Gentle waves rocked the block of ice, causing its passengers to slide a few inches in whatever direction it happened to lean. Two in particular weren't happy with the situation: Mikami and Impmon. The brunette sat with one hand holding onto a raised spike and tapped her leg with the fingers of the other. Her partner was lounging against her with a sour look on his face. He loosely held onto her arm so as not to slide off. Near them were Yoko and Salamon. The redhead, curled up with Salamon against her chest, kept one arm wrapped around the pup while grasping a large rock buried halfway into the ice.

Mikami had lost track of how long they had been floating along. She was pretty sure it had at least been a day, which was ridiculous when thinking about the fact that it had been hours upon hours since they had been separated from their friends. Hopefully Daiki, Judai, and the twins hadn't been out at sea for as long as they had been.

"When are we gonna hit land?" Impmon groaned, flinging his other arm around dramatically. "We've been on this thing for too damn long!"

"Trust me, I know," Mikami grumbled. She rubbed the bridge of her nose. While she understood why he was so annoyed, she wished he wouldn't talk so loudly. She had barely slept since everyone had been split up and it was wearing on her. "Lower your voice."

"What are ya—" He stopped when she massaged her temples. It was then that he finally noticed the bags under her eyes. "Oh. Sorry, Mikami. Ya stayed up, didn't ya?"

She sighed. "Yeah. Just…keep it down, please."

"Sure thing," he said. "Well, I'm up. Why don't ya take a nap?"

"You sure?"

"Of course I'm sure. Go ahead. Keepin' watch isn't that hard, ya know."

"Mhmm."

"Hey, I've been on the run for a hell of a long time, Mikami. I know what I'm doin', thank you very much."

She held up her hands, smirking while he pouted. "Alright, alright. I trust you. Just wake me up if anything happens."

"Whatever. Now go to sleep."

He watched wrapped her arm around the spike and settle into a more comfortable position. It wasn't long before she closed her eyes and drifted off. The soft snores that followed confirmed that she was asleep. Impmon smiled and shifted to better lean against the brunette. While he would never openly admit it to her, she looked relatively cute—or, really, just innocent for once instead of seeming like she would kill him—while she was sleeping. Any time when she wasn't going to strangle or punch him, actually.

Eyes trailing over to Yoko and Salamon, he grinned. Those two were definitely cute, especially with the way Yoko was curled around Salamon. It was like the small pup was a teddy bear or—

A rather loud snore from Mikami cut off his train of thought. He jumped at first before looking down at her with a soft laugh. All in all, it reminded him of the earlier times, when he and the other Digimon were just starting out. Those were the good times. Things hadn't been quite as…complicated as they were now. Not that hanging around with the humans wasn't nice and all, but they were in a bigger mess than ever.

Impmon couldn't wait until all this was over.

Because after they saved the world and restored peace or whatever, he was going to live a nice, quiet life. He had no doubt that he would be tired of adventuring. He was gonna find a place away from all the excitement and settle down. Maybe he would be a recluse. Not being in contact with anyone and doing whatever he wanted would be great.

Yeah, right. Him not adventuring and being a hermit instead? He snorted.

With a huff he looked into the distance. He had nearly fallen asleep when something caught his eye through the thin fog. Moving away from Mikami a bit, but staying close enough to still hold onto her, he stared forward. There was a huge shadow rising up into the sky. The longer he looked at it, though, the more he realized that it was actually a mountain. Suddenly perking up, he glanced at the girls. Yoko and Salamon had been asleep for a while, but Mikami had fallen asleep only a little while ago. He guessed he could wake up the redhead and Salamon and let Mikami rest until they got there.

Or he could just let all three of them sleep. They were rather tuckered out.

Besides, they were drifting straight towards it. It wasn't like they need to splash at the water to steer or anything. Once they got closer, he'd wake them up.

Hope the others are this lucky, he thought. Or a bit luckier.

Since he was waiting, he laid down and closed his eyes.

He must have dozed off. When he blinked open his eyes, the mountain and the island it was on was closer to them than before. Stifling a yawn, Impmon sat up and rubbed his eyes. It was as good of a time as ever to wake them up, considering how close they were now. He shifted and scooted closer to Mikami. Reaching over her, aimed to tap her on the shoulder. He had learned from experience that there were very few places where anyone but Yoko and Daiki could touch her when she was asleep. Touch any of the places that weren't one of the safe spots and she'd sit up faster than a rocket with her fist swinging.

Then the ice violently shifted.

Impmon hadn't even seen the wave until it was too late. As soon as it hit, the entire thing moved. One side rose upwards until the purple imp was forced to cling to Mikami. The girl's eyes shot open as soon as it happened, and within moments Yoko and Salamon were awake. The sudden force of it caused Yoko's grip to falter. While she managed to hold onto Salamon tightly, the two slid downwards. Mikami spun around, looping a leg around the icy spike and flinging her arms outwards. One arm wrapped around Impmon's waist. She reached out with her right hand to grasp Yoko's wrist before the redhead and her partner fell into the water.

Only moments afterwards they were shoved forward, wave after wave slamming into the ice. Soon enough they found themselves crashing onto a beach. They were still clinging to the ice well after it stopped.

"Holy shit," Impmon said.

"You guys okay?" Mikami asked as she looked at Yoko and Salamon.

Yoko hesitantly nodded. "I-I think so."

The small pup nodded as well. With a sigh of relief, Mikami let them go and unwound her legs from around the spike. Impmon hopped off, landing on the sand while stretching his arms. Yoko and Salamon slid off, collapsing onto the sand once they did. Mikami leaned over to look at the redhead and the pup. After she double-checked the two for injuries, she looked Impmon over. Satisfied, she put her hands on her hips and glanced around.

"When did we get so close to an island?" she wondered. "Not that I'm complaining. Definitely a good thing."

"Eh, it was a while ago," Impmon replied, waving his hand.

Mikami grunted. "Hmm?"

"Eh, like I said, it was a while ago. Okay, well, we weren't close at the time, but we were driftin' towards it. Must've been asleep for longer than I thought because we were pretty close to it when I woke up."

"Meh. At any rate, it was good timing. Wonder if there's any towns nearby."

"If this is Data Island," Salamon murmured, drawing their attention, "then there should be a small town. That is, if I'm remembering correctly."

Yoko got to her feet. "I guess we should look for it."

"Sounds like a plan," Mikami said as she walked away. "This island doesn't seem to be too big, so I don't think it matters which way we go."

Yoko happily skipped behind her, Salamon still in her arms.

"Hey! Who made ya leader?" Impmon complained, dashing after the brunette.

"I did. Come on!"

The imp groaned loudly in protest, hands up in the air in a sign of frustration. Looking over her shoulder at him, Yoko giggled, throwing a small smile down at Salamon.

"Ugh."

"Hey, if we're gonna be stranded here, we might as well look on the bright side," Mikami said with a chuckle.

Impmon narrowed his eyes. "Who are ya and what have ya done with Mikami?"

"Now you're just being stupid."

"Hey!"

They walked for some time, making their way through the trees, when Yoko spoke up.

"I think I see a building."

Raising her head, Salamon looked up at her partner. The redhead was staring forward, squinting her eyes and pressing her lips together. Impmon raised his hand to shield his eyes from the sun as he peered into the distance. Mikami, who was a few feet in front of them, made a small noise of agreement. Excited, Yoko bounded forward. She passed Mikami and disappeared through a grouping of trees. With a huff Mikami dashed after her. Impmon was left to run to catch up with his friends.

When they cleared the small forest, the group found themselves standing at the edge of a large town. Digimon went from building to building and walked along the wooden pathways. Barely any of them paid attention to the four new arrivals. Impmon rubbed the back of his head with a quiet 'hmph'. Mikami folded her arms, scanning the sight in front of them with mild surprise.

"It's really quiet," Yoko said.

Salamon smiled. "Somewhat peaceful."

"Unnervin' if ya ask me," Impmon grumbled.

"Well, let's not jump to conclusions until we know what's going on," Mikami told him. She walked forward. "Remember the Village of Beginnings?"

"Alright."

"I have to agree there," Salamon said. "Things were peaceful there until those three Champions attacked."

Yoko, surprisingly enough, looked somewhat smug. "And if something does happen, we need to help."

"Okay. Yeesh."

"I guess we'll ask around first," Mikami mumbled, hand against her chin. "See if anybody knows anything…if there's been any signs of forces or anything, we'll have to stick around to take care of it and clean up the mess afterwards…"

"Does she always mutter to herself like this?" Impmon asked.

"You're her partner. Shouldn't you know?" Yoko teased with a smile. "She's not the only one, though. Tadashi does it a lot, and Daiki does every now and then. Usually when she's thinking about a lot of stuff."

"There's not much to think about right now."

"I'm not sure about that," Salamon said. "She's probably worried about everyone. Seems like every time we get separated, someone ends up getting hurt…"

"Ah—yeah, yer right," Impmon grumbled, rubbing the back of his head. "Just gotta get through this as quick as possible then."

"How is it that we get split up so often?" Yoko wondered, a curious look on her face.

"You three gonna hurry up?" Mikami shouted, already standing quite a distance away from them. "If you're gonna hang with each other, go ask around! We'll meet back up where we came in."

"Hey—!" Impmon cut himself off as the brunette headed off. "Whelp, I guess we're stuck together."

"Only thing to do is ask the townspeople," Salamon said. "Shall we?"

"Yeah…sure…"

They spent the next half hour or more running from building to building and dashing around the streets, asking any Digimon they came across questions that might help them determine if anything was wrong. However, anytime they approached one of the citizens, they would become frightened expression and the Digimon they were questioning would run off soon after. After what seemed like a hundred Digimon (Salamon insisted it was nowhere near that) the trio decided to head back to the meeting place.

They were on their way there when Mikami intercepted them.

"Found something," she told them. "You might want to hear everything for yourself though."

Yoko blinked. "Huh?"

"This island is under the Master's rule but—well, it's kinda weird."

"The usual kind of weird, or somethin' even weirder?" Impmon asked.

"Weirder."

"Fabulous."

"It could be worse," Salamon reminded him.

Impmon frowned. "That doesn't make me feel better."

The brunette once again took the lead, heading to a rundown house on the very edge of the town. She stopped at the door and knocked on it.

"I'm back," she announced.

"Come in," a voice said.

She swung the door open and walked in with no hesitation. Impmon trudged in with a sigh. Yoko followed him in, closing the door once she was inside. The house appeared to only be a handful of rooms. The one they stood in was a large room with little furniture. A Digimon who looked to be some kind of wizard, complete with a pointy, wide-brimmed hat, sat in a chair with his gaze turned towards them. Mikami ushered the group to the couch and forced them to sit. A smug look appeared on her face when Impmon muttered in annoyance.

Mikami motioned to the Digimon with her hand. "This is Wizardmon."

"So, you're Mikami's friends," Wizardmon said. "It is my pleasure. I assume she hasn't told you anything?"

"Nope," Impmon muttered while rolling his eyes.

Wizardmon nodded. "Life on this island was somewhat chaotic before one of the Master's followers came here. Things had improved at first since we finally had the leadership we needed. However, Ogremon began to force unnecessary rules onto the citizens of the island. Soon it became something of a dictatorship. Any disturbance is dealt with extreme force and those found as instigators or participants are…punished. It has become miserable."

"Okay…so, that is weird," Impmon whispered under his breath. "Any idea why?"

"As far as Ogremon is concerned, Data Island is a vacation resort. Interrupting his 'peace of mind' is punishable by imprisonment or worse…death."

"That's terrible!" Yoko exclaimed, eyes wide. "We have to do something."

"We will," Salamon said, glancing towards Mikami. Mikami nodded to her. "Does Ogremon live on the island?"

There was a soft sigh from the wizard. "Yes, he does. You might have seen the mansion on the mountainside."

"Ugh, ya mean that over decorated, gaudy place?" Impmon groaned, sticking his tongue out in disgust.

"Unfortunately. What exactly do you plan on doing?"

Mikami stood, stretching her arms over her head. When she lowered them, she smirked at the curious Wizardmon. "That's easy. We're going to give Ogremon and his stupid followers a taste of their own medicine. Let's get going."

"I support this plan." Salamon hopped out of Yoko's arms to trot to the door. "What he has done is unforgivable."

Impmon jumped off the couch with a wide grin. "Now that sounds like my kind of fun!"

"Maybe we shouldn't just go charging in?" Yoko suggested, hurrying as the three began to walk out. "That's never really a good idea."

"If there's any other ways to the mansion, yeah," Mikami said. "But from what I've seen there's only the one path up."

"I say we just charge in anyway. Fastest way. Besides, we can—"

Impmon was interrupted by Wizardmon saying, "Wait just a moment, if you would."

Mikami paused, door half open, to look at him. He walked up to them, picking up the staff leaning against the wall at the same time. Realizing he was planning on coming along with them, she motioned for them to go, following Wizardmon out. She closed the door. The wizard looked at her expectantly, and she waved her hand up towards the mansion. With a nod, he walked ahead of them, heading to the far end of the town. A few Digimon sent glances towards the group as they made their way through town, but Wizardmon paid them no mind while Impmon glared.

They entered the forest surrounding the town. The trail they walked along was barely visible and wound its way around the trees. It was slow going thanks to the gradual thickening of the woods. When they finally came out, they were standing at the base of the mountain. After a bit more walking, Wizardmon headed up a wide path circling upwards along the mountainside. Said path lead right to the massive front doors of the mansion. Even from the distance they were at, they were able to see the guards patrolling around the building.

"Is this such a good idea?" Yoko whispered.

"Most likely not," Wizardmon answered. "It is, however, our only option. All cave routes leading to the rear of the mansion have been completely sealed. We will simply have to be smart in how we attack."

"Psh," Impmon grunted. "We don't need to be smart about it. We should just go for it!"

"Impmon," Salamon said softly, "lower your voice. It wouldn't be good to alert them too soon."

"Hrmph."

"Just shush," Mikami grumbled. "I'm guessing there's more than just the flying guards."

Wizardmon nodded. "There are. I can deal with those in the air easily enough. You will have to dispatch those on foot."

"Done and done." She looked to Yoko. "Impmon and I go from the left, you and Salamon go from the right?"

The redhead shrugged. "I guess? You're pretty good at that stuff."

"Whatever you say."

"Sounds fun," Impmon said with a grin. "Time to bust some heads."

Pulling their Digivices out, Mikami and Yoko prepared. Impmon and Salamon ran forward, jumping into the air just as the light from the Digivices engulfed them. When the duo landed, they were in their respective Champion forms. The aerial guards took notice of them as everyone rushed up the path to the front of the mansion. A Digimon that looked like a cross between a pterodactyl and a jet plane dove down at them, but a blast of lightning from Wizardmon's staff stopped him before he ever came close. More followed suit.

"Pteramon. Champion level. Big surprise there…They can shoot out rockets, so be on the lookout," Mikami stated, glancing around at everyone.

"Just leave them to me," Wizardmon said.

The sound of thunderous footsteps caught their attention. Dobermon raised his head just as several massive, blue and white moose Digimon charged towards them. Behind them were bulls wearing capes.

"Moosemon and Bullmon," Yoko mumbled, reading her Digivice. "Be careful, you two. They look strong"

"We'll be fine," Gatomon said.

As the first moose reached her, Gatomon jumped up and slammed her hind paws into his head. The kick sent him crashing to the ground. She pushed off, launching into the air just in time to avoid two more Moosemon. She flipped, grabbing onto the leftmost Moosemon's antlers. Her foot lashed out as she used the antlers to spin around, catching the third one in the face. It collapsed onto the first. The one she had a hold of thrashed, flinging his head back and forth in an attempt to shake her off. She waited until he flung his head full force to the left, letting go just as he did. Gatomon was sent sailing through the air, using the momentum to slam her fist into a Bullmon and knock the horned Digimon over.

Dobermon rushed at a trio of Bullmon. The three were mildly surprised by the tactic, leaving Dobermon an opportunity to shoot several fireballs at them. While two of the Bullmon dashed away, the middle one received the onslaught of fireballs, stunning him. Dobermon slid past, slashing at the bull's side with his claws. The other two circled around, charging at him from either side upon watching their comrade burst into data. Grinning wildly, the dog leaped into the air, causing the two to ram their heads together. Dazed, the two stumbled. Dobermon turned and shot a black beam through each of them.

Each time a Pteramon came too close to the battling Digimon or the two humans, Wizardmon would blast them with lightning. Eventually the flying Digimon began to thin out, along with those on the ground. After several minutes, Gatomon and Dobermon finished off the last of the enemies, allowing the group to head for the mansion entrance.

Mikami stopped in front of the doors. "Any of them on the inside?"

Wizardmon shook his head. "As far as I am aware, his guards are kept outside and the only Digimon inside are his servants."

"Servants?" Yoko breathed out. "That's terrible."

The wizard nodded as he opened the door. "Be on your guard nonetheless."

When they entered, Yoko paused to stare at the massive room they stood in. Mikami pulled her forward towards the staircase on the far side of the room, snapping her out of her thoughts. Wizardmon led them up the stairs and into a long corridor. Dobermon sniffed the air occasionally while Gatomon glanced behind them. Mikami folded her arms, narrowing her in eyes in suspicion.

"I'm surprised Ogremon hasn't come running to see what's going on," she said, "considering all the noise we caused outside."

"The walls are soundproof, from what I have heard," Wizardmon replied. "Besides that, he would never personally deal with intruders unless it was absolutely necessary."

"Typical conceited ass," Dobermon stated. "So, where is he?"

"Judging from what some of his servants say, I would guess he spends his time in his little 'throne room' that he had built."

Gatomon made a noise of revulsion. "He truly is vain."

Snorting, Mikami smirked. "That's why we're gonna knock him down a few notches."

They walked on for a while longer until they finally reached the door leading to the room. Before Wizardmon could open them, Dobermon blasted it open and stomped into the room. A surprised, startled yell followed seconds after, sounding rather high pitched coming from the Digimon sitting in the only chair in the room. As the green Digimon's eyes landed on the group, his expression turned from fright to rage.

"What is the meaning of this? How dare you—Wizardmon!" Ogremon cried out. He jumped to his feet. "Disrupting my soldiers from doing their jobs and attacking them?"

"I am tired of living under your dictatorship," Wizardmon said, stepping forward. "And so is the rest of the island. From this day forward, we are free of you and the Master!"

"What makes you think you can declare independence from the Master?"

Dobermon by her side, Mikami walked past Wizardmon and pointed at Ogremon. "Because we're here to put an end to you! We're the DigiDestined, and we're not going to put up with someone like you!"

Ogremon's eye twitched in irritation. "You're certainly arrogant. You have no idea who you're talking to!"

"We do know," Gatomon replied. "What are you besides a dictator who has no concern for those living on this island?"

"No concern…! Urgh, you little brat. If I didn't care, everyone on this pitiful excuse of an island would be dead!"

Growling, Dobermon shot a fireball at Ogremon. The green Digimon jumped, moving to the side in time to avoid the flame. It hit the wooden throne and ignited it, causing Ogremon to hop off it with a yelp. Spinning around, he glared at Dobermon. The dog was chuckling at the sight of the panicking ogre. Grabbing the club that was laying on the ground, Ogremon stepped down away from the seat with an enraged look.

"That's it," he growled. "I'm not going to stand by and let you ruin my home and my image!"

He raised the club over his head and charged at Dobermon. When Ogremon swung, Dobermon dodged to the side and slid to a stop. The club hit the floor and cracked it, leaving a large broken spot. The dog blinked, silently glad that he had avoided the attack. Ogremon pulled the weapon out, turning to Dobermon again. Swinging, Ogremon aimed for the dog, leaving Dobermon to jump from side to side to avoid the club.

"A little help!" Dobermon shouted.

Gatomon ran forward. She jumped up and flipped around once she reached Ogremon. Her foot connected sharply with the side of Ogremon's head, causing the ogre to stumble backwards. He recovered quickly, bringing his club around to slam it against Gatomon's side. The cat was sent flying through the air from the attack. Wizardmon acted quickly, running forward and catching her just before she hit the wall. Gatomon looked up, grateful, and Wizardmon gently placed her on the floor.

"You must be wary," Wizardmon warned. "Ogremon is far stronger than he appears."

"We've handled every enemy we've come across so far," Mikami said. "We can handle him."

"Overconfident brats," Ogremon growled.

Dobermon lunged. He ducked under another swing and dug his teeth into Ogremon's leg. Gatomon dashed forward, grabbing the club from the ogre's hand and smacking him in the head. Dazed, Ogremon lost his balance. That allowed Dobermon to tug and pull with enough force to throw him to the side. Lightning arched out of Wizardmon's staff, shocking Ogremon before the wizard's staff glowed. He swung the staff up, sending the ogre upwards into the air. Ogremon flailed, a frightened look on his face.

"You—you won't get away with this!"

"Gatomon!" Yoko shouted.

The cat nodded, leaping into the air. She passed Ogremon, twisting around mid-air. Her feet touched one of the pillars, and she pushed off, raising a fist. With a punch to Ogremon's stomach, she sent him shooting towards the floor. Dobermon dashed over, stopping once he was underneath Ogremon, and built up energy in his mouth.

"Schwartz Strahl!" the dog howled, shooting the black beam from his mouth.

The beam tore straight through Ogremon, drawing a scream of pain and denial before he burst into data. Grinning, Dobermon gave Wizardmon a smug look, and then turned to glance at his partner. The group gathered near the throne, where bits of crystal could be see behind the charred wood. Dobermon tore the wood away before moving to let Gatomon to hop forward and shatter the crystal with a punch.

"That takes care of that."

The sound of clapping echoed in the room.

"Well, well, well. I have to thank you for getting rid of Ogremon. He was always a pain in my ass."

Spinning around, the group watched as two familiar figures walked into the room. Glowering, Mikami stepped down from the throne and didn't stop until she was standing in the middle of the room. She folded her arms over her chest. Leaning against the doorway, Angela stared at her with a smirk. Devimon towered behind her, arms crossed. Dobermon jogged up his partner, followed by Yoko and Gatomon. Wizardmon joined them with a frown.

"What are you doing here?" Mikami asked.

"My job," Angela answered. "You didn't think I was finished with you, did you? Far from it. I still have my orders and I will make sure you don't go any farther."

"In case you forgot, we beat you last time," Mikami said. "What makes you think Dobermon and I can't beat you again?"

"I've been watching your every move, Mikami, ever since you and your little friends made it into town."

Dobermon eyed the two in suspicion. "Why didn't you stop us from destroying the crystal?"

The blonde chuckled and shrugged. "Not my problem. My mission is to kill the DigiDestined. That's what I plan on doing. And you're first, Mikami."

"You're trying awfully hard," Mikami said, "to act tough right now."

Angela's smug look faltered. Moving around to stand in front of her, Devimon glared.

"As frustrating as she may be," Devimon said, "I'm not going to let you insult her."

There was a brief look of surprise on Angela's face, though she quickly masked it with a grin. "Sorry, hon, but some of us don't need to act tough."

Mikami closed her eyes and laughed. "Sure. Whatever you say."

Angela narrowed her eyes to glare at Mikami. "What game are you playing at?"

"I just think the way you're acting is funny."

Growling, Angela gripped her fist. "Devimon!"

The devil rolled his shoulders as he walked forward. Mikami tilted her head towards him, prompting Dobermon to trot past her and face Devimon. Yoko fidgeted, wanting Gatomon to join the battle. Seeing her worried expression, Wizardmon placed a hand on the redhead's arm.

"Mikami," Yoko said.

"Don't worry Yoko," Mikami replied. "You guys just get out of here. We'll handle this and meet up with you in town."

Yoko exchanged glances with Gatomon and Wizardmon. The three nodded to each other. As they dashed for the door, Devimon turned to stop them, but Angela shook her head. Yoko turned around long enough to look at Mikami, but hurried after Wizardmon and Gatomon. Devimon gave his partner a strange look, only for her to give him a stern look in return and focus her attention on Mikami.

"Hope you're ready," Angela hissed.

"Whenever you are."

~0~

It only took the trio a few minutes to get through the mansion and arrive outside. Almost as soon as she burst out of the door, Yoko stopped, eyes locking onto the town. Her mouth dropped open. Gatomon skidded to halt just past her, and Wizardmon paused to look back at her. Noticing her gaze, he glanced towards the town. His eyes came to rest upon smoke that billowed upwards from buildings that were on fire. A sharp breath came Gatomon as she watched the dancing flames in disbelief.

"No!" Wizard gasped. "Not now!"

"Angela and Devimon didn't come alone this time," Gatomon whispered.

Yoko's gaze hardened as she glanced around. "We have to go help them. Is there a faster way down?"

"No, not one that I know of."

The redhead bit her thumbnail. There had to be another way down. Glancing over the edge, she stared at the slope. It wasn't too steep, so maybe…

Well, she was going to risk it.

Without warning, she swung herself over the edge, her rear end immediately sliding down along the slope. Wizardmon and Gatomon's concerned voices rang out behind her, but she was undeterred. The sooner they got to the town and helped the Digimon, the better. Soon enough Gatomon and Wizardmon joined her. They continued to slide down until the ground very roughly stopped their movement. Wincing, Yoko stood and gently rubbed her backside. That probably hadn't been the best idea. It had gotten them down quickly, though, even if she was going to be sore for a while.

She took off again, running through the forest, Wizardmon at her side and Gatomon quickly overtaking her. It wasn't long before they made it out of the woods and into the town.

Of course, the reason the town was burning was a small group of Meramon shooting fire everywhere. The Digimon trying to flee were attacked by strange humanoid Digimon wearing masks and wielding wooden swords. Yoko pulled out her Digivice, looking down at it.

"Yasyamon. They're Champions, too. Be on guard."

"I will deal with the Meramon," Wizardmon said. "Stop the Yasyamon!"

"On it," Gatomon replied. "Yoko, find someplace safe!"

The cat lunged. She slammed her fist into the side of a Yasyamon's head, sending him crashing to the ground. More surrounded her. Jumping up, she kicked one in the chest. She pushed off, using the momentum to kick the others and knock them off their feet. She landed and rushed towards where more of the masked Digimon were chasing after several smaller Digimon.

Nearby, Wizardmon was blasting Meramon with magic, halting their efforts to light more buildings on fire. Many of the town's citizens were bringing buckets of water from the nearby river to dump on the fires in order to put them out.

Making her way around the outside of the town, Yoko decided to help in getting the water. She wasn't just going to sit by while everyone else was doing the work.

She hoped Mikami was having a bit more luck than they were.

~0~

Head slamming into Devimon's chest, Dobermon sent the devil skidding backwards. With the tall Digimon still recovering, the dog dashed forward, jumping up at the last moment and kicking Devimon in the face with his hind paws. While Dobermon landed on his feet, Devimon fell onto his back. With a grunt Devimon flipped onto his stomach and struggled to push himself up to his knees. Instead of letting him, Dobermon leapt on top of him. He pinned the devil down with a warning snarl.

"Stop tryin' to get back up," Dobermon barked.

Angela gripped the black Digivice tightly in her hand.

"I won't…surrender to the likes of you," Devimon replied, gritting his teeth.

Dobermon raised his head, locking his eyes with Mikami's. She shook her head, and he kicked Devimon towards Angela as soon as she did. The blonde kneeled beside her partner, helping him to sit up.

"How?" Angela growled. "How can you possibly be stronger? What the hell makes you so special?!"

"I don't know. I'm still not sure why I'm a DigiDestined," Mikami answered honestly. "But I do know that there's people I care about, and I need to protect them."

"Your point is?"

"My point is that I won't let how I feel about everything that's ever happened to me get in the way of doing what I need to. What the Master is doing is wrong. You know that just as well as I do."

"I don't care!"

"And I'll be damned if I let the Digimon who live here go through what I had to," Mikami muttered.

Raising her head, Angela glared at Mikami. "How is it that you can still care about people?"

Mikami looked to Dobermon, who was giving her a curious glance. "I found friends who care about me. I have a bit of faith now."

Sneering, Angela looked away from Mikami to focus her attention on Devimon. Mikami motioned to Dobermon and strode out of the room, the dog hurrying after her. Once they were gone, Devimon lowered his head, ashamed.

"What are you doing?" Angela demanded when his shoulders drooped.

"I'm sorry, Angela. I've failed the Master and you."

"Failed…me?" she muttered, confused. After a moment, she shook her head. "Shut up and raise your head!"

Startled, the devil glanced up at her.

"We're soldiers. We never quit." She huffed as she stood and offered him her hand. "…And no matter how annoying you are, you're my partner."

A small smile appeared on his face. He grabbed her hand and stood, looking down at her. "Never would have thought to hear you of all people say that."

"Here I thought we were having a moment."

"We were having a moment. I felt the need to ruin it." He smirked. "Besides, since when do you enjoy 'moments'?"

"Go to hell. Come on, let's go while you're acting like yourself."

~0~

"Y'know, in all the time we've travelled together, I have never heard ya talk like that," Dobermon said.

The two were walking down the stairs at a leisurely pace. Mikami looked down at Dobermon, eyebrows slightly furrowing.

"If you tell anyone about that I swear I'll punch you in your sleep," she hissed.

"Yeesh! You're nice to her, but an ass to me," he grumbled.

"I can't help it."

"Yeah, sure. Speakin' of her, how do ya know her exactly?"

"We used to be friends, okay? …Close friends."

"So, basically, the two of ya were best friends," he concluded. "What happened to make her hate ya?"

"Do we have to talk about this right now?" Mikami asked, annoyed. "We have to go meet up with Yoko and Gatomon."

"I'll let it pass for now, but I want an explanation later!"

"Fair enough."

They were almost to the door when Dobermon sniffed and promptly wrinkled his nose. "Smell that?"

"What?" she asked, taking a deep breath through her nose. It took her a moment to realize what it was. "Is that…smoke?"

They exchanged glances before rushing out, eyes immediately locking onto the town. Dobermon grunted, motioning to his back, and Mikami swung herself up onto him with a nod. He looked down at the slope before hopping over the edge and sliding down. As they reached the bottom, he leaped off the slope, landing on the ground. Immediately he shot off, weaving through the trees. The two burst out of the trees. Dobermon was barely able to a stop before he ran into Wizardmon, who was overlooking the damage.

Yoko, standing nearby, took notice of them. "Hey! We got it handled," she said as she dumped a bucket of water on a burning bush. "These houses are gonna be smoking for a while though."

Eye twitching Mikami jumped off of Dobermon. "Jeez, I think I had a heart attack."

Yoko giggled while Gatomon cracked a grin at them.

"Everyone okay?" Dobermon asked, padding up to the redhead and Gatomon.

"Everything is fine," Gatomon reported. "We got here in time to keep any of the Digimon from getting too hurt and we cleaned up the invaders that came."

"That's good news," Mikami mumbled. "Well, our work here is done. Problem is, how are we going to get off this island and where are we gonna go?"

"I can have a boat prepared for you," Wizardmon said. "It would probably be wise to head for Toy Zone, northeast of this island."

Smiling, Mikami tapped Wizardmon's arm with her fist. "Thanks."

"No, thank you. Had you not arrived, Ogremon would still be here. Though the town has been damaged, it is better than watching more of my friends perish."

"Just doing our job."