Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon or Heroes of Olympus. But I do own every typo. They're all mine. One of a kind.

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

A few things I want to say. Starting off with, I am participating in Camp Nano again this month. My goal is to write 25k words by May 1st. This chapter brings me to 1,782/25,000. So, as you can guess, this is a somewhat short chapter, especially compared to the previous. However, since I plan on writing 25k (or somewhere around there) this month, the updates should be relatively quick, so a short chapter should be okay... I hope! Also, I know that I disappear a lot while writing. I go in and out of periods of inspiration; it just happens. But with age has come a stubbornness not to give up on my stories, so no matter how long I take to update, I feel like it can be guaranteed that I will eventually finish a story. Coughing & Wheezing was 35 chapters long, and it took me six years to complete... but I did. So I know sometimes my disappearances and uneven update schedule can terrify people, but I'm still here! And as far as I can tell, I will still be here when the next update rolls around.

Enjoy!

Chapter Twenty-Six

Kari wanted to run for the elevator.

Her second choice: give Gatomon the okay to attack the weird digimon now, because she was sure a fight was coming. The way her face glowed when she'd realized who they were had been bad enough. Now "Her Majesty" was smiling like nothing had happened, and none of the boys seemed to think anything was wrong.

Sirenmon gestured toward the closest jewelry case. "Shall we start with the precious gems?"

"Cool," Takato said.

"This is bad," Gatomon muttered.

"Guys," Yolei snapped, "we're here to get Elecmon and the digicores! Not go shopping!"

Kari sent a nervous look toward the stranger digimon. "If—if Her Majesty really is our friend, I'm sure she'll—"

"Oh, I'm better than a friend, my dear," Sirenmon said. "I'm a fan." Her treasure-covered headdress sparkled, and her eyes glittered like a snake's – cold and dark. "Don't fret. We'll work our way around down to the first floor."

Davis nodded eagerly. "Sure, yeah! That sounds great. Right, Kari?"

Kari did her best to stare daggers at him: No, it is not okay!

"Of course it's okay." Sirenmon put her hands on Takato and Ken's shoulders and steered them toward the jewelry. "Come along, boys."

Kari and Yolei shared a desperate look, but they didn't have any choice but to follow.

"What is going on?" Yolei whispered as she and Kari trailed behind the group. "I've heard of guys going ga-ga over a pretty face, but this is ridiculous!"

Kari chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't know, but it's not good."

"She has them under some sort of spell," Gatomon said. "But I don't know anything else about her. I've never heard of her before!"

Up ahead, Sirenmon led the boys past a golden statue in the shape of a phoenix. Hawkmon flew up to it to admire its beauty.

"This is simply marvelous!"

"You have wonderful taste, my dear Hawkmon," Sirenmon practically sung. "That is one of my most noble pieces."

Yolei groaned. "Not Hawkmon, too! That's it. I'm done with men. All of them. Everywhere! Boy digimon, too! I am done!"

Kari sent her best friend a disapproving look. "Yolei, you know it's not his fault…"

She crossed her arms. "I don't care!"

"And here," Sirenmon continued as they reached the jewel case, "is the finest assortment of precious and magical gems anywhere."

The glass case was filled with stones that resembled emeralds, rubies, and diamonds, but they all shimmered and sparkled in unnatural ways. On top of the case were several stands – some showed off several sparkling necklaces, others hung glittering keychains. The jewelry and gems were every color imaginable, from periwinkle blue to baby puke yellow. And the energy! Each little trinket seemed to pulsate with an energy all its own letting Kari know that none of the jewelry on display was simply for looks.

Sirenmon pointed to a silver bracelet – just a simple chain. "This bracelet will protect you from all harm."

"All harm?" Veemon asked. "Pyroblasts? Diseases? Hangnails?"

"All harm, sweet rookie. And this ring," she pointed to a pink-gold ring with a swan-shaped knot, "will slowly suck the energy out of the wearer until they die a most painful death."

"Awesome," Takato said. His voice sounded dazed and sleepy.

"Davis," Kari said, deciding if she could get through to any of them, it would be him. "We've got a job to do. Remember?" She tried to sound stern, to snap him out of his trance, but her voice sounded shaky even to her. Sirenmon had not even made a direct threat toward them, and yet Kari was terrified. She felt completely helpless. One triumphant look from Sirenmon, and Kari's confidence was crumbling into dust.

"Job to do," Davis muttered. "Yeah. Right. But shopping first."

Sirenmon beamed at him. "Then we have a wonderful broach for opening dark portals—"

"Got that covered," Ken said.

"Indeed?" Her Majesty studied Ken's face more closely. "Yes… I can see it now… Hidden and buried deep in your soul, but it's still there."

"Hey, watch it, lady!" Yolei snapped.

Sirenmon sent Yolei an annoyed look. "But no matter. Moving on… Here, we have jewels that can cause blindness, insanity, bring out your deepest desires, get you caught in your deepest dreams, and so much more…"

Kari found herself still staring at the stand that held the necklaces. It took her a second to realize why. One of the necklaces was familiar – painfully familiar. A chain that held a golden tag and – secured inside – a crest. Her eyes widened.

No way…

Sending a quick look toward Sirenmon to make sure she was still distracted by the boys, Kari took a step toward the necklace stand. The symbol wasn't immediately recognizable to her, but something about it still rang as familiar. And it was pulsating a golden light, signaling that its match was near. Amongst the other glowing and shimmering jewels, it was no wonder Sirenmon had wandered right past it. In fact, Kari suspected that Sirenmon had no idea what it truly was or surely she would have mentioned it. But who did it belong to?

The golden color reminded her of TK's Crest of Hope, but the hue was darker, a deeper tone, almost bronze, and the symbol was all wrong. It looked like a fancy way to write the letter "M" with two teardrops above and below and two triangles at either end. Kari thought about the prophecy, Cody and Yolei's crests, but as she glanced toward them, she could plainly see neither of their D-3's reacting to the crest so close. Her eyes slid over to Takato, wondering if somehow maybe…

And then she saw it. Davis let out a laugh about something, drawing her attention to him, and peeking out from underneath his jacket on the back of his belt was his glowing D-3.

But then that means…

It clicked. The reason why the symbol seemed so familiar to her was because it was the symbol etched into Magnamon's armor all those years ago.

The Crest of Miracles.

Kari rushed forward and pulled Davis's jacket further down, obscuring his D-3 from Sirenmon's eyes. "Wait," she said. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she resisted the urge to hit herself. She had never stolen a thing in her life, but she suddenly wished that she had just pocketed the tag and crest instead of speaking up. Too late now, though, not with Sirenmon suddenly very interested in her. "Is any of this for sale?"

Sirenmon narrowed her eyes. "Possibly. Yes. Quite possibly. Why, my dear? See something you like?"

Yolei and Gatomon were staring at her like she had lost her mind, and Kari tried to keep her expression neutral. If Sirenmon got wind of the valuable trinket that she had in her possession, then Kari truly feared that they really wouldn't be walking out of here.

"Kari, what are you doing?" Yolei hissed.

Kari ignored her. "How much for… say… one of your necklaces?"

Sirenmon got a faraway look in her eyes. "Well, now… The price is always tricky. I love helping digimon and humans alike. Honestly, I do. Selling my wares is my finest accomplishment, and I always keep my bargains… But sometimes I encounter thieves who try to cheat me."

"Cheat you?" Wormmon asked, as if the idea disturbed him.

"That's messed up," Takato agreed.

Her Majesty patted Takato on the head affectionately. "I'm sure you all needn't worry. You all seem so beautifully honest. You'd always pay a fair price, wouldn't you?"

Guilmon nodded. "What were we buying again? I'll take two!"

Kari broke in before the boys tried to buy the entire underwater store: "So, for a necklace – how much?"

Sirenmon's eyes flickered over to the stand with the necklaces before looking back at Kari, assessing her clothes, face, posture – as if trying to gauge what exact item she were interested in and what the price on her head should be.

"How much do you want it? Would you give anything for it?" Sirenmon asked. "I sense that you would."

The words washed over Kari as powerfully as an ocean wave. The force of the suggestion nearly lifted her off her feet. She wanted to pay any price. She wanted to say yes. Yolei was already starting to nod as if to answer for her, and even Gatomon looked nearly convinced.

Then her stomach twisted. Kari realized that she was being charmed. No wonder the boys were all dazed. It reminded her of being caught in Puppetmon's strings when she first arrived in the Digital World eight years ago, but this was a thousand times more dangerous – because the strings were attempting to pull at her mind, puppeteer her thinking. Her fear grew.

She summoned all of her willpower to fight against it. "No, I won't pay any price. But a fair price, maybe. After that, we need to leave. Right, guys?"

Yolei and Gatomon immediately snapped out it, and for a moment, her words seemed to have an effect on the boys as well. The boys looked around confused.

"Leave?" Cody said.

"You mean… after shopping?" Veemon asked.

Kari wanted to scream, but Sirenmon tilted her head as she regarded the teenaged girl with something akin to newfound respect.

"Impressive," Her Majesty said. "Not many digimon – let alone humans - could resist my suggestions. You, Child of Light, are far more interesting than I gave you credit for. No matter. Perhaps we should shop a while longer before you decide what to buy. Wouldn't want you having buyer's remorse, now would we?"

"But the necklace—"

"Now, boys." She turned to the male digidestined and digimon completely under her spell. Her voice was so powerful and persuasive that Kari's simple pleading didn't stand a chance. "Would you like to see more?"

"Sure," Ken said.

"Okay," Davis agreed.

"Sounds good," Armadillomon echoed.

"Excellent," Sirenmon said. "You'll need all the help you can get if you're to make it to the southeastern edge of Folder."

Kari felt her hands start to shake. She thought about her dream of the mountaintop – the map Barbamon had shown her where he had marked exactly where he waited, where he held TK and Tai, where she was supposed to betray her friends in two days.

"The southeastern edge of Folder?" Yolei asked, bewildered. "Why the southeastern edge of Folder?"

Sirenmon smiled at Kari. "You mean you haven't told them yet?" She looked at Yolei, her smile turning a knowing smirk. "Why, dear… That's where they're meant to die."

Then she led them toward the staircase, the boys looking oblivious and far too enthusiastic to shop.