And a giant cactus they did find. Now that was biazzare in itself, even for the digital world, so that meant either one of 2 things;
1) The digidestined had been spending too much time in the real world and had forgotten how weird the digital world could get.
2) something weird was happening to the digital world again.
"That really is a giant cactus." Said Joe, his glasses sliding dramatically down his nose.
"Mimi hadn't you found the crest of sincerity in a giant cactus the first tiem?" prompted Sora.
Gatomon's ears slightly drooped. "Hikari, how much had we missed from their first adventure?"
"Don't worry about it gatomon, we made our own." Comforted Hikari.
"And anyway, you hadn't missed much." Added patamon. "just Takeru crying a lot."
"Hey! I didn't cry that much." Defended Takeru.
Hikari stifled a lough as she turned her attention back to the giant cactus. The digidestined were silent, looking up at the cactus.
"Tai, it's not doing anything." Complained Agumon.
"Should we hit it?"
"No!" everyone chorused.
"I don't understand." Said Mimi looking down at Palmon. Her voice choked. "Have I lost my sincerity?"
"you never had any sincerity to show." Growled a low, familiar voice. " The crest will never choose you filthy copies over the originals!"
"Manzeamon!" exclaimed Palmon as the digidestined turned to face a not so nice welcome. Manzeamon stood at the head of what looked like an army of toyagumon. Much too the digidestineds distress, at Mazeamon's feet stood the V2s.
"Who are you calling a copy! Manzeamon it's me Mimi!" exclaimed the digidestined as she ran up to the giant teddy bear ignoring her friedns warnings.
"You're just a dark copy piedmon made to try steal the crests of the digidestineds!" growled monzeamon narrowing his eyes. " rather unrealistic copies I must admit."
"Manzeamon…" palmon's voice trailed off.
"This is all your fault!" Accused Mimi lowering her gaze to her look-a-like.
"My fault?" said the v2 in a very innocent, childish voice. "Aren't you trying to steal my crest?"
"it's my crest!" exclaimed Mimi.
"so why hasn't it appeared to you hmmm?" said the v2 twiriling her hair with her finger.
"Ah…" Mimi bit her tongue.
"the crest has two Mimis to pick from now." mocked the copy. " and from the looks of things you aren't doing too well."
"You little….!" Whatever Mimi was going to say was drowned out by the sound of palmon digivolving.
"leave the little squart to me mimi." Said Togemon charging at the copies.
"Guys she's going to need our help!" yelled sora.
The digidestined nodded their heads as all the digimon, except gatomon , digivolved into their champion forms
"you will not touch Mimi!" growled Manzaemon. With a swift motion of his hand the toyagumon army charged at the original digidestined.
"but I'm Mimi!" she shrieked as the two 'armies' collided. "Togemon teach that v2 a lesson!."
Said digimon made to charge at the v2 wo had not moved but now decorated a sly smile on her face. Manzemon blocked togemon's assult.
"get out my way manzeamon." Ordered Togemon.
"You are not touching any of the chosen children!" said Manzeamon attacking with his silent hug. Togemon blocked.
"I do not want to fight you!" yelled Togemon over the noise of the battle below them .
"Good, this will be easy then.!" Said Manzeamon puching togemon and sending her crashing into the base fo the cactus.
"Togemon!" yelled Mimi. "You will pay for that!"
This was addressed to the v2. She gave a mocking smile.
"Very well." V2 Mimi said, taking a few casual steps towords Mimi. The v2 Palmon did not move from where she stood. "Hit me. I'm the casue of your anguish right? Stop this fight, but know I did not lay a hand upon you."
The smug look on her face was really getting to her now. Mimi made a hesitant step towords her, her ifsts clenched. Why did he have to make copies?
"Or are you too much of a chicken to fight me?" loughed the v2.
It was then that, in the heat of the moment, two of the digidestined came to two separate realizations.
Hikari who was standing some distance away, in the midst of the battle, gatomon, being the smallest of the champions, fighting off four toyagumon at once, gave her partner a worried glance- They shouldn't be fighting their friends. That's when she saw it, a dark light surrounding Mimi like a halo of shadows. Shocked, she took a couple of staggering steps back, colliding with her brother.
"Watch it Hikari." He scolded steadying both himself and his sister. His tone softened when he saw her fearful expression. "Hikari what's wrong?"
"Tai there's something… dark… around Mimi." She stammered looking frantically from Tai to Mimi.
Still preoccupied with the fight Tai gave a fleeting glance in Mimi's direction. "I don't see anything."
"you don't?" there was disbelief in her voice.
"it must be a trick of the light." Comforted Tai turning his attention back to the fighting greymon
"but its stil there…" her voice trailed off.
On the other side of the field Izzy made another important observation while kabuterimon fought off the small toyagumon.
"why haven't the v2 digivolved?" he yelled.
"Maybe they can't?" said kabuterimon.
"No, piedmon wouldn't have created copies that couldn't fight. That wouldn't make any sense." His gaze trailed off in Mimi's direction.
Her fists were clenched as she made a shaky step towords the V2 Mimi who was smugly smiling.
He looked up at the giant cactus, then at Togemon fighting Manzaemon. How strange it was for mimi to initiate a fight…
His eyes widened in realisation.
"it's a test!"
And with that, still yelling it at the top of his voice, he ran trough the battle. Many times the toyagumon tried to stop him but kabuterimon ensured his partner remain unharmed.
"It's a trick! It's a test!" he was yelling.
"Okay, izzy has finally lost it." sighed Joe caressing his brow.
He was going to be too late. Mimi had her her fist raised, she really was going to hit her counterpart.
"Mimi don't!" he yelled at the top of his voice as he staggered forward. Mimi must have heard him because her hand momentarily stopped. He stumbled towords her, grabbing her arm to stop her from doing something they may all regret later.
"Izzy please! Let me wipe that smug look off her face!" she begged catching Izzy momentarily by surprise. Mimi might have annoyed him but it was really unlike her to want to fight.
"It's a trick … or a test.. or… call it what you like... She wants you to hit her. If you hit her she gets the crest!"
The V2 gritted her teeth. So his suspicions were right.
"What?" said Mimi in a small voice, lowing her arm.
"You got your crest for always being sicnere, for being pure. That means never starting a fight unless it's truly necessary." Izzy gestured at the battle that surrounded them. "You started this one Mimi and if you hit her just because she annoyed you, she gets the crest!"
Mimi's eyes wideneded as realisation struck.
"Oh so princess Mimi still hasn't grown a back bone yet?" The v2 mocked but it wasn't going to work this time. In the midst of the battle, a bright light erupted from Togemon as she turned back palmon.
"I won't fight you." said Palmon to Manzeamon. "We fight together, not each other."
"And I won't fight you." said Mimi descisively. "you had really managed to get under my skin, being a copy of me and all, but you know what? You may look like me, but you are not me. I'm the original and one of a kind."
Izzy gave a silent sigh. Had she been seeing dr who again?
The V2 Mimi gave an angry hiss as a green symbol appeared over Mimi's heart. The battle momentarily ceased as suddenly a pale pink flower began to grow and blossom on the head of the cactus. The familiar crest of sincierty slowly emerged from it and with a bright green beam it shone on Mimi. When the light faded she gingerly touched the tag and crest that now hung around her neck.
"Give it to me!" shrieked V2 Mimi making a grab for the tag.
"Leave it." ordered V2 Kairi. "We will retrieve it another time. 7 more crests await beign claimed."
Then the v2s and their digimon simply sunk into the shadows.
"Thanks Izzy." Said Mimi turning to her friend. " you stopped me doing something I would regret."
"it was nothing." Said Izzy, smiling.
"Do you believe me now?" said Mimi as Monzaemon and his defeated toyagumon walked towords her. The digidestined, too, slowly began to regroup most unaware of what had happed between Mimi and her V2.
"Wait, so you really are the original Mimi?" he said.
"That's what I've been trying to tell you!" she said still sounding slightly annoyed.
"But the others…."
"They were the copies."
"but then what happened to you all?" he said looking around at the the digidestined that looked so different from when he had first met them.
"It's how human's evolve." Articulated Izzy trying to explain the change in a way a digimon would understand. "You digivolve, we kind of grow."
"And change your hair colour?" he said eyeing Mimi's strangely coloured hair.
"That's optional." Loughed Izzy.
When the whole group had joined Mimi and Izzy, Monzaemon and his toy army bowed to the digidestined. "I'm sorry for not believing you."
"I don't blame you for thinking they were the real us, they look quite authentic." Admitted Mimi.
"Which may be more problematic then we thought." Sighed Matt. "They might be able to trick other friends of ours into fighting on their side.
"I don't want to fight more friends." Complained Palmon.
"Neither do i." Agreed Mimi.
Monzaemon stood up and, addressing all the digidestined, said. "We'll spread the news. We'll warn the other digimon so they won't be fooled like we were. We might not reach everyone but the more that know the better."
"Thank you Monzaemon." Said Tai.
With a nod of his head the agumon dispersed into the forest, spreading their warning.
"Now rest." Commanded Monzaemon. " I foresee you will have many more battles ahead."
"but we know about their trick now." said Agumon looking up at Tai.
"They won't trick us so easily the next time." He agreed.
Patamon, exhausted, landed in Takeru's hands. "Let's try and avoid fighting friends next time, agreed?" he said.
"Agreed." Sighed Patamon. "I'm really out of shape."
"Lazy bum." Loughed Takeru."Right Hikari…"
But Hikari wasn't listening , she was looking at Mimi.
The dark light had vanished.
"Hikari is everything ok?" asked Takeru slightly worried.
She just wrapped the blazer around her even more tightly.
"It's nothing."
But it sure seemed like something.
HEY :D so I remembered to write the author's note this time hehe :') I keep on forgetting hahah so there's chapter 4! What do you think? I hope you enjoyed it! it was fun to write I must admit :3 feel free to review, especially if your not liking it (alotugh I hope you are). Enjoy! I'll try update soon J