Disclaimer: Don't own Digimon.

Author's Notes: Thanks again for reviewing.  Got questions and comments, please mention them on the review board...Hope you are enjoying the chapters, although they're really getting somewhat boring in my opinion...anyway, hopefully, this chapter will have some action in it.

Chapter 30                              "REDISCOVERING YOU."

            "Welcome back, Mariana," Aurora said as Mariana gotten up to a sitting position.

            Glancing up at Aurora and the others, Mariana asked again, "Why am I here?  And all of you?"

            "You passed out outside the school, and we brought you here," Ange answered, looking at Mariana with a worried face.  "How are you feeling?"

            "Okay.  Fine.  Why are Davis and his friends here?"

            "Um.... We're here to check on Matt and see if you were okay," Sora answered Mariana.

            "I see.  Now that you've done that, you can all leave," Mariana said bitterly when her father started to wake up.

            Mr. Chaikary yawned and then asked in doubt, "Mariana?  You're awake?!"

            Mariana just beamed a smile at her father and nodded.

            "Let's go home, Sweetheart.  I'm certain that you don't want to stay here any longer," Mariana's dad proposed.  "You dislike hospitals."  Mariana gave another smile at her dad as a reply.  "Let me help you up."

            "Alright, Daddy," Mariana replied, and her father helped her to get back on her feet.  Leaning against her father for support, they began walking towards the door in attempt to leave the hospital.  Just before they went through the door, Mariana stopped and so did her father.  She glanced back at the others, which some she secretly considered to be her caring friends and others as friends that she can afford to show her true emotions towards.  Mariana shot a smile at Ange, who stood beside Aurora, to reassure her.

            Ange, as a reply, returned a smile, and said, "We'll be in touch later.  Just go back to the house and get better."

            Mariana waved goodbye to them, and then left the hospital with her father.

            Several days later, Ange left Japan again in attempt to learn about new medical secrets and techniques elsewhere in the world.  She returned to Colorado, and continued her studies of medicine and part-time job there.  Meanwhile, Aurora remained in Japan to finish his music tour with Matt.  As for the Digidestines, they continued to demolish the dark pyramids in attempt to return the Digital World to what it was before the new evil--the so-called Digimon Empress.  [A/N: usually when I state Digidestines, I'm referring to Tai, Matt, Sora, Izzy, Joe, Mimi, T.K., Kari, Davis, Yolei, Ken and Cody...I'm sure you knew that, right?]

                                                            *          *          *

            The last day of month November arrived with colourful deciduous leaves falling from their branches.  The day of Kamari's thirteen birthday had passed by.  Along with it was a swimming tournament in which Kamari decided to take part in.  On that day, everything was going great for the talented Kamari.  She was finishing first every time that was until she was on her last match, in the finals.  For some mysterious reason, unknown to Kamari, she felt strangely tired and light-headed.  She felt her body beginning to become almost as light as a feather.  Just halfway into the finals, her entire body began to give out a weak whitish glow.

            Everyone watching the competition saw it; they witnessed the strangeness, even Davis and his friends [the younger Digidestines and Von].  They explained to themselves that the phenomenon was just caused by the ceiling lights reflecting upon the water.  However, the younger Digidestines thought otherwise.  Not wanting to attract undesirable public attention towards them or Kamari, they continued to watch as Kamari's body started to fade away, just like how Kari almost faded away in the episode where Kari was first pulled into the Dark Ocean.  Fortunately, before Kamari completely vanished, she went unconscious.

            Her swimming coach, noticing her, gave a whistle [A/N: in case of emergency, the whistling is to tell the swimmers in the water to get out of the water/pool] and then dove into the swimming pool to retrieve Kamari's body.  Almost as fast as a flash, everyone gathered around Kamari's body, concerned about her life.  Once Kamari was out of the water, one of the other swimmers took a towel and cover Kamari's body from the neck down.  Kamari, regaining her consciousness, coughed up some of the chlorine water from her mouth.  Then she asked weakly, "Huh?  Did... did I win?"

            "I'm afraid not, Mariana," the swimming coach answered with a sincere smile.

            "Oh well," Mariana said.

            "I'm sure you'll win next time," Von commented, giving a reassuring grin and Mariana just shrugged and let out a heavy sigh, still lying wet on the ground.

            That same day of the incident, the younger Digidestines [A/N: Davis, Ken, Yolei, Kari, T.K, and Cody], as well as Von made a conclusion--that Kamari was somehow involved with the Digital World, or else she won't have become digitalized and almost faded into thin air.  According to them, she was either a Digidestine like them, or a Digidestine like the evil Empress.  Meanwhile, Kamari conversed with Ange and discovered something about her magic.  Kamari was further informed by Ange about the dangers of using too much magic without taking some rest.  Ange also warned her that if she doesn't slow down on using her magic, something terrible will be fated to happen.  Perhaps, this terrible thing is what Ange envisioned and told Kamari's dad about.  But, why would it happen when and if Kamari and her older sister reunite?  That was one question that Ange had on her mind after talking to her friend, Kamari.

                                                            *          *          *

            Several days later, in the Digital World, the destruction of the Empress' dark pyramids raged on.  The younger Digidestines, now teamed up with Von, and their champion form Digimons found themselves in Sector Q4, a volcanic sector, with the goal of destroying Pyramid 37, that is, right after they unlock it.

            "Alright, guys, any ideas on the password?" Davis asked, looking at his friends.  "We've tried Empress and Emperor already."

            He and his friends were just some metres away from a dark pyramid situated on top of an inactive volcano.

            "This Empress is really trying hard to keep us from finding out the truth.  She's got different passwords for every pyramid.  ARGH!!!"  Yolei complained.

            "And not to mention, each pyramid are protected by a trio of her slaves," T.K. added.

            "ERRR!!!  How about some passwords, guys, before the trio comes?!?!" Davis demanded.

            "Well, since the Empress is somehow related to you, Davis, we should try words to describe you," Von suggested, shrugging.

            "Hey!  I resent that," Davis said and quietly, Yolei and Kari giggled.  "Humph!"

            "Oh well, let's still try it.  It's the only reasonable idea we've got so far," T.K. commented.

            "Too late," Angemon, who was soaring in the air, informed.  "Look!"

            All the triangular sides of the pyramid slowly shrunk in height until the points of them aligned to create a small square opening at the top that was able to project an image bathed in white light.  The image was still the same--Sam.

            'Why must she still use my brother's image?' Ken thought.

            "Wait and see what I have in store for you," Sam, the image, said, cackling.  The four visible sides of the pyramid projected white light and sent out three Digimon slaves of the evil Empress, who rarely shows herself.  And even if she did appear, she would be in some kind of disguise that allowed her to conceal her true identity and appearance.  Skullgraymon, Blackwargraymon, and Meramon, chained with dark rings, were beamed out.  The triangular sides grew and returned the pyramid to its original height and size and the image of Sam disappeared.

            "ELIMINATE THEM!" a voice from behind the young Digidestines and their Digimon shouted.  Gasping, the Digidestines and partners looked behind them.  They saw a female figure as tall as Ken, dressed in black--black cape, tank top, gloves, mini-skirt, tights and boots, who just emerged from out of nowhere.  She had a similar hairstyle to Kari, but her violet hair was parted in the opposite direction.  Her face was masked with a piece of black almost translucent fabric.  "Skullgraymon, Blackwargreymon, and Meramon, attack them, I repeat!"

            'ARGH!!! The Digimon Empress,' Gatomon thought, glaring at the caped girl.

            Immediately, T.K.'s D-3 and Kari's D-3 activated Angemon's and Gatomon's digivolution process.  "Angemon digivolves to... Magnaangemon!"

            "Gatomon digivolves to... Angewomon!"

            "Black Tornado!" Blackgraymon shouted.  He was the first one to attack.  Skullgraymon as well as Meramon also unleashed their fiery attacks upon the defenseless Digidestines' partners.

            "This time you won't be able to escape my wrath, Digidestines.  You can't defeat my servants without being able to DNA or armour digi--" the Empress tried to say when out of nowhere, Davis went charging into her.  "Ah--" the Empress screamed when Davis crashed into her, causing both of them to begin tumbling down from the top of the volcano.

            "Davis!" the other kids shouted with worried looks.

            "Let me unmask you!  Ahhhhhhhh!... Ow-w-owwww...  Ahhhh!" Davis started to exclaim with a determined voice as he tried to rip the black piece of fabric off from the Empress' face as they both continued to roll.  Davis' friends watched nervously as they tumbled while the Digimon continued to fight.

            "Ouch!" the Empress whimpered when her body stopped tumbling.  Fortunately, the distance from the top of the volcano and the grassy ground wasn't large enough to cause a fatal fall.  Davis landed right on top of her.

            "Ah-ha!  Got ya!" Davis stated in an ascending louder voice when he finally managed to pull the fabric off of the Empress' face.  "Mariana?!  Is that you?!" Davis shouted shockingly as he tossed the fabric away.

            "GRRR!  GET OFF OF ME!" the Empress demanded angrily and she pushed Davis's body off of hers.

            Just then, in a flash, the three Digimon slaves sent Davis' friends and the Digimon screaming and crashing down from the top of the volcano.  When all of them [excluding the pyramid guardians, or the Empress' slaves] landed hardly on the grassy ground, the Digimon had de-digivoved to their in-training forms.

            "Mariana?!?!" all of the Digidestines, but Davis, repeated, in shock.

            "You're the Digimon Empress?  How?  Howww?  Your hair--" Von asked as all of them got up from the ground, "it's short...and violet?"

            The Empress stood her ground, and with her right hand, took out a pen from her skirt's pocket.  She twisted the body of the pen and uttered, "Undo disguise."  Unexpectedly, the Empress' physical appearance changed to resemble Kamari.  However, she was still wearing the same attire.  It was her hair that was different.  She now had long, dark brown hair in the same style as Kamari's.

            "It was just an illusion," Ken informed.

            "It's all fake?" Yolei asked.

            "Not exactly, Yolei," Mariana answered, smirking.

            "Why are you doing this?  You're Davis' friend, our friend," Cody mentioned.

            "Oh really?  Are you certain I can still be your friend when I'm the destined ruler of the Digital World?" Mariana asked, looking straight at Davis, who had a sympathetic face.

            "Of course, Mariana, if you give up being the evil empress," Davis answered.

            "HA!  That's a laugh!  You don't even remember me!  How can you claim someone as your friend when you don't even remember them?!" Mariana pointed out as she placed her pen back into her skirt's pocket.

            "We can start all over," Davis insisted.

            "It's too late now.  Blackwargraymon, Skullgraymon, and Meramon!  I call upon all of you to... um... to...," Mariana started to say, but didn't know what she wanted to command her slaves to do to Davis and the others.

            "See, Mariana!  You really don't want to hurt us," Von stated.

            "Perhaps, or perhaps not," Mariana said when her raging slaves jumped down from the peak of the volcano.  Biting her lips, Mariana yelled out as she pointed her right index finger towards Davis and the others, "Attack them!"

            "No!  Mariana!" Davis cried out.

            "I'm afraid it's already too late for her.  She's got a heart of stone," T.K. blared as he held out his D-3.  "Digivolve!" T.K. commanded and Tokomon digivolved to Patamon and then to Angemon.  Angemon tried to digivolve further, but he had insufficient amount of energy to undergo the digivolution to Magnaangemon.

            "T.K.!" Kari cried out as he climbed onto Angemon's back and Angemon began ascending.

            "Don't worry.  We'll be back, Kari!" T.K. shouted as Angemon flew higher, to the peak of the volcano where the dark pyramid was located.

            "They're off to destroy the pyramid!  Defend it, Blackwargraymon!" Mariana ordered and Blackwargraymon did what he was told.

            "Black Tornado!" Blackwargraymon attacked Angemon and T.K.  Fortunately, Angemon narrowly escaped, and began his defense with his Hand of Fate attack.

            At the same time, the in-training Digimons, except Oolomon, digivolved back into their champion forms.  In their champion forms and with guidance from their human partners, they took on Skullgraymon and Meramon.

            "Stop this, Mariana!  I don't want to have to go against you," Von demanded as he watched his friends' Digimon getting seriously beaten.  It was just then that Oolomon regained his energy and digivolved all the way to Pythonmon.

            "Then join me again," Mariana offered.

            "What do you mean?"

            Mariana just cackled maliciously.  "You haven't figured it out yet, have you, Von?"

            "Figure out what?" Pythonmon questioned.

            "Initially, all of you thought Von was the Digimon Emperor--the new evil.  Well, he was sort of, that is, with my encouragement," Mariana explained, smugly.  "Oh wait, I mean, under my control, or should I say under my spell?"

            "Spell?  That's impossible," Von commented.

             "Impossible for you to do, but not for me," Mariana said, somewhat spitefully.

            "Don't listen to her, Von.  Let's go and help the others," Pythonmon hissed and Von nodded in agreement.

            "We'll deal with you later, Mariana.  Digivolve again, Pythonmon," Von ordered as he held out his golden D-3.  A brilliant flash of golden light radiated from his D-3, causing Pythonmon to digivolve all the way to mega.

            "Meet Megasnakedramon," Von informed with a glint of pride.  Megasnakedramon was a much larger version of Snakedramon-- half snake and half dragon.

            "No worries.  I'll still be here to see how this turns out," Mariana replied confidently with a grin as Megasnakedramon soared into the air, with Von on his back, to help T.K. and Angemon to destroy the dark pyramid.

            "Terror Destroyer!" Blackwargraymon declared several times, aiming his attacks on all of the Empress' enemies.  Skullgraymon and Meramon didn't bother to call out their attacks, they just attacked the Davis and the others [excluding Mariana] without warning.

            "SONIC HORN RATTLE!" Megasnakedramon blared.  His attack was a sonic attack caused when he shook the rattles on his tail.  It was loud, and very powerful, for the sonic waves created destroyed the dark pyramid as well as the dark rings that controlled Blackwargraymon, Skullgraymon and Meramon.  However, it also did something else.

            When Megasnakedramon's sonic attack clashed with the other attacks, there was a rip in the Digital World.  A dark portal to somewhere else in time and space opened.  Like a black hole, it sucked in everyone with a D-3 and their Digimon, leaving the Empress' ex-slaves behind.

                                                (*Somewhere out there*)

            "Ahhhhhhh!" everyone whimpered with closed eyes as they fell into what appeared to be a black and bottomless pit.

            A few moments later, they found themselves standing among some chattering kids in the hallways of a school.  Their Digimon returned to their usual forms.  Looking at each other, they asked in their heads, 'Where am I?'

            "HEY!  MARIA!!!  WAIT UP!" yelled a young boy with bluish hair who came dashing from around a corner.

            "Is that you, Davis, when you were younger?" Veemon asked.

            "We're back to the past," Mariana mumbled, and the others that came with her, heard.

             All of them watched as the young Davis panted and spoke to a little girl, with short dark brown hair, of his age.

            "No one calls me Maria but you, Davis," the little girl, with dark brown hair commented.  They walked closer to examine the little girl.

            "That's you, when you were little, Mariana," Von said, and Davis, Ken, Kari, Yolei, T.K., Cody and their Digimon glanced at both Marianas, trying to find the resemblance.

            "Hmph!" the older Mariana exclaimed, folding her arms.

            "YUP, MARIA!  And there's NOTHING you can do or say to stop me from calling you Maria, Maria," the adorable-looking mini version of Davis answered mischievously and chuckled at the little girl.

            "Okay, that's Davis for ya," Yolei remarked, giggling.

            Maria [the little girl] shot Davis an annoyed look.  "Gosh, Davis, is it too hard to call me Mariana?"

            "No, not really.  I just think I should get to call you Maria.  I don't want to be like the rest.  I want to have the special privilege of calling you Maria, Maria," the little Davis answered, smirking.

            The young Mariana sighed and shook her head, slightly amused and slightly annoyed by Davis.

            Blushing a little at the young Mariana, the adorable, younger, Davis placed his right hand into his pocket and took out something resembling an envelope.  "Ah...  Maria...  Um...  Argh!  Here," the young Davis stammered until he shoved the envelope into the little Mariana's hand.

            "This, for me, Davis?" the young Mariana asked, glancing at him.  She then began to read the card as the older Davis, Yolei and T.K. looked down from the younger Mariana's shoulders, trying to read the card themselves.

            "It's an invitation to my birthday party," the older Davis uttered.

            "ERRR!" the older Mariana replied grouchily.

            Davis [the younger one] scanned his friend's [the young Mariana's] face, hoping for her answer in her facial expressions.  He didn't get it though.  Instead he saw an emotionless face.  "Well?  Will you be coming?"

            The young Mariana's face slowly lit up with a smile, "I won't miss it for the world!"

            "YIPPEEE!  YAY!!!" the young Davis shouted jovially while the young Mariana giggled.

[A/N: I'm thinking now that you're thinking that I must be running out of new ideas... lol, especially when I'm repeating some stuff from the last chapter....  Well, there's a reason behind this repetition.]

            Then, immediately, the place and time setting changed.  They now found themselves in the middle of a soccer field in the middle of some game.  "ERRR!  Not this again," Mariana whined when she realized what was happening.  'They're seeing what I recalled when I fell unconscious and was sent to the hospital.'

            And the older Mariana was confirmed to be correct when she saw a younger version of her on the game bench cheering for a young Davis playing on the soccer field....

[A/N: I'm sure all of you know what happened already, so I won't want to repeat it again...]

            After that replay of Mariana's and Davis' past together, they found themselves in a new setting.  They were back in the hallways of a school--the school Davis and Mariana used to attend.  They watched as a young Mariana was handing a wrapped present to him.  "Don't forget me, Davis," she said.

            "I won't.  Not ever," the young Davis replied as she unwrapped her gift and found a pair of goggles, "Not as long as I wear these."  [A/N: the goggles here refers to the ones Davis wore in the show before Tai gave him his.]

            The older Davis took off his goggles and stared at them.  "I remember now.  I truly remember now.  We used to do almost everything together, Maria."

            "So, that's why you always wear those silly goggles," T.K. said, a little sarcastically.

            "That is until the spectacles got destroyed when I first arrived in the Digital World," the older Davis reminded in a solemn voice.  "I can't believe how much you've changed, Maria."

            "Well, believe it," Mariana replied when another bizarre thing happened.

            In an instant, they were transported back to where the volcano was situated, in Sector Q4.  However, the Empress' slaves were no where in sight.

            "Huh? We're back?" Cody asked.

            "Yep!  But, now we know who the Empress truly is," Ken answered.

            "Oh really?" Mariana asked scornfully.

            "Definitely.  You're Mariana, Davis' friend from elementary school who used to so kind," Veemon commented.  "And you must be doing all this because Davis had forgotten you and broken your gift by accident."

            "Interesting hypothesis, Veemon, I must admit.  However, that is not the reason."

            "Then, what is?" Davis asked.

            "It's so obvious.  It is in my destiny for me to rule over the Digital World, one way or the other.  And I will not take any chance of any one of you to ruin my plans and what fate has offered me," Mariana answered him arrogantly.

            "Well, that's too bad 'cause there's nothing you can do to erase what we just discovered about you, Mariana," Gatomon said and Mariana burst into malicious laughter.

            "You seemed to have forgotten about my special powers, Gatomon," Mariana started to say, still laughing wickedly and the other gasped.  "Nothing in life lasts, not even all of your memories of Davis and my past," Mariana began to chant as she gotten another black fabric from her skirt's pocket to tie around her face, "Forget not only that, but also my identity as Empress."

            When Mariana finished chanting, her forgetfulness spell was cast upon the helpless Digidestines and their Digimon.  And once again, the identity of the Empress was concealed; the knowledge of the Empress' identity was 'stolen' or perhaps hidden away from them.

            "Huh?  It's the Digimon Empress!" Patamon called out to his friends.

            Smirking, the Empress uttered, "I was just leaving."  She held out her grey D-3 and was suddenly able to disappear into thin air.

            The others just watched in bewilderment.

[A/N: In actuality, her grey D-3 had a special program which allowed her to teleport back and forth from the Digital World to the Real World.  How this teleportation thing works with her D-3 will be revealed later on.]

To be continued....

Author's Notes: ...So, how was this chapter?  Annoying that it was repetitive?  Really ticks you off because the younger Digidestines and Von find out the identity of the Empress and then, just out of nowhere, the Empress uses her magic and makes them forget...  You're probably wondering exactly when the Digidestine team going to rediscover her true identity and finally get to keep their knowledge...Well, let me check my notes...*smiling* perhaps in the next chapter....