Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers

by Alene Deirbre

when piedmon was destroyed he was forced to choose a new ruler for the nightmare soldiers, and the one he chose was Matt, but deamon wants that honor for himself. Matt/Tk brotherly stuff & Matt/Tai friendship

15. Tears From The Sky

A/N: Every time I think I have a plan, something changes. I had originally planned to fit everything into two more chapters, but after seeing how long this chapter was becoming, I decided to make it three. This chapter is a fill in, it's slow, long, and drawn out, but I really wanted to get some last minute character developments in. now that I'm on the finally stretch, I wanted to make certain I cover everything. This chapter does, however, serve some purpose; it sets the scene and the mood for the next chapter, which will be dominated by battle scenes. Anyway please read and enjoy.

Also I wanted to dedicate this fic to FireBird9900. I hope you have an amazing birthday, filled with cake and ice cream and friends and presents and anime and cake and ice cream… man now I have a sugar craving. Anyway, thanks for all of your support and most importantly of all HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

~*~*~

It was a ghost town, deserted and dead. Debris and dust covered blood stained roads and side walks, slivers of broken glass reflected the morning's light, and destroyed homes leaned towards the filthy ground as though gravity had increased.

The people fled, that's all they could do. Better that your home and everything you've ever known be destroyed, then your life. And so the people left, evacuated their apartments and piled on buses, which took them on long, bumpy rides to other cities. Tear streaked faces watched through, the insect internal and dust covered, windows as they were whisked swiftly away from their everything.

Far too many people had to leave without knowing that their love ones also made it to the buses. Far too many people were ushered on the old, rattling machines, before they could say goodbye to the ones they knew didn't make it to the buses.

The death count wasn't as bad as it could have been; at least that's what the people told themselves, as the sat cramped on hot transports. The officials estimated about thirty-five, not too many, it could have been worse. After all, when the television station was attack sixty-two had died, all older, no children were even scratched in that attack.

But it wasn't the numbers or the facts, it was the feeling. Now they didn't just know the pain of loss, they felt it, and the death count wasn't done yet. There could still be more, buried under the debris, but they couldn't think about that.

Instead the fleeing people thought of those who actually chose to stay behind. Some of the older, stubborn people declared that no crazy spirits were going to chase them out of their homes, and so they stayed. Rescue teams stayed, going over every inch of the city, just to be certain that no one was over looked. And of course reporters stayed behind, hoping, that if there were another attack, they'd be the first to get the inside scoop.

And so most of the streets were completely vacant. Even a graveyard ghost would get too lonely haunting this town.

The sun rose a little bit higher, it was still early morning, but at least now the rescue teams didn't have to work in the dark. A lot of the city's power was cut off; making it difficult for the brave and kind men and women whom stayed behind to operate. The people needed the light, which is exactly why the shadows targeted it. They were given very specific orders, start chaos, cripple the humans, and set the stage for my arrival, and so that is what they did.

The shadows crawled over the buildings, like insects they put one clawed hand in front of another, moving with amazing stealth. The humans never saw them, a discarnate conscience existing for the soul purpose of serving their master.

The humans never saw the blotches of darkness reach out a long bonny arm and slash through whirs, causing electrical fires, or cutting off the emergency power they were receiving. They never saw the shadows do their vice then crawl quickly back up the sides of half destroyed buildings, returning to the darkness inside the forgotten offices and homes.

The cruel vermicular like creatures had completed their task, they slowed the humans down, keeping the fear fresh in the people's minds, and now they crept back to the shadows, hissing spitefully at the rising sun, angered that the glowing orb put an end to their fun. Then once hidden safely in the darkness, they'd laugh gleefully, as their twisted minds went over the tricks they played on the unsuspecting people. Then they'd grow silent, their slanted gray eyes would narrow in the darkness as they thought, and the fun has only begun. Our master has yet to arrive. So they'd slink back, and get comfortable, waiting for their evil dragon commander to call them from the shadows once more. Then the true fun would begin then.

The little old, brass bell chimed as two glass doors opened. The doors stopped once they reached the limit of their hinges and a group of misfit teens, and strange colorful creatures, piled into the tiny diner. The group silently looked around to see what seating was available and, to their joy, every seat was empty, meaning that they were the only customers.

Instantly they spread out into the diner, snatching up their preferred seat and sat down wearily. Once everyone was sitting you could hear sighs of relief blowing through the diner, as sore legs and feet were finally given a brake from the strain of standing and walking.

"Oh, customers!" a sweet voice exclaimed, as if surprised to see anyone.

The voice belonged to an elder lady, who stood behind the counter looking over the group carefully. The woman continued to stare, until her eyes landed on Agumon, who was sitting on the outside of a booth next to Tai.

The group noticed where the woman's attention had fallen and immediately began to stiffen nervously in their seats. What if she throws us out? Or tells the officers about our digimon? These questions screamed in the tiered minds of the Chosen Children as their hopes for breakfast slowly faded away.

"Um… Ma'am…" Tai addressed the waitress cautiously.

The woman blinked and brought her gaze up away from Agumon and looked over curiously at Tai.

"I don't mean to sound rude or anything, but we're really hungry and…" Tai didn't have a chance to finish as the woman immediately shifted from frighten citizen mode, to maternal giving mode.

"Oh, you poor dears, I am so sorry. You just wait right here and I'll get you some menus." The woman chirped, sounding a little embarrassed for not attending to her customers immediately.

Tai watched as the woman disappeared into the back, then turned his focus to the others at his table. "Do you think she's going to call the cops?" he asked uneasily.

"Mrs. Dain?" Davis asked with a chuckle, "Of course not, I bring DemiVeemon here all the time and she never complains. In fact sometimes she gives him free pie." The goggle-wearing boy explained, as DemiVeemon nodded in conformation.

"Then why do you think she looked at Agumon so strangely?" Tai asked, still not completely convinced that he could trust Mrs. Dain.

"I don't know." Davis replied honestly as he leaned back on the tall red, rubber cushion, which made up most of the booth's backrest.

Tai was going to question Davis further, maybe find out why exactly Mrs. Dain knew about DemiVeemon, but just as he was about to speak; the elder woman reentered the room carrying a stack of menus.

"Sorry it took so long darlings, we were cleaning them off last night, and I left them in the back to finish drying." She explained as she walked from behind the counter and began to pass out the menus to the tables in the center of the dinning area.

The booth was the last place the woman visited, and she smiled kindly as she handed the last two menus, to Izzy, who sat next to Davis, and one to Agumon. This last move shocked everyone at the booth, especially since the lady had looked so strangely at Agumon, still no one decided to question her on it.

"I must admit, I'm a little surprised to see you children, I was sure that everyone left in the evacuation." The waitress stated thoughtfully, as if she was speaking to herself.

"You stayed behind." Izzy stated, as if to argue that their reason for being in the city could very well be the same as hers.

The woman laughed lightly at this, then replied. "Well don't think I didn't want to leave, but my husband is a stubborn man. He says we didn't leave the last time monsters came parading down our streets, and we're not going to leave this time." She explained as she looked back at the door, that leads to the kitchen, where her husband waited with a spatula in hand, ready to make the kids' choice of breakfast.

Tai stared at the elder woman in awe; she stayed behind in a dangerous time and didn't even seem afraid because of it. She really was a strong woman, and despite her age she still managed to carry herself high and proud. Her jet-black hair grew gray at the roots, and was pulled back in a tight bun, so to keep the many strands out of her face. Her face had gained wrinkles under the eyes and around the mouth with age, but you could still see the essence of lingering youth, and were able to form a good picture of what her face might have been like when see was a teen. Her lips were red and voluptuous, and her dark brown eyes sparkled with kindness and joy, while burning with the fires of a strong will.

"Now what can I get you all to drink?" the woman questioned happily.

"We'll all have water." Tai stated flatly, knowing that they needed to watch their spending as much as possible.

The waitress nodded in confirmation then walked behind the counter. She hummed lightly to herself as she began to pull out two large round trays. Then she grabbed twelve glasses off of a rake, and began to fill them with ice and tap water. She carried the two trays over to the seats, and passed them out amongst the customers until the trays were empty, then she returned behind the counter and pulled down ten glasses and repeated the processes again until everyone had a full glass of ice water.

"I'm going to step in the back right quick, just call when you're ready to order." The waitress stated, turning, so that those seated at the tables knew that her words were for all of them.

The group waited, all quietly looking over their menus, until Mrs. Dain had disappeared behind the swinging door, which led to the kitchen.

"So what are you going to get?" Tentomon questioned from his seat beside Tai.

"Well I was thinking about pancakes, wallfulls, sausage, and eggs." Davis replied before he even glanced at the menu.

"Those are good choices." DemiVeemon agreed, as he hoped over to Izzy and stole a quick look, at the now perfectly clean, menus.

"Davis, must I remind you that we're on a budget." Izzy stated flatly, as he casually flipped the page in the menu.

"I want, eggs, bacon, and a biscuit." Tentomon placed while raising a clawed limb, hoping that it would help him be heard better.

Izzy nodded in conformation, taking a mental note of his partner's order, then went back to glancing over the menu.

"Hey Davis?" Tai spoke, forcing the red head to end his staring contest with Tentomon.

After the insectoid digimon declared his victory, Davis turned his full attention to Tai. "What's up Tai?"

"How come Mrs. Dain knows about DemiVeemon?" Tai questioned curiously.

Davis looked at the older boy blankly for a moment then responded. "Well you see, one day I came in here and ordered a lot of food, me and DemiVeemon were going to split it. Anyway Mrs. Dain made a huge deal on how no one person could possible eat so much, and she wouldn't give me my food unless she was allowed to sit and watch me eat every last bite. Well I tried to eat it all, and I probably could have too, except DemiVeemon was in my backpack at the time, and well he hadn't eaten all day long. So I guess when he smelled the food he kind of lost it, because he jumped out of the bag and practically attacked my cheese burger." Davis explained, blushing at the embarrassing tale.

"Was she the only one who saw?" Tai asked nervously, still remembering all of those reports on how the government was looking for digimon and the monster tamers.

"Yeah, well she and her husband. I was the only customer." He explained, the goofy tone fading from his voice, once he realized how worried the older boy was about the whole ordeal.

"And she didn't take it badly?" Izzy questioned, his curiosity pulling him into the conversation.

Davis shrugged his shoulders casually, then replied. "Not as badly as most. She freaked a little at first, and tried to hit DemiVeemon with a broom, but after he hopped on her head and begged her not to kill him, which I'm sure she was capable of doing, she was cool about it."

Tai only nodded, deciding that Davis probably didn't know much more then that.

"Well that's not the first time DemiVeemon's stomach has almost gotten him killed…" Tentomon expressed as he gave the in-training digimon a sly look.

"And I certainly don't intend to make it the last." The little blue digimon replied proudly, as he crossed his short little arms in mock defense.

The people at the booth laughed at the little digimon's show, and the tension of breakfast faded away.

'Boys, why do they have to be so loud.' Kari thought, a little bitter at having her thoughts interrupted by the boys at the booth and their laughing.

She yawned still not fully awake, Tai had decided to wait until everyone was completely ready to go before waking her. She was a little upset for not being including in the decision to go get breakfast, but she was thankful for the extra sleep, not that is was really restful.

She sighed at her own lack of optimism, then looked over the other occupants of the room. To anyone else the group of teens and monsters, would seem perfect, the way they behaved so comfortably around one another would lead you to believe that nothing could divide this group, but Kari knew that wasn't the case.

"Mrs. Dain!" Davis shouted braking through Kari's sadden thoughts. "I think we're ready to order!"

"Hey Davis, just because everyone at you table is ready, doesn't mean everyone else is!" Yolie scolded in irritation, as she closed her menu and placed it on the table.

Davis stuck his tongue out at the Child of Love and Sincerity's protest, but retracted it once Mrs. Dain appeared behind the counter again.

"Ready to order?" she question, not fully certain if that was the meaning behind Davis loud call.

"Yeah I guess so." Yolie stated, upset that she had been defeated by her need for food.

Mrs. Dain smiled cheerfully, then began to walk from behind the counter and towards the awaiting customers. Thoughtlessly she pulled out a little pad and pencil, then waited for each of the children and monsters to place their orders.

After the first table, which consisted of Joe and Gomamon, Cody and Upamon, and Ken and Wormmon, gave their orders the waitress skipped over to the next table, Where Sora and Biyomon, Yolie and Poromon, TK and Patamon, and Kari and Gatomon offered their orders. Mrs. Dain smiled as she wrote down the rather large orders, while taking note that the monsters ordered the most, and the boys at the first table ordered less than the group at the second table. After she recorded the orders on the pad, and the information about the group in her head, she bounced happily over to the booth, ready to take the last orders.

Immediately a stream of ridiculous, and very large orders, came pouring from the booth. Mrs. Dain tried to deceiver the many different, not to mention strange orders, being thrown at her, but her attempts were to no avail.

"Come on now boys." The woman stated slightly annoyed as she placed her small hands on her dainty hips. "One at a time so I can understand you." She scolded with a smile, earning her some embarrassed blushes and soft apologies.

The members of the booth placed their orders again, only this time they each took a turn, starting with Izzy and working their way around the booth.

Mrs. Dain nodded as she scribbled the orders down, taking note that the boys and monsters at this table ordered more than the other two tables combined. "Well I'll have these right out to you as soon as they 're ready." She stated then began to gather up the menus, going back to each table and collecting them, before walking casually back behind the counter and disappearing once again through the swinging door.

"I wonder why Genai didn't want to come with us." Yolie questioned out loud, as she began to play idly with the salt and peppershakers.

"I don't think that Genai eats." Sora explained.

It seemed like a reasonable enough excuse to not join them for breakfast, she also knew that he was going to go back to the Digital World for a while and speak with Azulongmon. The Digidestined could only hope that the Digi-god of the East could shed some light on when they could expect Matt's return.

Kari took a small sip of cold water from her transparent, red, plastic cup, then watched as Yolie and Sora's brief exchange of words came to an end. The young Child of Light knew that tensions were high, everyone had a different opinion about Matt, and what he was doing, and of course no one was planing on sharing those opinions now. They'd simple keep it to themselves. Let their own wild imaginations come up with some rational theory on their friend and his actions.

The young pre-teen knew that, despite the groups earlier show of moral, there were still doubts. TK and Tai's faith in Matt was unquestionable, and Kari knew that the others couldn't argue, at least not openly, with that.

Sora still had her doubts, it was true Matt was her friend, but she had seen a darker side of him before, and that side nearly destroyed them once. Yolie never really spent that much time with the older boy. But her convictions led her to believe that the Nightmare Soldiers were the most diabolical digimon in the Digital World, and for that, the glasses wearing young lady, found it hard to believe that any good could come with associating with them.

Izzy had, of course, remained completely neutral. The young genius refused to believe anything without solid proof. He did now, and always would, consider Matt a friend, but he never let sentiment interfere with judgment, and so he remained silent. Cody seem to have taking Izzy's path. The young boy had made the mistake of not forgiving and trusting Ken, and he did not want to feel that kind of guilt again, and so he too remained neutral, deciding that it was far better to wait for actually proof, then to form opinions based on emotions.

Joe knew Matt had a darker side to him, but he absolutely refused to believe that the younger boy would betray the Digidestined. When he was stuck at Digitamamon's dinner, it was Matt who sacrificed his wishes to go find his brother, to help Joe. And the navy hair teen knew in his heart, that Matt had a great love for this misfit group of kids and monsters.

Ken actually knew very little about the Nightmare Soldiers, they were some of the few digimon that he had had trouble controlling as the Digimon Emperor, and so he rarely used them in his experiments. He also didn't know Matt very well. They had only spoken a few times, but despite their lack of a real relationship, Ken felt greatly connected to the older boy. They had both seen, and even been a part of, the darker side of the Digital World, and they had both, with the help of their friends, managed to brake free. He didn't even want to think that Matt had betrayed them, because that destroyed the hope he had for his own life, still the indigo hair boy wouldn't rule it out. He, of course, would hold no grudge if Matt did betray the Digidestined, but he wasn't going to decided one way or another, until he saw the blonde teen again.

Davis was like a blazing fire of friendship. Kari was forced to wonder if the thought that any of the Digidestined were capable of turning against the group, had ever crossed his mind. He was the first to accept Ken into the group, and the ruby-eyed girl was certain that he held no grudge on Matt.

Kari took another sip of her water, put the glass down, and then whipped the sweat, from the glass, off of her hand, and onto her shorts. She then leaned back lazily on the metal back rest, fidgeted a bit, as she realized how uncomfortable the chair, with its shinny metal legs and back rest truly was. Finally she gave up her struggle for comfort, and simply leaned forward placing her elbows on the dull red table.

Her eyes scanned over the small dinner, she noticed the booths lining two of the walls, the one door exit behind her, the two door entrance, that the group had come through, and the one bath room on the entrance side of the room, past the counter. She took note of how quaint the little dinner was, with the bar around the back and the old stools pushed up to the bar. An old radio on the counter, and large windows, making up the upper half of the walls, in over half of the shop.

'Matt would like this place.' She thought sadly to herself. 'He always liked the small, out of the way places.'

Little business that only the regulars visited and appreciated. The blonde boy would never be caught dead going to a fast food chain or a coffee house chain, it just didn't suit him. He found it all way too commercial, way too ordinary.

Kari stole a small glance in TK's direction, wondering if the younger boy had thought about Matt and the dinner too. From the look on the young man's face, she was certain he had. He could always find the little things that reminded him of Matt, and Kari was certain that when the Child of Hope gets his food, he'll stare blankly at it, wishing that it was his brother's cooking. TK had once told her that nothing, no matter how good it tasted, ever compared to his brother's cooking, and she knew that it had a much deeper meaning. That it went beyond a young man with a huge appetite, she knew that nothing, no matter what it was, could ever compare to the love those two brothers shared.

Soft humming came from behind the swinging door, and some of the group looked up as the white washed wooden door pushed open, and Mrs. Dain came through carrying two trays of steaming food.

Mouths began to water, as the smells of piping hot pancakes filled the room. Everyone from the second table and the booth leaned over a bit towards, the first table who were, unfairly, being served first. Joe gave a soft thank you to the waitress, as he gratefully took his plate piled with pancakes and bacon. The rest at the table thanked Mrs. Dain as they were served, earning them a smile from the elder woman, then went to work at doctoring their food with syrup, butter, and salt and pepper. After Mrs. Dain was certain that the first table was content with their orders, she went back to get the rest of the Digidestined and digimon's food.

"Mmmmmm! This was delicious!" Yolie cried with pleasure as she pushed her empty plate up the table a bit, signaling that she was done.

The group at the booth all groaned in response. They inhaled their food down the moment they got it, in fact Mrs. Dain barely had a chance to put the plates down before they grabbed their forks and dug in. Now everyone at the booth leaned back lazily, completely stuffed, but still wishing they could have some more.

"See, now if you hadn't eating so quickly you wouldn't have gotten a stomach." Kari lectured teasingly, before she stuffed the last bit of her French toast in her mouth.

"Please Kari, we don't have stomach aches." Tai argued back, "We're just waiting for our second course." He announced, even though he knew there wouldn't be one.

"Right." The Child of Light replied back sarcastically, then stretched. She was the last to finish, which meant they'd be leaving in a minute or so.

"Hey Wormmon!" Davis called kindly. "Are you going to eat that last biscuit?" the cinnamon hair boy asked sheepishly.

"What?" Sora asked in surprise, as she looked over at Davis. "You at more than all of us put together. How could you possibly still be hungry?"

Davis look at her blankly for a moment, then replied, "Practice."

"Here you go Davis." Wormmon called, as he knocked the biscuit over to the awaiting pre-teen with his forehead.

"Are you kids done?" Mrs. Dain questioned, as she reentered the room from the kitchen.

"Absolutely." Joe stated, slightly in misery for having eaten so much, and slightly in regret for not eating more.

"Is this on one ticket? Or do you all want individual?"

"We'll have one ticket." Tai stated, he figured they could just put their money together.

"All right." Mrs. Dain stated as she went to ring the ticket up.

Agumon jumped out of the booth, letting Tai and Tentomon out, and the rest of the group stood from their seats, stretching and yawning.

They chatted a bit while waiting for the results of their feast.

"All right, all rang up." Mrs. Dain chirped sweetly.

Tai looked over at the digits displaying on the cash register, and immediately his good mood faded. He hadn't realized they ordered so much, and he was certain that, even combined, they wouldn't have enough.

"You know, my grandson talks about you a lot."

Tai's head snapped up at the sound of Mrs. Dain's voice. She was talking casually to Agumon, something that kind of made Tai nervous.

"Your grandson? Have I met him before?" Agumon asked curiously, not recalling an encounter with the boy in question.

"Oh yes. He was one of the children being held at the conversion center during the first monster attack. He's always talking about how a dinosaur saved his and his sister's life." She explained as she recalled her grandson's stories. "I owe you a lot." The woman expressed gratefully to the rookie digimon.

Agumon smiled and blushed, reveling in one, of the very few, complements he would receive from humans, outside of the Digidestined circle.

"Um, Mrs. Dain?" Tai spoke up, after he had counted out the money for the meal. "I'm afraid were a couple of dollars short." He stated embarrassed.

"Oh that's all right, I'll just put the rest on Davis' tab." The woman stated with a broad smile.

"What?" Davis cried in woe, knowing that his tab was already considerably large.

"I'm only kidding dear." She replied kindly. "This one's on me."

"Are you sure Mrs. Dain, I mean the bill is pretty big." Ken stated, feeling badly for not paying for the meal.

"Of course darlings. You all just go out there a teach those evil monsters who's boss." The waitress exclaimed, as she swung her fist at a target that wasn't there. "Why if I was still young, I'd be out there with you, showing them things, you can't pick on children and get away with it!"

Sora laughed at the elder woman's enthusiasm, and truly believed that she meant what she said. "I pity the digimon that comes to this dinner looking for trouble." She stated while chuckling.

Mrs. Dain smiled, a part of her truly wished she could go out there and defend her home, but she knew that this fight belong to these brave young men and women, so she did what she could. She showed her support and gratitude, knowing it might not seem like much, but also knowing it meant more than any mindless raving and threats ever could.

"You children be safe, and remember we're behind you."

The Digidestined nodded gratefully, then said their good-byes.

After the children and monsters left, Mrs. Dain leaned lazily on the counter, going over the facts she had stored in her mind about the entire group. Remembering each of their faces, and trying to keep the sounds of their voices fresh in her mind.

She would have sat there for a lot longer, but the sound of crashing dishes drew her attention to the kitchen.

"What is that blasted husband of mind up to now." She exclaimed, in mock dread as she skipped happily back to the kitchen, while humming the rest of the chorus of the Teenage Wolf's first hit.

~*~*~

Two pale hands were pushed deeper into pockets, as shoulders slumped tiredly. Old black tennis shoes, with worn souls and dirt stained laces, stepped heavily on pavement. Occasionally pieces of broken glass would crack under the shoe's pressers, but for the most part the only obstacles the black shoes faced, were dried up brown leaves, which crumbled instantly, under the heavy pounding of frustrated steps.

Vacant alleys and empty shops, echoed the sound of a fading winter's breeze; dark storm clouds circled, threateningly, above. A few sunrays managed to leek through the barrier of ominous clouds, but for the most part the city was shadowed by an odd hour crepuscule.

A thin frame shuddered, as another breeze swept through the empty streets, tossing old newspapers and other debris around carelessly. Tiered shoulders slumped further down, this time trying to escape the cold slap of air, however all efforts were in vain, and the wind still managed to hit its prey, forcing another shiver out of the defenseless teen.

Matt's mood was slowly going from determined to depression. He had come back for one main reason, and that was to beg his friends for forgiveness, but the more he saw of the damage from the last battle, the more he felt the need to beg the entire city for forgiveness. During the actual battles, he knew the damage had been pretty bad, but he had never imagined such un-concentrated destruction.

This wasn't like his people, this wasn't the work of well-trained and disciplined soldiers, this was the work of an out of control devil. Shattered windows, burned apartments, ravaged work places; these weren't effective attacks, this was just vandalism.

The blonde felt his blood boil as he thought of all the needless destruction, Deamon didn't want a victory, he just wanted to prove, that out of all the evils to ever threaten both worlds, he was the worse. It sickened Matt, turned his stomach at the thought of such a careless leader. His own soldiers were being slaughtered, and for what? For the chance to give one more child a scare that would haunt his dreams far into adulthood.

'How could any ruler treat his people with such disrespect. And how could and soldier find glory in such weak attacks. Attacking defenseless people and their homes, what's to brag about that?'

He couldn't help but grieve for the innocent, for the people simply trying to live their lives, but some how were thrown into this battle. People, who were forced to see the reality of war and hate, people, who no longer saw it as someone else's troubles, someone else's pain.

It defeated him in a way, he fought so that no one else would be forced to feel that pain, and now those efforts were lost to the rampage of crazed, devilish monsters.

Matt looked up for a moment, the sound of air splitting smoothly, caught his attention and he stopped walking.

He listened, as behind him the gliding creature landed and walked softly on the sidewalk, until it was next to him. Once the creature was beside him, Yamato continued his walk, with the new comer keeping in pace with him.

"I went over the entire sector, this area is completely clear."

Yamato nodded in acknowledgment to his companion's words.

"Where's Gabumon?" the creature questioned, once she realized that the rookie digimon was not present.

"He's going to meet me a couple of blocks from here." The blonde replied quietly.

Ladydevimon nodded, despite the fact that Matt could not see her. She looked over at her Lord in amazement, finding it hard to see that powerful ruler who had defeated Pharaohmon yesterday, in the quiet teen strolling down the street.

The teen looked as normal as any other kid, with baggy blue jeans, old black tennis shoes, a loose, long sleeve black T-shirt, and, of course, the thin black jacket, with its hood currently covering every strand of his golden hair.

"Are you all right Matt?" the demon digimon questioned with genuine concern.

"I'm just thinking." The teen replied softly.

They continued to walk in silence, heading towards the meeting point with Gabumon, but Ladydevimon knew something was troubling her Lord. He had been so reserved after his talk with Lady Ophanimon, and the fallen angel wondered what it was that the mega digimon told the him that upset him so much.

"I don't want to lose anyone." Matt suddenly declared, causing the scarlet-eyed digimon to stop dead in her tracks.

"What?" she questioned in surprise.

"I don't want to lose anyone." Matt repeated, this time with less conviction, but with more rationality. "War destroys so many lives, I just don't think I could stand to lose any of my friends." He expressed, as he lowered his head, giving into his depression.

"Matt you are the ruler of soldiers, loss is a strong part of your life." She stated seriously.

"I know." He whispered softly. "And I tried to convince myself that I'd be ready, if anyone I had a relationship with, died, but I was only kidding myself. The only reason I live is for my friends… you, Gabumon, my brother, all of them. You are my reason for living."

The fallen angel looked at her ruler sadly, wishing she could offer some short of kind words, but none came. She was a soldier, she was born and raised to fight and face the possibility of losing friends, and she had accepted that possibility a long time ago. She knew dwelling on it, would only drive her made, so she refused to think beyond the here and now.

"But now you have another reason to live Matt. You have a nation that needs you, that looks to you for strength. You will lose people along the way, but as long as you honor your memory of them and what they fought for, they will never truly leave you. Respect those who die in this war, by not letting their deaths, be the thing that defeats you."

Matt stared at the pavement for a moment, taking in what Ladydevimon had just said, her words didn't offer comfort, but they did offer strength. And at times like this, strength and the will to push forward, were far more valuable then any comforting words could ever be.

"Thank you Ladydevimon." He stated evenly, then began to walk again.

"The real world certainly is different." Ladydevimon mused aloud, once she and Matt began their walk again.

"This is your first time here?" the teen questioned curiously.

"Yes, actually this is my first time to ever leave the South." The fallen angel stated causally.

"Really?"

"Yes, well, the South has everything. Don't you think?" she questioned with a smile, showing her pride in her home.

Matt nodded in agreement then said. "Just about." To him it had everything, except the most important thing a place could have, his brother.

The two walked on in silence the rest of the way to Gabumon.

Gabumon flipped idly through the paper he found. He had finished the comics and was now moving to the more serious articles, such as the one on the latest monster attacks. He looked closely at the pictures taken of destroyed builds, thankful that no picture had been taken of the actually battles. He knew how important it was for the Digidestined's identities to remain a secret, so he was grateful that the camera crews didn't manage to get a shot at his partner and friends.

"Anything interesting?" a little champion digimon asked curiously, as he looked at this strange device used by the humans to inform other humans.

"Fire fighters rescue cat stuck in tree, crazed monsters destroy half of the city, and the stock market is down again." The rookie digimon replied sarcastically.

Sorcermon only nodded, not really understanding any of the headlines.

"Matt's here." Gabumon stated while still flipping through the paper.

"Where?" Sorcermon asked in confusion, as he scanned over the area.

The wizard gave up trying to locate the teen, and was about to turn and call Gabumon on his mistake, when suddenly both Matt and Ladydevimon turned a corner, and appeared in the open road.

"There." Gabumon replied to Sorcermon's earlier question with little interest.

"Hey guys. What's up?" Matt greeted friendly, as he and Ladydevimon reached the two awaiting digimon.

Gabumon shrugged his shoulders, then replied. "Nothing much, just waiting for you and now Renamon to arrive." The stripped digimon informed, as he rolled up the newspaper and tucked it under his arm.

"What is a stock market?" Sorcermon asked in confusion, everything about the human world seemed so strange to him.

"That's easy. It's a market full of stock." Ladydevimon announced proudly.

"Well it's a little more complicated than that." Matt stated, while trying to hold back a chuckle at his general's words.

Ladydevimon glared at Matt with offense, then crossed her arms. "Well, I didn't hear any of you saying what it was."

"Well we would tell Sorcermon what it is, but you see, there's this really annoying digimon, who has a tendency to open her mouth too much. Which is pretty irritating, considering she doesn't know what she's talking about half of the time." Gabumon stated sarcastically.

"Why you!" Ladydevimon huffed as he turned a death glare on the rookie digimon, which was returned in full force by the stripped rookie.

Matt laughed, "Why do you guys pretend to hate each other? We all know you couldn't live without the other." He mocked, earning a chuckle from Sorcermon.

"No way!" Gabumon stated angrily, as he turned around and crossed his arms stubbornly.

"Ditto!" Ladydevimon exclaimed, then turned, mocking Gabumon's actions, which only got her more laughter from the two spectators.

"Well as amusing as this has all been, I still don't know anything about the stock market." Sorcermon spoke, a bit saddened that his quest for knowledge would be put on hold.

"Well, I don't really know much about it either, you have to be eighteen, or maybe it's twenty-one, to buy stock. But if you like, I can buy you a book on it later." Matt said to Sorcermon.

The champion digimon smiled, pleased with that idea, then nodded.

"Am I interrupting anything?" a smooth and eloquent voice asked, as a yellow fox digimon materialized on a streetlight above the group of three digimon and one human.

"No, in fact, we were just waiting for you." Gabumon greeted, smiling broadly at the allusive fox.

Renamon nodded, but did not reply; instead, she waited for the meeting to begin.

"Well who wants to go first?" Matt asked then waited.

Sorcermon stepped forward and began to speak. "I went over the entire north and northeast, and I saw nothing. It seems that Deamon's troops have pulled out of that area."

The next to go was Ladydevimon. "South and southeast is clear too, nothing there but some squirrels."

"There is nothing to report on the southwest." Renamon added quickly.

"Northwest is clear also." Gabumon announced seriously.

"This doesn't make any sense." Matt exclaimed in bafflement. "Deamon had the field, why would he retreat his forces, especially since there was nothing to resistant him."

"It is possible that he called his troops back, so that they could regroup. You and the other Digidestined destroyed the more powerful threats; all that was left, were some weak champion digimon. He probably called them back so that he could form a more organized attack. Strike direct and hard, instead of this scattered vandalism." Ladydevimon explained her theory on the matter. She was the General of War and this was considered war.

Matt thought for a moment, going over the fallen angel's theory. "Deamon has had over thirty-four hours to regroup, if he's going to strike, it will be soon. He won't wait until we have the chance to build a stronger defense."

"He probably left scouts over the city, some digimon have the power to allude even our senses. They are, more than likely, waiting until you rejoin your fellow Digidestined. Deamon has shown, many times, that he prefers the large flashy battles. Taking all of you down at once, most be very appealing to him." Renamon spoke now, being a scout herself, she knew how difficult it could be to locate the crafty digimon.

"Then all we can do is wait. Deamon has to come to us from the Dark Ocean. I hate the idea of just sitting around, waiting for the enemy to attack." Gabumon stated nervously.

"I do too, but we don't have any other choice. If Deamon wants to bring the battle to me, then let him. It doesn't matter who makes the first move, I'm going to make the last." Matt spoke firmly, knowing that he could do no more than what he already had. "Go back over the city, and try to see if you can find any of these scouts. If we know where their concentrating their focus on, we might be able to find the gate that Deamon will come through. This might give us the upper hand. But don't look too long. If you can't find anything then head back. Gabumon and I will wait for you at the bus stop where we arrived."

Matt gave his orders, and his generals nodded then went to carry them out.

"You look like you could use some breakfast."

Matt blinked, then looked down at his partner questionably. "We don't have time. Besides I already ate earlier."

"Yes, but there wasn't any coffee." Gabumon replied as he grinned, knowing that his partner would not be able to turn down the chance for a cup of strong, hot coffee. 'You're tiered and slipping. Coffee won't change that, but it will, at least, comfort you, it will be something familiar, something from the life you left behind.' The rookie digimon thought sadly.

He had seen the effects, the slow inevitable slip into an overpowering lifestyle. Sleeping little, if at all. Eating meals on the run, pushing every nerve and muscles to their limit, and possibly going beyond. It was difficult, and painful, but Matt endured, silently. The young man tried to suffer alone, but his best friend, refused to allow it. If Matt suffered, Gabumon would suffer too.

"Well, the others won't be back right away, I guess one cup of coffee wouldn't hurt. But I'm not sure if any place is opened."

"Well, let's go find out." Gabumon stated, as he started walking down the sidewalk, with Matt following close behind.

The walk was short, and to Matt's surprise, they had found a small diner opened. In a flash both he and Gabumon were inside the dinner, escaping the cold and the wind from outside.

"What are you going to get?" Gabumon asked curiously, as he looked around the dinner, thankful that no one else was there.

"Just coffee." Matt replied softly, as he took a seat on one of the stools standing by the counter.

Gabumon took a seat next to Matt, struggle a bit to get comfortable because his legs were too short, then sat back and waited.

After a few seconds of silence a crash came from the kitchen, which was followed by two muffled voices yelling.

Matt smiled at the sounds, emanating from behind the swinging door, then began to count in his head, 'Three, two, one…' and suddenly Mrs. Dain emerged from behind the door, her back turned towards the awaiting customers.

"You old coot! How many times do I have to tell you to use a pot holder when you pick up a kettle of boiling water!" the elder woman shouted, then turned around. For a moment she looked at the two waiting customers in surprise, then exclaimed, "Oh my! Is that dang bell even working?" she glared accusingly at little brass bell, whirred to the door.

"It works, I think your hearing's finally starting to go." Matt replied, with a loving smirk.

Mrs. Dain gave the teen a glare that said death, while putting her hands, angrily, on her hips. "I'll have you know, Mr. Ishida, that my hearing, is as every bit as good as a woman of twenty." She stated defensively.

Matt laughed kindly at the offended woman. "Your hearing's not the only thing that rivals a young woman, you beauty could make any of them green with envy." The blonde stated sweetly, hoping to charm his way out of the hole he dug.

Mrs. Dain continued her show for a few more seconds, then the offense faded, as Matt offered her a puppy dogface. The woman laughed at the teen's wide eyes and pouting lip. "I see you haven't lost your charm blondie." She stated dryly, but with a sweet smile. "It's been a while since I've seen you, are you here to earn a couple of bucks?"

Matt grinned a the thought, remembering the many times he had come to this little dinner, worked for a day or two, then went and blew the money on CD's.

"No, actually I'm here for coffee, and he wants breakfast." The teen replied casually.

Mrs. Dain smiled pleasantly at Gabumon, then asked. "The usual?"

The rookie digimon nodded eagerly in response.

"And black, with two raw sugars right?" she asked, looking at Matt.

"Yup." The blonde replied and the woman vanished behind the swinging door again.

Matt sighed, then placed his elbows on the counter, laying his head down on his folded arms.

"We haven't been here in a while." Gabumon mused thoughtfully. Trying not to disturb his friend.

Gentle crimson eyes drifted to the teen, whose eyes were closed and his breathing somewhat raspy.

'I can't believe he decided to come back so quickly. There was a time when he would have stayed away, a time when running from his problems was more appealing then facing them. Like when we left after that battle with Puppetmon. But now look at him, there's very little left in him that you could consider childish. He's facing his problems, and he's not turning back, even if going forward means failure and heart ache.'

The stripped digimon's head shot up, as Mrs. Dain walked through the white door, carrying a red plastic try in both hands. "One cup of coffee black, with two sugars. And a pile of pancakes, with extra butter and hot syrup."

"Thanks." Gabumon expressed, as he took his food and greedily began devouring it.

"What's the matter? He not been feeding you?" the elder woman asked with a smirk, as she watched the rookie tare at another pancake.

"We've been kind of busy." Gabumon replied with a mouth full of food.

"Poor dear, he really got it ruff. With that father of his and everything." The woman replied sympathetically, as she remembered her first encounter with the young man.

It was right after the divorce was final. Mrs. Ishida took on a lot of hours to pay for the expenses of the separation. It was a competition with his ex-wife, see who could do better without the other. Of course, neither one, ultimately they both failed, because both missed out on a great deal of their childrens' lives.

After his father began working the long hours, Matt was left alone; there was not even a baby-sitter to keep him company. So the young boy, at the age of eight, began to go out at night. There was no one to stop him, his father only called once, at night at midnight to make certain his son was in bed, and if Matt didn't pick up, it meant that he was asleep. So the blonde figured out a log time ago, that he had to learn how to be alone. How to thrive alone.

On one, of the many nights, he was wondering the streets, he found this lace. A twenty-four hour diner, the perfect place to grab a snack before he headed to the arcade.

The boy ordered a cheeseburger and fires, but when it came time to pay the bill, he didn't have enough. So he tried to slip out unnoticed, he had done it before, and it always worked, but Mrs. Dain caught him. The spunky woman put on a big show of how she was going to call the police, but the show ended when she noticed that the eight-year-old wasn't scared. He simply sat there, stared back at the woman with dead eyes, and that was when she melted.

She struck a deal with the kid, come over every Saturday to wash dishes, and you can eat for free anytime you want. The deal coast the Dain's a bit of money, not to mention some dishes, but both Mrs. And Mr. Dain felt it was worth it. Matt stayed out of trouble when he was at the diner, and he wasn't alone anymore. He also got a chance to develop his gift for cooking. It was one of the few, good, things that happened in the boy's younger years.

"No need to pity me." Matt replied within a yawn, as he sat back up and rubbed his tired eyes. "Things are getting better."

"Then how come you look worse?" the woman retorted.

Matt could think of no good answer, so he put up a front. "No need to insult me right to my face."

Mrs. Dain shook her head, displeased with the answer, but she let it go, knowing the teen well enough, to know not to push. "Drink your coffee." She ordered, a sadden tone fluttering in her voice.

Matt obeyed, ignoring the disbelief in the waitress' voice.

A few minutes slipped by in silence, as Matt finished his coffee, and Gabumon pushed his empty plat aside.

Mrs. Dain silently took the empty dishes to the back, and Matt slid off of his stool, and began to dig in his pocket, until his hand grabbed his black leather wallet.

Gabumon leapt from his seat, happy to have a full stomach, and waited patiently beside his partner.

Mrs. Dain reappeared from behind the door, then saw Matt sorting through the money in is wallet. "You still eat for free you know." She reminded with a smile.

Matt nodded without looking up, then replied. "Yeah, but the others don't, and I have a feeling you let them free load too."

Mrs. Dain looked at the teen in shock, and Matt slowly rose his head, bearing a large grin at the sight of the elder woman's surprised face.

"How'd you know your friends stopped by?" she questions, her surprise fading, as a sly smile appeared on her face. She loved the little secrets she shared with the teen. He was, in a way, the son they never had.

"I could feel it when I walked in. my senses have sharpened quite a bit. Along with my ability to heal, and my power is greater." He bragged, knowing that the woman would gain a feeling of pride from his accomplishments. "Also there's syrup on your ceiling, and I'm pretty sure no one other than Davis, could accomplish something like that."

The woman laughed, as her eyes wandered to the sticky ceiling. "How did he manage that?" she mused aloud with a giggle.

"Oh, but it doesn't matter, all Digidestined and their partners eat for free." She explained, refusing the money the blonde was offering her.

Matt nodded putting the roll of cash in his coat pocket. He knew arguing would be useless.

Mrs. Dain was about to say something more, when suddenly another crash came from the kitchen. The old woman gave Matt a look, and the blonde nodded.

"Go." He said simply, with a smile.

"Thanks, and I'll tell him you stopped by." She replied gratefully, before running back into the kitchen.

Soon irritated yells began to ring from behind the swinging door, and Matt smiled, suppressing an amused laugh.

"We should get going, the others are still pretty near. We have time to catch up." Gabumon stated, pulling the teen's attention away from the kitchen door.

Matt nodded in agreement, and Gabumon began to head out the exit.

Matt, reluctantly, took a few steps forward, then turned around. He eyed the counter suspiciously, then walked back to it, and quietly placed the rolled up bills on the counter. Then he smiled and turned, following Gabumon out of the comfort of the diner, and into the cold empty streets.

~*~*~

Pillars of light blue, lined a long hall, holding the crystal ceiling, with its perfect arch, high above the ground. The pillars were solid in form, to the touch they would feel like stone or metal, dense and motionless, but to the eyes, the pillars seemed to wave, like wind trapped within a glass case. The smooth, opal floor reflected the bright sun light, blaring through the, marvelously craved, crystal above.

A lone figure walked, in complete repose, down the long straight hallway. His head was kept level, bright blue eyes, focused on nothing but his destination, and a white cloak, trailed wildly behind him.

The wind whistled loudly through the hall, with no walls on either side to stop its mad dance, it swirled around tugging playfully at the figure's clothes and brown hair. The figured walked on, unmoved by the marvels around him. The fresh thin clouds blowing past and sometimes through the hall, the golden light leaking strongly through the ceiling because of how close the sun stood. It was a sight so breath taking, that the few, who ever received the honor of walking this long but beautiful path, were nearly drawn to tears, feeling as though they were leaving the world they knew, and walking straight into heaven.

But to this man, the walk was tedious, the view monotonous, and the place a hell, which he long to escape. This was no time for him to be here. Why he had been called back still remained a mystery. He didn't understand, in a time like this, he should be back on earth. He should be there with the chosen, but Azulongmon, his Digi-god, demanded his return, and so the digital being left. He knew better then to question the mega dragon, but still he could see no reason for his return, there was no logical way for this to help their current situation.

The man stopped abruptly, then looked at the door, that was now only a few inches from his face. He hadn't remembered walking this far. His mind had been in a daze, his conscience was floating three feet above his head, and he couldn't seem to pull himself together, not after he had learned the truth. The shock of this horrific revelation, still hadn't worn off, and now, he was here, lingering behind great pearl doors. The large doors, seemed to reach into heaven, made of beautiful pearl, which was carved with expert craftsmanship. Carved along the rims of the shinny doors, was ancient Digi-code, much of which, even this man did not know. And in the center of the two doors, was carved a celestial digimon. Part of the ancient race, which had died out long before this man's creation.

The angel was strange, not like the angel digimon of today, such as Angemon and Angewomon. This celestial was small, like a child, with untamed hair, that seemed to sit where ever it wanted, thin flowing cloth was wrapped, almost carelessly, around the angel's body, and large, white wings sprouted from its back.

The man shook his head, dragging his attention back to the task at hand. He didn't know who the little angel digimon was, or why Azulongmon chose to have it, carved upon the doors to his courtroom, but still, the carving was there, just as it always had been. The man didn't know much about the ancient race, or Azulongmon's connection to them, so he simply ignored the carving. He pushed the questions out of his mind, knowing it was none of his concern.

'I should go in.' he reminded himself, after he realized how long he had been standing, staring at the pearl doors.

With a heavy sigh, he braced himself for the bad news he knew was coming,then he struggled to push one of the great doors open, before walking timidly into the courtroom.

The courtroom sparkled with cleanliness. The round room, with its many seats, of all sizes, stood before the man with its usual greatness. The intimidation was immediately there, the feeling of childlike inadequacy, in a world not meant for error or weakness, overpowered him again. He gulped, like always, finding some comfort in his routine, as he stepped quietly into the large circle, which made up the courtroom's floor. He looked up habitably, taking note again that there was no ceiling, and that the room was actually more like an ancient Roman coliseums than a courtroom. The floor was perfectly laid with polished rock and minerals, making out a very detailed pattern. And there, standing in the wide openness of the great room stood the man, alone, and feeling completely exposed.

"So you decided to come back after all." A deep and friendly voice boomed, scolding the man a bit on his reluctance to follow orders.

The man quivered slightly, not knowing what to expect, he had never once been rebellious to the great mega, and he was certain that the punishment for his behavior would be dire. "Forgive me Azulongmon, I don't know what I was thinking." The man apologized humbly.

Azulongmon chuckled softly at the man's feelings of shame. "Genai, I am not angry with you. I can find no fault with you questioning my orders. I know how greatly you care about the Chosen Children, and I know how difficult this revelation has been on you." The mega explained kindly.

Genai refused to lift his head, like a shameful child, he hide his face from his father figure as he responded. "Nothing condones me questioning you Master, your wisdom and authority far surpasses my own, and it was wrong for me to have doubted you."

"I do not want a legion of mindless servants Genai." Azulongmon stated, striking something in the man, which caused him to lift his head up a bit, revealing his sky blue eyes. "But this does not matter now, you came back, and that is all I need. Now we must concern ourselves with the more crucial matter. Lord Yamato."

Genai gritted his teeth at the sound of the Digidestined of Friendship's name. "He is not the Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers. He is a misguided Digidestined. They deceived him somehow." The man stated bitterly, his anger rising.

"Are you certain of that?" Azulongmon question simply.

Genai looked up, confused by the mega's question. "He is not evil." The man replied rationally.

"No" Azulongmon spoke, his voice sounding miles away, as his mind drifted back to the night before. "No he is not, but Piedmon was not wicked either, at least not at first."

"Azulongmon what do you mean?" Genai asked, now his anger had dissolved into curiosity.

"That is not important at the moment." The dragon replied evenly. "All that matters now, is Yamato and Deamon. They will face each other today. It was meant to be. The final test that fate will place before the boy, before his time comes." The mega stated, more to himself then the digital man below him.

"Master? What do you mean, the final test before his time comes?"

The mega looked down upon the waiting guardian, then smiled. "It is something beyond you my friend, perhaps even beyond me, for it was written long before my time." The dragon replied, but only received a puzzling look from his waiting friend.

"You will find, Genai, that in every story, there are two parts, the beginning and the end, everything in between, is simply the bridge that connects the beginning to its end. You would believe that once Deamon is destroyed, it would be the end, but this is not so. Yamato's victory over this demon, is only the beginning. Though I fear that what lies after the beginning, the bridge that will lead to the end, may be too much for this youth to bare."

Genai didn't understand, and again he felt like a lost child, left out because he was seen as too young for the heavy burden of knowledge. All the digital being could tell, was that something, which has existed long before he walked the digital world, was playing out, and that, somehow, Yamato was a key part of this strange mystery.

"Master should I return to help the Digidestined?" Genai questioned softly, as he noticed the clouded look in the dragon's eyes.

Azulongmon blinked, clearing his sight, as he returned his attention to the man below.

"No Genai, your part in this chapter is over. But don't be discouraged, your role in this story has barely begun." The mega replied kindly.

Genai noded in respect, knowing that he had been dismissed, then turned and left, behind the pear doors.

"And if all goes as it should, my part in the story, is coming to an end." The mega spoke to the wind, letting the breeze morn for his sorrow, as he knew, there was no escaping what was meant to be.

~*~*~

"Kari, what are you looking at?" Yolie asked curiously, as she adverted her gaze to the sky.

Kari tore her stare away from the heavens, and looked at her friend with concern shinning in her ruby eyes. "I don't like the look of those clouds, they seem so unnatural." She explained with apprehension.

"They look pretty normal to me." The elder girl replied, while flipping a few strands of her long violet hair behind her shoulders. "I think you're just nervous, but there's no need in turning nothing into something." She explained kindly, not enjoying the idea that even the clouds could pose a threat to them.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." The Child of Light reluctantly agreed, as she stole a quick glance back up at the ashen clouds, creeping ominously above.

"Hey, you guys can girl talk later, we need to head back to the elementary school." Tai shouted to the two girls meandering behind the rest of the group.

"Actually Tai, there really is no reason to go back to the school, we've accomplished all we need to there. Now we should focus our attention, on setting up some sort of defense around this parameter." Izzy advised the leader, as his coal back eyes scanned over their current location, learning, both the flaws and the advantages, of fighting in the open streets.

"Okay, so how exactly do we set up a defense? Do we dig trenches or something." Joe asked with a defeated sigh.

"No, that would be like digging our own graves." Tai replied bemused in their hopeless situation.

"One things for certain, the attack will occur wherever we are at." Ken announced sternly, his hatred for Deamon shinning through his shyness around the older Digidestined.

"Yeah, I agree." Izzy confirmed, as he sat down upon the curve and opened up his yellow and white, pineapple laptop.

Joe sighed forlornly, then flopped down on the bus bench, behind the curve ,where Izzy sat furiously typing away at his computer. "It just all seems so wrong." The doctor to be, expressed under his breath, but his efforts to keep his thoughts to himself failed, as Sora heard the whispered words.

"What seems wrong?" she questioned gently, as she sat down beside the navy hair boy.

"Everything. I just don't get it. Who's really pulling the strings here? I mean the same thing that made Matt a Digidestined, was the same thing that made him the Lord of the Nightmare Soldiers. And now even Genai's confused by all of this. If he doesn't know what's going on, then how will we ever figure it out!" the teen announced in woe and confusion.

"And I'll bet you're allergic to all of this confusion huh." Sora replied humorously.

Joe only offered the red head a look which said 'That's not funny' then continued. "It's not a joke, how can we know when, and how hard Deamon will strike?"

"We don't" Tai broke in, his voice stern and steady, as a leader's should be. "That is why we have to be ready for anything."

The others nodded solemnly; knowing that now was the time to get ready, that this attack wouldn't be like the other. Deamon's troops already destroyed the city, now all that was left to brake was them. And so they put their game faces on, ready to press forward and meet the challenge, as they always have in the past.

~*~*~

She ran over the buildings gracefully. Her speed made her look like an untamable flash of yellow and white, leaping over alleys in a wild, but dignified, race to the meeting point. It was a game, a joviality race, for a being that knew only harsh competition.

The generals parameters had intersected, and when they all ended up at the same building, their last building, they agreed, a race. A joyous test of speed and skill, and, of course, she had agreed without question. They would race back to the meeting point, where she was certain, her Lord and the General Gabumon, would be waiting patiently for their full report.

Now her speed picked up, as the location drew near. She leapt gleeful on air conditioner, the wind brushing gently through her shinny coat of fur, and picked up even more speed. Now it was just below her, the building she raced freely upon now, overshadowed the bus bench, where they were to meet. All she could think about was her glorious victory. She had no problem with Sorcermon, he was a digimon of knowledge, a league alien to her, but the thrill of beating Ladydevimon, another digimon of battle, rushed through her data fueling her with adrenaline.

So in one beautiful flip, she flew from the building, and soared to the streetlight, six stories below her.

She landed silently, her eyes shut, as her paws softly found their place on the post, but then she opened her sharp blue eyes, and almost let out a shuddering gasp. Their below her, were the Digidestined, all huddled in a circle, speaking quietly amongst one another.

She knew that at this point she should leave, all memory of her faultless victory fading from her mind, but she had received orders to come here. She shook her head, going over the possibilities. Yamato would want her to leave the Digidestined alone right? But, at the same time, she had been specifically ordered to come here, and maybe her Lord had met up with his fellow Digidestined, and sent them here as well.

But if that were the case, he would be here. She was confused, not certain of what to do. Finally she decided to remain for just a few more seconds, maybe her Lord would arrive soon. If not, then she would leave and try to locate the other two generals, which she reminded herself with pride, were still several blocks away.

Her placid, blue eyes, narrowed upon the young blonde in the group. She had been ordered to protect him before, and in that time, her mind was solely on her mission. She never stopped and realized just how great the resemblance between the younger boy and her Lord truly was. They both had amazing blue eyes, that shown with the strength of a brilliant flame. And they had fair skin, with amazing locks of golden hair. But, despite the similarities the rookie digimon was also able to see the differences. The way this young boy's eyes shone brightly with hope, and the way her Lord's eyes glistened with and icy sorrow, that froze over the windows into his heart, making it difficult to understand his true feelings.

'I wish you all knew young children, especially you Takure, how deeply my Lord's love runs for you.' She thought sadly, her mind losing track of both time and her location.

"Hey you!" the spunky voice shouted, directly to the fox digimon, resting upon the streetlight.

Renamon cursed under her breath. 'I forgot about how keen the Gatomon senses are.' She scolded herself, angry with her own stupidity, then turned her attention down to the Chosen Children and their digimon partners.

The moment Renamon's present's was discovered, the Digidestined fled from the vulnerable position directly under the streetlight, and dashed to the center of the road.

"What are you doing up there?!" Gatomon continued, as she leapt from her perch on Kari's shoulder, and moved down into a defensive position.

"Spying I'll bet." Cody stated with rage.

Distress rose in Renamon's mind, as she stared into the distrusting eyes of the Digidestined. 'Spying? It does look like I was spying.' Again she scolded herself; this was no time for this sort of mistakes.

"Well?" Tai demanded, a bit calmer then the other accusers.

Renamon's first instinct was to run, but she reminded herself, that her Lord was trying to mend his relationship with his fellow Digidestined, and her actions already reflected poorly upon her Lord.

"Forgive me. I was not spying." Renamon stated, her voice smooth, but her words pleading.

"Then why were you sitting there watching us? I don't think it was because of the view!" Gatomon shouted, still on guard.

'How do I respond to that?' the rookie thought, desperation clouding her mind. She was a warrior, not a diplomat.

Quickly the fox digimon leapt off of the streetlight, standing in a defensive position, in case the Digidestined didn't believe her.

The digimon must have seen her move as a threat, because they immediately moved in front of their partners, their eyes narrowing upon the rookie digimon, still waiting for her response to their accusations.

She had none, Renamon could think of no way to respond, she was certain, that not matter what she said, they wouldn't believe her anyway. 'This is bad, if we fight amongst one another, then Deamon will have a greater opportunity to defeat us.'

He floated along, flipping thoughtfully through and old and dusty book. "'Elves and Dragons! I says to him. Cabbages and potatoes are better for me and you. Don't go getting mixed up in the business of your betters, or you'll land in trouble too big for you, I says to him. And I might say it to others, he added with a look at the stranger and the miller.'" Sorcermon continued to float along, lost deeply in the old book he had found, lying amongst the shattered glass of the bookstore's window.

"The Digital World needs more good literature like this." He mused with a smile, as he flipped to another page on elves. "I never knew the real world had such a fascinating history. Hobbits, elves, dwarfs." He stated, as he flipped over the book to look at the cover. "Fiction?" he shouted in dismay, according to the printing, this book was a fairytale. Sorcermon shook his head, and then looked scornfully at the word fiction. He didn't believe it, it had to be some kind of a lie. "There's no way this is fiction. It's far too convincing." He announced, his voice final and stern.

Then it was decided, the book was not fiction. So he would take it back with him, and read over it closely, learning the many ways of the strange races, written so elegantly within these pages.

Sorcermon continued to float, his attention having been distracted from the race, he was suppose to be participating in, and diverted entirely, to his new found treasure. He continued to flip through pages, the Gray Wizard, quickly becoming an idle of his, that was, until angered voices drew his attention away from his beloved book.

"Then why were you sitting there watching us? I don't think it was because of the view!"

Worry overtook the wizard digimon, as he watched the Gatomon threaten his fellow general. He didn't know what had happened before his arrival, but he was certain that it wasn't good. Renamon stood on her guard, while the Digidestined's partners moved in, minacious in their every step.

"Renamon!" Sorcermon shouted, bringing the advancing digimon to a halt and pulling their attention away from the rookie digimon. 'Whatever you do, try to resolve this peacefully.' He repeated over and over in his head.

"Another one!" exclaimed Sora in fear.

The Digidestined didn't know what to expect, they didn't know for certain that these digimon were not enemies, and Renamon had been watching them.

"Please we mean no harm." Sorcermon begged for the children's trust, but the group still glared at him coldly.

"Then why was your friend spying on us?" Agumon demanded harshly.

Sorcermon looked to the fox digimon in confusion.

Spying on them?

I was not spying. This is where we were suppose to meet. I hesitated too long on deciding if I should leave or stay.

I understand, but now we have a problem.

You should try to contact Yamato.

I've tried, something is wrong, he's either too far out of range, or some force is preventing me from getting through.

"Stop staring into thin air and answer us!" Davis cried a bit annoyed by being ignored.

By now Sorcermon had moved beside Renamon, and both waited for an attack to come, certain that it would. The thought of running never occurred to them, it simply was not in their nature, and so they never considered it as an option.

The Digidestined were now growing uneasy. They couldn't understand why the two digimon were waiting, the only answer they could find, was that they were waiting for reinforcements.

"Are we going to have to make you answer our question!" Gatomon shouted, hoping her threat would generate a response.

Immediately Renamon shifted into a defense, then replied. "Is that some kind of a challenge kitty-cat?" she sneered.

Now it was too much, the tension was too thick, and both sides were aching from waiting for the other to attack.

The Digidestined's digimon readied to attack, and the Nightmare Soldiers did the same.

Muscles tightened and gazes hardened into cold stares. They were expecting a battle, and the stress of that weight brought them to this. The need for some satisfaction. The need to destroy something that opposed them, even if it was not, the thing that their hatred was truly focused on.

They readied, and the attacks were built up ready to be sent flying upon their opponents.

The attacks were sent and they crashed into one another with a startling bang. The ground shook, and more attacks were released.

The Digidestined's digimon out numbered the Nightmare Soldiers, but the soldiers had more experience, making it a fairly even match.

Gatomon, Patamon, Hawkmon, and Biyomon went after Renamon, while the rest charged at Sorcermon.

The attacks were powerful and accurate. Renamon released her Diamond Storm attack upon Biyomon, sending her flying into Sora's arms, but Patamon attacked the fox digimon with a strong Boom Bubble from the side.

Sorcermon's higher level, and variety of attacks, served him well against the numbers opposing him, however the battle was too fast past to put together any spells, so he relied totally on his attacks.

Agumon shot up a Pepper Breath attack, and Sorcermon sliced through the attack with his staff. Then Tentomon hit him with a Super Shocker attack, throwing him off balance a little, but he managed to regain his stance, and continued to take and deliver attacks.

Scarlet eyes watched the scene from a distance. A blackened body concealed by the dense shadows around it, hovered high in the. A once unquestionable love for battle, for the smell of freshly spilt blood, dissolved with the grief of this sight. Those who should stand united, were now placed against one another. Fighting as though this were the battle they had been waiting for.

She knew it wasn't true, that they weren't enemies, but the waiting had made them itchy. They were warriors, both sides, and waiting for your enemy to attack, does something to you. The anxiety created by waiting, could drive you into extreme measure, making it so you lash out at the first person to push your buttons. Now these creatures inability to control themselves, could very well destroy all hope for victory over the true enemy. And if it continued, all hope for peace would soon be gone.

She thought about doing something, she was the commanding General, she could order the others to end this ridiculous brawl, but she knew the very sight of her, would only cause greater problems. The Digidestined wouldn't see a general, who simply wants to serve her Lord, in hope of bringing peace to her world, they would see a fallen angel, a demon, a monster.

"I must find Matt." She decided finally, then stretched her long black wings, and soared further down, scanning the streets for her Lord.

~*~*~

A carefree laugh flew from the boy's lips, as he looked down at his partner, strolling merrily beside him.

"I can't believe you would say that." He cried in mock disappointment, but still chuckling a bit at the other's words.

"I only speak the truth my friend. Boy bands do sound like Yokomon." The stripped creature replied, pretending to sound like some short of holy man.

Matt laughed harder, then replied. "Well you better not tell Davis that." He smirked slyly.

"No?" Gabumon question, as if it were impossible for the boy in question, to enjoy boy bands.

"Maybe not anymore, but you no what they say, old habits die hard." He announced, grinning at the thought of Davis and his Backstreet Boys impression.

"Well, at least he doesn't wear a pink apron." Gabumon mused aloud, while flashing Matt and evil grin.

"Hey! I'll have you know, that it takes a real man to wear and apron." He replied, pretending to be offended, but still not being able to contain his laughter. "Besides I like pink, it makes me feel pretty." He stated with a smile.

Gabumon laughed, knowing he wasn't the first to call Matt on the lacy pink cloth, but also knowing, that the teen probably would have gotten a new apron by now, if it weren't for the fact that people teased him about the pink one.

Matt decided that he'd show the world he could wear pink and still be a rebel.

"What about you and your obsession with that coat." Matt asked, glancing out of the concern of his eye to see if he struck something with his companion.

"Don't go there." Gabumon warned playfully, and Matt let it go.

"Matt!"

Immediately the two heads shot up at the sound of Ladydevimon's voice.

Their mood quickly shifted from one a carefree, to one of concern, when they saw the eagerness on the fallen angel's face.

"They are fighting, right now, only a few blocks away." She panted out quickly. The worry and her frantic search stealing her composure.

Despite the demon's fluttered words, Matt understood instantly, and he quickly gave Gabumon a look.

The rookie digimon nodded in agreement, and with a flash of light and a screeching ring, Gabumon had digi-volved into the massive Garurumon.

Matt leapt effortlessly on the champion digimon, then looked to Ladydevimon.

"Come also, this needs to be resolved now." Matt stated, knowing that the fallen angel was reluctant to encounter the Digidestined due to her type.

The maiden demon nodded without question, and followed as the champion digimon took off with speed rivaling a jet.

~*~*~

The battle went on. Agumon was forced to digi-volve, in order to keep up the fight, but stil,l neither side was winning.

The Digidestined cheered their partners on from the sidelines, while silently questioning if this was the right thing.

Sorcermon realest a powerful attack, sending Greymon to the ground where he dedigi-vovled back into Agumon.

Instantly, Tai was at his fallen partner's side, his mind racing. He didn't know what to do, he didn't want this fight to continue, but now it seems to be unstoppable. How could they possibly end something, when they weren't even certain of how it began. And now, everything was out of control.

"Nightmare Soldiers stand down!"

A voice shouted, braking through the clouds of anger and stress, fogging both the Nightmare Soldiers and the Digidestined's mind.

The attacks stopped, and attention diverted to the three figures standing on the outside of the battlefield.

Matt stood, still looking over the scene with a surprising apathy. That was until he saw just how bad the fight had been. Renamon was hurt, clutching her side, as through her ribs had been bruised, maybe even broken. Tai was holding Agumon up, who had gashes on his face and around his sparkling green eyes. And the rest of the digimon looked battered and bruised.

Garurumon snorted a bit, disgusted by the sight. This was no time to be fighting pettily with one another.

And Ladydevimon stood beside Matt, she too wore a mask of apathy, but it was slowly dissolving into affliction.

Renamon and Sorcermon suddenly felt ashamed. Humbly they approached their Lord, with their heads hung low in disgrace.

"We'll discuss this later." Matt stated, his voice even, not the harsh tone that the two Generals had expected.

Matt knew that there was no one to blame, and he felt, that if the fault lied with anyone it was himself.

The Generals lined up behind Matt, Renamon hiding her pain behind a noble face, and waited for further orders.

Matt looked on at his fellow Digidestined, his once emotionless façade fading to that of grief, a pleading look, which begged forgiveness. Timidly he took a step forward, waiting to see how his friends would respond, when nothing happened, he took another step, and then another, each bolder than the next. Once he was at a closer distance to his friends, he stopped and waited.

The Digidestined stared at their returned comrade, a mixture of surprise, uncertainty, and joy, sweeping over their faces. He came back, but that didn't matter, if he didn't come back for the right reasons.

TK was the first of the Digidestined to approach his brother. He looked on at the man before him, seeing something new in his brother's features, a new strength, that had not been there before.

"Matt…" he uttered the name softly, afraid that if he spoke too loudly, he would wake up, and find this all a taunting dream.

Matt's eyes softened at the sight of his unsure brother. Unshed tears began to glisten in his crystal eyes, threatening to spill over in a river of joy. Without thinking, Matt reached for his younger brother, and pulled him into a tight hug. The tears now fell, streaking his pale cheeks, as he whispered in a wrenched voice, "I'm so sorry TK… I'm so sorry I left."

The Child of Hope was shocked, when his brother pulled him in for the desperate hug. He had never expected such an emotional show from his older brother, or such a pleading apology. But once the shock faded ,TK too, embraced his brother, returning the hug with as much eagerness as the elder blonde. "I'm sorry too Matt… I'm sorry I was so mad." The younger boy whispered back, every ounce of distrust he once held, fading into a forgotten memory.

After a moment, the two brothers slowly pulled away, and looked into each other's eyes. The blue orbs so alike in shade, but so different in expressions, were now both shinning with relief and joy.

The other Digidestined watched the scene with the brothers closely. None had expected Matt to just humble himself, and beg for forgiveness, and so the show still seemed unreal.

Tai was about to speak; hoping to put an end to the awkward silence, when an ailing groan, escaped Agumon's quivering lips. The rookie digimon was hurt internally, injuries that none of the Digidestined could reach, let alone heal.

Tai looked at his partner, desperation fogging his eyes, as the orange reptile's breathing went from raspy, to painful gulps, as if he were struggling to breath.

"Joe!" Tai cried helplessly for the Child of Reliability.

Immediately Joe was kneeling at Tai's side, looking over the rookie digimon with, concerned ebony eyes. A Shaky hand reached up, and adjusted a pair of thin rimed glasses, as it always did when the teen was nervous.

"It looks pretty bad Tai," Joe explained sadly, "There's some internal damage, I don't have the equipment here to deal with that… and I'm not even sure you can perform surgery on a digimon."

Matt's face grew pale for a moment, at the thought of his best friend loosing his partner, but then he regained his composure. Determinedly, he whipped away the streaks that stained his face, then gave his brother a loving smile, before walking past him, to the two teens, kneeling beside the rookie digimon.

Guilt began to grow in both Sorcermon and Renamon, but the cause of the reptile's injuries had long left their Lord's mind. In his thoughts the battle never took place, all that mattered to him, was saving the digimon's life.

Tai and Joe looked up watching the blonde curiously, as he slowly knelled down. His crystal eyes never once met the other two's; he kept his focus slowly on Agumon. Gently he laid a cool hand on the digimon's forehead. Instantly the reptile stopped moaning and fighting, and his breathing began to even out a bit.

Tai watched in wonderment, as Matt tenderly stroked the rookie's forehead for a moment, bring a sense of peace to the injured creature. The blonde's attention then shifted to Agumon's chest. Dark bruises painted the orange dinosaur's chest purple and black, and Matt was certain, that this was part of the problem.

After looking over the lesions closely, Matt lifted his hand, signaling to the digimon, lined up behind him.

At his signal, Sorcermon stepped forward, floating slowly towards the kneeling group.

Upon seeing Sorcermon's approach, the other Digidestined's digimon immediately jumped in front of the group, blocking off the wizard's passage.

Matt saw the move, and knew what caused it, Sorcermon was the one that caused the injuries in the first place. "Please, he can help." Matt begged his best friend softly, looking him in the eyes for the first time.

Tai looked back cautiously, not certain, but the pleading in the blonde's eyes eventually melted his uncertainty, and he nodded, signaling the digimon to let the sorcerer through.

Sorcermon knelt down slowly beside the ailing digimon, his eyes narrowed on the wounds.

"What's wrong?" Tai asked desperately.

"It seems that one of his ribs has punctured his right lung." The champion digimon offered his diagnosis casually, as though he were simply chit chatting.

Tai got a little angry at how lightly the wizard was treating the situation, but before he could explode, Matt spoke up, putting an end to the tension.

"Can you heal him?" he asked, his eyes still upon Agumon, he too sounded calm, but not nearly as comfortable.

"Your injuries were far worse, and I healed you," the wizard replied with a smile.

"Injuries? What injuries?" Tai asked in surprise, as he looked over the blonde, trying to see if he was hurt.

Matt began to feel uncomfortable, and immediately changed the subject. "It was nothing, don't worry about it, let's just focus on Agumon."

And the attention was back upon the rookie dinosaur. Before anything else could be debated Sorcermon went to work.

The wizard lifted his hands, moving his fingers into several different signs, while softly chanting a spell, of only a few ancient words. A soft lapis lazuli light engulfed Agumon. The light was warm, and soothing, and in its splendor, the digimon's injuries healed. The bruises faded, returning his scales to their natural orange. His breathing completely evened out, and the scrapes sealed closed and disappeared.

Tai looked at his partner, his breath caught in his lungs, as he waited to see what would happen next. To his joy, Agumon yawned loudly then slowly opened his eyes. "Agumon!" Tai shouted in both relief, as he jumped on the digimon with a tight hug.

"Ah Tai,… I can't breath!" the reptile choked out.

Tai released his hold on his partner, then turned to Sorcermon. At first his face was stern with apathy, but that quickly faded into a grateful smile. "Thanks, I owe you."

Sorcermon only nodded, then stood back up.

The others followed the wizard digimon's lead and stood also. Matt and Sorcermon moved back a bit, until they met with the waiting Nightmare Soldiers, while the Digidestined lined up together, watching them closely.

Matt soon grew tense in the silence, so he decided to speak. "Everyone I would like you to meet my Generals." He announced, not being able to fully hide his apprehension. "This is Renamon, my General of Security and Scouting missions." He explained, while waving a hand in the fox digimon's direction.

Renamon bowed, as she was being introduced.

"Sorcermon is my Political Advisor." Matt went on, as Sorcermon nodded his head. "And Ladydevimon is my commanding General. She has been with me since day one, and I owe her my life." He stated, while offering the fallen angel an affection look. He knew how worried the ultimate was about this meeting, so he wanted her to know, that no matter how the others responded to her, his feeling of friendship would not change.

A multitude of distrusting eyes fell upon Ladydevimon, causing the demon to feel totally alone.

"You chose a Ladydevimon for your general?" Sora spat the words out, as though they were poisons.

A few of the other children began whispering amongst themselves, while casting the lady demon disgusted looks.

TK looked at his brother, trying to understand why he would work with a creature, born of the powers of darkness. He studied the older boy closely, seeing the disappointment in his eyes at the other's reaction to Ladydevimon. It was true, he didn't trust demon digimon, but he did trust his brother, and he too could tell that there was something different about this fallen angel, something that set her apart. Her scarlet eyes glowed with warmth, though at the responses her presence was receiving, this warmth, was slowly turned into a look of sorrow. She wanted these children to accept her, but they didn't. And she knew that their distrust would put a wall between herself, and her Lord, which was something she couldn't even bare the thought of.

Suddenly something stirred in the Child of Hope, a great sympathy for the despised being, and he saw what his brother saw. Another creature, hated because of what she was, not because of who she was. And suddenly he felt his distrust dissolve into admiration, for a creature that would risk ridicule, for the happiness of her friend.

TK took two strong steps forwards, waiting for a second, then continued to walk, moving past the line of Digidestined. His fellow Digidestined, stared at him with confusion, but made no move to stop him. Once he was standing in front of Ladydevimon, he stopped, and looked up at the tall, slender maiden.

"You saved my brother's life?" he questioned, his voice stern, demanding a response.

Ladydevimon nodded humbling, knowing that she was on trial, then responded. "In a way we saved each other." She explained, while flashing Matt a quick smile, which was returned instantly.

"Well we all know that stubborn idiot can use all the help he can get." The boy expressed with a smile, earning him an offended "hey" from his older brother. "Matt said he owes you his life," the younger boy continued, more serious then before. "Then I owe you mine too, I would die without him." He explained, as a smile, directed towards the demon, stretched on his face.

Ladydevimon smiled, feeling great joy at having this boy's acceptance.

"Your brother has told me a lot about you, I am pleased to finally meet you." She stated with a smile.

"He has? Well, I can tell you a few stories about him." The blonde stated, immediately going on the defense.

"Like what?" Matt question with an arrogant smirk.

TK smiled slyly, putting an end to his brother's show. "Like that year at the circus, when you threw a big fit because you were scared of the clowns, and you started an elephant stampede." He replied, with a smile, mocking his brother's arrogant side.

Matt's face immediately turned an embarrassed shade of red. The General and TK both laughed as the teen scowled. "Those clowns were scary okay!" he protested, in his own defense, "And besides, his balloon animals were terrible, his giraffe looked like a Monocromon."

They laughed a bit more, at the, now pouting, blonde, that was until another voice put an end to their festivities.

"How can you guys act like nothing is wrong?" Cody question, a little angry with how quickly TK rushed into his brother's arms.

"Yeah, why are we suppose to trust you, after you lied to us?" Sora added still worried that this could be a trap.

"And if you are on our side, then how come Renamon was spying on us?" Gatomon demanded.

Matt decided to ignore the first two questions, and addressed the last. "That is a good question." He replied with a kind smile, then turned a questioning gaze towards the fox digimon.

"I was not spying, I arrived here before the other, and was not certain if I should wait for you, or leave. In my hesitation, I let my guard down, and Gatomon sensed my presence." She explained to her Lord apologetically. "Forgive me Digidestined, I did not mean to make it seem as though I were spying on you."

"We were suppose to meet here." Matt explained, hoping to clear up some of the confusion.

"That reminds me! We never finished the race." Ladydevimon stated thoughtfully.

"What do you mean we never finished?" Renamon question irritably. "I finished and I won."

"I call interference, therefore, we need a rematch" Sorcermon stated with a smile.

"No interference, I won!" Renamon argued.

"Oh, revile in your small victories, Renamon, for next time, I will beat you." Ladydevimon challenged with a smile.

"My book!" Sorcermon exclaimed, as he looked around the area frantically. When he spotted it, he rose his hand and a white light engulfed the old book, lifting it into the air and bring it, straight into the waiting wizards arms. "Gandalf the Gray's got nothing on me." He announced proudly, earning him confused looks from his fellow generals.

Matt shook his head, then rubbed the side of his noise, right by his eyes, as if soothing away a stressful headache.

The Digidestined and their partners, were staring at the once aggressive digimon, with dumfounded looks.

"You guys act like children." Yolie stated dryly.

"Yes they do, but usually it's when nobody is looking." Matt stated, while flashing his generals an irritated glare.

Immediately the digimon straightened up, and the blonde turned his attention back to the Digidestined, ignoring the amused chuckling emanating form behind him, where Garurumon stood.

Matt was about to plead for forgiveness from his still bewildered friends, when a sound diverted all eyes to the sky above.

The sky cracked, screeching in pain from abuse, and the dark storm clouds circled above, like vultures waiting to feed upon the dead carcasses of those standing below. The sun, once shinning with a brilliant golden light, was over shadowed by a gristly eclipse. The light was held prisoner by the shadowing moon, forbidden to share its warmth with the helpless world below.

The few streetlights still working began to flicker and buzz, defiantly fighting back the force, which threatened to burn them out, unfortunately the force was too powerful, and after another painful buzz, the lights burned out, and the land laid in darkness.

The air grew cool, no longer receiving warmth from the sun, and a thin silver mist, rose from the ground, settling eerily over the streets.

They were left in darkness, in the fear of not knowing what was before or behind them. The Digidestined began to fidget anxiously, grasping one anther's hands for comfort. But the Nightmare Soldiers remained still. Their keen senses, allowed them to know what was occurring around them, even if they could not see.

Matt took a deep breath, steadying his nerves. Instinctively his hand lay upon his chest, feeling the ring hanging on its silver chain, beneath the thin fabric of his shirt. An ominous feeling spread over him, as it felt like time itself had stopped. This victory would come at a price, he knew it, and he couldn't help but wonder, what would be taken away from him by this evil.

He closed his eyes, allowing his other senses to take over, no attack had come yet, and the world laid in complete darkness, causing some to forget what light looked like. The chill in the air, reached his bones, causing him to shiver, but he pushed it away, focusing on the movement around him. He couldn't see, but he knew something was happening. The very shadows around him were moving, like demonic spirits leaping wildly in a graveyard, he could feel them around him, and yet they did not attack.

The sky cracked again, it sounded as though the very air was being shattered like glass, and he could feel its pain. The clouds above, swirled in a crazed dance, and then the darkness changed. What was once totally black, began to take on tents of deep blue and purple. Then the silver mist around them became visible again, as though the fog was emitting some short of dim light.

Matt could see now. The Digidestined stood together, frightened but steady, with their partner before them, ready to defend them with their lives. His generals, including Garurumon, filed out around the children in the center, ready to protect their Lord and his most precious treasures. TK still stood beside his brother, his face was set, and Matt was surprised to see no trace of fear in the young feature.

Then he looked up, looked to the darkness above, where the sky still moaned in agony, and now he felt it. The power, the evil. Darkness had fallen upon his world, and now his greatest struggle would begin.

In a soft certain voice, he whispered the only words that came to mind, as he looked upon the shadows that had come to destroy him.

"He's here."

~*~*~

Okay, you're probably wondering why I made the Nightmare Soldiers act so goofy, well the thing is, I wanted to show how close they were, and give them a more human side. They're not just warriors, but friends, each with different personalities and likes. I also wanted to show how Matt, short of, plays a big brother role for all of them, which shows just how much he cares about them.

For those of you wondering, the book Sorcermon was reading is The Lord of The Ring, I just couldn't resist.

Stay tuned for the next chapter, which will contain bloodshed and battles… oh and please send feedback.