All the characters belong to Hongo Akiyoshi and Toei. All the prose is mine. I'm not a Mimi fan - can you tell? ^.^;; 

I'm going to be rewriting the previous parts to bring them more in line with the Japanese version. However, I rewrite so slowly that I don't think it's fair to make you wait on them. Hence, this part.

Thanks to Alan, because he'll recognise some of Koushirou's theories from our discussions.

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D3: SEEING RED

"Palmon . . . Darkevolve . . . ."

As Vandemon spoke the last word in a triumphant shout, darkness poured from the sky to hide Palmon from sight. All that was visible through it was a faint, purple glow that grew larger and brighter with each passing second. The glow began shaping itself, forming a leg, a hand, a pair of wings. . . .

With a parting smirk, Vandemon wrapped his cloak around him and a flight of bats rose squeaking into the clear, afternoon sky.

It was enough to break the fear and horror that had held them all immobile up until that point. Koushirou reached into his pocket to pull out his Digivice, and saw Hikari do the same at his side with her D3. The younger girl was looking a lot stronger - some of the colour had returned to her cheeks, and there was a determined light in her eyes. She had stopped leaning on him too.

Before they could evolve their Digimon and attack, however, Mimi screamed and ran towards her partner. Sora caught her arm and pulled her roughly back to the rest of them.

"Let me go! Let me go! Let me go!" Mimi shrieked, clawing and hitting at Sora with her free hand. Her nails cut the other girl's skin and caused blood to well up in her arms and cheeks, but she didn't loosen her grip on her by a fraction, "Let me go, Sora! Let me - " 

There was a sound like a whipcrack. Mimi stopped struggling and stared at Hikari in disbelief, her hand clutched to her cheek. A red mark spread between her fingers. Koushirou battled to choke down an incredulous, slightly hysterical laugh. The younger girl had crossed the gap between them, and had slapped Mimi with all her strength. Now, she stood with her fists clenched at her sides and a disgusted look in her cinnamon eyes.

"Stop it," Hikari's voice was cool, "You're just making everything worse. You always do this, and it always makes everything worse."

"Yagami Hikari! I can't believe you just did that! And how could you say that to her?" Miyako exclaimed in horror, "Mimi, are you okay?"

"I'm . . . I'm fine," Mimi sounded slightly stunned, "I . . . Hikari?"

The younger girl looked away from her, folding her arms across her chest.

"No bones broken this time, but there will be unless we do something about Palmon," Koushirou said briskly, feeling it was past time someone reminded them of the realities of the situation. Everyone turned to look at the evolving Digimon. The purple glow was fading as the darkness dissipated, and they could finally see what they would be facing.

Palmon's dark evolution didn't look as imposing as either Skullgreymon or Luperkalimon had. If her normal, ultimate form was a waterlily, then she was a poppy in this one. A cap made from a scarlet flower covered the profusion of thorny vines that grew from her head, and her dress was made from the same petals. An intricate, black symbol was tattooed across the one side of her face, while her lips were as a red as blood. Two, bright fangs jutted out over them. Wickedly sharp spurs protruded from her forearms and from her calves. On her back, she had a pair of dragonflies' wings, which vibrated almost too quickly to be seen. Her eyes darted around herself, as if unsure of her surroundings.

Koushirou glanced across to Mimi, and saw only stunned horror on her face. Her cheek still throbbed red from Hikari's slap; her eyes were wet, although she was not yet crying.

"Poppymon," Tailmon exclaimed, "I hoped it wouldn't be her."

"Nonsense. We can totally handle this," Miyako said confidently, pulling out her D3 and snapping it open with a practised flick, "That pixie looks like she'll be a pushover! Let's do it, Hawkmon!"

"As you wish, Miyako."

"Digimental Up!" Miyako yelled as she held her D-Terminal into the air.

As with so many other things, Koushirou had speculated long and hard about armour evolutions. He had theorised that it depended on the Digimon as much as it did on the humans; that was, it was tied to the human's innate characteristics and state of mind, as well as to the Digimon's own capabilities. Although Taichi personified courage, Agumon could not use the Digimental of Courage, because the Digimon did not have the ability to use the older form of evolution. Conversely, although V-Mon could use the Digimental of Friendship, it had taken Daisuke realising the meaning of true friendship to enable it.

As to the process itself, he had less material for speculation, a fact which annoyed him at times. He had watched every time in the hopes of seeing what happened at the exact moment that Digimental and Digimon become one, and every time the light frustratingly had blinded him as they did.

This time was no exception. Hawkmon disappeared in a blaze of brilliant light the instant the digital egg reached him, and he was forced to cover his eyes. Spots of colour danced across his field of vision.

"Hawkmon . . . armour evolve  . . . Flying Love, Holsemon!" (1)

Beating his powerful wings, Holsemon soared into the air. He was a long, slim Digimon that looked like a cross between an eagle and a fighter jet. With a whoop of triumph, Miyako leapt into the air and flashed a thumbs' up sign at Mimi, "BINGO!"

Koushirou exchanged nods with Hikari and Sora, then they followed suite. Moments later, Kabuterimon, Nefertimon and Birdramon rose to join Holsemon.

All her attention now focussed on them, a smile of strange delight curled back Poppymon's lips. The rest of her teeth were as bright and sharp as the two fangs were. With shocking speed, she suddenly flew straight at the humans.

"HOLSEMON!" Miyako yelled, "STOP HER!"

However, it was Kabuterimon who come to their rescue, placing himself between the speeding Digimon and the five humans. The spurs on her arms screeched off his carapace, leaving deep gouges but doing no real harm to him. Poppymon hissed in fury, but twisted away from him, evidently to try another angle of attack.

Resolving not to give her another chance, Koushirou said, "Get her, Kabuterimon!"

"Don't hurt her!" Mimi pleaded, "Please, Palmon is somewhere in her! Don't hurt her!"

"We'll do our best," Sora reassured her, and Miyako added, "Palmon will be fine, Mimi."

"Do what you have to do, Nefertimon," Kari said in a firm voice, earning herself a sharp look from Miyako. Koushirou shook his head. Kari had never liked Mimi very much when they had all been kids in the Digital World, and that dislike had only grown stronger with time. However, this was not the time or place for in-fighting.

Obedient to their orders as always, their Digimon flew after Poppymon and unleashed their attacks. Laser beams tore through the air, followed by crackling bolts of lightning and burning fireballs. Their aim was perfect, but the dark Digimon was simply too fast and agile for them, slipping easily around all of the attacks. A nasty, little smirk on her face, Poppymon pulled back into the air and spread out her palms.

"PETAL STORM!" her voice was a shriek like a hawk's hunting-cry. Red petals shot out of her hands and began drifting slowly down towards the waiting Digimon, like a mockery of a wedding. They stirred a little in the breezes created by the Digimon's beating wings, all of whom were watching them with confusion and more than a little suspicion.

"What did I tell -" Miyako began, but a series of explosions drowned out the rest of her sentence as the petals disintegrated into light and noise in an instant. The force knocked all of the children to their knees, and their Digimon fell to the pavement. All of them, apart from Birdramon who had been blocked from the worst of it by the others, reverted back to their child forms. Koushirou's stomach lurched, when he realised just how powerful Poppymon actually was. It seemed Miyako's assessment had been premature.

"Tentomon, are you okay?"

The insect Digimon lifted his head weakly, "I'll tell you when I can feel my shell again."

He smiled in relief. If Tentomon was cracking bad jokes, that meant he was okay.

"Stop this, Palmon! Stop this right now!" Mimi yelled, getting to her feet. Tears streaked her cheeks, and her hair had come out of its elegant twist to float in loose strands around her face, "This isn't you!"

"Foolish child," Poppymon said in the same terrible voice as before, "I am not Palmon. I have evolved beyond needing an empty-headed, self-centered human like you."

Mimi's mouth worked, but no sound came out of it. Fresh tears began to well up in her brown eyes. Poppymon smirked, "You are weak. There is no need for you."

Lifting one hand towards her partner, red energy gathered in the centre of her palm. It looked almost like she was bleeding light to Koushirou's horrified eyes. She clenched her fist, and it shot towards Mimi, "CRIMSON CORONA!"

Mimi did not move, but stared at the approaching beam in disbelief, her shocked face reflecting the scarlet light.

"Watch out, Mimi!" Miyako shrieked, but it was Sora who dived and knocked Mimi out of its path. Even then, she just lay on the pavement, hugging herself, weeping openly. An anxious look on her face, Sora crouched beside her and said something to her in a soft voice. Mimi showed no signs of having heard her.

"Hikari," Tailmon tugged urgently on her partner's skirt, "We need to slow her down. She's just too fast. We don't have a cat's chance of catching her as we are."

"And you can't pull the Golden Noose trick without Pegasusmon. Great," Hikari sighed, "What about Silphymon? Does she . . . he . . . do you and Aquilamon have the speed?"

"Worth trying," Tailmon said with a graceful shrug, then shouted, "Hey, Hawkmon, Miyako! We need to jogress!"

Miyako lifted her worried gaze from Mimi, and nodded her understanding. She fumbled in her jacket pockets for her D3, pulling it out and holding it up into the air, "Do it, Hawkmon!"

"Hawkmon evolve . . . . Aquilamon!" he yelled as brilliant light began to surround him. Moments later, Aquilamon was standing where Hawkmon had been. If Holsemon was the unlikely offspring of a fighter-jet and a bird-of-prey, then Aquilamon was a hawk crossed with a buffalo. Two long, pointed horns curved outward from his head, and powerful muscles rippled his brown-and-white feathers when he moved.

"Ready?" Hikari asked Miyako, who flashed her the bingo sign.

"Hawkmon . . . ."

"Tailmon . . . ."

". . . Jogress evolve . . . Silphymon!"

Jogressing was another form of evolution that Koushirou did not quite understand. Gennai had said that it was an ancient ability that predated the creation of the Crests and the Superevolving for which they allowed. It allowed the two Digimon concerned to reach the next stage of evolution, albeit as a single entity. Moreover, much like the armour evolving technique, it also depended on the Digimon's human partners. They had to have a bond of as well, or else it would never work. He sometimes wondered what sweet, quiet Hikari and flamboyant Miyako had in common, but he guessed it had to be something. The fact that Silphymon was standing in front of him right now was proof of that. (2)

Miyako grinned at Hikari, but the other girl's determined expression didn't soften for a second.

"Get her, Silphymon," she said in a soft, dangerous voice.

Nodding, Silphymon bounded into the air and cupped its palms. Power began to crackle between its fingers, and shot out as a glowing bolt. Gracefully, Poppymon flew to one side to avoid it, "Pathetic."

"Maybe not," Birdramon answered, rising behind her and lifting her wings to fan out firebolts of her own. Picking up on the unspoken cue, Silphymon attacked with another static charge, and Tentomon added a rather ineffectual bolt of lightning to the combination. Rolling her eyes expressively, Poppymon twisted and sped up into the sky. The attacks collided with each other in the centre, and a deafening explosion boomed along the street.

"PETAL STORM!" Poppymon cried triumphantly, and crimson petals began falling from the sky again. This time, however, Birdramon was ready for her. Flapping her great wings steadily, she blew the petals back towards Silphymon. There was just enough time for Koushirou to see Poppymon's lips curl back in a snarl of horror, then the explosions blooming like flowers against the blue sky hid her from sight. A small, limp figure began falling to the ground, and Silphymon dived to catch it.

"She's still breathing," the hybrid Digimon exclaimed in relief, landing in front of them with Palmon in its arms. She looked a little scratched and bruised, but otherwise okay.

"We did it!" Miyako screamed in delight, punching the air, "Bingo! Bingo! Bingo!"

"Yeah, we did," Sora sounded tired, "Good move, Birdramon."

The bird Digimon inclined her head gracefully in acknowledgement.

"Very smart move," Koushirou agreed, "We won thanks to your quick thinking."

"Palmon?" Mimi asked weakly, getting to her feet and staggering across to her Digimon. Her hair was down around her shoulders, mascara streaked her face, and her lipstick was a pink smudge. Her designer blouse was ripped, and her skirt, filthy. She had lost one of her shoes too, "Palmon . . . ."

Looking at her distraught face, knowing it would take her a long time to heal from the wounds inflicted today, Koushirou wasn't sure how much of a victory it was.

****

Next time: Myotismon has possession of three of the Dark Crests now, which he has used to devestating effect against the Chosen Children. Now, they decide it's time to strike back, and, to do that, they need their crests. It's a quest for the crests! The gate to adventure opens!

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NOTES:

(1) More 'flapping love', but that just sounds stupid in English.

(2) Ah, one of my major, wtf-were-they-smoking-at-that-staff-meeting annoyances with 02: contrived, jogress partners. Logically speaking, Takeru and Hikari or Miyako and Iori are a great deal closer, so they should be more naturally able to jogress. Also, in the case of the former, there is the fact that their Digimon are linked in practically every other respect. Stupid Toei. I'm going to fix it in this 'fic eventually. Watch me. :P