Last Time: A reconfigured Etemon pondered the ways he could gain his revenge on his old enemies, the DigiDestined. As he looked on, though, he saw TK and Kari walking through the Digital World. When Kari pricked herself on a rose, Etemon saw his chance and quickly scooped up the loose blood sample. As TK and Kari prepare for their senior prom, Etemon uses the blood sample to create…a clone.


Double Play: Part 2


A little more than three weeks had passed since she found herself living inside the quaint little cave in the Digital World, but by now the old cave was starting to feel like home to her. And that felt nice, considering she couldn't remember far back enough to remember where her REAL home was. But from what she was told of her past, maybe it was best she didn't remember. Besides, she was perfectly happy with the way things were.

She still remembered that day a few weeks ago, opening her eyes for what seemed like the first time. Her memory had been completely scrambled. After the first few hours, she started to believe she had amnesia. Everything was such a blur to her and the years before that day was nothing more than a blank. Her whole life prior to that moment was just a blank. She didn't know about anything. She wasn't even sure about her own name. Then he reminded her who she was.

She was Kari Kamiya.

Yes, she was Kari Kamiya. And that was all she could remember about herself. Luckily, she had someone who was caring enough to fill her in on what happened.

She had no idea where she'd be without Etemon. He was the first one she saw when she opened her eyes and he was the first one to help refresh her memory. It was all still a blank to her, but she trusted Etemon. He had given her a home and taken her in. Why would he lie to her?

Kari thought about that as she did her daily chores. Sure Etemon had taken her in, but she still had to pull her weight around the cave. And she felt like she owed it to him anyway. He saved her life. And Kari didn't think she would EVER be able to repay him. Especially not with such simple chores.

One of her main chores was to go out into the vast Digital World and seek out spare parts for Etemon's machines. He was in the midst of busy construction on what looked like a large stage. And Kari was helping out by finding some spare parts from whatever was out there. One thing about the Digital World was that there were certainly plenty of resources available.

Kari was coming with her hands full again, as she usually did. But she saw something right by a tree. It was a large apple that had fallen down. And as if on cue, Kari's stomach started to growl. Feeling a little hungry, Kari put the supplies down and walked over to pick up the apple. But as she bent down to pick it up, something walked up to her and shoved her down.

Kari looked up to see what looked like a tree creature, his body looking to be made of a tree. And he looked very hostile. Kari hadn't run into many Digimon while she did her chores, but when she did, they all let her be. But this one didn't look happy at all.

"A rotten human," the Digimon snarled. "Coming in MY space, are you?"

Kari backtracked, stumbling to get to her feet. "I-I-I'm sorry. I'll leave."

"Too late for that! You made me mad! And you won't like making a Woodmon mad!"

Woodmon started rushing for Kari. The girl could only scream and turn the other way to run. She managed to evade this hostile Digimon for a while, but when she ran into a dead end of rocks and boulders, she found herself stuck. Woodmon had her cornered.

"I've got you now, you lousy human!"

Kari closed her eyes, fully expecting this to be the end. She figured that her luck had run out. She may have been saved all those weeks ago, but it looked like this was truly it.

"Back off!"

Kari opened her eyes and saw that someone DID come to her rescue. He came out of nowhere and landed between Kari and Woodmon. Kari was more than grateful. He had come to her aid again. The mighty monkey in sunglasses.

Etemon was here to save her…again.

Etemon shot Woodmon a cold stare and pointed at Kari. "She's off limits! Get away or else!"

"And what if I don't?" Woodmon growled defiantly.

Etemon clenched his fists. "Then you leave me no choice but to teach you a lesson. I'll have to teach you who the king is."

Woodmon took that challenge and attacked. "Woody Smasher"

Woodmon struck and Etemon fell down. Concern immediately flowed through Kari, but Etemon didn't look like he would be down for long. In fact, he got right back up.

Woodmon moved in again. "Maybe you didn't learn. Woody Smasher!"

Etemon used his superior speed to leap up before Woodmon's attack. He landed right behind Woodmon. As the stump monster turned around, Etemon tossed him into the rocks. As he dug himself out, Etemon attacked.

"Monkey Claw!"

Etemon struck with furious vengeance, striking with his huge claw. Woodmon couldn't fight back and was instantly deleted. Kari looked on in shock as Woodmon pixilated, fading away before her very eyes. One minute, this hostile Digimon was looking to kill her. The next, he was gone…thanks to Etemon. Kari rushed to the big monkey and threw her arms around him. She was practically in tears.

"You saved me…again," Kari smiled. "Thank you, Etemon!"

Etemon nodded. "Nobody lays a hand on MY Kari! Anyone who does meets their end at my hand! Are you all right?"

"I feel great! Especially now that you're here!"

"That's great to hear. So tell me what happened. What made that Woodmon go chasing you?"

"I was hungry, so I just went to pick up an apple. I don't know why he got so mad."

"Doesn't matter. He's gone now. So how are your chores going, Kari?"

Kari pointed out towards the distance. "I had a lot of supplies that I left on the ground. They should be a lot of help for your giant stage-thingy…whatever it is. Hey Etemon, what IS that stage for anyway?"

Etemon paused before answering. "Why…uh…I told you, Kari. It's just a little pet project of mine. Hopefully when I finish building it, I can use it to…um…SING to a large audience!"

Kari giggled. "You? Sing? Etemon, you don't sing, do you?"

Etemon was seemingly taken aback by the question. "I suppose I HAVEN'T told you. But ol' Etemon is a GREAT singer! The best the Digital World has to offer!"

Kari frowned. "You never sang to me before."

"That's because I don't do private shows," Etemon replied a little sourly. "My singing is to be appreciated by the public at large!" He looked at Kari and grimaced. He must have noticed the look of doubt on her face. "Come on, Kari. Let's get those supplies and go home. I can tell you everything about my amazing singing voice."

"Well, ok. I left everything over there."

Kari led the way and Etemon followed her. She didn't know what to make of his claim of being a great singer. In all the weeks she'd known him, he hadn't ever sung. So she was a little skeptical.

Still, even if he couldn't sing, Etemon was the best thing to ever happen to Kari Kamiya. He took her in when she was left for dead. She would even go as far to say…Etemon was like a father to her.

Night had fallen in the Digital World and Kari was getting ready to go to sleep. One disadvantage to living in this cave alone with Etemon was that she was confined to only one pair of clothes. So she found herself sleeping in the same shirt and yellow shorts every night.

Kari lay herself down on the ground and rested her head on the patch of leaves she used for a pillow every night. She didn't have a blanket, but nights hardly ever got cold in this part of the Digital World, so she didn't mind. She was ready to close her eyes, but when she saw someone walking by with some tools, Kari decided to call her caretaker over.

"Etemon?"

Etemon stopped and walked over. "Kari, you know it's passed your bedtime."

Kari sat up. "Etemon…can I ask you something?"

"Sure thing. What is it?"

"Tell me again about my old friends who abandoned me."

Etemon shook his head. "Why, Kari, I told you all about those nasty people. They obviously were no friends of yours."

"But tell me again what happened," Kari insisted. "I…well…everything's still a blank to me. And…maybe it'll help me remember my past a little better."

Etemon sat beside Kari. "Well, ok, I'll tell you everything I saw that day. You were all wandering through the Digital World. It was you and seven others. And I saw you all walking from up a tree. I found it a little unusual, since human beings aren't a common sight here in the Digital World. But I couldn't help but notice how YOU were being treated.

"There was a girl in jeans and a t-shirt. Looked like a total tomboy. Her name was Sora and she wasn't even paying attention to you that day. She was just going on and on about…uh…about her soccer game.

"There was the little brown-haired nerd that always traveled with you. His name was Izzy. And he wasn't paying attention to you, either. Instead, he was just wandering around with his nose in his computer. He didn't even know you were alive.

"There was the badly-dressed, blue-haired guy in a vest named Joe. And he didn't notice you at all. He could only ramble on, complaining about how long the walk was. He looked like he loved to complain, that Joe did.

"Then there was the spoiled girl, wearing a fashionable dress and hat. Her name was Mimi and she didn't know you were around. All she could do was keep going on about what a bad hair day she was having.

"And speaking of hair, there was the blond-haired boy who used enough hair gel to last any normal human being a million years. That was Matt and he couldn't stop fiddling with his harmonica. Needless to say, he didn't see YOU around.

"But then there was the poofy brown-haired kid named Tai."

"You…said he was my brother, right?" Kari asked.

"Yes, he was your brother," Etemon continued. "And I didn't like the way he was looking at you. The look on his face was one of jealousy. It didn't look like he cared for you one bit. What disturbs me is that it didn't look like he was the only one with malicious intentions. I also saw…him.

"He was the blond with the white hat named TK. He DID notice you that day. He actually had his arm across your shoulder. Why, I even think I heard him say 'I love you'. But as soon as your back was turned, he just shot you a look that could kill anyone else. What broke my heart was that you didn't even see it coming."

Kari knew it wasn't easy, but she needed to hear it again. "Tell me again what happened, Etemon."

Etemon took a deep breath. "Well…the eight of you were coming across a bridge, at least 25 feet above a river. I still remember that smile you had on your face, one that could melt anyone's heart. You didn't have a care in the world. Then I saw your friends, who didn't even know you were alive. And I saw your brother and TK…who looked like they were about to try something. And they did.

"I don't know why they did what they did, but Tai and TK waited until you were looking across the cliff, admiring the scenery. That's when I saw Tai and TK walk towards a nearby tree. They pulled one of its braches back and slingshot it so it hit you right in the back. The impact sent you falling off the cliff.

"I saw Tai look down as you fell off the cliff. He just shrugged uncaringly and said, 'Goodbye, sis! Looks like I won't have to worry about you anymore.'

"Mimi turned around and asked, 'Did you get rid of what's-her-name?' TK was the one that turned around and said, 'Yeah, she's finally gone. And if anyone asks, we'll say it was a tragic accident.' And everyone just continued on their way, not even bothering to look back. Even your Digimon partner didn't look back. None of them even cared that they had just abandoned their friend to die.

"I, on the other hand, felt COMPASSION! After they all left, I immediately jumped down from the tree and snapped a vine from its leaves. I tossed the vine off the cliff and climbed down. When I got to the bottom, I saw you unconscious on the ground. I checked your pulse and you were still alive. But it didn't look like you had much time. So I lifted you over my shoulder and brought you back to this cave…until that day you finally came to."

The tears were now flowing freely. It got more difficult to hear that story every time. Kari couldn't believe anyone could be so cruel. Especially to her.

"I hope I never see them again," Kari cried.

"Well…I'm sure you won't," Etemon said comfortingly. "Just go to sleep, Kari. Try to forget all about those nasty ex-friends of yours."

Kari hugged Etemon again. "Thank you again for saving me, Etemon."

"Kari, don't even give it a second thought. I did what I had to do and I'd gladly do it again. Now just get some sleep. I've still got some work to do."

"Ok, good night, Etemon."

Etemon walked out and Kari laid back and closed her eyes. But in her mind, she couldn't help but think about those who abandoned her. And she couldn't stop thinking about her brother…who set her up to die. She could only wonder why.

Etemon looked back one more time to see the sleeping girl. And an evil smirk spread across his face. She had bought his story COMPLETELY. He couldn't believe how much she had fallen for it. But then again, it was easy to manipulate the mind of a clone.

Much time had passed since Etemon first created that clone of Kari Kamiya. Since that day, Etemon had fully gained her trust and won her over. She was completely on his side now. And that was the biggest key to his plan; an even bigger key than his reconstructed stage. With a cloned Kari on his side, he would not only infiltrate the real world, but also destroy his old enemies, the meddling DigiDestined.

But make no mistake about it. For Etemon's plan to work, luck still had to play its part. He would have to wait until one of them came back into the Digital World. And when that happened…

…the real fun would begin.


Next Time: TK and the real Kari take another walk in the Digital World. Will Etemon be waiting? And what does he have in store?


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