vicious right into his nose. Gabumon dropped to his knees, grunting in pain. Matt/Myotismon quickly rose to his feet and slapped Gabumon squarely across the cheek. "You fool! What on earth were you thinking?!" When Gabumon said nothing, Matt/Myotismon slapped him across the other cheek. "If you value your friend's life, you'll answer me!"

Gabumon lifted his head to stare at Matt/Myotismon. Both of his cheeks had growing bruises, and a river of blood flowed from his nose. These bruises were not the strange things on his face. It was his smile. It seemed sadistic, like that of a man who has decided that everyone around him must die, that his soul will not be satisfied until the ones around him experienced true pain, from the pits of their souls. It was a smile exactly like Matt/Myotismon's.

"You said yourself Matt is dead. If I can't save him, I'll at least avenge his death," Gabumon said coldly. He shakily stood up to his two feet. "Matt was the closest friend I had. I cannot let… things like you get away with murder."

Matt/Myotismon grim face broke into a slight grin. "You actually believe that I killed Matt? Oh, how you misunderstand everything, you poor idiot of a digimon! Had I killed Matt, I no longer would stand here. Him and I had enough time to become one, no longer separate. In his "death," Myotismon also "died." Only I stand now," he dictated. He turned around, and spoke again. "Leave me now and go to the other Digidestined. Tell them that I wish to be left alone, and are not to look for me."
      Gabumon stood transfixed to his spot; his eyes filling with unshed tears. He wiped them away and walked away from Matt/Myotismon.

"Oh yes, do wash up in the river. If I have work with such a weak digimon, he will not be such a dirty urchin," he ordered. Gabumon just slowly stumbled away, as if his limbs were made of lead. He is stronger than I thought, Matt/Myotismon thought to himself. He looked at his jeans, and inspected the wounds. Several puncture wounds went straight through the jeans. Lifting up the pants leg, the white of his bones was clearly visible. I will have to watch him more closely. He could become a lot of trouble; don't you agree with me Matt?

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

      A marble castle loomed in the middle of the darkness. Its peaks cut through the air like swords, and it seemed to be the only structure in the vast darkness. Deep inside the dark castle lied an immense dungeon. The dungeon consisted of three main sections: the cells, the torture room, and Myotismon's Room. The cells, cramped and filthy, held up to 12 digimon, all cramped and lacking space. Several skeletal, sickly hands reached out the bars, begging mercy; only to have it slowly hacked off. Screams of anguish echoed frequently through the rooms, and their origin came from the torture room. The forms of many digimon stretched, contorted, pulled, and twisted beyond their normal body limitations filled the room. Their screams of pain and mercy only seemed to increase the guard's pleasure, and increased the torture. The last room was the complete opposite of the previous rooms. It was sparingly furnished, but the few items in the room had a sense of class and taste.

      Matt Ishida hanged off a wall, strapped down onto a large table. The strap, tied tight around his wrists and ankles, was made of leather. Matt slowly opened his eyes, and screamed. When he heard no sound come from his mouth, he started to panic. He tried in vain to shout, but with each attempt, no sound came out. Matt calmed himself down and waited for his vision to clear. When the cloudiness that once hindered his eyesight disappeared, Matt was able to assess his surroundings. Where am I? The last thing I remember was, but that would mean I am dead! He lifted his head, and failed. My head… it feels like a ton of bricks. I really feel weird. I guess whoever has me here drugged me with something.

"You finally awoke. I guess I overdosed you," Myotismon said. Myotismon walked up to Matt, his velvet cape flowing behind him. Matt lifted his head high enough to spit in disgust at Myotismon. Myotismon effortlessly dodged the projectile. Grabbing Matt by the cheeks, Myotismon continued to speak. "We cannot have you sleeping the rest of your life away, now can we? Not since we have so much ground to cover."

"What do you want?" Matt spat out, his animosity toward Myotismon clearly showing.

"Your memories. I need them. You would not mind a couple of them, would you?"
      Matt's face scrunched into deep thought. "My memories? What are they worth to you?"
      Myotismon let go of Matt's face, letting it drop to his chest. "Not much. You see, I need your memories in order to properly become one."

"Become one? What are you talking about?"

"There is no need for you to know that," Myotismon said. Taking a black piece of chalk, Myotismon drew a perfect rectangle on the wall opposite of Matt. "Let me introduce you to Memoria."

      The rectangle melted into nothingness, revealing the cold darkness outside of the castle. When Myotismon placed his palm onto the square, the air surrounding him hummed with energy. The darkness simmered, followed by it erupting into several shades of gray.

      "Oh rapture!" Matt exclaimed sarcastically. "I for one cannot wait!"

      Myotismon completely ignored Matt's sardonic remarks. "Let us start at the beginning." That is when everything blacked out.

***********

      "I need one more push. Just one more and you will be finished," an exhausted nurse told Mrs. Ishida. Mrs. Ishida shook her long blond hair.

      "I don't think I can make it," she replied, her young face full of pain. Richard, I need you. Where are you?

      "Coming through!" Richard Ishida said, his long brown mullet bouncing against his neck. Clothed in a surgeon's apron, facemask, and hairnet, he dashed into emergency room.

      "Richard!" Nancy said, hugging her husband. "I thought you would never get here!"
      Richard kissed Nancy on her flustered forehead. "You think I would miss this? Besides, I have great news. You know that job at the TV station I was pining for? Well, I nailed it! I am now responsible for everything that Odaiba views!"

      "Oh honey, that's so great!" Nancy exclaimed. She clasped her husband around his neck. She then screamed in pain and grabbed her husband's neck into a tighter embrace.

      "Uh, honey? My neck, can you please lighten up please? I would be nice to know how it feels to breath again."

      Mrs. Ishida reddened, and substituted his husband's neck for his hand. The doctor tapped Mr. Ishida on his shoulder, and Richard turned around.

      "Are you the husband?" the doctor inquired. Richard shook his head dumbly, and the doctor smiled. "Good, can you come here for a moment?" Leading Richard by the hand, he walked to the side opposite of Mrs. Ishida. "As you can see, we pretty much have everything done. All we need is to get the feet out and everything would is finished. Will you do the honors?"
      "I-I-I-" Richard stammered, and then fainted.

      "Richard!" Nancy shouted. She leaned forward, but a nurse pushed her back. Nancy protested, but the nurse was able to keep her on the bed.

      "Here we go," the doctor said. He held the baby by one leg and smacked it on its buttocks. Satisfied with how loud the baby was crying, he handed it to a nurse. "It's a male. Clean it up, weigh and measure it, and bring it back here," he said, looking at Mrs. Ishida. "I am sure the mother would want to see her first child."

      Several hours later, Mr. and Mrs. Ishida sat down together on the hospital bed, looking at their first son. He barely had any hair on his head, but his eyes were a bright blue. Nancy nuzzled Richard on the neck, and Richard in return kissed her on the forehead.

      "Do you want to hold him?" Nancy asked suddenly. She caressed her son's cheek, and looked at her husband. "Or do you think you will faint again?"

      Mr. Ishida smiled. "I am too tired to say anything, but…" he paused.

      "Well?"

      "Oh, sorry. I zoned out for a moment. Yeah, I want to hold him," Richard said. Nancy placed their first child carefully into Richard's hands, positioning his hands to properly hold an infant. At first, Richard was quite awkward, handling the boy as if he was a nuclear bomb. After adjusting to holding him, Richard looked intently into his face. "Wow, he is so beautiful… just like his mother."
      Nancy smiled at the compliment and hugged Richard. "Yeah, and he is strong like his father."

      "Hey, I just realized that we never named him."

      "Yeah. Do you have any ideas?"

      "Iori?"

      "Are you serious? How about Jyou?

      "How about not? How do you feel about Renetholen Ishida?
      "I think not. I think he should have a name he can spell by the time he is seven."

      "Okay, I think I have it. Yomato Ishida."

      "Yomato Ishida. It is simple, and sounds nice."

      "So, do we have clearance?"

      "Yeah, I think we do."

***********

      Matt gasped and opened his eyes. Where am I? I was just at a hospital watching my birth. But how? I do not even remember it.

"Just because you cannot remember it does not mean that it never happened," Myotismon stated. He leaned against a wall adjacent to the grayish rectangle. "Many times the mind places certain things of less importance under more important things. Makes sense, does it not?"
      "You can read my thoughts?" Matt exclaimed.
      Myotismon stood erect and looked into the rectangle. "Of course I can. This is your mind I inhabit. Wait, make that our mind."

      "Our mind? Not anytime soon anyway. This will always be my mind and mine alone," Matt said.

      Myotismon shrugged with closed eyes, letting Matt know that he frankly did not give a damn. "Believe what you want. I believe you humans have a certain saying, 'Ignorance is bliss,' is it not?"

      Matt's face flushed, but he held his tongue. He can insult me all he wants, but I refuse to let him think he is superior to me. He glanced briefly at his left hand. He was able to loosen the leather bondage, and let it seem that it still held his hand in place. He grinned and turned his attention toward Myotismon. "What's the next part of our slideshow, Myotismon?"

      "You will see." And everything fell prey to darkness.

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

      A young Yomato Ishida sat in a chair that was too big for him. He sighed loudly to illustrate his extreme boredom, and pulled out a little toy truck out of his green overalls. He drove it over the arm of the chair, making the appropriate car noises, much to the discontent of the other parents in the same room. Growing bored with that, to the happiness of the other parents, Yomato jumped out of his chair and went to magazine rack. The first magazine he picked had too many words, and not many pictures, so he gently put it aside. The next magazine picked up had many pictures, but the people had no clothes on and were in weird positions together, so he put it aside. The next magazine he picked up contained many colorful and funny pictures, and not too many words, so he sat down on the floor and started to look through the magazine.

      "Yomato?" A voice questioned. The voice was deep, and thick with worry. "Yomato, where are you?"

      "Daddy!" Yomato shouted. He dropped the magazine he was glancing at, and ran toward his father. Mr. Ishida picked up Yomato and threw him in the air. Yomato laughed and landed safely in his father's arms. "Where were you? I was so bored out of my mind!"

      Richard smiled and kindly rubbed his son on the noggin. "Sorry, but there was a lot of things I had to take care of."
      "Hey Daddy, where's mommy?" Yomato asked.

      "That's what I came here for. Come on, let's go," Mr. Ishida said, lifting Yomato unto his shoulders.

      Yomato and Richard slowly made their way through halls of the hospital. Yomato did not pay much attention to what was passing by; he was only interested playing in his father's hair, a slight buzz cut with small spikes hanging downward by the hairline. He really liked this hairstyle because it was the same day he found out he was getting a baby brother.

      "Here we are champ." Richard said. He lowered Yomato unto the floor. "Mommy's in that room right there," He pointed toward the room at the end of the hall. Yomato slowly walked toward the room, unsure of what he would find. He found his mother looking out the lone window in her room, the light streaming out onto the furniture.

      "Mommy, are you okay?" Yomato asked. Mrs. Ishida turned her head and smiled softly.

      "I'm okay Yomato," she said. Walking up to her son, Yomato noticed she looked bushed. Nancy noticed Yomato's stare and asked, "What's wrong Yomato?"
      "You're tired. You need to rest," he answered, and pushed his mother back to her bed. Smiling, Nancy allowed her son to push her, and plopped onto the bed. Yomato crawled on top of the bed and said on bended knees, "You need your rest to grow properly, remember?"
      "I remember. I think you need to go to sleep too, you had a long day," Mrs. Ishida said. Yomato shook his head only to yawn loudly and rub his eyes. Mrs. Ishida covered his mouth and said, "Yes you do. Now come on, right next to me," she said, patting the spot right next to her. Yomato obliged unwillingly, and laid down right next to his mother. Mrs. Ishida caressed her son's hair lovingly, once in while kissing him on the ear. The two soon slid into a blissful slumber. Richard Ishida watched the two from a distance, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

      "Good night you two," he whispered. He turned off the light and sat in the lone chair in the room, quickly dozing off into his own restful sleep.

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

      Matt had tears in his eyes. "I remember that day. When we woke up, we went to see TK in the infirmary. I remember when I first held him in my hands. It was so funny, he went and-"

      "Vomited on your mother's shoes," Myotismon finished for Matt. "She was mad at first, but started to laugh with everyone else. All of you went home that same day, and while driving home, you came up with the idea to name him Takeru."
      Matt glared at Myotismon, angry with him for interrupting. "I did not need any help doing that."

      "I could not help it. That is one of my favorite memories," Myotismon said with tears in his eyes.

      "There is no need to mock me. Besides, that is my memory, not yours."

      "Mocking is one of our favorite things to do. Besides, it is our memories. Remember, even as we speak, our minds and bodies are becoming one." Darkness blanketed the room.

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

      "What now?" Takeru asked.

      "It is simple. You take one part of the blanket and you put it over the edge of the bed," Yomato instructed, doing the same himself.

      "Like this?" Takeru asked again, putting his part of the blanket over the edge of the bed.

      Yomato smiled, and rubbed his brother's head. Fixing the blanket, he said, "Yeah. That is how you make up the bed."
      "Cool!" Takeru shouted. He hugged his favorite teddy bear, then hugged his brother tightly, and said, "Yomato, you are the best brother I ever had!"

      "Takeru, I am the only brother you ever had!"
      "Oh," Takeru said dejectedly. He clumsily fell on the floor, and picked up one of his little toys. "I forgot." His face suddenly brightened up. "What are we going to do next?"
      "You are going to bed," Yomato said, gently tugging by the hand. "Come on."
      "Yomato! I do not want to go to bed! I want to stay up with you!" Takeru exclaimed, slowly walking with Yomato anyway.

      "Well, if you don't go to bed, you will never grow up big and strong."

      "Like you?"
      Yomato stopped walking. His face redden very quickly and he said, "I'm not that strong, or big."

      Takeru faced his older brother, surprised at what he said. "Yomato, you're the biggest, strongest, bestest person I know!"

      Yomato blushed some more. "Well, what about Daddy?"
      Takeru face fell when he heard this. "Oh, I forgot about him."

      Yomato picked up his brother and placed him on his back. "Don't worry about it. Mommy says when I grow up, I'll be a lot taller than daddy!"

      Takeru's face lit face when he heard that. He briefly squeezed his brother around the neck, and whispered, "You're the best Yomato."
      Yomato's face turned its reddest yet, but he said nothing. The two walked through their house, neither of them saying anything. They passed by their living room and saw their mother sitting in a chair facing the door. "I think she is reading, so stay quiet," Yomato said to Takeru, placing his index finger against his lips to emphasize the point. Takeru nodded his head and the two continued on their way. That is when Richard Ishida entered the house, slamming the door. Yomato and Takeru went to greet his father, but Yomato stopped when he noticed a large, wrinkly brown bag with a bottlenose neck protruding from it in his father's hand. Yomato's eyes opened wide in fear and he grabbed Takeru, and then hid behind a wall.

      "Hey! What are you doing? I want to speak to daddy!" Takeru yelled, squirming to get out of Yomato's hold.

      "Shhh!" Yomato shouted roughly. Seeing his brother's watering eyes, he changed his tone to something softer. "I'm sorry, I never meant to yell at you." Yomato peeked from behind the wall to see what was going on. He saw his father take a long swig of the bottle he had in his hand, and watched as he threw it on the floor. Yomato turned his attention back to Takeru, who was trying to look at what Yomato was looking at. "Daddy is really tired, so I think we should go to bed. If daddy sees us in bed, he will be happy, and he might buy us candy. So come on!" Yomato explained, dragging his brother behind him.

      After hearing about the promise of candy, Takeru willingly went with his brother, who sped into their room and closed the door. Yomato left the door unlocked, and turned toward his brother. "Okay, change into your pajamas quick," Yomato commanded. Takeru followed the order, changing into a ninja covered pajama set. Yomato opened the door to their room and listened. He heard his parents yelling at each other, but he could not hear what they were yelling at each other. Closing the door, he turned around to see that Takeru was lying down in the bed. Good, maybe daddy will not get too mad. Yomato turned off the light and climbed into the bed besides Takeru.

      "Yomato, why are Mommy and Daddy yelling at each other?" Takeru asked innocently. The question caught Yomato off guard. His mind scrambled for an answer, when suddenly the voices stopped.

      "Mommy and Daddy are not arguing. It was just the TV. I guess Mommy had the TV on too loud and she just turned the TV off. So go to sleep," Yomato explained, glad that his parents stopped yelling. Satisfied with the explanation, Takeru went to sleep. Yomato unfortunately did not have that luck. He spent most of the night looking out the window, his glance falling on the full moon. As long as he could remember, he had always loved the moon. He loved the gentle aura surrounding it after it rained. He loved the mellow color of it, how looking at it never hurt his eyes. His dad often celled him "The Japanese Wolf" because of his love for the moon.

      His father's yell woke him out his trance. Yomato carefully climbed out of his bed, making sure that Takeru did not wake up. Since Takeru still slept peacefully, he stealthily tiptoed to his door. Placing his ear to the door, Yomato listened for anything. He heard two distinctive voices, one was his mother, and he was sure off that. The second voice he was not so sure off. It sounded like his father's, but thicker and more slurred. Yomato opened the door slightly in order to hear the conversation better. He heard the second voice yelling a lot, most of the words being curses. His mother was mostly quiet, but sometimes answered back, full of grief.  The second voice started to get louder and louder. At one point, his mother said something foul. Yomato knew it was foul because he once heard it on the street and his mother told him to never repeat it.

      That is when Yomato heard the smack. His mother was talking, and the second voice smacked her. She fell to the floor, the floorboards creaking under the force of the fall. Silence erupted into the room, no one saying a word. The atom bomb dropping on Nagasaki had not created as much silence as that single smack did. Then, the second voice mumbled something, and left the hall. Yomato opened the door a bit more and saw his mother lying on the floor. She was crying, and besides the collecting pool of water on the floor, and pool of blood started to collect. Yomato's heart urged him to go to his mother, to help her, but his mind told him to go back to bed. Yomato listened to his mind, figuring that she would be mad that he was still up. He walked back to his bed and placed his head on the pillow. I am glad that you did not have to see that, Yomato thought as he kissed Takeru on the forehead. Takeru sighed, making Yomato smile. He eventually fell into a deep sleep.

      "Takeru? Takeru? Takeru, wake up please," Mrs. Ishida said. Her face was a complete mess. Her eyes were red from so much crying, and long saline streaks covered her cheeks. Her lips turned red and puffy from all of her nervous biting. Her delicate nose bled from the blow they received earlier on. "Takeru, please wake up," she pleaded. Picking up a suitcase, she sloppily packed Yomato's and Takeru's clothes. "Takeru, wake up!" She whispered in his ear. 

      Takeru's eyes fluttered open and saw his mom. "Mommy? What's going on?"

      Mrs. Ishida went to the opposite side of the bed and softly shook Yomato awake. "We are going on a trip," she quickly said. She continued to pack clothes in the suitcase.

      "Where are we going?" Takeru asked. He climbed down from the bed and looked at his mother. "Is Daddy coming with us?"

      "No, he is staying here."
      "How come he isn't coming with us?"

      "I-I-I can't answer that right now. Yomato, Takeru, change your clothes."

      Yomato started to change his clothes, just as his mother asked him to. He looked at his mother while he changed. She looked at her watch frequently, and grew quite frantic with each passing moment.

      "Are you two ready? You have to be quiet so that you don't wake up Daddy," Mrs. Ishida whispered. Yomato and Takeru nodded, and followed their mother. Yomato was confused. Where are we going? Why are we leaving without Daddy? They arrived at the door, and Mrs. Ishida scrambled to take her keys out of her pocket. When she finally pulled them out of her pocket, her hand was shaking so badly that she accidentally dropped them onto the floor, the clatter reverberating throughout the house.

      "What the hell was that?" Mr. Ishida bellowed. He drunkenly stepped out of his room and looked at the trio.

      "Takeru, Yomato, run!" Mrs. Ishida shouted as she flung the door open. Yomato took Takeru by the hand and ran to their mother's car. Mrs. Ishida stepped outside herself, but stayed by the door.  

      "Where the hell do you think you're going? If you think you're leaving, you got one wrong idea in that damn head of yours!" Mr. Ishida yelled, stomping drunkenly toward the door. Mrs. Ishida waited until he was close enough to grab her, and then slammed the door violently in his face. She took the nearest garbage can and propped it against the door handle. She ran toward her car and opened the door. Inside, she threw the suitcases into the passenger seat, and started the ignition. After several tries, the engine roared to life. Mrs. Ishida took a second to put her hand out the window and flip Mr. Ishida the bird, and then sped off.

      Mrs. Ishida sped down the empty highway, the sun just starting to rise in the east. She sighed loudly as she turned on the radio, and looked back onto the road. Yomato looked out the back window, wondering over what just happened in the past few hours. He looked at Takeru and saw that he was still sleeping. "Mommy, we are not going on a trip, are we?" he asked.

      Mrs. Ishida sighed again, and answered, "No, no we aren't."

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

      Matt stared into gray square intently, trying to figure out what was going on. Myotismon followed Matt's glance and looked at the square. "Ingenious little thing, I know. Took me three years to master, but it was well worth it," Myotismon said absentmindedly.

      "What are you trying to do? This doesn't make sense," Matt said. His eyes started to fill with unshed tears, but he sniffed them back.

      "Good. The less sense it makes to you, the better it is for me," Myotismon pronounced. He gave the square a solid knock, and the color changed from gray to blue. As Matt watched with a dropped jaw, the square changed again, this time revealing the outside world. "As you can see, we can now see outside," Myotismon explained.

      "Why are you telling me this?" Matt asked, suspicious of Myotismon's actions.

      "There is a method to my madness," Myotismon replied with a smile. "I want to see how closely we have merged. When I go to attack the Digidestined, I want you to try and stop me."
      "Take off these shackles and I'll stop you right here," Matt taunted.
      "Tsk, tsk. Always trying to use violence to solve your problems. That is how you wound up in this predicament."

      "Whatever."

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

      Tai Kamiya was having the greatest dream he had in the longest. He just won the Nobel Peace Prize for using his soccer skills to end world hunger. In addition, he just out that he was the richest man in the world, with $7 trillion dollars. All of his friends were at a great party he threw at his gigantic mansion. Suddenly, he saw Sora. Her orange hair was in an exquisite bun, and she was wearing a white gown with a long train. Suddenly, everyone disappeared and only Sora and Tai were in the room. A slow, romantic song started and Tai asked Sora to dance. Sora accepted, and they started to dance. Everything was going okay until Sora tripped over her long train. Luckily, Tai was able to save her. Sora's back was against his inner thigh and her bent knees over his other thigh. He then noticed how perfect her teeth were, how white they were, and how nice and pink her lips were. He leaned in to kiss her, and almost did it, until…

      "Tai! Tai, wake up!" Agumon shouted. He shook his human partner roughly. "Tai! It's," Agumon started. He looked at his partner's digivice. "It's 800 hours!"

      "What?" Tai said sleepily. He rubbed his eyes and yawned. Man, just when it was getting to the good part, he thought to himself. He scratched himself and then looked at his digivice. "Agumon, I really have to teach you how to tell time. The first number is hour. The next two numbers are the minutes. Those letters tell whether it's AM or PM. See, right now it is 8:01 AM," Tai explained carefully.

      "Oh," Agumon said. "Well, come on Tai! Let's go!"
      "Go where? What is your rush? Let's relax," Tai said lazily. "Besides, we are the first ones up anyway, so we should just chill."
      "Correction, we are the first ones up," Joe said, with Gomamon trailing behind him. "Morning Tai, Agumon."

      "Oh hi Joe and Gomamon," Agumon said cheerfully.

      "What are you guys doing up so early?" Tai questioned.

      "Well, Matt did not wake me or anyone else for their normal shifts, so I was kind of used to waking up so early." Joe explained. "I wonder what happened to him."
      "Probably sulking off by some river playing the blues," Tai joked.

      "Maybe," Joe said, not getting the joke. "Hey Tai, Gommamon and I are going to fishing. Do you have the fishing gear?"
      "No, but Sora does. I'll go get it," Tai said. He jumped up and went over to Sora. Sora covered the fishing gear they made with her body, just in case some digimon tried to steal it. Tai carefully pushed Sora off the gear, when he noticed how soft her skin was. Making a quick backwards glance to make sure Joe was not looking, Tai moved closer to Sora. The first thing he noticed was how she smelled. She smelled wonderful, even though none of them had a chance to bath in at least a day. Tai remembered his dream, and moved closer to Sora, hoping that nothing would interrupt him this time.

      "Hey Tai! Could you speed it up? I want to surprise everyone with some breakfast!" Joe shouted. Just my luck, Tai thought to himself. He immediately stopped what he was doing, and grabbed the fishing gear. He quickly gave the stuff to Joe and gave a nervous smile.

      "Tai, are you okay? You're acting kind of strange, even for you," Gommamon joked.

      "No, no everything is okay," Tai responded. He gently pushed Joe toward the river. "Now go ahead, you need plenty of time to catch all of those fish."
      Joe nodded his head and started to walk toward the river. Then, he turned toward Tai, and with a sly smile on his face he said, "If you want to know what lotion Sora uses, it is Avon. I forgot what type it was, but you should know which." With that, he left a very embarrassed Tai Kamiya and a confused Agumon to do whatever they pleased.

      By 9:00, most of the Digidestined had woken up. The sun raised a considerable amount over the horizon, and a calming breeze was blowing.

      "I don't know about you guys, but I had the best sleep in a while," Sora said, stretching her arms.

      "Me too," TK said.

      "Yeah, Matt didn't wake you guys up for some reason," Tai said. "I should know. I woke up by myself."
      "Well, where is Matt? And for that fact, where is Mimi?" Izzy asked. The other looked around and noticed that neither Matt nor Mimi was there.

      "That's weird. I would expect this from Matt, but Mimi?" Sora said.

      "Tai, do you know where Matt is?" TK asked.

      "Him? Probably brooding by some river or something. And Mimi, Mimi… well, I don't know where she is." Tai answered.

      "Maybe the two of them are together," Kari theorized.

      "Maybe. Well, they both have their digimon, so they should be cool," Tai said.

      The bushes behind Kari started to rustle suspiciously. Gatomon leapt in front of Kari, protecting her from whatever may be in the bushes. "Who's in there? Answer me!" Gatomon demanded.

      Gabumon stepped out of the bushes, some of the leaves sticking to his fur. Everyone rushed over to him, crowding around him.

      "Gabumon, where's Matt?" Izzy asked. "Do you know where Mimi and Palmon are?"

      Gabumon kept his head down, and answered Izzy in a monotone voice. "Yeah, I know where Matt is. He is just venting off. I came to tell you to not worry about him. I have no idea about Mimi."

      Tai gave a triumphant smile, and then proclaimed, "See? What did I tell you guys? He is just relaxing somewhere. He'll come back when he's ready."

      "Wow Tai, you seem to be taking this well," Agumon said. "You usually would be exploding or something."
      "Why would I explode? I have Matt figured out to a T. All it took was my superior intellect to figure it out," Tai said egotistically, wearing his trademark grin.

      Sora rolled her eyes and whispered to Kari. "Your brother has one heck of a ego, I wonder how you stand him."
      Kari giggled and whispered, "Simple, just ignore him." They both erupted into laughter, leaving Tai slightly mad.

      After that, the Digidestined and their partners left Gabumon, either going back to sleep or finding someway to amuse themselves. Kari was leaving, but stopped when she noticed the bruises on his face. "Gabumon, what happened to your face?"
      Gabumon turned his face. "Don't worry about it. It's just some bruises, nothing that I cannot handle."

      "Well, I don't care if you can handle it, I am still going to clean it," Kari said. Before Gabumon could say anything, Kari and Gatomon had left. When they returned, Kari had several gauzes and bottles in her hands. "I'm glad Joe stocked up while we were in the real world," she said as she the dropped the items unto the floor.
      Kari started to clean Gabumon's wounds, starting at his face. Gabumon said nothing during the whole thing, even when Kari used the peroxide. Kari also stayed quiet, her mind filled with thousands of questions. What happened to him? Why is so quiet? Why did Matt send Gabumon instead of coming himself? She wanted to ask all of these questions, but she thought it would be smarter if she kept it to herself. She finally finished cleaning up Gabumon's face, and told him, "There, that wasn't so bad, know was it?"

      Gabumon said nothing; he only looked at Kari with an intense glare. He was not mad at her, he was mad with himself. He allowed himself to become the pawn of some evil bastard, and this sweet, innocent child took it out of herself to help him. He did not deserve it, but she did it anyway. When he thought about it, tears started to form in his eyes. He tried to stop them, but the harder he tried to stop them; the faster they streamed down his face.

      Kari noticed the tears and asked, "Gabumon, what's wrong? You can tell me." When Gabumon heard that sincere question, it slammed into his heart like a dagger. He broke down and started to cry on a very surprised Kari's shoulder.

      Some distance away from Kari and Gabumon, Tai and Agumon was in the middle of an arm – wrestling match, with Sora as the referee. They both seemed matched in power, but Tai started to gain an upper hand.

      "What are you trying to prove Tai?" Matt asked, coming out of forest milieu.

      This question surprised Tai, and allowed to Agumon to pick up the win. Tai, angry at losing, turned toward the source of the voice. He was surprised at who he saw. "Matt?"

      "Yeah, its me," Matt said smugly. He turned his attention toward others. "Morning guys, sorry if I interrupted something."

      "Matt!" TK shouted, running toward his older brother. He leapt into Matt's waiting arms. "I thought Puppetmon took you or something!"
      "Puppetmon kidnap me? As if!" he exclaimed. He lifted TK onto his neck and then asked, "Hey, where's Mimi and Joe?"
      Tai was the first to answer. "Joe's by the river, catching some breakfast. We don't know about Mimi."

      "In fact, we were wondering if you knew her present location," Izzy included.

      "Real smooth Izumi," Sora said sarcastically, making Izzy blush.

      Matt seemed puzzled. "Why would I know where Mimi is? I am not her royal bodyguard."
      "Forget it man," Tai said. "Besides, I have something to talk to you about. About last night, I am sorry about what I did. I am not saying that it was my fault, because it was not. I just want to be the bigger man and apologize for real." Tai extended his hand toward Matt. "Do you accept my apology?"
      Matt gratefully took Tai's hand and shook it vigorously. "Thanks man. I know how hard it is being the bigger man; because that is the role, I play most of the time. Anyway, it is too bad that you choose to apologize now. You see, I have to kill all of you now." Before Tai could react, Matt lifted Tai with one hand and tossed him over the heads of Izzy and Sora. Both Izzy and Sora gasped when they saw Matt lift Tai with a single hand, and gasped louder when they saw him fly above their heads. Luckily, Tai was able to change his trajectory so that he landed mostly on his shoulder.

      "Matt, what are you doing?" Sora asked.

      "Why, getting ready to kill you of course," Matt calmly replied.

      "Are you mental? Why would you want to murder us? We're your best friends!" Izzy shouted. He nodded to Sora, who went to check on Tai.

      "Do best friends send other best friends over the heads of their other best friends? I think not!" Matt shouted indignantly. "Besides, I'm no friend of yours!"
      Izzy looked at Matt as if he was mad. "Are you kidding? Why do you think you have the crest of friendship? Listen, I know that you are mad about the fight, but it is in the past. Tai forgave you, and we all forgive you. Why are you insisting on using violence?"

      At that moment, Kari, Gatomon, and Gabumon entered the scene. Kari was about to greet Matt, but sensed something was terribly amiss. She saw her brother on the floor grabbing his head, Sora trying to help him up. While rushed over to him, Gatomon stared straight at Matt, gasping heavily.

      "You cannot be back. We killed you," she hissed, her breathing growing more harried.

      Matt gave her a wink, and then said, "Yeah, but you have something of mine. That Holy Ring belongs to me. Now, be a good ex-slave and give it back, or I'll be forced to hurt a good friend of yours."

      "Like hell I will! I will not let you hurt Kari! Lightening Paw!" Gatomon cried, dashing toward Matt at full speed and then leaping.

      Matt sidestepped her attack, and yanked off her Holy Ring. Gatomon fell on her feet, but was surprised when she did not see her Holy Ring on her tail. Matt tossed it high into the air, and caught it while it was falling down.

      "Wait a minute… if that Holy Ring belongs to you… that means… that means that you are Myotismon!" Izzy shouted.

      Tai, who finally was able to stand up from his fall, was the most surprised. "Myotismon? But, we killed you twice! You not supposed to be able to come back!"

      Matt held the Holy Ring in the middle of his palm, and flashed a large smile. "Well, like you humans say, 'the third times a charm.'"

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

      "Wow Joe, you are becoming a regular fisherman!" Gommamon complimented Joe. Joe was successfully caught several large fish.

      "Thanks Gommamon, but I really owe it to you. I mean you helped me get most of the fish anyway." Joe responded.

      Gommamon made a face of disgust. "Really Joe, you make my life so hard sometimes. I try to give you a better person, and you just mess it all. I mean, I thought I did some good when you cracked that joke with Tai, but you come and do something like this." He shook his head for emphasis. "Sometimes I do not even know why I try."

      Joe blushed and readjusted the weight of the fish on his shoulder. "Sorry Gommamon. I guess a leopard cannot change his spots."
      "But Joe, you're human, not a leopard."  

      "It was a joke Gommamon."
      "Not a very good one."

      "Is that so?" Joe asked. He dropped the fishes onto the floor and grabbed Gommamon. He then started to tickle him. "Who's the joke on now Gommamon?" Gommamon tried to answer, but he was laughing too hard. Suddenly, Joe stopped tickling Gommamon. "Gommamon, do you hear that?" Gommamon took his time to listen, but heard nothing.

      "I don't hear anything Joe. Maybe you're hallucinating." Gommamon reasoned.

      Joe scoffed, and then said, "Maybe I am. Then again, something could be wrong with the others. Let's hustle Gommamon."
      Picking up the fish and Gommamon, Joe ran toward where the others were camped. Several minutes later, an exhausted Joe stopped some distance from the campsite. He ran behind a large sycamore tree, collecting his breath.

      "Joe, what do you think is going on?" a concerned Gommamon asked. He waddled besides Joe, his green eyes peering out into the campsite. "What did you hear?"
      Joe fixed his glasses, and then spoke. "I heard like a yell of surprise. I think a digimon may have surprised them, and I do not think the digimon is good."

      "Could it be Puppetmon?" Gommamon asked nervously.

      "Maybe."

      "Well, what are you going to do? You're the only one who can help now."

      "I know that Gommamon!" Joe said angrily. He calmed down, and then explained his plan. "You'll have to digivolve to Zudomon, just in case it is Puppetmon. Zudomon is too big and clumsy to have you sneak in, so you'll have to jump right in.," he explained. "Do you got it?"

      Gommamon gave a smirk, and said, "Doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out."

Gommamon digivolve to… Ikkakumon!

Ikkakumon digivolve to… Zudomon!

      "All right Zudomon, you know what to do," Joe said.

      Zudomon bent his knees and leapt high into air, his muscular legs brushing the foliage of the trees.

      "I never meant for you to actually jump," Joe said while sweat dropping.

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

      Matt stood triumphantly in the midst of the Digidestined. "The lots of you are fools. You never truly appreciated the value of this ring. Not even, you Gatomon, who has seen it's, true power. Now, I will rule the world, and there is nothing you can do!" He balanced the ring in his palm. "I think I'll start off by killing each of you slowly!"

      "Starting the party without me? That is a serious no – no!" Zudomon shouted as he landed in the camping area. The ground as if it going through an earthquake. Matt, caught completely off guard, dropped the Holy Ring. Tai saw the ring dropped, and rushed toward it. Flying into dive, Tai caught the ring in mid air and pitched it toward Kari. Kari caught it and gave to Gatomon, saying, "I think this belongs to you."

Gatomon digivolve to… Angewomon!

      "No!" Matt screamed at the sight of Angewomon. "I refuse to be killed again! Not when victory is at hand!"

      "Myotismon, I was forced to destroy you once, and in the name of justice, I will do it again," Angewomon stated calmly. She formed a bow and pulled her hand back, ready to release the deadly Celestial Arrow.

      "If you think I will stand here and allow to murder me again, think again!" Matt shouted. He put his fingers to his mouth and whistled loudly. Suddenly, a group of bats surrounded Matt and lifted him high in the sky. "Digidestined, this is far from over. I will come back, only stronger. You cannot win!" Matt shouted as the cloud of bats flew away.

      Angewomon started to follow, but Izzy stopped her. "Wait. I think it is best if we stay here and try to figure out what is going on." Angewomon nodded her head and dedigivolved back to Gatomon.

      "Well, does anyone have any idea what's going on?" Sora asked.

      "All I know is that… Matt is the enemy, and we have to stop him."

      Finished! What a long chapter. I guess this was my way of saying that this story is back. I am sorry if this chapter did not measure up to the others. I took a long break from being serious, and it shows. In addition, I took a long time to write humor, my first humor saga being Prune Juice. I think it showed at several points, does it not? Anyway, the action is going to pick up after this. For you Myotismon fans, I hope I did not come across as a hater. TO me, Myotismon was one of the best villains in Digimon, and one of the most influential. I just wanted to portray him, as a villain that has a sick, sadistic side, but can also be witty and charming. That is the perfect villain (Is that an oxymoron or what?). Anyway, I am sorry for picking on Gabumon, but the torture was necessary. He was the closest person to Matt, and it would be stupid to ignore him. I know I left many things untied, so I will list the explanations, IF it does not ruin the story.

1). In the flashbacks, I used Matt and TK's true names because I am unsure of when they choose their nicknames.

2). When Mrs. Taikashi flipped the bird; I was rather sugared up. Sorry.

      Oh, before I forget, there is no romance in this story except for Mimato and Taiora. There is no Gabupal or whatever you call it. There is DEFINITELY no Gabumon/Hikari. Just wanted to put that out.

     

      If anything else seems confusing, please tell me so that I can either fix it in the story or tell you directly. Okay, see you readers later.