Okay, so there are a few things I would like to let everyone know that you may not.

1) I write the entire beginning note before the rest of the story, so I may not know up here what happens down there.

2) I don't write the entire chapter at once (or I try not to, at least). I don't know if anyone does or doesn't do this, but that's the way I do.

The point of that last part is: at the beginning here, I'm in a bit of a bad mood, so I can't guarantee the content of the story, and I may be in a better mood when I continue. Um... anyway, let's just move on.

Palmon: "This time we ended up in an underwater city where the protector, Whamon, had been destroyed. Thanks to that, a lot of the Digimon living there kept getting captured and infected by viruses. We stopped them and got rid of the Virus responsible, and I Digivolved to Lillymon. The Digimon were afraid of being vulnerable since they didn't have a protector anymore, but Miyuki had the idea for the girls to use data in their Digivolve to help the elder of the city Digivolve to Neptunemon. Now they have a new protector, but we have no idea where we're going next."


Miyuki stuck her hands in her pockets, staring up at the binary flying by above them, DemiDevimon perched on her shoulder.

"So, what do you think is up next?" Labramon asked.

"Who knows?" his partner said. "We can't really tell what's beyond the holes until we go through them." She looked down the tunnel, seeing a familiar ripple. "Looks like we found one."

"Let's get going, then," Hana said, leading the way through.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

The group found themselves in a desert, but there seemed to be no oasis in sight this time.

"I hope this doesn't take too long," Kiira commented. "I don't know about you, but I really don't want to dry up here."

Palmon nodded. "Definitely."

"Says the plant," DemiDevimon joked, resulting in the other Rookie sticking her tongue out at him.

"In all seriousness, though," Renamon stated, "We need to be on our guard. You never know when something may strike."

"Yeah," Hana said. "Of course, we do have the advantage that nothing can sneak up on us." She gestured to the open plane of sand around them. "We'll see them coming a mile away."

Miyuki shrugged. "Yeah, unless they come out from under us."

The blonde glared. She didn't know what she disliked more, being interrupted by the brunette or knowing the other girl was right. "Yeah," she agreed begrudgingly. "Unless they come out from under us."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that," Yumi said, earning nods from the others. "So, do we just walk until we find something, or what?"

"Yeah," Labramon said. "I mean, usually we find something practically waiting for us, but this time, nothing. What if there's nothing here and we're just wasting time?"

Hana sighed, realizing that the Rookie and his partner brought up a good point. "Alright, how about this. We walk around for a few hours, and if nothing comes up, we can leave."

Miyuki glanced over her shoulder. "We may have a problem with that," she commented.

"What now?" the blonde asked, crossing her arms.

The black-clad teen pointed. "Hole's gone."

"What the hell?" DemiDevimon asked, staring at the empty space where their entrance had been.

Yumi thought for a moment, pushing up her glasses. "Well, I think that might mean there's a Virus in here waiting for us." At the questioning looks they gave her, she elaborated. "We've never noticed before, since we never turned to look back as soon as we got here, but if you'll remember, all the Viruses have been most interested in getting rid of us. Because they're able to take control of the Data Digimon here and infect them, what if they close the holes to keep us in here?"

The others thought on that for a minute. "What if they're the ones that open the holes, too?" Kiira asked. "They do that to lure us in, we come, and they try to get rid of us."

Miyuki stood back and watched the geniuses at work. Their conversation was easy to follow, but she wasn't sure if she'd be able to come to the same conclusions as fast as they were. Following her gut? That she could do. Strategize and figure out the enemy's plans? Not so much.

"I'll just... leave you guys to it," she said. "We're gonna go take a walk. If you need us, we won't exactly be hard to find."

Kiira frowned. "I'll be right back," she told the others. What if Miyuki left because they were making her feel stupid? They knew they were all smart, and Miyuki had admitted that she was below average. She hated making people feel like the were less than her.

"You know," DemiDevimon said once they were out of earshot of the others, not looking behind them. "I'm not sure she'll ever trust us." He didn't need to elaborate on who 'she' was.

Miyuki sighed. "I know. No matter what I do, she just won't get it through her thick head." She kicked up a little sand in frustration as she walked. Hearing some coughing from behind her, she turned to see Kiira following her. "What do you want?" She paused, realizing how that sounded. "Uh, sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

The translator shook her head. "It's fine. As for Hana..." She glanced back at the group. "Just give her time."

The brunette looked down at her boots, briefly wondering if the sand was going to be a bitch to get out. "She's had time." She started twirling one of her pigtails. "You should get back."

"Are you going to be okay?" Kiira asked her as she turned, still looking at the other girl over her shoulder.

Miyuki nodded with a small smile. "Yeah. We'll be fine, promise."

Kiira seemed to be debating it for another moment before accepting what the other girl had to say. "Alright. Just come back soon, okay?"

Miyuki nodded, and once Kiira was out of earshot, she looked back at her partner. From the look on his face, it seemed like they were thinking the same thing.

"You know what we have to do now, right?" he asked.

She nodded with a sigh. "Yeah." Without looking back, she put her hands in her pockets and began walking.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"What was that about?" Hana asked, raising a brow as Kiira returned to the group.

"She just needs to clear her head a little," she replied. "She should be back soon."

Hana nodded a little, but it was hard to see if she really cared. She had seemed to care when they thought they'd lost the brunette to the deep web, but they couldn't really tell if that was a one time thing.

"It's not like we'll lose sight of her, at any rate," Renamon commented.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Palmon said, pointing to their right. Wind was picking up, and sand was flying everywhere.

"Everybody, cover your mouths and shut your eyes!" Hana yelled, pulling her shirt up and clenching her eyes shut. The other two did the same. Renamon covered her face while Labramon and Palmon used her tail to assist them. They waited like that for about fifteen minutes before the wind finally died. The girls brushed the sand off themselves while Renamon was forced to shake the sand off her. Labramon had to do the same, but not as harshly.

Palmon looked in the direction Miyuki had gone, but the brunette was nowhere in sight. She, along with the others, hoped that she hadn't been buried. She was about to suggest looking for her when another cloud of dust caught their attention. This didn't seem to be a sandstorm, though. This looked more like dust getting kicked up from something approaching at a high speed.

An orange, monkey-like figure was coming into view, sliding on what appeared to be a pair of thick black cables that rose from the sand as he came.

"Name: Etemon. Classification: Virus. Threat: High."

"Well, looks like we found our Virus of the day," Labramon commented dryly.

"You're the reason we're stuck here, aren't you?" Palmon asked, glaring. "You closed the entryway."

"And opened it, too," the Ultimate replied with a smirk. "And now you're going to be destroyed and it'll save us a whole lot of trouble in the future."

"Us?" Hana asked. "You and the other Viruses?"

Etemon raised his hands. "Consider yourself lucky, you won't have to deal with that much longer. Dark Network!" As he spoke, more black cables rose from the sand, surrounding them in a crossed network. Dark sparks of electricity flowed in the squares made, causing the humans and their partners to fall to their knees.

"That was painful..." Palmon said unnecessarily. Her partner nodded.

"Yeah," Kiira agreed. "Let's finish this guys quick."

"Palmon Digivolve to... Togemon!"

"Labramon Digivolve to... Seasarmon!"

"Renamon Digivolve to... Kyubimon!"

Hana glared at the Ultimate in front of them. "Alright," she told the others. "Let's get rid of this guy quick and get out of here."

"What about Miyuki?" Yumi asked, concerned for the girl they had been separated from.

"She'll find her way out," the blonde replied. "But honestly, we have more important things to worry about right now!"

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Miyuki coughed, trying to get the sand out of her lungs that had managed to slip through her hand. She had been busy protecting her partner at the same time, so that didn't leave much to help herself with. "You okay, DemiDevimon?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm fine. How about you?"

The brunette coughed again. "I'll be good in a few minutes. I just need a minute." She sat down, allowing DemiDevimon to place himself in her lap. "You know," she began. "This place is nuts. First I get sent here by some weird glowing figure, then I get attacked by girls who are supposed to be my teammates, then I bruise my back pretty badly, then I join the team and am not really wanted around by the leader." She sighed. "I think the internet is trying to kill me." Her partner gave a small laugh, earning a light whack to his head.

"So, you're just going to be going home after this is all done and over with, then?" the Rookie asked.

"What else am I supposed to do?" she answered with a shrug. "I miss my family." When she noticed his slight frown, she realized what he was getting at. "But that means I probably won't see you again..." She rested an elbow on her knee and placed her chin in her hand. "This sucks." Her eyes widened when she felt the ground shift underneath her. "You feel that, right?"

"Yeah, I do," DemiDevimon confirmed. "Now let's move!"

Miyuki jumped to her feet as DemiDevimon took to the air, both running away from the quaking sand. Mere moments later, a giant scorpion-like Digimon became visible as the sand slid off it.

"Name: Scorpiomon. Classification: Data. Threat: High."

The human studied it for a brief moment. "Okay, by the dark colors, glowing red eyes, and the fact that it's probably trying to kill us, I'm gonna guess that this thing was infected."

"I'd put some money on that one," her Virus partner agreed.

"Scorpion Storm!" the Ultimate yelled, sand flying toward them.

Miyuki immediately covered her face again. "Dammit, not again." She chanced a look at her partner, hoping the sand wouldn't get in her eyes. "Hey, partner," she said. "You know what to do." She pulled out her Digivice with her free hand and clicked it open.

"DemiDevimon Digivolve to... Devidramon!"

"Crimson Claw!" the Champion Virus yelled, slicing straight through the new sandstorm and hitting Scorpiomon straight in the face.

Scorpiomon glared up at him. "You'll pay for that!" he yelled, moving surprisingly fast for his size and build. "Twin Sword!" He lashed his bladed tail forward, stabbing the arm that had just attacked him. Devidramon howled in pain.

"You okay?" Miyuki asked.

Her partner nodded. "I'll be fine, just get to safety." He raised the other claw. "It would really suck if you got buried in another sandstorm."

"Safety where?" she muttered. "Desert, remember?" She sighed, moving as far away from the battle as she could. She just hoped her partner could take care of it. He was not facing good odds right now.

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

"Now might be a good time to Digivolve again," Kiira suggested, turning to Hana.

The blonde nodded. "I like that plan."

"Kyubimon Digivolve to... Taomon!"

"Togemon Digivolve to... Lillymon!"

Yumi frowned, watching the Ultimate forms of her friends' partners, knowing that Seasarmon hadn't been able to surpass his Champion form yet. The best they could do was provide support.

"Sun's Courage!" Seasarmon yelled in an attempt to distract their opponent.

"Thousand Spells!" Taomon called out, immobilizing Etemon for the moment.

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon attacked, firing her own attack, but it seemed a bit weak.

Kiira watched her partner with worry. "Are you okay, Lillymon?" She noticed the way her partner seemed to be flying a bit slower, almost as though she were getting very worn out, though the battle hadn't lasted all that long.

The plant Ultimate gave a small nod, but Taomon shook her head. "No, you're not," she said. "You're a plant Digimon and we're in the desert. It's only natural that you would be a bit weakened. Leave this to me." She turned to Etemon.

"Dark Network!" he yelled out, the cables reaching from the ground and wrapping around Taomon and Lillymon. Apparently he hadn't seen Seasarmon as much of a threat.

Taomon winced at the attack before pulling Lillymon to her side. "Stay by me," she said before holding two fingers in front of her. "Talisman Spell!" she called out, causing a protective dome to surround the two. "You'll be safe in here." Taomon looked down to Seasarmon. "It's up to you," she said softly, though he heard her all the same.

"Sun's Courage!" the Champion yelled, aiming for the cables that were rising to meet him instead of at Etemon himself.

Etemon used some other cables to travel to Seasarmon's side, kicking him into the air. When he landed, some of the cables wrapped around him.

Yumi looked down at her Digivice. "Okay, now would be a good time." As if on cue, the device opened and data began pouring from it to her partner in a way that was easily recognizable by now.

"Seasarmon Digivolve to... Cerberumon!"

"Name: Cerberumon. Classification: Vaccine. Threat: None."

The lavender haired girl watched her partner that looked like a Virus, but was really a Vaccine, as her Digivice said. His large black body with long claws and shoulder pads that looked like heads was a little disconcerting. But he was her partner.

"That's a Vaccine?" Hana asked.

Taomon looked down to her partner. "Cerberumon is a unique Digimon, one of very few that can be either a Vaccine or a Virus." Her voice sounded strange, as though she was putting a lot of effort into maintaining the dome around her and Lillymon. There was a good chance that she was.

Cerberumon cracked his neck before staring Etemon down. "How do you feel now that we've leveled the playing field, huh?" He took a step forward. "Ultimate against Ultimate." He opened his mouth. "Emerald Blaze!" he yelled, surrounding Etemon in flames, burning the cables that he was standing on, spreading to the ones that encompassed the area around them. "Not so tough without your toys, are you?"

"You thought that was everything I had?" Etemon asked with a laugh before putting his hands in front of him, touching at the wrist. "Concert Crush!" he yelled as a dark sphere shot forward, hitting Cerberumon in the face, though he didn't seem to be damaged much. At the same time, though, he made no move to counterattack.

"Come on, Cerberumon, you've got to fight back," Yumi insisted.

The Ultimate shrugged. "What's the point? It's just the six of us—eight if you count Miyuki and DemiDevimon—against an internet full of Viruses ready to kill us. There's no way we'll make it."

Yumi frowned. This wasn't like her act first, think later partner. There was something about that attack, and she needed to do something. She bit her lip, trying to think of a solution. When Devimon had put Devidramon under his control, Miyuki had made herself a target, put herself in danger to snap her partner out of it. It was risky, but it was the only hope she had. She stepped away from the group, toward the field of sand where the battle was taking place. She had to be close. She needed to be seen.

"Hey, Etemon!" she called, already regretting her decision. "You wanted to destroy us? Well come on then, take your best shot!" She gulped, hoping Cerberumon would snap out of it before Etemon decided to take the bait.

"You idiot, what are you doing?!" Hana yelled at her, about to run over to stop her. Kiira grabbed her arm and shook her head. "Trust her. I think she knows exactly what she's doing."

Hana wrenched free of her friend's grasp but didn't make another move toward the battle. "She's getting herself killed, that's what she's doing..." she muttered.

Etemon smirked. "Well, well, looks like at least one of you is smart enough to know when you're beat." He reached down to grab her but a sharp pain in his wrist stopped him. He looked down to see the mouth of the other Ultimate clamped tightly around his wrist, stopping him from reaching his partner. Thrashing his head to the side, he tossed Etemon before running toward him.

"Emerald Blaze!" he yelled, shooting out another blast of devastating fire, finally destroying Etemon.

Taomon gave a soft smile and she and the other two Ultimates returned to their Rookie forms. "It's nice to see that done and over with."

"You're telling me," Labramon agreed with a grin. Turning his gaze to Hana, he said, "So, where to next, boss?"

~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x~x

Devidramon was about to raise his claw again when data started falling away from Scorpiomon. Dark red gave way to a tan exoskeleton and his eyes changed from glowing red to sky blue.

"Oh, dear..." he muttered. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"

Devidramon shook his head. "Nothing we won't recover from," he replied before returning to his Rookie form. He looked to his partner. "What just happened?"

The brunette twirled her pigtail again. "My best guess? The others got rid of the main Virus running the place. Without it, the viruses it made just kinda disappeared. Meaning Scorpiomon here was freed."

"Thank you," the Ultimate said.

Miyuki sighed. As much as she wanted to take credit for it... "That wasn't me. My friends were responsible for that."

"Give them my thanks," he requested before burrowing back into the sand.

"Yeah..." the girl muttered, letting go of her hair and putting her hands in her pockets, DemiDevimon perched on her shoulder. "If I see them again..."

Next time:
DemiDevimon: I thought we agreed this was a bad idea!
Miyuki: I know, but if a lot of the Viruses are coming from there, then we might get some good information.
DemiDevimon: Yeah, or we might get killed!

Yeah, I know that preview was really short... And sorry if anything past Kyubimon and Togemon Digivolving seems weird... I am exhausted right now. Within ten minutes of posting this, there's a good chance I'll be asleep. Ah sleep... (Also, the thing with Scorpiomon not really being much of a battle was not a copout to get done sooner. I planned that earlier)

See ya on the flipside~ Elisa out~