[Okay, okay, okay. I know it's been three weeks. I'm also quite sure you could care less about my explanation. However, this chapter is extra long. In fact, it brings the total length of my work to over 200 typed pages (12 pt. font, single-spaced). I think you'll all enjoy a quick recap. As you recall, last time the DigiDestined and Tamers ganged up on NightmareOmnimon, but the evil virus made yet another escape through a dimensional rip. Even though the virus is now fully armed, thanks to the data he acquired from the D-Reaper that allowed him to bring his true weaponry online, the DigiDestined chased after him, leaving the Tamers behind to face their own enemy. Now, as the DigiDestined head toward their destiny, an opportunity comes to them to reflect. Now then, I also think that if I keep you waiting any longer you'll begin hurling vegetables at my head, and so…]
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As the DigiDestined and their digimon passed through the great ring of energy, they felt a sudden burst of acceleration as they were swept along down an immense tunnel of pure light, circling about them on all sides. There were bits of debris of every type and size adrift in the corridor. The digimon had to weave between and dodge everything from rocks to tangled clumps of foliage to packets of pure data. While this proved an easy task for the more nimble digimon like Wargreymon and Valkyrimon, the big boys such as Imperialdramon had a much tougher time, and usually ended up just plowing through obstacles.
"Kick it up a notch!" Tai shouted from the head of the group. "If we're gonna' catch NightmareOmnimon we can't let him get too far ahead of us!"
"So where do you think this tunnel leads?" Metalgarurumon called out.
"Beats me," said Matt. "But I'll bet you NightmareOmnimon is at the end."
"I smell virus!" Diaboromon announced as he used the floating debris to springboard himself along the tunnel.
"Is he close?" asked Willis from atop MegaGargomon.
"Not far…" said Diaboromon.
"Let's make sure he stays down this time," Metalseadramon snarled.
"Whoa!" Magnadramon gasped as she dodged below an oncoming boulder in the nick of time. "This place is dangerous!"
"We should be careful," said GrandKuwagamon. "This feels like a trap!"
"Of course it's a trap!" Metalgarurumon called back. "But we still have to face him here and now!"
"Hey guys!" Tai called out. "Brace yourselves!"
Everyone tightened their grips as they realized that they were drawing very swiftly to the end of the tunnel. Before them they saw an immense wall of solid light as they approached it extremely rapidly.
"Hang on!" shouted Wargreymon.
"We're going in!" yelled Metalgarurumon.
In the next instant, the DigiDestined and their digimon slammed into the infinite sea of brilliant white light. Upon passing through the great barrier, they all felt completely disconnected, as though they were floating in a realm without sound or gravity or even substance, just light.
"Where am I?" asked Davis, noticing that his voice lacked any echo whatsoever.
No response came to Davis' question from any direction. He continued to float there for a short time, realizing that any attempt to call out to the others would very likely prove useless.
"Imperialdramon?" asked Davis, still surprised by the apparent muteness of his voice. "You out there?"
Again, there was no answer. Davis hung his head, having no idea what was going on. He began to have serious doubts about following NightmareOmnimon into this vortex. Then, Davis began to notice a slight sensation. It was very slight, but Davis could distinctly feel his senses returning to him. Very soon, distinct shapes began to appear within the light. The feeling of gravity seemed to return as Davis found himself drawn down onto a flat, solid surface. This was followed closely by the return of sound and smell. Even taste returned, and Davis first realized how much he'd missed the taste of fresh air. He felt a slight breeze drift across his skin. Finally, the light died out and left behind it a scene as real as anything else Davis could have experienced.
"Wicked…" said Davis.
He found himself outdoors on a cool, starry night. The air seemed crisp and clean, and a thick forest of ancient trees lay on all sides. Lush vegetation under a remarkably clear sky was just about all that Davis could make out from where he stood in a small clearing.
"Check it out," said a voice behind him.
Davis quickly turned to find that Yolei was there with him.
"Hey, you're here too," said Davis.
"Now if only we knew where 'here' was," said Yolei. "Any thoughts?"
"Duh! We'll find someone and ask them," said Davis.
"I guess that's the direct approach," said Yolei.
"Come on, this way!" Davis said in an unusually cheerful manner.
Davis marched off into the woods without even the slightest notion of where he was going. Yolei just shrugged her shoulders and followed. Meanwhile, Ken, Cody, TK, and Sora found themselves in a similar situation. They had all emerged together inside of what they quickly realized to be a very cramped broom closet.
"Uh… I'm stuck," said Ken.
"Me too," said TK. "Can anyone get to the doorknob?"
"It's jabbing me in the back as we speak," said Sora. "Hey! Whose hand is that?!"
"I'm sorry, but I think that's mine," said Cody.
"Ach! I think I just stepped in a bucket of water!" said TK.
"Hey! Watch it TK!" said Sora. "You almost stuck me in the eye with that broom handle."
"I'm finding it a little hard to breathe down here," said Cody.
"How the heck did we even get here to begin with?!" asked Ken.
"And where are our digimon?!" asked TK.
"I don't know about you, but I think this is crowded enough as is!" said Cody.
"Stupid doorknob!" said Sora.
As the struggling for freedom grew more and more intense, Sora managed to turn the doorknob just enough to open the door. Of course, this meant that all four DigiDestined came tumbling out and onto the hard, thinly carpeted floor of an office hallway. As they exchanged moans and groans they all began to look up and around, soon coming to realize that they were not alone. Surrounding them were no less than half a dozen Bakemon, and they did not look friendly.
"Tai?" asked Joe. "Hey Tai, you okay?"
"Stupid keys…" said Tai as he tenderly rubbed his upper thigh.
Tai and Joe, as well as Izzy had materialized in midair a few moments before, several feet over a stone bridge that crossed a familiar little water duct. There was a light fog blanketing the ground, and the sky overhead was deep in the cloak of night. They could immediately tell that they were in a city from all of the buildings around them. The buildings weren't really big though, most of them being three stories or less, with the exception of several apartment buildings.
"Weird," said Joe as he looked around.
"This is most peculiar," said Izzy. "Why do you suppose we're here?"
"Where do you think we are?" asked Tai, still in pain from the fall.
"Isn't it obvious?" asked Izzy. "Look around. Don't you recognize it here?"
"You know…" said Tai following Izzy's instructions. "It does seem pretty familiar."
"It should," said Izzy. "Welcome back to Highton View Terrace: home to inexplicable monster sightings and birthplace of our team of DigiDestined. Ahead of us, I believe you'll find some VERY familiar apartments. If you'll direct your attention to the rear, I believe you'll see the causeway that we've managed to destroy not once, but twice."
"Please don't tell me there're T-shirts available in the gift shop," said Joe.
"Hey, blowing up that bridge wasn't our fault the first time," said Tai. "It was Parrotmon's doing."
"And the second time?" asked Izzy.
"Well… that was mostly Sora and Birdramon's fault," said Tai. "But that Mammothmon was asking for it."
"Uh-huh…" said Izzy.
"Wait a minute," said Tai. "If we're here, then where are the others?"
"I'm sure they must be around here somewhere," said Joe. "Come on. I bet if we look we can find them pretty quickly and then hunt down NightmareOmnimon together."
"Well I guess we don't have anything better to do," said Izzy.
"That's the spirit!" said Tai.
"Lead on," said Izzy.
Elsewhere, five more DigiDestined were having a rough time. Somehow, Jack, Mimi, Kari, Michael, and Willis had shown up in New York on a sunny day. They found themselves on a small, cement balcony looking out onto the busy street below. They looked to be in an apartment complex. The broad windows looking into the apartment behind them were covered by closed curtains.
"Wow," said Willis. "This was unexpected.
"Where'd Metalseadramon go?" asked Michael.
"Where did WE go?" asked Kari.
"And how do we get down?" asked Mimi.
"Well, there's the obvious way," said Jack, motioning to the closed door behind them.
"What if it's locked?" asked Michael.
"Only one way to find out," said Jack, reaching for the handle.
The door slid smoothly open with only minimal effort.
"After you," said Jack.
"Are you sure we should?" asked Mimi. "What will it look like if we go traipsing through someone else's apartment? What if they're home?"
"Hey I just open doors," said Jack. "One of you guys can be the smooth-talker."
"Alright, stand back," said Michael. "I'll handle this."
"Actually, I think I've got it covered," said Willis, stopping Michael from taking another step forward. "I can talk my way through anything."
"No, really, I can handle it," said Michael.
"I don't think you can," said Willis. "That's why I'm going in first."
"Just what's THAT supposed to mean?"
"That means whatever you want it to mean."
"Jeez!" said the exasperated Kari.
"Do you boys have to turn EVERYTHING into a competition?" asked Mimi.
"Come on, we'll handle this," said Kari.
Kari and Mimi walked straight ahead into the apartment. Willis and Michael blushed in embarrassment.
"Going in?" asked Jack.
"Of course," said Willis, smoothing his hair.
"Keep your shirt on," said Michael, sticking his hands in his pockets.
Jack watched the two guys trying to mask their embarrassment as they followed after Mimi and Kari.
"We don't have time for this…" Jack muttered with a sigh, following the others and closing the door behind him.
By that time, Davis and Yolei had nearly made it through the thick jungle, but not unscathed.
"Well that was fun," Yolei said sarcastically. "Do you suppose there could've been anything else back there with needles on it?"
"Oh calm down," said Davis dryly. "Those probably weren't poisonous. Just be glad YOU'RE not the one who fell into that giant patch of poison ivy."
"Oh boohoo," she returned mockingly. "Look, there's a clearing up ahead. Maybe there's someone there who can help us."
"Let's hope so," said Davis.
The intrepid adventurers soon emerged from the dense trees onto a small strip of land that surrounded a small lake. Oddly enough, there appeared to be a couple of ruined power structures projecting from the water, corroded with age and with their power lines dangling, lifeless. A piece of land higher than the surrounding terrain jutted into the water. Atop it was a small campfire and what appeared to be a streetcar.
"Hey, look," said Davis.
"Awesome!" said Yolei. "Where there's a campfire, there's people!"
Davis and Yolei took off running toward the small hill. They reached it soon enough, and as the scrambled up to the higher ground, the campfire came into view, as did the two figures sitting next to it.
"Hey there!" Davis called out, waving.
The two figures turned around suddenly, obviously taken by surprise.
"What the…?" asked all four at once.
Davis and Yolei couldn't believe their eyes. There sat Tai and Agumon, but Tai was definitely younger than he should've been. In fact he looked to be only eleven years old or so. Tai was equally surprised to see two new unexpected guests arrive. He'd started to think that he and his friends were the only humans in this crazy place.
"Oh man…" muttered Davis. "What's going on?"
"I was wondering that myself," said the young Tai.
"Uh, hi there," Yolei said nervously.
"Are you more humans?" asked Agumon.
"Sure, I guess," said Yolei, still a bit confused.
"So there ARE more people here!" Tai said excitedly. "Agumon! Go wake up the others, quick!"
"Right away!" said Agumon, dashing off to the streetcar.
"It's so great to see you!" said Tai. "You wouldn't believe the day we've had. First we were all at summer camp, but it started SNOWING of all things. Then there was this huge light in the sky and it—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…" said Davis. "Today is now officially the weirdest day I've ever experienced. What is WITH this virus?!"
"Um, look Tai," said Yolei.
"Huh?" asked Tai. "How do you know my name?"
"Oh, uh… long story," said Yolei.
"What's going on?" asked a youthful Sora, who had just emerged from the streetcar with TK, Mimi, Joe, Izzy, Tentomon, Palmon, Gomamon, Patamon, Biyomon, Gabumon, and Agumon.
"Is someone there?" asked eight-year-old TK, rubbing his eyes tiredly.
"Check it out," Davis whispered.
"TK is adorable as a little kid!" Yolei cooed.
"Who are they?" asked Mimi.
"Beats me," said Tai.
"I'm Davis and this is Yolei. Nice to meet you."
"So where did you come from?" asked Izzy.
"Hopefully it's someplace with WORKING phones," Joe said, adjusting his glasses.
"Well, technically…" Yolei began to say.
"You guys are sure being rude," said Mimi. "Come on, the least we could do is invite them to sit down first."
"I suppose," said Tai with a shrug.
"Hey, where's Matt?" asked TK.
"Oh who knows," said Tai. "That jerk wandered off somewhere."
"We're looking for some of our friends ourselves," said Yolei. "Maybe if we work together we can find your friend and ours as well."
"Seems like a good idea to me," said Tai.
"No way!" said Joe. "My parents always told me not to go anywhere with strangers!"
"Oh grow up," said Tai. "Don't be such a baby."
"I'm not being a baby!" Joe fumed. "I'm just being careful!"
"This bickering is getting us nowhere," Izzy pointed out.
"Jeez," Yolei whispered to Davis. "No wonder they never told us much about their first few days here."
"No kidding," Davis replied.
"Hey! Guys!" called out a familiar voice from the forest.
All heads turned to look, and they saw not one, but two Matts. It was the elder Matt that had called out, and the younger stood beside him.
"Matt!" said Davis and Yolei together as they began to run toward their friend.
"You'd think today couldn't get any stranger," said Sora.
"But you'd be wrong," Izzy added.
"Matt!" Tai called out. "Where've you been?"
"What?" asked both Matts simultaneously.
"I think he meant me," said the younger Matt.
"Oh, right," said the older.
"Okay! That's enough! Hold it!" Yolei said over the voices of everyone else. "Today, I've had to deal with WAY too much! I've been captured by an evil computer virus, found out he was controlling the hottest guy I've had the chance to meet this year, fought my way out of his dungeon, had a long talk with the Sovereigns, resurrected Protomon, saw the birth of the evilest digimon we've EVER fought, saw Protomon get killed, had fight after fight with NightmareOmnimon, met some kids from a whole different UNIVERSE, and now I'm stuck in the PAST! It's too much!"
"Whoa," said Joe, taken aback.
"Oooookay…" said Tai.
"Wow, you should count to ten or something," Davis suggested.
"I do NOT need to count to ten!" screeched Yolei. "I need to go home! I'm tired! I'm filthy! I've never been this sore in my entire life! All I want is to go home and take the longest bath in history! Is that too much to ask?!"
At that moment, an immense wall of water surged up from the lake, forming a great pillar of water that hung in the sky for a moment before it came crashing down again, drenching everyone around. Looming overhead was an irritated Seadramon, lured to the surface by Yolei's shouting.
"Well, at least you're not filthy anymore," said Davis, laughing a little as water continued to rain down on all sides.
Yolei just looked back at him, utterly drenched and looking endlessly defeated.
"Down!" the elder Matt shouted, tackling Davis and Yolei and shoving them beneath Seadramon's tail as it whipped out to strike at them.
"Please don't eat me Mr. Sea Monster, sir!" Joe begged. "I taste terrible, really! I love fish, I swear! I mean, not that I love to eat them! I've never even eaten sushi! Oh PLEASE don't kill us!"
"Oh grow up, Joe!" scolded Sora.
"Agumon!" Tai called out, holding his digivice at the ready. "Think you're up for a little fight?"
Agumon flexed his muscles and began to snarl, but after a few seconds his strength simply quit on him. He could tell it wasn't going to happen.
"Sorry Tai," said Agumon dejectedly. "Digivolving twice in one day is too hard."
"We'd better come up with a plan!" said Biyomon.
"I don't suppose he'd leave us alone if we asked him," said Tentomon, hiding behind a tree with Izzy.
"That situation seems highly implausible," Izzy remarked.
Suddenly, Seadramon reared his head back and then unleashed his fearsome Ice Blast attack. Everyone was dodging left and right to avoid the hail of deadly frigid projectiles, but the younger Matt made the mistake of rolling right into the water, where he was instantly seized in the unbreakable grasp of Seadramon's tail. Seadramon held Matt up in the air, eyeing his prey carefully so as to figure out the best way to start his meal.
"Matt!" TK cried.
"Hold on!" Gabumon called out. "I'm coming for you!"
"Hurry!" Matt grunted.
"Come on guys!" said Gomamon. "Let's teach this overgrown guppy what happens when you mess with our friends!"
"Right!" said the other digimon.
"Pepper Breath!"
"Spiral Twister!"
"Super Shocker!"
"Boom Bubble!"
The four attacks knocked Seadramon upside the head, throwing him off balance, but doing virtually no damage thanks to his heavy-duty head protection.
"Poison Ivy!" Palmon called out, wrapping her vines around Seadramon's throat, holding him in place.
"Marching Fishes!" Gomamon yelled as a torrent of colorful digi-fish began to leap from the water and pound at Seadramon from all sides, but they had no more effect than any of the previous attacks had.
Seadramon began to thrash his body around, yanking Palmon up into the air and tossing her to the other side of the lake.
"Don't worry! I'm on my way!" Gabumon called out as he treaded water toward the great sea snake.
"Look out, Gabumon!" the younger Matt cried out.
Seadramon saw the approaching Gabumon and got ready to fire his Ice Blast. However, the warning came too late, and the bitter cold attack rained down on Gabumon, freezing him in a block of ice.
"Gabumon!" young Matt cried out.
Suddenly, a golden glow shot from the digivice clutched in the young Matt's hand. The light washed over Gabumon, and he felt a sudden surge of power.
"Gabumon, digivolve too…!"
There was an explosion of light from the field of ice.
"Garurumon!" shouted the great wolf digimon, hurtling upward toward Seadramon's bony face.
"Whoa…" the younger DigiDestined all gasped in surprise.
Garurumon slammed himself into Seadramon's face and dug in with all four claws. Seadramon thrashed wildly as Garurumon continued to gnaw at him from every angle. In the struggle, Seadramon's tail slackened, allowing Matt to fall back into the water and make a mad dash for dry land. Seadramon meanwhile gave a terrific series of bucks, finally tossing Garurumon from his head. Garurumon back-flipped toward land, making a graceful landing next to the others. Seadramon shook his head for a second before his eyes came to rest again on Garurumon.
"Wow," said Joe.
"Totally cool!" said Tai.
"No kidding," said young Matt, still gasping for air.
"That's Garurumon!" Tentomon explained. "He's a powerful wolfish digimon with fur as hard as diamonds and an attack that'll send almost anyone down for the count: Howling Blaster!"
Seadramon again pulled his head back as he got ready to fire his Ice Blast a third time, but Garurumon was ready for him now.
"Ice Blast!"
"Howling Blaster!"
The two attacks discharged and fired toward each other, colliding in the middle between Seadramon and Garurumon, each trying to overpower the other.
"Get him, Garurumon!" the elder Matt cheered.
"Come on!" shouted Yolei.
"You can do it!" said Davis.
Garurumon's eyes were awash with fury, as he forced all his power into the attack. The blistering cold attack punched through Seadramon's technique, knocking the sea monster for a loop and sending him cowering back to the bottom of the lake. With the threat of Seadramon dealt with, Garurumon collapsed into a laying position and de-digivolved back into Gabumon. The reptilian, fur coat-wearing digimon lay on his belly, tired but strangely happy.
"Gabumon! You saved me… you saved all of us," said the young Matt, still quite surprised.
"Ah, it was nothing," Gabumon panted.
The younger Matt moved in, giving Gabumon an approving scratch behind the ears.
"Wow," said the elder Matt. "I think I've been doing this too long."
"Huh?" asked Davis.
"Look at that," said Matt. "That was my first real digimon fight. That was the first time I really began to think about myself as being really valuable. Somehow, Gabumon, someone I hardly knew from a dimension I'd never heard of, actually cared for me. He threw himself into danger, just because we were partners. He actually cared about me… I hadn't felt that in a long time."
Without warning, an extremely bright light welled up beneath the surface of the water. A wave of distortion, not unlike those that surrounded NightmareOmnimon, shot out from the lake, washing over the entire scene. Everything and everyone, except for Davis, Yolei, and the elder Matt, seemed to melt away into infinite darkness. Now, all that remained was the glassy surface of the water with the strong light dwelling therein.
"What was that?" asked Yolei.
"That would be what we need to do now," said Matt, a look of renewed determination in his eyes. "Come on. NightmareOmnimon's waiting for us, and I think we'll find him in that lake."
Davis gulped nervously. He had a definite sense of foreboding about all this, but he knew that he would have to go to face his destiny along with all the others. Yolei had the same misgivings, but much stronger than her apprehensions was her desire to just get it all over with. Matt took point, walking forward into the water. Davis and Yolei followed close behind him.
By this time, Ken, Cody, TK, and Sora had been stuck in the lobby of the familiar Odaiba convention center, along with hundreds of other people. A cadre of Bakemon watched over every move being made, or at least they tried to.
"Stupid time travel," Sora said with frustration, reclining on a wooden bench.
"Can nothing ever go right today?" TK sighed as he sat on the cold floor.
"So where, uh, when exactly are we?" asked Cody.
"Smart money says four years ago," said TK. "August 4th, 1999. Myotismon has come to town and we're all stuck here under the watchful eyes of his cronies."
"Swell," said Ken, pacing nervously. "Now we're even further in the past."
"The question is, what do we do about it?" asked TK.
"There's not much we can do," said Sora. "These Bakemon will be watching us like hawks. I remember we did make a few escape attempts though, so maybe we can get out during one of those."
"Okay, so what do we do in the meantime?" asked Ken.
"Looks like we're waiting it out," said TK.
"Ooh, this is so irritating," Cody said, sounding unusually agitated. "It seems like we've either been locked in a massive battle or just sitting around doing nothing all day!"
"Cody's right," said Ken. "I need to do something that doesn't involve just sitting around or trying not to get killed. I think I'll go talk to some of the other people here. Who wants to come with me?"
"I'm up for it!" Cody said immediately.
"Count me out," said TK. "I need to sit here for a few minutes to clear my head."
"I'm not going anywhere," said Sora. "The last thing I need right now is to run into myself. Explaining that would take more energy than I've got to spare right now."
"Well, alright," said Ken. "We'll be back soon."
Ken and Cody took off, wandering amongst dozens of nameless faces. They all seemed scared and uncertain. Bakemon were everywhere, hovering menacingly. All exits were under close guard.
"Security looks tight," said Ken.
"If only Armadillomon was here…" said Cody.
"Hey, don't worry, Cody," said Ken. "We'll find him again. We'll all be back together again soon enough, and then we'll put a stop to NightmareOmnimon for good."
"But…" Cody hesitated. "But what if… you know."
"Huh?"
"What if we can't win?"
"Cody, he might be very strong. He might be the strongest of all digimon. The fact remains that he is a digimon though, and that makes him mortal, just like everything else. Thanks to Protomon, the virus has no way of escaping from that body. I know that if we all work together, we can put a stop to this, just like we've always done before."
Cody stopped walking.
"But… what if I don't want to kill him?"
"What?" Ken asked, also coming to a stop.
"I don't want to kill him. It's too much. We've already seen so many people and digimon get hurt or killed… I just don't think I can do it."
Ken sighed and closed his eyes. After a moment of quiet reflection, he knelt down so that he was eye to eye with Cody.
"I know what you mean," said Ken after a few seconds. "Believe me, I know it all too well. When I remember who I was back then—back when I was the Emperor—I feel so terrible. I can't even count how many innocent digimon I tortured and killed. I can't begin to imagine what it was like for them. I would give anything to see this all resolved without anyone else being hurt. Believe it or not, I want to save NightmareOmnimon more than anyone else does, but that's just not going to happen. Trying to save his life might mean that hundreds or even thousands of others might lose theirs. I know it's not a perfect solution, but we're the only ones who can stop him now. Do you understand?"
"Yeah, I guess…" Cody said, hanging his head.
"Hey, don't worry about it. Just think of this as one last big fight. After it's over with, none of us will have to do anything like this ever again."
"Psst!" someone whispered from behind Ken. "Hey!"
Ken and Cody turned their attention to the source of the sound. It was a boy tied to a wooden bench with his arms behind his back. He had thick, dark brown hair that hung down slightly over the right side of his face and matching brown eyes. He wore a yellow T-shirt with a black vest, brown shorts, tennis shoes and a pair of dog tags around his neck. He looked to be roughly twelve years old.
"Did you call us?" asked Cody.
"Keep it down!" the boy whispered back. "The Bakemon will hear you!"
Ken and Cody looked around at the nearby Bakemon, making sure they weren't paying too much attention. Then, slowly and subtly, the two crept toward the boy, sitting next to him on the bench.
"What is it?" Ken whispered.
"I could use a hand with these ropes," the boy said.
"I'm not having any luck at all," said a small, squeaky voice from behind the boy's back.
Ken and Cody immediately looked behind the boy's back, where they saw a small, purple and white digimon with a body like a Demiveemon and ears like a Koromon.
"Uh, Feramon?" asked the boy. "What does 'keep out of sight' mean to you?"
"Hey, that IS Feramon!" Cody exclaimed. "Does this mean…?"
"Hey, what's your name?" asked Ken.
"Oh, it's Jack," said the boy. "Look, as much as I enjoy introductions, these Bakemon are looking pretty edgy, and I for one won't be sitting around when they decide what to do with all of us."
"Oh, right, of course," said Ken, still visibly shaken that this was indeed the newest addition to the group, only years younger.
Ken began to work on the knotted ropes binding Jack's arms, while Cody began work on the ropes holding his legs.
"Hurry up," Jack urged nervously. "They could look this way any second."
"No, no, no," said Feramon. "You're pulling on the wrong end. Here, try this one."
"Hey, do you want this done quick, or do you want it done right?" asked Ken.
"Quick would be preferable," said Jack, noticing the approaching Bakemon patrol.
"Got it!"
"Got it!"
"Sweet!" Jack said, rubbing his now free wrists and moving his feet around.
"Hey, can we ask you a few questions?" asked Ken.
"Shoot," said Jack.
"First of all, how did you—"
"Hey! You!" a Bakemon called out. "What are you doing?!"
"Uh-oh!" said Cody.
"We'd better book!" said Jack.
Ken, Cody, and Jack, with Feramon holding onto his shirt for dear life, took off running further into the middle of the crowd, hoping to lose their pursuer. After a mad dash across the crowded lobby, they had returned to where Sora and TK were relaxing.
"What's up, guys?" asked TK, noting his friends' urgent demeanor.
"No time…" Ken panted.
"Bakemon… chasing…" Cody wheezed.
"Who's that?" asked Sora, pointing to Jack.
Before anyone could answer, six Bakemon floated down from above, surrounding the five humans with angry looks in their eyes.
"Pathetic humans!" said one Bakemon.
"We should punish them!" said another.
"But Lord Myotismon ordered us not to kill anyone," said a third.
"Relax," said the first. "He'll never know the difference."
"Hey, you're right!" said the third with an evil grin.
"Dark Claw!" all six called out at once.
But the attack never came. Instead, the entire scene had simply vanished into a sea of darkness. The building, the people, and the digimon had all simply vanished.
"What happened?" asked Sora.
"Hey, where'd he go?" Cody asked.
"Who?" asked TK.
"Jack," said Ken. "That was him with us, or rather him four years ago.
"What? Really?" asked TK in surprise.
"Hey, quiet down," said Sora. "Look."
All eyes focused dead ahead, where a very faint light began to appear in the midst of the darkness. It was like a pillar, shooting up and down. At the moment it was almost invisible, but over the next few seconds it grew brighter and more intense until it cut through the emptiness like a blade. The pure white light was ominous and foreboding. It was reminiscent of the cold, cruel light that inhabited NightmareOmnimon's eyes.
"I think we all know what we need to do," said Sora.
"He's waiting for us on the other side of that," said TK.
"No way around it now," said Ken.
"All we can do is push right on through the middle," said Cody.
All four of them headed into the light together.
"This was not exactly your most brilliant plan to date!" Tai shouted sarcastically.
"MY plan?!" Izzy shouted back. "It was Joe who said we should go looking for the others."
"Hey! How was I supposed to know?!" Joe asked defensively.
"Duck!" shouted Tai as another large piece of flying debris whizzed past them.
Only yards away, Greymon and Parrotmon had locked claws in a deadly embrace. Greymon braced his legs and dug his toes into the asphalt, pressing against Parrotmon with all his strength.
"Did you just not remember this happening?!" Tai yelled.
"Hey, what are the odds we'd appear on that particular night?!" Joe retorted.
"Guys, I REALLY think it might be best to continue this conversation later!" Izzy shouted.
"Izzy has a point," said Joe. "Let's get out of here. I for one don't want to end up on the bottom of someone's foot."
Izzy and Joe turned to go, but then they noticed that Tai didn't seem to be coming with them.
"Hey Tai, what's up?" asked Izzy.
"Look over there," Tai said as he pointed to where the much younger versions of Kari and himself sat, fixated on the fight.
"Yeah? What about them?" asked Joe.
"They're… uh, we're just sitting there," said Tai. "I remember it so vividly. I was absolutely terrified. I don't think I've ever been so scared in my life as I was this night."
With a mighty heave, Parrotmon rolled Greymon onto his back and discharged his Sonic Destroyer, collapsing the narrow causeway on top of the great dinosaur.
"Well, if it makes you feel any better, you're totally different now," said Joe. "I mean, come on, you're the bravest guy I think any of us have ever met."
"You're wrong," said Tai, watching himself carefully. "That little kid right there is much braver than me."
"What?" asked the other two.
"Just look at him," said Tai. "He's absolutely terrified, and yet…"
The young Tai sobbed, knowing that Parrotmon could strike at any moment, and Greymon seemed to be down for the count. He had no clue what to do. It was all so confusing. Then he spied the whistle hanging around his little sister's neck. An idea came to him.
"Well, it worked on me," said Tai.
The boy grabbed the whistle firmly and then filled his lungs to the breaking point. He then locked his lips onto the whistle and blew with all his might, producing a loud, shrill ringing that echoed between the closely spaced buildings. He blew and blew until he simply could not sustain it anymore, finally let go to gasp for breath. He looked up at Greymon, just as the monster's large, pink eye opened wide.
"And yet he faces his fears with more courage than I've ever seen," Tai said to his friends. "I haven't felt courage like that in a long time."
"Well maybe this is your chance," said Izzy.
"What do you mean?" asked Tai.
"Think about it," said Izzy. "Right now, we need your courage and leadership more than ever."
"He's right, Tai," Joe chimed in. "Without you, we would've all fallen apart long ago. We need you if we're going to stop NightmareOmnimon."
"You can't sit around here and envy that little kid," said Izzy. "But you can try to bring part of him back. Bring out that courage again and NightmareOmnimon can be beaten."
Tai thought about this for a moment. A broad smile slowly crossed his face and he gave the other two a thumbs-up.
"Let's do this," said Tai.
A brilliant flash of light overcame the three of them, and then they were gone.
"Seems nice enough," said Kari, remarking on the cozy look of the small apartment.
"More importantly, it looks like no one's home," said Michael. "Come on, let's just get out while the getting's good."
"Whoa," said Jack as he stepped inside and closed the balcony door. "I can't believe it."
"What is it?" asked Mimi.
"This is…er, was my apartment," said Jack. "I haven't been here in years though. Looks just like it used to."
"So what do you think we're doing here?" asked Kari.
"No, you don't understand," said Jack. "I mean it looks EXACTLY like it used to. I think we've gone even further into the past."
"Oh well that's just great," said Willis. "What could that stupid virus be up to?"
"I don't know, but as long as we're separated from our digimon we're vulnerable," said Michael.
"Let's just try not run into any of your family, Jack," said Kari.
"No kidding," said Mimi. "That sounds like an awkward conversation to have."
"Don't worry," said Jack. "My dad's probably off in some other country for some sort of business deal, and my mom will probably be down at the courthouse, given the time of day."
"How can you be so sure?" asked Willis.
"Because that's the way things have always been," said Jack. "When your dad's an executive for an international corporation and your mom is one of the busiest lawyers in the city, you don't see either of them very often."
"Oh Jack…" Kari said. "I'm so sorry…"
"Don't be. I'm used to it and we have bigger concerns at the moment. Besides, it's not like there aren't any perks to it. Confidentially, my family is loaded."
"But still…" said Kari.
"Shh!" Jack said suddenly. "Quiet!"
The others listened carefully. After a moment they began to hear sounds from behind one of the doors to another room inside the apartment. All five DigiDestined froze in their tracks, not knowing what to do. A moment later the door opened with a creak and out stepped a boy no more than eight years old and clad in teal, baggy pajamas. He had bushy brown hair that covered part of the right side of his face just slightly. He looked at the five intruders, his brown eyes growing as wide as saucers.
"Agh!" the boy cried out. "Wh-wh-who are you people?!"
"Whoa, whoa! Calm down now. Calm down," said Willis.
"Don't worry, we're not here to do anything bad," said Mimi.
"Hey, who're these guys?" asked a puny voice from behind the boy.
A moment later, a small purple ball-like digimon bounced out from the room the boy had just emerged from.
"Quick Geromon! Get 'em!" shouted the boy.
"What? You want me to fight?"
"Well do SOMETHING!"
"Give me a break here! I just hatched!"
"Okay, just calm down, Jacob," said Jack.
"Huh?" asked the boy. "How do you know my name?"
"I can explain everything, but first you have to stay calm," said Jack. "Did you just receive a device like this one?"
Jack presented his digivice to the boy.
"Hey! That looks just like mine!" said the boy as he produced a similar device.
"Hey, cool!" said Geromon.
"Now I want you both to be calm," said Jack. "We're not here to hurt you. We just need to talk to you about Geromon. Now I know that no one thinks clearly on an empty stomach. As I recall, there's a stack of pancakes sitting on the table for you, and they're not getting any warmer. Why don't you go fill up and then we can all talk. Would it be okay if Mimi here talked to you while you ate?"
"Um, sure, I guess so," said Jacob.
"Food?" asked Geromon.
"Alright, grab something to eat and I'll be happy to explain all of this. "Mimi? Could you maybe talk with them?"
"No problem," Mimi winked.
"Oh, and make sure Geromon doesn't eat ALL of it," added Jack.
Geromon bounded over to the table, followed by Jacob and Mimi.
"That's you, isn't it?" whispered Kari.
"Yeah," said Jack. "Is it that obvious?"
"Definitely," said Kari. "Although I must say, you were pretty cute back then."
"What happened?" asked Michael jokingly.
"Very funny," said Jack.
"So… um, Jacob was it?" asked Willis.
"Don't start," said Jack. "I hate that name. Ever since I was eleven I've always called myself Jack and so has everyone else… well, except my parents, but you know how parents can be."
"Well I think Jacob's a great name," said Kari.
"Regardless, hanging out with 'mini-me' over there isn't going to get us anywhere," said Jack. "We've got to hurry and find NightmareOmnimon."
"Alright, alright, we'll go soon," said Michael. "Just relax for a minute."
"We're not going to accomplish anything by just sitting here on our hands!" said Jack.
"Whoa, calm down," said Willis. "What's the deal?"
"The DEAL?! I'll tell you the deal! Right now, there's a virus out there with unlimited power, a really bad attitude, and nothing to lose! One way or another it's got to go down, so either you're helping me or I'm doing it alone!"
"Where is all this coming from?" asked Willis. "Rushing in blindly is probably just what that thing wants."
"Hey! YOU weren't possessed by that thing! YOU haven't shared a mind with it! You don't have a clue what it's thinking! That… that THING must be stopped! It needs to pay for what it did!"
"To you?" Michael suggested.
"To everyone!" Jack said, trying to keep his voice low.
"But mostly to you," said Michael.
"Whatever," said Jack.
"No, I think that's it," said Michael. "This isn't about stopping the virus from destroying the world as we know it. This is about hurting him more than he hurt you. He crushed your pride so now you're going to return the favor."
"You have no clue what you're talking about."
"I think Michael's right," said Willis.
"So now you're ganging up on me?" asked Jack.
"We're not ganging up on you," said Willis. "I just think you're showing the darker aspect of your crest right now. Your honor might make you strong, but it's your pride that's hurting you."
"This is ridiculous," said Jack.
"Jack, you should listen," said Kari. "I've noticed it too."
"What?" asked Jack.
"I know you don't want to hear it," said Kari. "But you need to. Being too proud can only hurt you, not only in our fight against NightmareOmnimon, but throughout your life. The first step to seeing that is realizing that you are part of a team. You can't go off to face NightmareOmnimon on your own. None of us can do that. The true strength of the DigiDestined doesn't lie in our digimon, but in our teamwork."
"Come on dude," said Willis. "We're all going to need to be on the same frequency here. You're just as important to the team as the rest of us are; no more, no less."
"Look at that young lad over there," said Michael, motioning toward the table where Mimi sat, chuckling to herself as she watched the young Jack and Geromon fighting over the last pancake. "Just look at yourself. I can see something in that boy that tells me he's passionate. I see something in him that makes me think that he believes in himself and in his friends. I see that same thing in you, Jack, but it's hidden beneath your pride."
Jack looked long and hard at the young Jack and Geromon. He thought back to how it was all those years ago. It seemed like such a long time since he'd first met his partner digimon. He'd changed in many ways, some of which, he now saw, may not have been for the better.
"You're right," said Jack, very nearly tearing up. "I can't believe I didn't see this before."
"Hey, sometimes we can't always see our mistakes," said Willis. "When that happens, we can count on our friends to let us know, just as we can count on friends to lift us up when we see too many of our mistakes."
"We're trying to do what's best for you, Jack," said Kari. "In my opinion, that's what friendship is. I would love more than anything if after this is all over, we can all continue being friends."
"You can count on it," said Jack.
"Me too," said Mimi, who had quietly crept up on the group.
"How much of that did you hear?" asked Jack.
"Enough," said Mimi. "It was very sweet."
"Yeah, well, don't get all mushy on me," said Jack, clearly trying to cover up his emotional state. "Now come on. We've got important things to do and people to see."
"Alright," said Kari with a warm smile. "I think we can all go now."
"Are you guys leaving?" asked the young Jack.
"Yeah," said Mimi. "But don't worry, I'm sure you'll see all of us again someday."
"That's good. You're really nice. I can't wait to see you again, Mimi."
"Hey Mimi, what'd you two talk about?" Michael whispered.
"What can I tell ya'? I've got a way with kids."
There was a bright flash, and the five DigiDestined disappeared. The stage was now set. The players were ready to go. These fifteen DigiDestined had been through many trials. They overcame many obstacles. Now, only one thing stood between them and peace: NightmareOmnimon. The Corrupter was waiting for them to arrive, and when they did, a battle would take place to decide the fate of all worlds.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
[Don't go anywhere, because the next chapter will be the final battle with NightmareOmnimon. Will the DigiDestined come out on top once again, or will the evil computer virus exact his ultimate revenge? I expect that chapter to take a little while, so if you're looking for suggested reading, check out chapter three of this work if you want to refresh your memory on the conversation that led to the one Ken and Cody just had. Until next time…]