Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. Or Heroes of Olympus! In case me forgetting to mention that the last two chapters has confused you, now you know.

Author's Note: Written for the Novel with Prompts Challenge found on the Digimon Fanfiction Challenges forum. The prompt for this chapter is "heady".

This is not a word that I know very well. I'm not quite sure if I used it correctly, but it means - for those of you who are not in the know like me - "having a strong or exhilarating effect". I may find out that I did not quite use it correctly and come back and edit it to be more appropriate, but hopefully I got it right the first time! This is the longest chapter so far; it's up there with the length of the chapters in Blurring Boundaries, so hopefully you all enjoy it. There is a character in this chapter who has the name of a digimon that is already in existence but is NOT that digimon. I couldn't come up with another name that fit as well as this one, so I apologize for any confusion this causes.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Five

The plane-dinosaur hybrid dove into the grid of streets.

"Follow him!" Davis urged.

"If we follow, he'll spot us," Nefertimon said. "We are carrying six humans on our backs, after all. It's not exactly subtle."

"Should we be offended?" Takato asked.

"Probably," Veemon said cheerfully.

"Get above the buildings," Ken suggested. "We'll track him from up here."

"Just don't lose sight of him," Halsemon said as he did what Ken asked.

At first, Ken feared that they might have lost him. All he could see were buildings and other native digimon going about their business far below. But then he spotted the digimon again, zipping through the streets with no apparent purpose – blowing over digimon, knocking over food stands, and ripping flags that happened to be in his way.

"How rude," Yolei huffed.

"There goes another one!" Halsemon said.

He was right. A second armor-looking digimon zipped around a street corner and joined up with the first. They raced together in a chaotic dance, shooting across the roofs of buildings, blowing off a sun roof, and diving back down toward the street.

"Man, those guys have had way too much caffeine," Davis said.

"The first one's name is Pteramon," Takato said, reading it off of his digivice. "And the second one's name is Flybeemon. They're both definitely armor digimon."

"Yeah, but look at those markings on Flybeemon," Kari said. "That's not the Crest of Friendship… That's the Crest of Knowledge."

Cody's expression darkened. "Then they've copied more than just the Digiegg of Friendship."

"Man, I hate this chick already," Davis complained. "Who does she think she is?"

"There's more of them," Ken pointed out. "Look."

The duo ripped around another corner next to a shore-side park. Other digimon were converging – at least a dozen of them, creating an impromptu mob

"Do you think Thunderbirmon is down there?" Takato asked. "I want a rematch."

Ken didn't answer. He was focused on the mob formation down below. The park looked almost identical to the Saiki Peace Memorial Park found back in the Real World with a white concrete path winding around in a circle converging on a geyser that spewed water that had a black metal archway built over it. The grass patch in the center, though, unlike back home, looked dead and uncared for. The closer they got to it, the faster his heart beat in his chest. It was just a park, but the feeling exuding from it was unpleasantly familiar.

Maybe it was just a terrible coincidence, but the way the hair on his arms was standing on end and the cold clammy feeling that was engulfing his body – it reminded him of the feeling he got from the dark whirlpool all those years ago while he was still the Digimon Emperor. As Ken watched, the grass patch at the center shifted into the shape of a dragon's face with his eyes closed.

"Davis…" he said nervously.

"I see it," Davis said. "I don't like it, but I see it."

Then the land flattened out again. The armor digimon gathered together at the center of the grass patch before running as a group to the other side of the park. They kicked up a drain cover and disappeared underground.

"Did they just go down a drain?" Yolei whined. "Please don't tell me we're going to have to follow them."

"I don't know if we should," Nerfertimon said. "I'm sensing something very bad down there…"

"I don't like it either," Guilmon said.

"Plus, aren't we supposed to beware the earth?" Veemon asked.

Wormmon nodded. "And I don't know if I really would want to get caught down in the sewers with all of those digimon, especially if they aren't on our side."

Ken frowned. He felt the same way, and they all had great points, but he knew that they had to follow. It was their only way forward. They had to find Gennai, and they now had only two days until the solstice.

"Let's land," he suggested. "We can wait to see if they come back out, and then we can check it out if it's safe."

"And if they don't come back out?" Yolei asked nervously.

He shrugged helplessly. "We'll have to go down there eventually."

"Sounds like fun." Davis pointed toward a space off to the side of the park. "Let's land over there so that we have a good view of the drain."

Nefertimon and Halsemon followed his lead. They landed in a bushy area between the geyser and the skyline. The signs were written in Digi-Code, but Ken figured that it must have said the park's name across it. If he ignored the chilling vibes he was getting from this place, he actually could imagine that this place would've been beautiful in the summer, but thanks to the winter cold, the park was just a field of dead grass and naked trees. The wind coming off of the open sea was bitter cold. The only digimon around were those with thick fur coats or of the mechanical variety. Anybody else with sense was probably tucked away inside with the warmth. Ken's eyes stung so badly, he could barely see.

They dismounted, and Nefertimon and Halsemon de-digivolved back to their rookie forms. Mist rose around them from their breathing.

Yolei shivered. "Brrrr! It's freezing!"

Davis desperately rubbed his hands together. "Where's Joe's hand warmers when you need them?"

"It has to be almost twenty degrees lower down here than it was up in the air," Cody said. "That's statistically improbable."

"Not in the Digital World!" Armadillomon reminded him.

Ken was just about to suggest that they should maybe try to head inside when movement in the center of the park caught his attention. The armor digimon were filing out. Those that could fly were taking to the skies and the others were scattering into the city.

Gatomon raised a furry eyebrow. "That… was odd."

"Why would they head underground only to immediately come back out?" Takato asked.

"Maybe they were just grabbing some bread!" Guilmon suggested.

"I know I could use a bakery right about now," Davis said.

"We won't know unless we check it out," Hawkmon said, "but we may also not like what we find."

Wormmon shuffled forward. "And who's to say that they won't be coming back just as quickly?"

Ken reached down to pick Wormmon up into his arms. "I don't think we have much of a choice. If we don't see what's down there, we'll have come all this way for nothing."

Davis looked around the area before he shrugged. "Doesn't look like we have any other ideas of where to go… So onward?"

"I'm with you, buddy!" Veemon announced.

The two of them started to march off toward the drain. Yolei took one step to follow and winced. "Ah!"

Ken caught her before she toppled over. "Your ankle?" He felt bad that he'd forgotten all about her injury back at the warehouse. "Of course it's not set yet, even if this is the Digital World…"

"It's fine." She shivered, and Ken remembered the day that he gave her his sweater. He'd draped it across her shoulders with the smell of lavender hanging in the air from her shampoo. She'd never returned it, and he found that he didn't really care. He hoped he lived long enough to give her a chance to steal another one of her sweaters if she wanted to. She took a few more steps with only a slight limp, but Ken could tell that she was trying not to grimace.

The others were watching Yolei with concern as well.

"Let's get out of the wind," Cody suggested.

"And into the sewers!" Armadillomon added cheerfully.

"Sounds cozy," Gatomon said dryly.

They managed to walk the length of the park and reach the storm drain without any armor digimon reappearing or trying to stop them. The ground stayed still and silent. The drain hole was easily big enough for most digimon, and a maintenance ladder led down into the gloom.

Davis went first, then Veemon, and finally Ken with Wormmon clinging to the back of his coat. As he climbed, he braced himself for horrible sewer smells, but it wasn't that bad. The ladder dropped them into a smooth dark gray tunnel running north to south. The air was warm and dry with only a trickle of water on the ground.

The others climbed down after him.

"Wow, not bad," Yolei said.

"Are all Digital World sewers this nice?" Takato wondered.

"No," Gatomon answered. "Trust me."

Kari cracked a smile as everybody turned to stare at Gatomon with a confused look on their face. "During our first trip to the Digital World, we ended up falling into the sewers beneath a city controlled by one of the Dark Masters. This is ten times nicer."

Yolei made a face. "Sounds gross."

"Machinedramon?" Takato guessed.

Now it was his turn to have everybody stare at him.

"Yeah…" Kari answered slowly.

"How did you know that?" Cody asked.

Takato blinked. "I… I don't know…"

A long awkward silence fell over the group before Hawkmon finally broke it by clearing his throat. "Well, we can't stand around here all day. Which way do you suppose we go?"

Gatomon stepped forward, raising her nose into the air to sniff, then pointed south. "That way."

"How can you be sure?" Kari asked.

"I smell something strange coming from that direction," Gatomon said.

Davis grimaced. "Dude, shouldn't we be staying away from strange smells? We are in a sewer."

Gatomon rolled her eyes. "Not like that, Davis. It smells like… perfume?"

It wasn't much of a lead, but nobody offered anything better.

Unfortunately, as soon as they started walking, Yolei stumbled. Ken had to catch her.

"Stupid ankle," she cursed.

"Maybe we should rest," Ken suggested.

"We have been going nonstop for over a day," Cody agreed. "We could probably all use it."

Kari closed her eyes thoughtfully. "I am getting a little hungry…"

"Now's your time to shine, Davis!" Veemon said eagerly. "Whatchya got in the bag?"

Davis puffed out his chest. "Thought you'd never ask. Chef Davis is on it!"

They all sat themselves down onto dark concrete ledges lining the walls while Davis shuffled through his pack.

Ken was glad to rest. His head still hurt, and he still got a little dizzy if he moved too quickly. He was also hungry. But mostly, he wasn't too eager to face whatever lay ahead. That sickening feeling of darkness hadn't dissipated at all. He stared down at his black D-3 in his hand.

Daemon…

He still couldn't get that evil digimon off of his mind. Even though nothing so far had backed up his theory that Daemon was involved in all of this somehow, he still couldn't shake this terrible feeling. If that digimon were back, he didn't know what they would do. He barely had enough strength at twelve to open the gate to the Dark World to seal him away, but he'd still had a connection to that world then. Nowadays, he felt free from his shackles that the darkness had held on his heart for so many years. He didn't know if he'd have strength to reopen that gate if it was forced upon him; he didn't know if he would survive that pain.

And if these other Demon Lords were at all related to Daemon, how were they going to win? They couldn't defeat Daemon when they were at full strength. Without access to DNA Digivolution, he didn't see how they could survive.

"I sent an email to Izzy telling him what Gennai told you, Takato," Cody said, his D-Terminal in his hands. "Hopefully this second prophecy will help us with a few things."

Takato looked up from where he'd been staring at the ground, almost as pensive as Ken himself. "Oh… uh, thanks."

"It wasn't your fault," Kari said.

He turned to look at her blankly. "What?"

"If… if that's what you were thinking about," she said uncertainly. "What happened back at the warehouse… getting knocked out… It wasn't your fault."

Takato grimaced. "It was stupid. We walked right into a trap. I should've known…"

"We both did," Ken pointed out. "But there's no way we could have known that there was more than one of them."

"That's right!" Armadillomon said. "We were all caught by surprise, so we'll just do our best not to let it happen again."

"And if it does, we'll see each other through," Hawkmon said. "That's what makes us a team."

"I like being part of a team, Takato," Guilmon said. "We get to watch each other's backs, and we always have a friend fighting by our side."

Takato managed a small smile. "Yeah, it's just…" His smile faltered. "There's so many things that I don't know that I feel like I should. Like Gorillamon… I feel like I should know who that digimon is… like we've fought him before…" He let out a sigh. "If Gennai really wants me to succeed, he should just tell me everything I need to know. Not be all… cryptic."

Yolei huffed. "Tell me about it. That is one of his worse traits!"

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Takato," Wormmon said. "We've all made mistakes. It's what we do after that matters."

Takato looked around the group and then nodded. "Yeah… yeah, I guess you're right."

A few feet away, Davis used Guilmon to light a small cooking fire. He hummed as he pulled supplies out of his backpack.

Ken glanced over at Yolei. In the firelight, her brown eyes seemed to dance. He'd been studying those brown eyes for almost four years now, and he still thought they were just as mesmerizing as the first time he saw them.

"How about you, Kari?" Takato asked. "How're you doing with all of this?"

Kari blinked at him. "W-what?"

"I mean, it must suck for you," he said. "Not just this weird journey we're on. But with TK being gone and the email leading you to me and Guilmon… you know…"

She dropped her gaze. "I'm fine. None of us asked for this, and it's not your fault."

She reached up and pulled a pink hairclip out of her hair. Her bangs fell into her face, and she brushed them off to the side before pocketing the clip. In its place, she pulled out her D-Terminal. She flipped it open and let out a watery sigh. She looked exhausted and so very fragile, despite her very best attempts to hide it. Just like she'd been back at the warehouse…

"Back in the warehouse," Ken said, "you were going to say something about your brother."

"Yeah, what was that about, Kari?" Yolei asked.

Kari pocketed her D-Terminal and then clutched her knees so tightly her knuckles started to turn white, almost like her fingers were aching to sign out a scream that she couldn't vocalize. "Was I?"

"Kari, what's going on?" Gatomon asked, staring up at her partner with wide eyes; this was the first time she was hearing anything about this.

"Tai's in some kind of trouble, isn't he?" Ken said.

Over at the fire, Davis froze in the middle of stirring a pot filled with noodles and boiling water. "Tai's in trouble?"

Kari looked on the verge of tears. "I… I can't talk about it…"

"We're your friends," Wormmon said. "Let us help you."

That seemed to make her feel worse. She took a shaky breath. "I wish I could, but… but I can't… Please."

Kari buried her face into her hands. Nobody said a word. Ken looked across the group at Davis, but his best friend looked at as much of a loss as him. For a few minutes, they all just sat in silence before Davis finally announced, "And done."

He came over to the group with two disposable bowls in his hand that he handed off to the girls first. A few trips later and everybody had a bowl of food. Ken had no idea how he'd stored all that food in his backpack or how he'd put it together in the middle of a sewer, but it looked amazing: ramen noodles in beef broth with wilted spinach and green onions with a dash of chili sauce.

"Davis," Cody said in amazement, "how did you—?"

"Don't question it, Cody! Just enjoy the good food," Armadillomon said as he started to scarf down his own bowl.

"I'm impressed," Kari said.

"Can you make bread too?" Guilmon asked.

"Chef Davis can make anything!" Davis said proudly before pausing. "Well, except maybe bread." (Guilmon pouted.) "But noodles are my specialty. So dig in!"

Ken wasn't sure about it being Davis's specialty, but the ramen tasted as good as it smelled. While they ate, Davis and Veemon tried to lighten the mood and joke around. He was grateful that Davis still had his spirit even in the shadow of everything they were facing. To make room for Davis, he'd scooted over a bit closer to Yolei so that their thighs were now touching and their elbows kept brushing against one another as they ate. It was a bit unnerving being this close to her, but at the same time, the closeness made him realize how much he kind of wished he were alone with her. He chided himself for feeling that way; now was really not the time for that.

After they were finished eating, Ken encouraged the girls to get some sleep. Kari curled up along the ledge, using her backpack as a pillow. The digimon followed her example and found spots to curl up to get in some much needed rest. And Yolei – without another word, she curled up and put her head in Ken's lap. In two seconds, she was snoring.

Ken looked up at Davis with wide eyes to find his best friend trying really hard not to laugh. Takato and Cody didn't look much better. His face went red, but he made no move to try to wake her.

The four of them sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking lemon soda that Cody had packed for them. But as Ken stared into the fire, something began bothering him.

"Takato… about Growlmon being able to digivolve on his own…"

Takato looked up at him. "It's not normal, is it?"

"No, it's not," Cody said.

"But it's cool, dude," Davis said. "I wish Veemon could do something like that."

Takato looked around the group. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Yes and no," Ken said slowly. "I mean, it's another thing that makes you and Guilmon different, a clue as to who you might be…"

"It also means Guilmon can defend himself if he gets separated from you," Cody said. "With us, it's… different."

Takato turned to look at his sleeping partner with a thoughtful look on his face. "I didn't think of it that way, but knowing that he'd be okay if we weren't together—it's good to know." He looked back toward them. "Your partners can only digivolve if they're with you?"

"Tai told me once that if a digimon has been exposed to the light of digivolution and they have a good enough reason and enough energy, they can digivolve on their own," Davis said. "But I've never seen it happen."

"We just have to keep them close, not let anything happen to them," Ken said.

Takato got a peculiar look on his face. "You protect them as much as they protect you…"

"Well, dude, we are partners," Davis pointed out. "I'm not going to let Veemon go in there alone."

For a long moment, Takato was quiet. Ken wondered if Davis had said the wrong thing. After all, if them being needed to help their digimon digivolve made them partners, what did that make Takato? What was Takato's role in all of this? He didn't understand it. Obviously Gennai thought that Takato being here was important enough to risk his own life, but there had to be more to the story. What about Takato and Guilmon were so special that made them the last ditch effort to save the world?

"What happens when barriers are breached?" Takato asked. "I have a guess, but…"

"Nothing good," Cody answered.

"End of the world-level nothing good," Davis clarified.

Takato grimaced. "That's what I was afraid of."

Ken wanted to tell him that it would be all right, but he knew it would have sounded fake. Ken didn't know what was going to happen. He didn't know if Takato's appearance had started a chain reaction that would be the end of everything. He didn't know if Takato would manage to save them all. They were digidestined, which meant sometimes things didn't end okay. Sometimes Destiny Stones were destroyed, digimon died, and parts of Japan ended up in rubble.

He thought suddenly of the kids with the Dark Spores – and all of the other kids around the world. If you asked them, "Hey, you want a digimon partner so that you can help save the world?" most would think it sounded pretty cool. But taking on that destiny came with the responsibility of having multiple worlds sitting on your shoulders while you sat in a sewer in the middle of a frozen wasteland, running from evil digimon, sitting across from a kid who lost his memory, having just nearly been cooked, and left with memories of a time when you'd tortured countless of innocent digimon.

Davis poked at the remnants of his fire, sending red-hot flint scattering across the sewer floor with the toes of his boot. "I wonder who these other heroes are. I mean, if they're supposed to help us, where are they?"

Ken had been wondering that himself ever since Takato had told them about his dream, but he'd been trying to push it out of his mind. He had a horrible suspicion that they weren't going to like what they found out; somehow, it was going to change everything.

Gennai's plan is already in motion, and if it fails, we'll all be in jeopardy, Baihumon had promised.

"I don't know," he said at last. "Maybe they'll show up when the time is right."

"Now you're starting to sound like Izzy," Takato quipped.

Cody smiled a bit. "Maybe they're on their very own rescue mission right now."

Davis grunted. "I bet their sewer is nicer than ours."

The howling wind from outside made a whistling sound as it blew over the sewer entrance, and as they had sat there, eating and relaxing, it had gotten progressively louder.

"Cody, Davis, you two get some sleep," Ken said. "Takato and I will take first watch."

x X x

Ken's friends slept about four hours according to his digivice. Ken didn't mind. Now that he was resting, he didn't really feel the need for more sleep. He'd been conked out long enough from the warehouse. Takato hadn't seem too sleepy either. Though they'd sat in companionable silence, he hadn't caught the other boy starting to nod off any point. Instead, he'd looked deep in thought. Not that Ken could blame him. He probably had a lot on his mind; Ken knew that he did. He also didn't mind Yolei using him for a pillow. She had a cute way of breathing when she slept – inhaling through the nose, exhaling with a little puff through the mouth. He was almost disappointed when she woke up.

Finally, they broke camp and started down the tunnel.

It twisted and turned and seemed to go on forever. Ken wasn't sure what to expect at the end – a dungeon, a torture chamber, a gladiator's arena, or maybe a sewer reservoir where all of the digi-sludge ended up.

Instead, they found a set of polished steel elevator doors, each one engraved with a DigiCode symbol. Next to the elevator was a directory, like for a department store, though that too was written in DigiCode.

"What is that?" Takato asked.

"DigiCode," Gatomon explained. "The written language of the Digital World."

"Okay," Takato said slowly. "So what does it say?"

Armadillmon shook his head. "We can't read it."

Takato blinked. "But you just said…"

"Most digimon never learn how to read DigiCode," Gatomon explained. "It's an ancient language that only a few digimon ever pick up. Unfortunately, that includes none of us."

"Izzy figured out a way to decipher it using his laptop," Kari said, "but without him here…"

Ken looked around the group of uncertain faces before landing his eyes on Davis. "Well, Davis, what do you want to do?"

Davis took a deep breath. "When in doubt, start at the top."

He reached out and pressed the elevator button. It dinged and the twelve of them filed in, the door closing behind them.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Hawkmon muttered.

Ken silently agreed.

The elevator dinged again and the doors slid open on the uppermost level. The perfume that Gatomon had smelled earlier wafted over them. Davis and Veemon stepped out first, his D-3 clutched tightly in his fist.

"Uh… dudes? You've got to see this," he said.

Ken stepped out of the elevator to join him, and he immediately froze as water splashed beneath his feet. The entire floor was covered in a thin sheen of water. Water ran down the walls and across the floor before spilling over the side railings and down the stairs. The entire ceiling was a stained glass mosaic with sea water designs around a coral reef. The daylight streaming through it washed everything in blues and greens and turquoise. The upper floors made a ring of balconies around a huge central atrium, so they could see all the way down to the ground floor. Gold railings glittered in the sunlight and sparkled with the moisture.

Aside from the stained glass ceiling and the elevator, Ken couldn't see any other windows or doors, but two sets of stairs ran between the four levels. The stone flooring was made of bronze, blue, and gray gill-like patterns, and each of the floors were covered with racks and shelving that seemed to be displaying merchandise. There was too much to take in all at once, but Ken saw normal things from t-shirts and racks of shoes mixed in with digital manikins, cages that shook on their own, and an array of weapons.

Takato stepped up to the railing and looked down. "Whoa."

In the middle of the atrium, a blue mosaic pattern ran through the center of the room like a carpet, leading up to a golden platform. Three fountains on each side of the room sprayed water twenty feet into the air. The platform glittered in the skylight, and lining the edge of the platform were several glowing orbs surrounding a gilded cage – at least three digicores and an oversized canary cage with something frozen like a statue within, a small, red and purple, dog-like digimon.

"Elecmon!" they cried.

"We've got to get down there!" Cody said.

"May I help you?"

They all jumped away from the railing and spun toward the new voice. A woman – no, digimon – or some weird combo of both had just appeared behind them. From the waist down, she was all octopus with eight tentacles that shimmered with bronze and purple colors, but from the waist up – she looked like a retired fashion model. Her long golden hair was spun with seashells and algae. She wore a crown of coral and lost treasure. Several gold chains hung around her neck and seaweed tangled up her torso to create a bodice. Her skin held a purplish hue that for some reason didn't look unnatural on her. Her face was surreal, perfectly symmetrical, and gorgeous in that supermodel way. Her eyes were a bright bronze, her lipstick a shimmering shade of nude, and her fingernails were glossy and long, looking more like talons.

She smiled. "It's been a while since I've had visitors. How may I help you?"

Davis glanced at Takato like, All yours, dude.

"Um," Takato started, "do you live here?"

The woman-octopus nodded. "This is where I live and where I do business. I don't get much walk-in traffic, though. The citizens of Circuit refuse to give me a topside entrance, which is really such a shame. I love collecting tasteful objects, helping people, and offering quality goods at reasonable prices, and they deprive me of that."

She spoke with a pleasing accent, and Ken felt bad that her store was being sabotaged by the rude digimon of Circuit. Clearly she wasn't hostile, so he didn't get what their problem was with her. Ken started to relax. Her voice was rich and heady. Ken wanted to hear more.

"I'm sorry to hear that," he said. "Why do the digimon of Circuit treat you like that?"

She gave a forlorn sigh. "I do not know. I am merely a lonely 'mon trying to find my place in this world. My name is Sirenmon, but my friends call me Your Majesty. Now, what are you looking for?"

Ken thought that Your Majesty was a pretty odd nickname, but then again, it fit her so well. Why wouldn't she be called that? With a voice like that, he could see why digimon friends of hers would so willingly call her anything that she wished.

Veemon stepped forward. "Actually, Your Majesty…" He pointed to the gilded cage on the first floor. "That's our friend down there, Elecmon. Could we… have him back, please?"

"Of course!" Sirenmon agreed immediately. "I would love to show you my inventory. First, may I know who you are?"

A warning bell went off in Ken's head. It seemed like a bad idea to tell her their identities. A memory tugged at the back of his mind – something Gennai had warned Takato about, but it seemed fuzzy.

On the other hand, Her Majesty was on the verge of cooperating. If they could get what they wanted without a fight, that would be better. Besides, this digimon didn't seem like an enemy.

Kari started to say, "Davis, I don't think—" but Davis was already speaking.

"I'm Davis," he said. "This is Veemon, Takato, Guilmon, Kari, Gatomon, Yolei, Hawkmon, Cody, Armadillomon, Wormmon, and Ken. We're the digidestined."

The princess's eyes scanned them, her gaze lingering on Ken, Davis, and Takato with an odd expression, and – just for a moment – her face literally glowed, blazing with so much intensity, Ken could see the skull beneath her skin. Ken's mind was getting blurrier, but he knew something didn't seem right. Then the moment passed, and Her Majesty looked like a normal elegant woman again – at least from the waist up – with a cordial smile and a soothing voice.

"The digidestined. Yes, I know who you are," she said, her eyes as cold as icicles. "I think we'll have to make a special deal for you. Come, children. Let's go shopping."