Can you believe it? I'm updating! And only a few months after my last update. Not six months, not a year. Just a few months. Not bad. This time I actually kept my promise to myself. It would have been sooner too except that my computer was completely fried, and it took over a month for Future Shop to realize that and get my a new one. I've also gotten into this story again, so hopefully I'll be updating this often all the time. I'd personally update more, but life's been busy. And with summer coming up work might interfere a bit. (I swear it's worse than school).

Anyway, I'll stop my blathering and let you read the latest update.

Disclaimer - I don't own Digimon, this is merely fan fiction written for my, and other's enjoyment. Don't sue, I've got no money to give you.

Labramon lunged! Her jaws clamped down on nothing but air as her opponent, Floramon, dodged by leaping into the air.

Floramon's partner began to yell out instructions. "It's too quick for you to hit Floramon! You need to restrain it"

"On it!" Floramon yelled.

My opponent was right. Labramon was too fast. Plant Digimon were generally very slow. They relied on healing abilities and long range attacks to win battles, and Floramon was no exception. That was why I had told Labramon to keep to using her teeth and claws. So far it was working; Floramon had been unable to fight back for the most part. Another one of plant Digimon's weakness were their lack of physical strength. Their defensive capabilities were unmatched, but they dished out punches like a school girl - with the exception of Togemon of course.

This battle had proven all of those things. This Floramon was using their species tried and true method of immobilizing their opponents with their pollen, and then lashing out with all their strength. It was rare that Floramon won battles without immobilizing their opponents first.

In an instant the stamen's within Floramon's arms emerged, acting like ropes that tied around Labramon's neck. Next, Floramon began to tug Labramon towards her.

Impressive, the stamens had caught me off guard. Floramon's ability to extend the stamens hidden within their arms, and use them like whips or ropes, were one of the few things they execute quickly. I had been expecting her to release a kind of attack Labramon could have easily avoided, but even a speedy Digimon like Labramon could not have dodged the speed at which those stamens moved. This made things very interesting.

Floramon began to try to pull her Labramon closer so she could easily paralyze her. Unfortunately for Floramon and her partner, they had forgotten about plant Digimon's complete lack of physical strength.

"Gotcha!" Floramon chuckled.

Labramon gave me a questioning look. I grinned and gave her a nod.

"Do you?" Labramon's grin matched mine. "I'm a dog; I'm no stranger...to being put on a leash!"

With a lightning quick motion, Labramon clamped her jaws onto the vine tied around her neck, and, with one mighty tug, she hurled Floramon into the air. She leaped to Floramon's level and delivered a swift kick with both legs, sending Floramon crashing into the ground. Meanwhile Labramon landed gracefully in front of me. Labramon and I exchanged smiles.

"See what happens when you actually listen to me," I said. "You won't even have to Digivolve."

Labramon laughed. "This is soooo fun."

Floramon and her partner weren't enjoying it as much. The boy seemed about ready to run into the centre of the arena and to his partner's aid.

"Floramon are - are you okay?" he stuttered.

Floramon struggled to her feet, grasping her stomach, struggling for breath.

"Fine!" she spat out angrily. "Little thing just knocked the wind out of me."

"They're tough alright," the boy said. "I'd say its time to use our secret weapon."

Floramon was still panting heavily as she spoke. "Alright - didn't think we'd have to use this in the preliminaries though."

Labramon, like myself, had heard every word of the conversation. She turned to me and said. "You know everything Floramon can do Krystal. What are they talking about?"

"I'm not sure. They've used all of Floramon's conventional attacks. Whatever they're about to do, it isn't anything I've heard of before."

Floramon, finally regaining her composure, lifted both arms in the air and announced the name of her attack, as per usual.

"Rainbow pollen!"

A shower of pollen slowly and beautifully emerged from Floramon's arms. I, along with the crowd watching the battle, stared mesmerized as the pollen put on a beautiful show of lights and colours. It sparkled with every colour of the rainbow as it reflected off the bright lights above.

I never imagined something could be so beautiful. The coloured pollen arranged itself in a colour combination that was so dazzling that my brain took at least a minute to translate the image my eyes were receiving. I had never seen anything so colourful, so beautiful, so amazing, so...so...distracting!

I gave my head a shake. Stupid!

How could I let myself become hypnotized by a bunch of stupid colours. How - how girly of me.

Floramon's strategy was clear now. I began to yell out to Labramon, but it was too late. Floramon was already charging, and Labramon was staring mesmerized by the stupid sparkling pollen!

Floramon raised her arm to club Labramon with a blow that would end the match.

However, to my surprise Labramon nimbly leaped out fo the way. Now Floramon was the one stupefied as she watched her assault miss.

Labramon wasted no time retaliating. She shot forward, and delivered a nasty head butt to Floramon's stomach.

This time the flower Digimon did not recover. She stood wide-eyed in shock and keeled over.

The coordinator/referee raised his hand and announced Labramon and I the winners of the match.

My opponent pushed passed Labramon to his Digimon's side. With a look of defeat on his face, he turned to Labramon and I.

"How? No one, human or Digimon, has ever been able to avoid the hypnotic effect of Floramon's Rainbow Pollen!"

I stood there, not venturing an answer. I was just as confused as he was.

Labramon shrugged. "The pollen didn't seem that pretty to me." She grinned. "Then again, I'm colour blind."

"Three battles down," I said, smiling triumphantly and plopping a French fry into my mouth. "Only one more to go."

Alex smiled back from the opposite side of our table. "See! I told you you'd do well.

I tried my best not to roll my eyes. The guy never could resist the temptation to gloat when he knew he was right.

Labramon and I had been in the last match of the third round, and then the first in the fourth, so we fought our first match almost immediately after our third.

Our opponents had been a girl and a Patamon. A spoiled brat actually. Her parents had probably bought her way into the tournament. It was a wonder she even got to the third round.

She probably got lucky all three rounds; she didn't with us though. Labramon was able to knock out her pampered little rookie in about thirty seconds. The pathetic thing couldn't even get out of the way of one Retrieve Bark. We hadn't even intended it to hit. It was supposed to be a distraction; Labramon hadn't even put a fraction into her power into it.

Alex suddenly chuckled.

"What?" I asked.

"You! The look on your face. You're loving this aren't you?"

I laughed and shook my head. "Eh, a little I suppose. I still feel the same way about Digimon, excepting a stronger tolerance, but I do have to admit it is nice to knock cocky little jerks on their asses."

Alex returned my laugh. "Yeah, as much as I love this sport, there's no shortage of that here." He sighed at the though, and his expression changed; he grew strangely serious. "I don't know what's happened to Digidestined lately Krystal. Back in our parents' day, when we were a rare breed, all Digidestined were good. There was the occasional hard headed one, like my father, or Matt, but for the most part they were good.

"It's more than them being just jerks too. There are people who use their Digimon partners in order to commit crimes, and not just petty crimes either. Hell! Just a few days ago, I was reading an article about some guy who used his partner to kill someone. It's pathetic! Digidestined are supposed to protect people not hurt them. What the hell has happened?"

I snorted. "I'll tell you what happened. People don't earn the right to become Digidestined anymore; they inherit it. Our parents became Digidestined because there was something special about them. The omnipotent powers of the Digital World knew they would use their powers responsibly. Those who received their Digidestined powers did so because they deserved them. There was a divine system in place that picked the right people for the job. Unfortunately that system doesn't exist anymore. Any idiot can inherit Digidestined powers, and that opens up the system for, not only ass-holes, but people who are just plain evil, to have powers that they really shouldn't have. That's why there was so much turmoil in the dark age. You didn't have leaders who knew what they were charge. You just let any idiot running the country just because he was the King's son. I wouldn't be surprised if that's why Digimon are starting to change."

"Excuse me?" Alex said. He had a confused look on his face.

"That's right! I haven't told you yet."

Lopmon began tugging at my pants leg. "Does this have anything to do with what you were talking about earlier?"

"You told Lopmon and not me."

"You were too busy with your fans." I kicked him under the table. "Particularly the female ones."

"Yeah...well..." Alex blushed, as his eyes became fixed onto the table.

"Regardless, it's something I learned during my meeting with Izzy. He's discovered something about Digimon - they're changing."

"Changing? How?" Labramon said. "I don't feel any different."

"You wouldn't." I said. "They're not changing on the individual level. They're changing as a population - on the evolutionary level to be exact. They're becoming somewhat biological."

Lopmon started to figure it out. "Like with Renamon's bleeding?"

"Bleeding?" Alex inquired.

"Didn't you notice? When Turuiemon struck Renamon's arm with his blade she bled."

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "So, those blades are sharp. Sharp things make you bleed.

"They make humans like you and I bleed," I said. "But not Digimon. Digimon don't have blood. When Digimon are injured the only visible signs are tic-tac-toe lines on their skin. It's something they picked up during their evolution; it came from jpegs of Saturday morning cartoon shows on the internet. They sort of bleed, but not the way we do. When they're injured they leak data. In the Digital World it just kind gets absorbed into the environment because it is data as well, but in the real world that data exists as in an invisible gaseous form, that eventually just kind of dissipates.

See, Digimon are made of false proteins, and without those false proteins to encase the data it can't exist in the real world. That's what makes them different from humans and animals; they don't really have a physical form. But if Digimon are bleeding, it means they have physical form. They're becoming more like us."

"Ooookay..." Alex said. "I think I missed most of the biology - or is it computer sciences? Whatever, but I did get the gist of it. Digimon bleeding are a sign that they're becoming biological. What confuses me is, what does this have to do with the corruption of the Digidestined?"

"Because this change has to happen for a reason."

"And the corruption is the reason?"

"You never pay attention in Digital Sciences class do you?"

I laughed as he shook his head.

"Well, if you had, you'd know that any great change in Digimon, or the Digital world, is caused by some sort of imbalance. The corruption could be causing the imbalance. So yes, I suppose that the corruption of the Digidestined could be a cause. An indirect cause, but a cause just the same."

Alex looked concerned. "So is there anything we can do about it?"

I laughed. "Not really, not unless you can to change human nature. That's been a lost cause since Eve took a bite of that apple. Besides-"

I stopped myself before I stupidly mentioned the evil force that Izzy had described. Alex didn't need to know that. He seemed disturbed enough about the Digidestined situation. However, it didn't seem like he was going to let it go that easily.

"Besides...?" he pressed.

"Besides- " I stuttered for a moment before I thought of something to cover it up. "Besides who's to say that Digimon turning biological is a bad thing?"

I regretted that comment as soon as it came out of my mouth. He didn't take it very well.

"What are you talking about? Of course it's a bad thing!" He quickly stood up, slamming one hand against the table. "Being Digital is what makes Digimon such unique creatures! It's what give them their identity! I can't think of a single Digimon that would want to give up that uniqueness."

"I sure wouldn't," Lopmon snorted, crossing his arms. Labramon nodded in agreement.

"Not to mention what it might do to their species as a whole. Digimon don't reproduce because, with the exception of Digimon with Digidestined partners, they can't really die, and it's the fact that they're data that makes that possible. When a biological organism dies it's body rots away, but their reproductive systems usually ensure that there's another one of its species to replace it. Digimon can't do that because they don't have a reproductive system. When they die, the lost individual is replaced through data configuration. However, biological creatures can't do that. If Digimon became biological they'd be creatures that would just die without reproducing. It would only be a matter of time before they went extinct.

"Oh and don't forget about the fact that they'd never be able to enter the Digital World again. Generally biological organisms can't enter the Digital World. The Digidestined can, but that's only because of our there's something special about us. If Digimon become biological they wouldn't be able to go back to their homeland -"

Alex suddenly froze. I was afraid of this, he had just figured out exactly what I had been hiding from him.

He sat down suddenly. He looked as if someone had punched him in the stomach.

He looked in my direction with wide eyes and a pale face. "It's a survival mechanism."

I sighed. He did figure it out.

"A survival mechanism?" Lopmon said.

"Yeah," I sighed. "I figured it out based on the stuff that Izzy told me. He said Digimon were undergoing a change, and that some sort of chaotic force was the cause."

"A chaotic force!" Labramon yelled. "Like Evamon?"

I shrugged. "Maybe. All we really know is that Digimon here in the real world are changing, and that could be a response to something that's happening in the Digital World. See you guys exist in our world as false proteins. They're sent into our world based on data that makes up the 'real' you inside the Digital World, so technically you're not really here. You're just an assemblance of false proteins used to represent your real Digital selves, which are being stored in Digital limbo waiting for you to re-enter the Digital World. Once you do you're true self will activate, and the false protein version of you will be stored and wait for you to enter the real world again.

"It's basically the reverse of what happens to us when we enter the Digital World. A Digital version of ourselves is made when we enter the Digiport, and temporary stores the real us in limbo. Meanwhile, we exist in the Digital world as false data. Understand so far? It's basic Digital sciences. Anyone with a Jr. High school diploma knows this nowadays."

Labramon nodded. Lopmon shook his head.

I went on anyway. "See if there's some sort of danger in the Digital World, new Digieggs that are formed here in the real world might respond accordingly. Instead of creating a false version of the Digiegg here in the real world, and a real version in the Digital world, the eggs ignore the Digital World entirely and just creates a purely biological Digiegg in the real world. It's a warning sign that the Digital World isn't a safe place to be, so the eggs don't form there anymore, thus a biological Digimon is created."

Lopmon swallowed. "Okay that I understood. Are you saying I'm not a Digital Monster anymore."

Alex stared at me. He was unsure, and looking for confirmation . Luckily I would be able to tell what he wanted to hear.

I shook my head. "No, you and Labramon are both still Digital. The fact that you can Digivolve outside of the natural process proves that. Digimon can only do that when they're purely Digital. I'm not exactly sure why some are and others aren't. Maybe it's just a random thing, or maybe you're special because your partners have D3s, or crests, or -"

"Ah, I thought you were the one with the crest."

I was suddenly aware of the hand resting on my shoulder; I immediately jumped to my feet to identify the speaker. I wasn't expecting what I saw.

He chuckled. "Not very observant, are you?"

I was at a loss for words. The guy's ridiculous costume had thrown me for a loop. He was dressed in rather loose clothing from head to toe; it almost looked like karate gi. And when I say head to toe, I mean head to toe. His sleeves were more than just sleeves; they extended past his wrists into gloves. His head was completely concealed with a black mask. You couldn't even see his eyes. They were covered two purple tinted domes that made him look like a bug. As if that wasn't weird enough, almost all of his clothing was black - very very black. He made crows look bright. The only exception were his cloth belt and wristbands, which were the same dark purple as his bug-eyes.

I stuttered to find words. "Uh..." was all that I choked out.

"It is a pleasure to meet a fellow crest holder. I have been searching for you ever since I discovered there was another with a crest in the tournament. I've heard you've been doing quite excellently so far." He extended his hand. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I am known as Saqure.

Hesitantly, I took his hand. "Same here - Masked Digidestined." I was trying to stay cool, but I couldn't ignore what he just said. The next words flew from my mouth before I could stop it.

"You have a crest?"

He chuckled again. I didn't like that chuckle.

"I thought that might get to you. Learning of you're crest certainly got to me. May I see it?"

I protectively clutched my crest through my shirt. "I'd really rather not."

"I understand. It is a very powerful little trinket. You are wise to be protective of it. Perhaps, if I offered something to show you? Something of equal value?"

He tugged on a string around his neck, and pulled out a tag and crest.

"Allow me to show you..."

He let the tag drop in front of him. I examined the crest. I didn't recognize the symbol. Though that isn't what stole your attention. It was the colour that really grabbed you. It wasn't surprising, but it sure caught attention. Black; jet-black, the same colour as his clothing. Even the tag was black. The crest's symbol was the only part that had any other colour to speak of, and that was only a It was a slightly lighter shade; a very dark gray to be exact.

After a purposefully dramatic pause, he finished his sentence. "...my crest. Now may I see yours."

I stood firm, looked him straight in the eye, and tightened the grip on my crest.

"Still, I'd rather not."

I wasn't sure, because of the mask, but I think he grinned. He allowed his crest to fall. It now dangled on his neck, resting on his chest.

"Very well," he said. "You are cautious; that is good. It is not surprising you have made it so far into the tournament. I look forward to facing you in the next match?"

I cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Excuse me?"

Again he chuckled. "Have you not been watching the roster? You and I are fighting each other in the our section's preliminary finals. It pays to know what you are up against; I'm sure you are aware of this."

I nodded. It was difficult to respond in any other way. I was getting a very strange vibes from this guy. I didn't trust him. I couldn't identify it, but there was something wrong with him. I got a chill just looking at him.

He nodded back. "Good."

He began to divert his attention away from me. He tilted his head to look at Labramon. Actually, he didn't just look at her. Something seemed to snap in him then. His ominous, creepy stance broke, and he just stared. It was a very unsettling stare. The only thing missing were the antlers and the headlights.

Then, in an instant, he twitched and the trance was broken.

"Is that your Digimon?" he asked.

I placed a protective hand on Labramon's head. "Yeah, this is my partner."

"Tiny little thing," he said, continuing with that creepy chuckle. "You must be a very skilled tactician to have made use of her. Then again I'm sure its easier once she's Digivolved."

I wasn't sure how to respond to that, so I just nodded. Labramon wasn't nearly as dumbfounded.

She snapped at Saqure. "And where's you're almighty Digimon?"

The volume of his chuckle increased with Labramon's comment. "Small but spirited. Excellent! My Digimon is off...preparing. A Digimon of his power needs much preparation. You'll not get an easy victory from him."

I finally regained my nerve and spoke again. "I'm sure we won't. But speaking of preparation, we really should be doing that ourselves."

He nodded, and gave a little wave. "Of course. I will leave you to your business."

With that, he turned and left, walking towards the exit.

"Okay that guy really weirds me out," Lopmon said. I could tell he had been dying to let some sort of a comment out.

"I'm sure glad I'm not fighting him. Good luck Labramon."

Labramon snorted. "He's all talk. Krystal and I will wipe the floor with him."

I wasn't so sure. Not only did he have a crest, but he seemed to have a large amount of knowledge about it. I didn't doubt for a second that he could make use of its power. That wasn't a claim Labramon and I could make. Sure I had a crest, but I had no idea how to hell to get it to work. I guess that's why I let the next words slip out.

"Did you see his crest?"

I regretted them immediately. I sounded like some idiotic, ditzy, gushing idiot. At least I thought that I did.

Strangely enough it was Alex that responded.

"I couldn't help but notice it," he said. "I'd know that crest anywhere."

I almost broke my neck looking in his direction.

"What? You recognized the symbol."

"Of course."

I did not like the look on his face. He face had turned pale, he was shaking, and there were beads of sweat coating his face. His next words sent a chill through my spine.

"It's the crest of Evil."

"The crest of Evil!" I yelled. "How do you know that? No one really knows what the two dark crests look like. They were lost decades ago."

Alex shook his head. "That isn't true. My father used to own the crest of evil. That symbol is permanently carved into his brain. He described it to me once in vivid detail; I'm still not sure why. Regardless, that was definitely it."

I turned my attention to the exit Saqure had just walked through.

What the hell was going on here? Digimon bleeding, an evil force in the Digital world, and now the presence of some mysterious masked stranger who holds the crest of evil?

This went beyond instinct now; it was more than just a bad feeling. Something was definitely wrong. What was worse was that I felt this strange urge to find out what it was and do something about it.

Maybe everyone was right. Maybe I was just like my parents.

Labramon and I waited at our end of the arena. Meanwhile, the referee impatiently tapped his foot. He constantly glancing down at his watch. The crowd that surrounded the arena, waiting for the match to start, also seemed a little impatient.

"We can't wait forever," he said to me, his foot still tapping. "If your opponent doesn't show in the next minute, you'll win by default."

If was almost funny. Even he, with his ridiculous perkiness, was becoming impatient. It was too bad I was too stressed out about certain other things to appreciate it.

"Oh that will be quite unnecessary." Saqure said. His voice was somewhat muffled by the crowd, as he emerged.

"Dorugamon simply needed some extra time to prepare for the match."

Dorugamon? I hadn't heard of that one before.

The referee tapped his foot at Saqure. "I will remind you for the fifth and final time Mr. Saqure; it is strongly recommended that you are one time for your matches. The coordinators in the tournament tomorrow will not be as patient as I - and where is your Digimon?"

"As I told you, he is preparing. I only went a little ahead of him. He should be here any moment."

Loud shrieking suddenly broke out behind Saqure. In a second the crowd parted, leaving a rather large gap. The gap was just large enough to let a particularly large Digimon through.

It was taller than your average adult human by about a foot or so. It had to be at least ten feet in length - from head to tail - though. There were some strange Digimon out there, but this was really weird. It looked like some kind of a fox-dragon. It was slightly hunched over on two legs, and had the overall body type of a dragon. However, it was almost completely covered in blue fur. Except for its muzzle, feet and neck; those were covered in white fur. It had a rounded dragon like jaw, but it's ears were pointed like a fox's. It's feet were a similar combination. They were shaped like the paw of a canine, but emerging from the tip were deadly, bright red, dragon-like claws. However, those claws were nothing compared to the scythe blade at the end of its blue-furred serpent like tail. Lastly, were his wings. They were mounted on his back, as they were with your typical fantasy dragon, and, like the rest of his body, were covered with blue fur; with the exception of the inside, which were a beautiful shining silver.

Saqure stepped aside, allowing Dorugamon to enter the arena. "You see, he is here. A Digimon of his size simply needs a great deal of preparation before a match."

I swallowed. "He's a Champion level I take it."

Gasps were exchanged throughout the crowd. They had seen a lot of amazing things at the tournament so far. Digivolution certainly wasn't common, but to see a Digimon at the Champion level in his normal state, that was unheard of, especially a champion of his size. Gatomon was currently the only Champion, who was a Champion on a regular basis.

"Why yes," he said, as if it was nothing. "You have a good eye masked one."

Now I really didn't like this guy. Why hadn't I heard of this before? If a Digimon was in his Champion state on a regular basis, it would have made history. Yet this guy seemed to be a complete unknown to everyone here. Something was up, and my gut told me it wasn't a good something.

"I don't like this," Labramon whispered.

"Gee ya' think?" I whispered back. "This guy came completely out of nowhere. With a Champion Digimon he should be famous."

"It's not the Digimon's level that's bothering me. It's just giving me a bad feeling in general. I'm not picking up any emotion from Dorugamon at all; just zombie-like indifference. As a dog Digimon, I'm good at picking up emotions, but I'm getting nadda from this guy."

I took a quick look at Dorugamon to confirm Labramon's statement. She was right. There was something wrong with Dorugamon's eyes. He was just staring ahead into space. He wasn't responding to anything around him, and with the way the crowd was chattering about him, you'd think he'd respond to at least some of it.

"You're right," I said. "I don't like any of this."

"Excuse me!" the coordinator said. I jerked my attention back to the arena. "Are we ready to start yet?"

"Uh, yeah, sorry, ready when you are."

I quickly turned my attention back to the match. I was filled with new reason to stay in this tournament. Something was wrong, and I was going to make sure I stuck around in order to find out what it was. To do this I had to win the next match. Unfortunately I had just been thrown a major curve ball.

In my second and third match I did whatever I could to avoid using Shisamon, and had done so quite successfully. I had preferred to fight with Labramon in her rookie state and keep up with pure strategy. I planned to use Shisamon only as a trump card. If whatever strategy I was using didn't work, Labramon would Digivolve and we'd win the match through pure power. Unfortunately, with my opponent starting out the match with a Champion Digimon, my guaranteed win was out the window. I'd lost my trump card and, with it, a certain amount of comfort.

It didn't matter though. Shisamon was basically just a more powerful version of Labramon, and I had won using Labramon in the last few matches. I could win using her now. I was just using a different level of power. How different could it be?

"Let the match begin!"

"Labramon! You know what you need to do," I said, grabbing hold of my Digivice.

She grinned. "You bet I do."

"Labramon Digivolve to...Shisamon!"

For a moment Saqure stood wide-eyed at the Digivolution spectacle; he seemed amazed by it. He watched carefully, observing as the light shot from my Digivice, engulfed Labramon and caused her transformation into Shisamon. He moved his head about as the entire process occurred, as if he was taking in every detail of the change.

Frankly, it was weird.

"Attack Dorugamon!" he ordered. His demeanor suddenly changed. He was no longer seemed inquisitive or amazed. He was intense, and completely into the fight.

Dorugamon immediately responded to his master's order. His wings flared and he leaped into the air, coming down hard towards Shisamon. But Shisamon was quick, and nimbly leaped out of the way of Dorugamon's extended claws. They left large indents in the arena floor, but Shisamon landed a few feet away, completely unharmed.

I yelled out an order as quickly as I could. "Energy attack now!"

"Horn Attack!"

The unicorn-like horn on Shisamon's head glowed for a moment, right before firing a lightning bolt at Dorugamon.

"Defend!" Saqure ordered.

"Power metal!" Dorugamon yelled.

In a second the tip of Dorugamon's tail blade began to spark. It was electrified. His tail snapped forward, making direct contact with Shisamon's attack. The two attacks impacted, creating a small shockwave. Shisamon was nimble enough to dodge it, but Dorugamon took it's full force.

He went skidding across the arena floor. He looked a little phased, and had taken some slight damage from the blow, but he was relatively fine. In fact, the sparks surrounding his tail seemed to have even more powerful than before.

I made a mental note. No more electrical attacks. Dorugamon's tail acting like a lightning rod. It could absorb electrical attacks and then absorb the power so he could use it against his opponents.

Dorugamon's tail snapped forward! Shisamon opened her powerful jaws.

"Shisamon no! Get out of the way!"

The orders came too late. Shisamon did her best to get out of the way, but Dorugamon's tail moved like lightning, and the extra power Shisamon's Horn Attack had given it had only made it faster. The super-electrified tail struck Shisamon in the side of the head. She crumpled to the ground like a rag doll.

"Perhaps you are not as skilled as I thought," Saqure mocked. "Perhaps you were just relying on Digivolution too much. It's a pity that you're just as my colleague expected. A big fish in a small pond. Dorugamon - finish it."

Dorugamon pounced - red dragon claws outstretched.

"Shisamon now!" I ordered.

In a second Shisamon was on her feet. She easily leaped out of the way of the swipe of Dorugamon's claws. Dorugamon snapped at Shisamon in a last ditch effort to make up for her miss, but Shisamon was too fast. She easily dodged and bit back.

Dorugamon wasn't nearly as fast. Shisamon's jaws clamped onto her leg, and Dorugamon let out a howl of pain. Lastly, Shisamon gave a flick of her head and Dorugamon was sent crashing into the opposite side of the arena, next to his partner.

I laughed in triumph. "Big fish, small pond, my ass!"

I sensed a smile beneath his mask. "Impressive. Maybe I was right after all. I believe it's time to truly test your skills - Dorugamon, aggression level two."

Dorugamon was on his feet in a second. I had suspected as much; Shisamon was ready.

"Big energy attack Shisamon!" I ordered.

"Tiidyada!" Shisamon yelled.

Dorugamon was fast, so Shisamon didn't concentrate on power. She fired the attack as fast as she could. In less than a second a giant pink energy ball was flying at Dorugamon.

"Dorugamon defend!"

Dorugamon repeated what he had done with Shisamon's Horn Attack. His tail snapped forward and his tail absorbed the attack. He was still hit by the attack, as he was last time, actually he seemed to slide a bit further, but he still came out of it with minor damage.

"No fucking way!"

Saqure chuckled. "Or maybe I was wrong. You just made the same mistake twice."

I cursed myself. I was afraid that this might happen. Dorugamon could absorb more than just electric attacks. He could absorb energy attacks in general. That completely eliminated any form of long range attack, which was a shame considering how fast Dorugamon was. He could dodge any close range attacks. Not good. I needed to think of a new strategy quick.

"Attack!" Saqure instructed.

I didn't even need to give Shisamon and order, she knew what was coming. She leaped to one side, anticipating Dorugamon's tail to strike. Instead his jaws clamped onto Shisamon's leg. Shisamon attempted a counter attack, her jaws snapped at Dorugamon's neck. However, they never reached their destination. Dorugamon's tail hammered the side of his head. She didn't crumple this time. She stood strong, gave her leg a good tug, and freed herself from her opponent's jaws.

Shisamon retreated back to my side; she was not in good condition though. She had some nasty tic-tac-toe lines on the side of her head, and she was limping on one of her legs."

"Krystal," she said through gritted teeth. "I don't think this is going so well."

"No kidding. We've lost every advantage we used to have. He's fast, at the same level as you, and his Digidestined partner is actually a decent strategist. I'm beginning to think that our first three wins were a fluke."

"Don't say that!" she yelled. "We won because you're a good. You're smart, you thought up good strategies, and you'll think of another one."

"Maybe..."

"You're doubting yourself girl!" Saqure yelled.

Dorugamon struck before I even noticed he had moved. Shisamon's was slashed nose with his dragon claws. Shisamon yelped in pain and surprise, and launched an attack of her own. She fired another energy ball from her mouth. I couldn't stop her, she was attacking in anger. Once again Dorugamon absorbed the attack with his tail. He was slightly hurt by the attack, but was still relatively unhurt.

Saqure was laughing maniacally now. It was creepy. "You're losing it Consideration! First you doubt yourself, then you lose control over your Digimon."

"Shisamon!" I snapped. I felt a bit of shame the moment I opened my mouth. I wasn't mad because Shisamon had put herself into unnecessary danger. I was upset because she was making me look bad.

"Sorry," was her only response.

My brain raced. There had to be a way out of this. I ran my eyes over Dorugamon, searching for any possible weak spots. My eyes locked on one particular spot. The wings! A plan began forming in my head. Perfect! This was too perfect.

"Shisamon, go for the wings!" I instructed.

"The wings?" Shisamon questioned. "They're folded up, I'll never hit them."

"Just do it. Trust me."

That was all she needed to hear. She lunged, jaws bared. She was quick, but Saqure had heard our conversation.

He instructed Dorugamon accordingly. "Dorugamon jaws!"

Dorugamon's jaws snapped. It was a complete miss. The miss didn't matter, they had done what Saqure intended. Shisamon had to alter her course, and her jaws missed Dorugmon's wings. They did, however, manage to clamp onto a piece of Dorugamon's back.

Dorugamon started to panic, leaping around, limps thrashing.

"Wings!" Saqure instructed. "Blow him off!"

Dorugamon obeyed his partner and unfolded his wings. He began flapping madly, trying to blow Shisamon off. It was useless. Shisamon's jaws here incredibly powerful. It didn't matter how powerful Dorugamon's wings were, they would never be able knock Shisamon off. I was counting on Saqure not knowing that. So far so good.

"Okay Shisamon let go," I instructed.

Shisamon gave me a confused look, but she listened and let go.

It was at that moment that I noticed a change in Saqure's demeanor. He had figured out what I was doing. It was too late for him to do anything about it though. The second Shisamon let go and leaped off Dorugamon's back, it was way too late.

Dorugamon's wings were still flapping, and suddenly there was a lot less weight on his back. Dorugamon took flight; too bad for him it had been an unintentional flight. It spooked him, he stumbled mid-air, and came crashing face first into the ground - quite hard too.

I was pretty sure Dorugamon would be out after that, but a good strategist never leaves anything to chance.

"It's vulnerable Shisamon! Attack!"

"Tiidaiya!" Just as I thought, Dorugamon was still stunned from the crash to use his tail blade and absorb the attack. The attack exploded right on top of him.

"Dorugamon! Get up!" Saqure ordered.

It was no use, Dorugamon struggled with all his might, but he could not pull himself to his feet.

The coordinator/referee raised his hand. "And we have our winners! The Masked Digidestined and Shisamon!"

Shisamon breathed a sigh of relief, and returned to her rookie state. "That - was a tough match. I almost lost the Champion level there."

Saqure stared at me, arms crossed, laughing maniacally. "I can't believe it! You actually beat Dorugamon. I've met Ultimate level Digimon that have fallen to him. I am very impressed girl. You really are as strong as I believed you to be. Good luck in the tournament; I genuinely pity your future opponents." He turned and waved his hand at his Digimon. "Dorugamon! Let's go!"

"Uh sir..." the coordinator choked out. "Your Digimon has sustained heavy injuries. I can get a team to carry him out on a stretcher."

Saqure's head snapped towards the coordinator. "You will do no such thing!" He practically made the building shake with the volume of his voice. "Dorugamon can walk."

"But sir -"

"I said - Dorugamon can walk!" Saqure then turned his attention to his Digimon. "Now walk!"

Pitifully, Dorugamon somehow managed to muster up enough strength to pull himself to his feet, and he limped out of the arena. He didn't do it very fast though. I had never seen anyone limp on both legs.

The crowd was too shocked at Saqure's behaviour to marvel at how incredible the match had been. Even I had to admit, if I had been watching, I'd be swarming all over myself. I used that temporary moment of silence to slip away from the crowd to the bathroom - a more private spot.

The mask was off the second the door closed, and I chucked the leather jacket to Labramon. "Hide this would you? I've had enough of this Masked Digidestined stuff for one day."

I sighed, leaned over the sink, and let the water run.

"Was kind of a tough day, huh?" Labramon asked.

I splashed some cold water on my face. Damn did it ever feel good.

I nodded a response to Labramon's question then followed it up. "We better rest up though. It's going to be even worse tomorrow."

I was forced one last time to retreat into my Masked Digidestined outfit. There was some red-tape gobble-dee-gook that I had to take care of so I could compete in the tournament tomorrow. The second it was done I shed the outfit and got into my regular street clothing.

Labramon and I hung around the tournament a little longer to watch Alex's final match of the day. It wasn't nearly as exciting as my match.

He went up against some girl about our age with a Terriermon. The match didn't last long; Alex wanted to ensure a place in the real tournament, so he instructed Lopmon to Digivolve right away. The little Terriermon didn't last five seconds.

And thus the preliminaries, and my first day in the Digital Combat tournament, ended. Was it ever nice to be home. My dirty, smelly, roach-infested home. I never thought I could actually miss the place. Labramon and I collapsed onto the bed right away, and welcomed the beautiful state known as sleep.

I think it was about four in the morning when I was woken by the telephone ringing. I felt too drowsy to try and respond. I waited for two rings. It stopped after that. Good, Cam picked it up.

Normally I would have turned over and gone right back to sleep, but there was something in my gut told me that I should pick up.

Groggily, I reached to the rotary dial phone on my night stand - something I had picked up at a garage sale for a quarter. I began to wake up slightly and slipped one finger under the receiver, covering the connection button. With my other hand I lifted the earpiece to my ear. I removed my finger from the connection, and covered the receiver with that same hand.

I heard Cam's voice on the line first.

"- found a way in?"

"Yes," a familiar voice said. It was Sean, former elite Digidestined. "And I'm going in tonight."

"Not alone you're not!" Cam yelled. "I'm not letting my best friend face that kind of danger alone."

"What? You and Dobermon? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is in there? You wouldn't last a second with just a Champion. Your brother had an Omega and-"

There was a definite change in Cam's breathing after that last comment.

"Sorry," Sean said.

"It's fine - and I don't care about that. I can't leave you go alone. Besides what makes you think you'd do any better than Kris and Jenn?"

"Because we'll be prepared for this, and I'm the only one that can. We need a veteran Mega going in there. Matt and Tai need to stay and guard the real world, and aside from them Skullmammothmon has the most experience at that level."

"You could still use some backup."

"For the last time! You're not going. What about Krystal?"

"She's fourteen now. She can take care of herself for a couple of days."

"First of all, it won't be a couple of days. Not in the real world anyway. The time line is completely screwed up. I could be gone for a few days, and decades could pass here. Regardless, that's not what I'm talking about and you know it. She's already lost two parents. You want her to lose a third?"

It was then that I realized that I had stopped breathing. I, and exhaled.

"She won't -"

"You don't know that!" Sean said firmly. "It's been a decade and a half since anyone's been in there. We don't know what we're up against. We have to send our strongest warriors in there, and right now, that's me. I only called because we're having a meeting about it in about an hour. Izzy wanted you to be there."

"Yeah of course I will," he replied. "I have to be back before the kid wakes up though. I don't want her to know what's going on - not yet."

No goodbyes were exchanged. I heard the click the receiver; my receiver soon followed. I dove into bed, pulling my quilt over my head. I held the thing so tightly to my face I could taste my own breath.

The door creaked open, just enough for Cam to look inside. In an instant it was closed again. I relaxed slightly. I could just barely taste my breath now.

I yelled a muffled curse. I felt moisture on the blankets covering my cheeks How many more fucked up shit was going to be thrown at me. I'd had enough in the last twenty-four hours to last a life-time.

I looked towards the picture of my parents I kept on my night stand.

I spoke to it. "Is this what it felt like to you guys? Did you want the responsibility?" I laughed at that last comment. "Responsibility? What responsibility. There's still a whole team of elite Digidestined more capable of battling evil than me. They've been doing it since they were children; their Digimon can reach the Mega level. I'm just some temporary amateur combatalist. I have no place in any of this."

I laughed again and screamed out a muffled "Bullshit!"

I couldn't explain it, but I knew - I had a role to play in whatever was about to go down. Call it gut instinct - I don't know - but I was going to get involved; I just knew it.

I shrunk even deeper under the covers. "I want no part of any of this," I squeaked out.

I jumped at the sound of a strange, yet familiar voice. "You shouldn't have been born the daughter of elite Digidestined then."

It took me about two hours to realize the voice was my own.

And with that the preliminaries are over. I apologize if my portrayal of Dorugamon is inaccurate. I know nothing about him. I just wanted a cool Digimon for Shisamon to fight in this battle so I went on the net looking for pictures of Digimon I hadn't heard of yet, so I only know what he like, and the names of a few of his attacks (which means I don't know how he uses those attacks). I hope I got the relative size right. Though even if missed completely, this is my interpretation of a single picture, and it allows a little more originality into the whole story. I have been looking forward to writing the next couple chapters for quite some time. The reason the last couple took so long was because the story hasn't really started to progress yet, so I haven't had a whole lot of interest in it. However, in the next couple chapters it actually gets going, so I should get it up relatively soon.

Stay tuned for Chapter 6: Tournament, Initial Rounds