Ilya stared at the creature, aghast. "There is no time!" he protested. "These digimon were only the first part of a much larger wave that is approaching from the north! We must intercept them now!"
For his part, Mewtwo glanced at Sora and Yolei, both of whom were shivering. Despite wearing their warmest clothes, they were still unprepared for the low temperatures of this zone. His psychic senses told him that they needed something to warm them both up, fast.
With no perceptible pause, Mewtwo looked at Ilya, not quite glaring. "They need food." he said, seemingly in fluent Russian. "They will not survive for long without some form of sustenance."
"But-" Ilya started to say, then stopped as Mewtwo's half-glare went to full power.
"They. Need. Food." Mewtwo said evenly. Everyone there felt a slight tingle as Mewtwo's powers started to activate. "Azulongmon would not appreciate two of the digidestined dying of exposure. Nor would I."
Ilya gulped. "Well, perhaps a quick snack?" he offered.
Digimon: Digicross Episode 38 -The SoCal Dragon!
With guest co-writers NinetalesUk and Kyle Evanick. No, not the digidestined character, the real guy.
--Southern California
(Kyle Evanick & co's part, COMING SOON)
--France, just outside Paris
Tai and TK had already spent the better part of an hour trying to get their bearing. "I thought you had relatives here." Tai groused. "That's why we weren't dropped off in the middle of Paris, like we'd originally planned."
"Hey, it's not my fault!" TK replied. "I haven't even SEEN grandpa in years." Glancing at his D-3, he looked around. "I don't see anyone nearby, but my digivice is detecting digimon nearby. But I don't know if they're from the local digidestined or invaders."
"Hey, leave it to us!" Agumon spoke up. "With Gennai's powerup, I can blast anything that comes our way. Man, I've missed being able to become Metal Greymon. Tai, can I digivolve now please?"
"Not now, Agumon." Tai sighed. "Hey, any word from Crystal?"
TK shook his head. "It's only been a few hours." Patamon answered for TK. "Besides, she'll be fine."
"TK! TK, over here!" a girl yelled.
"Well, someone has a fan." Tai said, following TK over.
TK and Tai ran over to find two girls. One had long blonde hair and blue eyes; Tai might have said something if Agumon hadn't elbowed him. The other girl had short brown hair, and was in a wheelchair. "TK, it's been years! How have you been?"
TK blinked. "Umm...I'm sorry, but I don't remember your name..." he hazarded.
"Well, it has been about eight years. I'm Rei, remember? I was your neighbour? We moved here after that terrorist bombing at Heighton View?"
Tai gasped. "Hey, I remember you! You hung around with Sora a lot. She was really depressed after you left."
"You've seen Sora?" Rei asked. Tai blushed.
"I think he has, Rei. Hello, I am Catherine. Rei and I are both digidestined like yourselves. Come, your grandfather is expecting us."
The last time TK had seen his grandparents, it was when they had come to visit just after the divorce. After that, TK had seen lots of mail, mostly postcards, but little else. "Takeru!" his grandmother almost shouted, using TK's full name. "Oh, just look at you! You've become quite the handsome young man." She glanced at Tai. "And you must be Tai. Gerard said that you'd be coming to France. Oh, TK, I've missed you so."
While TK was being (thorougly) embarrassed by his grandmother, Tai went to talk to the other digidestined. Careful, he thought to himself. One slip and Sora will kill me.
"It's OK, Tai, I won't try to steal you away." Catherine said, enjoying Tai's nervousness. "Perhaps we should tell you what we know about the digimon here?" Tai nodded. "Alright. As far as we know, there are about four of them, but we don't know what kind of digimon they are. Our Floramon think that they might be machine-type, if that helps."
"Floramon?"
Rei nodded. "Yes. Both of us have Floramon for partners. I think they're out back with your digimon."
Tai groaned. "I hope Agumon's not showing off again."
"Don't worry." Rei answered. "There's two boys from Provence; they and their partner digimon are always trying to impress Catherine with some stupid stunt." She looked a little sad for a second, then brightened. "Well, we should get on with it, yes?"
"And that's when I beat Piedmon!" Agumon boasted.
"It was you AND Metal Garurumon, Agumon." Patamon amended. "And WHO finished off Piedmon?"
"You just finished what we started, Patamon! Come on, we did all the work!"
Both Floramon giggled at the two digimon. "Clearly, we are in the presence of truly great warriors!" One of the Floramon said. "I don't know how we could -ever- hope to live up to such legends like you."
"Agumon?" Patamon sighed.
"They don't buy it." Agumon sighed. "Save the world and I still don't get any respect."
"If you're done?" TK asked, leading Tai and the others out of the house. "We have to go to Paris. Gerard, he's the local Gennai clone, is busy with the digidestined in the south of France. But TK's grandpa is going to help us out."
"Can't help much, I'm afraid." TK's grandfather said, wheeling an old motorbike around. "I can carry two children and their partners on this, but no more!"
"What about the car?" Tai asked.
"Oh, well, I was in the middle of rebuilding the engine." TK's grandmother answered brightly.
Tai tried not to groan. "Rebuilding...Boy, TK, your grandma has some odd habits."
"That's nothing, you should see what I did to the roof!"
"Umm...thanks grandma." TK answered. "So, how should we do this?"
"Tai and I shall go." Catherine answered, taking Tai's arm. "We can start on opposite sides of the city, and work towards each other."
"Ahh...no argument here." Tai stammered. Rei and TK tried not to laugh too hard. "But what about you two?"
"Leave it to me." TK replied. "Go on. I promise I won't tell Sora." Tai glared at him, got in the sidecar, Agumon climbing in with him. Catherine took the seat behind TK's grandfather, Floramon putting her arms around the girl's waist. After a minute of getting comfortable, the trio took off.
"So, now what?" Rei asked.
"Oh wow!" Rei gasped. She, her Floramon, and TK were all being carried by Magna Angemon, headed towards the north part of the city. In the distance, TK could see the Eiffel Tower. "It must be really neat living near Paris." he said to Rei.
"A little." Rei answered. "I...don't get out too much. There was an auto accident about five years ago and...well, you can see what happened."
"Oh." TK said, falling silent.
After a minute of awkwardness, Rei spoke again. "I'm sorry, I had no right to dump that on you."
"It's OK." TK replied. "So, how'd you and Floramon meet?"
"I just showed up on her computer about three months ago." Floramon replied. "Catherine's Floramon showed up about the same time." She indicated the laptop she was carrying in a small black backpack.
"TK." Magna Angemon said. "We're getting near the target. I'm going to land here. Rei, can Floramon digivolve?" Both Rei and Floramon nodded. The group landed, TK helping Rei get back into her wheelchair. "Perhaps you should-" Magna Angemon started to say, but was cut off by a bomb exploding over his head.
"Well, well, well." Giromon said, brandishing his chainsaw. "What have we here? Lord Demon will be so thrilled that I managed to kill two digimon and their humans."
"Greymon, buy us a little more time!" Tai yelled. "Catherine, are you alright?"
It had started simply enough. Tai and Catherine, and their digimon, were planning to quietly sneak in and take care of the digimon that had invaded Castle Versailles. No problem.
However, Tai hadn't expected Metal Mamemon, one of three digimon in the castle, hear them coming and set up an ambush. Now all three Mamemon, Metal, Big, and unleaded (as Tai called the little spheroid) were hurling explosives.
"Tai, I need to become Metal Greymon!"
"No!" both Catherine and Floramon exclaimed. "That palace is a national treasure! If you use too much power, it could be destroyed!"
"Then we'll have to draw them out!" Floramon replied. Catherine nodded, clutching her digivice. "Floramon, digivolve to...Kiwimon!" With a cry, Kiwimon leaped forward, small missiles shooting out of its mouth and striking the three Mamemon digimon. Angered, they charged forward, waving explosives in the air. "They're clear!"
"Greymon, digivolve to...Metal Greymon!"
"Hey!" Metal Mamemon yelled, waving his arms. "No fair! How'd he become an ultimate digimon?"
"By wiping the floor with Etemon! Trident Arm!" Metal Greymon's claw suddenly shot forward, threatening to spear Metal Mamemon. He jumped up, the other two Mamemon following him. "Heh. Now you don't have a monument to hide behind. Giga Blaster!" The missile ports on Metal Greymon's chest swung open, and two missiles launched themselves, locked onto the Mamemon, still hanging in mid-air.
The missiles exploded just behind the three Mamemon, the force of the blast driving the three digimon into the ground. Kiwimon strode over to the three, glaring at them. "Do you know how much trouble you three have caused?"
"Give us a break..."
"Floramon, digivolve to...Ninjamon!"
Giromon snarled, pulling out another bomb. "I'm not impressed! Have a Deadly Bomb!"
"Ninja Interchange!" Ninjamon shouted, vanishing in a puff of smoke. A second later, a tree stump with red cloth tied around it was blasted to splinters. Giromon was pelted by several hundred throwing stars, driving him back.
Rei sighed. "She's been watching Ninja Scroll again." TK blinked. His mother had flatly refused to let him see that one. Maybe he could ask Davis...
"Two on one? Not a problem!" Giromon taunted as he dodged a swing from Magna Angemon's beamsword. With a cackle, he swung his chain-sword at the angel, forcing Magna Angemon back. "I can keep this up all day! You'll never beat me!"
Ninjamon smirked. "We don't have to beat you." he replied.
"We just have to drive you over there! NOW, TK!"
"Digiport open!" TK yelled, opening up a portal on the laptop Rei was holding. Distracted, Giromon was unprepared for Ninjamon's grabbing his arm, and throwing him through the portal. With a triumphant cry, TK closed the laptop, sealing the portal.
"You hardly needed me at all." MagnaAngemon sighed.
Ninjamon shrugged. "Hey, we needed a ride." Shrugging, Ninjamon reverted to Floramon. "We should check on the others. Although I'm sure that the 'great warrior Agumon' doesn't need us." In the distance, they heard Metal Greymon's Giga Blasters explode. "Or not. So, anyone bring a broom?"
--England (written by NinetalesUK.)
London, England
Ryo and Joe waved as Imperialdramon took off again. "I'm glad that's overwith." Joe sighed. "I don't think they would have appreciated it if we'd blown up Big Ben."
"Hey, you heard him, it looked like a Control Spire from that angle." Ryo replied. "Can't really blame him. So, who's up here?"
Joe checked his D-Terminal. "Well, according to Izzy's notes, there's a small group of Digidestined here, and the local Gennai clone said to meet us outside Windsor Castle. So...which way is it?"
"YOu don't know?" Ryo gasped. "I thought you had the map!"
"No, I told you to hold the map."
Charmeleon and Gomamon groaned. This was going to be a long day...
Joe, Gomamon, Ryo and Charmeleon walked through the London streets as they soon learned that no one was around.
"I guess the moment they saw the Digimon, all of them must have run indoors." Ryo suggested.
Joe nodded. "Guess so. Which could be a good thing as everyone will freak out after seeing our partners."
"Now, why would anyone freak on a cute creature like me?" Gomamon asked.
"Please do not make me answer that!" Charmeleon muttered.
The small group continued walking until two small creatures hopped out of nowhere.
"A Gazimon and a Gabumon?" Joe asked, confused.
"Strange sort of Gabumon..." Ryo muttered, noting down that the new Gabumon's fur was pink instead of blue.
Gomamon stood into a defensive stance. "That is a Psychemon, Joe! Quick, let's catch him!"
"Hold on!" Called out a voice and out came two humans. One boy with reddish hair and one girl with yellow hair.
"Hey! They must be the English Digidestined!" Charmeleon said.
The girl with yellow hair nodded. "That is correct, mate. My name is Sarah and my Digimon partner is Psychemon."
"How do you do?" Psychemon said, bowing.
"And I am Johnathan. But, you can call me John for short." The boy with reddish hair said. "And my partner is Gazimon."
"Nice to meet'cha!" Gazimon said.
"Well, hello there. I am Joe, a Digidestined from Japan. My partner is Gomamon." Joe said.
"Hey!" Gomamon said, waving.
"And I am Ryo. My partner is Charmeleon here." Ryo said.
Charmeleon also waved. "Hi!"
John blinked at Charmeleon. "Blimey, a Pokemon!"
"Huh?! How do you know that I'm a Pokemon?!" Charmeleon asked.
"One of the Digidestined has a Pokemon as a partner and told us some of the names as example, including yours." John said.
Charmeleon's mouth was wide open. "There is another Pokemon?! Where?!"
"In Windsor Castle." Sarah said, walking away. "Come on, we will take you there!"
"That sounds good..." Joe sighed.
At Windsor Castle, Joe and Ryo met up with the other members of the English Digidestined. First of all was the leader of the English Digidestined, a boy with brown hair known as Phillipe, or Phil for short, and his Digimon partner is ModokiBetamon. A yellow version of the original Betamon.
"So, do you know where the Control Spire is?" Ryo asked.
Phil nodded. "That's right. Me and my mates call it the Dark Tower. Its located near the London Bridge."
"There is an old song I heard. It goes something like this..." ModokiBetamon said, before he started to sing in a low voice. "London Bridge is falling down, falling down."
"If we don't stop those Digimon, you will be singing this. London Bridge has been blown up!" Charmeleon said.
Next was Phil's girlfriend, Cassandra. She has golden hair and it turns out she was the one whom was partnered with a Pokemon. It was a small brown, 6-tailed fox known as Vulpix.
"So, how did you met up with your partner?" Joe asked.
"Can't remember but, I can tell you this. The moment I found her, a bloomin' light appeared and I got my Digivice. Then, she started to speak. I tell you, I was really surprised." Cassandra said.
Vulpix giggled. "Yeah, I know that. You fainted from shock."
"Its amazing no one is teasing ya for having 5 more tails than normal foxes." Gomamon noted down.
"I know and if YOU tease me, I will send you to Scotland!" Vulpix said, balling her paw into a fist and held it underneath Gomamon's chin. "Ya got that?"
"Gee... A female Vulpix with a strong head... Trouble." Gomamon muttered dryly.
Finally, Phil's sister called Shaina. She has brown hair and a cheery smile.
Gomamon looked at Shaina's partner. "A Muchomon!"
"Whats that?" Joe asked.
"An orange version of Penguinmon." Charmeleon explained.
"Boy, won't Ed's Penguinmon be amazed to see this?" Ryo chuckled.
Muchomon looked at Ryo and spoke in a female voice. "A Penguinmon, did you say? I use to know a Penguinmon? We went out with each other. A date... He soon vanished for no reason."
"Wow... I'm sorry." Gomamon said. "Did this Penguinmon know how to Digivolve?"
"Yeah... into a Seadramon. Why?" Muchomon asked.
"That's him all right." Gomamon sighed.
"Can you take me to him?" Muchomon asked before turning to Shaina. "Please, Shaina? Please let me see my old boyfriend?"
"Good grief, Muchomon. 5 seconds and already, you are in love." Shaina laughed.
"So... where is the Gennai clone?" Ryo asked.
"Right here, chap." Said a posh English voice and a man that looks like Gennai appeared. "I say, welcome. My name is Churchill, a friend of Gennai."
"Churchill?" Joe asked.
Vulpix nodded. "That's right. Named after the famous Prime Minister during the second World War. Winston Churchill."
Churchill laughed. "I'm so glad that my dear friend, Gennai, has sended some help to get us out of our blooming mess."
"Its no problem." Ryo said.
After the English and Japanese Digidestined introduced themselves to Churchill, the British Gennai clone looked around at the Digidestined's partner. Gomamon, Charmeleon, Vulpix, ModokiBetamon, Muchomon, Gazimon and Psychemon.
"Does any of your Digimon and Pokemon Digivolve?" Churchill asked.
"Yes..." John said.
"How far?" Churchill added.
"Up to Champion..." Sarah said.
Gomamon shook his head. "I can go up to Ultimate."
"Not Mega? You did before?" Joe asked, suddenly curious.
"Yeah." Gomamon replied. "But it took a lot out of me. And I think I'd need a full Destiny Stone to do it again. I don't think that digicore'll be enough."
"That is good news... If none of your partners can reach the Ultimate level, we are in serious trouble." Churchill said.
Shaina looked at Churchill, confused. "Why is that?"
"It seems that the Control Spire located near the London Bridge is guarded by some Gesomon, Octomon and a Ultimate Digimon." Churchill explained. "We need an Ultimate to beat him and send him back."
"All right... We better head over to London Bridge and get this over with..." John said.
Ryo nodded and took out 2 Poke-balls. "All right. Better come out, Nidoking. Vaporeon."
The English Digidestined were amazed to see a massive purple dinosaur-like Pokemon known as Nidoking and a small, blue canine-like creature with a fin as a tail known as Vaporeon.
Joe turned to Churchill with a serious look. "Take us to the London Bridge."
"Of course, follow me." Churchill said, walking away.
The group soon arrived at the edge of London Bridge. They soon saw the massive black tower in the middle of the sea. White squids called Gesomon and octopuses called Octomon were swimming around it. Also, a few Gesomon and Octomon were on shore.
"OK... We will need a plan." Joe said.
Ryo nodded. "Digimon and Pokemon that know how to fly and swim will deal with the Control Spire. Ground Digimon and Pokemon will take care of the Digimon that are on the shore."
"Well, there is nothing else for it." Gomamon said.
"All right. Nidoking! GO FOR IT!" Ryo shouted as Nidoking roared and charged towards the Gesomon and Octomon. "Thunderbolt!"
Electricity sparkled and were released from Nidoking's horn, shocking the Gesomon and Octomon, thus grabbing their attention.
"Oi! Your gonna pay for that!" An Octomon called out.
"Yeah! No one shocks us and gets away with it!" A Gesomon added.
"Our turn!" Muchomon said, with a grin.
Vulpix nodded, with a sly grin. "And its about time!"
Muchomon Digivolve to.... Veedramon!
Vulpix Digivolve to.... Ninetales!
Psychemon Digivolve to.... Gururumon!
Gazimon Digivolve to.... DarkTyrannomon!
Veedramon, a bulk blue and white dragon. Ninetales, a beautiful white fox with nine tails. Gururumon, a different colour version of Garurumon. And DarkTyrannomon, a huge black tyrannosuarus. They rushed forward to help Nidoking against the attacking Gesomon and Octomon.
"V-Nova Blast!" Veedramon called out.
"Chaos Blaster!" Gururumon shouted.
"Fire Blast!" Ninetales howled.
"Flame Blast!" DarkTyrannomon shouted.
Along with another Thunderbolt from Nidoking, the Octomon and Gesomon were knocked-out. Joe noticed that the other Octomon and Gesomon were coming out of the water to help their kind out. "The other Digimon will do fine. Gomamon, your up for it?"
"Ahuh!" Gomamon said, nodding.
"ModokiBetamon?" Phil asked, grinning.
"Oh yeah!" ModokiBetamon said.
Ryo turned to Charmeleon. "Ready to fight?"
"What else is new?" Charmeleon said, chuckling.
Gomamon Digivolve to.... Ikkakumon!
Charmeleon Digivolve to.... Charizard!
ModokiBetamon Digivolve to.... Shellmon!
Churchill called out to Charizard, Vaporeon, Ikkakumon and Shellmon as they swam through the sea towards the Control Spire. "Be careful! Remember, there is an Ultimate Digimon out there!"
"No worries!" Ikkakumon said. "I mean, what can he do to stop us?"
And before they know it, a massive green beetle with a snake on his back erupted from the sea in front of the 4 attacking monsters. He crackled with electricity while everyone was amazed by his apperance.
"Ikkakumon... You have a big mouth..." Charizard said, gulping.
"No kidding..." Shellmon added.
Ryo turned to Churchill. "What the heck is that thing?!"
"I think he is called Drenholmon. He is split into two parts. His beetle body and snake body. That snake is like a magnetic rod that attracts electricity, thus bringing out its Electrical Blast!" Churchill said. "Plus, his body is made out of strong armour that will take more than a simple Fire Blast to burn it."
"I resent that remark!" Ninetales said, burning another Octomon with her Fire Blast.
"Electrical Blast?!" Ryo gasped. "But, that means... We are in trouble..."
"Ikkakumon! Digivolve, quick!" Joe called out.
"You don't have to tell me that!" Ikkakumon said.
Charizard looked at Shellmon and Vaporeon. "While he fights, the Control Spire is ours!"
"Right!" Shellmon said, as he and Vaporeon nodded.
Ikkakumon Digivolve to... Zudomon!
The snake on Drenholmon's back lifted off and summonded electricity from the clouds, releasing its power upon Zudomon. "Electrical Blast!!!"
Sadly, for Drenholmon, Zudomon absorbed the attack by his hammer and slammed it against Drenholmon's exposed armour. Churchill noted out that if the snake on Drenholmon's back is off, his weakness can be shown. It wasn't long before Zudomon used Vulcan's Hammer to knock the massive beetle out cold.
Shellmon, Vaporeon and Charizard dealt with the Control Spire and it was over.
"Well, that wasn't so hard..." Zudomon said, chuckling.
"Oh boy, he will never get over this..." Joe said, sighing as he drew out his laptop.
"Well, while he is dragging Drenholmon to here... We can send the Digimon back and wait for Imperialdramon to arrive." Ryo said, looking at his D-3.
Shaina and Veedramon walked up to Joe and Ryo. "If there is any time, I want to go to the Digital World to see Penguinmon. I haven't seen him for a long, long time." Veedramon asked.
"Sure... we will set a date for ya." Joe said, laughing.
Shaina giggled. "Maybe I can meet Penguinmon's partner."
"Maybe... Hey, Ryo... What would happen if Edward and Shaina met?" Joe asked.
Ryo just laughed. "That means Ed is gonna get teased by Typhlosion and Penguinmon, all the time." Sobering, he glanced at Joe. "Look, tell the others when they get here that I'm going back to my world. It's..."
"Hey," Joe replied, "it's your home. They'll understand."
"Not Caryl." Charmeleon grumbled.
--Mexico
"This way!" Matt called to Ken. Ahead of them, Gabumon was keeping an eye on an old pyramid, where some digimon had taken refuge. "Any idea who's inside?"
With them was Jose, one of Azulongmon's avatars (And managed to completely miss the joke about whether he was related to either Officer Jenny or Nurse Joy. -ed). "A few of the digimon that came to Mexico are in there. A Dokugumon, a pair of Gargoylemon, and a Minotarumon. The rest moved off, but I have some of the other digidestined from here looking into it. These ones are slightly more destructive."
Ken nodded. "I remember. When I was..." he stopped, grimacing. "I met a few Gargoylemon back...then. They were very wild and hard to control. And they love hanging around in abandoned buildings."
"No problem." Gabumon replied. "With the digicore, I can turn into Were Garurumon and run them all out in no time!"
"Yes, but we're trying not to be seen." Ken replied, indicating the armed guards. "I don't think they're ready to accept a giant wolfman running all around the inside of their national treasures." The bushes shifted, and Wormmon came into view. "Well?"
"Sorry, Ken. All the exits are covered, and I think they have helicopters watching the place. They must know that the digimon are inside, and are hoping to keep them in there."
"Well, better in there than outside wrecking the town." Matt said thoughtfully. "Maybe if we had a distraction..."
"I think we have one..." Jose said, glancing at one group of guards, arguing with a little girl.
"What do you mean, I can't go in! I have to, there's a...friend of mine inside!" the girl shouted, building up to a full hissy-fit.
Jose massaged his forehead. "Oi. Rosa. I TOLD her to go with the others."
"One of the Mexican digidestined?" Matt asked. Ken tried not to let a 'well, DUH' expression seem too visible on his face. "Well, if we needed a distraction, this'd be it. Jose?"
Jose sighed. "I ALWAYS get stuck with her. Evan's supposed to be watching her, but nooo..." he moaned, approaching the guards, and explaining how sorry he was that his daughter had gotten loose. The resulting argument this started with Rosa gave Ken, Matt, Gabumon, and Wormmon a chance to slip into the ruins, undetected. Rosa was, by way of being carried under Jose's arm, carried off kicking and screaming. But more about her later...
"SO, which way now?" Wormmon asked.
"No worries." Gabumon replied. "I've seen Indiana Jones at least seven times! All we have to do is find the secret passageway. Right Matt?"
"Not that simple." Matt sighed, reminding himself that he really had to lock up his movie collection sometime. "Ken?"
Ken looked at his digivice. "Looks like they're a few yards ahead and below us."
Matt nodded. "So, any plans after we save the world again?"
"I think Yolei invited herself over." Wormmon nodded, ignoring Ken's imitation of an engine seizing up. "Something about New Years Eve?"
Matt grinned. "Alright Ken." he said, giving him a thumbs-up.
"Wormmon," Gabumon sighed, "you know our humans don't like us discussing such things when they're around."
"Wait, what do you mean 'when we're around'?" Matt asked.
Rosa crawled under a fence, having ditched Jose about five minutes ago. No way she was leaving Gotsumon on his own.
"Are we there yet?" Gabumon asked.
"Not yet." Matt sighed. "Another hallway, maybe."
"You said that three hallways ago." Wormmon replied. Matt glared at him. "I'm just saying..."
"I think this place is starting to get on our nerves." Ken sighed. "If we don't find anything, let's just head back to the exit and start again."
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"Who said that?" Matt asked, looking around.
"Wasn't me." Ken answered.
"Maybe this place is haunted?" Gabumon asked. "The Ark of the Covenant was."
"It wasn't haunted, that was a divine manifestation." Wormmon replied.
"It was SPECIAL EFFECTS." Matt answered firmly. "Now what was that?"
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"
"That was a bit louder." Ken observed. "And it came from down that hall."
"EEEEEeeeeeeeeEEEEEeee!"
"I think there's two of them." Wormmon said, tensing. "Ken, Nohemon's small enough to fight in here."
Ken nodded. "Digiarmour energize!"
"Wormmon, armour digivolve to...Nohemon, pure-hearted archer!" The armoured digimon knelt, aiming his bow down the hallway. The Murkrow flew from the archer's shoulder and landed near Ken.
Gabumon frowned "Matt, can I get one of those?"
"I don't know." Matt replied. "My girlfriend doesn't have one to share." Ken pointedly ignored him. "Just get ready to fight."
"eeeeeEEEEEEEWHAM!" (Okay, no one said 'wham'. -ed) Nohemon was bowled over by a small girl and a walking rock.
Matt recognised her. "Rosa? I thought Jose had taken you out of here!"
"I can take care of myself!" Rosa replied, more angry than hurt. Then she looked up and saw Ken. "But I'm willing to accept some help." she whispered. Matt and Gabumon started laughing.
"Umm." Ken started, but never finished. That was the point when the digimon Rosa and Gotsumon had been running from showed up, eager for a fight.
As predicted, it was a Minotarumon, leading a Dokugumon and two Gargoylemon, all looking mean and ready for a fight.
"Ken." Nohemon said, rather calmly. "Even digivolved, I am seriously outclassed here."
"What do we do, then?" Ken asked.
"Run?" Gabumon suggested. Matt and Ken thought it was a good idea; Nohemon fired a few arrows to cover their escape, scooped up Rosa under one arm, and everyone ran for it.
"So, you're...Rosa's partner?" Ken asked the Gotsumon following them.
Gotsumon nodded. "I heard that some digimon had gotten inside these ruins, so Rosa and I decided to go look into it. But I can't digivolve in here without wrecking the place."
"Sound." Matt answered, ducking as a piece of rock flew over his head.
"There's an exit just ahead." Rosa said, still under Nohemon's arm. "And I can RUN BY MYSELF, thanks!" She squirmed out of Nohemon's arm, sped up, managed to pull alongside Ken. "So, is this your first time here? In Mexico, I mean."
"Umm...yes?" Ken hazarded. Despite everything, Matt was trying not to laugh too hard.
"Well, I'd love to show you around." Rosa offered. She gasped as Nohemon picked her up again, handed her to Matt, and was then carried, kicking (but not screaming) down to the ground.
"HEY!" one of the guards yelled, seeing the group emerge from the ruins.
"Can't talk, fleeing!" Nohemon said as the pursuing digimon burst out the side of the pyramid. "Don't worry, Jose will repair that!"
Somewhere, Jose, avatar and assistant to Azulongmon, sneezed.
"Okay, we're clear!" Gabumon said. "Matt, let's do it!"
"Do what?" Rosa asked, standing closer to Ken than he would have liked. Nohemon was up in a tree, watching for the oncoming digimon attackers.
Matt nodded, held out his digivice, and marvelled as the digicore appeared, ghost-like over the screen. "Gabumon, digivolve to... WereGarurumon!" Matt blinked, resolving to ask when Gabumon had learned how to skip evolution levels later.
"Gotsumon, we can do that too!" Rosa said, taking her digivice out.
"Gotsumon, digivolve to...Monochromon!"
"A Monochromon?" Ken asked. "Wow, I haven't seen one of those in a while."
"You like him?" Rosa asked, entranced.
At that moment, Dokugumon, Minotarumon, and the two Gargoylemon crashed through the scrub, knocking trees over. "All right, we're gonna..." they trailed off as they saw WereGarurumon, cracking his knuckles.
"Going to what?" WereGarurumon asked, knuckles cracking.
"I've been waiting for some payback." Monochromon grumbled.
"This is going to hurt, isn't it?" one of the Gargoylemon asked. Slowly, Minotarumon nodded. With a roar, Minotarumon charged in, weapon extended. Dokugumon followed him in, poisoned webs already streaming out of her mouth.
Monochromon, for all his size, moved first, spewing fireballs, burning away the webs. Dokugumon, caught off guard, struck the metallic digimon head first (rather dumb. -ed) and was quickly knocked out. Minotarumon failed to notice this, as he was quickly pinned by several arrows, then knocked senseless by a swift kick from WereGarurumon.
Matt nodded, satisfied. The whole battle had only taken a few seconds. "Well, what about you two?" he asked the two Gargoylemon.
"Huh? Us fight the great WereGarurumon?" one of the Gargoylemon stammered, making everyone (except Rosa, who was busy making sparkly-eyes at Ken. Yes, it's a touch disturbing -ed) boggle.
"Yeah!" the other one chimed in. "If we knew that it was you we were fighting, we'd never have hooked up with Minotarumon! Hey...can we get an autograph?"
"An...autograph?" Were Garurumon asked, eyes wide. "Well...sure. But you have to promise to go back to the digital world, alright?"
"SIR, YES SIR!" both Gargoylemon replied, saluting.
Matt looked from his partner to the two Gargoylemon. "Um..."
"Well, thanks for your help." Jose said, shaking Ken and Matt's hands. "I'm really sorry that Rosa got in the way."
"Oh, no worries." Wormmon said. "Gotsumon was a nice guy."
"And Rosa was too...to Ken." Matt added. Ken gave a long-suffering sigh. "Wait'll I tell Yolei about this one."
"Don't you dare." Ken growled.
Jose chuckled softly. "Well, I've been in contact with the other avatars, and it looks like everything is going well. You should be on your way home in a few minutes. You'll be meeting up with Davis, Kyle, and June in New York."
"Do you have to go so soon?" Rosa asked, not quite whining. "I really wanted to show you around!"
"Rosa," Jose sighed, "they have families back in Japan. Just like you do here. I'm not looking forward to explaining this to your father."
"Hey! I'm a digidestined too! And if I want to go on an adventure, you can't stop me!"
"Is it just me, or is she channelling Davis?" Matt whispered to Gabumon, who only nodded in response. "Are those other digidestined from Mexico?" he asked, indicating an approaching horde of people, ranging from his age to Rosa's.
Jose nodded. "Yes. I told them that two of the first digidestined were here, and they all wanted to meet you two."
"But I'm not-" Ken started.
"Hey, you and Ryo faced off against Milleniumon, remember?" Matt pointed out. "Come on, let's meet our fans."
"I'm a fan." Rosa pouted. Ken sighed, smiled at her, and went over to the other digidestined. "Hey, wait up!"
--Later
After a few hours of playing plane tag, Kyle, June, Ken, and Davis were able to link up and summon Imperialdramon. Matt and Mimi said goodbye again, while June swatted Davis for making gagging motions
"I can't believe it." Kyle yawned. "We just saved an entire planet."
"Twice for some of us." Matt replied.
"Yeah, well, some of us have a bit less experience." Davis replied, glaring at Kyle for a second.
"Nothing HAPPENED." Kyle groaned.
"Well, if he wants something to happen..." June stage-whispered, making Davis faint, Kyle blush, and Matt, Ken, and Mimi fall over laughing.
"What's going to happen?" Veemon asked, confused. "What?"
Eevee sighed. "They never explained the Pidgeys and the Beedrills to you, did they?"
"I think he's a little young." Growlithe noted, shaking his head.
"You haven't been inside his skull." Elecmon sighed.
"We have." Growlithe and Wormmon answered.
"Huh?" Veemon looked around helplessly, confused. Palmon wandered over, dumping a load of snow on Davis, waking him up and prompting a brief snowball fight. After the shouting died down, Growlithe, Elecmon Veemon, and Wormmon combined back into Imperialdramon and took off, leaving Mimi and Palmon waving in the park.
Everyone was picked up within a few minutes after Imperialdramon took off from New York; Once the dragon reached the target area, there was a few minutes of flying around trying to spot where exactly the digidestined were. They went to Russia first, and found that Sora and Yolei had managed, with a little help from Mewtwo, to drive a giant swarm of insect digimon into the portal. France was next, with Sora having a quick reunion with Rei, and having a few dozen words with Tai, who swore repeatedly that he hadn't done anything to Catherine.
London was next, Joe explaining that Ryo had gone on ahead back to the Pokemon world to check on the progress there. Hong Kong came after that, with Tai repeating Sora's performance for Izzy. Then, Australia, with Caryl getting dropped off back at her home and pouting that Ryo had apparently 'ditched' her, but still managing to completely embarrass Cody by giving Yolei a copy of a picture of her and Cody on the beach. They met with Seth's group in Southern California, giving each of the digidestined a quick ride back. On the way, Stuart (who decided that he didn't want to risk another trip through the digiports) wondered why Imperialdramon was taking such a roundabout route.
"Well..." Davis admitted, "Veemon doesn't have the best sense of direction."
"And we promised he could drive on the way home." Leomon's voice rumbled from Imperialdramon. "Sad, really."
Finally, everyone was home. The main group of digidestined had landed in the park, and everyone was beginning to separate for their respective homes.
"I am beat." Kyle sighed, sitting down on a snow covered bench.
"Oooh." June cooed, sitting beside him. "You can sleep over at our place tonight."
"He can GET HOME on his own, June." Davis replied. June stuck her tongue out at Davis, putting her arms around Kyle for added effect.
TK sighed, watching the spectacle for a minute, then turning to leave. "See you tomorrow guys. Let's have the victory party then. We should have heard from Crystal and the others by then." Waving, everyone left, laughing as Davis tried to pry his sister off of Kyle's arm.
A few minutes later, TK was home. "Mom?"
"I'm in your bedroom, TK." his mother called. Curious, TK wandered over. "So, did you save the world again?" TK nodded. "I was just seeing off Kyle's father."
"Oh?" TK asked, a bit curious. He glanced at the screen, and saw something blinking. "A message?"
Nancy glanced at the screen. "Huh. I didn't notice it when I came in. Is it from one of the other digidestined?"
TK looked at the message. "It's...oh, it's Crystal's email. They must have succeeded." TK opened the message. Instead of text, a small videoscreen opened up, the picture grainy, sound filled with static.
"TK," Crystal said in the message, "there's...trouble...help, we..." the message ended, a vague error message appearing as the video player closed itself down.
"TK-" Nancy started to say, but TK didn't listen. Before she could react, TK had opened the digiport and went through it. Nancy stood stunned for a few seconds, then ran to the phone.
--
Next episode TK appears in the Orange Islands, only to find that the Orange Islands have been covered in ice. Which digimon is responsible for this? And if TK is beaten, who's left, with all of the digidestined too exhausted to fight again?
Episode 38: 'Worlds Tour part 3: Ice Tyrant Panjyamon!'
"What have we learned, Ryo"
"Sigh...Never go on an adventure without Caryl"
"Exactly. Now wait there while I consider your punishment..."