Chapter 2

Recap: Tai and the others have returned to the Digital World, where a new threat is causing worry, but no-one seems to know anything about this new character, who they are or what they're up to. Meanwhile, it has already known of their imminent arrival, and prepares for war...

"Alright, where do you think we should start?
"Probably in a town. Where's the nearest?"
"The nearest population of Digimon is...", Izzy tapped for a few seconds on his computer, "near Mount Miharashi. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, the Yokomon village. I remember." Biyomon had first digivolved to Birdramon while battling Meramon there.
"Good. Someone will be willing to answer our questions there."
"How long will it take to get there Izzy?"
"Approximately 1 and a half to 2 hours straight, longer if we include breaks."
"OOH! Do we always have to walk?!"
"Mimi, if you have a better answer, we'd love to hear it." That put Mimi in her place until they'd been walking for about half an hour.
"It's not the walking I mind, it's the boredom. At least in the mall there's things to look at, and you can stop for something to eat and you're not always in a hurry."
"MIMI!"
 "Sorry, are we there yet?"
"NO!"

Eventually they arrived at the village, which really hadn't changed much since the last time. Yokomon were crawling all over the place, but as soon as the group were spotted, the Yokomon surrounded the DigiDestined, especially Biyomon. After all the formalities had been taken care of-
"OK guys, the reason we're here is to ask some questions. We've heard that there's a new jerk in town, but no other info apart from that, and we were wondering if you guys knew anything."
 A silence came over the Yokomon as they seemed uneasy to talk. Eventually one of them, who appeared to be a spokesmon, bounced forward.
"We really haven't seen much, just heard rumours. You should talk to Meramon perhaps, he might know something."
 "Alright then, you heard the mon, it's up to Mount Miharashi." They started to walk towards the foot of the mountain when Sora noticed Mimi and Palmon weren't following.
"Not coming, you two?"
"No, I'm not."
"I would, but I'll stay with Mimi."
"Won't you be bored?"
"No. You guys go on, we'll stay here. Maybe... we can get some more info out of the Yokomon."
"Suit yourself." Sora ran to catch up with the others.
"What's with her?"
"Trying to get some more out of the Yokomon."
"Yeah... that's likely." Matt just couldn't hide the sarcasm in his voice.
"Well, nothing we can do about it. She'll be fine with Palmon if there's any trouble."
Meanwhile, a Flymon circled around the village in the sky above, and from its back, someone was watching...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Aha, the flower power girl's decided to stay behind, eh?"
"It would seem so, Your Grace." another voice came from the first speaker's shoulder.
"Hmm, seeing as she likes plants and she's alone, I think I'll send her a tree to give her a hug." the first voice chuckled. Then it opened up the manacle on the left arm and seemed to speak into a com device.
"Vrksasmon, go to the Yokomon village at Mount Miharashi, and deal with the troublemaker you find there with her partner." A woody voice came back over the com.
"At once, Your Grace. Will that be all?"
 "Until I issue further orders. You know what to do until then." The com device was switched off.
"I thought you wanted a worthy opponent to battle."
"Still do."
"Then why are you sending Vrksasmon to fight 1 DigiDestined who's on her own?"
"This is an opportunity too good to miss, my friend. I've seen them do battle before. Their teamwork is both efficient and powerful. If we can pick off one, even someone who is not the strongest in the group, something becomes lost from that team and they have to compensate more for that loss. The team becomes weaker as a unit because of that. It's like soccer, it's not just the quality of the players you have on your team, but your teamwork and tactics to overcome your opponent. War follows the exact same principle. Others thought the DigiDestined to be weak, and strength-wise, they were weaker, but working together gave them a strength none would have alone."
"So this is a tactical decision?"
"Exactly. You're getting the hang of this, my friend." The speaker turned to the Flymon.
"When you see Vrksasmon, try and see if you can go down lower without being seen. It's about time we saw some action."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The DigiDestined (bar Mimi and Palmon) had reached the lake on top of Mount Miharashi where the fiery Meramon lived, and had started to question him on what he knew, but it seemed he knew as much solid information as they did.
"I'm afraid I've not been much help to you guys. I wish I could do more, but I only get titbits of information from the bird Digimon who rest here. I've never really left this mountain since the battle against Piedmon."
 "Well, it was worth a try, and it's nice to see you again."
"Thank you, and I'll ask around for more info next time."
"You're welcome. See ya around, Meramon." The group started to walk back down the mountain.
"This is very mysterious, and very frustrating." Izzy certainly seemed a bit annoyed at something.
"What's the matter, Izzy?"
"Izzy's just miffed coz now there's something he knows nothing about."
"Wait a minute! I've just remembered something!" The group turned round to Meramon.
"I heard a Deramon saying that whenever there's been trouble recently, a Flymon has sometimes been seen in the area. I don't know if that'll be any help, but it might be something."
 "Cool, Meramon. Thanks a lot."
"Uh, guys, I don't know about you, but there's a Flymon over there, hovering above the village." Everyone looked at each other.
"MIMI!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mimi had been trying to talk more to the Yokomon about the recent troubles, but even turning the charm full on couldn't get much out of them, so she decided to dip her feet in the lake. Palmon was as welcome as her for the cold water on her feet (or in Palmon's case, roots). Suddenly there was chaos all around them, Yokomon flying in all directions, houses being demolished, and a huge tree -like Digimon running towards them.

"OH NO!! NIGHTMARE!!"
"Palmon, digivolve to... TOGEMON!"
 "Leave her alone, you over-sized shrub! Needle Spray!" The hard bark covering the Digimon simply repelled the cactus's primary attack.
"WILLOW WHOMP!" Togemon went flying as a branch extended and slammed into her. She then decided on a close-range attack.
"Light-Speed Jabbing!" The punches came in thick and fast as Togemon desperately tried to protect Mimi. No way was this enemy getting near her. Meanwhile, in a nearby patch of forest...
"Fancy getting in there while Togemon's occupied?"
"From what I see, Vrksasmon is doing quite well on his own."
"Sounds reasonable. No point wasting resources on what doesn't need them. We'll just sit back and enjoy the fun."

'Fun' definitely wouldn't be the word Togemon and Mimi would have used, as Togemon was getting pummelled by Vrksasmon and was now being used as a green punching-bag. The other DigiDestined arrived just as Togemon couldn't take much more punishment, and the other Digimon lost no time in digivolving to help their friend.

"Agumon digivolve to... Greymon!"
"Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!"
"Biyomon digivolve to... Birdramon!"
"Tentomon digivolve to... Kabuterimon!"
"Gomamon digivolve to... Ikkakumon"
"Patamon digivolve to... Angemon!"

Izzy quickly put up the Digimon Analyzer.

"Vrksasmon. Vegetation Virus, Ultimate Level. Attacks- Willow Whomp & Graft Saw. A tree Digimon that could easily cut most other Digimon down to size."
"Aw, nuts. The others are here. That's that strategy down the plughole." The com device was quickly activated.
"Vrksasmon, return to base."
"As you wish." The DigiDestined heard the order being given.
"Wonder what that's about." Joe pondered as Vrksasmon quickly made his exit.
"I'm telling you, whoever this is, is a right big chicken."
"I saw the Flymon land in the forest. Think we should go see what's there?"
"Good idea. Let's go."
"Uh oh, looks like we've had enough fun here for today." As the Flymon's rider remounted, she suddenly caught a look at one of the other girls in the group.
"Sora? I never noticed her when I last saw them all together. It's not like me to miss something like that."
"Your Grace, we have to go. If we wait any longer, they'll catch us."
"Right." The rider quickly snapped out and ordered the Flymon upwards. Not long after, the DigiDestined caught up to the spot only to see two figures jump off the Flymon to a nearby cliff and run off.
"Well, should we go after them?"
"Let it go. I'm sure they'll come out eventually, and we'll be ready when they do."

So, the new threat decides to make an appearance, and appears to know Sora. What's the connection? Well, keep reading to find out!