"...Cinderella dressed in yella went upstairs to kiss her fella, made a mistake and kissed a snake..."
Puppetmon skipped his way through Piedmon's castle, using his strings as a jump rope. Just to amuse himself, he tried a few complicated quicksteps, finishing off with a midair somersault. He sighed; there was just no challenge in this anymore. To tell the truth, there just wasn't much challenge in anything lately. He would have thought that ruling a quarter of the Digital World would have given him some scope for his talents, but he was actually more bored than ever. He had responsibilities now - the last thing he'd ever wanted - and not only that, but nobody wanted to play with him. True, he had lots of servants who'd obey his every word, but they all went where he sent them and did what he told them. There was no challenge at all that.
"I'm bored," he complained loudly, hopscotching his way across a tiled floor. "Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored!"
"You're a board, indeed, and likely to be used for kindling if this keeps up."
"Wha?" said Puppetmon, surprised. He lost his rhythm in his skipping, tangled his feet up in his strings, and fell on his pointed nose. "Ow! What'd you hafta go and do that for?"
"I could ask the same of you," answered Piedmon, gliding out of the shadows. "You're pathetic. You can't even skip ropes properly, much less win a battle."
"I was doing just fine until you came along and messed me up," muttered Puppetmon trying to straighten his nose. Piedmon ignored him.
"I shudder to think," he said, "that you are all I have left."
"Wha?" said Puppetmon again. "But... Seadramon...?"
"Gone," Piedmon replied, "which you would know about, if you had been paying attention instead of playing your childish little games. So now it is down to you and me... how pitiful. Either of the others would be better than an animate child's toy. If only I hadn't lost Machine Dramon..."
Piedmon paused in mid-sentence. Slowly, he smiled, giving Puppetmon a speculative look that made the wooden 'mon back away a few paces.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.
"You said you were bored, didn't you?" answered Piedmon. "I've just thought of something for you to do."
"Oh?"
"You're going to bring me Machine Dramon."
"Wha?"
"Would you stop saying that?" Piedmon snapped. "Look, it's perfectly simple - even your sawdust filled brain ought to be able to handle it. He's trying to come back now. All he needs is a push in the right direction."
"What about the Digidestined? They've already taken out Machine Dramon and Metal Seadramon! I don't want to be next!"
"Then just don't let them see you," answered Piedmon with dangerous patience. "Honestly, am I the only one in the entire Digital World who knows how to think? Or has your mind got termites? Whether you like it or not, I have given you an order: go find what's left of Machine Dramon and bring him back. Is that understood?"
Puppetmon looked at Piedmon. The clown's face was, as always, as unreadable as his painted mask, but he was balancing a knife on the tip of his finger, and the puppet knew how quickly the clown could move, and how good his aim was.
"Oh, goodie," he said. "Just what I wanted to do."
The Digidestined sat in a rough circle on the forest floor, enjoying the peace and quiet. Several hours underground, spent after a few more in the driving rain, had given them a deep appreciation for sunshine and fresh air, not to mention the absence of hostile Digimon. After the all the chaos of the underground City of Shadows, they all felt the need to stop and catch their breath for a while... and, of course, to eat.
"This is a real improvement on the last place we were at," Tai remarked, taking a large bite out of an apple.
"I'll say," said Mimi, leaning back to let the sun shine on her face. "I was starting to think we'd be stuck underground forever!"
"It's hard to believe there's a Dark Master controlling this area," Matt mused, watching Gabumon forage among the shrubs. "It seems so peaceful here. Who's left now, Izzy?"
"Hm?" As usual, Izzy was playing with his computer and ignoring everything else. "Man, my batteries can't be going dead already! Hooking up to the Digital World's sub-network must have taken more out of it than I thought it would... Did you say something, Matt?"
"Nope," Matt sighed. "Didn't say a thing."
"Do you need a hand?" asked Kokuwamon curiously. Not needing to eat, he'd recharged with a jolt of electricity from Tentomon, and was now helping Jim crack a heap of walnuts.
"Only if you know where I can recharge my computer's battery," Izzy replied. "You wouldn't happen to know where I could find an electrical outlet, would you?"
"Come on, Izzy, I thought you were smarter than that," said Tai. "We're in the middle of the woods! There's not a plug for miles around."
"Sure there is," said Kokuwamon.
So saying, he got up and began prodding a few of the nearby trees. After a few tries, he found one that clicked when he touched it, and a hidden panel swung open, revealing an electrical outlet. The children stared.
"Power plant," the metal 'mon explained, pointing at the tree.
"Great," Joe sighed. "We've entered the land of the living puns." The girls giggled, and TK and Kari laughed aloud.
"It is kind of low humor," agreed Izzy, "but all jokes aside, that's exactly what I needed. Thanks, Kokuwamon!"
While the redhead went to plug in his computer, the others simply stood in stared, intrigued by the concept of an electric tree.
"How did you know about that?" Jim asked, even though he knew what the reply would be. He couldn't shake the impulse to keep asking until something got a real answer.
Kokuwamon shrugged. "I don't know. I just did. Besides, this is the Forest of Gears, remember? Everything here is mechanical."
"Like you?" Jim suggested.
"I don't think so," Kokuwamon answered thoughtfully. "I know I've been here before, but... it's not home. There was another place... I remember skyscrapers, and a red sky, and the machines..." He shook his head. "As soon as I start to think about it, it goes away again."
"Well, that's definitely more than you knew in the beginning," said Jim encouragingly.
"All right!" said Izzy, cutting into their thoughts. "Computer's running at optimum capacity. Now we can start getting our bearings and figuring out where to go from here. You've got to admit, we are a little lost right now."
"I guess that's true," said Tai. "We can't even see the mountain from here - just trees and more trees."
"Well, if I can figure out where we were in that mess of a maze, I'm sure I can pinpoint our location from here," said Izzy.
"Oh, boy, this could take a while," said Jim, rolling his eyes. "We don't really have to pay attention, do we?
"Nah, Wonder Boy can take care of himself," said Matt. "Hey, Izzy, wake the rest of us up when you're done, okay?"
"Hm?" said Izzy. "Don't bother me now, Matt. This is harder than it looks."
"I've got a better idea," said Sora. "How about we wake him up when we're ready to go?"
Jim decided that there really wasn't much else to be done right now except wait for Izzy to finish what he was doing and look for something to do in the meantime. He began prowling around their campsite, hoping to find a distraction, while Kokuawamon clunked along behind him, peering under bushes and rocks.
*Still looking for that thing,* Jim thought, with a mental sigh. *What in the world could mean so much to him?*
"Aha!" he said suddenly. "This looks promising."
"What?" said Kokuwamon, leaning over for a better look. "It looks just like mud to me."
It seemed that the rain had fallen on this forest as well, leaving behind a large mud puddle. However, wind and sun had done their work, drying the water away and leaving only a broad patch of smooth brown mud.
"It's good enough," Jim answered. "Just watch."
Kokuwamon watched curiously as his friend picked up a stick and began poking little holes in the mud, making a ten-by-ten grid of dots. The boy considered a moment, then drew a line connecting two of the dots and offered the stick to Kokuwamon.
"Your turn, Koku," he said.
"Koku?" The robot-mon's eyes blinked off and on. "Where did that come from?"
"It's a nickname," said Jim. "People give them to their friends - especially if they have long names. I mean, look at Izzy! His real name is Koushiro Izumi, and who wants to say that all the time?"
"So now I get a new name," said Kokuwamon thoughtfully. "That's interesting. Okay, I guess it's good."
"Hey, I let you call me JimHyumon!"
"Isn't that what you are?"
"Well, I guess, but..."
"Right. You're my JimHyumon, and I'm your Digimon. That's how it works," said Kokuwamon. "But I guess I can be a Koku if you want. I don't think anyone's given me a nickname before. I kind of like it. So, what's with the stick?"
"It's a game," Jim explained. "It's called 'Dots.' We take turns connecting dots together to try to make boxes. When you make a box, you mark it with your initial, and you get another turn. The winner is the one that makes the most boxes. I usually play on a piece of paper, but a mud puddle works."
"Oh, okay," said Koku. He accepted the stick, and the two quickly became involved in the game.
No one bothered to look up in the trees. If they had, they would have seen that someone was watching them - or, more specifically, watching Jim and Kokuwamon. Puppetmon was taking his work seriously, or at least as seriously as he knew how. He knew he could lure the metal 'mon away from his friends, but only as long as he was alone. He had to talk to Kokuwamon alone, and to do that, he'd need the Digidestined to be away, or asleep, or anywhere that they might not come bursting into the picture and blow him to kindling wood. Since the Digidestined were all awake at the moment and didn't look like they were inclined to go anywhere for a while, Puppemon had to content himself to wait and watch. He didn't much care for what he was seeing.
Puppetmon, like the other three Dark Masters, had known Machine Dramon since the day he'd hatched as an innocent little Choromon, and had watched him grow up into a single-minded fighting machine, totally loyal to Piedmon. He had always been so serious, no sense of play at all, and never socializing with anyone. Puppetmon had never known another creature that took so little pleasure out of life, and now here he was, playing games in the mud and letting humans call him by silly pet names! It was ridiculous! And yet...
*He looks like he's having more fun than me,* thought Puppemon, watching Kokuwamon and Jim get into a friendly argument over whether it was fair for a computer to be playing games of strategy. *That's not fair! This is my forest. Nobody here should be having fun if I don't say so!*
Meanwhile, the other Digidestined were watching Izzy and his computer. The boy had produced something like a map, speckled with little dots that represented the Digidestined. It was a strange-looking map; it appeared that a quarter of the world had simply fallen away, leaving nothing but an indistinct void.
"We're here," said Izzy unnecessarily, pointing at the dots. "This empty space is where Metal Seadramon's part of the world used to be. Here's Spiral Mountain."
"And what's all this?" asked Matt, waving at the area the dots were occupying.
"No idea," Izzy replied.
"Oh, I know, I know!" Mimi squeaked, waving her hand excitedly.
"You do?" asked Tai, surprised.
"Yeah!" said Mimi, excited at actually knowing something no one else did. "Piximon told us while we were in the caves. Each of the Dark Masters has his own part of the world. He said Puppetmon owned the forests, so this must be where he hangs out."
"Cool," said Tai. "If we can deal with something as big and ugly as Metal Seadramon, we should be able to handle that wimpy little thing."
"You're one to talk," said Gatomon. "You didn't have to fight with the thing."
"Well, we're not going to fight with him today," said Joe, staring up at the sky. "It's going to be getting dark pretty fast, here in the forest. Look, the sun's already going down."
"It is?" asked Mimi, dismayed. "But we just found it!"
"I am kinda tired," said Kari. "It's been a long day."
"Yeah, it sure has," Tai agreed. "What do you say we just camp out here? It seems pretty secure."
"Yeah, I think we've earned a break," Sora agreed.
Everyone looked at Joe, who shrugged and said, "It's a good as any... and I guess after taking out a Dark Master, we deserve to relax a while... but we'd better post a guard, just in case."
The other Digidestined agreed that this was a good idea, and Mimi volunteered to take the first watch ("I'm going to have nightmares after dealing with all those Numemon!") and everyone else began wandering around, finishing up their evening meals and trying to find a reasonably dry and comfortable patch of ground on which to spend the night. Jim, having finished his game with Kokuwamon and been beaten soundly at it, went to join his brother.
"How come they asked you whether they should stay here or not?" he asked. "I thought Tai was the leader around here."
Joe shrugged. "I don't know. I mean, Tai's our leader, but I think he's figured out by now that some of us are better at deciding other things..."
"He's not telling you the real reason," Gomamon piped up. "They just wanted to make sure Joe wasn't going to complain about having to stay here. If even Joe can't complain about it, it must be a good idea."
Jim laughed. "Boy, do I know that!"
"Well, I have to complain. It's what I do," said Joe. "If I don't look for problems, who will? I'm the Digidestined of Reliability. I've got to ask the tough questions and try to keep everyone out of trouble. You want optimism, go to TK."
"Because he has the Crest of Hope, right?" Jim queried. "I still don't quite get all this Crest business. Where do you get them? How come I don't have one?"
"I guess it's just because you haven't found one yet," answered Joe. "Ours were hidden in all kinds of weird places, remember? Mimi's was inside a cactus, of all weird things... and mine was under a soccer goal. They all represent different qualities, and when if you live up to them, it activates the Crests and lets your Digimon go to Ultimate."
"In other words, Kokuwamon's gone as far as he can go without a Crest," said Jim, looking speculatively at his Digimon. "Fun. Not only have I got to fight monsters, but I've got to prove I'm virtuous at the same time."
"Well, there is one little thing," Joe replied. "As far as we know, the Crests don't work without a Tag, and, well... there were only seven in the box, so as far as I know... you haven't got one."
Jim seemed to consider that one. "You know, Joe, you were right."
"I was? About what?"
"I would have been better off talking to TK."
"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is!" Joe protested. "Or... actually, I'm just guessing. None of us have ever had a Crest with no Tag before, so we don't know what would happen then, and Kari's Crest came with the Tag already attached. Yours might be the same way."
"Or maybe I don't have a Crest at all," Jim muttered.
"Of course you do," said Joe. "You're Digidestined, aren't you? They wouldn't have left you out."
"I guess," Joe replied. He looked back at Kokuwamon, who had returned to his customary pastime, searching through the bushes and leaves in a fruitless search for the unnamed and unknown object. "You know, I'm really starting to worry about him. He doesn't talk to me about it, but I can tell he's really getting upset over not having that thing around. It's like he's obsessed or something. He wasn't like this when I first met him - he barely seemed to miss the whatever-it- is. Now he's hunting for it every spare second. It's like he can't help himself. It's a little creepy."
"Hmm..." said Joe. "You know, I just thought of something. Kari said that when Gatomon was separated from her, Gatomon used to be the same way, always waiting and searching for something she couldn't remember. Call Kokuwamon over here, Jim, I've got an idea."
"Okay... Hey, Koku! Can you come over here a minute? Joe wants a word with you."
"Sure," said Kokuwamon. He dropped the bit of wood he'd been inspecting and clanked over to join the Kido brothers. "What's up?"
"I thought I might have an idea about this thing you're looking for," said Joe. "I think I might have one kind of like it. Did it look a little like this?"
He reached under his shirt and took out the Tag that held the glinting Crest of Reliability. As soon as he saw it, his eyes lit up so brightly Jim was surprised the bulbs didn't break.
"That's it!" he yelped. "That's what I'm looking for! It was one of those!"
"There you go!" said Joe, grinning at his brother. "You do have a Crest, and this little guy's been trying to find it for you."
"Well, that's a relief," said Jim, grinning back. "Don't worry, Koku. If its out there, we'll find it... or it'll find us. Isn't that what yours did?"
Joe nodded. "It'll turn up, probably whenever we need it most. That seems to be the way things work around here... anyway, I'm bushed. Dodging crazed crabs and angry sea serpents really takes it out of a guy. Come on, Gomamon. Let's go see if we can find somewhere to sleep that doesn't have mud in it."
"I like mud," said Gomamon.
"Fine, then you can sleep in it, but as for me..."
The two of them wandered off, arguing quietly so as not to disturb the others. The sun had slipped out of sight, and the forest was slowly filling with ever-deepening shadows. The only source of light was a small campfire. The youngest of the Digidestined seemed to have fallen asleep already, and the others were settling down for the night. Jim decided the best thing to do would be to collect some dry leaves and make a bed of his own.
"I'm going to hit the sack," he informed Kokuwamon. "How about you? Ready to get some sleep?"
Kokuwamon shook his head. "Robots don't need sleep. I think I want to help Mimi keep watch."
"You'll run your batteries down," Jim cautioned.
"It'll be okay," said Kokuwamon. "I'll charge up at the tree before we leave tomorrow."
"Well... suit yourself," answered Jim reluctantly. "I'd really feel better if you'd get some rest, though."
Kokuwamon seemed to consider, his eye-lights blinking on and off. "Okay. If you really want me to, I will."
"Good. I'm not letting you run yourself down for no good reason," said Jim.
The two of them gathered a heap of dry leaves and made a sort of nest for Jim to sleep in, and he curled up in the center of it with his partner leaning against his back. For a while, Jim fidgeted; the leaves were itchy, and the ground was still faintly damp and chilly from the rain. At last, though, he settled into stillness. Kokuwamon was quiet a while, too, his lights off, his motor still. For a while, the camp was silent but for the crackling of the fire. Tai mumbled something in his sleep about soccer and subsided. Gabumon snored faintly. Mimi, half-hypnotized by the silence and the warm, dancing fire, nodded off and dropped into slumber. Moments passed with no movement but quiet breathing and the twitching paws of sleeping animals. Then, with a soft whine of gears, Kokuwamon got up again and began creeping as carefully as he could toward the edge of the camp.
"I'm sorry, JimHyumon," he said in his quietest voice, and he slipped into the shadows.
Deep down, he had hoped that he could forget the problem of his missing possession. He had to admit, he had become deeply fond of his human friend, and he would have preferred to have nothing come between him. He had thought that perhaps just knowing the name and form of what he had lost would settle his mind a bit. Instead, it had simply made him that much more desperate to have it back. He could remember it now, faintly but surely. There had been a time in his life when the Tag had never been far from his side. It had been his treasure, his only joy, and the sight of something so like and yet unlike it had awoken an ache deep inside. He had to have it back; he could never rest easy until he had it again. As time went by, the discomfort became sharper. Much as he hated to leave his friend behind, he knew he had to find it, and soon, or he just might go crazy.
But where was he going to look? The forest stretched out in all directions, all of it looking the same in the darkness. The faint glow of his eyes did nothing to illuminate his surroundings; something as small as a Tag could hide anywhere and he'd never see it. He didn't even think this was the place it was supposed to be, but he had to look. Almost despairingly, he went about his methodical search.
There was a movement in the darkness, and he looked up, ready for anything. What he saw was another Digimon, not much larger than himself, leaning against a tree and watching him thoughtfully.
"Who are you?" asked Kokuwamon.
"I'm Puppetmon," the other Digimon answered. "I've been looking for you."
Kokuwamon was suspicious. "Why?"
"Because I want to help you," came the answer. "You do need help, don't you?"
"How would you know?" Kokuwamon demanded. "You don't know anything about me."
"Of course I do!" Puppetmon replied. "Come on! We're old pals; I've known you all your life."
"That's what Metal Seadramon said."
Puppetmon shrugged. "Oh, well. Seadramon will say anything. But you can trust me."
"How do I know that?" Kokuwamon asked. "I really don't remember you at all. How can I know you really are trustworthy?"
"Because I'm going to help you," Puppemon replied. "You want to know where your Tag is, don't you?"
Kokuwamon's eyes lit up. "You know where it is? Can you tell me?"
"Of course I can! You think I came out here in the middle of the night for nothing?" Puppemon replied. "Not only do I know where it is, I can take you straight to it. It'll be back in your hands by morning, and your buddy will never know you were gone."
"Really?" asked Kokuwamon. "You wouldn't be kidding me, would you?"
"Why would I do that?" asked Puppetmon, putting on his most innocent expression. "But if you really don't trust me, I understand, you not being able to remember and all. If you don't want to look for it, I'll just go home and wait for you to change your mind." He turned around and began walking off into the shadows.
"Hey, wait!" said Kokuwamon, clanking after him.
"What?"
"If you really do know... and it won't take that long... I guess it wouldn't hurt to just look."
Puppemon grinned. "I knew you'd see reason. Here," he said, tossing Kokuwamon what appeared to be a thin red rope. "It'll be faster if you hold on to this."
"Huh?" said Kokuwamon, blinking his lights in confusion.
In the next instant, Puppetmon had bounded into the air, and Kokuwamon, clinging to his strings, was pulled along like the tail of a kite. Up they went, ten - twenty - thirty - forty feet, landing in the branches of a huge tree, then bouncing straight up into the star-spangled night sky. Kokuwamon hung on for dear life, fearing that at any moment the string would break and send him tumbling to the ground, and expecting at the very least to be smashed into the ground when they landed. Then they dropped down through the treetops again, rattling through leaves and twigs, touched lightly on the earth, and rose back into the air as if weightless. Kokuwamon turned his head, watching the retreating ground.
"What's your problem?" asked Puppetmon. "You aren't afraid of heights, are you?"
"No, just falling from them."
"You aren't gonna fall. What, you think I'm gonna drop you or something? Don't be such a scaredy-bug. When you're a Mega Digimon, you don't have to anything - including gravity."
"You're a Mega?" asked Kokuwamon, surprised. "You don't look - I mean, I'm not trying to be rude, but-"
"Yeah, I'm a Mega," said Puppetmon, sounding irritated. "So were you, up until a couple of days ago. You got in a nasty accident, though, and I guess it knocked all your memories out."
Boink! They hit the top of what looked like a manor house, and Kokuwamon caught a brief glimpse of what looked like a number of plant Digimon having a party in the front yard. All of them stopped what they were doing to see what had collided with the house, and then scurried inside as they caught sight of Puppetmon.
"My place," he said. "They're not supposed to be doing that. I'll teach 'em a lesson when I get home."
"Are those your friends?" asked Kokuwamon, catching a last glimpse of the creatures hurrying into the manor.
"Them? Nah," said Puppetmon. "I don't have time for friends."
"Why not?"
"Whaddaya mean, why not? I just don't, that's all. I've got better things to do."
"Like what?"
"Like... like... Well, it's none of your business."
"I thought you said we were friends."
"Huh," said Puppetmon. "Well, maybe that was stretching things a bit. We're more like... business associates. I don't have any friends, and neither do you."
"I do so!"
"Well, you didn't when I knew you, that's for sure."
"JimHyumon's my friend," said Kokuwamon. "I didn't even know I was lonely until I met him. He helped me digivolve."
"You can digivolve without him," Puppetmon replied. "You did it before, remember? All the way up to Mega."
"What are you acting like that for?"
"Like what?"
"Like you've got something against me and Jim being friends," Kokuwamon answered. "You act like you're jealous or something."
"Who, me? Jealous? Come on. Why would I be jealous?"
"Because I've got friends and you don't."
"Humph. Like I'd want one," muttered Puppetmon. "Where am I gonna get a friend, anyway? Nobody wants to be friends with me."
"Maybe if you weren't such a sourpuss," Kokuwamon muttered. "You'd better lighten up a little. People like you a lot better if you're nice to them."
"Well, I don't want to be nice."
"Then you're not going to have any friends, are you?"
"Who said I wanted 'em?" Puppetmon snapped. "You'd better mind your own business. I didn't have to be this nice to you, you know... Ah, here's our stop."
He touched down on a patch of bare ground in front of what appeared to be a cave. Against the black of the sky, Kokuwamon could see a darker patch, a tall tapering shape like a pointing finger, and at its very peak was what appeared in the darkness to be a round cloud. Kokuwamon got only a moment to stare at it before Puppetmon dragged him into the cave.
"This is where you want to be," he said. "Just keep on following it until you get to the end. You'll find what you're looking for."
"Do I have to go in alone?" asked Kokuwamon, peering into the blackness. It was impossible to see anything beyond the mouth of the cave.
"It's your Tag, isn't it?" Puppetmon answered. "Besides, I'm getting annoyed with you. Just go on in, get it, and get out. I'll be waiting here for you."
Kokuwamon hesitated. Something about the dark cavern made him uncomfortable, something more than the darkness, but even so, something else was telling him that this was the right place. He could almost see the Tag in his mind, shining like a beacon. He took a few paces into the cave, and, when nothing bad happened, he took a few more. Then, pulling together all his resolve, he marched determinedly into the shadows. Puppetmon stood at the entrance for a while to make sure he didn't change his mind. When he didn't, the puppet turned and darted back into the forest.
Not knowing that he had been abandoned, Kokuwamon pushed doggedly forward. His glowing eyes lit the narrow tunnel just enough that he could see the grey outlines of rocks, and he managed not to trip too many times, but other than that, he had no idea where he was going. The only sure thing in his mind was that he was getting closer to his goal, and the thought filled him with a surge of joy... and, for the first time, a hint of fear. Fear? Why? What had he to be afraid of?
Suddenly, up ahead, there was a twinkle of light, and Kokuwamon stared. Only a few feet away, a golden glimmer hung suspended in midair, not quite close enough to reach. With a cry of excitement, Kokuwamon leaped forward to grab it... and something pulled it away.
"What the...?" Koku began, looking around, but he could see nothing.
Then he could see something, and he pulled away as his optical sensors were suddenly overloaded by a brilliant, garish light that splashed across the walls like paint. Blinking to clear his vision, Kokuwamon stared. Standing in front of him was a person - something like and yet unlike a human, dressed in outlandish clothing that would have almost been funny if the look in its eyes hadn't been so patently evil. Kokuwamon found himself wanting to run, to turn and get as far away from this thing as possible. He didn't know who or what it was, but something deep inside told him that the two of them had met before and the experience had been one he should be glad he couldn't remember.
"Well, well, well," said Piedmon, giving his wayward servant an icy smile. "My dear little traitor... welcome home."
Jim slowly opened his eyes, blinking away the blur of sleep and trying to get his bearings. He'd been having an odd dream. In it, he'd been watching a clown juggle knifes, and as he'd turned his back on it, it had taken one of them and pressed it to his backbone. Now, awake, he could still feel the pricking against his skin and realized that he'd turned over in his sleep and ended up lying on a twig. He squirmed, trying to get comfortable again, but it was no good. With most of a night's sleep behind him, it was hard to settle down enough to go back to sleep. Now that he was awake, he realized he was thirsty, too. At last he sat up, stretched, and looked around. It was early in the morning, with the sun just barely risen - he couldn't have told it was morning if he hadn't been able to hear the morning noises of unseen forest creatures. He could see the rest of the Digidestined still curled up on the ground, sound asleep, their Digimon settled at their sides. He smiled, thinking how peaceful they looked, how fortunate they all were to have such good friends. Then reality struck.
Moments later, Tai found himself being shaking roughly awake. He rolled over with a sleepy moan and saw Jim looking down at him, his expression frantic.
"What is it?" he mumbled.
"It's Kokuwamon! He's gone!" Jim shouted. "I just woke up and looked around, and he was gone!"
"So what?" muttered Tai. "He probably just had a call of nature. He'll be back."
"He's a machine, Tai, he doesn't have calls of nature," answered Jim tensely. "He's gone - I know he is! He keeps wandering off looking for that Tag thing... it just got to much for him. He's gone off to look for it. I've lost him."
"Have you looked for him?" asked Tai reasonably.
"Of course I've looked for him! I'm not stupid. I went to high school! I took calculus! I can find the area under the curve! I can find the sine and the cosine! I just can't find my Digimon!"
"Okay, okay, just quit panicking!"
"I'm not panicking!"
"You're panicking," said Sora, "and you're waking the rest of us up. What happened?"
"Kokuwamon's wandered off somewhere, and Jim's scared he's lost," Tai explained, dragging himself out of his makeshift bed. Sleep time was obviously over.
"He is," Jim insisted. "I can almost feel it. He's out there alone, somewhere... I've got to find him - he's in danger..."
"You're not going to go look for him now," said Tai.
"But I have to!" Jim protested. "Don't you get it? My partner is in trouble! Do you really think I'm going to sit down and do nothing?"
"No, but you're not going to go wandering off into the woods by yourself, either," Tai replied. Seeing the look on Jim's face, he added, "And don't you argue with me, either!"
"Who are you to tell me what to do?" Jim snapped.
"I'm the leader of the Digidestined, that's who," answered Tai. "I've also been doing this longer than you. We all have. Face it, we know what we're doing better than you do, so if you don't want to maybe get eaten by a Kuwagamon or something, you'll listen to us when we tell you things. And right now, I'm saying that it would be dangerous for you to go out there on your own with no protection at all. You won't do Kokuwamon any good if you go and get yourself killed. Understand?"
"I..." Pausing on that word, Jim deflated. "I understand. Sorry, Tai, I didn't mean to yell. I'm just so worried."
Tai gave him a reassuring smile. "I understand. I know I'd be going nuts if something happened to Agumon! Shoot, I'd probably be carrying on worse than you are. But we're a team, Jim. We don't go and do things on our own, we do them together. That's how we win. Just wait for the rest of us to get up and get organized, and then we'll all find Kokuwamon. Okay?"
"All right," said Jim. "Let's just hurry, okay?"
"Sure thing," Tai replied. "Don't worry. He couldn't have gone far. We'll find Kokuwamon for you in no time."
Jim nodded. "I'm sure you're right," he said... but deep down inside, he wasn't sure at all.
Far away, tucked away in his manor house, Puppetmon was not waking up. He had never fallen asleep properly. He was lying on his bed, staring up at the ceiling, trying to sift through a jumble of thoughts. The Kokuwamon he'd talked to tonight in no way resembled the creature he had known while it had undergone its training in Piedmon's castle. That Kokuwamon had been a beaten, silent creature, cringing before its superiors and bullying any weaker creatures it found. Of course, he hadn't stayed that way long. Under Piedmon's intensive training, it had quickly grown into a mechanical terror, utterly obedient to the one who had raised it and willingly destroying anything else that came before it. Machine Dramon had never been happy, had laughed, had never enjoyed anything, even the destruction it wrought. Puppetmon had never seen anything so completely emotionless - a cold, emotionless killing machine.
Now that creature was gone, and in its place was something completely different: a spunky little character who played games in the mud and wasn't afraid to talk back to strange Mega Digimon. He'd committed himself to a Digidestined - had proven he was willing to fight, maybe even die for a human kid in glasses. Was that what he meant when he talked about this friendship stuff?
No, that was dumb, thought Puppetmon irritably. And yet, just thinking about it brought back memories of the old days, a long, long time ago, when he'd still been just a Rookie. He'd had playmates back then, a whole village full of Mushroomon and Floramon. Life had been so much easier back then, with nothing to think about but making sure he had something to eat and a comfortable place to sleep, and the rest of life had been fun and games. Even back then, he'd always been the most powerful, the most cunning, the most skilled. It didn't matter the game - he always won. That had been everything to him: playing, winning, and moving on to the next game, searching for something new to challenge him. It got to the point where no one would dare contest him, knowing that he would only beat them mercilessly. Instead, they avoided him, leaving him to take out his frustrations on whatever wandering Digimon might pass by. Then something new happened: he Digivolved to Champion. Suddenly, he wasn't just an annoyance to his peers, he was a danger. If he had beaten them all at their games, what couldn't he do now that he was so much more powerful than the rest of them? They had banded together and driven him out of the village to wander alone, looking for something to alleviate his boredom. Then Piedmon appeared...
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know. Nowhere, I guess..."
"I understand you've been looking for games to play... a true challenge."
"Yeah? So?"
"I see potential in you. Why don't you let me train you? With my help, you can become so much greater than you are now that there can be no comparison. Your toys will be the lives of Digimon, and the entire Digital World will be your plaything..."
He hadn't thought he'd ever get a better offer than that, so he had gone along with it. True to his word, Piedmon had taught him to harness the powers of a Mega and had given him a sizeable chunk of the world to do as he would with. Now here he was, so high at the top of the game that there was no competition left, nothing to do that he hadn't done a thousand times before... that, and jump when Piedmon said jump, which wasn't much fun at all. Face it, he told himself, for all his power, he was still nothing but one of Piedmon's pawns. He had everything he'd asked for and nothing he wanted. He could do anything now, except, it seemed, make friends.
*Or can I?* he wondered. *It's something I've never done before. It wouldn't be boring, anyway. Of course, Piedmon's gonna be ticked, but it's not like he doesn't deserve it. He's never done me any good. Nothing's gotten better for me, since I met him - if anything, it's gotten worse. This is the first time in my life I've stayed up all night worrying. Maybe Kokuwamon's got the right idea, after all...*
Except, of course, that if everything had gone the way Piedmon had planned it, Kokuwamon was probably having a hard time right now. Perhaps the first move he made in this new game should be to reverse that situation. Giving Piedmon trouble would definitely be fun. In fact, the more he thought about the idea, the more he liked it. Of course, to make that happen, he was going to have to win the trust of the Digidestined, which would be a complicated task if ever there was one. It would definitely require all his cleverness to make it happen.
*Maybe this is the challenge I've been looking for,* he thought.
He got up and went to the window, looking out at the forest. The sun was rising now, giving a golden cast to the treetops and turning the black sky to misty greys and golds. The Digidestined would be waking up soon and realizing that a member of their party had vanished. They would want some answers soon, and there was only one person in the forest who could provide them. Puppetmon nodded, his mind made up.
*It's time to find out.*
The Digidestined were all gathered around Izzy, trying to peer over each other's shoulders, while the Digimon on the ground tried to keep their paws, tails, claws, or roots from being stepped on as their partners jostled for position. Izzy did his best to ignore all of them, even though he privately thought that they'd be steaming up his computer screen if they breathed any closer to it. He frowned at the screen, staring at the readouts.
"What have you got for us, Izzy?" asked Tai.
"Nothing, nothing, and more nothing," Izzy replied. "I've tried, but I can't get a lock on him at all. It's as if he's just dropped off the face of the world."
"I knew it!" exclaimed Jim. "I knew something had happened to him, and you didn't believe me!"
"Quiet!" said Izzy. "I haven't tried everything yet. Just give me a minute. I might still be able to find something. The Digital World's just a big place to find one little Digimon in."
"This is hopeless," Jim said, turning and walking away. "We're never going to find him at this rate! You've been looking for him for almost an hour, and we're still right where we started."
"If you've got any better ideas, I'd like to hear them," said Izzy testily. "I'm doing all I can, Jim. Just be patient."
Jim sighed and sat down on a log, propping his chin in his hands. "It's really hard to be patient. I just feel like we're spinning our wheels and going nowhere."
"He's right, you know," said a new voice. "You're never going to find him like that."
Seventeen heads snapped around in unison to look for the source of the voice. Seeing that he had their attention, Puppetmon swung down out of the tree he'd been and landed in the middle of their campsite.
"What are you doing here?" asked Matt, scowling at him.
"It's my forest," Puppetmon replied.
"You're up to no good," Mimi accused. "I don't know what it is, but I know you are."
"No, I'm not!" said Puppetmon, shying away as he saw all the Digimon shooting him dangerous looks. "I don't want to mess with you guys! After what you did to Metal Seadramon, I didn't even want to get near you... I wouldn't have messed with you at all if Piedmon hadn't ordered it."
"Piedmon," Tai repeated. "He's your leader, right? I don't see what could be so scary about him. Sounds like some kind of dessert to me."
"Man, you don't know what you're talking about!" Puppetmon replied. "Believe me, the guy's crazy! I have nightmares about him!"
"So what are you doing talking to us?" Joe demanded.
"Maybe I'm getting tired of him pushing me around all the time," answered Puppetmon. "I'm not the fighting type. Me, I like to take it easy, play games, have a good time. Working for Piedmon is no fun at all. And... I had a talk with Kokuwamon last night, and he got me thinking. Made me think maybe, maybe I've got my priorities wrong."
"You've seen Kokuwamon?" asked Jim. "Where is he? You know, don't you?"
"Don't get all excited!" Puppetmon said. "I haven't got him, okay? I can tell you where he is, but it's not going to do you a lot of good. See, he's gone to Piedmon."
"What?" exclaimed several voices. "Why?"
"Because he belongs to Piedmon," he answered. "Or the Tag does. That's the same thing, isn't it?"
"You're lying," said Jim. "Kokuwamon's my Digimon, and he's no spy! He'd never work for Piedmon."
"Spy? Who said he was a spy? I never said he was a spy, I said he belongs to Piedmon. He doesn't even know it," Puppetmon replied. "Don't you think it's funny that the same day you blow up a great big ugly machine Digimon, a little baby machine Digimon shows up that can't remember any further back than the day you fought Machine Dramon?"
"I never noticed," said Jim. "I wasn't there when they fought him..."
"Hold it, hold it," Tai interrupted. "This is just getting crazy. You aren't trying to tell me that the cute little 'mon that's been following Jim around - that' Jim's partner is a - a Dark Master?"
"Bingo!" said Puppetmon.
"No way," said Kari. "You're making it up."
"I am not!" Puppetmon protested. "Look, would you like it better if I told you the whole story from the beginning? I was there from the start; I can tell you the whole thing."
"Well..." said Tai, looking around. He could see the others were curious, if cautiously so. He had to admit, he was feeling a bit curious himself. "All right. But you'd better make it good if you want us to believe you."
"It'll be good," said Puppetmon. "It all began years and years ago... probably before I was hatched. Even back then, Piedmon was a Mega. Some people think he was just born that way. I dunno. All I know is, he was powerful, and he had ambitions. He wanted the DigiWorld for himself, and he'd do whatever it took to get it. He started getting together followers - Devimon, Etemon, Myotismon - all kinds of uglies, but he wanted three partners to help him rule over all of them. The old legends say that the Digital World is held togther by the power of four Mega Digimon who control the earth, water, wind, and fire. If he brought together four Virus Megas, he thought he could override that power and take it for himself. He rules the castle in the Air himself. Out of the ocean, he took Metal Seadramon to rule the Water. He found me and trained me to rule the Earth. But he needed someone else to rule over the aspects of Fire, and he couldn't find anyone who suited him... so he waited.
"Meanwhile, your old buddy Gennai and a few of his friends had figured out what we were up to, and they wanted to put a stop to it. They chose nine kids - that's you guys - who had seen Digimon and believed in them, and they created nine Digi-Eggs that would hatch into your partners. They also designed nine Digivices and nine Crests to help you guys with the digivolving thing, but before they could finish, Piedmon brought his army in and busted things up. Gennai put up a good fight, I'll say that much - hijacked a Mechanorimon and took off with what he could salvage. He got most of the eggs and their Crests and carried them away to File Island, him 'em so even Piedmon couldn't find them. One of the eggs got lost on Server somewhere... I think that was you," Puppetmon said, nodding to Gatomon. "But one of the eggs wasn't ready yet. They hadn't finished making the Crest and binding everything down like it should be, so it was still in the work station. Piedmon found the silver egg and the Tag and decided to keep them.
"See, the Crest was never finished - it's blank. There's power there, but nothing to focus it, so anyone can use it if they want to bad enough. All Piedmon had to do was finish the binding and he'd have himself a Digimon he could raise any which way he wanted. First he thought he'd nab a human somewhere and bind the Crest to them, but he decided he didn't want to put that much trust in anyone. Then he thought he'd bind it to himself, but he found out that if he did that, it would work both ways - he'd be bound to it, too, and that meant anyone who got hold of it would be able to use it to control him. You can bet he didn't like that. So instead, he looped it back to Kokuwamon. As long as Kokuwamon's separated from that Tag and that Crest, he can never be comfortable, and the longer they're apart, the worse it gets. Piedmon used to punish him by taking it away from him. So Kokuwamon never got any choice but to do as Piedmon said. Piedmon raised him up to Mega level and made him ruler of the city in the desert... up until you guys found him and blasted him. Now he's forgotten everything except that he needs that Crest back, and it's led him straight to Piedmon."
There was quiet for a while. Then Joe ventured, "You know, I hate to say it, but that almost made sense."
"It does explain a lot about how Kokuwamon's been behaving," said Izzy.
"So... he just left? Just like that?" asked Jim.
"Well... he did have a little help."
"So you're saying that you were the one that led him away, huh?" said Jim. "And now you're coming back being all friendly and saying you want to help?"
"I do!" Puppetmon insisted. "The whole time we were traveling, all Kokuwamon wanted to talk about was you - how great it is that he finally has a friend. Let me tell you, I've never met such a miserable Digimon as Machine Dramon was. Now he's different. Whatever he's got, it's better than anything Piedmon has to offer. I want to know what it is."
There was a pause, as everyone looked at Puppetmon, at Jim, and at each other, wondering what was going to happen now. Matt thoughtfully reached for his Crest and studied it.
"I think he's telling the truth," he said. "Let's give him a chance."
Puppetmon nodded. "I'm not asking much. If just one of you trusts me, I can help you."
"What are you going to do?" asked Sora. "Can you bring Kokuwamon back?"
"Me? No way. Piedmon would know what I was up to and chop me into chopsticks before I'd taken two steps," Puppetmon replied. "Right now, the only one who's got even a chance of bringing Kokuwamon back is him."
"Me?" Jim said.
"Right. You're his partner. You're the only thing that's kept him away from Piedmon for this long. Now he's back under Piedmon's influence again. If anyone else tried to take him back, Piedmon would make him attack, and he wouldn't be able to stop himself. You're the only one who has a chance."
"Are you sure the rest of us can't come along?" asked TK. "I don't want to be left behind!"
"Nah, kid, you don't want to go to Piedmon's castle," Puppetmon answered, shuddering. "It'll be hard enough sneaking one Digidestined in, but to take all nine of you... no way. We'd be caught and we'd all be in trouble. You don't know what kind of nasties he's got up there. Vilemon by the truckload... demons... things I don't even want to think about. Don't worry, I'll go along and protect your buddy. You guys need to keep your heads down for a while."
"You want us to just sit here?" Tai exclaimed.
"No, I want you to get out of here," answered Puppetmon. "When I get to Piedmon's castle, I intend to break all my links with him. That means this place is going to go up in smoke pretty soon. You guys need to head for safer territory."
"Is there anywhere safe in this crazy place?" Mimi asked.
"Multitask City," Puppetmon replied. "That's the place Machine Dramon used to rule. Since he's not there at the moment, it should be pretty safe. Just don't irritate the Tankmon and you'll be fine."
"Multitask City," Izzy repeated, clicking the keys on his computer. "Got it. That's almost due south from here. We should be able to find it with no problems... assuming we're going. Are we going?"
"What do you think, guys?" asked Tai. "How much do we trust this guy?"
"Me personally?" Joe replied. "I think this is about the craziest thing we've ever even considered doing, letting a Dark Master tell us what to do... but since he's the only one who knows where Kokuwamon is and what to do if someone finds him, I guess we don't have a choice."
"He's right," said Jim. "There is no choice. Kokuwamon's my partner, and I'm going to try to save him, whatever the cost might be."
"Well, if you're willing to take the risk, I guess we are too," Tai replied. "Multitask City it is. Where should we meet up later?"
Izzy checked his map. "Looks like there's a cathedral near the edge of the city. That shouldn't be hard to find. How about you meet us there?"
"Can do," Puppetmon replied. "Now, getting to Piedmon's castle might be harder. Lemme see if I've got something for that. Hold on a minute."
He turned around and jumped into the trees again. There was a rustling overhead, and then he dropped back to the ground, carrying a sack. He tipped it over, dumping its contents onto the ground. Inside was a large folded piece of paper and a number of small dolls, each representing a different Digidestined or Digimon.
"Here we go," he said, unfolding the paper. "Piedmon made these for me. Pretty cool, huh?"
"What are they?" Kari asked, coming closer to look. The paper, she could see, was a map, showing the Digital World in rough but accurate detail.
"Fast transportation," Puppetmon replied. "Too bad it only works inside my forest, or we could just zap your pal back here and be done with it."
"How can you transport anyone with that thing?" asked Izzy. "It's just a map and a bunch of toys."
"It's magic!" Puppetmon replied.
"No such thing," Izzy scoffed. "All magic is just trickery and technology."
"Oh, yeah?" answered Puppetmon. "Too bad I can't hang around to hear you explain this. You ready, whatever your name is?"
"Jim," answered Jim. "And I am. I think."
"Good enough," Puppetmon replied. "See you guys in Multitask City!"
With that, he picked up two dolls, a miniature Puppetmon and a dark-haired boy in
glasses, and set them on the edge of the paper. As soon as they touched it, there was a blink of light, and he and Jim disappeared.