Chapter 34:

The Return Home: Part 4

Alice walked through the halls of the Hypnos base, trying to blend in as much as possible. The soldiers that she passed didn't pay any attention to her, it was just a normal, everyday scene for them. But 'Alice' wasn't in control of the body at the moment.

"I've got to get out of here. If I just suppress my true self as much as possible, Dark Ryo will probably just think that Alice is up and about. " Dark Sora thought, "I don't know how I got out of my body, but it was lucky that Alice was right there. Since we both have the powers of Apocalymon, I guess I was just drawn to her body. " She smiled as she looked herself over, "Not a bad looking body either. If I can't return to my old body, maybe I'll just stay in this one. I will have to do something about her taste in clothes, though. While I like the black dress motif, I don't like how short this skirt is. Wait, what's this?"

She stopped in front of a door that was much thicker then the others, it even had bars to reinforce it. "I wonder what's on the other side?" she thought. She checked the halls to make sure that she was alone, then grabbed the handle bars and pulled it open. Inside she saw a large black dog, chained to the floor by his neck and all four legs. The dog raised its head and stared at her.

"What do you want?" he asked, "Another mission?"

Alice grinned. "Maybe," she said. She tried to remember his name, "Dobermon."

The dog stared at her. "You're not Alice, are you?"

"How did you know that?"

Dobermon chuckled. "I was once Alice's grandfather, before she turned me into her digimon partner. We have a connection, and I could feel that something wasn't right. When you called me Dobermon, instead of Grandpa, I know you weren't her."

Alice nodded. "Fine, but as I remember, she could control you mentally. Maybe since I'm in her body, I can find out how to do that."

Dobermon stared at her. "All right, I'll keep quiet, but what are you doing?"

"I need to get back into my own body," she said, "But I have a feeling that I'm going to need to fight my way through a few obstacles. If you help me, I'll make sure that your connection to Alice is broken."

"I want more then that. I want to be human again."

Alice nodded. "Fine."

Dobermon nodded. "All right. Lead the way."

In the Digital World, Willis brought his guests to a special training ground. "A cave?" Gatomon asked.

"It's inside," Terriermon said.

Willis turned to the group. "Okay. Inside you'll find three tunnels. Sara, has to go through one, Female Tai and Agumon in another, and Derwood, Takatomon and Rikamon in the last one. It doesn't matter which."

"What about the rest of us?" Tai asked, still in Sora's arms.

"We have to wait out here," Willis said.

"All right," Agumon said, "Fine." He looked at Tai. "I hope this works out."

Female Tai bowed in front of the cat. "Me too."

"Just go," Tai said, "We don't know what Hypnos is up to, so we'd better hurry."

The two nodded.

Sam hugged her twin sister. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Sara smiled, "Maybe when I get out, I'll be even stronger then Ryo was."

Kari turned to look at Derwood, Takatomon and Rikamon. "I hope you guys do good too."

"Thanks," Takatomon smiled. "Well, I'm ready."

"Sure, let's go," Sara said. She lead them into the cave and they disappeared in the darkness.

Back on Earth, Oikawa had brought Dark Sora's body to his lab and had her lying flat on a table, with dozens of wires attached to her. The unconscious body of Noriko was still lying in a corner of the room. He had already drained her Dark Spore, he just needed to decide what to do with her.

He was standing at a computer screen. "This is very interesting," he smiled, "Her body still possess all of the power that she had. She's still alive, but, it's like her mind is missing. Maybe even her soul."

"That's because I'm right here!"

He turned around and saw Alice walking towards him, with Dobermon at her side. "You are there?" he asked, looking at Dark Sora's body, "But.."

"I've taken over Alice's body in order to take back mine," she said, "Hand over my body, or else."

Oikawa laughed. "Forgive me if I choose, 'or else.' I really don't think anything you have can stop me."

Alice grinned. "Alice's body is pretty powerful. Plus I have Dobermon here too. Want to reconsider?"

"No."

"All right, your funeral," Alice laughed, "Dobermon, why don't you take the first shot?"

He growled and charged at Oikawa. The human moved his hands in a quick manner and was covered by a black glow. Dobermon hit this glow and couldn't go any further.

"A force field?" Alice smiled, "You're more powerful then I thought, but just remember, Alice is a witch, so I can use her powers to break through your spell." She put both of her hands together and started to chant, but decided to throw a ball of darkness instead. It cut through Oikawa's shield and hit in the chest.

"I get it," Alice grinned, "Your spell only blocks physical attacks, not magical ones. So, take this!" She fired a black lightning bolt, which sent Oikawa into the wall.

"I'll kill you for that," he said. His hand suddenly grew longer and he tried to attack Alice from a distance, but his hand was now out of the protective seal, so Dobermon bit that arm with his large teeth.

"Good job," Alice grinned, she fired another dark lightning bolt at Oikawa. The human was stuck, he couldn't go anywhere with Dobermon's jaw on him, and Alice's magic attacks were becoming too much for him. He used his free hand and pierced the back of Dobermon's neck with his finger nail. The large digimon fell to the ground and let go of Oikawa's other arm.

"Venom Infusion, huh?" Alice asked, "That's what you called that attack, isn't it?"

Oikawa just grinned at her. He began to fire a group of black balls, but Alice formed her own shield. But this one was inversed, so the balls of black energy were sent back at Oikawa. He was thrown into the wall, and Alice wasted no time in using her black magic to pin him there. She raised her hand and created a large black spike and shoved it through Oikawa's chest.

She kept her black magic in check a while longer, just until Oikawa's body started glowing, and a different being came out. "Myotismon," Alice smiled, "I had a feeling it was you. Venom Infusion is an attack that only Venom Myotismon can use."

Myotismon tried to free himself, but he was stuck in Alice's energy web. If he had his own physical body, he could have escaped, but he was just a spirit, tied to Oikawa's body. "Let me go, right now!"

Alice grinned. "No. Goodbye." She tightened her energy web, and Myotismon and Oikawa both disappeared in black light.

She walked over to her old body, which was still lying on the examining table. Dobermon walked over to her. "You're back, I see."

"Yeah," he nodded. "I guess when you destroyed him, the poison was destroyed too. What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to try and get back to my body, but maybe I can take Alice's power with me." She put her hands on her old body's head and concentrated, very hard. She felt herself leave Alice's body and enter her own, along with the other powers of Apocalymon.

Alice fell onto the ground and slowly opened her eyes. "Wa..what happened? Queen Sora Takenouchi? Grandpa! What? Where are we?"

Dark Sora's body began to glow brightly. The wires and sensors on her body were instantly destroyed as she floated into the air. Her body was coursing with lighting bolts of power and she grinned as she stared down at Alice. "What happened to you?"

"Simply put, I've become a Goddess!" Dark Sora laughed, "I have the power of Apocalymon, and you have none!"

"What?" Alice gasped. She tried to call on the powers that she always had been able to, but found that she couldn't. "You stole them?"

"Yes!"

"Give them back, right now!" Alice shouted.

"What about me?" Dobermon asked, "Remember our agreement?"

Dark Sora nodded. "Yes, I do." She turned and looked at the blond girl. "You know Alice, you've been nothing but a whinny little bitch since I met you. Maybe you should look the part!" She fired a blast of energy from her hand that hit both Alice and Dobermon. It completely covered them, and when it faded, neither one was the same.

A teenager around 16 stood where Dobermon once stood. He looked himself over and grinned. "I'm human again! I'm human again!"

Dark Sora chuckled. "I wish we could say the same for your granddaughter."

He turned to a pile of Alice's clothes, but did not see her. He saw a Golden Labrador standing in her place. She looked at him, then at Dark Sora. She yelped and ran out of the building.

He laughed until he clutched his chest and fell over. Dark Sora grinned, lowering her palm. "I said I'd turn you back into a human, I didn't say anything about letting you live."

She suddenly started shaking. "No! My body…can't take the power….have to leave…before….."Alice and her grandfather were both gone, she was just thinking that she killed herself when she saw the unconscious body of Noriko, still in the corner of the room. She grinned and concentrated hard on her newly acquired power. She felt herself fly out of her body and land in Noriko's.

She got up from the floor and stared at her old body. It was lying on the ground, still shaking with energy, but it was slowly getting less and less. "Too much power," she said, "My body can't take that level of power. As long as it's comatose, it should be fine, but I'm not going to be able to use my own body! Damn it! Wait.." A smile broke out over her face, "What did Oikawa say about those Dark Spores? He wanted to create a new body for himself. Why can't I do the same?"

She looked down at Noriko's body. "But first I need to get out of this body. I need one that's more powerful. Hmm, I bet one of the Digidestineds will do." She grabbed her old body and moved it to a safe place in Oikawa's base, inside one of the wooden crates. She then hid it behind a pile of computer equipment.

"Hopefully no ones comes before I get back," Noriko said, "Well, better get going."

In the Hypnos headquaters, Riley walked into the dinning hall where the leaders of Hypnos were eating, except for Alice. No one knew where she was. She made sure she bowed. "Lord Ryo, I have news to report."

Dark Ryo nodded. "What is it?"

"Sir, I've just received reports from our spies in the Digital World. They saw they saw the Tamers and their friends."

"Where?" Yamaki asked.

"The natives of the area say it's some kind of magical cave or something, but the only protection they have are a Terrierimon and a Gatomon. The rest are in the cave."

Dark Ryo smiled. "If we could destroy the cave entrance before they come out."

"I think I may have something that can help," Wong said, "A new creature that I want to try out. It's my lab."

Dark Ryo nodded. "Fine. Yamaki, lead the team. And don't screw up this time!"

He bowed. "Of course not, sir."

In the Digital World….

"Biyomon!" Sora smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"I told her you were here," Willis smiled, "I thought you might like to see her, since you were in the Digital World."

Sora smiled as she hugged her partner, which left Tai to climb into Kari's arms. "Not that it matters to me anyway."

Kari giggled. "Are you jealous?"

"No!" Tai snapped, "Well…"

His sister smiled and started to pet him. "How long have those guys been in there?"

"About an hour," Sam said, looking at her watch.

Tai jumped off of Kari's lap. "I'm so nervous."

Don't be," Willis said, "I'm sure that everything will work out just fine."

"I hope so."

Willis smiled, then gasped. "What's wrong?" Terriermon asked.

"Someone's coming," he said, lightly tapping his crest, "I can see it."

"What about the others?" Tai asked, "Agumon's still inside the cave."

"Leave them," Willis said, "If we disturb them now, they might have to start their training all over again."

"Darn," Tai said, "All right, I guess we're just going to have to hold them off ourselves."

"Don't worry," Gatomon smiled, "I can do it."

"Don't forget about me," Terriermon said, "I'm here to fight too."

"Me too," Biyomon said.

Willis pointed to the sky as a helicopter flew towards them. "Digivolve!" the humans shouted.

"Terriermon digivolve to Gargomon!"

"Biyomon digivolve to Birdramon!"

The helicopter landed and Yamaki, Riley and a group of Bakemon jumped out. "Greetings," Yamaki laughed, "It looks like you're all lined up to die."

"I should be saying that to you!" Tai shouted.

Yamaki laughed even harder. "I find it hard to be threatened by a cat! Bakemon group, attack!"

"Don't let them through," Gatomon ordered. She jumped at a Bakemon and destroyed it with her claws. She attacked another one, and another one. "This is easier then I thought it'd be."

"Meteor Wing!" Birdramon shouted. She fired her attack at a group of Bakemon and destroyed them too. "I know."

"Don't give up now," Gargomon said, "We've got them on the ropes." He fired his bullets at the diminishing army of Bakemon.

Sam looked over her shoulder at the care. "I hope they hurry up in there."

Yamaki growled as he watched the battle. "Our forces are losing!"

"I know sir," Riley said.

"Looks like we'll have to handle the cave in ourselves," he grinned. He reached at his side and pulled out what looked like a shot gun. He aimed at a group of large rocks over the cave entrance and fired. The rocks went into a landslide and sealed the opening.

"Oh no!" Willis shouted, "They'll be trapped."

"We've got another surprise for you," Yamaki smiled as he snapped his fingers. Another helicopter flew over their heads and dropped a giant creature onto the ground. It looked like a man, but his left arm was on fire, his right arm was covered by a very small whirlwind, his left foot was made of water and his right foot was made of stone.

"Meet Terra," Yamaki said, "He's Wong's latest creation. Hope you enjoy. Terra, destroy them."

The creature growled and ran forward. He shot a fire ball at Gatomon, and a blast of hard air at Gargomon. "I've got to help them," Sam said. She made her fingernails grow into long claws, and ran at Terra. He easily punched her in the stomach and she went flying backwards.

"I know you can fight," Kari said, "But you're still only human."

Sam coughed. "Yeah. Sara and I haven't merged completely with our partners like Takato and Rika did. We're still human, just with some added powers."

Gargomon and Birdramon attacked Terra. He slammed the ground with his rock leg and a rock wall appeared in front of him to block the attacks. The wall disappeared after.

"I have enough of this," Yamaki shouted, "Destroy them now!"

Terra nodded and created two giant balls of fire. He threw them at Gargomon and Birddramon. Both Digimon exploded in a burst of fire.

"Biyomon!" Sora shouted. She started crying, "Biyomon's…gone. No!"

"Terriermon," Willis gasped, "Why couldn't I see this coming?"

Yamaki grinned. "Terra, finish them off."

He stomped forward, but stopped when he heard a rumbling noise. The caved-in mountain exploded as a giant knight jumped through.

"Gallantmon?" Sam asked.

"We did it!" Gallantmon said, in a mixture of Derwood, Takatomon and Rikamon's voices.

"Yeah, " a golden eagle said, "But it looks like Tai and the others are in trouble."

"Go for it, Eaglemon!" Female Tai shouted, "Do it!"

Gallantmon pointed his lance at Terra. "Lightning Joust!"

Eaglemon open his mouth and fired a beam of yellow light. "Kaiser Phoenix!"

Both attacks hit Terra in the chest and back in the air. He landed in front of Yamaki and Riley. The blond man growled. "Let's get out of here." He jumped into the helicopter with Riley and Terra and flew back into the sky.

Gallantmon and Eaglemon returned to their original forms. "So, I guess you guys were able to do it, huh?" Tai asked.

Derwood nodded. "Yeah, it was really…" He stopped when he noticed that Tai wasn't listening to him. He was looking at Agumon and Female Tai.

"I'm sorry," Female Tai said, "Agumon used the Crest of Love to digivolve."

Tai nodded. "No..it's..it's fine. Where's Sara?"

"Right behind you," she said. She bent down and lightly petted him. He gave her a sour look.

"Sorry," she smiled.

"Did it work?" Sam asked, "Are you any stronger?"

"I feel stronger," Sara smiled, "But I think it's going to take some time before I can fully use my potential. Once I can, I'll be able to return you to normal, Tai."

"Great, just great." Tai said. He looked at Agumon and Female Tai, and the crying Sora and Willis. "Great."

To Be Continued….