Kari's nose wrinkled. It didn't usually do that at this time of the morning. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Kari remembered that, only yesterday, their house had been destroyed by the evil Imperialdramon in a fight between it, Omnimon, Phoenixmon, and another Imperialdramon that Davis, Ken, Kyle, and June had been able to summon by DNA digivolving their two DNA Digimon, Komainumon and Paildramon.
The fit of depression she felt was abated when she looked across the room. In an old recliner, Izzy was sleeping lightly, his school jacket being used as an improvised blanket. Losing everything still hurt, but she felt like, with Izzy here, she could handle it.
Checking her watch, she saw that it was 8:30 am, then remembered what had woken her up. Listening, she could hear something coming from the kitchen. Curious, she got up and walked over.
"Oh," Kyle said, looking up from the stove, "I hope I didn't wake you." Kyle was hunched over the stove, adding several more pancakes to what was already a large stack. "I thought I'd just make breakfast for everyone."
Kari blinked. "Kyle? How long have you been up?"
"About an hour. Believe me, you don't want Dad cooking for you."
"Cody told me. You didn't have to do all this."
"Hey, you're guests here. Besides, it's no problem, really."
Kari smiled again. Living here might not be so bad, she decided. "So, that's Tai taken care of. What about the rest of us?"
==
Digimon: Digicross Episode 35
'Matt goes old-school!'
Song translations courtesy of:
Animelyrics.com (Wolf's Rain - Gravity (ed))
Escadevotion http://www.livejournal.com/users/escadevotion/343847.html (Full Metal Alchemist - Melissa (op)
Tales of Phantasia Soundtrack (Happy Happy! - Arche Image Song; see? I CAN buy anime CDs)
And:
The Digimon Encyclopedia http://www.digibros.net/~digipedia/ (A LOT of name information)
The Digicross Mailing list groups.yahoo.com/digicross - spellchecking and a LOT of support
'Random Andy' - http://www.randomandy.tk/
==
Tai leaned back in the chair, full. "Wow. Can all pokemon trainers cook that well? I haven't eaten that well in…well, ever."
Yuuko Kamiya raised an eyebrow. "I make you breakfast when I can, Tai. Okay, tofu doesn't go so well with eggs, but at least I try!" Tai subsided, getting a laugh out of Kari. "So, Izzy, did you sleep well last night?", she asked, omitting the 'well away from my daughter' part.
"Izzy slept across the room in the recliner, mom." Kari answered. "He'd never do anything improper." She threw a glance at Tai, who had been eyeing Izzy throughout breakfast.
"Just checking dear." Yuuko Kamiya looked out the small kitchen window. "Thank you again for letting us stay here. I know it must have been an awful burden and all."
"Never." Mikhail answered, waving a hand. "This place usually gets quiet around the holidays. It's nice to have lots of people here for a change." Kyle sighed as his father started on the 'my son is a grown man, and has decided to abandon me' speech. Kari and Tai snickered at the whole spectacle.
"Well, you've managed to do well for yourself." Susumu, Tai's dad said. "Umm, one question.
Those small…walking turnips…?"
"They're called Oddish. Don't worry, they're pretty friendly. Most of the pokemon around here are, as long as you don't startle or scare them." Mikhail grinned. "That usually means charging at them with a stick shouting 'you're mine!'."
"I was THREE, dad." Kyle said darkly. A knock at the door spared him further embarrassment. "I'll get it. And anything he says about me isn't true."
"I'm all ears." Kari said sweetly, making Kyle shudder.
Kyle ran for the door, opening it. Standing in the doorway was TK, Sora, and their parents. All were holding large bags. "Oh, welcome. Please, come in."
"Such a polite young man." Sora's mom Toshiko said. "Maybe it's a good thing Tai's staying with you."
"Mom!" Sora protested.
"Don't mind them." Haruhiko Takenouchi sighed. "We managed to round up a few things for the Kamiyas. Are they up?"
"Yeah, they're just finishing breakfast now. I can get you something if you want."
Toshiko feigned surprise. "Oh, my. Sora, do you think June would consider trading?"
"MOM!"
==
The parents were all off talking and swapping stories. "I had no idea they formed a club." Kyle said.
Tai nodded. "Yeah. I think it was your mom's idea, wasn't it Izzy?"
Izzy nodded. "They said it would be easier to keep track of us if we decided to go save the world again. It's easier than hiding Tentomon, that's for sure."
"Are you sure about this?" Kari asked, stepping out of the bathroom. She was wearing one of the outfits that Sora had brought for her. It was a bit loose, but not uncomfortably so. "It's awfully….pink."
"Mimi picked it out." Sora replied.
"I'm not surprised." Kari answered. It was a knee-length skirt, a loose blouse, and socks that went up to the hem of her dress. "But if Izzy likes it…" Izzy mumbled something, not looking at her.
"It's fine." Tai stated, getting a laugh out of Kari and Sora. "Isn't it, TK?"
"Hm?" TK asked, looking away from where the parents were talking. "Yeah, it looks fine. Hey, listen, Ken was thinking about holding a Christmas party for us on the 24th, interested?"
Sora looked up. "Oh, no. That's when Matt's having his concert."
"Concert?" Tai and Kari asked.
TK smacked his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot. Yeah, Matt's band is going to be playing in the park near Highton View on the 24th ."
"Well, how about the new kids go to Ken's party, and we old-timers go to the concert?" Tai suggested. "I think Sora had something in mind."
"Nothing major." Sora replied innocently. "What about you, Kyle?"
"Uh…I have plans, actually…?" Kyle mumbled, blushing.
"Oh?" Sora asked. "Anything involving June, perchance?" Kyle stammered.
"Oh come on, everyone." Kari said. "Leave Kyle alone, if he doesn't want to tell us, that's fine." Kyle looked relieved. "Of course, then I'd have to tell June about that incident with the bottle of corn syrup when Kyle was two…"
"Don't you DARE!"
==Tokyo
June sat on her bed, feeling bored, of all things. Fighting Imperialdramon had been terrifying, but, now that the adrenaline had worn off, she was feeling a bit disconnected, not sure what to do next.
"June, phone!" her mom called. "It's Kyle!" There was some sounds. "No, don't you dare listen in, Davis. Or you either, Kenta, I'm warning both of you." Fighting back a laugh, June left her room and picked up the phone her mother was holding.
"Hello? Yes. Oh? One second, I'll check." June put her hand on the receiver. "Mom, Kyle's asking me to dinner on the 24th. Is that alright? He said I'd be home by about 10:00."
"Oh, June! That sounds so romantic! Yes, of course you can go!" her mother said, ignoring the strangled noises her husband and son were making. "Just make sure you're back on time, alright?"
June nodded. "She said I could go! Yes, I'll see you on the 24th! A restaurant? Ooh, I'll have to dress up!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father turning green. "Okay, I'll see you then, Kyle." She hung up the phone, all smiles.
==
Matt hung up the phone, depressed. "Everything OK?" Hiroaki, his father asked.
"Mimi can't come on the 24th." he answered. "Her parents heard about the monster attack and said if she came anywhere near Japan, she'd be grounded until she's your age."
"Ouch." Mr. Ishida winced. "Well, her parents were a bit jittery after Myotismon attacked. Still, there's no reason you can't sneak through the digital world and go visit her on the 25th or 26th."
Matt blinked. "Dad?"
"Come on. Like I could stop you anyway. Look, Matt, just…be careful, alright? Your mother and I…Just don't do something you'll regret, alright?"
"Like me?" Matt asked, voice suddenly hard.
"Never." His father replied, voice matching Matt's. "I never once regretted being your father, or TK's. It's…ahh, I'm no good at this."
Matt nodded. "I understand dad. Thanks. And don't worry, Gabumon's about as good a chaperone as you can get."
"I don't know. That big red bug Kyle has might be better…Look, if you see TK before I do, tell him I said Merry Christmas, alright?"
==Dark Ocean
Demon scowled. All his plans had been thwarted by two pokemon, all told. He had so carefully staged the events that would lead to the death of Baihumon, and had succeeded, but not before that overgrown kitty-cat had passed on his power to that cursed Mewtwo. Worse, his own minion, Metal Devidramon, had revolted and stolen the power of one of the Destiny Stones for himself, trying to seize power.
Sneasel walked up to Demon. "Sir? The portals are ready."
Demon looked up. "Good. Set the first one for December 24th, downtown Tokyo. They'll still be recovering from Imperialdramon's last visit. Who do we have left?" The question was not lightly worded; when Mummymon had escaped and digivolved, he had laid waste to a lot of the forces of the Dark Ocean before being dispatched. "Set the portals to cover the entire planet. That will buy us some time to try and recover from this mess."
Sneasel bowed and left. Outside of Demon's chamber, she encountered Metal Devidramon. He had spent the night at the mercy of one of Demon's chief tormentors, a particularly sadistic Ice Devimon. During one of his session, he had managed to digivolve from Magnatar back to Metal Devidramon, and had gone on to tear the torturer apart. "Is Arukenimon ready?"
The digimon bowed gruffly. "She is ready. Though I hope this plan comes off better than our lord's previous attempt."
"The plan worked perfectly until someone allowed Mummymon to get out. I can't prove anything, but I have my eye on you. You fared little better against the digidestined than any of us did."
"What you have are dreams and fantasies, Sneasel. I was beaten, but they didn't finish the job. And I'm more than enough to take care of you if you start causing trouble. Your precious Arukenimon isn't here to chaperone you."
Sneasel unsheathed her claws. "Try it, if you dare. You don't have all that Destiny Stone power running through you now, and you're on Demon's short list. One more failure and you've had it. I make it a point to stay useful." Sneasel walked off. Metal Devidramon glared after her, but said nothing.
==Pokemon World
Ken stared at Ryo, a bit disappointed. "You can't come?" Ryo had come to visit Ken at his place, and Ken had mentioned the Christmas party he had planned.
Ryo shook his head. "I'd love to, but I already promised Matt that I'd be at the concert. Sorry."
Ken shrugged. "It's alright. It sounds like it'll be quite a show."
"Oh, it will be. It's a shame you won't be there for it, we have a few surprises planned. A few that Matt isn't expecting." He added with a grin. "Listen, why don't we meet on the 25th? We can go return all the stuff that purple-haired cutie is gonna get you." Ken blushed.
Minomon, resting on Ken's shoulder, decided to lend a hand. "Oh? And you're not going to be busy with Caryl? I hear Kyle's taking June out on Christmas Eve, after all. Maybe I should let Caryl know." It was Ken's turn to laugh as Ryo turned red. "I can just hear her telling off her poor Ryo-chan now, Ken."
"Okay Minomon, that's enough." Ken said, gasping.
"Yeah, I deserved that." Ryo sighed, recovering. "So, 25th, say about four-ish?"
"I'd like that. And feel free to bring Caryl."
"Funny, Ichijouji, real funny."
==Lansdale, USA
"Come on, PLEASE?"
"No, I am NOT going to a Christmas baseball game."
"Well it'd be more fun than some boring old restaurant!"
"*sigh* Only an uncute tomboy would think about a baseball game on Christmas."
"Shows what you know, pervert!"
Silence. Then:
"Two O'clock?"
"Yeah, sure." Kyle Evanick hung up the phone. "Tsukaimon, am I losing it?"
==Newfoundland, Canada
"Stuart?"
"Yeah mom?"
"Look, I have no problem with your…pet."
"He's a Digimon. Calling him a pet makes him mad."
"Right, of course. But, his Christmas stocking is bigger than he is."
"*sigh* I'll talk to him. Greedy little reptile, I ought to…"
==Orange Archipelago
Edward looked at the egg fragments, stunned. Speechless, he watched as the newly born Lugia stretched its wings, cooed, and looked up at him.
"Merry Christmas." Was the only thing he could think to say.
==New Zealand
Caryl studied the sheet she had printed out. Sora had asked for a favour, which Caryl was only to happy to agree to. Now, she just had to figure out a way to get there without alarming anyone...
==American Midwest.
Seth looked at the tree. "Not too bad."
Wizardmon bowed. "Thank you. It is my first Christmas in this reality."
"Really? What's Christmas like in the Digital World?"
Wizardmon thought about it. "You know, this will be my first Christmas ever. Tell me, do you have any more of those calendars?"
Groaning, Seth palmed his face. "You're only supposed to open one door at a time…"
==Pokemon World
Crystal sat at her desk, staring at the digiegg in her digivice. "TK…" In her hand, she held a small box. She had heard that TK liked to stay up late, so she got him a small book-light and a bookmark to go with it.
Kurt hopped up into Crystal's lap. "He'll like it. You could give him a piece of last week's casserole, and he'd like it. If it came from you, that is."
"Kurt…he gave me his digiegg. How am I supposed to top that?"
"Hey, don't worry about it. He's not the type who keeps track of things like that." Arching an eyebrow he added "and that kiss you planted on him when he let you keep it was pretty good payment, from what I saw."
Crystal blushed. "Quit bringing that up, will you?"
==Stone Town
Tai looked out the window in Kyle's room. Despite everything everyone else had said, he knew that he didn't snore.
It was now two days since their home had been destroyed, and the Kamiyas were adjusting to life here in the pokemon world. Through the slightly open door, he could hear his parents talking.
"So, any word on when we can go home?" his mother asked.
"Nothing yet. They'll have to take the whole building down, and build it back up from the foundation. Could be months." His father sighed.
"That's terrible. But at least it's nice here."
"It is. Listen, if things don't work out, maybe...maybe we could try moving here?"
Tai's eyes went wide. *That* was unexpected. He decided to enter the kitchen and ask his father when he had thought of moving here, when he noticed a small box on Kyle's dresser. It looked fancy. On a whim, he opened it, and gasped when he saw what was inside.
"You...didn't see that, alright?" Kyle asked, entering his room.
"I'm sorry!" Tai replied, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean to look, it's just...wow, you're not...?"
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, I think I am."
"Well, good luck, then." He's nuts, Tai thought. Wait'll I tell-
"And don't tell Kari. Or anyone."
"Darn."
==New York
Mimi checked her outfit. Father or no, she was going to be at that concert. Even if Matt didn't know about it yet.
"Mimi?"
"Yes mom?" Mimi answered, keeping her door closed.
"Tell Matt I said hi!"
Mimi gulped. "Yes mom."
==Tokyo, December 24th
It was 10 in the morning, and June was already trembling. "Come on, it's just dinner." Davis said, a bit annoyed.
"Kyle's *taking* me to dinner. And it's going to be in a nice, romantic restaurant!" June smiled as she saw her brother's face go a bit sour.
"Davis!" his mother chided him. "Kyle's your friend too. And what will you do when you start seeing someone?" June kept carefully silent, holding in her laughter as Davis blushed red, prompting his mother to start asking him who he was seeing. Seeing that Davis was going to be busy, she decided to get changed now. Kyle wasn't due to pick her up for a few hours, but she did want to see how she would look.
Half an hour later, June stepped out of her room, wearing a white top, a dark blue dress that went down to her ankles, and a jacket that matched her dress. Around her waist was a wide belt, also dark blue. (If anyone has anything better in mind for her, please, let me know! -ed)
"June, you look lovely!" her mother said, stepping over to her. June curtsied, getting a laugh out of her mother. "You haven't done that since you were eight years old. And I seem to recall you saying you'd never do it again."
"That was after Davis snuck up behind me and kicked me."
"Oh, he was just a baby then. It's not my fault that I just happened to accidentally unplug the TV when he was around. For a week." Akiko Motomiya sighed again. "You've grown up so much. Even if a lot of it was wasted chasing around after that Ishida boy."
"It was three weeks, mother. Besides, that's when I met Kyle."
"Oh, good, then I can blame Matt for this after all." Both of them giggled at that. "You care a lot for Kyle, I can tell. Every time I see you two together, I get a bit jealous. Your father could pick up a thing or two from him."
"Kyle is one of a kind." June agreed. "Uh, mom, there's something I have to tell you. Can you wait here for a second?" Akiko nodded, and June darted back into her room. She came out again a minute later, holding a very confused looking Elecmon. "This is Elecmon, and he and I kind of helped to save Tokyo..."
It took about 20 minutes, but June managed to explain the whole story. Akiko had been very quiet the whole time. "Does your father know about this?"
"No, mom."
"And Davis is one of these digidestined too? And Matt? And Kyle?" June nodded. "Well, if your father found out, he'd probably ground you for the next ten years." She grinned conspiratorially. "But then, your father was never very practical. And I'm glad I know what's been making Davis act more mature lately." Relieved, June leaned forward and hugged Akiko tightly.
==Highton View Park
It was only a few hours before the concert started. Matt sighed, watching the workers set up the equipment. A few feet away, Ryo was tuning up a guitar. "Snap out of it, will ya? Izzy's almost as good at the sound board as Yolei. Don't tell me you're getting stage fright now?" He leaned over. "Hey, you know Mimi would come if she could. It's not like you were going to serenade her or something. Not with that voice."
"What's wrong with my voice?" Matt asked.
"You sound like an Exploud with laryngitis (No, it's not pretty -ed)."
"Ha, ha. Actually, Mimi wanted to do a solo..."
"Hmph. And being the girlfriend of the bandleader would help get her on stage. Well, she is better looking than the regular vocalist."
"One more crack and you'll be eating that guitar, Akiyama."
"Okay, I'll quit." Ryo said, holding up a hand. "So, who else is gonna be playing, after we're done?"
"Some band called Random Andy." Matt replied. "Apparently, they're going to play a single from their CD called 'Smile'. Hope you don't mind the competition."
Ryo pulled out a pair of drumsticks and twirled them in his fingers. "I'll have all the girls screaming. For me, anyway. You don't have a hope with that worn out voice of yours."
"Cute. Well, you're welcome to the attention." Matt looked over the empty audience seats.
==Stone Town, afternoon.
Kyle looked in a mirror, checking his outfit for the nth time. "Kyle, you look fine." his father said, getting a lot of amusement out of the whole thing. Even if he was a bit nervous about what Kyle had planned.
"I know, I just want this to go right." Kyle replied. "Dad? Am I doing the right thing?"
"What do you think?" Mikhail replied. Taking a deep breath, Kyle thought, then nodded. "Good. Can you take 'no' for an answer, if it comes to that?" He smirked, faking a flinch as Kyle glared at him. "Easy, son. Just be prepared, that's all."
Kyle released the breath he had been holding. "Thanks dad."
Mikhail put his arms around Kyle. "Hey, I already said you'll be fine. The reservations are set, and the weatherman said we'd have a light dusting of snow. Just like a movie. Just don't spill anything on her dress, alright?"
"I won't. Will you be alright dad? I know we usually spend the holidays together."
It was Mikhail's turn to blush a bit. "Well, actually, I sort of have a date too."
"Dad?"
"Oh, I got invited to that 'Parents of the digidestined' club. Can you take me with you? I need to get to the Takashi house. Nancy's going to show me to the restaurant everyone's meeting at."
"TK's mom? Well, be back by curfew, and don't get caught up in any nasty hazing rituals." Kyle said, grinning. "How will you get home? I'm coming back to this world with June after I pick her up."
"Oh, I'll meet up with Tai and Kari after the concert's done. You bringing any of your pokemon with you?" The Kamiyas had left a few hours ago, Tai going to meet up with the other original digidestined, Kari saying that she'd be making her way to Ken's house. Both parents were on their way over to meet Izzy's parents.
"No, Growlithe's going to stay home. Isn't that RIGHT, Growlithe?"
The puppy pokemon, who had been feigning sleep, looked up guiltily. "Me? No, I'm staying home! Hey, have fun, you two."
"And Eevee?" Kyle asked.
"Upstairs in your room, resting quietly. Now get, you two. Go on, out of the house." Both Ellisons left, not at all surprised that the dog had ordered the humans out of the house. After a few minutes, Growlithe looked out the window. "Okay, they're all gone!"
Kari, with Gatomon, Palmon, Eevee, and Kyle's Ivysaur standing by her, stepped out of the stairwell where she had been hiding. "Okay. Growlithe? Eevee?"
"Heh." Eevee replied. "Whatever he's up to, we'll find out."
Kari nodded. It was odd that Tai, normally a lousy keeper of secrets, had been so tight-lipped lately, especially about why Kyle and June were going to dinner together. She knew Kyle was about to do something big, and she wanted to know what it was. She had a reputation to keep up, after all. "Palmon, Ivysaur, are you ready for the concert?" Both of them nodded. "Don't get too carried away with anything." Kari added with a wink.
==Tokyo, Highton View Park
People streamed in, eager to get away from the terror of the past week. Giant dragons duking it out in the residential area put people on edge. Good time to have a big musical bash, get everyone's mind off the fact that someone tried to stage a live action Godzilla revival in the central business district.
"Tai! Sora! Over here!" Matt yelled. The two ran over, arm in arm. "Glad you could make it!"
"Hey, all the original digidestined are here!" Tai replied. "Kari says she wishes she could come."
"I know, TK told me about Ken's party tonight. Even Yolei's going; Izzy's running the sound board."
"Izzy's here?" Tai asked. "I was wondering where he was."
Sora elbowed Tai. "Will you stop mother-henning Kari already?"
"It's a big brother's duty to make sure his little sister stays out of trouble." Tai sniffed.
Sora rolled her eyes. "We'd better get inside before all the seats are taken." she said, dragging Tai away.
"Don't worry, I had the crew reserve you two front row seats. I don't want you to miss a second of this. Are Agumon and Biyomon here?"
Sora pointed behind Matt. Sneaking in the crew entrance were the two named digimon, both of who waved to Matt as they entered. "We figured it would be better if no one saw our digimon, after everything that happened."
Matt nodded. "Yeah. Charmeleon, Tentomon, and Gabumon are back there now, I'll show Agumon and Biyomon over to them." Tai nodded, and the two entered. Matt stared at the two wistfully, thinking of Mimi. Then he went in, leaving instructions for where to seat Joe when he showed up.
==Stone Town
As predicted, it had started to snow, but it wasn't sticking. Kyle and June, arm in arm, walked down the sidewalk to the restaurant Kyle had made reservations at. "I'm really glad you asked me out, Kyle. After everything, I need to just..."
"I know." Kyle said softly. "I need to get away from battles too."
"So, where are we going?" June asked.
"A quiet little place Dad recommended." Kyle replied. "Candlelight, fireplace in the middle, a small booth."
"You didn't...Kyle, that must have..."
Kyle smiled a bit. "I made the reservation a month ago. It's alright, I can handle it. And I did want to show you a nice time." Kyle had managed to put away some money over his pokemon journey; prize money he had won and the occasional item he had found had given Kyle enough to pay for tonight. It left a sizeable dent in his bank account, but he didn't care.
June embraced him. "Thank you." she whispered, kissing him lightly.
Across the street, Growlithe looked at the two, hoping he wasn't spotted. "Well?" Eevee asked, standing behind him.
"They're just going in. Are you sure we should be doing this? I'm freezing."
Beside them, Elecmon shivered a bit. He had decided to come along as well, concerned (or so he claimed) about what Kyle was planning for June. "Hey, aren't you both fire types?"
"Yes," Eevee replied, "I'll just walk over to Kyle and say 'hey, can you digivolve me to Flareon while I spy on you and June?"
"And the local cops take a dim view of pokemon lighting fires in town." Growlithe muttered. "That's how the Great Pewter City fire got started."
"When that Miltank accidentally kicked a Charizard?" Eevee asked. Growlithe nodded.
==Tokyo
"To our newest members!" Yoshie Izumi said, raising her glass. All the other parents there mimed the gesture. Mikhail reddened a bit. "So, welcome to the conspiracy."
"I must admit, this group is a bit...larger than I expected." Akiko Motomiya said, looking at all the people here. The parents had descended on a small restaurant and had booked one of the larger tables.
"And this all started four years ago?" Kenta asked.
"Eight, according to Tai and Kari." Susumu Kamiya said, nodding. "Remember that terrorist bombing at Highton View about eight years back? That was actually a pair of digimon appearing in the city. All the kids that saw it became digidestined."
"But June and Davis were nowhere near there!" Kenta replied, still a bit concerned.
"Yeah," Masami Izumi, Izzy's foster father, replied, "but they were caught up in that whole thing with Myotismon, right? Izzy figured that once you've seen a digimon, you tend to become a digidestined. It sounds shaky, but it's the only theory that fits."
Chikara Hida, Cody's grandfather, nodded. "Hm. Perhaps my son could have been one, then."
"Cody?" Nancy, sitting by Mikhail, asked.
"No, his father, Hiroki. He and his friend Oikawa often told me stories about talking to creatures on a television screen. I should have paid more attention to them."
"You know," Ms. Kamiya said, "Just before she left to fight, Kari said she kept seeing digimon on the TV screen, and that they were causing disasters all over the world. But I expect that's all old hat to you." she went on, nodding to Mikhail.
"Not really," Kyle's father replied. "Where I come from, the monsters are rarely larger than the house you live in, and tend to be more peaceful. Usually."
==Highton View Park
"Half an hour, Matt!" Ryo called for the doorway.
"Sure thing!" Matt called back. Matt tried to relax in his chair, trying to shake off the tension he felt. He always got this way before going on stage. He looked up at the clock. Half an hour left. Plenty of time. He failed to notice two figures sneak out from under one of the tables Matt had left his guitar on. He started to get up when he smelled something odd, sneezed on what felt like dust. He then sat back and relaxed, dozing off.
"Okay," Palmon said into a small walk talkie. "You're on!" Beside her, Ivysaur nodded. Tai had been very specific, just enough Sleep Powder to make him doze off a bit, to stay asleep until it was too late.
When Matt came to, he looked at the clock. "Oh man, I fell asleep! The guys are going to kill me!" He grabbed his guitar and ran out the door. He could hear cheering from the crowd and...singing? Curious, he went over to the edge of the stage, and stared, stunned.
Mimi was there, singing something cheery and upbeat ('Happy Happy!' from Tales of Phantasia, if you're interested. -ed). She was dressed in a beautiful one piece dress, all pink, naturally, and she had a sweater draped around her shoulders. She saw Matt, winked at him, and sung the finishing chorus, before waving him over. "I hope you don't mind, Matt, I just thought I'd warm the audience up a bit first." She held back a snicker as several shouts of 'we don't mind' came up from the audience.
Matt threw a glare at Ryo, who was trying to look innocent. So were, now that he looked, Tai, Sora, and Joe, and he assumed that Izzy had a similar expression, up in the control booth. "How...?" Matt stammered
"You didn't think I'd pass up something like this?" Mimi replied coyly. "But it was Ryo's idea, when you get down to it." She leaned over, and whispered something to Matt. "Listen, can I sing one more song? Please?" There was laughter as Mimi put her hands together, overacting her plea. Dumbly, Matt nodded. "Great! Come on!" Mimi said, waving to Sora.
"Wish me luck." Sora said, squeezing Tai's hand.
"Knock 'em dead." Tai whispered. "And don't let Mimi show you up!" Nodding, Sora ran up to the stage, got a hand up from Mimi, and the two girls stood together. Mimi nodded to the keyboarder, who started playing an upbeat tune. Matt recognized it instantly, from the show 'Full Metal Alchemist' that he had been watching.
Melissa - Full Metal Alchemist opening; translation courtesy of Escadevotion
With your hands tear up those far away memories of the day
And stop the meaning of sadness completely
Now, pierce through my longing heart with love
Morning comes and should the sky be seen, it does nothing for my troubled heart
Nearby a bird takes fight, probably to find a light somewhere
Say, would you let me on your back?
And then kindly leave me behind at the highest point...
After this first bit, Matt had recovered enough to pick up with his guitar. It was turning into a good night for him.
==
The other parents had broken up about 10 minutes ago, Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya deciding to go visit the Izumis for a while (Akiko joking that they might become in-laws soon, a line that left both fathers looking a little green.) Most of the other families had Christmas plans to finish up, trees to finish decorating (with presents ;-) -ed), and relatives to call. So, it eventually left Mikhail and Nancy strolling down the street. Kyle's father had a cane with him, but it seemed to be more for show than anything else. "Well," Mikhail said, "I'm glad I'm not alone. I thought seeing Kyle off on his pokemon journey was tough. All this digimon stuff is dangerous."
Nancy smiled. "Well, at least you have some idea of what he might have to face. When I watched TK leave, I didn't have a clue. And he was only eight."
Mikhail sighed. "Eight? I didn't let Kyle go until he was 14. And we had quite a fight about it when he was 10."
"You said something about that. It sounds like an odd system."
"Well, it was about the only way parents could keep an eye on all those kids who wanted to go running off and train pokemon. Rather than have police running around catching kids who had run off with a Squirtle and were searching for Moltres, we started licensing it, used the Pokemon Centers as a way to keep an eye on trainers, created the Leagues to make sure pokemon were treated fairly. It was a lot less nerve wracking. It's not perfect, but it's better than what it used to be."
"Well," Nancy said, "Kyle seems to have turned out alright. And that girl TK's seeing now. And Ryo, for all that he hangs around with Matt." Nancy joked.
"Where was Mr. Ishida tonight?"
Nancy sighed. "It was work. He had to stay late and take care of some things at the station. That's one of the reasons we...broke up."
Mikhail winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Forget it. We still see each other a lot, but...I know TK would like to see us get back together, but it's still a bit painful to be around him." Nancy saw the ring on Mikhail's finger. "I guess you know about that."
"Hm?" Mikhail asked, then saw where Nancy was looking. "Oh. No...it was..." His face fell as an old memory came back to him.
Nancy looked stricken. "Oh, Mikhail....I'm so sorry!"
"Now it's my turn to say forget it." Mikhail replied. He glanced up, and saw they were back at Nancy's apartment. "Why don't we go in? It's freezing out here."
==Ichijouji home
Ken's mother looked over all the children in her living room. "I'm so glad he's made so many friends."
Mr. Ichijouji put an arm on his wife's shoulder. "Same here. He's changed, ever since he came back. He's stopped trying to be Sam."
"And we stopped trying to make him Sam."
In the living room, Ken walked over to Davis. "So, having fun?"
"You bet! You've got an awesome computer system, Ken! My folks are still using a two-year old model!"
Ken chuckled lightly. All the digidestined had been taking turns playing each other on Ken's computer. He had won it after the Dark Spore had taken effect, but had only really started using it now, after his mind had been freed from its effects. He had spent some of his money picking out a few games for it, figuring that was what normal kids did with computers. As luck had it, one of the store owners had recognized the 'boy genius' and had been only too happy to give Ken a slight discount.
"Umm...Davis? Did Yolei change her outfit in the digital world? With everything that happened, I never had a chance to ask her."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, she said that she got some sort of program from Wormmon. I think she started to hate the outfit she had gotten, something about having a basketball for a hat. You could ask her." Davis indicated Yolei, off talking to Kari in one corner.
"Hmm. Melody didn't come?"
"Nah, she had to do some sort of ceremony tonight. Her parents were going all sacred family tradition on her."
"I guess being a priestess is tough." Ken said, trying to make small-talk.
"She's a shrine maiden." Davis replied.
"There's a difference?"
"Oh yeah." Davis replied, looking out the window. Overhearing this, Yolei giggled.
==Stone Town.
Kyle and June stepped out of the restaurant an hour later. "That was so wonderful." June said. "Thank you." She was a bit worried. Kyle had been calm on the surface, but there was something on his mind that was just dying to get out. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was, though. The night had been too perfect, so far.
They had started to head back to Kyle's house when Kyle stopped, turned and faced June. "June? There's...something else I want to give you. But I don't know if you'll like it."
June smiled. "You've done pretty well so far." she replied.
Kyle smiled, then took one of her hands in both of his. "I know we've only been seeing each other since...late September?" June nodded. "Well...I'd like to...that is..." Kyle pressed a small box into June's hand, not sure what else he could say.
Starting to tremble a bit, June opened the box. Inside was a ring, similar to the engagement ring her mother had worn. "Kyle..." June whispered. "Is this...are you...proposing?" she gasped.
Kyle's mind whirled. He had been practising this speech all night, how they would have to finish school and everything, be able to take care of each other, how he wasn't even old enough, by the law, to marry her right now. All he could manage was "Y-Yes."
June just stared, tears streaming down her face. She pulled one of her gloves off and placed the ring on her finger. "Yes." she replied. "YES!" she nearly shouted, stepping forward and kissing Kyle.
Across the street, Elecmon fainted. "Oh my." Growlithe exclaimed quietly, stunned.
"They grow up so fast." Eevee mused. "Kari's going to flip. Shame she didn't loan us a camera."
==Highton View Park.
Sora and Mimi finished singing, bowed, and stepped back. Matt strode over, light-headed, and Mimi gave him a light peck on the cheek (Prompting several whistles and a few groans.) "I've been informed," Matt said, "that there's one more act, and Ryo? This one's for you."
Ryo blinked. This wasn't on the playlist. And what was that tune the keyboarder was playing? He squinted as the spotlight flashed over him, and aimed at the back of the audience. It was focussed on Caryl, wearing a formal looking black dress with an elaborate white collar.
Wolf's Rain - Gravity (ed), lyrics courtesy of Animelyrics.com
"Been a long road to follow/
been there and gone tomorrow/
without saying goodbye to yesterday/
are the memories I hold still valid?/
or have the tears deluded them?..."
Ryo sat, entranced. He could tell that Caryl was forcing her voice to sound slightly lower than it usually did. She was still singing quite well.
==Outside
Arukenimon checked her watch. "Time to begin. Shame, that little girl's first performance will be her last."
"I disagree." Renamon said, appearing. "You have no business here." Smirking, Arukenimon dodged to the side, hurling a small silvery needle.
"What are you doing here?" Arukenimon asked, watching as Renamon dodged the needle.
"Where Caryl goes, I go." Renamon raised her arms, ready to attack.
"Touching." Arukenimon replied. "But you're about to be too busy." She snapped her fingers and vanished, just as a sickly orange light appeared behind Renamon.
==Takashi apartment
"There was an ice patch on the road that the other driver didn't see." Mikhail sighed. "When I woke up, I had a stitched knee and...I was a widower." Nancy gave Mikhail's hand a tight squeeze. Smiling, he went on. "Kyle was only a few months old at the time, staying with Jennifer's sister...she was one of a kind, even compared to the rest of her family.
"Anyway, I had to retire from the force, so I did a little consulting work, and took care of Kyle."
Nancy nodded. "That's what I had to do with TK. Hiroaki had his work, and Matt...well, he was older, so he could take care of himself. I still checked on him, of course, but..." Nancy sighed. "For what it's worth, Kyle has become a fine young man. Though I'm not sure he should be proposing to June after only going out with her for a few...months, is it?"
Mikhail shrugged. "Well, I had to do something. I've seen Kyle and June together a few times, and I started to worry he might do something stupid, like elope or something. High-handed of me, I know."
"And the engagement ring?"
"Jennifer's. It was damaged in the accident, but I never could get rid of it. So, I had it repaired and a new stone set in a few weeks back, and arranged for Kyle to find it in a jewellery store. He had stopped by there a few times already, and was leaning towards a ring I knew he couldn't afford.
"Oh, of course I'll be all properly surprised when he tells me, and I'll tell him he should finish school and find work before he goes and gets married. I think he knows that already, but some things have to be done properly. Kyle's a sucker for a big ceremony."
Nancy laughed a bit. "Maybe I should try something like that for TK."
==
Izzy frowned as some static started to creep into the system, just as Caryl was finishing her song. Annoyed, he started making adjustments, but the disruption only got worse. He saw Matt looking up at the booth, shrugged helplessly, and continued working.
"It's alright, folks, just a little technical difficulty with the speakers." Matt announced when the noise got too bad. "Ryo, Kouji, let's do some unplugged work." The two nodded as Matt put his guitar down and took out his harmonica. "Hope I remember how to do this." he said to himself.
Izzy kept playing with the knobs and dials, but the interference still remained. Now it had moved from the speakers to the lights, causing them to start flickering erratically. Cursing, he disconnected his computer, which had been recording the concert, and was about to shut it down when the screen started to flash red.
"What could...no, it can't be!" He grabbed the laptop and ran out of the booth. "I have to get to Tentomon!" He got ten paces before Dark Tyrannomon tore through the tent behind the band. The audience panicked and started stampeding out of tent. Matt and Ryo ran away from the attacking digimon, Ryo calling out Charmeleon, Vaporeon, and Nidoking as he did so.
Tai, Sora, Mimi, and Joe hopped up on the stage and ran to where Matt and Ryo were; as they did, their partner digimon joined them. "Agumon, digivolve!" Tai yelled.
Agumon tried to digivolve, as did the other digimon. "I can't! Something's stopping me!"
"That would be me." Arukenimon said, walking slowly through the wrecked audience seating. "Demon does not like his plans being thwarted, and I thought this would be an appropriate Christmas gift. I hope you enjoy."
Ryo snarled. "Too bad you forgot about me! Charmeleon, GO!"
"Charmeleon, digivolve to...Charizard!" Charizard roared and fired a gout of flame at Arukenimon. However, the witch had managed to vanish before it hit, evil laughter the only thing she left behind.
Izzy ran up. "If Charmeleon can digivolve and our digimon can't, that means there must be a control spire nearby! And something's slammed the Digiport shut, so we can't send them back!"
"It was Arukenimon!" Renamon called, appearing and kicking an attacking Bakemon in the head. "She created it, then vanished before I could stop her!"
"Renamon?" Caryl asked. "How'd you get here?"
"Someone had to chaperone you!" Renamon replied, dodging Bakemon's attack. "Diamond Storm!"
Ryo looked at Izzy. "I can." he said, holding up his D-3. "But I can't do this without some backup! Nidoking, go find the spire and wreck it! Vaporeon, go with him!" The two pokemon nodded and looked for the best way to get out.
"Be careful!" Sora yelled. As she said that, Ivysaur ran past her, joining the other pokemon Ryo had sent. "How many digimon are out here?" she asked.
Izzy checked his computer. "At least 20." he said. "Two or three of them are Ultimate digimon, too."
==
"We've just received word that more monsters have appeared at the concert in Tokyo." the radio reporter said. Davis looked up at the radio, incredulous. "Witnesses report that a number of monsters and a mysterious black monolith have appeared just outside the concert grounds, and that a number of unidentified entities are currently attacking random targets around the city. Citizens are urged to stay indoors unless directed to evacuate by the police. We repeat-"
Davis got up. "We have to stop those Digimon!"
"Demon." TK looked at the other digidestined. "Looks like he recovered faster than we thought. This must be his revenge for losing his Imperialdramon." The kids got up, gathered their digimon, and headed for the door. However, Ken's mother quickly blocked them.
"No, you can't go!" she cried. "After that monster destroyed Highton View Terrace, I can't let you go out there!"
"Mom!" Ken said urgently. "We're the only ones that can fight this."
"Please." Kari begged. "Tai's there."
"My brother's there too." TK added. "We can help him!"
Ms. Ichijouji shook her head, but Ken's father put a hand on her, gently pulled her away from the door, and opened it. "Get going." he said, trying not to sob. "Just be careful."
"I will, father." Ken said, as he and the other children left. "I promise, I'll explain everything when I get back."
==
[Well?} Ivysaur asked as he, Vaporeon, and Nidoking made it outside.
[I'm looking!] Nidoking replied testily. [YOU try picking out a BLACK object in the middle of the night, when there's no lights around!]
[How about a faint red glow?] Vaporeon asked. As he spoke, the top of the tent exploded as Charizard flew upwards, carrying Dark Tyrannomon with him. [Seismic toss,] Vaporeon sighed, [he is such a showboater.] The three watched as Charizard flew straight up, made several circles in mid air, then flew straight down, releasing the digimon at the last minute. Dark Tyrannomon slammed into the ground with a bone-shattering thud, and didn't get up again.
Charizard spun, fired an Ember at a tree, and flew off. The burning tree gave a little light, allowing the pokemon to see the location of the Spire.
[There it is!] Nidoking yelled, charging. [Megaton PUNCH!] The spire shivered under the blow, but did not yield. Nidoking hopped back and tried his Hyper Beam, with little more effect.
Ivysaur looked around. Nothing, all the lights were dead, just a clear night, the stars, the moon...[Cover me!] Ivysaur yelled. He sat in front of the spire, concentrating.
[A Solar Beam at night? Are you nuts?] Vaporeon asked.
[You have a better idea? And what's moonlight except the reflection of the sun? Just keep me covered, it's going to take me time to pull this off!]
"What's he doing?" Tentomon, hovering over the tent, looked at Ivysaur.
Palmon, standing on one of the scaffolds that had survived, looked at Ivysaur. She then saw the silvery specks collecting in the flower on his back. "He's trying a Solar Beam! But he needs light to pull it off!" Palmon looked around. There was a small swarm of Bakemon flying around; the other rookie digimon were handling them for now, but their number seemed to be increasing. Charizard was battling a Sabirdramon that had appeared. "Tentomon, can you
power some of those lights?" She indicated a bank of lights that was hanging off of the scaffolds by several wires. As she spoke, Renamon leaped over her, Letting off a Diamond Storm at the attackers nearing the humans.
"Just call me the Energizer Bunnymon!" Tentomon replied. "On your signal!"
Palmon nodded. "Poison Ivy!" Palmon's vines wrapped around two of the lights, and she pulled them up. A second later, Biyomon flew up and gave her a hand with a third light. Quickly, they pointed them at Ivysaur. "Now, Tentomon!"
"Super Shocker!" The electric bolt hit the wires, and the lights went on, including the three that Palmon and Biyomon had aimed at Ivysaur. The seed pokemon looked up, and saw Palmon waving at him.
[Tell me she has a sister.] Vaporeon cracked as Ivysaur focussed his attention on the spire.
[She's one of a kind, and all mine!] Ivysaur answered fiercely. [Solar Beam!] The laser stabbed into the spire. The spire shook, and Vaporeon saw the base of the spire glow a dull red as the attack started to melt it. He called over to Nidoking, who added another Hyper Beam to the attack. There was a sharp crack, as the spire started to crack.
{Yeah!] Vaporeon yelled. He launched a Water Gun attack at the spire, making it crack more as the rapidly cooling structure contracted violently, then Ice Beamed it for good measure, causing the water in the cracks to expand. The Spire shattered.
"They did it!" Palmon yelled. "Guys, the Spire's been destroyed!"
"Agumon, digivolve to...Greymon!"
"Gabumon, digivolve to...Garurumon!"
"Alright!" Matt yelled. "Take those ghosts down!" Gleefully, Garurumon and Greymon charged the Bakemon, herding them towards the lake. Ryo grabbed Izzy's laptop, opened a Digiport, and sent them back to the digital world.
Charizard landed. "There's a Megadramon up there, and that Sabirdramon's too fast for me to keep up with."
"Megadramon's an ultimate level digimon." Izzy said. "And I think there might have been one or two other Ultimates that are in the city. But a lot of the digimon are still in this area. We'll have to make sure these digimon don't get away and attack the city; Tokyo's still recovering from the last digital battle."
"We can handle this!" Biyomon chirped. "Right Sora?" Sora nodded. "Biyomon, warp digivolve to...Phoenixmon!" The rainbow hued bird flew up, challenging Megadramon.
"Forgot she could do that." Matt said, watching Phoenixmon attack. "Tai, don't ever let Sora get mad at you."
Sora winked. "Got that right."
Palmon ran over to Ivysaur as the trio of pokemon returned. "Ivysaur, you did great out there!" Palmon said, kissing Ivysaur.
[Sure, not like we did anything.] Nidoking grunted.
Ivysaur gave Nidoking a raspberry. [Deal with it.] he answered.
==
June released Kyle from the kiss, and the trainer stepped back, breathless. "Is that a yes?" he asked faintly, mind not fully working.
June showed Kyle the ring on her finger. "I'd say it was. An engagement ring on Christmas. Only you would have done something like that. Does anyone else know?"
"Just Tai." Kyle replied. "And I swore him to secrecy." They kissed again, and just held each other for a few minutes after that.
It was Kyle that noticed it first. It was a sudden movement, a sound, he wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it broke the mood.
"What is it?" June asked as she noticed Kyle was distracted.
"I don't know. I thought..." Kyle looked in the area he had thought he had noticed something amiss. No cars, only a few pedestrians, no one was staring, large wooden box, upended ....Kyle's eyebrow started twitching. "One sec." he said to June, crossing the street. Curious, June followed him.
"Umm...is that box...smoking?" June asked.
"Yes...it is." Kyle growled. "You can come out now, I know you're in there." With that, he grabbed one side of the box, and lifted. He grunted a bit, but the box moved.
Sitting around a small fire were Growlithe, Eevee, and Elecmon. "Umm...congratulations?" Elecmon hazarded.
'Frosty' didn't begin to describe June's expression.
==Tokyo.
Ikkakumon and Togemon double teamed a Tortomon, forcing it back to Izzy's computer and through the portal that Ryo had opened. Greymon had been forced out due to a viscous attack by a Phantomon, but Kabuterimon covered his retreat. The bug digimon had been hovering just over the battlefield, sniping at whatever digimon was open with well placed Electro Shocker bolts.
Garurumon jumped in, taking over for Greymon. He dodged Phantomon's scythe, and countered with a Howling Blaster. Phantomon responded by hurling his scythe. Garurumon caught the scythe in his teeth. "Woof." he growled, snapping the handle in two.
"Couldn't we talk this over?" Phantomon asked. Garurumon's only reply was to dash forward, snag the ghost digimon in his jaws, and chuck Phantomon at Ryo, who pointed the open Digiport at the ghost, forcing it back to the digital world.
"Yeah!" Matt yelled. "At this rate, we're gonna catch 'em all!"
Mimi rolled her eyes, wondering if Matt had been hanging around Tai or Davis again. "Togemon, look out!"
Togemon turned, and saw a Dokugumon charging at her. At the last second, several green vines wrapped around the spider, stopping it. Togemon saw Ivysaur behind the spider, holding it back.
"Thanks! Lightspeed Jabbing!" Togemon beat Dokugumon senseless, then sent it flying with an uppercut, to be pulled through the portal.
Sora looked up. Every now and then, she could make out red flashes of light; Phoenixmon and Megadramon were still battling. Off to her side, Nidoking and Vaporeon were assisting Greymon, keeping the last few Bakemon away from Greymon's injured side. Suddenly, there was a loud roar, and Megadramon came falling down out of the sky. Ryo, still holding the computer, ran over and pulled the beaten digimon in. A minute later, Biyomon glided down, exhausted.
"Twice in a week is a bit much. How did Agumon and Gabumon put up with it?" Biyomon sighed, nestling against Sora.
"We're just that good." Greymon rumbled, headbutting a second Dark Tyrannomon, knocking out the digimon. Nidoking grabbed it by the tail and dragged it over to Ryo. Charizard flew down, following a thoroughly beaten Sabirdramon, who grudgingly went into the portal, followed by Dark Tyrannomon, with a helpful toss from Charizard.
Renamon tossed a stray Nanimon through the gateway. "Some of us don't need to digivolve." she smirked, glancing at Agumon, who stuck his tongue out at her in return.
"I think that's all of them." Mimi said, looking around. The impromptu stadium was a shambles. Some people still hovered around, having watched the whole battle. In the distance, police sirens could be heard. Not a digimon that wasn't a partner was in sight.
"All right!" Tai yelled. "Who says we still don't got it?"
"Not Davis, after tonight at least." Joe replied. "Shame we can't tell anyone else about this."
Sora shook her head. "I think Tokyo's had enough of monsters for a while. We'd better get home before someone shows up and starts asking questions we can't answer." Now half asleep, Biyomon nodded. All the other digimon in the area reverted to their rookie levels, also worn out. Ryo recalled Nidoking and Vaporeon.
There was a sudden shimmer. Mewtwo appeared, and brought Kyle, June, and their partner monsters with them. He started to speak, then looked around at the carnage. "I see we were not needed after all." he commented dryly.
"Nope, we had everything under control." Matt replied, walking over and closing the top of Izzy's computer. As he spoke, Paildramon, Silphymon, and Angemon arrived, carrying the rest of the digidestined (and Armadillomon; face it, Angemon's a lot faster than Shakouomon). "Sorry guys, you missed all the fun!"
Kari ran over and hugged her brother. "I'm glad you're alright!" she said.
Davis sighed. "You didn't leave anyone for us to fight?"
"We would have been here sooner, but the police had the whole place surrounded; we couldn't even find a place for our digimon to digivolve without starting a panic." TK explained.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that the original digidestined were more than able to handle this crisis." Izzy smiled as he spoke.
"Careful Izzy," June said, "your ego's showing."
"So, how was your night June?" Sora asked. "I hear that Kyle took you to..." she trailed off, noticing something on June's hand. She looked up at June, stunned. "He didn't!"
Davis looked at Sora, then June and Kyle. "Didn't? Didn't what?"
June held up her hand, displaying the ring for all to see. "He did. We're officially engaged!" Caryl applauded and, after a quick elbow from her, so did Ryo.
"On Christmas Eve?" Mimi said, eyes wide. "That's so romantic!" She edged over to Matt. "Isn't it?" she asked him, giving him a subtle elbow.
"Ah...yeah, right." Matt replied, forcing himself to grin. "Kyle, you're making me look bad!" he whispered.
Davis walked over to his sister and Kyle. "Congratulations." he said, shaking Kyle's hand. "I should have seen it coming." He then walked off. The two DNA digivolved digimon split into their separate digimon; Demi-Veemon ran after Davis.
"He took that pretty well." June said. She mentally took that back when Davis' yell of "I'll KILL HIM!" echoed through the park and parts of downtown Tokyo.
Next Episode
In a desperate act, Demon tries to rally his troops by staging a mass invasion of the Human world. The digidestined must split up and face threats all over the globe, meeting old and new friends. Next time, on Digimon Digicross:
-Worlds Tour part 1: Vancouver's lights, New York's sights."
The fit of depression she felt was abated when she looked across the room. In an old recliner, Izzy was sleeping lightly, his school jacket being used as an improvised blanket. Losing everything still hurt, but she felt like, with Izzy here, she could handle it.
Checking her watch, she saw that it was 8:30 am, then remembered what had woken her up. Listening, she could hear something coming from the kitchen. Curious, she got up and walked over.
"Oh," Kyle said, looking up from the stove, "I hope I didn't wake you." Kyle was hunched over the stove, adding several more pancakes to what was already a large stack. "I thought I'd just make breakfast for everyone."
Kari blinked. "Kyle? How long have you been up?"
"About an hour. Believe me, you don't want Dad cooking for you."
"Cody told me. You didn't have to do all this."
"Hey, you're guests here. Besides, it's no problem, really."
Kari smiled again. Living here might not be so bad, she decided. "So, that's Tai taken care of. What about the rest of us?"
==
Digimon: Digicross Episode 35
'Matt goes old-school!'
Song translations courtesy of:
Animelyrics.com (Wolf's Rain - Gravity (ed))
Escadevotion http://www.livejournal.com/users/escadevotion/343847.html (Full Metal Alchemist - Melissa (op)
Tales of Phantasia Soundtrack (Happy Happy! - Arche Image Song; see? I CAN buy anime CDs)
And:
The Digimon Encyclopedia http://www.digibros.net/~digipedia/ (A LOT of name information)
The Digicross Mailing list groups.yahoo.com/digicross - spellchecking and a LOT of support
'Random Andy' - http://www.randomandy.tk/
==
Tai leaned back in the chair, full. "Wow. Can all pokemon trainers cook that well? I haven't eaten that well in…well, ever."
Yuuko Kamiya raised an eyebrow. "I make you breakfast when I can, Tai. Okay, tofu doesn't go so well with eggs, but at least I try!" Tai subsided, getting a laugh out of Kari. "So, Izzy, did you sleep well last night?", she asked, omitting the 'well away from my daughter' part.
"Izzy slept across the room in the recliner, mom." Kari answered. "He'd never do anything improper." She threw a glance at Tai, who had been eyeing Izzy throughout breakfast.
"Just checking dear." Yuuko Kamiya looked out the small kitchen window. "Thank you again for letting us stay here. I know it must have been an awful burden and all."
"Never." Mikhail answered, waving a hand. "This place usually gets quiet around the holidays. It's nice to have lots of people here for a change." Kyle sighed as his father started on the 'my son is a grown man, and has decided to abandon me' speech. Kari and Tai snickered at the whole spectacle.
"Well, you've managed to do well for yourself." Susumu, Tai's dad said. "Umm, one question.
Those small…walking turnips…?"
"They're called Oddish. Don't worry, they're pretty friendly. Most of the pokemon around here are, as long as you don't startle or scare them." Mikhail grinned. "That usually means charging at them with a stick shouting 'you're mine!'."
"I was THREE, dad." Kyle said darkly. A knock at the door spared him further embarrassment. "I'll get it. And anything he says about me isn't true."
"I'm all ears." Kari said sweetly, making Kyle shudder.
Kyle ran for the door, opening it. Standing in the doorway was TK, Sora, and their parents. All were holding large bags. "Oh, welcome. Please, come in."
"Such a polite young man." Sora's mom Toshiko said. "Maybe it's a good thing Tai's staying with you."
"Mom!" Sora protested.
"Don't mind them." Haruhiko Takenouchi sighed. "We managed to round up a few things for the Kamiyas. Are they up?"
"Yeah, they're just finishing breakfast now. I can get you something if you want."
Toshiko feigned surprise. "Oh, my. Sora, do you think June would consider trading?"
"MOM!"
==
The parents were all off talking and swapping stories. "I had no idea they formed a club." Kyle said.
Tai nodded. "Yeah. I think it was your mom's idea, wasn't it Izzy?"
Izzy nodded. "They said it would be easier to keep track of us if we decided to go save the world again. It's easier than hiding Tentomon, that's for sure."
"Are you sure about this?" Kari asked, stepping out of the bathroom. She was wearing one of the outfits that Sora had brought for her. It was a bit loose, but not uncomfortably so. "It's awfully….pink."
"Mimi picked it out." Sora replied.
"I'm not surprised." Kari answered. It was a knee-length skirt, a loose blouse, and socks that went up to the hem of her dress. "But if Izzy likes it…" Izzy mumbled something, not looking at her.
"It's fine." Tai stated, getting a laugh out of Kari and Sora. "Isn't it, TK?"
"Hm?" TK asked, looking away from where the parents were talking. "Yeah, it looks fine. Hey, listen, Ken was thinking about holding a Christmas party for us on the 24th, interested?"
Sora looked up. "Oh, no. That's when Matt's having his concert."
"Concert?" Tai and Kari asked.
TK smacked his forehead. "I can't believe I forgot. Yeah, Matt's band is going to be playing in the park near Highton View on the 24th ."
"Well, how about the new kids go to Ken's party, and we old-timers go to the concert?" Tai suggested. "I think Sora had something in mind."
"Nothing major." Sora replied innocently. "What about you, Kyle?"
"Uh…I have plans, actually…?" Kyle mumbled, blushing.
"Oh?" Sora asked. "Anything involving June, perchance?" Kyle stammered.
"Oh come on, everyone." Kari said. "Leave Kyle alone, if he doesn't want to tell us, that's fine." Kyle looked relieved. "Of course, then I'd have to tell June about that incident with the bottle of corn syrup when Kyle was two…"
"Don't you DARE!"
==Tokyo
June sat on her bed, feeling bored, of all things. Fighting Imperialdramon had been terrifying, but, now that the adrenaline had worn off, she was feeling a bit disconnected, not sure what to do next.
"June, phone!" her mom called. "It's Kyle!" There was some sounds. "No, don't you dare listen in, Davis. Or you either, Kenta, I'm warning both of you." Fighting back a laugh, June left her room and picked up the phone her mother was holding.
"Hello? Yes. Oh? One second, I'll check." June put her hand on the receiver. "Mom, Kyle's asking me to dinner on the 24th. Is that alright? He said I'd be home by about 10:00."
"Oh, June! That sounds so romantic! Yes, of course you can go!" her mother said, ignoring the strangled noises her husband and son were making. "Just make sure you're back on time, alright?"
June nodded. "She said I could go! Yes, I'll see you on the 24th! A restaurant? Ooh, I'll have to dress up!" Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her father turning green. "Okay, I'll see you then, Kyle." She hung up the phone, all smiles.
==
Matt hung up the phone, depressed. "Everything OK?" Hiroaki, his father asked.
"Mimi can't come on the 24th." he answered. "Her parents heard about the monster attack and said if she came anywhere near Japan, she'd be grounded until she's your age."
"Ouch." Mr. Ishida winced. "Well, her parents were a bit jittery after Myotismon attacked. Still, there's no reason you can't sneak through the digital world and go visit her on the 25th or 26th."
Matt blinked. "Dad?"
"Come on. Like I could stop you anyway. Look, Matt, just…be careful, alright? Your mother and I…Just don't do something you'll regret, alright?"
"Like me?" Matt asked, voice suddenly hard.
"Never." His father replied, voice matching Matt's. "I never once regretted being your father, or TK's. It's…ahh, I'm no good at this."
Matt nodded. "I understand dad. Thanks. And don't worry, Gabumon's about as good a chaperone as you can get."
"I don't know. That big red bug Kyle has might be better…Look, if you see TK before I do, tell him I said Merry Christmas, alright?"
==Dark Ocean
Demon scowled. All his plans had been thwarted by two pokemon, all told. He had so carefully staged the events that would lead to the death of Baihumon, and had succeeded, but not before that overgrown kitty-cat had passed on his power to that cursed Mewtwo. Worse, his own minion, Metal Devidramon, had revolted and stolen the power of one of the Destiny Stones for himself, trying to seize power.
Sneasel walked up to Demon. "Sir? The portals are ready."
Demon looked up. "Good. Set the first one for December 24th, downtown Tokyo. They'll still be recovering from Imperialdramon's last visit. Who do we have left?" The question was not lightly worded; when Mummymon had escaped and digivolved, he had laid waste to a lot of the forces of the Dark Ocean before being dispatched. "Set the portals to cover the entire planet. That will buy us some time to try and recover from this mess."
Sneasel bowed and left. Outside of Demon's chamber, she encountered Metal Devidramon. He had spent the night at the mercy of one of Demon's chief tormentors, a particularly sadistic Ice Devimon. During one of his session, he had managed to digivolve from Magnatar back to Metal Devidramon, and had gone on to tear the torturer apart. "Is Arukenimon ready?"
The digimon bowed gruffly. "She is ready. Though I hope this plan comes off better than our lord's previous attempt."
"The plan worked perfectly until someone allowed Mummymon to get out. I can't prove anything, but I have my eye on you. You fared little better against the digidestined than any of us did."
"What you have are dreams and fantasies, Sneasel. I was beaten, but they didn't finish the job. And I'm more than enough to take care of you if you start causing trouble. Your precious Arukenimon isn't here to chaperone you."
Sneasel unsheathed her claws. "Try it, if you dare. You don't have all that Destiny Stone power running through you now, and you're on Demon's short list. One more failure and you've had it. I make it a point to stay useful." Sneasel walked off. Metal Devidramon glared after her, but said nothing.
==Pokemon World
Ken stared at Ryo, a bit disappointed. "You can't come?" Ryo had come to visit Ken at his place, and Ken had mentioned the Christmas party he had planned.
Ryo shook his head. "I'd love to, but I already promised Matt that I'd be at the concert. Sorry."
Ken shrugged. "It's alright. It sounds like it'll be quite a show."
"Oh, it will be. It's a shame you won't be there for it, we have a few surprises planned. A few that Matt isn't expecting." He added with a grin. "Listen, why don't we meet on the 25th? We can go return all the stuff that purple-haired cutie is gonna get you." Ken blushed.
Minomon, resting on Ken's shoulder, decided to lend a hand. "Oh? And you're not going to be busy with Caryl? I hear Kyle's taking June out on Christmas Eve, after all. Maybe I should let Caryl know." It was Ken's turn to laugh as Ryo turned red. "I can just hear her telling off her poor Ryo-chan now, Ken."
"Okay Minomon, that's enough." Ken said, gasping.
"Yeah, I deserved that." Ryo sighed, recovering. "So, 25th, say about four-ish?"
"I'd like that. And feel free to bring Caryl."
"Funny, Ichijouji, real funny."
==Lansdale, USA
"Come on, PLEASE?"
"No, I am NOT going to a Christmas baseball game."
"Well it'd be more fun than some boring old restaurant!"
"*sigh* Only an uncute tomboy would think about a baseball game on Christmas."
"Shows what you know, pervert!"
Silence. Then:
"Two O'clock?"
"Yeah, sure." Kyle Evanick hung up the phone. "Tsukaimon, am I losing it?"
==Newfoundland, Canada
"Stuart?"
"Yeah mom?"
"Look, I have no problem with your…pet."
"He's a Digimon. Calling him a pet makes him mad."
"Right, of course. But, his Christmas stocking is bigger than he is."
"*sigh* I'll talk to him. Greedy little reptile, I ought to…"
==Orange Archipelago
Edward looked at the egg fragments, stunned. Speechless, he watched as the newly born Lugia stretched its wings, cooed, and looked up at him.
"Merry Christmas." Was the only thing he could think to say.
==New Zealand
Caryl studied the sheet she had printed out. Sora had asked for a favour, which Caryl was only to happy to agree to. Now, she just had to figure out a way to get there without alarming anyone...
==American Midwest.
Seth looked at the tree. "Not too bad."
Wizardmon bowed. "Thank you. It is my first Christmas in this reality."
"Really? What's Christmas like in the Digital World?"
Wizardmon thought about it. "You know, this will be my first Christmas ever. Tell me, do you have any more of those calendars?"
Groaning, Seth palmed his face. "You're only supposed to open one door at a time…"
==Pokemon World
Crystal sat at her desk, staring at the digiegg in her digivice. "TK…" In her hand, she held a small box. She had heard that TK liked to stay up late, so she got him a small book-light and a bookmark to go with it.
Kurt hopped up into Crystal's lap. "He'll like it. You could give him a piece of last week's casserole, and he'd like it. If it came from you, that is."
"Kurt…he gave me his digiegg. How am I supposed to top that?"
"Hey, don't worry about it. He's not the type who keeps track of things like that." Arching an eyebrow he added "and that kiss you planted on him when he let you keep it was pretty good payment, from what I saw."
Crystal blushed. "Quit bringing that up, will you?"
==Stone Town
Tai looked out the window in Kyle's room. Despite everything everyone else had said, he knew that he didn't snore.
It was now two days since their home had been destroyed, and the Kamiyas were adjusting to life here in the pokemon world. Through the slightly open door, he could hear his parents talking.
"So, any word on when we can go home?" his mother asked.
"Nothing yet. They'll have to take the whole building down, and build it back up from the foundation. Could be months." His father sighed.
"That's terrible. But at least it's nice here."
"It is. Listen, if things don't work out, maybe...maybe we could try moving here?"
Tai's eyes went wide. *That* was unexpected. He decided to enter the kitchen and ask his father when he had thought of moving here, when he noticed a small box on Kyle's dresser. It looked fancy. On a whim, he opened it, and gasped when he saw what was inside.
"You...didn't see that, alright?" Kyle asked, entering his room.
"I'm sorry!" Tai replied, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean to look, it's just...wow, you're not...?"
Kyle nodded. "Yeah, I think I am."
"Well, good luck, then." He's nuts, Tai thought. Wait'll I tell-
"And don't tell Kari. Or anyone."
"Darn."
==New York
Mimi checked her outfit. Father or no, she was going to be at that concert. Even if Matt didn't know about it yet.
"Mimi?"
"Yes mom?" Mimi answered, keeping her door closed.
"Tell Matt I said hi!"
Mimi gulped. "Yes mom."
==Tokyo, December 24th
It was 10 in the morning, and June was already trembling. "Come on, it's just dinner." Davis said, a bit annoyed.
"Kyle's *taking* me to dinner. And it's going to be in a nice, romantic restaurant!" June smiled as she saw her brother's face go a bit sour.
"Davis!" his mother chided him. "Kyle's your friend too. And what will you do when you start seeing someone?" June kept carefully silent, holding in her laughter as Davis blushed red, prompting his mother to start asking him who he was seeing. Seeing that Davis was going to be busy, she decided to get changed now. Kyle wasn't due to pick her up for a few hours, but she did want to see how she would look.
Half an hour later, June stepped out of her room, wearing a white top, a dark blue dress that went down to her ankles, and a jacket that matched her dress. Around her waist was a wide belt, also dark blue. (If anyone has anything better in mind for her, please, let me know! -ed)
"June, you look lovely!" her mother said, stepping over to her. June curtsied, getting a laugh out of her mother. "You haven't done that since you were eight years old. And I seem to recall you saying you'd never do it again."
"That was after Davis snuck up behind me and kicked me."
"Oh, he was just a baby then. It's not my fault that I just happened to accidentally unplug the TV when he was around. For a week." Akiko Motomiya sighed again. "You've grown up so much. Even if a lot of it was wasted chasing around after that Ishida boy."
"It was three weeks, mother. Besides, that's when I met Kyle."
"Oh, good, then I can blame Matt for this after all." Both of them giggled at that. "You care a lot for Kyle, I can tell. Every time I see you two together, I get a bit jealous. Your father could pick up a thing or two from him."
"Kyle is one of a kind." June agreed. "Uh, mom, there's something I have to tell you. Can you wait here for a second?" Akiko nodded, and June darted back into her room. She came out again a minute later, holding a very confused looking Elecmon. "This is Elecmon, and he and I kind of helped to save Tokyo..."
It took about 20 minutes, but June managed to explain the whole story. Akiko had been very quiet the whole time. "Does your father know about this?"
"No, mom."
"And Davis is one of these digidestined too? And Matt? And Kyle?" June nodded. "Well, if your father found out, he'd probably ground you for the next ten years." She grinned conspiratorially. "But then, your father was never very practical. And I'm glad I know what's been making Davis act more mature lately." Relieved, June leaned forward and hugged Akiko tightly.
==Highton View Park
It was only a few hours before the concert started. Matt sighed, watching the workers set up the equipment. A few feet away, Ryo was tuning up a guitar. "Snap out of it, will ya? Izzy's almost as good at the sound board as Yolei. Don't tell me you're getting stage fright now?" He leaned over. "Hey, you know Mimi would come if she could. It's not like you were going to serenade her or something. Not with that voice."
"What's wrong with my voice?" Matt asked.
"You sound like an Exploud with laryngitis (No, it's not pretty -ed)."
"Ha, ha. Actually, Mimi wanted to do a solo..."
"Hmph. And being the girlfriend of the bandleader would help get her on stage. Well, she is better looking than the regular vocalist."
"One more crack and you'll be eating that guitar, Akiyama."
"Okay, I'll quit." Ryo said, holding up a hand. "So, who else is gonna be playing, after we're done?"
"Some band called Random Andy." Matt replied. "Apparently, they're going to play a single from their CD called 'Smile'. Hope you don't mind the competition."
Ryo pulled out a pair of drumsticks and twirled them in his fingers. "I'll have all the girls screaming. For me, anyway. You don't have a hope with that worn out voice of yours."
"Cute. Well, you're welcome to the attention." Matt looked over the empty audience seats.
==Stone Town, afternoon.
Kyle looked in a mirror, checking his outfit for the nth time. "Kyle, you look fine." his father said, getting a lot of amusement out of the whole thing. Even if he was a bit nervous about what Kyle had planned.
"I know, I just want this to go right." Kyle replied. "Dad? Am I doing the right thing?"
"What do you think?" Mikhail replied. Taking a deep breath, Kyle thought, then nodded. "Good. Can you take 'no' for an answer, if it comes to that?" He smirked, faking a flinch as Kyle glared at him. "Easy, son. Just be prepared, that's all."
Kyle released the breath he had been holding. "Thanks dad."
Mikhail put his arms around Kyle. "Hey, I already said you'll be fine. The reservations are set, and the weatherman said we'd have a light dusting of snow. Just like a movie. Just don't spill anything on her dress, alright?"
"I won't. Will you be alright dad? I know we usually spend the holidays together."
It was Mikhail's turn to blush a bit. "Well, actually, I sort of have a date too."
"Dad?"
"Oh, I got invited to that 'Parents of the digidestined' club. Can you take me with you? I need to get to the Takashi house. Nancy's going to show me to the restaurant everyone's meeting at."
"TK's mom? Well, be back by curfew, and don't get caught up in any nasty hazing rituals." Kyle said, grinning. "How will you get home? I'm coming back to this world with June after I pick her up."
"Oh, I'll meet up with Tai and Kari after the concert's done. You bringing any of your pokemon with you?" The Kamiyas had left a few hours ago, Tai going to meet up with the other original digidestined, Kari saying that she'd be making her way to Ken's house. Both parents were on their way over to meet Izzy's parents.
"No, Growlithe's going to stay home. Isn't that RIGHT, Growlithe?"
The puppy pokemon, who had been feigning sleep, looked up guiltily. "Me? No, I'm staying home! Hey, have fun, you two."
"And Eevee?" Kyle asked.
"Upstairs in your room, resting quietly. Now get, you two. Go on, out of the house." Both Ellisons left, not at all surprised that the dog had ordered the humans out of the house. After a few minutes, Growlithe looked out the window. "Okay, they're all gone!"
Kari, with Gatomon, Palmon, Eevee, and Kyle's Ivysaur standing by her, stepped out of the stairwell where she had been hiding. "Okay. Growlithe? Eevee?"
"Heh." Eevee replied. "Whatever he's up to, we'll find out."
Kari nodded. It was odd that Tai, normally a lousy keeper of secrets, had been so tight-lipped lately, especially about why Kyle and June were going to dinner together. She knew Kyle was about to do something big, and she wanted to know what it was. She had a reputation to keep up, after all. "Palmon, Ivysaur, are you ready for the concert?" Both of them nodded. "Don't get too carried away with anything." Kari added with a wink.
==Tokyo, Highton View Park
People streamed in, eager to get away from the terror of the past week. Giant dragons duking it out in the residential area put people on edge. Good time to have a big musical bash, get everyone's mind off the fact that someone tried to stage a live action Godzilla revival in the central business district.
"Tai! Sora! Over here!" Matt yelled. The two ran over, arm in arm. "Glad you could make it!"
"Hey, all the original digidestined are here!" Tai replied. "Kari says she wishes she could come."
"I know, TK told me about Ken's party tonight. Even Yolei's going; Izzy's running the sound board."
"Izzy's here?" Tai asked. "I was wondering where he was."
Sora elbowed Tai. "Will you stop mother-henning Kari already?"
"It's a big brother's duty to make sure his little sister stays out of trouble." Tai sniffed.
Sora rolled her eyes. "We'd better get inside before all the seats are taken." she said, dragging Tai away.
"Don't worry, I had the crew reserve you two front row seats. I don't want you to miss a second of this. Are Agumon and Biyomon here?"
Sora pointed behind Matt. Sneaking in the crew entrance were the two named digimon, both of who waved to Matt as they entered. "We figured it would be better if no one saw our digimon, after everything that happened."
Matt nodded. "Yeah. Charmeleon, Tentomon, and Gabumon are back there now, I'll show Agumon and Biyomon over to them." Tai nodded, and the two entered. Matt stared at the two wistfully, thinking of Mimi. Then he went in, leaving instructions for where to seat Joe when he showed up.
==Stone Town
As predicted, it had started to snow, but it wasn't sticking. Kyle and June, arm in arm, walked down the sidewalk to the restaurant Kyle had made reservations at. "I'm really glad you asked me out, Kyle. After everything, I need to just..."
"I know." Kyle said softly. "I need to get away from battles too."
"So, where are we going?" June asked.
"A quiet little place Dad recommended." Kyle replied. "Candlelight, fireplace in the middle, a small booth."
"You didn't...Kyle, that must have..."
Kyle smiled a bit. "I made the reservation a month ago. It's alright, I can handle it. And I did want to show you a nice time." Kyle had managed to put away some money over his pokemon journey; prize money he had won and the occasional item he had found had given Kyle enough to pay for tonight. It left a sizeable dent in his bank account, but he didn't care.
June embraced him. "Thank you." she whispered, kissing him lightly.
Across the street, Growlithe looked at the two, hoping he wasn't spotted. "Well?" Eevee asked, standing behind him.
"They're just going in. Are you sure we should be doing this? I'm freezing."
Beside them, Elecmon shivered a bit. He had decided to come along as well, concerned (or so he claimed) about what Kyle was planning for June. "Hey, aren't you both fire types?"
"Yes," Eevee replied, "I'll just walk over to Kyle and say 'hey, can you digivolve me to Flareon while I spy on you and June?"
"And the local cops take a dim view of pokemon lighting fires in town." Growlithe muttered. "That's how the Great Pewter City fire got started."
"When that Miltank accidentally kicked a Charizard?" Eevee asked. Growlithe nodded.
==Tokyo
"To our newest members!" Yoshie Izumi said, raising her glass. All the other parents there mimed the gesture. Mikhail reddened a bit. "So, welcome to the conspiracy."
"I must admit, this group is a bit...larger than I expected." Akiko Motomiya said, looking at all the people here. The parents had descended on a small restaurant and had booked one of the larger tables.
"And this all started four years ago?" Kenta asked.
"Eight, according to Tai and Kari." Susumu Kamiya said, nodding. "Remember that terrorist bombing at Highton View about eight years back? That was actually a pair of digimon appearing in the city. All the kids that saw it became digidestined."
"But June and Davis were nowhere near there!" Kenta replied, still a bit concerned.
"Yeah," Masami Izumi, Izzy's foster father, replied, "but they were caught up in that whole thing with Myotismon, right? Izzy figured that once you've seen a digimon, you tend to become a digidestined. It sounds shaky, but it's the only theory that fits."
Chikara Hida, Cody's grandfather, nodded. "Hm. Perhaps my son could have been one, then."
"Cody?" Nancy, sitting by Mikhail, asked.
"No, his father, Hiroki. He and his friend Oikawa often told me stories about talking to creatures on a television screen. I should have paid more attention to them."
"You know," Ms. Kamiya said, "Just before she left to fight, Kari said she kept seeing digimon on the TV screen, and that they were causing disasters all over the world. But I expect that's all old hat to you." she went on, nodding to Mikhail.
"Not really," Kyle's father replied. "Where I come from, the monsters are rarely larger than the house you live in, and tend to be more peaceful. Usually."
==Highton View Park
"Half an hour, Matt!" Ryo called for the doorway.
"Sure thing!" Matt called back. Matt tried to relax in his chair, trying to shake off the tension he felt. He always got this way before going on stage. He looked up at the clock. Half an hour left. Plenty of time. He failed to notice two figures sneak out from under one of the tables Matt had left his guitar on. He started to get up when he smelled something odd, sneezed on what felt like dust. He then sat back and relaxed, dozing off.
"Okay," Palmon said into a small walk talkie. "You're on!" Beside her, Ivysaur nodded. Tai had been very specific, just enough Sleep Powder to make him doze off a bit, to stay asleep until it was too late.
When Matt came to, he looked at the clock. "Oh man, I fell asleep! The guys are going to kill me!" He grabbed his guitar and ran out the door. He could hear cheering from the crowd and...singing? Curious, he went over to the edge of the stage, and stared, stunned.
Mimi was there, singing something cheery and upbeat ('Happy Happy!' from Tales of Phantasia, if you're interested. -ed). She was dressed in a beautiful one piece dress, all pink, naturally, and she had a sweater draped around her shoulders. She saw Matt, winked at him, and sung the finishing chorus, before waving him over. "I hope you don't mind, Matt, I just thought I'd warm the audience up a bit first." She held back a snicker as several shouts of 'we don't mind' came up from the audience.
Matt threw a glare at Ryo, who was trying to look innocent. So were, now that he looked, Tai, Sora, and Joe, and he assumed that Izzy had a similar expression, up in the control booth. "How...?" Matt stammered
"You didn't think I'd pass up something like this?" Mimi replied coyly. "But it was Ryo's idea, when you get down to it." She leaned over, and whispered something to Matt. "Listen, can I sing one more song? Please?" There was laughter as Mimi put her hands together, overacting her plea. Dumbly, Matt nodded. "Great! Come on!" Mimi said, waving to Sora.
"Wish me luck." Sora said, squeezing Tai's hand.
"Knock 'em dead." Tai whispered. "And don't let Mimi show you up!" Nodding, Sora ran up to the stage, got a hand up from Mimi, and the two girls stood together. Mimi nodded to the keyboarder, who started playing an upbeat tune. Matt recognized it instantly, from the show 'Full Metal Alchemist' that he had been watching.
Melissa - Full Metal Alchemist opening; translation courtesy of Escadevotion
With your hands tear up those far away memories of the day
And stop the meaning of sadness completely
Now, pierce through my longing heart with love
Morning comes and should the sky be seen, it does nothing for my troubled heart
Nearby a bird takes fight, probably to find a light somewhere
Say, would you let me on your back?
And then kindly leave me behind at the highest point...
After this first bit, Matt had recovered enough to pick up with his guitar. It was turning into a good night for him.
==
The other parents had broken up about 10 minutes ago, Mr. and Mrs. Kamiya deciding to go visit the Izumis for a while (Akiko joking that they might become in-laws soon, a line that left both fathers looking a little green.) Most of the other families had Christmas plans to finish up, trees to finish decorating (with presents ;-) -ed), and relatives to call. So, it eventually left Mikhail and Nancy strolling down the street. Kyle's father had a cane with him, but it seemed to be more for show than anything else. "Well," Mikhail said, "I'm glad I'm not alone. I thought seeing Kyle off on his pokemon journey was tough. All this digimon stuff is dangerous."
Nancy smiled. "Well, at least you have some idea of what he might have to face. When I watched TK leave, I didn't have a clue. And he was only eight."
Mikhail sighed. "Eight? I didn't let Kyle go until he was 14. And we had quite a fight about it when he was 10."
"You said something about that. It sounds like an odd system."
"Well, it was about the only way parents could keep an eye on all those kids who wanted to go running off and train pokemon. Rather than have police running around catching kids who had run off with a Squirtle and were searching for Moltres, we started licensing it, used the Pokemon Centers as a way to keep an eye on trainers, created the Leagues to make sure pokemon were treated fairly. It was a lot less nerve wracking. It's not perfect, but it's better than what it used to be."
"Well," Nancy said, "Kyle seems to have turned out alright. And that girl TK's seeing now. And Ryo, for all that he hangs around with Matt." Nancy joked.
"Where was Mr. Ishida tonight?"
Nancy sighed. "It was work. He had to stay late and take care of some things at the station. That's one of the reasons we...broke up."
Mikhail winced. "Sorry, I didn't mean-"
"Forget it. We still see each other a lot, but...I know TK would like to see us get back together, but it's still a bit painful to be around him." Nancy saw the ring on Mikhail's finger. "I guess you know about that."
"Hm?" Mikhail asked, then saw where Nancy was looking. "Oh. No...it was..." His face fell as an old memory came back to him.
Nancy looked stricken. "Oh, Mikhail....I'm so sorry!"
"Now it's my turn to say forget it." Mikhail replied. He glanced up, and saw they were back at Nancy's apartment. "Why don't we go in? It's freezing out here."
==Ichijouji home
Ken's mother looked over all the children in her living room. "I'm so glad he's made so many friends."
Mr. Ichijouji put an arm on his wife's shoulder. "Same here. He's changed, ever since he came back. He's stopped trying to be Sam."
"And we stopped trying to make him Sam."
In the living room, Ken walked over to Davis. "So, having fun?"
"You bet! You've got an awesome computer system, Ken! My folks are still using a two-year old model!"
Ken chuckled lightly. All the digidestined had been taking turns playing each other on Ken's computer. He had won it after the Dark Spore had taken effect, but had only really started using it now, after his mind had been freed from its effects. He had spent some of his money picking out a few games for it, figuring that was what normal kids did with computers. As luck had it, one of the store owners had recognized the 'boy genius' and had been only too happy to give Ken a slight discount.
"Umm...Davis? Did Yolei change her outfit in the digital world? With everything that happened, I never had a chance to ask her."
"Huh? Oh, yeah, she said that she got some sort of program from Wormmon. I think she started to hate the outfit she had gotten, something about having a basketball for a hat. You could ask her." Davis indicated Yolei, off talking to Kari in one corner.
"Hmm. Melody didn't come?"
"Nah, she had to do some sort of ceremony tonight. Her parents were going all sacred family tradition on her."
"I guess being a priestess is tough." Ken said, trying to make small-talk.
"She's a shrine maiden." Davis replied.
"There's a difference?"
"Oh yeah." Davis replied, looking out the window. Overhearing this, Yolei giggled.
==Stone Town.
Kyle and June stepped out of the restaurant an hour later. "That was so wonderful." June said. "Thank you." She was a bit worried. Kyle had been calm on the surface, but there was something on his mind that was just dying to get out. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what it was, though. The night had been too perfect, so far.
They had started to head back to Kyle's house when Kyle stopped, turned and faced June. "June? There's...something else I want to give you. But I don't know if you'll like it."
June smiled. "You've done pretty well so far." she replied.
Kyle smiled, then took one of her hands in both of his. "I know we've only been seeing each other since...late September?" June nodded. "Well...I'd like to...that is..." Kyle pressed a small box into June's hand, not sure what else he could say.
Starting to tremble a bit, June opened the box. Inside was a ring, similar to the engagement ring her mother had worn. "Kyle..." June whispered. "Is this...are you...proposing?" she gasped.
Kyle's mind whirled. He had been practising this speech all night, how they would have to finish school and everything, be able to take care of each other, how he wasn't even old enough, by the law, to marry her right now. All he could manage was "Y-Yes."
June just stared, tears streaming down her face. She pulled one of her gloves off and placed the ring on her finger. "Yes." she replied. "YES!" she nearly shouted, stepping forward and kissing Kyle.
Across the street, Elecmon fainted. "Oh my." Growlithe exclaimed quietly, stunned.
"They grow up so fast." Eevee mused. "Kari's going to flip. Shame she didn't loan us a camera."
==Highton View Park.
Sora and Mimi finished singing, bowed, and stepped back. Matt strode over, light-headed, and Mimi gave him a light peck on the cheek (Prompting several whistles and a few groans.) "I've been informed," Matt said, "that there's one more act, and Ryo? This one's for you."
Ryo blinked. This wasn't on the playlist. And what was that tune the keyboarder was playing? He squinted as the spotlight flashed over him, and aimed at the back of the audience. It was focussed on Caryl, wearing a formal looking black dress with an elaborate white collar.
Wolf's Rain - Gravity (ed), lyrics courtesy of Animelyrics.com
"Been a long road to follow/
been there and gone tomorrow/
without saying goodbye to yesterday/
are the memories I hold still valid?/
or have the tears deluded them?..."
Ryo sat, entranced. He could tell that Caryl was forcing her voice to sound slightly lower than it usually did. She was still singing quite well.
==Outside
Arukenimon checked her watch. "Time to begin. Shame, that little girl's first performance will be her last."
"I disagree." Renamon said, appearing. "You have no business here." Smirking, Arukenimon dodged to the side, hurling a small silvery needle.
"What are you doing here?" Arukenimon asked, watching as Renamon dodged the needle.
"Where Caryl goes, I go." Renamon raised her arms, ready to attack.
"Touching." Arukenimon replied. "But you're about to be too busy." She snapped her fingers and vanished, just as a sickly orange light appeared behind Renamon.
==Takashi apartment
"There was an ice patch on the road that the other driver didn't see." Mikhail sighed. "When I woke up, I had a stitched knee and...I was a widower." Nancy gave Mikhail's hand a tight squeeze. Smiling, he went on. "Kyle was only a few months old at the time, staying with Jennifer's sister...she was one of a kind, even compared to the rest of her family.
"Anyway, I had to retire from the force, so I did a little consulting work, and took care of Kyle."
Nancy nodded. "That's what I had to do with TK. Hiroaki had his work, and Matt...well, he was older, so he could take care of himself. I still checked on him, of course, but..." Nancy sighed. "For what it's worth, Kyle has become a fine young man. Though I'm not sure he should be proposing to June after only going out with her for a few...months, is it?"
Mikhail shrugged. "Well, I had to do something. I've seen Kyle and June together a few times, and I started to worry he might do something stupid, like elope or something. High-handed of me, I know."
"And the engagement ring?"
"Jennifer's. It was damaged in the accident, but I never could get rid of it. So, I had it repaired and a new stone set in a few weeks back, and arranged for Kyle to find it in a jewellery store. He had stopped by there a few times already, and was leaning towards a ring I knew he couldn't afford.
"Oh, of course I'll be all properly surprised when he tells me, and I'll tell him he should finish school and find work before he goes and gets married. I think he knows that already, but some things have to be done properly. Kyle's a sucker for a big ceremony."
Nancy laughed a bit. "Maybe I should try something like that for TK."
==
Izzy frowned as some static started to creep into the system, just as Caryl was finishing her song. Annoyed, he started making adjustments, but the disruption only got worse. He saw Matt looking up at the booth, shrugged helplessly, and continued working.
"It's alright, folks, just a little technical difficulty with the speakers." Matt announced when the noise got too bad. "Ryo, Kouji, let's do some unplugged work." The two nodded as Matt put his guitar down and took out his harmonica. "Hope I remember how to do this." he said to himself.
Izzy kept playing with the knobs and dials, but the interference still remained. Now it had moved from the speakers to the lights, causing them to start flickering erratically. Cursing, he disconnected his computer, which had been recording the concert, and was about to shut it down when the screen started to flash red.
"What could...no, it can't be!" He grabbed the laptop and ran out of the booth. "I have to get to Tentomon!" He got ten paces before Dark Tyrannomon tore through the tent behind the band. The audience panicked and started stampeding out of tent. Matt and Ryo ran away from the attacking digimon, Ryo calling out Charmeleon, Vaporeon, and Nidoking as he did so.
Tai, Sora, Mimi, and Joe hopped up on the stage and ran to where Matt and Ryo were; as they did, their partner digimon joined them. "Agumon, digivolve!" Tai yelled.
Agumon tried to digivolve, as did the other digimon. "I can't! Something's stopping me!"
"That would be me." Arukenimon said, walking slowly through the wrecked audience seating. "Demon does not like his plans being thwarted, and I thought this would be an appropriate Christmas gift. I hope you enjoy."
Ryo snarled. "Too bad you forgot about me! Charmeleon, GO!"
"Charmeleon, digivolve to...Charizard!" Charizard roared and fired a gout of flame at Arukenimon. However, the witch had managed to vanish before it hit, evil laughter the only thing she left behind.
Izzy ran up. "If Charmeleon can digivolve and our digimon can't, that means there must be a control spire nearby! And something's slammed the Digiport shut, so we can't send them back!"
"It was Arukenimon!" Renamon called, appearing and kicking an attacking Bakemon in the head. "She created it, then vanished before I could stop her!"
"Renamon?" Caryl asked. "How'd you get here?"
"Someone had to chaperone you!" Renamon replied, dodging Bakemon's attack. "Diamond Storm!"
Ryo looked at Izzy. "I can." he said, holding up his D-3. "But I can't do this without some backup! Nidoking, go find the spire and wreck it! Vaporeon, go with him!" The two pokemon nodded and looked for the best way to get out.
"Be careful!" Sora yelled. As she said that, Ivysaur ran past her, joining the other pokemon Ryo had sent. "How many digimon are out here?" she asked.
Izzy checked his computer. "At least 20." he said. "Two or three of them are Ultimate digimon, too."
==
"We've just received word that more monsters have appeared at the concert in Tokyo." the radio reporter said. Davis looked up at the radio, incredulous. "Witnesses report that a number of monsters and a mysterious black monolith have appeared just outside the concert grounds, and that a number of unidentified entities are currently attacking random targets around the city. Citizens are urged to stay indoors unless directed to evacuate by the police. We repeat-"
Davis got up. "We have to stop those Digimon!"
"Demon." TK looked at the other digidestined. "Looks like he recovered faster than we thought. This must be his revenge for losing his Imperialdramon." The kids got up, gathered their digimon, and headed for the door. However, Ken's mother quickly blocked them.
"No, you can't go!" she cried. "After that monster destroyed Highton View Terrace, I can't let you go out there!"
"Mom!" Ken said urgently. "We're the only ones that can fight this."
"Please." Kari begged. "Tai's there."
"My brother's there too." TK added. "We can help him!"
Ms. Ichijouji shook her head, but Ken's father put a hand on her, gently pulled her away from the door, and opened it. "Get going." he said, trying not to sob. "Just be careful."
"I will, father." Ken said, as he and the other children left. "I promise, I'll explain everything when I get back."
==
[Well?} Ivysaur asked as he, Vaporeon, and Nidoking made it outside.
[I'm looking!] Nidoking replied testily. [YOU try picking out a BLACK object in the middle of the night, when there's no lights around!]
[How about a faint red glow?] Vaporeon asked. As he spoke, the top of the tent exploded as Charizard flew upwards, carrying Dark Tyrannomon with him. [Seismic toss,] Vaporeon sighed, [he is such a showboater.] The three watched as Charizard flew straight up, made several circles in mid air, then flew straight down, releasing the digimon at the last minute. Dark Tyrannomon slammed into the ground with a bone-shattering thud, and didn't get up again.
Charizard spun, fired an Ember at a tree, and flew off. The burning tree gave a little light, allowing the pokemon to see the location of the Spire.
[There it is!] Nidoking yelled, charging. [Megaton PUNCH!] The spire shivered under the blow, but did not yield. Nidoking hopped back and tried his Hyper Beam, with little more effect.
Ivysaur looked around. Nothing, all the lights were dead, just a clear night, the stars, the moon...[Cover me!] Ivysaur yelled. He sat in front of the spire, concentrating.
[A Solar Beam at night? Are you nuts?] Vaporeon asked.
[You have a better idea? And what's moonlight except the reflection of the sun? Just keep me covered, it's going to take me time to pull this off!]
"What's he doing?" Tentomon, hovering over the tent, looked at Ivysaur.
Palmon, standing on one of the scaffolds that had survived, looked at Ivysaur. She then saw the silvery specks collecting in the flower on his back. "He's trying a Solar Beam! But he needs light to pull it off!" Palmon looked around. There was a small swarm of Bakemon flying around; the other rookie digimon were handling them for now, but their number seemed to be increasing. Charizard was battling a Sabirdramon that had appeared. "Tentomon, can you
power some of those lights?" She indicated a bank of lights that was hanging off of the scaffolds by several wires. As she spoke, Renamon leaped over her, Letting off a Diamond Storm at the attackers nearing the humans.
"Just call me the Energizer Bunnymon!" Tentomon replied. "On your signal!"
Palmon nodded. "Poison Ivy!" Palmon's vines wrapped around two of the lights, and she pulled them up. A second later, Biyomon flew up and gave her a hand with a third light. Quickly, they pointed them at Ivysaur. "Now, Tentomon!"
"Super Shocker!" The electric bolt hit the wires, and the lights went on, including the three that Palmon and Biyomon had aimed at Ivysaur. The seed pokemon looked up, and saw Palmon waving at him.
[Tell me she has a sister.] Vaporeon cracked as Ivysaur focussed his attention on the spire.
[She's one of a kind, and all mine!] Ivysaur answered fiercely. [Solar Beam!] The laser stabbed into the spire. The spire shook, and Vaporeon saw the base of the spire glow a dull red as the attack started to melt it. He called over to Nidoking, who added another Hyper Beam to the attack. There was a sharp crack, as the spire started to crack.
{Yeah!] Vaporeon yelled. He launched a Water Gun attack at the spire, making it crack more as the rapidly cooling structure contracted violently, then Ice Beamed it for good measure, causing the water in the cracks to expand. The Spire shattered.
"They did it!" Palmon yelled. "Guys, the Spire's been destroyed!"
"Agumon, digivolve to...Greymon!"
"Gabumon, digivolve to...Garurumon!"
"Alright!" Matt yelled. "Take those ghosts down!" Gleefully, Garurumon and Greymon charged the Bakemon, herding them towards the lake. Ryo grabbed Izzy's laptop, opened a Digiport, and sent them back to the digital world.
Charizard landed. "There's a Megadramon up there, and that Sabirdramon's too fast for me to keep up with."
"Megadramon's an ultimate level digimon." Izzy said. "And I think there might have been one or two other Ultimates that are in the city. But a lot of the digimon are still in this area. We'll have to make sure these digimon don't get away and attack the city; Tokyo's still recovering from the last digital battle."
"We can handle this!" Biyomon chirped. "Right Sora?" Sora nodded. "Biyomon, warp digivolve to...Phoenixmon!" The rainbow hued bird flew up, challenging Megadramon.
"Forgot she could do that." Matt said, watching Phoenixmon attack. "Tai, don't ever let Sora get mad at you."
Sora winked. "Got that right."
Palmon ran over to Ivysaur as the trio of pokemon returned. "Ivysaur, you did great out there!" Palmon said, kissing Ivysaur.
[Sure, not like we did anything.] Nidoking grunted.
Ivysaur gave Nidoking a raspberry. [Deal with it.] he answered.
==
June released Kyle from the kiss, and the trainer stepped back, breathless. "Is that a yes?" he asked faintly, mind not fully working.
June showed Kyle the ring on her finger. "I'd say it was. An engagement ring on Christmas. Only you would have done something like that. Does anyone else know?"
"Just Tai." Kyle replied. "And I swore him to secrecy." They kissed again, and just held each other for a few minutes after that.
It was Kyle that noticed it first. It was a sudden movement, a sound, he wasn't sure. Whatever it was, it broke the mood.
"What is it?" June asked as she noticed Kyle was distracted.
"I don't know. I thought..." Kyle looked in the area he had thought he had noticed something amiss. No cars, only a few pedestrians, no one was staring, large wooden box, upended ....Kyle's eyebrow started twitching. "One sec." he said to June, crossing the street. Curious, June followed him.
"Umm...is that box...smoking?" June asked.
"Yes...it is." Kyle growled. "You can come out now, I know you're in there." With that, he grabbed one side of the box, and lifted. He grunted a bit, but the box moved.
Sitting around a small fire were Growlithe, Eevee, and Elecmon. "Umm...congratulations?" Elecmon hazarded.
'Frosty' didn't begin to describe June's expression.
==Tokyo.
Ikkakumon and Togemon double teamed a Tortomon, forcing it back to Izzy's computer and through the portal that Ryo had opened. Greymon had been forced out due to a viscous attack by a Phantomon, but Kabuterimon covered his retreat. The bug digimon had been hovering just over the battlefield, sniping at whatever digimon was open with well placed Electro Shocker bolts.
Garurumon jumped in, taking over for Greymon. He dodged Phantomon's scythe, and countered with a Howling Blaster. Phantomon responded by hurling his scythe. Garurumon caught the scythe in his teeth. "Woof." he growled, snapping the handle in two.
"Couldn't we talk this over?" Phantomon asked. Garurumon's only reply was to dash forward, snag the ghost digimon in his jaws, and chuck Phantomon at Ryo, who pointed the open Digiport at the ghost, forcing it back to the digital world.
"Yeah!" Matt yelled. "At this rate, we're gonna catch 'em all!"
Mimi rolled her eyes, wondering if Matt had been hanging around Tai or Davis again. "Togemon, look out!"
Togemon turned, and saw a Dokugumon charging at her. At the last second, several green vines wrapped around the spider, stopping it. Togemon saw Ivysaur behind the spider, holding it back.
"Thanks! Lightspeed Jabbing!" Togemon beat Dokugumon senseless, then sent it flying with an uppercut, to be pulled through the portal.
Sora looked up. Every now and then, she could make out red flashes of light; Phoenixmon and Megadramon were still battling. Off to her side, Nidoking and Vaporeon were assisting Greymon, keeping the last few Bakemon away from Greymon's injured side. Suddenly, there was a loud roar, and Megadramon came falling down out of the sky. Ryo, still holding the computer, ran over and pulled the beaten digimon in. A minute later, Biyomon glided down, exhausted.
"Twice in a week is a bit much. How did Agumon and Gabumon put up with it?" Biyomon sighed, nestling against Sora.
"We're just that good." Greymon rumbled, headbutting a second Dark Tyrannomon, knocking out the digimon. Nidoking grabbed it by the tail and dragged it over to Ryo. Charizard flew down, following a thoroughly beaten Sabirdramon, who grudgingly went into the portal, followed by Dark Tyrannomon, with a helpful toss from Charizard.
Renamon tossed a stray Nanimon through the gateway. "Some of us don't need to digivolve." she smirked, glancing at Agumon, who stuck his tongue out at her in return.
"I think that's all of them." Mimi said, looking around. The impromptu stadium was a shambles. Some people still hovered around, having watched the whole battle. In the distance, police sirens could be heard. Not a digimon that wasn't a partner was in sight.
"All right!" Tai yelled. "Who says we still don't got it?"
"Not Davis, after tonight at least." Joe replied. "Shame we can't tell anyone else about this."
Sora shook her head. "I think Tokyo's had enough of monsters for a while. We'd better get home before someone shows up and starts asking questions we can't answer." Now half asleep, Biyomon nodded. All the other digimon in the area reverted to their rookie levels, also worn out. Ryo recalled Nidoking and Vaporeon.
There was a sudden shimmer. Mewtwo appeared, and brought Kyle, June, and their partner monsters with them. He started to speak, then looked around at the carnage. "I see we were not needed after all." he commented dryly.
"Nope, we had everything under control." Matt replied, walking over and closing the top of Izzy's computer. As he spoke, Paildramon, Silphymon, and Angemon arrived, carrying the rest of the digidestined (and Armadillomon; face it, Angemon's a lot faster than Shakouomon). "Sorry guys, you missed all the fun!"
Kari ran over and hugged her brother. "I'm glad you're alright!" she said.
Davis sighed. "You didn't leave anyone for us to fight?"
"We would have been here sooner, but the police had the whole place surrounded; we couldn't even find a place for our digimon to digivolve without starting a panic." TK explained.
"Well, you'll be happy to know that the original digidestined were more than able to handle this crisis." Izzy smiled as he spoke.
"Careful Izzy," June said, "your ego's showing."
"So, how was your night June?" Sora asked. "I hear that Kyle took you to..." she trailed off, noticing something on June's hand. She looked up at June, stunned. "He didn't!"
Davis looked at Sora, then June and Kyle. "Didn't? Didn't what?"
June held up her hand, displaying the ring for all to see. "He did. We're officially engaged!" Caryl applauded and, after a quick elbow from her, so did Ryo.
"On Christmas Eve?" Mimi said, eyes wide. "That's so romantic!" She edged over to Matt. "Isn't it?" she asked him, giving him a subtle elbow.
"Ah...yeah, right." Matt replied, forcing himself to grin. "Kyle, you're making me look bad!" he whispered.
Davis walked over to his sister and Kyle. "Congratulations." he said, shaking Kyle's hand. "I should have seen it coming." He then walked off. The two DNA digivolved digimon split into their separate digimon; Demi-Veemon ran after Davis.
"He took that pretty well." June said. She mentally took that back when Davis' yell of "I'll KILL HIM!" echoed through the park and parts of downtown Tokyo.
Next Episode
In a desperate act, Demon tries to rally his troops by staging a mass invasion of the Human world. The digidestined must split up and face threats all over the globe, meeting old and new friends. Next time, on Digimon Digicross:
-Worlds Tour part 1: Vancouver's lights, New York's sights."