Author's Note: IMPORTANT! In the series, Dragomon was the Dark Undersea Master that resided in the Dark Ocean. Daemon was some unbelievably powerful enemy that Ken and the others sent to the Dark Ocean because they didn't have the power to defeat him. (Personally, I think they just got tired of writing the episodes and took the easy way out to end the series, but that's just my opinion.) I read summaries but they don't really tell the details and the reruns haven't gotten that far yet. (Not that I ever get a chance to see the reruns, anyway.) Back to the point, in my fan fiction, Daemon was in the Dark Ocean the whole time, ruling over the Scubamon, he's taken Dragomon's part. Dragomon doesn't exist, and Daemon never went to the 'Real World.' I looked up both Dragomon and Daemon, Dragomon is a seriously hideous creature, and Daemon is veiled in a hooded cloak. I combined their images because I sort of combined their characters. That's all, I'm done. I HOPE YOU DIDN'T SKIP OVER THIS!
Adventures of the Tainted
Chapter Three: Losses and Gains
"Ladymiramon? Okay… and why have you brought us here?" Tai put his hand in his pocket, wrapping his fingers around his digivice.
"You must be Taichi, the original leader. I am truly honored to make your acquaintance. You led the team to victory against many formidable foes. And the look alike must be Daisuke, a worthy replacement from what I've been told."
Davis looked over the humanoid figure in front of him. Do the enemies generally compliment their foes? Maybe she'd brought them there to help? "Uh, thanks, I guess. So why have you brought us here?"
Kari felt Ladymiramon's evil presence flowing around them all. It was sickening, though not as nearly as the auras of the dwellers of the Dark Ocean. "She's not an ally of ours, Davis, she's definitely evil." The digimon took defensive stances in front of their respective partners.
Ladymiramon's face darkened. "I see now, you must be the Chosen of Light. Does my aura disturb you? It doesn't seem to affect your comrades, even those with connections to the darkness. You should be a good little girl and keep your mouth shut."
Izzy was growing impatient with this woman quickly. Both Tai and Davis had asked her for her motives, and both times she evaded the answer. "What do you want with us?" he demanded.
Tsking quietly, the humanoid digimon considered the question. At long last, she began an explanation. "As children, you were chosen because you displayed certain attributes that were required of the protectors of the Digital World. By accepting the task of protecting it, and riding it of the dark forces that threatened its very existence, your attributes were intensified. They were unparalleled to normal humans, even though many of you could not consciously tap into these attributes. I've been told that the protectors of Friendship, Love, and Kindness had any especially difficult time drawing power to fight the darkness."
"Get to the point," Izzy said, displeased by the stalling.
"Of course, of course. Patience and knowledge do not go well together, it seems. I brought you here because you have become undeserving of the attributes you were granted, and I wish to make better use of them. I've come to relieve you of your crests and digieggs."
"We don't have crests," Izzy pointed out.
"Not physical representations, no, but they dwell in you tainted hearts. They are useless in the fight for good and justice when their bearers are tainted with darkness." Ladymiramon rose above them, raising her hands into the air.
Kari began to feel sick as Ladymiramon drew more dark energy from the air around her. The digivices were drawn into the core of the energy sphere that was forming between her raised arms. They flew out of hands, pockets, and from belt loops.
"Hey!" Tai shouted, jumping forward to try and grab the floating digivice. Ladymiramon laughed at his efforts, using her dark powers to pull him to his feet. Her right hand went down, perpendicular to the ground, straight out in front of her.
Images of her hand extended outward, a shadow image for each of the digidestined. Every one of the digimon was frozen in their places, as if they had been put to sleep. The dark energies encircled each teen separately. The hand reached inside of Tai and pulled out a glowing representation of the Crest of Courage. It was tainted black, rather than shining golden like it should have been.
The same thing happened with the other Digidestined. Ladymiramon's shadow hands pulled the essences of the crests right out of them. She took them and combined them into one glowing orb. "Hmm, I'm missing one."
Ladymiramon looked at her victims. Several were standing with their hands over their hearts, feeling like a piece of them had been ripped out of their very souls. Tai and Matt had their hands balled up into fists, trying to force their ways out of the entrapment of dark energy. Their voices were muted, unable to pierce through the barrier. One, however, was standing defiantly; the dark energy circled around but could not touch her. "I should have guessed that the Chosen of Light wouldn't have been tainted by darkness. I'll have to step things up a notch."
The mock hands grabbed the D-terminals from the younger digidestined, taking the eggs out. Ladymiramon crushed each egg as the group watched in horror. Tk beat his fists against the barrier, and was knocked back by the force of impact. Ladymiramon drew the dark energy back to her person. She needed a different type of dark energy to get the Crest of Light.
Smiling sinisterly, Ladymiramon raised her arms once more. She then drew dark energy out of the digidestined, using their corrupted auras to create a similar image of her arm. This shadow was powerful enough to penetrate through Kari's natural light barrier, ripping the Crest of Light out of her. It shined without the faintest hit of blackness. She fell to the ground; the dark energy clouded her senses.
The terminals were dropped to the ground. "I will be seeing you all again soon, farewell Chosen." Ladymiramon's presence faded from in front of them.
Tai lunged forward to grab the enemy digimon, but she was already gone. He landed flat on his face. "What the fuck just happened!" he growled getting up on his knees. "Oh! Kari!"
(0)
Ladymiramon reappeared in a dark throne room. "Daemon," she shouted impatiently, "I need to speak with you!"
"No need to raise your voice, My Lady, I can hear you perfectly well at a normal volume. You bring me some pleasing news, I expect."
Ladymiramon produced the orb of light that the union of crests had formed. "I do believe you will find my news very pleasing."
Daemon extended his tentacle arm forward and took the orb. He pulled at it; a string of untainted light came out. It shifted around and took the image of the Crest of Light. Pushing dark energy into it, the crest turned the same color as the other crests. He smiled as he put the crest back with the others. "It's a pity I can't just do this to the Angel of Light."
Ladymiramon sighed with irritation. "I don't understand your fascination with that girl. She looks like every other human girl I've ever seen."
"Tell me, did you have any trouble extracting her crest?"
"As a matter of fact, I did. I had to use the dark energy of her friends to get it. She isn't tainted like the other digidestined. If we had been able to send them here like we had planned, there would have been no trouble. The dark atmosphere would have drained her of her energy."
"She'll be here soon enough, I assure you. As soon as I find out which pendant I'm looking for, I'll be able to make my move."
"Why are you looking for a pendant?" she asked the cloaked ruler of the Dark Ocean.
"You'll see soon enough," he replied. "As for now, I need to use the power of the crests to open a portal back to my home. I need to find one of my most loyal servants in order to proceed with my plans."
Daemon placed the orb against the black void and watched as it slowly sank in. "Open a portal to the Dark World!" he commanded. An archway, very similar to a doorway, spread from where the orb was placed. Daemon looked back at Ladymiramon. "You'll be hearing from me soon" he said before stepping through.
Ladymiramon left the Dark Ocean and transported herself back to the Digital World. "You've given Daemon the crests?"
Ladymiramon turned to face the man who had come to join her. She bowed her head in respect. "I have. He's in the Dark World now, seeking out one of his servants."
"He's still intending to proceed with his plans then?"
"Yes, but I don't understand why you are allowing this. If he is successful, all of your plans will be useless."
The figure laughed. "Daemon is merely a pawn, one whose usefulness is quickly deteriorating. I need him to get some of what he wants before I can make any moves. If the digidestined don't dispose of him when he's no longer needed, then I will."
"And what about that girl of Light? She's a part of his plans. Will you let him have her?"
"I'm hoping that I won't have to get involved, that her friends keep him from being successful. I don't want to reveal myself until the opportune moment. However, if I must get involved, then I must get involved."
Ladymiramon bowed once more. "I will report back to you when Daemon makes some progress."
The figure nodded before turning his back to her. Ladymiramon was relieved to see him go. His insistence on being so secretive was somewhat irksome, and even more annoying was his desire to drag the whole thing out. The digidestined were practically defenseless, why not kill them all before they found some way of fighting back?
(0)
Tai scrambled to his feet and ran over to where Kari was. She was out cold from when Ladymiramon attacked her. "Kari!" Tai shook his sister's shoulder gently.
Mimi sat down next to Tai. She put the back of her hand against Kari's cheek. "She's cold," Mimi commented softly.
"She's too pale," Tk added as he joined the two. The others joined too, fearful for Kari's condition.
Tai, I don't have a fever and I've been to Digiworld. Tai shook his head in an attempt to expel the thoughts from his mind. Now definitely wasn't the time for cryptic memories to return to him.
The digimon slowly regained their motor abilities. Gatomon snuck between Izzy and Joe and to Kari's side. She could feel the dark aura that surrounded Kari that came from the digidestined. "Get back!" she hissed at Tai and the others, lashing out with her claws. "You're only making it worse!"
Tai jumped back to avoid being clawed in the face. "What are you talking about?"
"You're radiating dark energy, and it isn't helping Kari recover. Give her some space for a moment."
Tai reluctantly backed away, unsure of what Gatomon meant. Radiating dark energy, wasn't that something the bad guys did? Izzy, it seemed, was thinking the same thing. "It's sad really, we've all become victims of the darkness and we didn't even realize it."
"What do you mean?" Yolie asked as she sat down next to Hawkmon and Biyomon, her eyes locked on Gatomon as she looked after Kari.
"We became disconnected from our crests because we no longer exemplify the purity that we did when we were chosen to wield our specific attributes. Our dispositions are darker than when we were children, which is why Ladymiramon was able to take our crests so easily."
"What about Kari? What happened with her?"
"I suppose that Kari still has the same purity and innocence that her childhood self did. Being the Protector of Light, it would be harder for her to be tainted. Ladymiramon must not have had the power to extract her crest, so she took our dark energy and used it."
"What did we miss, exactly?" Veemon questioned.
"Not much, really. We just lost the ability to make you guys' digivolve. No biggie," Davis explained.
"What! No big deal! Are you insane!" Veemon obviously missed the sarcastic tone Davis employed.
"It's kind of like when we lost the ability to become ultimates" Patamon remembered sadly. "Only now we can't become champions or armors, either."
Tk picked up his digimon partner. "I'm sorry," he whispered.
"It's alright, I'm just glad you're alright. It's just going to be more difficult to keep you safe. Not that it ever was easy, with you rushing into danger head-on all the time." Patamon smirked at his human partner, remembering how stubborn Tk was when it came to defeating the darkness.
Mimi comforted her digimon who had just learned that Togomon no longer existed. "We'll find a way to make you digivolve," Mimi insisted.
The sound of Kari waking up drew the attention of the digidestined. Tai looked at Gatomon who nodded silently. Tai fell to his sister's side. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine she insisted," Kari insisted. She sat up only to experience a feeling of dizziness that compelled her to lie back down. "Or I will be, at least."
"We should get somewhere safe," Joe suggested.
Tai agreed, and with the help of Matt, he helped Kari to her feet. They stood on either side of her, supporting her as she walked. Kari sent Gatomon an apologetic smile.
"Don't feel guilty," Gatomon said, reading her partner's mind. "There's no way you could have prevented this. Don't blame yourself, if anything, we should be feeling badly."
"Why do you say that?" Yolie asked.
"We should have been better prepared to fight that lady. We were overpowered by her with little effort on her part. If she had intended on hurting you guys, we would have been powerless to stop her."
"She's just toying with us," Matt explained. "She could have easily killed us all, but she just left. Ladymiramon is going to try and drag this out; she knows that we can't defend ourselves."
"It's good to see that you're as cheery as ever, Yama." Kari said as she stood on her own. "It's nice to see that that hasn't changed."
Yama? Matt didn't remember hearing Kari ever call him that before. He couldn't say that he didn't like it. He smiled at her. "I wouldn't want to break the status quo" he replied.
"This looks like a good spot," Ken said. They were in a small clearing in the woods, their location veiled by trees and shrubs.
"We should get some firewood and start up a fire," Tai suggested. "Just make sure that no one goes off by themselves."
Tai, Ken, Davis, and Tk went to collect firewood, Yolie and Izzy set up a spot where they would start the fire, and Matt, Kari, and Mimi looked for anything edible. Unfortunately, all they found were some berries and most of them were rotted.
"We should do something to lighten the mood," Mimi suggested when the entire group was gathered around the fire that existed courtesy of Agumon. The digimon all relaxed a short distance away, leaving their human partners to themselves.
"How about truth or dare?" Yolie replied. "I'll start. Hmm… Kari, truth, dare, double dare, or promise to repeat?"
Kari tapped her chin to emphasize being in deep thought. "Dare." Noticing Yolie's sinister smile, she added: "just remember that my brother is here."
"I guess that pretty much rules out any dares that we used at parties senior year, doesn't it?" Yolie said.
"What did you do?" Tai asked.
Yolie looked over at Kari before locking eyes with Tai. "Just remember Yolie, two can play at this game," Kari warned.
Yolie, in the interest of protecting the secret of her own embarrassing moments, decided not to give the details about some of the parties she and Kari had gone to in their senior year of high school. She clapped her hands together, "we listened to church hymns and sang Kumbiya."
Tai sighed in defeat. He wasn't getting anything out of Yolie. "Whatever, just dare her already."
"Okay, Kari, I dare you to…kiss all of the eligible bachelors and rate them according to our system. Then you must report the three lowest scores."
Kari wasn't really surprised by Yolie's dare. It was tamer than some of her other dares, however, so Kari was grateful. She silently accepted the dare, standing up and moving over to where Davis was. She went in to kiss him lightly, but he pulled her into a fierce kiss. After a few minutes, Davis finally let go for some air.
Cody was next in the circle; he had little experience kissing, and didn't particularly care to be subject to the dare. There were other people he'd have kiss him, but he could deal with Kari kissing him.
Ken already experienced kissing Kari, from when they dated. She hesitated slightly after sitting next to him, but kissed him nonetheless. The kiss lasted almost as long as the one with Davis, but was less tiring. He didn't try to stop her when she pulled away.
Tk was next up. He eagerly pulled her into a deep kiss, wrapping his arms around her waist. This had been something he dreamed about, he'd have to thank Yolie later.
After Tk, it was Izzy's turn. The kiss was short and sweet; it was obvious that neither participant was interested in a five minute make-out session. Tk stared coldly at the redhead, however, upset that he had to watch Izzy, of all people, kissing Kari.
Yamato was the last one left. Kari sat down next to him and slowly moved in for a kiss. He met her halfway and placed his hand on her cheek. Using his tongue, Matt parted her lips and explored the inside of her mouth. The kiss was only broken when Tai cleared his throat loudly, reminding Matt that there were people around him, and several looked ready to gouge his eyes out.
After making out with all the single guys, Kari returned to her seat. She conveniently forgot the second part of the dare, before Yolie decided to remind her. "Lowest three scores," she ordered.
"Is this the one through five system?" Mimi asked.
Yolie nodded with hesitation. How did Mimi know about her and Kari's rating system? She hadn't been at any of the outings that they used it. As if reading her mind, Mimi said: "Kari told me some stories about what you two have put each other through."
Kari thought for a moment: which of the boys had the three lowest scores? "Um, this is kind of hard. Okay, first up is Tk with a 2.8, followed by Ken with a 2.4, and…" Kari bit her lip, not wanting to give the final rating. "Yama has a 1.5" she said finally.
Mimi giggled like a school girl and Davis gloated about having a higher score than Ken and Tk. Matt was too shocked to say anything. A 1.5! How did he get that when Cody wasn't even on the list?
"Okay, Tk, you know the options. Pick one" Kari said.
"Truth," he said slowly. He hated being picked, it seemed like he always had the worst dares and least appealing truths.
"What happened to you the night that we were supposed to meet Yolie, Ken, and Davis, but you never showed up?"
"I got piss-ass drunk with Tanner from the basketball team and passed out on the floor." That was an easy enough confession. "Mimi, pick an option."
"Dare," she replied.
"I really suck at this," Tk admitted. "I dare you to pretend to be Michael Jackson."
Mimi stood up, ruffled her hair, and walked over to Tk. She sat down in his lap and did her best Michael Jackson impression. "Hey there little boy, hows about we head over to my place; I'll teach what it's really like to be in Neverland."
Tai cracked up laughing. Mimi was almost too convincing in her interpretation. Mimi stuck out her tongue at him before taking her seat again. "Matt, pick dare."
Matt calmly obliged. "Dare," he confirmed.
"Convince Kari to change your score."
Matt didn't need to be asked twice. He wrapped his arm around Kari's waist and pulled her into a kiss. He started to pull away, only to deepen it. Matt finally did pull away, unable to keep a smile from his lips.
"New score?" Mimi asked.
Kari bit her lower lip. "Zero point five," she whispered.
"What! What kind of crackpot system do you use?" Matt knew he was a better kisser than that.
"Matt, darling, it's a score of one to five, one being the best. You've just beat the system." Mimi chuckled slightly.
"Oh, never mind then." Matt felt a mixture of foolishness and smugness at that moment. "My turn? Right, um, Izzy, truth or dare or whatever else?"
"Truth."
"What is the only class that you've even gotten below an A in?"
Izzy glared at Matt, "I told you that in confidence." The group all stared with heightened interest. "The course on Human Sexuality."
"You got a B in that course? That's practically the only class that's keeping me from flunking out!" Davis explained through a laughing fit.
"I'm not really all that surprised" Yolie said under her breath.
"What was that, Yolie? You're an a-sexual wench and you plan on mating with yourself?"
"I am not a-sexual! Just because I'm not a delusional obsessive pervert-"
"I'm not delusional!"
Ken cracked a smile. "But you are an obsessive pervert?"
Davis glared at his best friend. Suddenly, he was smiling again, "aren't we all, Kenny boy?"
"I think that it's Izzy's turn," Ken said quickly.
"Oh no, please continue with your conversation. Apparently Davis is the God of the Human Sexuality course. Please Almighty Daisuke, share with us your infinite wisdom."
"Well you see, when a guy and a girl have a physical attraction to one another they give into their animal-like lustful urges and-"
"Maybe Izzy should take his turn," Ken said, cutting of his friend before he made this fic M rated.
"Sora,"
"What?"
"Truth, dare, double dare, or promise to repeat?"
Sora was lying on her side and using her hand to prop her head up. She was too lazy to do anything that involved moving, so she picked the easiest. "Truth."
"Why did you quit the tennis team?"
"Because people pissed me off," she answered simply. "Ken, you're up."
"Truth," Ken said anxiously. No matter what he picked, Sora was going to find a way to torture him.
"What's the first thing that pops into your head when I ask what your biggest regret is?"
The first thing? Yeah, he was right; she was trying to torture him. "Offering to take your coat at the graduation party," he said coldly. Sora had been hoping for that answer. When Ken hosted a party for the graduates the previous summer, Sora and Tai had been taking a break. Ken and Kari were dating at the time and Sora wanted to make some trouble in paradise for the two happy teens. She followed Ken into the bedroom where all the coats were being set on the bed, and started kissing him. Kari walked in at just the right moment, and, well, her goal had been accomplished.
"Gee Sora, thank you for killing that game," Mimi snapped. "I'm going to bed."
No one found any reason to object to Mimi's statement, in fact, they all decided that she had an exceptionally good idea. The digimon rejoined their partners around the fire, snuggling up under the blankets with their human companions. "I'll take first watch," Joe said as he standing up.
"I'll go second," Izzy said.
"And I'm third," Davis added.
It didn't take long for the melancholy adolescents to fall asleep.
(0)
She was standing on the very beach that still haunted her dreams. It had been eight years since she'd actually been there, but the image was as clear as it was back then. The uninviting cave still resided at the base of the cliff; the sand and water were anything but aesthetically pleasing; the wind still sent chills up her spine.
The cave seemed to be calling to her, like some unknown force was bidding her to go inside of it. Kari wanted answers, maybe they were in that cave? The cave was long and winding, though there was only one pathway so she didn't need to worry about getting lost.
At long last, a light shone at the end of the tunnel. Kari found herself standing in a hallway of a castle. A Scubamon saw her and extended a finger in the direction he had come from. "He's waiting for you," he hissed.
Kari took a deep breath and started down the hallway. It led to an empty thrown room. "Typical," she sighed, "I'm stupid enough to confront the enemy and he isn't even here."
"Don't be so quick to assume that I am not present. I merely wished to observe for a moment or two."
"What do you want? Why am I here?"
"I wanted to see you; we never did have the chance to meet in person when I had you brought here before." Daemon stepped closer to Kari, she backed away.
"Your 'loyal subjects' wanted to get rid of you, that's why I was brought here."
"You're still so naïve. I'm afraid that my servants did not bring you here to lead a rebellion against me. They brought you her because I commanded them to. I thought that the prospect of overthrowing the Dark Undersea Master and becoming a queen would entice you to come to my castle, but I was incorrect."
"Why would I want to be queen of the Dark World?" she hissed.
"Dark World? Ha, you truly know nothing of this place. The Dark World is far more desolate than this place. It is an awesome and fear evoking place. This is nothing in comparison. I can teach you everything about it, as well as this place."
"Would you stop with this polite bullshit act? Quit speaking like you're from the sixteenth century."
"We evil creatures tend to be polite. I doubt I can say that for you humans, however. My 'polite bullshit act' is one that I have grown accustomed too. I see no reason to be rude to either my friends or enemies. Things tend to run smoother when people speak politely."
Kari stared at him in disbelief. This guy had to be smoking something. She watched as he looked her over with a critical eye. "What?" she finally demanded.
"It's true; you have maintained the same innocence and purity as when you protected the Digital World. Well, maybe not so much innocence in all cases, you are an adult now."
"Just what are you suggesting?"
Daemon wrapped his tentacle around Kari's waist, preventing her from backing away from him. A Scubamon walked by, catching his attention. "They are so unappealing in that form are they not? I can only imagine you find me ghastly in this mutated body."
"This isn't your true form?" she asked, trying to keep him talking. Talking was safer than anything else.
"Indeed not. I am no digimon, nor are my servants Scubamon." Daemon's eyes widened. "No!" he growled. "Don't wake up!" Kari felt herself fading away from his grasp.
(0)
Kari jumped as she woke up. She was shivering violently, still feeling his closeness and the darkness of the previous surroundings. Gatomon stirred beside her. "Kari, are you alright?" she whispered, fearing she'd wake the others.
"I'm fine," Kari whispered back. She looked around; Joe was sleeping peacefully, which meant that Izzy must be on watch. Sure enough, the computer genius was sitting against a tree a short distance off, his laptop sitting faithfully in his lap.
Kari stood and motioned for Gatomon to follow her. "Izzy?"
Izzy looked up at his laptop. "Oh, Kari, what are you doing awake?"
"Do you still have that Digimon Analyzer on your laptop?"
"Yep, why do you ask?"
Kari hesitated. She didn't want to worry Izzy but she didn't want to straight out lie. "I wanted to look up some information on a digimon."
Izzy patted the ground next to him. Kari sat down beside him and watched as he loaded up the program. "Just type in the name of the digimon, and press enter," he dictated as he passed the laptop over to Kari.
Kari hid the screen from Izzy as she looked up the bio on the Scubamon. She needed a location of where Scubamon lived in the Digital World. She quickly closed the menu and passed the laptop back to its rightful owner. "Thanks Iz, I owe you one. I need to go somewhere, but I'll be back by morning."
"Where are you going?" Izzy asked urgently.
"I have to check something out. I'll be fine, don't worry. I'll be back before any one wakes up."
"And if you aren't?"
"Stall…?" Kari scooped Gatomon into her arms and turned away, leaving a confused Izzy in her wake.
"Where are we going?" Gatomon asked when they had gotten some distance from the team.
"The beach," she replied solemnly. "I need to speak with the Scubamon."
"You want to go to the Dark Ocean!"
Kari petted the top of her digimon partner's head. "Of course not, there are Scubamon in the Digiworld, too."
The beach wasn't very far from where they originated. They were still being guided by the light of the moon; morning was not yet threatening to appear.
A row of shacks lined where the grass ended and the sand began. Inside were families of Scubamon, who were awakened by approaching footsteps.
The leader of the group went out to meet Kari. "What do you want outsider? You are not welcome here; there is no place for you to stay."
Kari set Gatomon down by her feet. "I need to speak with you about the Dark Ocean. About the creatures that have taken your form there."
The Scubamon looked thoughtful. After taking a long while to decide he finally spoke. "Come inside, I will tell you what you want to know."
Kari and Gatomon followed the leader into the largest of the shacks. Several other Scubamon were waiting idly, waiting for their leader's instructions. Gatomon looked up at Kari. She hoped that she knew what she was doing.
"The origins of the Dark Ocean are unimportant for now. All that you need to know is that the god of the Dark World went there in an attempt to breakthrough to the other worlds. He used his dark energy to darken the Ocean, thus preventing any of the other world leaders from entering it. He was unable to open any portals into the other worlds, however. We Scubamon are dark digimon and have the ability to enter the Dark Ocean. Our brethren were killed because the Dark World leader thought he could use the power of the digimon to break down the barriers. Unfortunately for him, the data of the slain digimon combined with him and his servants, mutating their bodies. When the digidestined fought for the sake of the Digital World, the worlds were sealed off from each other. Daemon, the name he gave his demented form, was trapped within the boundaries of that world."
"And now he wants to get out," Kari concluded.
"Yes, but in order to do so, he must regain his true form. He is searching for the Pendant of Narnium; it is the key to his reformation."
"Where is this pendant hidden?" Gatomon asked.
"I do not know that. I do not even know if it truly exists, or if it is merely a myth."
"Thank you for your help," Kari said. She noticed that the sun was rising in the sky. "I'd better be going."
(0)
"Izzy, I thought you were going to wake me up so that I could be on guard!"
"I'm sorry, I must have forgotten." Izzy looked around nervously. Everyone had begun to wake up and there was still no sign of Kari.
"I don't really mind that he didn't wake you," Veemon said.
"I did," Yolie shouted. "If he were awake then he wouldn't have been snoring!"
"Hey guys, has anyone seen Kari?" Tai asked.
Izzy looked back towards the direction Kari had left in. "Maybe she took a walk?"
"She wouldn't have left without telling anyone."
"Well, I, um, that is…" Izzy gulped as Tai approached him.
"Where is she?" he asked in a threatening tone.
"She left somewhere, she wouldn't say where exactly."
"When?"
"A few hours ago. About two hours into my shift, four, maybe."
Tai grabbed Izzy by the collar. "And when were you going to mention this?"
"She said she'd be back by morning," Izzy calmly returned.
"Well she isn't here!" Tai was startled by a sudden beeping noise.
"Sorry, that's me," Tk said, quickly grabbing the D-terminal. He read it over. "Tai, Kari says that if Izzy exhibits any signs of physical abuse, she's going to kick your ass. She's on her way back now."
Tai grabbed the D-terminal and read the message over. "Why did she leave in the first place?" he growled.
"She went that way, if you'd care to know," Izzy said quietly, pointing his finger towards where Kari and Gatomon had gone.
"Well, let's get going," Matt suggested.
"Yeah, and she better have a pretty damn good reason for leaving like that. You'd think that after yesterday she would have some common sense not to venture out alone."
"Tai, you know Kari, she'll have a reason, just relax," Tk advised.
The group set off following Kari's lead. Tai was caught between being worried and infuriated. He was just glad that Gatomon was with her.
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Kari crouched down besides Gatomon. "I sent Tk an e-mail, hopefully Tai won't be too angry."
"You should be worried about Izzy being mad at you. He's the one in danger of a beating." Gatomon jumped into her partner's arms as Kari stood back up. "Kari?"
"Yes, Gatomon?"
"What made you want to come talk to the Scubamon? How did you even know that there were Scubamon in the Digital World?" When Kari avoided the question, Gatomon became slightly upset. "Why do you insist on keeping secrets from me? We're partners, remember? Do you not trust me?"
"Of course I trust you! It's just… confusing. I don't want to worry you about something that might end up being nothing."
"I'll be more worried not knowing; I have a hundred ideas running through my head right now, and most are probably worse than what you could say. Please, just tell me."
"Okay, I had a dream last night. I was in the Dark Ocean, in the undersea palace… with Daemon."
"And?" Gatomon prompted.
"He told me that he wasn't really a digimon. I think that I woke up before he told me why he had brought me there."
"I think I have a right to worry about that! Did he do anything, and don't lie to me."
"No," Kari assured her. "We just talked. I really don't know what he wants from me. And until I find out, I want you to promise me that you won't say anything to the others, especially Tk or Ken."
Gatomon looked into her human companion's crimson eyes. "Alright, I won't say anything. But if anything happens, I'm going straight to Tk and Ken."
Kari nodded slightly. She just hoped that her friends need not be involved.
Suddenly, the trees behind the two were sliced in half. Kari turned around and saw a Kuwagamon gliding down towards them. He circled around, slicing up several more trees in the process.
Kari took off running, narrowly missing the 'Scissor Claw' attack right behind her. Gatomon jumped down and ran beside Kari so that they could move faster. "Maybe this wasn't sure a good idea after all," Kari said as she dodged another 'Scissor Claw.' "Why is he attacking us?"
"No idea," Gatomon huffed as she barely avoided being caught between Kuwagamon's pinchers. "I don't suggest we stay to find out, though."
Relief washed over the white feline when she saw eleven humans and eleven digimon headed their way. It was quickly returned to fear, however, as she realized that she was the strongest digimon present. She'd fight if she had to, so long as Kari was safe.
The digidestined saw Kari and Gatomon being chased by a Kuwagamon. "Kari!" Tai screamed. He knew that something like this was going to happen. He just hoped he could protect her.
"Run!" Kari screamed, throwing her arms forward to get them going. The group obliged as soon as she was close enough to them.
Davis looked back at the red insectoid digimon. There were no visible rings or spirals or anything that could be controlling him. He couldn't have been a control spire, since they were all destroyed. He slowed down enough so that he was the closest to Kari. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side, saving her from a 'Scissor Claw' attack.
"Thanks," Kari whispered, lying on the ground beside Davis.
"Anytime," he returned with a playful smile. Davis set his hand down on the ground to pull himself up. A piercing pain shot through the palm of his hand. "Ouch!"
Davis drew his hand away and found what offending object had stabbed at him. It was a bracelet, with a simple charm attached. The charm, shaped like the Crest of Miracles, had been what he'd put his hand on. Davis picked up the bracelet and examined the charm. In the center was a circle, surrounded by triangles, except for at the top, which was more tear-drop shaped.
"Vee Head Butt!"
Davis's attention was drawn back to the giant digimon ready to close in on him. Veemon had jumped in just in time to keep Kuwagamon from closing his pinchers around Kari and Davis. Kari yanked Davis to his feet and pulled him along. "Wait," Davis insisted.
Tai and the others had stopped running when they saw Davis and Kari go down. "Get over here!" Ken insisted.
Davis shook his head. "Veemon, you want to take care of this guy."
Veemon looked at Davis with uncertainty. "I'm willing to try," he said, avoiding Kuwagamon's large body.
The charm in Davis' hand started to glow. Veemon felt a surge of power overwhelm his. "Veemon transform to… Shoku Spirit Periveemon!"
"Woah," Davis gawked, staring at the new version of Veemon. He was slightly taller than Flamdramon had been, his body resembled that of Exveemon, his skin was ocean blue in color, and his chest and upper arms were covered by armor that had painted flames on it.
"Perivee Blast!" Periveemon shouted. He brought his hands together in front of himself and a ball of fire grew between them. He threw his hand s forward and the flame shot out as a beam.
Kuwagamon was bathed in red light. A final screech was heard before his body was diminished into tiny specks of data.
Periveemon returned to Veemon and collapsed to his knees. "What a rush," he sad in a tired voice. "Can I get something to eat now?"
Davis ran and hugged Veemon. "That was awesome!" he shouted. He quickly fastened the bracelet around his wrist. "I wonder what this charm thingy is, anyway."
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Author's Note: Sigh, this chapter sucks. I can admit to that.
JyouraKoumi, I don't know if you're still reading this, but I checked out your homepage like you said. I'm not really sure what you wanted me to see. I read (or tried to read) the paragraph written in there, but I'm not fluent in slang. Would you mind translating what you wanted me to know in normal people speech?
Can anyone tell me what the C2's are about? I know that a person can create one, the managers, I guess, but I'm curious to know what the staff is supposed to do, how people get their stories in a C2, anything about it at all, really.
I did say that the first chapter of Return of the Kaiser was going to be posted before another chapter of this story. I'm working on it, but you ever have the problem where you really don't want to write certain parts but can't wait for other parts? I'm stuck at one of the parts I don't care to write. But I'm forcing myself through it.
I've got the first fifteen chapters of this story planned out, they should all be about the same length. I've hit a bit of writer's block, but by the time I reach chapter fifteen, it'll definitely be gone.
I don't think I've got much else for you, I hope I'm not confusing anyone too much, I'm trying to keep everything a mystery until it needs to be revealed.
Oh, and don't be shy, review! Please?
Jillie062