Chapter 61: The Next Tor

"I have to tell you that this plan just isn't going to work well," The Unnamed Figure said. "I can see a lot of things going wrong."

"He would be in shock. No one will know the difference if his behavior seems odd."

"It's not that I'm worried about; it's that you've tried one of your 'special tor' more than once before, and it didn't work."

"This one will."

******

"There is no way you're getting me into that outfit," Tina spat. "I'd burn to death!"

"Listen, I know that you always feel like you're too warm---even to the point where you wear spaghetti straps in the middle of fall, but there's no way I could fit into a trench coat built for a human!" Youngdramon insisted.

"How else can we do a detective scene?"

"I know, but unless you get into that coat---"

"Youngdramon, that wasn't a rhetorical question."

"Oh---well…we could just use this!" Youngdramon held a Phil Noir-style hat in her mouth.

"Hmm…not altogether the look I wanted…but it'll have to do…"

******

The orphans began to get the idea that another skit was coming up as the lights in the auditorium dimmed over them and shone over the stage. Ominous, light piano music played in a continuous loop in the background. Tina walked on stage with the detective's hat on her head, her raincoat tied around her waist, and her feet only in socks. "It had been almost three minutes since I'd last seen this informant…I hoped she'd recognize me. She had some underground connections, but only because it paid to have them…and guess who had to pay?" Tina pointed to herself. "Of course, I was scared that, one of these days, she'd end up paying a high price for slipping me dirt on The Mob. But, judging from the fact that she was still tending this bar, she was okay."

The spotlight shone on Youngdramon, who wore a small, suitcase-like backpack and was polishing a heavy-looking iron bar. Upon seeing Tina walking towards her, she asked, "P.I. Tina! What'll it be, today?"

"Something that'll knock my socks off."

"Okay, lie down."

Tina lay down on her belly, and Youngdramon swing the bar so that it just nicked her heels. Tina's socks went flying off. "Thanks. That feels good."

"No problem. Anyhow, were you just here for a shot of the good stuff, or do you want to have another one of our…shall we say, deep chats?"

"I came to uh…chat." Tina took a sheet of paper out of her pocket and showed it to Youngdramon. "You see, I've got a list of suspects that we need to narrow down."

"Okay, I can help with that easily." Youngdramon folded the sheet of paper down the middle to make it skinnier.

"Not like that…I need to eliminate a few suspects."

"Okay, I'll give them something that'll knock their cerebral cortexes off!" Youngdramon wielded her iron bar above her head. "And just in case this isn't enough, I've got the heavy artillery in the back, too."

"Um…thanks."

"Have any particular ones in mind?" Youngdramon asked.

"The ones involved in the Hootlaw Caper."

"The Who?"

"The Hootlaw Caper! Somebody shot Ms. Hootlaw, right through the schoolhouse window."

"Ms. Hootlaw? The school teacher who prides herself in her formal lifestyle and hatred of all forms of fun? Yikes!"

"And I have proof of the shooting, too." Tina held up a photograph of Ms. Hootlaw holding an open magazine that had a video game title on the cover. Even though she wearing her normal teaching attire, she had a look on her face like she'd been seen naked. Tina had a transparency of the photo on the overhead projector screen, so that the orphans could see it.

"Wow. Whoever snapped the shot in question sure set it up right. This handiwork looks familiar," Youngdramon thought out loud. "This looks like the work of Eggy the Lip!" Youngdramon said.

"Eggy the Lip? Who's that?"

"That's this guy," Youngdramon answered, pulling a photo out of her backpack of Davis, trying to swallow a hard-boiled egg whole---and having some noticeable trouble.

"But…I talked to Ms. Hootlaw. She said the criminal doesn't look anything like that."

"Okay, then…the next mobster that comes to mind is Vivian the Sloth!" The next photo on the overhead was one of Mimi, sitting in a lazy-boy chair, with a huge, shaggy blanket covering her, with a fake, black, animal-nose strapped to her nose, and with paper claws on her fingers. (This was a prank Tina and Youngdramon had pulled on her while they were still in the nuclear power plant.)

"Let's see…I know the perp had claws, but not a nose like that," Tina answered.

"Then there's only one possibility left!" Youngdramon declared. "It was…Mr. Big!!" Youngdramon said in an ominous voice. A photo of Brock with his belly enlarged digitally was last in line. Not only was he ridiculously fat, but he had claws on his fingers that Tina had edited in.

"Nope," Tina answered. "That's not what the perp is described as. She's described as about 140cm tall, with tan scales, claws, wings, a snout like a crocodile's, and…and…" Tina looked up at Youngdramon.

"…What?! You don't think I shot Ms. Hootlaw, do you?" Youngdramon's backpack unzipped a little, and a camera fell out.

"That's it, you're going down!" Tina shouted.

"Oh, no you don't! You'll never take me alive!!!" Youngdramon spat.

Tina whipped a squirt gun out from behind her back. "Don't make me use this!"

Youngdramon pretended to be scared and ran off stage. Tina fired. She missed, but, from the perspective of the audience, it didn't look like she had missed.

Tina blew at the tip of her squirt gun. "Nothing to it." Tina turned her back to where Youngdramon had run off stage, and bent over to pick up her socks. As she was picking them up, Youngdramon came out from behind stage, holding an absolutely huge water cannon. She aimed it at Tina's protruding butt, and the music because more suspenseful. Tina pretended to be shocked and let out a shriek as the water sprayed her raincoat.

"So…you need to ask yourself one question: 'do I feel lucky?'" Youngdramon said.

"Actually, yes," Tina answered. She used her squirt gun and shot the tank of Youngdramon's gun. The tank began to leak out until the stage floor was nothing but one big puddle. "Glad my socks got knocked off," Tina said.

"Great…now, if you're going to arrest me, what're they going to do to me?"

"For a shot like that? You've got a promising career ahead of you in photography."

Youngdramon sighed in relief.

Tina slapped a pair of handcuffs on Youngdramon's front claws. "But first, let's see how well you do as a model…for mug shots!"

Youngdramon snorted.

"I always get my mon." Tina shut Youngdramon's backpack and said, "Another case closed."

******

June went dancing through the orphanage towards Tina, who was busy combing the hair of a young boy who looked like he had down's syndrome. "Tina, guess what happened to me!"

"…Did Matt ask you out on another date?"

"Almost! allll---MOST!!" June answered. "When I said, 'thanks for not letting that cloaked guy get me,' he flushed!"

"Doesn't he usually flush after he's…um, finished in the stall?"

June frowned. "Not that kind of flush! His face went all red!"

"Oh…and that's a good thing?"

"It means that I'm having an effect on him!"

"Yeah: slingshot effect!" Youngdramon muttered.

"Listen," Tina said, "I think you're a little too…how should I put this…I think that, if you were any more in love with Matt, there would be a rift in space-time around your head, and you'd suck the entire planet into a black hole."

June hadn't taken in Tina's words. "I've got to find a way to make him do that again! I just have to see his face go flush, again!"

"Why don't you just throttle him?" Youngdramon sarcastically suggested. "That would work!"

"Youngdramon!!" Tina hissed.

"I know what I'll do! I know just what I'll do!" June raced off to her room.

Tina swallowed hard. "You know, I think that I should've done what Matt suggested to begin with: I should've had Ash tied her down with Vine Whip."

"So…what do we do, now?"

"I dunno…we might have to take drastic action!" Tina sighed.

******

"You know," Moochi said as he shot another saberstrike, "This is getting annoying. I mean, as time goes on, the groups we send out get bigger and bigger, chi!" Ash, Misty, T.K., Yolei, Kari, Golem, and Cody were all with Moochi.

"Can't be helped, Moochi," Yolei insisted. "If Terrance…or whatever his real name is…shows up again, we know that he'll have some firepower backing him up. We need to be able to deal with him."

"Frankly," Misty muttered, "I'm sick of doing that!"

"Relax…we'll stop him someday," Kari said. "But we still have refugees to find and control spires to destroy!"

"What do we do when we---hello! Something's up," Misty observed. She wrapped her fingers around Togetic's pokéball.

A noise was coming from down the street. It sounded like a giantor, but he wasn't alone: he was chasing something…or, more to the point, chasing somebody: Gary.

Ash sighed and shook his head. "We knew this was going to happen."

"Who takes care of him?" Moochi asked.

"I think you do!" Yolei answered, setting the digi-egg of love at his feet.

"Moochi, module-evolve to…Turtledove!"

"And now, for our next trick," Misty said, tapping Turtledove with her water stone…

"Tsunami Blaster!" Turtledove fired at the giantor, and it went down.

"So…I wonder how Gary has been over the past few days," Yolei muttered.

"Not very well, apparently," Kari observed. Gary looked the worse for wear: his shirt had so many holes in it that he looked like he'd been shot with an UZI, and his hair was disheveled and matted down.

"So," Yolei asked. "Now how do you feel about following rules?" Yolei asked.

"Um…uh…"

Yolei shook her head. She pulled a jacket out of her backpack and put it over Gary's shoulders. "I'd punish you, but it looks like you're learning your lesson right now."

"Um…uh…"

"Boy, your vocabulary is reduced," Ash thought aloud. "I never thought I'd say this, but you need to learn to talk some more, again!"

"Um…uh…"

"Excuse me," The Unnamed Figure cut in.

"You're excused," Kari spat. "What is it now?!"

"I'd like you to meet my new---"

"We've seen it all before, Terrance!" T.K. shouted.

"You haven't seen---"

"And we've heard every cliché!" Turtledove added.

"…If I may finish…! I'd like you to meet Kamnadramon, Air Archon Mode! Digi-modify! Swing digivolution, activate!"

"Venommyotismon, swing-digivolve to…Malomyotismon!"

"Digi-modify! Mode change, activate!"

"Kamnadramon, mode-change to…Air Archon mode!"

"So…who deals with this bunch?" Turtledove asked.

"How about you and Ironarchaeopteryxmon?" T.K. suggested.

"Actually, I was thinking of something a bit different," Cody said. "Ash, is Bulbasaur ready for action?"

"You bet he is!"

"Then let's show Terrance our secret weapon!"

"Armadillomon, digivolve to…Ankylomon!"

"Ankylomon, digivolve to…Euplocemon!"

"Euplocemon, co-op digivolve to…Spruce Moose!" Spruce Moose looked like Ankylomon with a Christmas tree stuck to his back.

"You think that little creature can defeat me?!" Kamnadramon spat. "This is a joke! Darkness Laser!" A pair of black beams shot out of Kamnadramon's lower wing sections. Spruce Moose felt them each land a hit.

"Spruce Moose!" Ash shouted.

"Are you okay?!" Cody asked.

Spruce Moose didn't answer.

"Spruce Moose! If you can hear me, use Synthesis!" Spruce Moose's wounds suddenly sealed themselves, and he got up slowly. "Way to go, Spruce Moose!" Ash shouted. "Now, show him what you can do! Solar Beam!" The tree on Spruce Moose's back aimed itself at Kamnadramon, and a white-hot beam flew out the branches. Kamnadramon was too quick for the shot to land a hit.

The Unnamed Figure laughed. "He's not called the Lord of the Air for nothing! Kamnadramon, destroy this group, and spare the girls!"

"Fat chance!" Cody spat. "Golem, stop him!"

"Golem, module-evolve to…Moleg! Laser Drill Tornado!" Kamnadramon flew straight through the purple cloud of light without taking much damage. "Energy Wedge!" The purple beam sliced through the air and just missed Kamnadramon as it flew gracefully down at them.

"Darkness Laser!" A few bolts of black energy flew down at them.

"Heat Coil!" Golem used his laser drills and reflected the shots away.

"This isn't getting us anywhere," Turtledove grunted. "He's too fast for us to land a hit, and he's got enough firepower to trash us!"

"So…what do we do?" Yolei asked. "Tactical retreat?"

"Better idea: use a fighter that speed won't matter for!" T.K. shouted. "Ready for action, Patamon?"

"Hit me! Patamon, digivolve to…Angemon!"

"Angemon, digivolve to…Magnaangemon!"

"Ash, is Haunter ready for a co-op digivolve?"

"You bet he is!"

"Magnaangemon, co-op digivolve to…Eldil!"

"Um…Eldil? Where are you?" T.K. asked.

"I'm right here!"

"I can hear you, but I can't see you…where are you?" Ash asked.

"…I don't think my body is visible to the naked eye…"

The Unnamed Figure laughed. "I see you digivolved your measly mon into nothingness," he sneered. "It's just as well…it'll make it over all the quicker for you, and have your lady friends in my ha---"

"Night Shade!" A black beam seemed to come out of nowhere and hit Kamnadramon in the face.

"Darkness Laser!" The shot flew off into the air in the direction the Night Shade attack had come from, but to no avail.

"Night Shade!" Another beam smacked Kamnadramon from another direction. "Night Shade! Night Shade!"

Kamnadramon began flying all sorts of maneuvers to avoid being hit, but he only had some success: one out of every three Night Shade attacks was landing a hit, and the attacks weren't by any means light in firepower.

"Spruce Moose," Ash whispered, "See if you can land a hit on him while he's veering towards us!"

"Will do," Spruce Moose answered, taking aim. He waited for a while, and finally Kamnadramon began turning towards them. "Solar Beam!" The white ray sliced through Kamnadramon's wing, and Malomyotismon's components fell off. Kamnadramon Fighter Mode was all that was left.

"We're still not finished!" The Unnamed Figure snarled. "Digi-modify! Warp digivolution, activate!"

"Keramon, warp-digivolve to…Armagemon!"

"Digi-modify! Swing digivolution, activate!"

"Armagemon, swing-digivolve to…Diaboromon!"

"Great…this guy, again!" Kari muttered.

"I can take him!" Eldil's voice shouted out of nowhere. "Hypnosis!" Diaboromon suddenly looked very tired.

"Leech Seed!" Ash commanded, and Spruce Moose latched onto Diaboromon with an energy-draining parasite seed. "Now, quick! While he's down!" Ash pulled the sun stone out of his backpack. "Moleg!"

"Tremor Blaster!" Moleg launched his attack at Diaboromon, and Diaboromon went flying into the air.

Misty pulled out her water stone. "You too, Turtledove!"

"Tsunami Blaster!" While Diaboromon was still in the air, Turtledove blasted him and Keramon landed in The Unnamed Figure's arms.

"Now who's got who?" Spruce Moose asked as a huge vine grew out of his back and wrapped around The Unnamed Figure.

"Good question!" Kamnadramon answered. "Don't forget, I'm still here!"

"Don't forget, Eldil is still here!" Ash answered. "Eldil, use hypnosis!"

Kamnadramon covered its eyes so that the attack wouldn't put him under.

"Elgo-tor-silef!" The Unnamed Figure shouted. "Get me out of here!" A blob of nanobot gel flew out of nowhere onto Spruce Moose's vine and ate right through it, freeing The Unnamed Figure.

"What was that?" T.K. asked.

"How would you like to find out the hard way? Elgo-tor-silef, the ladies, if you would!" The gel cohered into a single, more solid shape that looked kind of like Blackgatomon, only transparent. Strands of goo flew out of its claws at Kari, Misty, and Yolei.

"Forget it!" Gatomon spat, slashing at the goo. Kari and Misty were free, but Yolei was getting choked.

Another several strands were flying out at Moleg, Turtledove, Ash, and Cody. "Eldil, help!" Ash croaked.

"Night Shade!" Eldil shouted, blasting the Putty Cat with a ray of black energy.

"You're too late to save your plant friend! Kamnadramon, if you would…"

"Mega Destroyer!" Kamnadramon fired at Spruce Moose, and he regressed back to Bulbasaur and Armadillomon.

"At least Eldil is still on our side!" Turtledove said.

A tired and worn-out Patamon and Haunter landed on the ground.

"Riiiiiiiight..." The Unnamed Figure gloated as Putty Cat threw strands of its own essence around the heroes…