Disclaimer-I don't own Digimon.

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When The Clock Strikes Midnight

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"So what's the point of this again?" Taichi asked, staring at the poster that Hikari was carrying.

Hikari rolled her eyes. He wasn't paying attention in class again, she thought. "It's a school wide competition. People from all classes can work together in teams of up to six people. We're basically discussing the rise of the toy industry in the past ten years. Well, that's our topic. It just has to do with the economy in some way. Yesterday, the teachers let us work on the project most of the day, but our class wasn't paying attention during math, so..." Hikari stopped explaining and finished with a shrug.

There was a contemplating look on Taichi's face. "Say...what's first prize?" he inquired, trying to hide his widening grin.

"One hundred dollars and a laptop."

Shooting his fist into the air, Taichi yelled, "KACHING! Yamato and I'll get straight to work!"

They were at the front gate when Hikari picked up her pace. "The deadline's today," Hikari informed him. "Good luck."

She left him standing there with his jaw hanging open. "H-hey! Kari, you don't have six people in your team yet, do you?" he screamed, running after her.

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"Great, you got the project!" Iori exclaimed, examining the poster for any flaws.

In the corner of the room, Daisuke leaned against the wall, glaring at the poster. Stupid poster. Ruining all my chances with Hikari...

A smile graced Hikari's lips. "Of course. If you see Taichi running around, ignore him. He's out of it. Hey, Takeru, are you okay?" she suddenly asked, her gaze averting to Takeru.

The blond looked deep in thought. He looked up, obviously startled, but did a good job of masking it with a carefree laugh. "Of course," he said, a smile on his face that meant nothing to anyone in the room.

Miyako swiveled around in her chair. Slowly, she said aloud, "Okay, then. We've got the entire day to ready our presentation. We're doing this as a poster, but Hikari and I managed to scan in important parts after you all left. We managed to put it into a PowerPoint with Koushirou's help."

Something sprouted deep within Iori. Hate? Anger? Distrust? All he knew was it was a negative feeling. He shifted uncomfortably.

Miyako began again, "Now, as you know Takeru will start off-"

Hotly, Daisuke interrupted, "Why not me?"

"We're saving you for comic relief parts," the girl snapped, adjusting her glasses. She held out several papers and handed one to everyone, keeping one for herself. "These are your parts. But they're only notes. Do NOT read off of them." She very nearly growled this all out.

Takeru looked positively miserable as he looked over his paper. "Miyako, maybe Daisuke should switch w-"

The answer was a quick and merciless, "NO." Seeing the crest fallen Takeru, Miyako continued gentler than before, "Only you can bring out the true character of that, and I want to see you do it. Come on, Takeru. You haven't been yourself in ages. Even Patamon would agree."

Patamon. Iori took note of this and looked at everyone else. It's about time we scheduled a trip. Maybe if everything goes well, we'll go through our new laptop.

"Alright then." Nervously, he crinkled the paper in his hands. "Then..." Takeru looked up. "Let's do this!"

And there was no doubt that he was nervous.

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Takeru nervously wrinkled the paper in his hands. His palms were sweating, his head was spinning, and the buzzing of Koushirou's computer, operated by Koushirou himself, was not helping.

Someone must have said something, but Takeru was unable to hear. He found himself squinting into the light of the projector, and when he realized this, he moved out of the way. His heart was hammering in his chest. Surely Miyako had been joking. He could never pull this off.

"Hey, Takeru," he heard Iori whisper to him.

Takeru turned his head to show he was paying attention.

An encouraging smile was shown to him. "You'll be fine," was all Iori said.

But Takeru wasn't so sure of himself, though. Again, someone said something. All he heard was the sounds of the computer, and laughter. They were laughing at him, weren't they?

"Tatetu, start," Daisuke hissed.

Startled, Takeru snapped as straight as a stick, staring at his audience: fellow competitors, two middle-aged men and a young woman who held a clipboard in one hand and a pencil in another. Her gaze was focused on the clipboard at that moment and she was furiously scribbling something down.

The hammering continued, and he could feel sweat drops bead his head. "Uh..." Takeru swallowed and shut his eyes.

He could only remember darkness, harsh breathing, and heat. Someone was laughing at him, just like now. That moment was so like now. What...? What was it? Desperately, Takeru searched inside him for an answer, and it suddenly came to him. His eyes shot open. Stiffly, he turned to Iori, who would be talking after him, and nodded. Takeru then looked at his audience and inclined his head.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we're very glad you could be here for this presentation on this day at this hour and minute!" he announced loudly, making a sweeping gesture with his right arm. His crumpled notes were in the other. "Many children every day do the same thing, although it may not be at the same time. They brush their teeth, take a bath, go to school, but most importantly, they play with toys. They buy these toys, and their money a-" Takeru stopped.

The noises had changed.

Several gasps erupted from the girls in the room. Koushirou's computer was hissing angrily, blue sparks erupting from it. The projector connected to it erupted in flames, eliciting screams. Takeru felt dizzy as he noticed the lady frowning and making several ticks on her clipboard. His breathing became shallow and he found himself stumbling around. I can't...not yet...not now, he thought, desperately clinging onto a nearby desk when he fell forward. Please...

"Takeru!" he heard someone cry, "Takeru where are you?"

I have to tell someone...!

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Iori swallowed as he watched the comatose body of Takeru outside the smoking room. Early during the commotion, Koushirou had quickly disconnected his computer and run out. Yamato and Taichi had run in seconds later and aided in helping everyone out.

The poster was gone, the contest was postponed (everyone's projects had burned), and the room was still a burning inferno no one seemed to care about.

For the past few minutes, he had been instructed to watch Takeru, and nothing had happened, and he wasn't sure what to do when something did happen. What if Takeru erupted into a coughing fit? He couldn't leave the boy. Not in this state.

But something did eventually happen, and Iori was glad it wasn't as he imagined.

Weakly, Takeru moved his hand to grab Iori's sleeve. He used it as leverage to hoist himself up against the wall opposite the burning room. "Digi-" he started, but burst out coughing.

"Did you?" Iori guessed, more alarmed than he let out. He scooted closer to the other boy, eyes narrowed into a worried gaze.

Takeru shook his head. "Digimon. I remember a digimon. It had no shape..." He sucked in a breath through gritted teeth and let it out with a weak cry of pain. "I don't think it did...I couldn't tell what it looked like. I never had a fever, I was sapped of all my strength. He went into me, Iori..." the boy groaned. Tossing and turning as if he was sleeping and had a nightmare, Takeru continued breathlessly, "He possessed me and that was why I couldn't remember anything.

All the while, Iori had been staring wide-eyed at Takeru, holding back his breath as if letting it out would cause an explosion. He opened his mouth to say something finally, but instead turned his head at the call of his name. "Takeru's awake!" he yelled in response, waving his hand at Taichi and Yamato.

"Get out of there, now. That's the Chemistry room for goodness sakes!" he heard Yamato yell.

Iori helped Takeru to his feet and aided him to his brother. But as he did this, he couldn't help but get the feeling that he was missing something.

Someone cried out angrily, "A little help would be appreciated!"

Iori nearly groaned as he realized who that was. Of course Daisuke would be the only one knuckleheaded enough to go in there, even if it was with a fire extinguisher. As they approached Yamato, Iori said, "Daisuke's still in there! I'll go warn him!" and no sooner had he said this when Taichi bolted for the room.

Apparently Daisuke wasn't the only knucklehead.

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School had been cancelled for the day, and while many rejoiced in this strange turn of events at home, Daisuke and Taichi were in the hospital, getting treated for minor burns.

The rest of the gang, even Jou, had made it to see them after they were treated.

"Honestly," Hikari scolded, "running into a building? And you, Daisuke! What possessed you to stay? And Koushirou! Where were y-"

"I had to make sure the computer didn't explode," Koushirou replied in a boring, monotone voice.

Miyako had been doing her very best to contain her anger. However, her hands clenched and everyone immediately plugged their ears as she yelled, "Computer? WHO CARES ABOUT YOUR GOD DAMN COMPUTER? OUR PROJECT IS RUINED, OUR RESEARCH IS GONE, TAKERU NEARLY DIED, DAISUKE NEARLY DIED, AND TAICHI BEING AN IDIOT NEARLY DIED AS WELL. AND ALL YOU CARE ABOUT IS YOUR COMPUTER?"

He acted as if this was an every day matter. "Naturally," the boy responded, "without the computer you'll have no access to what digimon is what. You'll have lost your one good connection to the Digital World. Don't you care about Hawkmon?"

And he spoke the truth, although no one would admit it.

Takeru excused himself to get some air and Iori immediately followed suit. The two made their way to clearing, away from buildings or any other cramped spaces where anyone could hear. There on the grass, Takeru seated himself, and looked up at Iori with determined eyes. "I look at Koushirou, and I see..." He faltered.

Instead of making a guess, Iori murmured, "A digimon possessed you."

"I'm sure of it, Iori! I don't know how he does it, but I apparently touched Koushirou's computer. I remember I did a virus scan that night, but the virus scan wouldn't work, and then I started feeling feverish, and-" Takeru stopped. He had been talking so fast he had lost track of where he was.

Iori's frown deepened. "We need to go to the Digital World," he muttered.

It was just about time.

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Iori figured the very last thing he should be doing was going alone, let alone this late at night and at the safety of his own home. Nevertheless, this matter required his immediate attention, and immediate wasn't tomorrow.

Thousands of feelings passed through Iori, and when he finally brushed them aside, he realized he was already in the Digital World. A sigh escaped him reluctantly, and he made his way through the woods under the cover of darkness, hoping to find Armadillomon.

Softly, he whispered the digimon's name into the darkness, hoping that, as he trekked along the dirt path, Armadillomon would come running.

It never happened.

Some minutes later, Iori collapsed against a nearby tree, listening to himself breathe. Nothing seemed right. He was lost in this dark, twisted dimension, and he didn't know where it was. It wasn't possible that in the short time they had been gone, something had happened.

He was very near to giving up as he stood up. The second he did, he tripped over a root and was sent plummeting forward into a hole that seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

Iori was starting to get sick of the dark.

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A grainy voice muttered incomprehensibly. Combined with the other voices that complained in the tunnel, it sounded like a maraca, hardly musical.

Finally, someone shouted for silence. A cat appeared, looking incredibly incensed. "We know you hate this, but be quiet about it, would you? It's hard enough to hide as it is. What if he found this place, huh? What would we do then?" she hissed. Her words were well chosen and immediately shut the other digimon up.

"Gatomon," called the owner of the grainy voice. He tossed his head towards the human lying on a pile of sand.

Gracefully, she leapt over. "Is he awake?"

On a down note, Armadillomon shook his head and muttered, "Still out cold." A sad expression donned his face as he sighed and nudged Iori's hand with his nose.

Gatomon sighed and looked at the boy. Everyone had been in a great fright when he fell through, thinking him an agent. V-mon, Patamon, Hawkmon and Wormmon had done their very best to calm down the other digimon. Still, a great portion remained, curious as to what Iori was doing here.

It seemed as if the sun was shining when Iori started to stir, groaning as he pushed himself off of the ground. One hand stayed where it was, and the other rose to his head, then brushed the dust off of him. "Where-" he started, but found it useless to continue. Over a dozen wide-eyed digimon gazed silently at him, and he could do nothing but gape in return.

"Iori!" Armadillomon cried, throwing himself at the boy.

Startled, Iori turned to his friend and burst out into a mix of laughter and tears, welcoming him with an embrace. "Why are you all down here...?" he finally asked when their laughter subsided.

An uncomfortable silence followed.

"Murmuxmon," Gatomon breathed, gazing up at the hole where Iori had fallen from. Even now, there were digimon repairing it. Iori's gaze followed hers and Gatomon began to explain, "It happened shortly after you all left. No one's exactly sure how it happened, but whatever computer you all entered in must have gotten a virus. Somehow it morphed, and Murmuxmon is the result of that."

"He's been taking everything over!" Armadillomon added, snorting angrily. "Even Tentomon's tree house!" Iori could only smile at that comment.

Gatomon cut him off from there. "But worst of all is that no one's been able to stop him. None of us! He's planning to make his move tonight, too. And he destroyed almost all nearby portals in and out of the Digital World. All we've got is you. I'm not sure what Armadillomon could do as Digmon or whatnot, but as long as you guys don't get hurt, I think we'll be fine," she told him, sounding absolutely positive.

Someone from the crowd shouted, "You've gone catty! How can we count on them, much less trust them?"

The cat looked murderous, but Iori rose to his feet and brushed himself off. "I think I've got the gist of it," he said slowly. "When does Murmuxmon attack?" Ignoring the angry member of the crowd, he instead turned to Gatomon.

The digimon clicked her tongue. "Tonight."

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"Are you sure this is the place?" Armadillomon asked Tentomon suspiciously.

Indignantly, Tentomon replied, "Of course! Patamon and I just went scouting here minutes ago! A couple of Gizamon admitted it out loud, and they didn't even see us! Now tell me, Iori, how is Koushirou?"

Iori's shoulders dropped, and a serious look appeared. He murmured, "Don't say anything, but I think Murmuxmon's possessed him. First Takeru was being strange, and now Koushirou's beyond normal." His voice dropped even lower as he said, "Even Takeru thinks this is what happened. He remembers a shapeless digimon..."

The bug digimon looked dismayed. "Yes, yes..." he muttered somewhat distractedly, "I should have expected as much." A sigh. "They always go for the geniuses. What's worse is none of us know what Murmuxmon looks like either," he finally confessed.

"Well that's great."

"I know! But they say he'll be in his true form, and soon too! If all goes right, you and Armadillomon will take care of him! I wish you luck, Iori! I hope Koushirou feels better, too. Maybe it's just a cold," Tentomon told this last part to himself, trying to convince himself that Koushirou was not possessed.

Iori and Armadillomon watched Tentomon buzz away and then crouched lower behind their log, watching the clearing in front of them instead. Dozens of digimon crowded the place, cackling and making jokes about one another. A few fights sparked, but all eventually quelled minutes after Tentomon's leave.

A silence descended upon them all. Iori could make out a Veggiemon running forward with a computer in his hands. He placed the item reverently in the middle of the clearing, and then raced back to form a circle with the rest of the digimon.

At once, green sparks erupted from the computer screen. A roaring whirlwind of the green sparks formed, sucking in almost everything: dust, trees, leaves, digimon...everything. A tall figure appeared in the middle of it all, and while what was taken into the whirlwind screamed loudly and disappeared, the figure seemed to grow.

The screaming of the whirlwind subsided, but Iori and Armadillomon continued to shut their eyes, too afraid to look up. When he was sure nothing like that would happen again, Iori peeked over the top of the rotting log and nearly cried out in a mix of sorrow and glee.

In the middle of the clearing, with those same lightless eyes, stood Izumi Koushirou, laptop tucked under one arm.

"Minions," he said softly, "We have some guests."

It was midnight.

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A/N-

Opinions are nice, sorry I took so long, I can't guarantee it won't happen again. Sorry if the plot is strange to you. Hope you enjoyed, and again, other stories get first priority.

Thank you, everyone who reviewed:

Birdboy, JyouraKoumi, Kayhera, The Unknown Alias, Circeus

Review or Flame.