Digimon World Tour Chapter 42: Tribute by Moonlight, a digimon fanfic

Digimon World Tour

Recap

[BGM: "Frolic" by Luciano Michelini]

[Doug] The last chapter/episode was very centered on my character, T.K. He turned out to be the last hope for Marcus and Kari, but his Esperanza Soul Therapy didn't work the way that it should've. And when you're ripping off Futari wa Pretty Cure, why should it? So, T.K. went inside Marcus' brain, and it seems that Marcus was still feeling the guilt from Rika's injury. Of course, he loves her, and so on, and it was the only time you'll ever see Howie Mandel, Charlie Siebert, and William Daniels in an episode of Digimon. That's what they actually looked like in the dream-slash-music video. Kari was a tougher nut to crack because she wanted to be strong like her brother, whom she idol worships. Of course, we never really found that out in the English version because Nimrod and Buck Tooth Buchholz wanted to make a romance out of our characters! Lara really deserved an Emmy for her performance, and I deserve a raise. And I'm gonna get one or else I'll let Dave Wittenberg take my roles. That'll show em! T.K. told her that she had her own strength, yada yada yada, the two went on to make a duet out of a Bryan Adams song. I played piano in it, too. That's actually me on the piano. Anyway, Marcus and Kari saw the error of their ways, Kentaurosmon came in and saved the day, Southfork Ranch is burned, and Commander Sampson chewed them all out. And we finally got rid of Nene, at least for now. Overall, it was all right, I guess.

Chapter 42: Tribute by Moonlight

Greg

The concert in Dallas went well enough. Kari and Marcus realized the show had to go on, so they did their best even though their hearts were smashed to pieces on the inside. That's really saying something for Marcus. The Dallas audiences didn't even miss Rika.

["Tooth and Nail" (Live)

Written by Mick Jones and Lou Gramm

Performed by The Teenage Wolves

Lead Singer: Marcus Damon (Quinton Flynn)]

The song starts up as Thomas takes over for Marcus on the drums and Marcus goes up to the front. "Are you ready to rock, Dallas?!" he yells into the mic. The crowds cheer. "All right. I dedicate this to the one I love. Hit it!" The song starts up as Marcus jumps around, throwing punches into the air. The guitarists play as Marcus works off of them and operates the stage.

Marcus:

I'm tired of all this cheap talk
When you walk next to me
And they say I ain't good enough for you?
Huh, why don't they come and tell me?
When they see us out in the night
They can't wait to tear us apart
Now I hear them saying lovin' you ain't right
Well they'd better be ready 'cause honey I'll be there

Marcus/Band:
I will fight tooth and nail
Count on me, I will not fail you
I will fight tooth and nail

Marcus' heart really isn't into the performance, but the audience can't tell.

Marcus:
They say I'm always breaking promises
And I'm just fooling with you
Then they try and come between the two of us
Man, that's a bad thing to do
I can say I had more than enough
But I ain't gonna take it too hard
I said hey, they want to play rough
Well let's see who backs down when the trouble starts

Marcus/Band:
I will fight tooth and nail
Count on me, I will not fail you
I will fight tooth and nail

Marcus:
Come on, try me, I won't give in
They take advantage, but they can't win
I'll be your man, baby, wait and see
Ain't nobody, nobody take your love from me

Marcus runs down the stage, high fiving everybody. We see T.K. get a guitar solo in, as well as more shots of the band.

Marcus/Band:
I will fight tooth and nail
I was wrong, I will not fail you
I will fight tooth and nail

Marcus:
I'll be your man, baby, wait and see
Ain't nobody, nowhere take your love away from me

Marcus/Band:
I will fight tooth and nail
Count on me, I will not fail you
I will fight tooth and nail
Right now, tooth and nail
I am waiting for the fight
Tooth and nail
Right now, c'mon, tooth and nail
Right now, tooth and nail
C'mon, tooth and nail

Marcus:
Ah fight!

He throws his fist into the air as the audience goes wild.

Greg

After the concert, we had the usual private after party in Matt's suite. Eight random people and their Digimon drinking cans of soda. Marcus and Anya refused to speak to Nene, but I had a pretty good conversation with her. "So... you certainly knew our material tonight, Nene. I'm impressed." "You shouldn't be, really. Everyone at DATS has a copy of the Teenage Wolves' first album and an advance copy of the second." "Stop selling yourself short. You were professional in every sense of the word. Besides, I think you got more wolf-whistles than Rika ever did because you actually showed off your legs." She blushed.

The next day, Nene flew back to Japan and we took a three hour and 19 minute flight to San Francisco.

Kari

I brought Gatomon's DigiEgg out of my Digivice and held it in my lap during the entire flight. Marcus polished his DigiEgg. I turned to him. "So, how are you doing?" "Eh." "Hmm... so you'd rather forget about it, too. I just wish it was that easy." "Yeah..." "I guess I never really did apologize to you for what I did. I'm sorry, Marcus. I really am." "Eh, it's all right. I guess. I'm sorry too, if that means anything." I let out a faint smile. "Thanks." "Any time." We both went back to what we were doing.

We checked in at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco, where Rika was waiting for us in the lobby, practicing her keyboard. When we walked in, she just looked up and grinned. It was so good to see her. Marcus thought the same thing, because he was the first one to greet her. We didn't see the two of them for at least an hour.

In the Bagra Army base, Dragomon makes his presence known as he berates AxeKnightmon. "It seems the humans are now aware of the leverage we have on this Nene girl. Why didn't you guarantee she wouldn't talk?" "Now now, Dragomon. While we failed in one respect, we have succeeded in another. The Child of Light has corrupted herself and is at an all-time low." Dragomon sees footage of Kari and Marcus' incident in Dallas on the viewing screen. "Yes, so I see. The only problem is that she is surrounded. I see we'll have to work harder. With the right amount of manipulation, perhaps she can sink even lower. However, we'll have to separate her from her friends, especially the boy with the blonde hair." T.K. appears on the viewing screen. "That may be nigh unto impossible," AxeKnightmon replies.

"Not necessarily," a seductive, female voice says. Laylamon enters the scene. "You've finally decided to reveal yourself again, Laylamon. Why?" Dragomon asks. "Because this time I have a perfect plan. We'll wait until the Child of Light is alone, preferably sleeping. Then, I'll use my powers to go inside her dream and wreak havoc there." "Won't she recognize your voice?" Laylamon transforms into a copy of Kari wearing her second half outfit. "Not if I sound and look like this," she says in a perfect impression of Kari's voice. AxeKnightmon and Dragomon look surprised at how well the transformation is. The three participate in an evil laugh, with Laylamon momentarily returning to her own voice.

Matt

We tried working on some new material in the conference center. I thought I'd try to cheer Kari up by letting her sing lead on something, but she chose a rather unique song.

["When I'm Gone"

Written by Bradley K. Arnold, Matt Roberts, Robert Harrell, and Chris Henderson

Performed by The Teenage Wolves

Lead Singer: Kari Kamiya (Lara Jill Miller)]

The band starts playing as a depressed Kari leans into the mic. Her vocals check out all right, but her body language indicates she's checked out. The stage is reserved for them, so Kari puts Gatomon's DigiEgg in a chair so she can watch.

Kari:
There's another world inside of me that you may never see
There's secrets in this life that I can't hide
Somewhere in this darkness there's a light that I can't find
Well, maybe it's too far away, or maybe I'm just blind
Or maybe I'm just blind

So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone
Everything I am and everything in me
Wants to be the one you wanted me to be

I'll never let you down, even if I could
I'd give up everything if only for your good
So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared, you won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone,

Love me when I'm gone

We get more shots of the band performing.

Kari:

When your education x-ray cannot see under my skin
I won't tell you any thing that I could not tell my friends
And roaming through this darkness, I'm alive but I'm alone
And part of me is fighting this, but part of me is gone

So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone
Everything I am and everything in me
Wants to be the one you wanted me to be

I'll never let you down, even if I could
I'd give up everything, if only for your good
So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong
You can hold me when I'm scared, you won't always be there
So love me when I'm gone

Even Rika is surprised at how alternative Kari can be when she wants to.

Kari:

Maybe I'm just blind

Kari puts on a display of self-defeat during the instrumental bridge. This disgusts Matt.

Kari:

So hold me when I'm here, right me when I'm wrong
Hold me when I'm scared and love me when I'm gone
Everything I am and everything in me
Wants to be the one you wanted me to be

Love me when I'm gone, whoa
Love me when I'm gone, when I'm gone
When I'm gone, when I'm gone

The song ends as Matt puts away his guitar in disgust and angrily approaches Kari.

Matt

"Are you done?" I asked her, right in her face. She looked at me suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?" "Yeah, we all know Gatomon's back to being a DigiEgg. It sucks. Most of us have moved on, you clearly haven't. How dare you use our rehearsal time to vent your frustrations on stage!" "Now wait just a minute! Didn't you like my singing, or, or my song choice?" "Well... yeah, but that's beside the point. There's just something about it that I didn't like. And in case all of you have forgotten..." I looked around the room to make my point. "I'm the leader of this band."

"Quiet, you big jerk," Marcus muttered. I rushed up to him. "What did you say!?" "Yeah, I called you a jerk. You're acting like one, so you are one. In fact, there are quite a few things I wanna call you." I grabbed him by the collar and stood him up. "Oh you would, would you?" "You bet I would!"

T.K. broke us up. "Guys, that's enough! We can't keep fighting like this. Rika's back and so we should all just try to get along." "Whose side are you on?" Kari and I quickly asked at the same time. He hesitated and put up a nervous smile. "I... uh, can't decide. You both have a good point, so would you please stop fighting?" I dropped my head. "That was pathetic, Takeru."

The argument went on for five minutes until I was this close to hitting her. Of course, I just couldn't do that. Not with T.K. watching, anyway. Kari stormed out of the room, and the others started to join her. "I wouldn't follow her if I was you," I threatened. "Or else what?" Marcus sneered. "You're out of the group, and you'll have to return to Japan." "And why would you do something stupid like that?" Rika asked, challenging me. I didn't have an answer. They left after her.

In the meantime, Laylamon arrives in San Francisco, just outside the Hyatt Regency. She quickly transforms into a perky government official and walks inside, approaching the front desk with a cheery smile on her face. "Excuse me?" The front desk clerk takes notice. "Yes, how can I help you?" "My name's Layla Montazaki, from the Japanese embassy. I was hoping to have a word with Kari Kamiya." "Oh. She's in room 421. Shall I page her for you?" This is better than expected. "No, no. I'd just like the key to her room. I'll see her myself." "I'm afraid we can't do that." "What do you... er, what do you mean you can't do that?" "Oh, well there are a few laws written in the IH&RA handbook we couldn't possibly break. And it's for our guests' safety, ma'am." "And I need to see her because of Article Four, Section 29 of the 'Foreign Underage Minors in America' act recently passed by the National Diet." "Oh... and we wouldn't want to upset the National Diet. I understand." She pulls out a spare key and gives it to Layla. "Thank you," Layla says, hiding a devilish smile.

Veemon

We met inside Renamon's Digivice for an important meeting. Unfortunately, Agumon and Gatomon were still inside their DigiEggs, so they couldn't participate. I led the meeting. "OK, OK. Before we start this meeting, we should all welcome back Renamon." Renamon bowed her head and we all cheered. "Do we have any new business?" I asked.

Gabumon raised his hand. "I've got some. I've been worried about how Matt's treating Kari. Ever since that fight when she and Marcus lost control, Matt's been treating her differently." "Hmm, that's a problem, Gabumon. Does anyone have any ideas?"

Gaomon raised his hand. "Perhaps we should look at the situation differently. While it's commonly agreed that Matt hasn't been living up to his apparent Crest, Kari has not been her usual, cheerful self as of late. 'When I'm Gone' could be considered a dark, defeatist track." Patamon raised his wing. "Ooh ooh, Gaomon, what does 'defeatist' mean?" "That means she's given up." "Oh. Well, that's not like Kari at all." I nodded.

"And one other thing," Gabumon added, "Matt chewing her out makes him a hypocrite." "What do you mean?" I asked. "Well, it actually has to do with how I went to Ultimate again. Matt rented out this opera house and used his laptop to perform this Gino Vannelli song, and he made me listen to it." Gaomon rubbed his chin. "And now the shoe's on the other foot, it seems. Will you call him out on it?" "When I have the chance. After all, isn't that what friends do?" We all agreed on that.

Kari

I couldn't figure out what had gotten into Matt. I just wanted to take a bath and calm down. So, I used the hotel's bubble bath and drew up a warm tub of water. After it got all bubbly, I took off my clothes and settled in. With all the water jets going around me, I felt great. I just leaned back and dozed off.

When I fell asleep, though, I had a heck of a dream. I was in a black room, and it was completely dark. One single light turned on, and standing in front of me, was me wearing my monochrome outfit. "Hi," she said. "Um... hi, there." "You just think one little bubble bath's gonna fix everything, huh?" "Well... I don't know." "You better think about it, then. Because what you did in Dallas was so wrong, but sooooooo right."

I looked around, and soon I was surrounded by copies of me, spinning around me in every direction. "Didn't you secretly love the darkness?...darkness?...darkness? Didn't it give you power?... power?...power?" I violently shook my head. "No! No! I didn't love it! Honest, I didn't!" "Heh, like we're gonna believe that. Just admit it, Kari. You're not worthy of the Crest of Light anymore." "I'm... not worthy?" "You heard us! The Crest is permanently tainted. Want to know why T.K. still hangs around you?" "He loves me?" "No, you idiot. He pities you! He's just trying to be nice!...nice!...nice!"

Could what they say be... true? "No. No, this can't be true. I'm still worthy, aren't I? I mean, I still have my friends." "What friends? You were trying to express your feelings, and Matt chewed you out and hung you out to dry. Your little boyfriend wasn't any help, either." I covered my ears and held my head. "Noooooooo!" "Face it. It's time for someone else to get your Crest, and the only way someone else can get it is if you die!...die!...die!...die!...die!...die!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" I woke up from my bath, panting. That nightmare impressed me so much, I had to prepare myself. I went shopping and bought the whitest, purest dress I could find. Everything had to be white and pure, which would be a little bit harder this week given the circumstances. When I returned, I waited in my room until almost midnight. I didn't dare tell the others. I was afraid they wouldn't care, or maybe they'd care enough to stop me from what I had to do.

I sent one last e-mail to Tai. "'Dear Tai: I'm in San Francisco, and I just had a dream, a vision. I have tarnished the Crest of Light, and now I must die so that someone more worthy than me can take it for herself. By midnight tonight, when the moon is at its peak, you will find my dress on the 20th floor, and my body in the lobby. Please, don't stop me. I love you. Goodbye forever. Kari.'"

Matt

I spent a good part of the night in my room, practicing my bass in peace. The others were going out on the town, and I thought it would be a good idea not to go. At 11:30, my Digivice beeped, and I answered it, and it was Gabumon. "Matt, we need to talk," he said. So, I let him out of his Digivice. "What's up, Gabumon?" I asked.

"Well, I've been thinking about what happened this afternoon, when you yelled at Kari. It reminded me of that time in Paris, before we fought Ryouma in the opera house. I had to sit through your performance, and I didn't like it." "You didn't like it?" "Didn't you see me with my head in my palm, tapping my claws on the armrest?" "Well, yeah. But what does that have to do with Kari?" "She was trying to express her feelings and you chewed her out! That makes you a big hypocrite!" "Why you little—!" I started chasing him around the room until he tackled me and bit me on the leg. "OW!" "Matt, you've got to get a hold of yourself! Kari's one of your closest friends, and you shouldn't talk to her like that."

That bite and those words really got me to thinking. Maybe I was letting all this stress get to me. "You know, Gabumon, maybe you're right. Maybe all the stress of fighting the Bagra Army, traveling everywhere, and performing on stage has gotten to me. I wonder if this was how The Beatles broke up." "Your guess is as good as mine."

At that point, my cell phone went off. I answered it. "Yo?" "Matt, this is Tai." His voice sounded more worried than usual. "Oh, hey Tai. What's wrong?" "I just got an e-mail from Kari. She's going to jump from the 20th floor tonight at midnight." "Wait, she's going to what!?" "I'll forward you the e-mail." I checked the e-mail on my new laptop. Sure enough, she was going to jump in 20 minutes. I had to stop her... No! I couldn't. After all, people just don't change their minds that quickly. If this was something she had to do, she had to do it. On third thought, why was this so hard for me?

"Well, what are you gonna do?" Tai asked me urgently. I didn't answer. "You're not gonna just let my little sister take her own life like that, aren't you?" "I'm thinking it over." "Matt! This is no time to be fooling around! Either you save my sister's life, or else I'll never speak to you again! You've got the Crest of Friendship! This should be a no-brainer!" "Then why don't you save her, Tai?" "First, I'm in Japan. Second, she asked me not to. Finally, I doubt she'd have her cell phone on her when she was about to jump. You know what you have to do." He hung up.

Laylamon

At about 11:55 human time that night, I waited on the other side, disguised as the reporter. This was turning out much better than I thought. The Child of Light approached the guardrail, dressed in the whitest gown I'd ever seen. She thought she must've been a symbol of purity and light, the little fool. However, from a distance, I could see someone else approaching. It was that young man, Matt. He'd given me great pleasure before, and perhaps I could get a taste of that again.

Matt

I had to race over there before it was too late. As I was running down the hall, Kari was dressed in a beautiful, white dress. She clasped her hands in prayer. "Oh Digimon Sovereign, protectors of light, I am unworthy of holding the Crest of Light. Please accept my humble sacrifice of myself." Then, she took off her dress and prepared to jump in a white bra and panties. I would've shouted something, but then I heard the same thing from the other side. I couldn't believe my eyes. There were two Karis, one on either side, and both of them looking like they came straight out of a Victoria's Secret catalog. I couldn't tell which one was which. They both looked at me, so I had to act fast.

"Hold it! Both of you!" I shouted. They stopped. "Which one of you is the real Kari?" "I am!" they both called back at the same time. My mind raced. Oh, why couldn't T.K. have done this? I struggled to decide which one was real, and clenched my fist in frustration. "Rrrgh! Why'd there have to be two of you?"

Gabumon was right. I'd been nothing but a jerk, and now Kari was about to throw herself down 20 stories. I closed my eyes and prayed I'd be able to make the right decision. All of a sudden, I felt a force inside me. I couldn't tell whether it was the Crest of Friendship inside my heart, or if it was God, but an impression told me to go to the right. I dashed to the right, grabbed the Kari there by the arm, and drew her into my arms.

"Matt!" "Oh Kari..." We both turned to watch the one on the left jumped. But instead of continuing to fall, she revealed her true form. It was Laylamon! She flew up to the top to face us. "So... it looks like you made the right decision, Yamato. You think you may have saved her life, but you two are going to die sooner than you think! Come, we must take this battle outside in 30 minutes."

She disappeared, and Kari turned to me. "Gatomon hasn't hatched out of her egg yet, so it's up to you. Oh Matt, I'm so sorry..." "No, Kari." I fought the tears until I couldn't fight them anymore. "I've been a jerk to you and everyone, and a big hypocrite on top of that. You weren't wrong to share your feelings with us. I'm sorry, and I swear nothing will ever come between us again!" I held her hand in mine, and she looked to me. The two of us agreed on it, and almost left when Kari realized she was hardly wearing anything. "I guess I better get dressed, huh?" she sheepishly said. "Uh huh, but why don't you wear something more appropriate for battle? You can't fight those Troopmon wearing that dress." "Uh huh." We separated, and I ran back into my room to grab my Digivice and secure it on the holster on my belt.

30 minutes later, we were at a local park, where a group of Troopmon had cleared off the area. Kari was there with her usual outfit. We stood on one side, and Laylamon stood on the other. "Glad to see you could make it. Now, we can begin. Dianamon, come forth!" Laylamon raised her hand to the sky as a large, blue and white female warrior Digimon dropped down from the sky. I looked her up on my Digimon Analyzer. "'Dianamon, a Mega-Level God Man Digimon. Just as the moon has two sides, light and dark, her personality is of a two-sided nature, and her beauty conceals a terrible power.'" "Hello there. It's so nice to meet you both," our enemy said sweetly. "Uh..." We didn't know what to say. I shook my head and got my game face on, then I unclipped my Digivice and thrust it forward. "Gabumon, realize!" Within seconds, Gabumon was by my side. "Ready for some midnight madness?" I asked him. "Madness? No, but I am ready to fight!" he answered. That was good enough for me. I ignited my DigiSoul as far as it could go, then got in position. "Then let's do this! DigiSoul, charge! OVERDRIVE!"

"Gabumon Double Warp Digivolve to... AncientGarurumon!"

In the meantime, Kari had just finished her warmup, so she pressed that three-digit combination on her Digivice and tilted it to the side. "DigiSoul Aura Mode, on!" She put her hand through the light and powered up, then put her Digivice back in her waistpack and went to work fighting off the Troopmon. I went into Aura Mode myself and joined her.

AncientGarurumon

I had Matt and Kari's support, so it was up to me to slay this witch. Right away, I attempted to use my Sharpness Claymore attack, but she was too quick for me. Although this is my most powerful Digivolution, this armor is a bit bulky and hampers my movements. It seems every time I take a step forward, my enemy has moved out of my blade's reach.

Laylamon

I wish I had brought some popcorn to watch this fight, but I had to take my leave. So, I left.

AncientGarurumon

Laylamon left, the dirty sneak. My greatsword's blade met with Dianamon's double-bladed scythe, and then cut away. Neither weapon was damaged. She was too quick for me. "Goodnight moon. Goodnight swan. Goodnight AncientGarurumon. Goodnight streetlight, and goodnight Saigon..." she cooed as the lights on her moon-shaped kneeguards shined. They were so calming, so relaxing. I ended up falling asleep.

Matt

AncientGarurumon fell into a deep sleep just beside a lake. I kicked away the last Troopmon, then ran to his side. "AncientGarurumon, wake up! The battle isn't over yet!" I called. "Just five more minutes..." my partner answered drowsily.

Meanwhile, Kari was about to have problems of her own. Dianamon spotted her and hit her with some kind of moon beam. Her eyes went big, then she started beating herself up literally and not fighting back against the Troopmon. Her dance routine became flashy but self-destructive. She could seriously get hurt. I ran to her and tried to stop her, but she dug her nails into my wrist and the Troopmon pushed me away.

I couldn't believe what Dianamon was doing! Didn't she know that she was making Kari hurt herself? This only got me angry as I pointed up to Dianamon. "You! How dare you take advantage of my friend Kari, especially when she's defenseless like this! Aren't you ashamed?" "No," Dianamon answered serenely. "Well then you really are bad!" "Consider the fact that your so-called friend is attacking the Troopmon." "That's only because the Troopmon would attack the city if they could." "Of course. They are the standard army units deployed by the Bagra Army." What was I thinking, arguing with her? "We don't have time for this!"

I turned back to AncientGarurumon. "AncientGarurumon, I really need you. Kari needs you, too. Please, wake up!" Suddenly, AncientGarurumon's voice came into my head as everything around me went black. "And I have needed you as well, Matt. Without our friendship, I would've never been half the Digimon I am today." "That's right. It's always been you and me, and that's the way it needs to be now. I made a promise to you in the Digital World, and I plan on keeping it." I felt a new power growing inside of me. "Huh? What's happening? It's like a wave washing over me. Is this...?" I wondered. "Yes. I think it is, Matt. I feel all this power flowing inside me, just waiting to be unlocked. And only you have the key." "I have the... key? All right, then. Are you ready?" AncientGarurumon woke up, and got into a battle stance. "I always have been, and always will be," he answered out loud.

I pulled out my now glowing Digivice, and all the information came to my mind. "Awesome! Then we're going full throttle in... three... two... one!" I pressed the third, then the second, then the first button on my Digivice, and the Signal Port turned on. I shifted my device to the side, slowly bringing my hand into the Port's light. "Charge! DigiSoul..." I kept my hand in the light until the Digivice beeped. "BURST MODE!" I thrust both hands fully out to my sides and fired the beam at AncientGarurumon.

As he took that power, something happened to him. His bulky shoulder pads disappeared and his body became much more streamlined. He became faster, stronger, and more agile. His armor became a brighter shade of silver, and he combined his greatswords to form one powerful two-handed sword with a thinner blade. The moon became just a bit brighter as he posed with his sword. "AncientGarurumon, Burst Mode! Aroooooooooooooooooooooo!"

Izzy

Commander Sampson and I had just walked in the doors of the War Room at DATS Headquarters in Japan. Ken greeted us. "Commander. Izzy. You two showed up just in time. AncientGarurumon's finally reached Burst Mode." I ran to the console and punched in the right coordinates, and we saw an instant replay of Matt's partner's transformation. "Prodigious," I gasped. Commander Sampson agreed. "Indeed. It seems Yamato has finally unlocked the secret."

I set up the options so I could speak through Matt's Digivice. "You've done it, Matt Ishida, and you too, AncientGarurumon. By combining the intensity of your emotions and your everlasting friendship with each other, you've been able to push past the Mega level, into new, uncharted areas of power. You have finally unlocked... the true Burst Mode, and you beat me to it!" Matt's voice came over the system. "What? You mean you still haven't figured it out, Izzy?" "Uh, heh heh... no, not completely. In fact, Sora figured it out ahead of me." "That's my girl!"

Matt

I stared at this new AncientGarurumon, and he looked amazing. Dianamon just glanced at him. "Oh, you've become more agile, I see," she said, brushing him off. "Right! Now that I'm faster, I shouldn't fall for any of your tricks!" After that, he jumped into battle. His speed and agility was incredible. He could catch up with Dianamon like it was nothing. AncientGarurumon got ahead really quickly and managed to cut a huge crack in her armor. Then, he pulled his sword back and thrust it right in the crack, piercing her. "Absolute Zero." The ice went from his body through the blade into hers and completely froze all her systems. She dropped to the ground and became a DigiEgg faster than I could say, "It's warm over here."

With Dianamon dead, Kari broke out of her spell and finished off the rest of the Troopmon. After everything was cleared, AncientGarurumon powered back down to Gabumon and we celebrated with fistbumps all around. Kari's smile wasn't as wide as I thought it would be. "Hey, what's wrong?" I asked. "Well, I know I should be happy for you and all that, but I thought I'd have a chance to go first. I never go first." "

You were the first one to screw it up intentionally," Gabumon said cheerfully. That didn't help. "Gabumon..." I groaned."Oh, I guess that didn't help. Uh... cheer up, Kari. Wasn't Gatomon the second to go to Ultimate?"

Kari remembered that and smiled. "Oh yeah, that's right. I was the first girl in our group to use the Full Charge." "And you were the first person to win an audition in our band," I reminded her. Then, she remembered something else. "I remember now! If what T.K. said was right, I was also the first person, besides Izzy, to charge my DigiSoul! Thanks, Matt. You're the best!" She knelt down and gave Gabumon a kiss on the cheek. "You too, Gabumon." My partner blushed. "Awwww, shucks." We laughed about it, then I put Gabumon back in my Digivice and we went back to the hotel.

When we got back to the hotel, the others had just arrived. Marcus looked like he was stumbling a bit. I had to catch him to keep his head from falling on the chair's seat cushion. "Marcus, what happened? Looks like you had some night." I'd seen that look before, when Dad came home from the Fuji TV Christmas parties. "Oh Matt, ol' buddy, ol' pal... we had soooome night! Jay-Z was in town and he took us to one of the parties his label throws now and again, and lemme tell you, that virgin colada I drank was just-as-much-of-a virgin as Rika is. Uh huh..." He was blitzed. "Uh huh... Marcus, you're drunk, aren't you?" I asked. He had a goofy smile on his face. "Yep-yep-yep-yep-yep!" "I'm glad you made it home." "And I love you too, buddy!"

Rika explained, "Apparently, Shawn thought it would be funny to slip Marcus a bit of the real thing behind the bartender's back." "Who's Shawn?" Kari asked. "That's Jay-Z's real name. Shawn Carter. That jerk." Rika pounded her fist in her palm. "I oughta pour some hard stuff in his drink, see how he likes it." "And I was the designated driver," Greg added. He and I fistbumped.

"So, how was your night, Matt?" T.K. asked. "Oh, nothing interesting really happened. Kari nearly tried to kill herself, I saved her, and..." I looked around to make sure no one in the lobby was listening. "I unlocked Burst Mode," I nearly whispered. Marcus' eyes crossed themselves. "You did?" "Uh huh." "Aww, you little son of a bi-" Rika quickly covered Marcus' mouth. "Come on, babe. I think you need to go to bed." "Aww thank you, thank you. You're too good to me, you're just too good to me..." Rika put Marcus' arm around her as they stumbled to the elevator. Kari just stared at them sympathetically. "Poor Marcus." I shook my head.

The concerts at AT&T Park went really well. But then again, why shouldn't they? The band was back together, and I was feeling pretty good. Now all we had to worry about was the wedding.

Author's Notes:

This truly is the last chapter of 2014.

Yes, Burst Mode is introduced properly in this chapter because I wanted Matt to get it first. After all, he is the "leader" of the team. Kari's going to get her chance soon enough.

"Goodnight Saigon" is the title of a 1982 Billy Joel song about the Vietnam War.