Chapter Five - Rearrange
"What the hell kind of prison is this?!" Tai yelled.
"Please Tai, stop yelling." Sora said quietly.
Sora and Tai looked at each other quietly in their room which they had spent the last week in. Tai stood silently next to their little window, while Sora sat, legs clutched in her arms, on the chair.
A few days ago, after that strange night where Asuramon had captured them, they awoke in this small room, and they had been here every since, simply stuck.
Their cell, which is what it could only be known as after so long, was perhaps the strangest room ever. It was a small stone box painted a dull tan. It had one window, a hallway, two beds, a small lamp, and a simple, wooly chair.
The hallway, however, was no ordinary hallway. When one would walk down it, they could go several yards before ending up in the same room they had just been in.
The view out the window was even stranger, however. There were now bars, but a view of an immense ocean whirlpool as far as the eye could see. It's sound was unheard within the room, but where your head was outside the window, it was deafening.
There was a wall by the tunnel out that wasn't what it seemed. It appeared solid at first, but you could walk through it to a secret room, a very swanky bath room with sink, toilet, and shower.
Three times a day when you weren't looking, food would suddenly appear on their beds. It would happen when they were turned, or just when they blinked.
With it's refined elegance, cheery nature and tumbling secretes, it was, understandable, eerie.
Tai turned away from Sora's gaze, "I'm sorry Sora. I'm just really frustrated."
"I'm frustrated too! You think it's easy being stuck here with..." Sora saw the pain in Tai's eyes, "... never mind."
The tension between the two had escalated in the time they'd spent there. In the beginning, the two had tried to weather the hardship and fear together, but in the end Sora's feelings of guilt and Tai's frustration split the two even further.
Sora saw this as the mother of all omens, that it was a sign of a truly bad decision. If she had never been out cheating on Matt with Tai, then they never would have been captured and brought here. She cried a great deal. She cried for her predicament, she cried for her guilt, but mostly, she cried for Matt and longed for Matt. Even though she did have feelings for Tai, she missed Matt, and being with out him made Sora remember and yearn for the things that drew her to him in the first place.
What got at Tai was that he knew this, he could tell that she missed Matt. It made him cold and distant. He didn't want to lose Sora, but he knew there was nothing he could do. The only thing that kept him going was his constant search for an escape. He had gone over every brick of the room, the window, the bathroom, all the furniture, the hallway, he had searched every inch of their confinement area, and found nothing, but he couldn't stop. The minute he stopped trying was the moment he started to feel sorry for himself
Sora began to quietly cry, again. She got up from her seat and ran through the translucent wall to the bathroom.
Tai sighed and sat down on the wooly chair.
A sudden fluttering of wings brought Tai's attention away from his misery. He turned quickly to the tunnel to see something race down it fluttering it's wings. Tai leaped out of the chair and ran to the tunnel doorway. He could see the shadow of something juking in the air as it went done the hallway.
Tai yelled to Sora, "Sora come quick, there's something here!"
Sora came out of the non-physical wall, her cheeks wet from wiped tears, "What?"
"I saw something it went down there!" he said grabbing her hand and pulling her down the hall.
Sora yelled up to her, "Tai, it's just going to lead back to the room."
Tai called back confidently, "No. I have a feeling about this!"
As the two ran out of the tunnel, they we expecting to be greeted by the familiar view of their small cell, but instead, before them was a gigantic amputheater. It was a large circle that sloped down to the center. It had a high raising top that had a domed skylight that gave a view of gentle orange clouds floating by. Along the side of the amputheater, there were many other tunnels exactly like theirs, and like theirs, people were peering out at his brand new area.
Tai spreads his eyes wide and gasped in disbelief, and Sora did the same. There were other kids and youth like them, some with their own digimon, some just digimon. They all looked just as confused and cautious as Tai and Sora.
"They're the digidestined." Tai mumbled
"It looks like all of the digidestined are here. I wonder if..." Sora mumbled.
Her unsaid question was understood and answered, "Sora!"
Sora turned toward the voice and her face light up, "Matt!"
The two ran to each other and held each other tightly, ignoring Tai completely. There was a flurry of orange and blonde hair as the two slammed into each other. Matt's arms tied tight around her body as if she might disappear if he loosened his grip any. Sora's arms wrapped around his necks and traced along his upper back, neck head, way too excited to be still. Sora let out some exasperated crys of happiness as she wept tears of joy into Matt's hair.
Tai watched painfully as they hugged. Matt's face peered out from beneath the locks of orange hair he buried himself in, joy overtaking him with that elatedly happy smile on that stabbed into Tai's heart like a broken tree branch. Tai made a simple decision, and walked away.
Around him he spied many people he had met from the World Tour, as well as some he hadn't known, all of them in the same confused predicament as he. Many of the digidestined had moved down near the center of the room meeting and discussing the strange circumstances of their meeting.
"Tai!" something squeaky yelled.
"Agumon!" Tai recognized the little dinosaur digimon, as he leaped forward to hug him, "What are you doing here?"
"A guy named Asuramon appeared in the digital world and captured me."
"Me too."
"There's some really weird stuff going on here, Tai."
"Yeah, believe me I know."
The two made there way around talking about what had happened until they laid eyes upon some familiar faces. Joe, Gomamon, Mimi, Palmon, TK, Patamon, Yoilei, Hawkmon, Cody, Armadilomon, Ken, Wormon, Biyomon, and Gabumon.
Tai and Agumon ran to them, "Hey guys!"
The group meet them with surprised and happy hellos and hugs all around.
"Tai we're glad you're, ok." Mimi said giving him a quick squeeze, "We all worried about you when we heard you disappeared!"
"Yeah I..." Tai was interrupted by an uneven shaking entering the tips of his fingers, leading from the metal conduit floor.
The whole room started to quake next. Then, from the center of the room a pillar started to grow from the floor, black and metallic like a car cylinder, which then produced a second thinner pillar when it reached a certain height, bellowing up from the center, and then a third, then from the center a figure rose to the same level as the last pillar.
It was a pale green eyed girl with long, ashen blonde hair and a large black trench coat. She had a smug smile on her face as she surveyed the baffled onlookers, but beneath it the onlookers could see the rage held barely at bay as her eyes seemed to tremble in place.
Her voice commanded respect as she yelled to all of them, "Welcome to my parlor... said the spider to the fly."
The crowd groaned. By this quote of dastardly poetry, it was evident that they beheld their captor.
She smiled at their dismay, "Let me cut right to the chase, my name... is Lady Myotismon…"
The whole room let out one terrific gasp.
"I am the daughter of Myotismon," she continued, "and the niece of, as some of you have meet, Vampiromon."
About a third of the room gasped a second time.
"I have brought you here to teach you cursed digidestined a lesson. You interfered with my father's grand design, and dared kill him as well. For that you will all pay." She said with almost professional poise and control, as if lecturing a child.
The digidestined all looked at her with malice in their eyes.
Lady Myotismon frowned, "You might have noticed that not all the digidestined are here. There are a few who've escaped my efforts, but don't get your hopes up. In only a matter of time, I will get a hold of the little rebels and crush them myself, but I just wanted to let you know, so you can get ready to mourn their falls."
A thousand angry teeth glared at her.
She smiled again, "Defeat is so much more fun when it crushes your spirit. Until then I'll keep you here. Feel free to make as much trouble as you want, because there is no chance of escape, ever. Enjoy."
"Enjoy this, mate!" someone in the crowd yelled, "Get em' Crabmon!"
The crowd parted for an angry Crabmon, "Water Cannon!"
A solid spray of water fired from the Crabmon's mouth. It veered up at the platform and Lady Myotismon. She chuckled and held up her hand. The stream hit an invisible shield in from of her hand, and sprayed off harmless, falling to soak surrounding youth with the resounding yelps.
"Fighting me is useless, as well. I'll be back to finish you off when I've dealt with your friends!"
The platform that Lady Myotismon stood on sank, and she disappeared as it lowered into the floor. In at matter of seconds the platform disappeared and looked as it were never there at all.
Tai turned to the group, "This is not good!"
"What should we do?" Mimi asked.
"First," Joe said, "We need someone to find out which of the digidestined aren't here, because those ones that didn't get captured are the only ones who can free us now. Someone should go around and collect all the names."
"That's Good, I think Mimi should do it , she's a people person." Tai said.
Mimi agreed, letting her radiant smile show out once again, defying the dreary circumstances, "Okay dokay."
Tai looked at the group, "...annnnd, Cody and Yolei."
"Alright." they said in unison.
"We should also have some people inspect every room." Matt said strolling up with Sora, hand in hand, "Sora tells me the view from her room is a giant whirlpool, while mine is outer space... Gabumon!" Matt finished.
"Matt!"
"Biyomon!"
"Sora!"
The digimon and digidestined rejoiced at their reunion, as Tai watched silently.
"That's also a good plan." Joe said, "The rest of us can do that, but I think the you and Tai should try to get some sort of orderly meeting going, you two are the leader types."
Matt nodded and smiled at Tai. Tai looked cautiously his way and nodded back.
"I'll right let's get to it." Joe finished.
"Where are we?" Lani asked to no one in particular.
Julian heard her say, as he picked himself off the ground. His shoulder hurt and he wasn't feeling in the mood to answer, weither the question was directed at him or not. He looked up around him. Apemon, now Simianmon, was picking himself up as well favoring his leg. The rift was gone now, Hackmon just sealing it up with what looked like a giant chalk board eraser. The group was all standing around admiring their new surroundings.
And admirable the surroundings were, the city they were in was truly spectacular. It resembled the old Japanese city of Edo. It had a line of sharp angled, old Japanese-style houses along a red cobble stone street. Across from the houses was the blue sea stretching as far as the eyes could see. Behind the houses, taller buildings with the same ridged, old Japanese tiled design. Way off near the center of the city was the imperial palace itself of Edo. Along the streets Otamamon and Gekomon strolled along ignoring the splattering of humans around them.
Hackmon finished his work, "The Digital world, duh. Come with me." Hackmon said rudely.
Hackmon walked toward a building to the side, up some stairs, and into a thin, swinging door. The group followed him quickly. Inside, Hackmon was in what looked like an olden days cafe. He walked up to the bartender, a Mushroomon cleaning shot glasses behind a counter.
Mushroomon smiled when he saw Hackmon, "Howdy Hackmon. Back with a couple of humans I see."
"Yep. You have my package still?"
"You were only gone an hour, of course I do." Mushroomon reached under the counter and pulled out a thin brown case, and handed it to Hackmon, "Can I get you anything else?"
"Sure, eleven herbal teas, ok?"
"Ok." Mushroomon said, setting out to work.
Hackmon moved to a table by the window, followed by the befuddled digidestined. Hackmon sat down with a relieved sigh, and the digidestined followed suit. Hackmon sat down and gazed at the group contently. When he said nothing, the others in the group looked at each other confusedly.
"Ah, Hackmon," Julian started, "Um, what's going on?"
"We're having a tea break, duh."
"Doncha think we should get started?"
"Started with what?"
"I don't know! That's what you're here for."
"I I'm?"
Julian narrowed his eyes at Hackmon "What's in the case, Hackmon?!"
Hackmon looked down at the brown case in front of him, "Oh yeah. Here are your tags." He said opening the case revealing five yellow tags hanging from silver chains.
The digidestined yelled anxiously grabbing at the tags. Then they sat back admiring the strangely shaped neck ornaments.
"How do they work?" Gina asked.
The tea arrived, and Hackmon slurped his cup noisily, "From what I've heard, all you do is dangle it by the chain, and it will turn in the direction you must journey to find it."
Lani dangled her tag, it spun a few times and stopped in a certain direction, "How do we know when it works...," the edge around the face plate of the tag glowed red, "... never mind."
"Eventually, you should come across a collection of irregular shapes, that should be your crest. You just place the tag on the crest and presto, Ya get da crest. Ah, I love herbal tea, it calms me so..." Hackmon said as he dozed off, snoring loudly.
Farris rocked Hackmon gently to try to wake him, then harder and harder.
"You better forget about waking him up." Mushroomon called from behind the counter, "It's easier to wake up the dead. Best to let him sleep."
Farris shrugged and sat back down.
Lani sighed, "That's one screwed up digimon."
"I guess we should go then." Julian said.
"No wait," Gina interjected, "There are some things that don't make a lot of sense. She SAID that she was out to destroy all the digidestined that were responsible for Myotismon's death the first time, and all the new digidestined responsible for Malo Myotismon's death the second time, but why is she then just kidnapping the digidestined. She SAID that she was keeping them safe."
"Good point." Lani said. "Maybe it's the writer's fault."
"No, Lani, here's the question, what's preventing her from killing the digidestined right now?" Gina asked.
Catherine spoke quietly, "Maybe it's her human side preventing her."
"Yeah, maybe on some sub-conscience level she knows that it's wrong to commit murder. So instead of killing us off, she'll keep us away from the world." Julian said.
"That's like the ultimate weakness." Lani interjected, "She's not totally committed to her cause, and that's what we've got to exploit. We have to fight her evil side, while appealing to her human side."
Gina smiled, "Exactly."
"There's another thing that I don't get." Farris said, sipping his tea, "Lady Myotismon said that Vampiromon told her about her father. Now why did he do that. What's his reason for awakening the power of Myotismon's daughter. He seems like a really arrogant type, why would he come to the real world to seek out a new master, I mean he must have known about her power or he wouldn't of come. And also, how did he even know about the girl, and how did he get to the real world in the first place?"
"I don't think we'll find any of these questions sitting here. We better start looking for those crests." Lani said.
The group finished their tea until only Julian and Catherine was left. Lani and Dinomon followed their tag to the east. Farris and Furrimon followed their crest to the west. Drakemon digivolved into Airdramon, and Gina and Airdramon followed their crest over the sea.
Julian sat back and sipped his tea, "Good tea, huh Catherine."
Catherine said nothing.
Floramon sensed something was wrong between the two, and decided not to get involved, "Come Simianmon, talk with me over here."
Simianmon looked confused, "Ah, ok."
Julian looked at Catherine. She looked down, away from Julian. Julian could see a tiny glistening of a tear in the corner of her eye.
"Catherine what's wrong?"
She sniffled, "You said we'd go together... and then you left."
"Ahh, Catherine I'm sorry..."
"Only a little while ago, you told me that I didn't have to fear any more because you'd be there, but right when I might have needed you the most… you left."
Julian didn't know what to say, but he had to say something. He felt really awful that he made such a heart felt promise and didn't keep it.
"Catherine... do you want to know what I fear?"
Catherine looked up surprised.
"I know that I'm strong, but not everyone else is. I fear that someone around me will get hurt because I wasn't strong enough to protect them. It's like an obsession I can't stand by or walk away when there's a fight. So when I couldn't leave back there, it was because I couldn't take it if anything happen to the others I'd leave behind." Julian said head held down.
Catherine wiped her eyes, and got up. She walked over to Julian and gave him a big hug, "Now I understand you Julian. You have no need to worry Julian, you have to believe in the strengths of your fellows. We see you as are leader, but a leader has to trust those he leads." she said giving him a kiss on the forehead.
Julian sighed happily, "I'm glad I'm with you."
The four finished their teas and left. On the street, Julian and Catherine hung their tags. Julian's silver glowing tag pointed one way, while Catherine's yellow glowing tag pointed the other.
"It appears we'll have to parts ways my dear." Catherine said.
"I'll miss you."
Julian was answered as Catherine grabbed him and kissed him passionately on the lips. When done, Catherine smiled, "I'll miss you too. Au du, Julian." she said walking off with Floramon at her side.
Julian, still a little flustered, called back, "Adios, corason."
As Catherine walked on, Julian began his happy dance.
"Julian, you're a loser." Simianmon said, watching Julian make a spectacle of himself.
"A loser who just got a kiss!"
Kari looked sadly out the window. Every since the battle the night before, things had been a little tense for the remaining digidestined.
The battle, after the others had escaped through the portal, ended with the group able to escape as well. They all came out relatively unscathed, except for She Leomon. Lady Myotismon had given her quite a beating, requiring her to be carried out by Magnamon. She now lay in the bed in the guest room of Izzy's house, recovering from a broken leg, several broken ribs, and a dislocated shoulder.
Kari surveyed Izzy's room as she rested against the window sill. Izzy was sitting at his computer desk, as usualy, looking over a schematic of a digivice on his computer. Gatomon was grooming herself quietly on a chair. Tentomon was on the floor eating one of the fresh baked cookies that Izzy's mom had just made. Davis and Veemon were out guarding the house. Kari could see them out the window. Veemon was sitting on the side of the road taking a little break. Davis paced from one end of Izzy's apartment complex to the other, the street light glinting off his goggles. He had an attentive look in his eyes, watching every leaf move and car go by, as he sipped on a thermis of cocoa. Kari liked Davis's vigilant nature, she sometimes felt she didn't give him enough credit. Despite his abrupt and annoying attraction to her, she still kind of liked him for his strengths that he hid inside.
After the digidestined retreated, Lady Myotismon and her soldiers had retreated as well. Angewomon tracked them a bit, but she lost them when they split up inside the city.
There where a lot of unanswered questions left, and Kari was worrying what those answers would cost.
Kari walked over to where Izzy was studying his digivise.
"What are you doing Izzy?" she asked.
Izzy looked up at her, "I'm trying to learn the properties of Warp Digivolveing."
"You want to make Tentomon a Mega."
"Yes, but also the curiosity keeps me going."
"How can you make it work."
"I'm not sure, but I believe that Warp Digivolving has something to do with an irregularity in the digivise. When Angemon and Angewomon shoot arrows at Matt and Tai, I believe it tweaked their digivises a little. I believe with a little tampering I can institute a Warp digivolution in Tentomon.
"Makes sense, I guess. We could really use a Mega digimon in the fight against Lady Myotismon."
"I might even be able to do the same for you, Kari, and Davis too"
"Cool."
In the center of the city, looming above the yellow incandescence of the street lights, a white apartment building stood. In the darkness of night, the many windows of it were blackened, all except for the top ones. From them glowed an eerie white light that was brilliant and eye-catching for a moment, then suddenly vanished.
Within the penthouse of that apartment building, two dark figures stirred. They had appeared with the strange white light, yet no one noticed.
Inside was a precise collection of designer furniture, a bar, a computer and several large, expensive things.
The two shadowy figures moved about the room. The first, Lady Myotismon, back in human form, was irate. She seethed rage between he teeth, her fists were clenched so tight they grew red, veins popped out in her head.
The other, Vampiromon, watched her in silent amusement.
"Damn them!" she yelled, "They've ruined it!"
Her fist became ghastly, and sharp, and she trust it through a short table made of a fine mahogany, shattering it smithereens.
"My sweet revenge, ruined by that upstart She Leomon!"
She took her clawed hand and sliced through her black leather couch. The cut was so clean, it took a few seconds before it collapsed in on itself. Vampiromon grinned at the vandalism, thoroughly amused.
"That stupid BITCH! Who is she to bring that Mystic stone of hers and screw with my destiny!"
Lady Myotismon made a fist and slammed it down onto of a large stereo system, causing a shower of sparks over Lady Myotismon, but none affecting her.
"And those stupid digidestined going to the Digital world! What do they even hope to accomplish?!"
She opened her palm to reveal a small crimson fireball. She growled and hurled it at the refrigerator in the other room. It exploded with a burst of food goo.
Vampiromon was enjoying every second, but he knew he had to reason with her, "Now, now my lady. Calm yourself."
Lady Myotismon turned to Vampiromon with pure poison in her eyes, "Calm down? How can I calm down with She Leomon here, five digidestined doing who knows what in the digital world, that Mystic Stone is disrupting my Illusion Web, and I have three incompetent lackeys"
Vampiromon smiled at her slyly, ignoring her insult for now, "Do not fret Alicia. The game's not over yet."
"Game?! GAME?! You think this is game?! I'm fighting to avenge my father, what are you here for?!"
Vampiromon walked toward the bar gingerly. He mixed himself a drink as he talked.
"You know very well that I'm here for the same reason, but this will forever be a competition between you and the digidestined. You huff and puff, they with huff and puff back harder. The digidestined may have one uped us tonight in your mind, but in my mind the wheels are turning. She Leomon is here in the real world, and that's unfortunate, but you crippled her, she had to be carried away. Some of the digidestined escaped into the digital world, but what are they gonna do, and that means there are only three left. Your Illusion Web is thrashed and that sucks, we can't slip into and out of reality anymore, but you still can control peoples thoughts, that's why we still have this penthouse. As for three incompetent lackeys... I guess you'll have to make due..." he finished sarcastically.
Lady Myotismon contemplated his statement, as Vampiromon drank his alcohol.
Lady Myotismon looked back at Vampiromon with even more venom then before, "Don't call me Alicia."
Vampiromon's confidence left him, his grin dropped. He realized he had made a mistake. He put down his drink and turned slowly to Lady Myotismon. A clawed hand flew out of Lady Myotismon's black sleeve and clasped Vampiromon's neck. He choke out a splatter of cackles, he grasped the arm trying to wrench it free as his glass bounced against the floor and turned his drink into alcohol carpet stains, and he fell to his knees.
Lady Myotismon frowned, "I've told you before, Alicia Okinora is no more, she is a phantom. All that is left is Lady Myotismon. However, more importantly, don't presume to tell me what I'm doing wrong. As far as you are concerned, uncle, I can do no wrong."
Lady Myotismon leaned close to Vampiromon as he gasped for breath, "And I certainly don't have to make due with any incompetence in my ranks. I want you to remember that. Have I made myself clear?"
Vampiromon choked out a few words, "Ack... yes... ma'am..."
"Good."
Lady Myotismon lingered on Vampiromon's pain a little longer, then released him. Vampiromon gasped for air greedily, falling to the ground.
"I'm going to bed." she said, walking into another room, "Clean this mess up."
Vampiromon kept his eyes squarely to the ground, until he heard the click of Lady Myotismon's room. He lifted himself up and grasped the glass of poured out alcohol. A look of pure rage came over him, and he smashed the glass with his bare palm, letting the sharp pieces cut into his hand while the rest scattered across the floor.
How could she treat him with such disrespect, after all he'd done for her. Showing her her dark gift, and this is the thanks he got. It was never meant to get this out of hand, it wasn't in Vampiromon's plan. But, he tried not to let it bug him, he knew he would strike back some how. At another time, when the elimination of the digidestined was complete. He would rise from behind her and slit her throat. He would show his brother's daughter why you should never disrespect Vampiromon.
Vampiromon tried to calm himself down by taking a large bottle of brandy and draining it's contents. Pain was only temporary, but betrayal was forever. He could almost taste his vengeance along with the sweet taste of the liquor. It was a fact that Lady Myotismon was stronger then Vampiromon, but she was also drunk with power. She believed herself so above everyone that she would never see him coming.
Vampiromon pulled out a small cell phone from his vest's inner pocket. He typed in a number, and within seconds, four Demi Devimons came flapping in the open balcony door. They landed at his feet silently and waited for instructions.
Vampiromon pointed to the mess of furnishings and busted electronics "Clean up this mess, and get new stuff to replace it."
Immediately, the Demi Devimons set to work, picking up pieces of wooded and fluff and flying them out the window. Vampiromon walked out to the balcony with his bottle of brandy. A super villain like him was above menial labor. He leaped up onto the rail and felt the cool night air on his dry skin. Leaning forward, he fell into the spacious void below. Diving deep, down towards the Tokyo streets, and narrowly pulling himself out of dive in time on invisible wings. It was time for him to reclaim the night.
"What the hell kind of prison is this?!" Tai yelled.
"Please Tai, stop yelling." Sora said quietly.
Sora and Tai looked at each other quietly in their room which they had spent the last week in. Tai stood silently next to their little window, while Sora sat, legs clutched in her arms, on the chair.
A few days ago, after that strange night where Asuramon had captured them, they awoke in this small room, and they had been here every since, simply stuck.
Their cell, which is what it could only be known as after so long, was perhaps the strangest room ever. It was a small stone box painted a dull tan. It had one window, a hallway, two beds, a small lamp, and a simple, wooly chair.
The hallway, however, was no ordinary hallway. When one would walk down it, they could go several yards before ending up in the same room they had just been in.
The view out the window was even stranger, however. There were now bars, but a view of an immense ocean whirlpool as far as the eye could see. It's sound was unheard within the room, but where your head was outside the window, it was deafening.
There was a wall by the tunnel out that wasn't what it seemed. It appeared solid at first, but you could walk through it to a secret room, a very swanky bath room with sink, toilet, and shower.
Three times a day when you weren't looking, food would suddenly appear on their beds. It would happen when they were turned, or just when they blinked.
With it's refined elegance, cheery nature and tumbling secretes, it was, understandable, eerie.
Tai turned away from Sora's gaze, "I'm sorry Sora. I'm just really frustrated."
"I'm frustrated too! You think it's easy being stuck here with..." Sora saw the pain in Tai's eyes, "... never mind."
The tension between the two had escalated in the time they'd spent there. In the beginning, the two had tried to weather the hardship and fear together, but in the end Sora's feelings of guilt and Tai's frustration split the two even further.
Sora saw this as the mother of all omens, that it was a sign of a truly bad decision. If she had never been out cheating on Matt with Tai, then they never would have been captured and brought here. She cried a great deal. She cried for her predicament, she cried for her guilt, but mostly, she cried for Matt and longed for Matt. Even though she did have feelings for Tai, she missed Matt, and being with out him made Sora remember and yearn for the things that drew her to him in the first place.
What got at Tai was that he knew this, he could tell that she missed Matt. It made him cold and distant. He didn't want to lose Sora, but he knew there was nothing he could do. The only thing that kept him going was his constant search for an escape. He had gone over every brick of the room, the window, the bathroom, all the furniture, the hallway, he had searched every inch of their confinement area, and found nothing, but he couldn't stop. The minute he stopped trying was the moment he started to feel sorry for himself
Sora began to quietly cry, again. She got up from her seat and ran through the translucent wall to the bathroom.
Tai sighed and sat down on the wooly chair.
A sudden fluttering of wings brought Tai's attention away from his misery. He turned quickly to the tunnel to see something race down it fluttering it's wings. Tai leaped out of the chair and ran to the tunnel doorway. He could see the shadow of something juking in the air as it went done the hallway.
Tai yelled to Sora, "Sora come quick, there's something here!"
Sora came out of the non-physical wall, her cheeks wet from wiped tears, "What?"
"I saw something it went down there!" he said grabbing her hand and pulling her down the hall.
Sora yelled up to her, "Tai, it's just going to lead back to the room."
Tai called back confidently, "No. I have a feeling about this!"
As the two ran out of the tunnel, they we expecting to be greeted by the familiar view of their small cell, but instead, before them was a gigantic amputheater. It was a large circle that sloped down to the center. It had a high raising top that had a domed skylight that gave a view of gentle orange clouds floating by. Along the side of the amputheater, there were many other tunnels exactly like theirs, and like theirs, people were peering out at his brand new area.
Tai spreads his eyes wide and gasped in disbelief, and Sora did the same. There were other kids and youth like them, some with their own digimon, some just digimon. They all looked just as confused and cautious as Tai and Sora.
"They're the digidestined." Tai mumbled
"It looks like all of the digidestined are here. I wonder if..." Sora mumbled.
Her unsaid question was understood and answered, "Sora!"
Sora turned toward the voice and her face light up, "Matt!"
The two ran to each other and held each other tightly, ignoring Tai completely. There was a flurry of orange and blonde hair as the two slammed into each other. Matt's arms tied tight around her body as if she might disappear if he loosened his grip any. Sora's arms wrapped around his necks and traced along his upper back, neck head, way too excited to be still. Sora let out some exasperated crys of happiness as she wept tears of joy into Matt's hair.
Tai watched painfully as they hugged. Matt's face peered out from beneath the locks of orange hair he buried himself in, joy overtaking him with that elatedly happy smile on that stabbed into Tai's heart like a broken tree branch. Tai made a simple decision, and walked away.
Around him he spied many people he had met from the World Tour, as well as some he hadn't known, all of them in the same confused predicament as he. Many of the digidestined had moved down near the center of the room meeting and discussing the strange circumstances of their meeting.
"Tai!" something squeaky yelled.
"Agumon!" Tai recognized the little dinosaur digimon, as he leaped forward to hug him, "What are you doing here?"
"A guy named Asuramon appeared in the digital world and captured me."
"Me too."
"There's some really weird stuff going on here, Tai."
"Yeah, believe me I know."
The two made there way around talking about what had happened until they laid eyes upon some familiar faces. Joe, Gomamon, Mimi, Palmon, TK, Patamon, Yoilei, Hawkmon, Cody, Armadilomon, Ken, Wormon, Biyomon, and Gabumon.
Tai and Agumon ran to them, "Hey guys!"
The group meet them with surprised and happy hellos and hugs all around.
"Tai we're glad you're, ok." Mimi said giving him a quick squeeze, "We all worried about you when we heard you disappeared!"
"Yeah I..." Tai was interrupted by an uneven shaking entering the tips of his fingers, leading from the metal conduit floor.
The whole room started to quake next. Then, from the center of the room a pillar started to grow from the floor, black and metallic like a car cylinder, which then produced a second thinner pillar when it reached a certain height, bellowing up from the center, and then a third, then from the center a figure rose to the same level as the last pillar.
It was a pale green eyed girl with long, ashen blonde hair and a large black trench coat. She had a smug smile on her face as she surveyed the baffled onlookers, but beneath it the onlookers could see the rage held barely at bay as her eyes seemed to tremble in place.
Her voice commanded respect as she yelled to all of them, "Welcome to my parlor... said the spider to the fly."
The crowd groaned. By this quote of dastardly poetry, it was evident that they beheld their captor.
She smiled at their dismay, "Let me cut right to the chase, my name... is Lady Myotismon…"
The whole room let out one terrific gasp.
"I am the daughter of Myotismon," she continued, "and the niece of, as some of you have meet, Vampiromon."
About a third of the room gasped a second time.
"I have brought you here to teach you cursed digidestined a lesson. You interfered with my father's grand design, and dared kill him as well. For that you will all pay." She said with almost professional poise and control, as if lecturing a child.
The digidestined all looked at her with malice in their eyes.
Lady Myotismon frowned, "You might have noticed that not all the digidestined are here. There are a few who've escaped my efforts, but don't get your hopes up. In only a matter of time, I will get a hold of the little rebels and crush them myself, but I just wanted to let you know, so you can get ready to mourn their falls."
A thousand angry teeth glared at her.
She smiled again, "Defeat is so much more fun when it crushes your spirit. Until then I'll keep you here. Feel free to make as much trouble as you want, because there is no chance of escape, ever. Enjoy."
"Enjoy this, mate!" someone in the crowd yelled, "Get em' Crabmon!"
The crowd parted for an angry Crabmon, "Water Cannon!"
A solid spray of water fired from the Crabmon's mouth. It veered up at the platform and Lady Myotismon. She chuckled and held up her hand. The stream hit an invisible shield in from of her hand, and sprayed off harmless, falling to soak surrounding youth with the resounding yelps.
"Fighting me is useless, as well. I'll be back to finish you off when I've dealt with your friends!"
The platform that Lady Myotismon stood on sank, and she disappeared as it lowered into the floor. In at matter of seconds the platform disappeared and looked as it were never there at all.
Tai turned to the group, "This is not good!"
"What should we do?" Mimi asked.
"First," Joe said, "We need someone to find out which of the digidestined aren't here, because those ones that didn't get captured are the only ones who can free us now. Someone should go around and collect all the names."
"That's Good, I think Mimi should do it , she's a people person." Tai said.
Mimi agreed, letting her radiant smile show out once again, defying the dreary circumstances, "Okay dokay."
Tai looked at the group, "...annnnd, Cody and Yolei."
"Alright." they said in unison.
"We should also have some people inspect every room." Matt said strolling up with Sora, hand in hand, "Sora tells me the view from her room is a giant whirlpool, while mine is outer space... Gabumon!" Matt finished.
"Matt!"
"Biyomon!"
"Sora!"
The digimon and digidestined rejoiced at their reunion, as Tai watched silently.
"That's also a good plan." Joe said, "The rest of us can do that, but I think the you and Tai should try to get some sort of orderly meeting going, you two are the leader types."
Matt nodded and smiled at Tai. Tai looked cautiously his way and nodded back.
"I'll right let's get to it." Joe finished.
"Where are we?" Lani asked to no one in particular.
Julian heard her say, as he picked himself off the ground. His shoulder hurt and he wasn't feeling in the mood to answer, weither the question was directed at him or not. He looked up around him. Apemon, now Simianmon, was picking himself up as well favoring his leg. The rift was gone now, Hackmon just sealing it up with what looked like a giant chalk board eraser. The group was all standing around admiring their new surroundings.
And admirable the surroundings were, the city they were in was truly spectacular. It resembled the old Japanese city of Edo. It had a line of sharp angled, old Japanese-style houses along a red cobble stone street. Across from the houses was the blue sea stretching as far as the eyes could see. Behind the houses, taller buildings with the same ridged, old Japanese tiled design. Way off near the center of the city was the imperial palace itself of Edo. Along the streets Otamamon and Gekomon strolled along ignoring the splattering of humans around them.
Hackmon finished his work, "The Digital world, duh. Come with me." Hackmon said rudely.
Hackmon walked toward a building to the side, up some stairs, and into a thin, swinging door. The group followed him quickly. Inside, Hackmon was in what looked like an olden days cafe. He walked up to the bartender, a Mushroomon cleaning shot glasses behind a counter.
Mushroomon smiled when he saw Hackmon, "Howdy Hackmon. Back with a couple of humans I see."
"Yep. You have my package still?"
"You were only gone an hour, of course I do." Mushroomon reached under the counter and pulled out a thin brown case, and handed it to Hackmon, "Can I get you anything else?"
"Sure, eleven herbal teas, ok?"
"Ok." Mushroomon said, setting out to work.
Hackmon moved to a table by the window, followed by the befuddled digidestined. Hackmon sat down with a relieved sigh, and the digidestined followed suit. Hackmon sat down and gazed at the group contently. When he said nothing, the others in the group looked at each other confusedly.
"Ah, Hackmon," Julian started, "Um, what's going on?"
"We're having a tea break, duh."
"Doncha think we should get started?"
"Started with what?"
"I don't know! That's what you're here for."
"I I'm?"
Julian narrowed his eyes at Hackmon "What's in the case, Hackmon?!"
Hackmon looked down at the brown case in front of him, "Oh yeah. Here are your tags." He said opening the case revealing five yellow tags hanging from silver chains.
The digidestined yelled anxiously grabbing at the tags. Then they sat back admiring the strangely shaped neck ornaments.
"How do they work?" Gina asked.
The tea arrived, and Hackmon slurped his cup noisily, "From what I've heard, all you do is dangle it by the chain, and it will turn in the direction you must journey to find it."
Lani dangled her tag, it spun a few times and stopped in a certain direction, "How do we know when it works...," the edge around the face plate of the tag glowed red, "... never mind."
"Eventually, you should come across a collection of irregular shapes, that should be your crest. You just place the tag on the crest and presto, Ya get da crest. Ah, I love herbal tea, it calms me so..." Hackmon said as he dozed off, snoring loudly.
Farris rocked Hackmon gently to try to wake him, then harder and harder.
"You better forget about waking him up." Mushroomon called from behind the counter, "It's easier to wake up the dead. Best to let him sleep."
Farris shrugged and sat back down.
Lani sighed, "That's one screwed up digimon."
"I guess we should go then." Julian said.
"No wait," Gina interjected, "There are some things that don't make a lot of sense. She SAID that she was out to destroy all the digidestined that were responsible for Myotismon's death the first time, and all the new digidestined responsible for Malo Myotismon's death the second time, but why is she then just kidnapping the digidestined. She SAID that she was keeping them safe."
"Good point." Lani said. "Maybe it's the writer's fault."
"No, Lani, here's the question, what's preventing her from killing the digidestined right now?" Gina asked.
Catherine spoke quietly, "Maybe it's her human side preventing her."
"Yeah, maybe on some sub-conscience level she knows that it's wrong to commit murder. So instead of killing us off, she'll keep us away from the world." Julian said.
"That's like the ultimate weakness." Lani interjected, "She's not totally committed to her cause, and that's what we've got to exploit. We have to fight her evil side, while appealing to her human side."
Gina smiled, "Exactly."
"There's another thing that I don't get." Farris said, sipping his tea, "Lady Myotismon said that Vampiromon told her about her father. Now why did he do that. What's his reason for awakening the power of Myotismon's daughter. He seems like a really arrogant type, why would he come to the real world to seek out a new master, I mean he must have known about her power or he wouldn't of come. And also, how did he even know about the girl, and how did he get to the real world in the first place?"
"I don't think we'll find any of these questions sitting here. We better start looking for those crests." Lani said.
The group finished their tea until only Julian and Catherine was left. Lani and Dinomon followed their tag to the east. Farris and Furrimon followed their crest to the west. Drakemon digivolved into Airdramon, and Gina and Airdramon followed their crest over the sea.
Julian sat back and sipped his tea, "Good tea, huh Catherine."
Catherine said nothing.
Floramon sensed something was wrong between the two, and decided not to get involved, "Come Simianmon, talk with me over here."
Simianmon looked confused, "Ah, ok."
Julian looked at Catherine. She looked down, away from Julian. Julian could see a tiny glistening of a tear in the corner of her eye.
"Catherine what's wrong?"
She sniffled, "You said we'd go together... and then you left."
"Ahh, Catherine I'm sorry..."
"Only a little while ago, you told me that I didn't have to fear any more because you'd be there, but right when I might have needed you the most… you left."
Julian didn't know what to say, but he had to say something. He felt really awful that he made such a heart felt promise and didn't keep it.
"Catherine... do you want to know what I fear?"
Catherine looked up surprised.
"I know that I'm strong, but not everyone else is. I fear that someone around me will get hurt because I wasn't strong enough to protect them. It's like an obsession I can't stand by or walk away when there's a fight. So when I couldn't leave back there, it was because I couldn't take it if anything happen to the others I'd leave behind." Julian said head held down.
Catherine wiped her eyes, and got up. She walked over to Julian and gave him a big hug, "Now I understand you Julian. You have no need to worry Julian, you have to believe in the strengths of your fellows. We see you as are leader, but a leader has to trust those he leads." she said giving him a kiss on the forehead.
Julian sighed happily, "I'm glad I'm with you."
The four finished their teas and left. On the street, Julian and Catherine hung their tags. Julian's silver glowing tag pointed one way, while Catherine's yellow glowing tag pointed the other.
"It appears we'll have to parts ways my dear." Catherine said.
"I'll miss you."
Julian was answered as Catherine grabbed him and kissed him passionately on the lips. When done, Catherine smiled, "I'll miss you too. Au du, Julian." she said walking off with Floramon at her side.
Julian, still a little flustered, called back, "Adios, corason."
As Catherine walked on, Julian began his happy dance.
"Julian, you're a loser." Simianmon said, watching Julian make a spectacle of himself.
"A loser who just got a kiss!"
Kari looked sadly out the window. Every since the battle the night before, things had been a little tense for the remaining digidestined.
The battle, after the others had escaped through the portal, ended with the group able to escape as well. They all came out relatively unscathed, except for She Leomon. Lady Myotismon had given her quite a beating, requiring her to be carried out by Magnamon. She now lay in the bed in the guest room of Izzy's house, recovering from a broken leg, several broken ribs, and a dislocated shoulder.
Kari surveyed Izzy's room as she rested against the window sill. Izzy was sitting at his computer desk, as usualy, looking over a schematic of a digivice on his computer. Gatomon was grooming herself quietly on a chair. Tentomon was on the floor eating one of the fresh baked cookies that Izzy's mom had just made. Davis and Veemon were out guarding the house. Kari could see them out the window. Veemon was sitting on the side of the road taking a little break. Davis paced from one end of Izzy's apartment complex to the other, the street light glinting off his goggles. He had an attentive look in his eyes, watching every leaf move and car go by, as he sipped on a thermis of cocoa. Kari liked Davis's vigilant nature, she sometimes felt she didn't give him enough credit. Despite his abrupt and annoying attraction to her, she still kind of liked him for his strengths that he hid inside.
After the digidestined retreated, Lady Myotismon and her soldiers had retreated as well. Angewomon tracked them a bit, but she lost them when they split up inside the city.
There where a lot of unanswered questions left, and Kari was worrying what those answers would cost.
Kari walked over to where Izzy was studying his digivise.
"What are you doing Izzy?" she asked.
Izzy looked up at her, "I'm trying to learn the properties of Warp Digivolveing."
"You want to make Tentomon a Mega."
"Yes, but also the curiosity keeps me going."
"How can you make it work."
"I'm not sure, but I believe that Warp Digivolving has something to do with an irregularity in the digivise. When Angemon and Angewomon shoot arrows at Matt and Tai, I believe it tweaked their digivises a little. I believe with a little tampering I can institute a Warp digivolution in Tentomon.
"Makes sense, I guess. We could really use a Mega digimon in the fight against Lady Myotismon."
"I might even be able to do the same for you, Kari, and Davis too"
"Cool."
In the center of the city, looming above the yellow incandescence of the street lights, a white apartment building stood. In the darkness of night, the many windows of it were blackened, all except for the top ones. From them glowed an eerie white light that was brilliant and eye-catching for a moment, then suddenly vanished.
Within the penthouse of that apartment building, two dark figures stirred. They had appeared with the strange white light, yet no one noticed.
Inside was a precise collection of designer furniture, a bar, a computer and several large, expensive things.
The two shadowy figures moved about the room. The first, Lady Myotismon, back in human form, was irate. She seethed rage between he teeth, her fists were clenched so tight they grew red, veins popped out in her head.
The other, Vampiromon, watched her in silent amusement.
"Damn them!" she yelled, "They've ruined it!"
Her fist became ghastly, and sharp, and she trust it through a short table made of a fine mahogany, shattering it smithereens.
"My sweet revenge, ruined by that upstart She Leomon!"
She took her clawed hand and sliced through her black leather couch. The cut was so clean, it took a few seconds before it collapsed in on itself. Vampiromon grinned at the vandalism, thoroughly amused.
"That stupid BITCH! Who is she to bring that Mystic stone of hers and screw with my destiny!"
Lady Myotismon made a fist and slammed it down onto of a large stereo system, causing a shower of sparks over Lady Myotismon, but none affecting her.
"And those stupid digidestined going to the Digital world! What do they even hope to accomplish?!"
She opened her palm to reveal a small crimson fireball. She growled and hurled it at the refrigerator in the other room. It exploded with a burst of food goo.
Vampiromon was enjoying every second, but he knew he had to reason with her, "Now, now my lady. Calm yourself."
Lady Myotismon turned to Vampiromon with pure poison in her eyes, "Calm down? How can I calm down with She Leomon here, five digidestined doing who knows what in the digital world, that Mystic Stone is disrupting my Illusion Web, and I have three incompetent lackeys"
Vampiromon smiled at her slyly, ignoring her insult for now, "Do not fret Alicia. The game's not over yet."
"Game?! GAME?! You think this is game?! I'm fighting to avenge my father, what are you here for?!"
Vampiromon walked toward the bar gingerly. He mixed himself a drink as he talked.
"You know very well that I'm here for the same reason, but this will forever be a competition between you and the digidestined. You huff and puff, they with huff and puff back harder. The digidestined may have one uped us tonight in your mind, but in my mind the wheels are turning. She Leomon is here in the real world, and that's unfortunate, but you crippled her, she had to be carried away. Some of the digidestined escaped into the digital world, but what are they gonna do, and that means there are only three left. Your Illusion Web is thrashed and that sucks, we can't slip into and out of reality anymore, but you still can control peoples thoughts, that's why we still have this penthouse. As for three incompetent lackeys... I guess you'll have to make due..." he finished sarcastically.
Lady Myotismon contemplated his statement, as Vampiromon drank his alcohol.
Lady Myotismon looked back at Vampiromon with even more venom then before, "Don't call me Alicia."
Vampiromon's confidence left him, his grin dropped. He realized he had made a mistake. He put down his drink and turned slowly to Lady Myotismon. A clawed hand flew out of Lady Myotismon's black sleeve and clasped Vampiromon's neck. He choke out a splatter of cackles, he grasped the arm trying to wrench it free as his glass bounced against the floor and turned his drink into alcohol carpet stains, and he fell to his knees.
Lady Myotismon frowned, "I've told you before, Alicia Okinora is no more, she is a phantom. All that is left is Lady Myotismon. However, more importantly, don't presume to tell me what I'm doing wrong. As far as you are concerned, uncle, I can do no wrong."
Lady Myotismon leaned close to Vampiromon as he gasped for breath, "And I certainly don't have to make due with any incompetence in my ranks. I want you to remember that. Have I made myself clear?"
Vampiromon choked out a few words, "Ack... yes... ma'am..."
"Good."
Lady Myotismon lingered on Vampiromon's pain a little longer, then released him. Vampiromon gasped for air greedily, falling to the ground.
"I'm going to bed." she said, walking into another room, "Clean this mess up."
Vampiromon kept his eyes squarely to the ground, until he heard the click of Lady Myotismon's room. He lifted himself up and grasped the glass of poured out alcohol. A look of pure rage came over him, and he smashed the glass with his bare palm, letting the sharp pieces cut into his hand while the rest scattered across the floor.
How could she treat him with such disrespect, after all he'd done for her. Showing her her dark gift, and this is the thanks he got. It was never meant to get this out of hand, it wasn't in Vampiromon's plan. But, he tried not to let it bug him, he knew he would strike back some how. At another time, when the elimination of the digidestined was complete. He would rise from behind her and slit her throat. He would show his brother's daughter why you should never disrespect Vampiromon.
Vampiromon tried to calm himself down by taking a large bottle of brandy and draining it's contents. Pain was only temporary, but betrayal was forever. He could almost taste his vengeance along with the sweet taste of the liquor. It was a fact that Lady Myotismon was stronger then Vampiromon, but she was also drunk with power. She believed herself so above everyone that she would never see him coming.
Vampiromon pulled out a small cell phone from his vest's inner pocket. He typed in a number, and within seconds, four Demi Devimons came flapping in the open balcony door. They landed at his feet silently and waited for instructions.
Vampiromon pointed to the mess of furnishings and busted electronics "Clean up this mess, and get new stuff to replace it."
Immediately, the Demi Devimons set to work, picking up pieces of wooded and fluff and flying them out the window. Vampiromon walked out to the balcony with his bottle of brandy. A super villain like him was above menial labor. He leaped up onto the rail and felt the cool night air on his dry skin. Leaning forward, he fell into the spacious void below. Diving deep, down towards the Tokyo streets, and narrowly pulling himself out of dive in time on invisible wings. It was time for him to reclaim the night.