Chapter Six

A glimpse into evil's mind

"Ryo!" Ken shouted, as he bursts in the clearing were the others had gathered.

"What did you say?" Tai said whirling around to face the approaching boy.

"Ryo." Ken looked straight at Tai. "Henry says he knows a tamer named Ryo Akiyama."

Tai froze up. "Oh my G-d! I looked right at him!"

"Hu?"

"When Nabta first reviled himself and we saw the tamers for the first time I saw a kid that looked just like Ryo!" Tai slaped himself on the head "And I didn't even notice!"

"What you know that show off?" Rika asked walking over.

Ken's eyes narrowed. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Jeez," Rika spat at the fuming individual before her. "Nothing, so how could you know Ryo? I thought you bunch were from another dimension."

"That's exactly what we were wondering…" Tai mumbled to himself as he sat down, lost in thought.

"Oh boy…." Ryo said as he watched from behind some foliage the others gathering. He started to slowly back away "Busted."

"Were you going Ryo?" Monodramon loudly asked the brown haired boy.

All heads quickly snipped towards the sound of the Digimon's voice. "Nowhere now." Ryo sighed.

"Alright mister legendary tamer." Rika burst through the foliage. "Sound like you have some explaining to do.

"Guess I do." Ryo sighed once more and followed her to the others.

"What do you have to report?" A huge lurking figure called from the shadows golden claws and a huge fanged mouth was all that could be made out. Strangely when the thing spoke its mouth did not move.

"We have reason to believe there has been an incursion into the Digital World." A tall slim figure replied.

"What!" The voice roared. "How?"

"We do not know my Lord. But," The figure added quickly, what small light there was glinting on his purple mask. "Chaosdramon is working over time on it."

"RRR, Very well, but be careful, my… friend any incursions here and I will not be so tolerant."

"Of course my Lord." The figure bowed, his leather jacket ruffling as he did so. He than turned and began to leave.

"Are you not forgetting something!" The voice demanded.

"Of course not." The figure turned and walked towards the voice. As he did a small slab of rock came into focus, it was covered in strange etchings, an altar. "Come small one." The figured whispered as he pulled a small transparent blob and set it on the altar.

"Poy?" It squeaked expectantly. Suddenly flame burst from altar consuming the baby Digimon. With a howling screech the Poyomon burst into data. The Data hung in the air for a second before being absorbed by the unseen beast.

"Ahhh, I do so love the data of the innocent."

With a finale bow the figure left the room.

"Chaosdramon!"

A huge hulking figure turned its red metal body glinting. "What?"

"Any progress?"

"Humph!" The crimson machine gave the smaller figure in front of him a cold glare. "No, these things take time, as you should well know."

"Perhaps." The figure snarled, folding its fathered wings behind its back. "But would you like to be the one to report that fact to our Lord?"

"No." The machine paused for a second. "There is some news."

"What?"

"I have determined the number of life forms that entered the Digital World, and I believe at lest some were Digital life forms."

"Well at lest that's something. Continue." With that the figure left the room.

"Egotistical demon lord." Chaosdramon huffed as he watched him leave.

The master sat in the darkness of his inner sanctuary his eyes sealed shut. Thousands of voices ran through his mind, all begging for their freedom. A smirk formed on his fanged mouth. With a thought he silenced the voices, and with another he banished them to their mental cells. He turned his thoughts to other matters, the traitor. His thoughts always fell to him, to the one who had stripped him of what he once was, but the coming of the chosen would change all that, of this he was certain.

"Master?"

Demi Devimon, he too, and the others most loyal to him, were also wronged by the traitor. "Yes?"

"The training camp has discovered Floramon's defeat."

The master's eyes snapped open, glowing red. "Then let us observe their reactions."

"May I watch as well?" A small fur covered creature floated into view, smoke seemingly coming out behind him.

"Of course Tapirmon."

"This makes no sense!" Searchmon shook his head. "No sense at all."

"What makes no sense?" A voice at the door to his office asked.

"Lord Honeybeemon!" Searchmon yelped. "I did not hear you approach."

"Then you must be districted." The Bee laughed. "My wings do tend to make a rather distinct buzzing noise."

"It the reading I was getting from the fight my lord."

"Did Floramon win?"

"No, but that's not what's puzzling me." His eyes narrowed.

"Than what is it?"

"It's the Digimons he was fighting, there's something strange about them."

"What could possible be that strange about them?"

"The fight started off simply enough." Searchmon started to pace up and down. "I had Floramon's energy signature and the energy signatures of three other Digimon, all seemed to be of the Rookie level."

"Hmm, three-to-one." Honeybeemon stroked his chin. "I do believe you found the reason Floramon lost." He chuckled.

"Yes my lord, but" Searchmon pressed on, with a small bite to his voice. "Floramon was dealing with them with ease."

Honeybeemon raised an eyebrow. "Inexperienced?"

"No, more like untrained. I can't be sure mind you, but from the movements I was tracking they seemed to have been in quite a few fights, just never trained."

"You mean street brawlers? Common street brawlers beat one of our best trained members!" A sinister overtone appeared in the armored Digimon's voice. "I will have to bring that up with Bullmon."

"But he was winning, even managed to paralyze two of them, considering their lack of movement for quite a bit of time."

The Bee Digimon nodded his head. "It is a standard tactics for Floramons."

"That's when something very strange happened to the third one. He had a power increase, similar to the one that happens when a Digimon Digivolves."

"Luckily for the brawler. A brawler Champion versus a skilled Rookie is slanted in favor of the Champion."

"Yes but that's when things start getting really strange the energy signature seemed like that of a Champion, but it was, under-powered."

"Ha!" Honeybeemon started laughing hysterically, even when he continued talking he was still chuckling slightly "The brawler became a filthmon! Can you tell which one? Maybe a Raremon, or how about a Nanimon!"

Searchmon held up a claw. "No it didn't become a filthmon, if it did it'd be weaker, or at lest the same in terms of power. I don't know how to describe it, it's like it… half Digivolved."

"Half Digivolved?" Honeybeemon looked at Searchmon oddly.

Searchmon shrugged. "It's the only why I can think to describe it. The Digimon's power increased and its energy signature changed indicting it became a new species, but the power increase was less than one gets when becoming a Champion. It was more like that of an over powered Rookie."

"In that case Floramon should have won!" Honeybeemon clenched his fists. "The skill he was taught here should have more than enough to compensate for such a small power difference."

"It was."

"Than how was he defeated?"

"I told you all the Digimon he fought were strange, just when it seemed Floramon was on the verge of winning there was a massive unidentified energy surge, and suddenly the paralyzes on the other two Digimon was lifted." He looked straight at Honeybeemon. "The other two also Digivolved."

"What! Three Digivolutions so close together and all during a battle! The odds of that happing must be stupendous."

"I can't give you the odds, you'd have to ask a machine Digimon for that, but I can tell you this, they also underwent the "half Digivaluation"."

"And that's what over whelmed him?" Honeybeemon had turned his back to Searchmon, and folded his arms.

"Yes my lord. But there was one finale strange incident, all three enemy Digimon reverted back during the last stage of the fight, almost as if they, De-Digivolved somehow."

Honeybeemon's brow furrowed. "Stranger, and stranger." He started to fly out of the room. "Have Bullmon report to me as soon as possible, I have a mission for him."

"Yes my lord."

"You wished to see me my lord?" Bullmon huffed as he entered Honeybeemon's office.

"Yes," Honeybeemon replied without looking up from his paper work. "Have you heard of the death of your student?"

"Yes," Bullmon growled under his breath. "why?"

"Searchmon has determined that there is something, odd about the Digimon who defeated him." Honeybeemon looks up at Bullmon. "I want you to find out what."

"Yes my lord." Bullmon turns to leave but is stopped by Honeybeemon's voice, the Bee having already returned to his paperwork.

"And should you succeed it shall make up for the failure of your student, fail and I shall have to come to the conclusion that you are past your prime and no longer fit to train others."

"Yes my lord."

A grin formed on Honeybeemon's face as he saw the Bull Digimon leave. "And if you serve no purpose than your life becomes forfeit." He added to himself.

"So when did you first meet the Digidestined?" Rika asked an embarrassed Ryo. He was sitting towards the middle of the clearing with most of the others gathering around him.

"A little while after they defeated Apocalymon." Ryo mummers his head hanging down.

"And you never told us this because….?"

"Come on if I told you not only that a cartoon was real but that I had meet, and helped the heroes you would have thought that I was crazy." Ryo throws a small grin at Rika. "Or in your case crazier."

Rika simply rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"He does have a point." Takato stepped froward. "What, did you say you helped the Digidestined?"

"Yeah, a while after Apocalymon was defeated a new evil appeared, Millenniummon."

Izzy sighed as he watched the others gathering around Ryo. He didn't feel the need to join them just yet, he knew most of the story. What he was concerned about was what Nabat had told them, that everything that happened over the last four years had basically been a lie. "Even my confrontation with my parents." He whispered as he sat down on a nearby log.

"What did you say Izzy?" The red haired boy looked up to see Mimi and Palmon standing next to him.

"Oh nothing, so why aren't you with the others Mimi?"

"It's a rather dull conversation."

A sweat drop ran down the side of Izzy's head. "Blunt as always." he thought.

"Well after Millenniummon beat the Digidestined and took them and their partners prisoners…" Before Ryo could continue his story a voice cut him off.

"Except me!"

"Yes Agumon, except you." Tai sighed.

"Anyway," Ryo continued "Millenniummon than,"

"Sorry to interrupt, but I have a score to settle!" A threatening voice bellowed.

"Come on! Can't I finish telling a simple story!" Ryo blurted jumping to his feet as a huge bull smashed its way into the clearing.

"Anyone know who that is?" Davis shouted as he and Veemon ran towards the bulky Digimon.

"Bullmon, a mammal type Digimon of the Armored level." Rika replied glancing at her D-power.

"An Armored level occurring naturally? How is that possible?" Yolie asked.

Rika shrugged. "Don't know, but in our, "training"," Rika rolled her eyes at the word. "We met them on a few occasions, they have the same power as a Champion."

"Than this will be easy! Ready Veemon?" Davis held up his D-3 and looked at his partner.

"You know it!" Veemon gave Davies the thumbs up.

"What!" Ken shouted before Davies could do anything. "There's something you need to know, If I'm right his student was a Floramon that attacked us on the way to the city."

"So what, it was just a Rookie." Davies replied.

"Yes, but that's the point, it took Stingmon, Ikkakumon, and the Champion from of the Tamers Digimon to take it down."

Davies whirled towards Ken at hearing this. "You're joking, right?" Ken's eyes showed he was deadly serious.

"This is ridicules!" Rika suddenly shouted. "I can't believe you had trouble with a Rookie!" She looked start at Henry as she said this. "But there is no way are Renamon I are and going to fall on our faces like that. Ready Renamon."

The fox Digimon seemed to simply have appeared besides the tome girl. "Of course."

"Than lets go."

With that the Fox Digimon launched herself at her unmoving target. "Ha." Bullmon snorted and calmly lifted his massive bulk up on his rear legs, and as Renamon passed under him he fell back down trapping her under his hooves. " Need some help up? Let me!" Bullmon quickly slipped his hooves under Renamon and before she had time to escape filliped her into the air and with a mighty kick sent her flying, crashing into the ground a few feet away. "Children shouldn't play adult games." He sneered and looked at the others. "Now who's next?"

Author's Notes: Well I now I haven't been saying much recently but I simply wanted to get out as many chapters as possible to make up for the delay. This chapter is actually one of the most important ones so far as it lays a lot of groundwork for what lies ahead. Most notably Izzy's realization that the kids have been living a lie for quite a while now, and the effects that's going to have on them. Of course we know its even worse than that considering one team has already lost their world. Also there is the Ryo story, some of you may know it others may not, but either way it's going to get retold here. But not in a single blob of exposition which will bore those who know it. And possibly cause those who don't know to get bored with it as it is important instead it'll get handed out in little doses like he tiny bit given in this chapter.

P.S.: If you have to know the Ryo story right this minute it is an official back-story given thorough a series of Wonderswan games. Checkout Chris McFeely's "Digimon Encyclopedia" for basic info and the site "Find A Way To Bring Back Yesterday" For grater details, otherwise sit back and what for me to tell you.