Myotismon's Revenge

by Kalming Waters

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

7. The Storm Before The Tempest

Myotismon's Revenge VII

King Weregarurumon

Author's Notes: Another chapter, another adventure from me. Sorry to leave you guys at such a cliffhanger, but I like cliffhangers. It is not time to wrap up everything, and there are plenty of things to go on. When I started this, I never thought that Tai would become such an instrumental character. In fact, I was never much of a Tai fan until near the end of 01, and I still never warmed up to him completely. That is, until I read the Tamers magna. Now, I am totally a Tai fan. I will give you lucky people some links to some sites where there is translated magna later, so that you don't go and leave my story. ^_^

A stone ceiling, convex and gray. It was the first thing she saw when her eyes fluttered opened. She stared at the ceiling with little interest, her honey hued eyes unblinkingly surveying it. Her eyes traveled downward, studying her current location.

She was in a bed, a rough one at that. She felt the cooling touch of leaves on her back. Her ribs felt tender, and when she touched them softly with her hands, she felt a sharp pain jump slightly. She reasoned that she was in an accident, because most of her upper body was covered with bandages.

She was tucked in, a wooly blanket covering up to her neck. It reminded her when her mother tucked her in at night, and of their nightly ritual.

"Now say your prayers," my mother said.

"God bless mommy, and daddy, and my tutor, and me!" I shouted.

"Okay, now it's time to go to sleep," she whispered. Taking the large pink blanket she bought for me, she tucked me in tightly, and then kissed me softly on the forehead. "Goodnight Mimi."

"Goodnight mommy."

She looked to her right, and saw shadows dancing on the wall, her own personal show. She then turned her head to the right, looking for the creators of her show. A lone candle in a lamp burned brightly; wax collecting slowly at the base. It sat upon a rock high elevated above the ground. She then noticed him sitting on the floor by the corner of the cave. It was clear that he was sleeping, his head propped against his knees. He placed his precious gold - rimmed glasses in pocket of his shirt.

"Joe?" Mimi asked. Joe continued to sleep his sound sleep. Mimi called out his name a little louder, but Joe continued to sleep. She tried to move out of the bed, but couldn't because of how tightly she was tucked in. She called his name a third time, and the third time proved to the charm.

"Yeah?" he mumbled sleepily, his head still filled with the cobwebs of sleep. His shook his head vigorously, smacking his lips loudly. He rubbed his eyes slightly before placing his glasses on his face, immediately clearing his vision. "Hey, you're up," he realized.

"Yeah," Mimi responded. Neither of them said anything, and Mimi refocused her attention on her private shadow show. A large shadow suddenly swallowed all the other shadows, stopping it immediately. She turned her head around to see who dared to interrupt her show, when she looked at the smiling face of Joe.

"How did you sleep?" He asked, carefully placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You were out of it for a couple of hours."

"I slept well," Mimi answered. "Joe?" she asked suddenly.

"Yeah?" Joe retorted while cleaning his glasses in his methodical fashion.

"Did you take off my dress and undershirt?" Mimi asked bluntly, staring at the ceiling.

Joe blushed heavily, and turned his face away from Mimi. "It wasn't me. Sora did it all, even the bandaging."

"Are you sure you didn't peek?" Mimi asked playfully.

Joe flushed again, his face turning a nice shade of crimson. "I didn't, even though Tai will try to tell you different," he softly muttered.

"Joe?"

"Yeah Mimi?"

"I was joking."

Joe let out a sigh of relief. "Great! I was worried where the conversion started to head toward."

Mimi said nothing, her gaze returning toward the ceiling. Silence filled the gap between the two, with Joe gazing at the stars, and Mimi the ceiling.

"Joe?"

"Yeah Mimi?"

"What happened after I got here?"

Joe looked at Mimi with a questioning look in his dark eyes. "You don't remember?"

Mimi shook her head. "Nope, not one thing."

Joe sat on the end of Mimi's bed. "Well, it happened like this. Sora called out your name, and you just fainted. Then, we all carried you here, and made the bed. And that was a good couple of hours ago." When Mimi didn't reply, Joe continued. "I don't mean to pry, but how come you were missing for so long? And then, why did you decide to come back without Palmon?"

Mimi sighed. "Well, it's like this. I remember being in the forest, and Palmon was sleeping on top of me. I went to wake her up, but stopped when my digivice caught a signal from one of you guys. I decided to follow it, since I didn't know where I was."

"I followed the signal for almost two days nonstop. I knew I should have stopped and rested, but I was scared. I didn't know where I was, where Palmon was, or whom I was following. Finally, my body just couldn't take it anymore and I collapsed from exhaustion. I remember waking up some time later, but I didn't know how much later. The signal was completely gone, and I was still lost. After that, I just wandered around, and I was lucky enough to get here."

"Wow…" Joe mumbled, completely stunned by what he had just heard. "I can't believe that you went through all of that without any help."

"I know. No one thought little old Mimi could do something by herself, huh?" Mimi replied bitterly. "I know exactly what you and the others think of me already."
Joe looked at her with sympathetic eyes. "Yeah, that you're an important part of the team, like everyone else. That we wouldn't be the Digidestined without you"

"No, Joe. Don't lie to me like that. That's not what everyone thinks of me," Mimi spat out fervently. "You all think that I'm a little Princess, someone who always needs help, someone who can't do a damn thing for herself. I already know, so there's no need to lie." Mimi stared into Joe's confused face. "I'm right aren't I? That everyone thinks I weak and useless, and that if they didn't need my crest to make the others shine, they'd kick me out."

Joe tenderly cupped Mimi's chin into his hand. "What are you talking about? You mean a lot to us, to the entire digital world. What makes you think that we don't like you?" Mimi wrenched her chin out of Joe's hands and glared at him.

"I don't need to think about it, I know. I see the looks of annoyance on everyone's face when I complain when I trip, or how everyone bites their lips when I start to whine," Mimi indignantly debated. "I know that it gets on everyone's nerves, but… but I can't help it. I never camped out, and I never done this sort of stuff before. Is it my fault?" she sobbed, the salty tears running freely done her fair cheeks.

Joe looked at her utterly stunned by her forceful words. He gently wiped the tears away from her face. "Mimi… you're completely right." Mimi temporarily stopped in her crying and looked into Joe's face, her face half full of shock and anger. "You're right. It does get on our nerves. But it doesn't mean we like you any less. I mean, everyone does something that gets on our nerves, but we don't hate them, do we?" Mimi slowly nodded her head in agreement, now wiping her wet eyes.

Mimi finally wiggled the blankets off and sat up completely, wincing slightly as the rough wool rubbed against her ribs. "Yeah, but still… what is my role? I mean, Izzy the information guy, Tai's the leader, Sora hold us together, you always keeps us in line, TK gives us hope, Matt is always helping someone, and Kari… Kari just does so much for us with so little. But… what do I do?"

Joe said, silently contemplating the topic. He removed his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose, hoping to stimulate some thought. He finally placed them back on his face, staring candidly at Mimi. "You… you remind us that we're human," he stated after some time, "and not only are we human, but we're kids, kids with special abilities. We may have been chosen to save two worlds from utter destruction, but it doesn't change a thing. You remind us of what makes each of us special. Sora with her immense love, Tai and his amazing bravery, Izzy and his eloquent intelligence; they all make them special in their own way. You may think that you don't have anything special about you, but you're wrong. Sometimes, fighting isn't the solution, and you know that. You're sweetness and naiveté can melt the hardest of hearts, and then some. Mimi, never think any less of yourself."

Mimi was at the state of tears by this time, her fawn eyes watering over. She pulled Joe into a tight hug, and started to cry on his shoulder. Joe, confused by the action, pulled her closer and rubbed her back while in a shock.

"Joe, that was the sweetest thing someone ever told me, and none of it was a lie. Thanks. Thanks a lot," Mimi whispered softly into his ear. She kissed him gently on the cheek, a blush rising to her face and continued to embrace him. Joe felt a hot flush rise to his face, and he almost imagined his glasses fogged up. He slipped them off, tossing them into Mimi's pink ten – gallon hat. He returned to rubbing Mimi's back lovingly, as twilight rolled into the digital sky.

* * * * * * *

"A little lower. A little higher. Move to the right. Okay, now just move down a smidgen. Yeah right there," Gatomon sighed, as Kari leisurely scratched her stomach. Gatomon purred loudly as Kari, with her other hand, scratched the sensitive spot on her ear. Kari giggled as the mauve ruff of Gatomon's tail tickled her ear, and the cool metal of the tail ring. Kari stopped in her scratching and moved on to softly rubbing Gatomon's belly. Gatomon continued to purr throatily in contentment as Kari rubbed her soft, feathery fur.

"Hi Kari," TK said, settling down next to her. Patamon fluttered around him for several seconds then landed on his hat, making himself most comfortable. "What'cha doing with Gatomon?"

"This?" Kari asked, still rubbing a still purring Gatomon. "I'm just rubbing her stomach. She really likes it." She stopped suddenly and placed Gatomon onto TK's lap. "Want to give it a shot?"

TK looked at Kari, than looked at Gatomon. "Okay, I guess," he replied happily. He placed his hands on Gatomon's stomach and softly stroked it. Gatomon's purrs made TK smile, and he stroked her with more earnest.

"Wow TK, you're almost as good as I am!" Kari exclaimed as she watched Gatomon snuggle into TK's arms. TK smiled contentedly as he continued to rub Gatomon's belly. She really does like it, TK thought to himself. I'm glad I'm making her happy. Kari beamed when she saw the peaceful look on TK's face. She beamed, that is, until she saw the face of Patamon, who sat ignored on the top of TK's head.

"Patamon, you aren't jealous, are you?" Kari questioned. Patamon ignored her question, still staring at TK and Gatomon in mild annoyance. "C'mon Patamon. You could tell me." Patamon turned his head in defiance, crossing his chubby arms across his chest, giving a little huff. "Patamon, don't be like that." Patamon continued to scowl, but unfurled his three – toed paw. Kari picked him up from TK's hat and gently placed him in her lap. TK never noticed; he was too busy giving Gatomon a belly rub.

"So, you don't want to smile, do you?" Kari asked playfully. Patamon continued to frown, as if to answer her question. "Well, what if I do this?" asked Kari as she poked Patamon in the gut. Patamon's frown turned upside – down for a moment, but quickly went back to his frown. "Well, you want to play hardball, huh?" Kari queried, smiling evilly. She then started a full scale tickling attack on Patamon's pudgy, cream – colored stomach.

Patamon quickly clamped his mouth shut and forced his hands over it, trying his best to contain the laughter. He turned several shades of color, from red to blue to purple, but he still kept the mirth inside. Finally, after turning purple for the fifth time, Patamon gave up and laughed. At the sound of his high – pitched squeal, Kari couldn't help but laugh alongside him. Some time later, both Kari and TK stopped in their activities and smiled warmly at each other.

"That was fun," TK noted. Gatomon stretched out in his arms, happy from her extensive treatment. She quickly climbed up a tree and settled onto a branch. She circled around until she finally settled down to sleep. Patamon did the same, sleeping peacefully in Kari's lap.

"Yeah, it really was," Kari agreed. She softly rubbed Patamon on his back, causing him to mumble softly in his sleep. "I think we should try this again sometime."

TK didn't respond. He stared out into the open, a vacant look in his eyes. He sighed quietly as he slipped off his book bag, which was quite heavy. His face suddenly brightened as he opened it. "Hey Kari. Do you want some candy? It's not too old, and it's really good!"

Kari's face also brightened at the mention of candy. "Sure! I haven't had any in a while!" Kari walked over to TK while he continued to poke around in it. "What do you have?"

TK's voice came from deep inside the bag as he continued to poke around in it. "Let's see… I have some Skittles, Jawbreakers, lollipops, Sour Powers, and some gum," he stated, pulling his head out of the bag.

(A/N: I'm too lazy, stupid, and ignorant to go looking on the Internet to find authentic Japanese candies. Sorry if I offended anyone with Japanese in their blood for using American candies instead of Japanese.)

"Can I have a lollipop?" Kari asked politely. "They're my favorites." TK stuck his head back into the bag and furrowed for a lollipop. Moments later, he popped back with a giant smile on his face, holding a lollipop in each hand.

"I brought two; one's watermelon and the other's grape." The both of them simultaneously made a face of revulsion at the name of the flavor grape.

*(A/N: Yes, grape is the worst flavor anything could be. It's great as a fruit, but that's it. If you happen to like this flavor, you should be forced to live in a house filled with people who wear jackets that lets them hug themselves and have people in white coats as their best friends.)*

"I'll take the grape, and you can have the watermelon Kari," TK said nobly, putting the watermelon lollipop in her hands. Kari looked at the lollipop in complete surprise.

"TK, you should have the watermelon one. It's your lollipops, and besides, I can handle the grape one," Kari said graciously. She switched the lollipops quickly, leaving TK completely confused.

"But Kari, my mother always says, 'If you share something, always give the other person the better of the stuff.'" TK complained. He once again switched the lollipops, now leaving Kari puzzled.

"But TK, MY mom always says, 'If someone shares with you, let them get the better of the stuff.'" Kari explained. She swapped the lollipops again. Now the both of them were confused! TK's face suddenly perked up as he dug into his book bag.

"Look! I have a chocolate lollipop! I really like chocolate, and I know you don't! So I can have the chocolate one, you can have the watermelon one, and we can put the icky grape one back in the bag!" TK speedily rationalized. Kari's face cheered up as she tossed the grape flavored lollipop into TK's bag. They both opened their lollipops with relish and popped them right in their mouths.

Kari noticed that TK was sucking on his chocolate lollipop broodingly, rarely moving it out of his mouth. "What are you thinking about TK?" Kari asked, taking the time to take her lollipop out of her mouth and reinsert.

"I was… I was thinking about my brother and what he's doing right now," TK mumbled, the lollipop mumbling up his words.

"What was that?"

"Oh, I said I was thinking about what my brother was doing right now."

There was a silence. "You miss him, don't you?" Kari asked sincerely.

"Yeah," TK said, his eyes growing slightly misty. He sniffled and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. "I really want him back."

"I know. If that happened to Tai, I don't know what I'd do." Another silence followed. "Don't worry TK, we'll get him back."

"I know. It's just… just… it's just that…"

"Just what TK?"

"It's just that I know that if I want to save him, I'll have to fight and hurt him. I don't want to hurt my brother. I love him too much."

"Then don't fight him. I think we could handle him."

"No way! Did you see the way he beat up WarGreymon? There's no way you guys can handle him by yourself! That's why I have to fight, even if I don't want to."

"TK, that's really cool thing to say."

"Yeah, but what if I say it now, and I can't do it later?"

"We won't hate you. We all know how hard it is on you, and besides, we'll be there to back you up."

"Really?"

"Really." More silence followed.

"Thanks Kari, you're a good friend.

"It's okay, I know you would do the same for me if this happened to me."

"That's not it though."
"Oh?"

"I was thinking about how come Matt changed like that."

"Oh."

TK stood up suddenly and started bawling. "Why? Why did Myotismon do this to my brother? Why didn't the big chicken just fight us instead of using my brother?!" He calmed down slightly, even though his tears continued to rack his body. "I know Matt wouldn't do this to us if Myotismon didn't go and mess him up…"

"TK…" Kari whispered softly, letting the name linger in the air. She moved next to him and rubbed his back. "TK… I know that it's really hard on you, but you can't cry like this!"

TK angrily shoved off her hand and glared at her. "Why not?! My brother's gone and turned into a crazy monster, trying to kill us! You never went through this before, no one did! So, you wouldn't know what to do, so don't tell me not to cry, because I will!" The tears streamed down his flustered face faster, his breathing ragged from his tirade.

"TK… I'm sorry…" she sniffled, fighting the tears that ran down her face "I just thought that Matt wouldn't like to see you cry like this… none of us like that…Matt defiantly wouldn't like that. He would like you to be strong… but if you're going to be such a big baby, then go ahead!" Kari shouted roughly, tears already forming a miniature stream down her young face. She immediately gasped when he realized what she said. "TK! I'm so sorry!"

TK cleaned his wet face with the back of his sleeve, the urge to cry stuck in his throat. He shoved it down his throat as he began to spoke. "That's okay Kari. I needed that. You're right; Matt would want me to be strong, and not to cry. Thanks Kari."

Her eyes red and puffy from the crying, Kari gave a small smile. "You're welcome TK." They both smiled at each other. Kari looked into the sky, and noticed how it started to darken. "Hey TK, we should back to the campsite before we get lost." TK nodded his head in agreement, as he picked up Patamon from the lap of Kari. Kari coaxed Gatomon down from the tree, and let her ride on her shoulder.

"Hey Kari?"

"Yeah TK?"

"Thanks for everything."

"You're welcome."

* * * * * * *

From her spot on the earth, Sora counted the amount of stars she could see. So far, she was up to 104. "105, 106, 107, 108, 109, 110…" she mumbled to herself. She continued counting, sighing softly at each group of five. I really should be getting back to the campsite, she thought to herself. I really should, so why am I not moving? It's late at night and Biyomon is nowhere near me, so why I am not scared? She shrugged her shoulders as she continued to count. At 149, she lost her count, due to the fact she was day dreaming slightly. She cursed, thinking that no one could her.

"Ooh! Sora has such a potty mouth! I'm going to tell!" Tai mocked, his face popping over Sora's, his rich chocolate eyes glistening mischievously.

"Tai!" Sora gasped. In her rush to move, she accidentally head butted him. "Ouch! Tai, how come your head is so hard?"

Tai was too busy to answer, vigorously massaging his forehead. "I should ask you the same," he finally said, wincing all the way through his sentence. "Now I know how you always head in goals during practice!"

Sora gave Tai a wry smile. "Funny. What are you doing out here anyway? It's late, and who knows what might come out?"

"For your information, I don't have a curfew," he joked with mock anger, "I can stay up as long as I want. I was going to ask you the same thing. You don't even have your digimon with you. What an irresponsible Digidestined you are!"

"You're one to talk. Where's your digimon? Or is he invisible?"

"Agumon? Oh, he's having a potty break," Tai replied sheepishly. Sora laughed aloud when she heard this.

"We're out here in the open, just waiting for an attack, and your digimon decides he needs the toilet!"

"Hey! At least my digimon's here! Where's yours, talking to some pigeons?"

"You know if Biyomon was here, she'd peck your eyes out!"

"Well, if Agumon was here, he'd bite you!" The two stopped immediately stopped in their bickering, and stared at each other. They immediately started to giggle, tears dropping from their eyes from their glee.

Tai wiped his eyes as he still giggled slightly. "I love arguing with you Sora! It's the best!" He had an outburst of laughter again, and then he controlled it. "Especially when you're dead wrong!"

Sora held her stomach, and waited until she stopped laughing completely. "Yeah, it's great. Especially when YOU'RE dead wrong!" Tai moved to argue with her, but saw the smile on her face. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "C'mon, let's get back before someone starts to worry," she said, pulling Tai a little closer to her.

"Yeah, we should get going," Tai replied, his grin getting larger by the second. "Hey Agumon! Are you done?" he shouted to his digital companion.

There was a slight rustling in the bushes as Tai waited for an answer. "I don't think so Tai," Agumon replied meekly.

"What do you mean that you don't think so!?"

"Well, I'm not done. Is that better?"

"No it isn't better! Hurry up already!"

"Tai, this is something that you can't rush or everything gets messed up!"

Tai closed his eyes and slowly counted to ten. "Okay Agumon, what's taking so long?

"...I think it was the leaves we had…"

"Agumon, what leaves?"

"The leaves the fish were on! What other leaves would I eat?"

"…Agumon, you weren't supposed to eat the leaves, buddy…"

"What?"

"Those leaves are totally inedible. They're really tough and sour. I'm surprised you actually ate one."

"…"

"… You ate more than one, didn't you?"

"…Yes…"

"Agumon…. How many did you eat?"

"…All…"

"All?!"

"Well, I thought everyone was full from the fish, and so I helped myself to them all."

"Well, let this be a lesson to you. This is what happens when you become a glutton."

"But I thought I became Greymon, Tai."

Tai closed his eyes and counted to twenty this time. Sora's laughing didn't help the situation much. "Agumon, a glutton is someone who stuffs themselves all the time."

"Oh."

Tai clasped his face in slight anger, laughter and irritation. "Well, try to follow us back to the campsite. Try not to spend all night out here okay?" he laughed, walking away.

"Okay Tai," Agumon's strained voice responded.

* * * * * * *

Sora marched behind Tai, her arms embraced loosely around his neck. Well, she actually lagged behind, since she could barely keep up with Tai's pace. How is he able to walk so fast so late? It's as if oversized batteries or something like that powers him all the time, she thought to herself. She struggled to keep up with him, but her legs felt as if someone fastened lead weights to them, and then plastered them with cement. "Tai, can we stop for a while? I know it's really late, and we might get attacked out here, but I really need the rest."

Tai stopped his marching and glanced into Sora's tired face. "Sure, why not?" he said simply. Sora sighed in relief and sat down on the ground. Tai simply stood against the trunk of a tree, a blade of grass in his mouth.

"Sorry I'm slowing you down Tai," Sora apologized, "but I really need this. I mean, Mimi finding us after searching for here all that time, Matt becoming that Hadesmon person, him teaming up with both MetalEtemon and Puppetmon… it's been exhausting."

"Yeah, I feel exactly what you mean," Tai replied, shifting the blade of grass in his mouth. "I don't blame you for being tired."

"Tai?"

"Yeah Sora?"
"Are you tired?"

At this moment, Tai suppressed a yawn. "Does that answer your question?" he said wryly.

"It just seems that you never run out of energy; you are always the first in battle, or the one to march the longest. How come?"

Tai moved from his spot on the tree, staring into the night sky. "Well, I am human. I do get tired, and sometimes I push myself too hard. Sometimes… I just want someone else to take the lead, so I could relax for a while. But, every time that thought enters my mind, every time my body wants to relax, I think of them," he said, pointing to the night sky.

"You think of the stars?" Sora asked, completely confused. "What's so special about the stars?"

"No, no, I don't think of the stars. I think… I think of all the people back home. Our parents, our friends…" he paused, reminiscing of his times in the real world. "I think of how all eight of us were chosen to defend them, and not only them, but this world too. Then, I think about those digimon or people I'm defending, and how much they mean to me, even if I don't know them. I think about the people who can't be brave, or can't be full of energy to help others. That's why I do this, because there are some people who can't do it for themselves. In fact, I was surprised when I received the crest of courage. I always broke out in a cold sweat when a battle started, and it took me a while to calm down afterwards. But, when it first glowed, I realized that I didn't have to be absolutely without fear. I just needed the courage to do the right thing, no matter what. Some people can't be brave like I can. Maybe they've been hurt too badly, or maybe they have nothing to make them courageous. So, I'm courageous for those people. Maybe… just maybe one day," he finished with a grin, "they'll have the courage I have."

Sora was completely speechless. She never knew that Tai ran so deep. "Wow Tai," she finally said, still surprised by what Tai had just told her.

"I know. I guess you thought I didn't have such deep thoughts, did you?" Sora moved to argue, but stopped when Tai grinned. "It's okay. At first, I didn't believe I was having thoughts like that. But I guess this adventure's changing all of us for the better."

Sora's lower lip started to tremble, and her eyes turned misty. Before Tai noticed anything, Sora was weeping loudly, her cries echoing through the dark forest. Tai rushed over to her and clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Sora! Are you crazy? It's not if we're walking in the dark in a forest without any protection-oh wait, we are!" Tai angrily hissed at Sora. His harsh remarks made her sob even louder. Still confused by what made her cry in the first place, Tai tried his best to soothe Sora.

"H-hey Sora! Relax! Okay, I'm sorry! Sorry! Sora, you have to stop crying! We're all alone, and who knows where Agumon is! I don't mean to sound mean or harsh, but please quiet down!" he whispered loudly, his hand still covering her mouth. "Sora, if I let go, promise me you won't scream, okay?" Tai asked. Sora nodded her head stiffly, tears still coming down her face. Tai slowly removed his hand from her mouth, ready to clamp down at anytime.

"Oh my gosh, Tai, I'm sorry I went and did that," Sora apologized, her voice hoarse from sobbing so loudly. "I don't know what came over me."

"It's all right," Tai said plainly, removing his wet glove from his hand. "Now, could you tell me what made you cry all of a sudden? One second, everything was cool, and then you're blubbering all over the place!"

Sora smiled weakly, moving a wisp of hair behind her ear. "Well, when you said that this adventure was making everyone better, I started to think about how little I changed," she explained sadly.

(A/N: I saw "Joe's Battle" today. I write on a whim. So sue me.)

Tai looked at her in disbelief. "Are you kidding? Sora, all of us changed, especially you!"

"What do you mean especially me? Tai, I changed, but not much! When I look at TK, Kari, Mimi, Joe… they all became better people. I bet when they go back to their families, they'll barely recognize them!" Sora exclaimed bitterly.

"Well, I guess you can't improve on perfection," Tai joked. Sora gave him a playful push.

"Not funny Tai. Everyone has changed so much, and it's for the better. What about me? What did I change?" Sora questioned.

Tai thought for a few minutes before he could come up with a good answer. "Well, you used to hate your mother, but now you like her a lot right?"

Sora gave an indignant huff. "Big whoop. I like my mother now. That's probably it."

Tai grabbed Sora by the shoulders and stared into her eyes. "Don't you get it? It's the little things that change. It's not like one day Mimi absolutely loves pink, and then after all this, she'll hate it! No! She'll still love pink, but she'll start to enjoy other colors! And Sora, I can you exactly how each of us changed!"

"Oh yeah? How's that?" Sora asked angrily, settling into a bad mood.

Tai took his crest from inside his shirt and placed it next to where Sora's laid. "That's how we changed! I know the reason why none of us could use the crest unless we all had it!"

"And the magical explanation to the question that plagues us all is?" she spat sarcastically.

"Each of the crest affects the other! It's like they're in equilibrium or something! And each person with a crest affects another person with a crest! All of us grew more sincere, friendlier, more reliable, intelligent, courageous, hopefully, and loving. Well except for you that is," he explained.

"And why is that?"

"You grew lovelier."

"Tai?"

"Yes Sora?"

"You're an idiot."

"Yes I am. But I'm a lovable idiot, aren't I?"

Sora laughed, immediately coming out of her bad mood. She stood up and slipped Tai's hand in hers. "I'm ready to go, all rested up."

"Good. About time too," he joked as Sora playfully punch him on the shoulder. The two left from the spot and walked to the campsite, the soft moonlight illuminating their path. Neither of them said anything while walking back, only stealing glances and laughing when they caught each other. When they finally made it to the campsite, they found that everyone was sleeping soundly.

"I guess we have to watch guard," Tai reasoned as Joe snored loudly. He found Agumon sleeping against a rock, mumbling in his sleep. Tai slapped him sharply on the head, causing to wake up from his dream abruptly.

"Hi Tai," Agumon yawned, covering his mouth with his claw. "Is it time for breakfast?"

"Now, it's time to stand guard. Now c'mon," Tai commanded quite irritably. He stormed off toward Sora, who was able to wake up her digimon partner with gentler methods.

"Tai, what's wrong? You seem angry," Agumon noticed, lagging behind his partner. "Did something happen while you were coming back?"

"Yes something happened to me while coming back. I asked my digimon to watch us as we come back, and I find him sleeping!" Tai yelled, but loud enough to wake anyone.

"But Tai! I did watch you guys come back!" Agumon protested. "When you guys stopped for a break, I stopped and fell asleep by accident. I guess I sleepwalked back here," he admitted bashfully.

Tai was about to start yelling again, but reconsidered it. "Agumon, I've never known you to lie to me, and if you did, you wouldn't come up with one like that. I believe you. Sorry for all the yelling."

"It's okay Tai." Both Tai and Agumon walked back to where Biyomon and Sora tended to the fire. Tai noticed some shiny apples in the tree above them.

"Hey Sora, are you hungry?" Tai asked, already putting his plan into action.

"Yeah!" Sora exclaimed, remembering that it was a while since they last ate. "But what could we eat? There's nothing left."

"That's what you think," Tai countered, eying the apples. He removed his goggles, his bushy hair falling out of place without them. Picking a Y – shaped stick, Tai placed the goggled directly over them. He picked up four stones and using the improvised slingshot he made, Tai easily shot them all down to the floor. He chose one out of the four and polished it on his shirt. He moved over to the campfire and picked one of the skewers used to barbeque the fish. He impaled the apple and now could barbeque the apple. He let it roast for a few seconds, and then he passed the skewer to Sora.

"Here. I call it Roasted Apple a la Tai," he commented, moving onto the three other apples. Sora blew softly on the apple, hesitant to taste it. She nibbled into it cautiously, and was surprised to find out how great it tasted. She began to eat it with greater vigor, the sweet juices running down her chin.

"Wow, you really were hungry," Tai jokingly noticed. Sora turned around to see Tai smiling warmly at her, holding a roasted apple. He juggled it between his knees, then bounced it on his head. Sora felt a flush rising on her neck and face. "Hey, don't worry about it," Tai mumbled, a piece of apple in his mouth, "if I had a bigger mouth, I would simply swallow this thing whole." He took another bite of the apple, swallowing the previous piece.

Sora said nothing, finishing her apple. She carefully placed the skewer on the floor, knowing that they would need it again anytime soon. She rose to her feet and went to Tai's side. She touched his shoulder softly, causing him to turn around. Sora sighed heavily, then softly pecked him on the cheek. "Thanks Tai." She then moved back to her previous post, softly hugging her pink, bird digimon. Tai placed a gloved hand to the spot and simply stared at Sora.

"Tai? Tai? Tai!" Agumon shouted, effectively getting Tai's attention. "What was all that about?"

"I don't know little buddy. Girls are weird," he explained. His gaze returned to Sora, who glanced at him briefly and blushed, whispering into her digimon's eyes. "But I wouldn't have them any other way."

* * * * * * *

It was his favorite position. Once while watching a martial arts film, the hero used the same position to ready his soul for the final, climatic battle. He won flawlessly, the enemy no match for his determined soul. After watching that movie, he memorized it perfectly and mimicked it effortlessly. It always seemed to boost his confidence, and clear his mind. That's why it was his favorite.

Well, it was Matt Ishida's favorite position. Myotismon never watched the movie, or learned of any mortal martial arts. Despite this, Hadesmon remained in the position, legs crossed over each other, his arms supporting his body above the floor. He thought of battles; how to start them, the techniques used to fight in them, and how to win them… especially against a force such as the Digidestined.

A toy explosive flew over his head, barely coming in contact with his pallid blonde hair. The explosive landed a few meters from him, blowing apart the wooden floor. Yet, this did not disrupt his concentration.

"Hey! What are you doing, you overgrown monkey!" Puppetmon complained. MetalEtemon completely ignored him as he picked up another box filled to the brim with toys. He tossed it out the window to forest floor below, watching with satisfaction as he heard a crunch.

"Listen little buddy. I don't like this as much as you do. But, we have to sacrifice to get ahead. So, I'm getting rid of all your junk so that I can get my own room," he painfully explained, lifting an extremely big bowling ball. He was prepared to crack it into halves, until Puppetmon clocked him in the jaw with his mallet.

"You? Get a room?" he disbelievingly exclaimed. "There's no way that some shiny piece of Sukamon is getting a room in my mansion! Especially not the room with the best toys!"

(A/N: As some as you know, Sukamon is a piece of poop. He eats it, throws it, and lives it. The funny thing is that he has a digivolution called Platinum Sukamon, where he digivolves a shiny piece of poop. That fact always brings a smile to my face. ^_^)

MetalEtemon gingerly massaged his sore chin. "Well then, where am I going to sleep?"

"The boiler room, like last night!" Puppetmon shouted, locking up his toys in their rightful place.

"The boiler room? But I can't sleep there! It's dark, and damp, and dirty! Besides, it's scary there!" MetalEtemon divulged.

"Well, go complain to that dirty little doll of yours," Puppetmon taunted, pointing toward the doll.

(A/N: Both Etemon and MetalEtemon have teddy bears on their waist, Monzaemon and WaruManzaemon respectively. My guess? They force the dolls to listen to their music.)

A field of metal veins exploded all over MetalEtemon's forehead. "That's it! It's bad enough that you're a bad host, but to insult my bear, now it is war!" With that declared, MetalEtemon smashed a whole cabinet full of boxes. He chucked the whole thing out the window, an evil smile on his face.

Puppetmon gave a horrific gasp. He looked out the window at the corpses of his favorite toys, and his treasured Dum – Dum bullets.

"My Dum – Dum bullets! Do you know how hard it is to get those things?!" Puppetmon exclaimed.

"Well then you better stop me then," MetalEtemon stated evilly, juggling three Dum – Dum bullets in his hand. Puppetmon gave another gasp, and then dashed to MetalEtemon. MetalEtemon stopped in his juggling, then expertly rolled one in the path of Puppetmon. Puppetmon immediately tripped, his hammer flying out of his grasp. MetalEtemon laughed wickedly as he hurled two cabinets of toys out the house, leaving two large holes in the side. His wicked laugh stopped short when Puppetmon drove his hammer in MetalEtemon's midsection, effectively launching him out the mansion.

MetalEtemon continued on his flight outside, until he spied a lush, green vine from behind his shades. He quickly grabbed on and used his momentum to swing himself back toward the house. Instead of swinging toward the top floor, where Puppetmon was, he swung toward the middle level, where Hadesmon continued to mediate. He sneakily cupped his hand behind his ear, until he heard what he wanted.

"Well, that's that," Puppetmon casually replied, dusting his hands. He placed his hammer back in its place on his back. "Never liked him much anyway; he was stupid." He walked back to the other gaps in the house. "It's going to cost a fortune to buy new toys. Piedmon is not going to like this." Suddenly, two metallic hands crashed through wooden beams and wrapped around Puppetmon's legs.

"Gotcha, you poor excuse for a toothpick!" MetalEtemon shouted. He yanked Puppetmon through the shafts, and slammed him into the floor. He then commenced to pummeling him. "This'll teach you to mess with the best!"

Puppetmon thought otherwise. He somehow reached out and managed to strangle his opponent with a piece of rope. MetalEtemon tried to rip the cord asunder, but it was too strong for him. He instead stood up, with Puppetmon riding him piggyback. He attempted to slam Puppetmon into the wall, but Puppetmon simply jumped around and rearranged the string. Almost on his last breath, MetalEtemon slipped on a toy and crashed down the stairs, bringing Puppetmon with him. They both ended up a mess on the bottom of the stairs, tangled in each other. Puppetmon untangled himself from a groaning MetalEtemon and somersaulted into the couches.

"This is MY house! That means you play by MY rules! If you want war, you have to play it right!" Puppetmon shouted, turning over the couch. He disappeared behind it, tossing a set of war camouflage at MetalEtemon. Moments later, he popped up again, wearing green camouflage. Around his waist he clipped a series of grenades. He tossed another belt at MetalEtemon. "C'mon and hurry up already! I want to destroy you!"

MetalEtemon quickly slipped on the camouflage, gray in his case. He picked up two of the grenades and stared at them strangely. "These aren't real, are they?" Puppetmon grinned and tossed one at MetalEtemon, where it promptly exploded on contact.

"Does that answer your question monkey boy?" Puppetmon jeered. That is, until MetalEtemon's grenade blew up right in his face.

"Pinocchio, I'll make you sorry you ever left Gepetto!" MetalEtemon countered while wiping away the black dust on his face. He pulled the pin off another grenade and threw it at Puppetmon. Puppetmon, who was wiping the grime on his face, gasped when he saw the incoming projectile. He quickly pulled out his trusty hammer and luckily whapped it back to MetalEtemon. MetalEtemon in turn slapped it back to Puppetmon. Puppetmon clouted it back, only it happened to explode in midair. Puppetmon pulled the pin off all of his grenades and pitched it toward MetalEtemon. MetalEtemon in turn pulled off all the pins on his grenades and chucked it toward the grenades. A large explosion ruptured throughout the house, setting several pieces of furniture on fire.

"So uh… what now?" MetalEtemon asked. Puppetmon simply shrugged his shoulders as his digimon ran to and fro, extinguishing the fires.

* * * * * * * *

His eyes opened abruptly, while the rest of his body remained silent. His breathing had nearly stopped, and his heart beat feebly. It seemed so clear, and easy. Of course, he was fighting against a group with unimaginable potential and gutso. He still needed to be careful.

Hadesmon concentrated silently, closing his piercing blue eyes. The boards surrounding him shattered like glass, the splinters circling around him. He unfurled his legs, and stood to his full height. He floated downward, his eyes still close. He opened his eyes, and allowed himself to drop the last inch, a soft click issuing as his boots made contact with the floor. Puppetmon and MetalEtemon gave him mystified glares.

"Come you two," Hadesmon commanded, beckoning them with his finger. "I finally came up with a plan, and you two need to here about." He sharply turned around and walked out the mansion. Puppetmon looked at MetalEtemon, who looked at MetalEtemon. They both shrugged their shoulders simultaneously and jogged out the house.

They found Hadesmon floating in the middle of a field. He turned around to face the both of them. "Sit down," he ordered, dropping to the floor. They immediately obeyed and sat on the floor.

"I know you two have limited amount of intelligence, and so can't appreciate my true genius. I'll keep it short and simple, and draw lots of pictures in hopes that you can follow along," he added sarcastically.

"First of all, thanks to me, the Digidestined have been reduced to 7 people; the children of hope, courage, love, intelligence, light, reliability and sincerity."

"What? When did that Sincerity kid pop up? She wasn't there when we went to attack," Puppetmon exclaimed.

MetalEtemon rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I remember that Sincerity kid. Real sweet and real cute." Hadesmon and Puppetmon shot him glances of disgust at the same time. "What? It's true."

"She wasn't there, but still alive," Hadesmon continued. "The main point of that attack was to find out if she was alive. If she was dead, none of the crests would be able to work, since hers would be out of commission." He paced back and forth as he continued to lecture the two. "She may or may not participate in next and final battle, which throws problems into my plan. Her digimon can be disposed of easily, but she can still cause problems."

"So… what is the plan? You're always talking about it, but we never hear anything about it," MetalEtemon commented. "I saw we rush in, and crush them like bugs!"

The sapphire eyes of Hadesmon blazed a dull red for a moment, but soon returned to normal. "We could do that, like idiotic barbarians," he managed to say through gritted, closed lips, "or we can handle the situation like mon of intelligence. To rush in there and force their digimon to become powerful is stupid."

"What are you talking about? We should just go in and finish them off without giving them a chance to come back. If we go with your plan, they'll come back and kill us!" Puppetmon protested. Hadesmon's eyes transformed to the dull red again, devoid of pupils and filled with the fires of hell. He clenched his fist, and a sigh slowly escaped from his lips. He shook with anger, but the trembling stopped.

"He's right. I fought them before, and they always come back if you're too easy on them," MetalEtemon added. That pushed Hadesmon over the edge.

A feral roar escaped from his throat as his pastel skin turned scaly. His nose increased in size, allowing for the thousands of fangs to fill his agape mouth, his face and body starting to cover with bronzed scales. He dropped to all fours as his hands transformed into demonic appendages. His pale blonde hair grew into a mane, growing to the floor in a shaggy manner. The creature stopped transforming, and gave a gut - wrenching wail of pain. It lumbered over to MetalEtemon, who could only back up in fear. It raised itself to its hind legs, and clamped onto MetalEtemon's neck with its jaws. MetalEtemon's hands went to his neck in fear, and tried to remove the fearsome creature from his neck, the smell alone almost subduing him.

The creature continued to clamp on MetalEtemon's neck, increasing the pressure. MetalEtemon felt some type of acid drip down his chest, originating from the mouth of the creature. He heard the metal dissolve sickeningly as the saliva continued its trip. He tried again to remove the jaws from his neck, but the creature only fought back with greater force. He moved to gulp nervously; the only thing stopping him was the set of fangs locked on his Adams apple, slowly crushing them. MetalEtemon felt his knees get weak, the attack leaving him in a state of inanition. The creature suddenly released him as it gave a heart - tearing scream. Both it and MetalEtemon collapsed to the floor. A blinding golden light surrounded the creature, first its outline, then the whole body. When the mysterious light dissipated, the form of Hadesmon appeared again.

MetalEtemon's hands went to his throat in fear, cautiously feeling along its structure. A hairline crack nearly traveled around his whole neck. The area near his eyes was slowly corroding, a nauseating green replacing the metallic luster. His chest was dotted with small, empty holes.

By this time, Hadesmon had regained control of his body. He dragged his sweaty, musty frame off the floor, dust sticking to his bare chest. He wearily tossed his platinum blonde hair, now back to its normal length, and spoke again. "Now… if no one wants to interrupt, I'll continue," he hissed tiredly. No one opposed him, both of them sat silently and stunned on the floor.

"As I was saying, there are only seven children left. Not only that, but their fighting has been significantly weakened, since I own the only other mega. Despite this, the Digidestined have been known to perform miracles in the bleakest of moments."

"My plan is split into three parts, and all of them must be accomplished with flawless accuracy. Part one: Weaken the children of hope and light. Although neither of them holds the key to warp – digivolving, they contain an immense amount of latent power and energy. To leave them be and allow them to even think of trying to access that is an extreme folly. By snuffing the light, and turning hope in despair, the digital world.

"Part two: Bring the digital guardians of the Digidestined down. They also hold great potential, and although only two have found a way to use it, the others could easily do the same. We must transform them back into digieggs, and crush them at the same time. Primary Village is dead, and any chance for them to be reconfigured.

"Part three: Impairing the power of the crest. The crest not only serves to help bring the emotion into use, it also magnifies it when needed. This is easily the hardest of the three parts, for it will also weaken me, as I do use the Friendship crest as a power supply. This must be done last, and only last."

Hadesmon looked at the bored faces of his cohorts. Those fools, he angrily thought to himself. Their minds can't comprehend the gigantic proportions of this plan, and they'll foul it up. A dark smile made its way on his face. No matter, I was going to kill them anyway. Might as well let them do most of the work for me. "Do you understand?" he asked in fake concern. Both of them nodded their heads slowly, even though they didn't understand. "Fine, go. You'll need your rest for tomorrow night; it'll be a big night." They both rose from their spot on the floor and ran off to the house, bickering along the way.

I refuse to let those boobs slow me down. My plan is quickly forming, and by the time the sun sets tomorrow, I'll be king of this world. By the sunrise after that, both the human and digital world will be under my rule.

Done! Done, done, done, done! This took me most of the week, and I'm glad! I think it really shows. I really liked how this chapter turned out, for once. Well, I have something to confess. This'll be the last chapter to come from me in a good long time. About 5-6 weeks in fact. Before you pick up the weapons that cause extreme pain, please wait. I promise, I promise that when I come back, 2 chapters from each series will be out. I'm not lying. I won't have Internet access or a computer where I'm going (not Hell, for some of those really angry at me), so I'll be writing out and planning the chapters. Hopefully, they'll turn out finer than the ones that I write on a whim. Buh – bye!

Oh yeah! I almost forgot! I promised the URL to some translated Tamers magna. Read the notes the guy posted, it'll explain some things. If I'm correct, the webmaster's name is Natron. http://www.ugcs.caltech.edu/~wakkonat/digimon/manga/cover.html Hope you enjoy it, I certainly have.