Chapter 20:

                Agents of Evil

                Tai woke when he heard the alarm blasting in his ears. He instinctively reached over and turned it off, then stared up at the ceiling. There were only two worlds left: the one where he was a teenage girl and the one where he was Sora's son. He took a deep breath and looked around at his room. It definitely belonged to a ten-year-old boy.

                He let out a sigh, then climbed out of his bed and started to walk to the door.. As he did, he tripped over something lying on the floor. When he turned to look at it, he gasped. "Agumon? No, that can't be Agumon, he's all white.

                The white dinosaur's eyes opened and stared at him. "Tai, is that you?"

                He nodded. "Yeah..."

                The dinosaur sighed. "It's Kari!"

                "Kari?!"

                She nodded. "Yeah, but I guess I'm Karimon now, huh?"

                Tai got up and looked at her. "Um, are you a girl, right?"

                She blushed slightly. "I think so, why?"

                "Just wondering. Come on, let's see what my mother is making for breakfast."

                Kari got up and brushed herself off. "I bet it's some kind of Tofu recipe."

                Tai chuckled slightly. "Um, well, you're going to get a shock when you see her."

                "Why?"

                Tai didn't answer as they walked down the hall and into the kitchen. A red haired woman was standing in front of the stove, cooking eggs. She turned around and smile,"Good morning Tai, Karimon."

                Kari was about to shout out Sora's name, but Tai quickly placed his hand in front of her mouth. "Good morning, Mom."

                "Well, sit down, breakfast's getting cold."

                Tai and Kari sat in their seats and Sora placed two plates of egg in front of them. "Enjoy," She turned around and started to get her own breakfast ready. Kari turned to Tai with a questioning look. Tai waited until Sora left before talking to his partner. "She's my mother in this world, I don't know how it happened."

                Kari wasn't able to ask another question before Sora sat down at the table. "Tai, don't forget that your cousin is coming over today to take you to the amusement park."

                "My cousin?" he asked,"Wh..which cousin?"

                "Mimi."

                Tai covered his surprise very well. "Mimi?"

                "Yes, she'll be here in a few hours. Remember to be nice to her."

                "Yeah, yeah."

                Emperor Tai felt the familiar sensation of exiting a realty portal as he landed on the pavement of the alley. He took a deep breath and looked to the sky. "What a beautiful morning."

                "Why Tai, getting soft on me?"

                He growled slightly as he faced the blond witch who had appeared next to him. "Well Alice, I have more emotion that you, ice witch."

                She crossed her arms and glared at him. "I'd watch my tone if I was you. I was the one that sent the e-mail that helped you escape from your world. If you think that I taught you everything I know, then think again."

                Emperor Tai crossed his arms in response. "I think that I've done pretty well on my own, thank you."

                She chuckled. "If this is your way of telling me that you want to end our working relationship..."

                He shook his head. "No."

                Alice chuckled. "I just came to check up on you. You only have three more crests to take."

                "I know."

                "Sincerity, Hope..."

                "I know!"

                "..and Light."

                He flinched slightly. Alice noticed this. "I hope you're not having second thoughts."

                "No, I know exactly what my mission is. I'll succeed, don't worry."

                "I hope you don't," she said,"Once you take all of the crests, I'll be back. " She slowly vanished.

                In the Digiworld, Skull Satanmon was sitting on a tree stump in the forest, holding a piece of paper in his hands. "Well, it's time, where is he?"

                "Sorry, I was delayed."

                Skull Satanmon looked up and saw a figure in a black cloak walking towards him. "Well, Yamaki, is it?"

                "That's right."

                "So, why do you need my services?"

                Yamaki reached into his pocket and handed the Digimon a photo. "I want you to kill this digidestined and his digimon partner, but, before nightfall. If you can't do it before then, forget it."

                "Any particular reason?"

                "My reasons are my own."

                Skull Satanmon held up his hands. "Hey, no problem. Just wondering. I'll get to work right away."

                Yamaki nodded and threw him a sack of money. "That's half, you'll get the other half when you complete the job."

                He nodded. "Don't worry, Tai Kamiya will be dead before nightfall."

                "See that you do," Yamaki muttered as he turned around and vanished.

                He reappeared a few minutes later inside of an abandoned building in Tokyo.  Alice was all ready there. "So, did you hire an assassin?"

                "Yes," he sneered,"How's your project coming along?"

                She glared at him. "Tai is only a few crests away from cracking the seal. The Master will be very pleased."

                Tai and Kari spent the few hours after breakfast taking it easy by watching some kind of early morning television shows. Sora walked into the room a second later. "Taichi," she said,"Your cousin is here."

                Tai turned around and saw a fifteen-year-old Mimi, wearing a sleeveless pink t-shirt and a denim skirt. Her pink hair was much longer and reached the center of her back. She was also wearing light makeup. A disguised Palmon was right behind her. "Uh, hi Mimi."

                She smiled sweetly at him and then sat down. "Mimi, I'm going to visit my husband in a few hours, just make sure that you call his number, if you need anything."

                "Okay."

                Sora made a big deal about getting Tai ready to leave, and disguised Karimon in a thick trench coat.She gave him more than enough money, then sent them on their way.

                Out in the hall, Mimi turned to Tai. "Some of my friends are going to meet us there, okay?."

                Tai shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."

                They walked down the hall and into the elevator. When they reached the lobby, Tai and Kari gasped as they their friends.A fifteen-year-old Yolei was wearing a red short sleeve shirt and a pair of green shorts. Standing next to her was a five-year-old blond headed boy, whom Tai recognized as T.K. He was carrying Patamon in his arms like a stuffed animal. Yolei sighed at Mimi. "Sorry, Mom made me take him."

                Mimi frowned. "That's okay, Tai can watch him when we go and meet the guys."

                Tai frowned. "Perfect."

                The group soon arrived at the amusement park, totally unaware that they were being followed by the Emperor Tai and Skull Satanmon. The two of them were heading from different directions, but  were on a collision course with the group of children.

                Tai glanced at all the roller coasters and grinned. He pointed towards the tallest one. "I want to go on that one!"

                Kari chuckled to him from underneath her coat. "Acting our age, huh?"

                "Hey!"

                Mimi and Yolei looked around, then grinned when two fifteen-year-old boys walked to them. Tai and Kari gasped again when they realized they were Davis and Ken.

                "Hey, Mimi!" Davis smiled.

                "Yolei," Ken nodded.

                Davis turned to look at the younger kids. "And who's this?"

                "That's just my younger cousin," Mimi added, grabbing her purse. She gave Tai a large amount of money and lightly pushed him away. "Go and amuse yourself."

                Yolei looked worried for a second, then saw Ken and grinned. "Tai, take care of Tk, all right?"

                "Um sure," Tai said, grabbing the little boy's hand,"Come on."

                Emperor Tai watched the group from his hidden place in the crowd. He watched his 'good' double walk one way, and the older group the other way. He debated which way to travel, then followed the two girls and their boyfriends. He was not aware that Skull Satanmon was also hidden in the group, disguised in a trench coat. He glanced at the picture in his hands, then followed the 'good' Tai.

                "Come on!" Tai sighed, yanking on Tk's hand, "We're going over here!" He looked over to a large roller coaster.

                The little boy stood firmly as he pointed at a train shaped ride,"I want to go there."

                Tai sighed. "Come on."

                Tk crossed his arms and tears started to fill in his eyes. Tai sighed again. Kari glanced up at him. "Was I ever this bad?"

                "Actually, I remember you cried a lot."

                "Hey there!"

                Tai and the disguised Karimon turned around to find two girls staring at them: the blond girl around ten, while the brown haired girl was six or seven. "Well, I was wondering when you two were going to show up, Sara and Sam."

                They shrugged. Sara knelt down in front of Tk. "Hi, what's your name?"

                "Tk," he said, looking to the ground.

                "Don't be afraid," Tai said, smiling,"This is a very good friend." He reached into his pocket and gave Tk a handful of yen and mentioned to a video game,"Why don't you go and play?" The young boy happily ran over.

                Kari and Sam were already talking, so Tai turned to Sara. "Do you have any idea how many crests my double has taken?"

                "Five," she sighed,"Sincerity, Hope and Light."

                "Light?" he turned to look at the white dinosaur he knew was his sister,"Do you think he'll really take Kari's power?"

                "There is a powerful force behind him..."

                "Alice?"

                "Behind even her," Sara hesitated, then continued,"The world that I come from was a lot like your world, Digimon and humans interacted regularly. They fought against invaders, but our greatest threat arrived disguised as one of our own. They were nearly destroyed, but they fought back and won. But their celebrations were short lived, a new threat soon followed, one so powerful, that all reality was in danger. These guardians had no choice, to contain this evil, they had to imprison that world away behind a seal, based on the same seal that was used to contain the evil in your Digital World."

                Tai nodded. "Which is why my double needs their powers, but who's the evil that's behind everyone?"

                Sara opened her mouth to answer, but she was cut off when people started to scream. The four of them turned to the arcade. Tk was being held by a devil creature. "Skull Satanmon?" Tai gasped.

                The digimon grinned as he stared at Tai. "Well, I don't know what you did, but someone put a contract out on you."

                "You're an assassin?" Kari gasped.

                "That's right," Skull Satanmon laughed,"And I'm quite eager to get paid."

                On the other side of the park, Mimi's group was sitting in an ice cream parlor when a park employee ran into the building. "We're evacuating the park!" he shouted,"Everybody, get out!"

                "Come on," Davis said, grabbing Mimi's arm.

                "Wait!" Yolei called,"What about my little brother?"

                "I'm sure Tai is taking care of him," Mimi said,"Besides, Karimon is with them."

                "But..."

                "He'll be fine," Ken said,"We don't have any idea where he is."

                Yolei reluctantly agreed and followed the other three to the door. Everyone else had already left, so they were surprised to see that a sixteen-year-old boy was standing in the doorway. When the group saw his face, they gasped. "Tai?" Mimi asked,"But, you can't be..."

                The other figure grinned. "I am Tai, but it's too complicated for me to explain right now. And after I take your power, you'll probably just think this is all a dream."

                Tai, Kari, Sam and Sara stared at Skull Satanmon. "Let him go!" Tai ordered,"Skull Satanmon..."

                The digimon laughed. "Don't order me! Remember who's holding the boy!" Tk started whimpering.

                Tai hesitated, trying to think of a plan. "Why are you here?"

                "For you, idiot! I was paid to kill you. A Yamaki paid enough to make sure you never breath again."

                "Yamaki," Sara hissed.

                "If you want me, then let Tk go! I won't put up a fight, I promise."

                "Tai!" the three girls shouted.

                "Quiet!" he hissed,"Kari...mon, Karimon, give Sam her device. Sara and Sam, you know what to do with that."

                "Are you sure?" the blond girl asked.

                He nodded. "Go."

                The two girls ran off, leaving Kari and Tai staring at Skull Satanmon. "Let him go, Skull Satanmon!" Tk ordered,"And I won't fight back."

                The devil digimon hesitated, then grinned. "I guess I can't argue with an answer like that." He released his grip on the young boy.

                "Run, Tk," Tai said,"Get out, now!"

                He didn't need to be told twice. He ran away as fast as he could, but as he rounded a corner, he slammed into Emperor Tai. The young boy stared up at him for a second before the evil Tai drain the power of the Crest of Hope.

                "Now," Skull Satanmon said,"You and I had a deal."

                Tai smiled. "Right, I promised that I wouldn't fight, I didn't say anything about my partner..."

                Kari nodded. "This is going to be weird. Karimon digivolve to Angewomon!"

                Tai frowned as Angewomon floated above him. "Angewomon again? Jeeze."

                Kari glanced at herself. "This feels weird, besides, I don't think I like wearing this revealing outfit."

                Skull Satanmon pointed his rod at the other digimon."What's wrong with you? What's so weird about a digimon digivolving into a different form?"

                "Um..I..."

                "She doesn't have to explain anything to you," Tai growled,"Kari..mon, I mean Angewomon, go for it. Just..be careful."

                "What is with you two?" Skull Satanmon asked,"I've never meet anyone like you two before. It's shame to kill someone as unique as you." He jumped into the air and swung the rod into Kari's face.

                "Are you alright?" Tai shouted.

                "Yeah," she said,"I'm..fine. Let's see what I can do." She quickly created a cross with her hands. "Heaven's Charm!" The beam of light raced towards Skull Satanmon, but he dodged out of the way.

                "Take this, Nail Bone!"

                Kari found that she was much faster, and flew out of the way in time to avoid it. She swung her leg around and smashed her foot across his face. "Hey, I actually hit him!"

                "Don't stop!" Tai shouted,"You're going to get killed!"

                Kari saw Skull Satanmon flying towards her. She panicked and instinctively slammed her fist into the devil's face. He shot backwards and hit the ground. "Wow, I really hurt him."

                "Because you're an angel digimon!" Tai gasped,"You can beat him! Try harder!"

                Kari tried her Heaven's Charm attack again, this time it succeed. Skull Satanmon screamed out in pain before he vanished. Kari hovered to the ground and changed back to Karimon.

                "Are you alright?" Tai gasped.

                She nodded. "Yeah..I'm fine."

                Tai smiled as knelt beside her. "Even though I've never told you, you're the best."

                After sealing the reality rip, Sara and Sam met up with the Tai and Kari as they evacuated the park. Lucikly, by the time that Kari fought Skull Satanmon, everyone had already left the park, so they were easily able to blend into the crowd. After searching for what seemed like forever, they finally found the other members of the small group. Tk and Mimi were sitting down with wash cloths on their heads.

                "What happened?" Tai asked.

                "What about you?" Yolei asked,"Tk told me what happened? Are you and Karimon okay?"

                "I'm fine," she said from underneath her jacket.

                "Mimi, what happened?"

                She shook her head,"I..I thought I saw you, an older you...."

                "He's here?" Tai whispered to Sara.

                "Don't worry," she whispered back,"Sam and I can alter their memories like we did with the others in the last world. They won't remember this."

                Tai just nodded. "Let's try to get home."

                Sara had kept her promise, as none of them remember what had happened. All they knew was what everyone else knew, that the park had been evacuated for some strange reason. After convincing Sora that he was fine, she finally gave him and Kari some free time right before bed.

                Tai laid on his bed, staring up at the ceiling. Emperor Tai needed only Kari's crest to break that seal, and he didn't want to think of what would happen then. He thought of Kari lying on the ground next to his bed. Would Emperor Tai really take his own sister's power. Would he have done that? He was afraid of the answer.

                Alice giggled as she watched Yamki's furious expression. "So much for your weapon, huh?"

                He smashed his fist through a wooden box. It was totally destroyed. "Skull Satanmon should have kill them, but somehow having the Light Child inside of the digimon's body, it gave her more power."

                The witch crossed her arms,"Well, that will be taken care of very soon."

                "Just make sure your Tai drains the power of Kari's crest. The Master is growing anxious."

                She growled at him. "Don't worry, I'll complete my mission! I know why I'm here, how about you?"

                "Your feelings aren't important to me," he said,"When all realities bow before us, I'm going to be the right hand of the most powerful being ever lived!"

                Alice stared at him, then left.

                to be continued....