Devidramon

I'd say two females and one male makes Magnadramon a 'she.'

Nah, I don't have any drawings of SaberNekomon. Maybe someday I'll try and beg Ginny into drawing her for me. Thanks for reading. :) ----- ?Guys, we?ve got a situation,? Tai said. ?What happened to you, Matt?? MetalGarurumon said. Matt had fared by far the worst of the three. While Tai and Kari had but a few scratches, Matt looked like he'd been whipped with barbed wire. "SaberNekomon's little friends showed up. I. HATE. Cats. And how come the cats didn't do this to you two?" he said to Tai and Kari. "How the heck should I know?" Tai snapped. "Look, we've got to figure something out. Agumon had to digivolve to get us away from the cats, and he's broken through the wall." "He did what?" Lillymon said. "It was that or get stuck between floors in a steel staircase in mid-digivolve, who knows what would have happened? Anyway, we've got a big orange T-Rex on the streets below." "It?s not like people don?t already know about us," Matt said. "What's the worst that could happen?" "That's a novel. Soldiers already tried to swipe Zudomon's hammer, and this company... whose building is this, anyway?... would probably try to make us pay for the however many thousand dollars worth of damage this fight is costing. The people who think Digimon are a threat might blame us for the damage done now and back during Myotismon?s occupation of Tokyo and come gunning for us, someone might try to exploit us, the list goes on. After two years, things were finally going back to normal, and now this new Digimon shows up and whenever something gets wrecked, guess who?s close at hand? Us. There?s only a thousand and one things that can go wrong. As far as I?m concerned, the less the public knows about what we do, the better.? ?There?s nothing to be done about it,? Matt said. ?Right now, we?ve got to worry about the others. When SaberNekomon finds them, they?ll have a lot more to worry about than security.? ?Where?s Angewomon?? Kari wondered. MetalGarurumon nodded in Angewomon?s direction. ?I?m sorry, Kari. SaberNekomon held her in front of my ice attack. It?ll probably take some time for us to break through...? Suddenly, spiderweb cracks began to crisscross the ice. ?HRRRAAAAAAH!? Angewomon screamed as she shattered it. Everyone jumped. ?Where is she?? she roared, wrenching her feet out of the last of the ice and kicking the larger blocks away. Her face was red, and beneath her helmet, a vein in her forehad was pulsing. ?I?ll kill her, by Baihumon?s mane I swear I?ll kill that b...? she realized Kari was standing nearby, ?...uh, bonehead.? she quickly amended, blushing. Lillymon and MetalGarurumon tried not to laugh. ?What?? Angemon said, not comprehending. ?We?ll tell you when you?re older,? Lillymon promised. ?For now, let?s go find the others.? ***** ?This is too easy.? ?You worry too much, Joe.? Gomamon, naturally. ?If SaberNekomon wants to build up the drama by letting us get really close before attacking, that?s her problem.? ?It?s not much farther, just three more floors to go,? Izzy said. ?Remember, SaberNekomon?s out of her element. She?s at her best with a lot of room The others should be able to hold her back long enough for us to get through.? ?And if not?? Joe said. ?Um, we?ll... uh...? ?Oh, boy,? Joe sighed, throwing his hands in the air. ?Just wonderful. You know, just as I was starting to think I might actually live to see my eighteenth birthday...? ?I should put you out of your misery first, just to shut you up.? SaberNekomon?s voice said. The stairwell had an echo, making the voice?s source difficult to discern. ?Let?s move it!? Sora shouted. ?[i]Suuure,[/i] you?re going to outrun me. Why didn?t I think of that?? The Digidestined bolted up the stairs as fast as they could. ?You know, since none of you can digivolve up here, it?s hardly worth the trouble. Where?s the sport? It?s not right that the end of the famed Digidestined should be so... [i]boring.[/i] No one but us is even going to see it.? She seemed to be talking more to herself than them. ?The stupid gate could have opened six hours ago when we?d?ve had a real audience, but [i]noooo![/i]? ?You?re out of your mind, lady!? Gomamon shouted at her voice. ?Gomamon!? Joe whispered. The Digidestined approached the sixth floor, and didn?t plan on wasting any time getting off the stairs. Just ten more feet, five... ?I guess now?s as good a time as any,? SaberNekomon said boredly. ?Here we go.? The floor exploded near the top of the stairway, and SaberNekomon leapt up through the hole and landed in a sitting position on the guardrail with her legs crossed. She ran her tongue over her sharp teeth. ?So, who wants to play with the kitty?? ***** Before the Digidestined could stop, SaberNekomon hopped from the guardrail to the stairs in front of Sora, who was in the lead, and picked her up. ?Hey, let me go-oooh!? SaberNekomon tossed her into Joe and Izzy, sending them to the floor and causing the others to trip over them. They wound up in a painful heap at the bottom of the stairs, except for Tentomon and Biyomon. ?Go past her!? Joe shouted to them. ?Get to the gate! Go through with Tai and the others!? ?We?re not leaving you guys,? Biyomon said. ?Do it!? Sora yelled. ?Rookies won?t hurt her, but you might...? ?Get past me?? SaberNekomon laughed. ?Yeah, right. And maybe little Patamon will grow up to be an ax murderer.? ?Spiral Twister!? ?Super Shocker!? SaberNekomon rolled her eyes as the attacks, as usual, bounced off of her. ?Come [i]on.[/i] If it didn?t work the last zillion times, it probably won?t work this time, right? Why?d you even come here, you could?ve just stayed home and watched cartoons or something.? [i]Man, that was lame. I?m even running out of taunts. Why didn?t I just get them when they were outside? Why?![/i] The Digidestined before her were alternating between giving each other ?what do we do now?? looks and looking at her as if trying to assess the best time to bravely and stupidly dart forward. Tentomon and Biyomon, being closer to SaberNekomon than the others, were the only ones to actually take it upon themselves to do so. [i]Well, if they?re in that much of a hurry to die...[/i] SaberNekomon hopped past Tentomon and Biyomon, and with a quick slap of her tail, sent Tentomon slamming to the floor. As she placed her foot on his back, she caught Biyomon by the talon and held her upside down. ?Ooh, I?ve always wanted to try one of these,? she said, licking her lips. ?So, who wants to go first?? ?You get your hands off her!? Sora shouted. She, Joe, and Gomamon ran towards SaberNekomon before the more logical-minded members of the team could grab them. SaberNekomon waited for them to get close enough, and then poked Sora with one finger to send her toppling back into Joe and Gomamon. Finally, with disgust, she tossed Biyomon and kicked Tentomon back to the others and raised her claws. The Digidestined tried to retreat back down the stairs, but from where she was standing, it would take them some time to get out of harm?s way. Time she wasn?t going to give them. She?d had enough of this waiting, always advancing and then pulling back. ?I suppose I should say it?s been fun or that you?ve been worthy opponents or some such, but the fact is, you guys totally suck. Adios, lame-os. Tigris...? Suddenly there came the sound of explosions and tearing concrete. Before she realized what it was, MetalGarurumon burst through a wall and plowed into her claws-first, sending her through the banister and down on her back across the stairs. ?Run!? the wolf Digimon shouted to the others on the stairs. ?Oh, no you don?t, Muttley,? SaberNekomon growled. ?Exit, stage right.? SaberNekomon teleported, and her vision switched to an aerial view of MetalGarurumon, his claws coming down on sparkles of yellow energy. SaberNekomon dropped towards him, but dog-boy was learning her ways; instead of being easy prey, he jumped aside. [i]Not bad,[/i] she admitted, [i]but thinking one move ahead won?t be enough.[/i] SaberNekomon?s claws pierced the floor next to him, so instead of pouncing on him, she made do with picking him up by the tail and flinging him back up to the top of the stairs. ?Good boy!? she cooed. ?Now...? She leapt up after him and landed at his feet, picking him up by the throat with one hand. She aimed the other at his neck, her claws glowing as she let the Tigris Wave energy flow into them. ?Play dead.? SaberNekomon drove her hand forward, but just as her fingers were about to pierce MetalGarurumon?s throat, Angewomon slammed into her like a linebacker, knocking her to the side. SaberNekomon?s claws pierced the wall, leaving burn marks. ?You and I aren?t done yet,? said that hated voice, that malicious, evil ***** who would never let her have what she wanted, not even for one moment. This was her victory, her hunt, her game, hers! and Gatomon wouldn?t even let her have [i]that![/i] Why wouldn?t she just go away? [i]Well, I?ll [u]make[/u] her go away![/i] ?Die,? SaberNekomon said in an eerily calm voice. She grabbed Angewomon?s arm in a vise-like grip and backflipped over the banister, pushing Angewomon headfirst to the floor fifteen or so feet below. Angewomon twisted free and rushed SaberNekomon, taking her through a wall and into some poor soul?s office, knocking over a file cabinet and a microwave. SaberNekomon grabbed Angewomon, tossing her over someone?s desk and knocking off the computer monitor. ?Just die!? she screamed. ?Celestial Arrow!? Angewomon called, firing an arrow that SaberNekomon dodged by a hairbreadth. ?Tigris Wave!? SaberNekomon shouted, launching an arc of energy. It powered through the desk, and both halves flew aside to reveal that Angewomon was no longer on the other side of it. [i]Ooh, candy![/i] SaberNekomon made a note to come back for the stash of junkfood in the desk. And the paperclips, she loved playing with paperclips... She saw Angewomon charging from the side and she blocked with her arm. The angel had enough momentum to lift SaberNekomon off the ground anyway and slam her through another wall and into the hallway. Angewomon laughed her evil little laugh, looked around her, and reached off to the side to pick up the microwave. ?A microwave?? SaberNekomon sneered. ?Throwing appliances isn?t all noble and good-guy-ish. You might lose your ?holier-than-thou? license.? Angewomon flung the microwave SaberNekomon?s way, and SaberNekomon slashed it to shreds with one swipe of her claws. But Angewomon was no longer standing in the hole. ?Where are you?? SaberNekomon demanded. ?You chicken! If you?re so superior, come out and fight!? ?I never said I was superior to anyone,? Angewomon?s voice said. ?I don?t know what I did to you or why you want me dead so badly.? SaberNekomon looked around for her, grumbling at having the tables turned on her. You just didn?t steal someone else?s trick like that! Unless you were Gatomon, who had to steal [i]everything.[/i] ?Tigris Wave!? The energy slashes ripped another wall open, but Angewomon wasn?t there. ?If it?s me you want, you name the time and place, and I?ll be there. But I won?t let you keep up this rampage, and you?re crazy even for [i]you[/i] if you think I?m letting you kill a bunch of kids. Who put you up to this?? ?You wouldn?t last ten seconds without your pals helping you! Where are you?!? She flung more energy slashes around her, making a shambles of the hallway and at least two more offices, but not revealing her foe. ?Now!? Angewomon shouted. MetalGarurumon crashed through and into the hallway, Angewomon at his side. A hole was blasted in the floor and Lillymon and Angemon arose into the hall. ?Flower Cannon!? ?Hand of Fate!? ?Giga Missile!? ?Celestial Arrow!? ?Uh-oh.? SaberNekomon tried to leap clear of the attacks, but was close enough that when they exploded beneath her, the blast put her through the ceiling. She slammed against the concrete separating the ceiling of the fifth floor from the bottom of the sixth, and crashed back to the ground. Her head was ringing, every bone in her body felt like she?d been run through a paper shredder, and worst of all, her outfit was ruined. She wanted to pay them back so badly, but in these close quarters, it wasn?t happening without the element of surprise. It was time to exercise the better part of valor. ?You guys are [i]so[/i] scratching posts when I get back.? She made a quick teleport, but only to one of the less-damaged offices nearby, where she could still watch them. Of course, being the dimbulbs they were, they?d probably assumed that she was gone for now. [i]First things first: I?m not going after anybody looking like this.[/i] She could feel her body beginning to heal itself already, and she directed some of that energy towards her wardrobe. It was as much a part of her program as the apparently organic parts, so it, too, would heal given time and TLC. [i]Cool. This Digimon stuff has its advantages.[/i] A few minutes later, she?d at least look decent. She watched her foes converse. Angewomon was wondering for the zillionth time why SaberNekomon hated her so. [i]As if she didn?t know, that... that...[/i] Words failed her. But now wasn?t the time for talk, but for action. Though she?d have wait for a more advantageous time to do in Angewomon and her cronies, the wimpazoids she?d been ridiculing earlier had to be scurrying around somewhere like the dumb little rodents they were. They weren?t of much entertainment value anymore, so... [i]say buh-bye, dudes.[/i] ***** ?You think she?s gone?? Angemon said. ?For now,? Angewomon answered. ?But she?ll be back.? ?What do you think she wants with you?? Lillymon asked. ?I?ve got no idea. She could be right, for all I know. Sovereigns know my rap sheet?s longer than my arm. But we?ll figure it out later. It?s time to hit the gate. Somebody better go pick up Agumon, though.? ?I?ll get him,? Angemon said. ?Back in a minute.? He flew off to retrieve the dinosaur Digimon. ***** [i]Ooh, I can pick those two off without half trying! No, not yet. Keep the others from the gate first, deal with bat-pig and dino-boy later.[/i] SaberNekomon teleported to the floor above, and hopped up into the ceiling. By now, the Digi-Dweeboids had found their way to the computer in question. She listened out for their voices, not too hard considering how loud humans could be. ?Game, set, and match,? she said to herself. Slowly, she crawled towards them until they were directly beneath her. She covered her nose and mouth to keep herself from giggling with the glee she felt. First, she?d drop down onto the computer, putting an end to the gate. Then she?d put an end to its would-be users, hunting them down just like teensy little mice. [i]Tom, Sylvester, Katnip, you don?t got it. This is how it?s done![/i] And, as ever-worsening luck would have it, a bat portal appeared, hovering in front of her. ?Come to watch me finish the job?? [i]Don?t kill them. Not yet.[/i] ?What?? SaberNekomon whispered. ?Why?!? [i]Because I command it,[/i] Myotismon not-answered. ?Look, they?re right under me. You want ?em dead, I can do it in ten seconds. What?s the deal?? [i]It must be done, but here isn?t the place, now isn?t the time.[/i] ?All right, all right. Have it your way, bat-boy. In which case, I?m off to rid the world of a certain stupid cat. See ya.? SaberNekomon turned to leave. [i]Not yet. Let them enter the gate, then pursue the last.[/i] ?What makes you think you can tell me what to do? I?m going to finish this right now.? [i]I gave you your power, and if you will not use it as I see fit, I will simply give it to someone who will, while you go back to being the neglected housepet whose universe extends only as far as the end of the block the Kamiyas live on, [u]Miko[/u].[/i] SaberNekomon growled. ?You... you...? she seethed. Who was he to tell her how to play the game? This was [i]her[/i] hunt, the Digidestined were [i]her[/i] mice, Gatomon had stolen [i]her[/i] Kari. [i]She[/i] called the shots, not some stupid shadow who wouldn?t even bother to step out of his... whatever it was... and lift a finger against the Digidestined. [i]And those stupid bats of his. Why should I take orders from someone who hangs out with rodents?[/i] But if he could give her the power, he probably could take it back. And she?d never get rid of Gatomon, never again have humans look at her the way they did now, never again live in the world she?d experienced that day. ?All right, I?ll wait. But if they get away...? Myotismon was already walking away into the darknes as his window irised shut. ?Hmph!? SaberNekomon huffed, pouting with her hands on her hips. It wasn?t fair! She decided to listen to the Digidestineds? conversation for now. Maybe they?d reveal something that might give her a bigger edge next time around. ?Any sign of the Kitties of Doom?? Tai was asking. It seemed that the ones from downstairs had rejoined the rest of their team. It wasn?t fair! All sixteen of them, within ten feet of her! ?No,? Joe muttered. ?I don?t think I?ll ever look at cats the same way again. I don?t see how you?ve lived with one this long.? Gatomon cleared her throat loudly. ?Let?s just get out of here before SaberNekomon finishes licking her wounds,? Gomamon said. ?With all of us here in one room, we?d make easy prey.? [i]You got that right,[/i] SaberNekomon thought. ?I?ve almost got the program set up,? Izzy said. ?Just a few more sec... ah, here.? ?See you on the other side,? Matt said. ?We?d better get this over with and get back quickly. Who?s going to be watching over the real world while we?ll be gone?? ***** ?This is Kaori Sato with a Fuji TV news special report.? The camera panned over scenes of anarchy. People ran in fear as armies of cats chased them. They were coming out of homes, out of car windows, from everywhere imaginable. ?As you can see, cats everywhere are turning on their human masters and rampaging through the city. What has prompted the feline revolt remains a mystery at this hour, but I?m here with top scientist Hirokazu Shiota, and he has a theory. Dr. Shiota?? The scene switched to a wild-haired man with an ear-to-ear grin that seemed to be a permanent part of his face. He was leaning back in his chair with his feet up on a desk. ?Call me Kazu, everybody does.? As Kazu gave a convoluted explanation involving the positioning of the planets, the current sunspot level, and the chemical composition of Meow Mix, two boys, one tall, brown-haired, and wearing a strange gauntlet on his arm, the other younger, with lavender eyes and dark hair that looked almost blue, watched from a couch and quickly turned to each other. ?Uh, I?ve gotta go,? they said together. ***** ?Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more,? Tai said. ?Let?s do it.? The Digidestined vanished into the Digital Gate. Unbeknownst to them, SaberNekomon dropped down from the ceiling, dissappearing into it after them. ----- BTW, the two kids on the couch were supposed to be Ken and Ryo. In a game called Tag Tamers, Ken and Ryo are best friends and they watched the Diaboromon battle from Ken's apartment. Neither they nor the good Dr. Shiota play important parts in this story, they're just the latest cameos.

What's with the light-blue-on-white type? My eyes'd bleed if I tried to read all that. Anyway, my screen names usually come from whatever fandom it is, so I have a different name in every fandom. My character names depends on who they're supposed to be. If it's elsewhere on Earth, well, you don't go around naming Japanese people Dave and Stan and Jack. If I'm really bored, I might go farther, like if a character's a reporter, do a search for Fuji TV, and name a real Japanese reporter. If it's for an alien (in something I'm working on in real life; its details are TOP top secret) well, their names aren't supposed to be connected to anything Earthly, so they've gotta be made up. And Digimon names can't just be -mon stuck on whatever it's based on. I love the double-meaning names in the show, like Lucemon, Luce being Italian for light and short for Lucifer. He looks like an adorable l'il 9- or 10-year-old, with angelic wings, Vaccine attribute, Angel type, Virus Busters family, the card stats of ultra-goodness... and he's but it turns out he's evil squared and plunged the world into tyranny. Coool. Some sites I use to help in name-selection: [url=http://www.kurotokage.org/Kurotokage/FemNames.html]Japanese female first names[/url] [url=http://www.kurotokage.org/Kurotokage/MaleFirstNames.html]Male first names[/url] [url=http://www.kurotokage.org/Kurotokage/Surnames.html]Last names[/url] [url=www.pantheon.org/search.html]Mythological references[/url] [url=http://translation.langenberg.com/]The last translation page you'll ever need[/url]

...which happens about once a century. To me, anyway.

You're... you're alive! Good to see you, for a minute I thought the Betsumon got you.

Takari's not my personal cup of tea thanks to its all-encompassing-ness. It was fine for a while, but after ages of not being able to find a fic that [i]isn't[/i] Takari, it gets old and the cliches get annoying. There are good reasons for the pairing, but among them are [u]not[/u] the following: They both have angel Digimon, their crests are important, Patamon and Gatomon have romantic moments, they share an attack at Armor. Unfortunately, those are the most popular reasons given. (I know Ginny was kidding, but the other zillion are dead serious.) I don't like Daikari because of the way Kari treated Davis. I'd rather him realize she's not worth it and move on, rather hang around the girl who enjoys using his affection to get him to do what she wants but otherwise can't be bothered to say two words to him until she finally deigns to lower herself to associating with him. I prefer Davis with Yolei and Kari with Ken. As for Davis and TK, Davis is okay, and 02 TK is pretty much a blank slate. His personality's not too defined. The second season could've done with a lot more character development.

Her name's Miki. EDIT: Oops, I thought you meant the show. The girl with Kai at the hospital was Noriko. (No relation to the Dark Spore girl.)

What Boot Camp and Survivor controversy? Anyway, I think the first reality shows, back before it became a genre, were okay. Real World, Road Rules, etc. Of course, Fox isn?t about reality, it?s about shock. So the stupider, the better. Notice how hard it is for a good show to last any length of time on Fox? Whereas they?ll do anything to let crappy ones continue. The PJ?s was tried at four or five different timeslots, they promote the heck out of Fastlane, there are four When Animals Attack specials... but Firefly? Gone in half a season. Alien Nation? Forgot how long it lasted, but not long. Sliders? They threatened it with cancellation every year, and interfered with its direction to the point that when Fox got done with it, each episode was a ripoff of a B-movie. Only a great deal of people writing letters saved 24 and X-Files. (Letter writing can actually work sometimes. Whoda thunk it?) Fox wants fast cars, hot chicks, and people yelling at each other. Actual plot, actual merit, and actual worth just get in the way of the fluff that is really what they want. Of course, the thing about Joe Millionaire and shows like that: They never fail to clean up in the ratings. The week hasn?t come where there weren?t at least three ?reality? shows in the top ten. Though ?reality TV? isn?t my thing, someone?s watching. Millions of someones are watching.

Cool. I?m almost done with the next parallel universe installment.

Tommy ruled. He was a devastating foe in Green With Evil, and the episode where he lost his powers was sad. Up until the end, we were [i]so sure[/i] that they'd stop the monster in time, get back, get the candle, and all returns to normal. My mouth hung open the entire time during that final scene. Then he gets his powers back and there's the whole powers-giving-out arc, which was really tense. Then there's the way virtually every villian had his or her sights set on poor Tommy, and the whole Indian thing and his brother and the arrowhead, and Sam directing him in the Red Battle Zord. Tommy had developed quite a story before it was all over. That's one thing I hate about the changing every year. With only a year in which to develop a character, and with certain things that must happen every [i]season[/i] as well as every episode, there will never again be a character with such a tale. I can?t make myself watch Passing The Torch, it?s too sad. I think the reason they did it is because Turbo was going downhill and they figured new characters would raise interest. Of course, the real problem was that it was boring: Every episode had the same plot, the detonator of the day. I mean, every episode of every series has certain things that are going to happen. There's going to be a monster, there's going to be a fight with the grunts, there's going to be a Zord battle. But there was always a different purpose. Elephantitan's going to knock the building over, and with a nuclear reactor in the top floor, it's going to cause an explosion like a nuke was dropped. Crocotox (or was it Crocovile? I forget which was which.) is part of Darkonda's plan to overthrow Astronema. In the better series, there was always more to it, always something that was going on, it was always bigger than "Here's another monster." And even if nothing so big was going on, it was like MMPR S1 and S2, in which the monster attack was based on whatever the Rangers were doing, so though there was no huge, complex plot, each episode at least managed to not be exactly like the one before it. Turbo eps didn't. The plot was always "We've got to stop the monster so we can get to the detonator." On top of that, Zord fights were mostly stock footage. I hate the Spinout! On top of the fact that every fight ends the same way. Other series, there's always a bit of strategy, they had to get through the monster's tricks, get him open for that final blow. Turbo? Thirty seconds of fighting and then straight to Spinout. Even the explosion is stock footage of fire erupting behind the Megazord. Unfortunately, they changed the characters at the same time they changed all that, so whoever made the decision to change the characters got to think that changing the characters worked. Which could possibly be why, a season and a half later, they went to the sentai formula of new year, new universe. And even with really good series, there's something about it that just doesn't have the same magic anymore. But what was so bad about Justin? Wild Force is like Turbo only worse. While Turbo had the same plot over and over, Wild Force had [i]no[/i] plot over and over. Most villians had plans. The Orgs were more like, "a random Org spirit finds a random object to merge with to become a monster and randomly attack something." Master Org was just there, he didn't do much of anything. And there was no rhyme or reason to any of it. Random Org attacks, Rangers stop it with the help of new zord of the day, the end. There were virtually no supporting characters or other locations, no 'outside world.' There was also no character development. Each character got his or her one episode and it's back to personality-lessness. Master Org finally goes down (going out with a bang, too. The Master's Last Stand was in the top ten eps of all time, IMO.) but they replace him with Mandilok, who cares only about what he'll eat next and is extremely annoying. The episodes weren't about anything, the characters weren't about anything, the acting was attrocious. Wild Force is what you get when the writers don't even try. It's like someone thought all it took to make a Power Rangers series was karate and zords. It had no substance whatsoever, it was only half a show, not a whole one. On top of that, Princess Shayla was so hideously annoying. I thought post-memory-loss Goldar was bad. I thought Elgar was bad. I thought Nadira was bad. Then we meet Shayla and learn what bad really is. Everything about her was overdone to the extreme. She's not just surprised, her mouth is open wide enough for birds to nest in as she gasps in badly acted shock. Every time a new monster shows up, you'd think that those 3000 years were finally catching up to her and she's having a massive coronary. She's never just pleased, she's dog-trapped-in-a-Milk-Bone-factory [i]ecstatic.[/i] She's never just angry, she turns into a petulant five-year-old. She's like the woman that a lot of PBS toddler shows will have. "HI, kids, we've got something AMAZING for you today, we'll be working with FRACTIONS! Two halves make a WHOLE, isn't this EXCITING!" By the end of the second episode I wanted to go find that flying turtle island of hers and shove her off the edge. Yeah, the Wild Zords would probably blast me into the next zip code but it'd be worth it. Shayla could have been good if they'd actually made a point about her. Maybe Taylor could have said to Cole, "Before you meet PRincess Shayla, there's something you oughta know." (Cole: "Yeah?") "You know how some people are weird when they first wake up? The Princess was dormant for three thousand years, so she's not out of that stage yet. Don't mind some of her more... interesting personality traits." And maybe actually had people have realistic reactions to her antics, and have her actually know what she's talking about sometimes. Instead, she acts like she's off her rocker, and we're supposed to take her seriously. And instead of giving advice or telling them anything useful, all she does is gasp in badly acted shock and say "Rangers!" [Dramatic pause] "You MUST stop this Org!" Shayla belonged in some show like Teletubbies. In all ten seasons and counting, no one ever to walk across the screen is nearly as annoying. Two things I will say for PRWF, though: Reinforcements From The Future and Forever Red were the best teamup eps ever, and the Animarium Armor was the only enhancement that actually wasn?t ugly. I wonder whatever became of Toxica and Jindrax.

The reason for the change from the Zeo Crystal to the Turbo tech was never explained. As for why they changed, it?s probably because the sentai series changed. The sentai series PR is based on has always done what PR does now, new season=new universe (except for during the teamup.) Zeo was based on Ohranger. So, when Ohranger ends, there?s no more footage to use. They could have done what they did for MMPR S2 and S3, only using sentai footage for Zord battles, but the Carranger monsters weren?t robots. So, new villains had to come in. Enter Divatox. For the switch to Space, as far as the story?s concerned, the planet Eltar was under attack, and Dimitria and the Blue Centurion went there to back up Zordon. While they were gone, Divatox found the Power Chamber and led an attack on it. Five Rangers versus so many Piranhatrons the whole mountain looks gray is a mismatch, of course. Elgar and Rygog planted some detonators around the command center and made a quick exit. KABLOOEY. No more Power Chamber, no more Turbo technology. Just as Divatox and company are about to finish off the Rangers, a messenger from the Dark Specter (who looks exactly like Maligore but isn?t connected with him. *coughlazyproductioncomapanycough.*) tells Divatox her presence is requested. She tells him where to stuff it (not really, gotta stay under Y7, but you get the idea.) until he tells her he's from Dark Specter. That changes her tune on the spot. She shouts the standard you-haven't-seen-the-last-of-me speech and she and her whole army disappear. Then we find out that just about ever major villian in PR history has been gathered together by the D.S. At the meeting requested by the DS, we find Rita, Zedd, Mondo and Machina, General Havoc, Master Vile, Divatox of course... all the big names in villainry and a few of their favorite minions, as well as a woman with blue hair and a guy in a cloak. Turns out the DS has captured Zordon and is slowly draining his energy. They're planning on combining forces and cementing their hold on the universe. I forgot what made everyone suspect the guy in the cloak, but they do, and he makes a break for it, and Goldar pulls his hood off to reveal... a red Ranger. He gets away, of course. Divatox and Rita battle for who has the rights to go after him in the Dark Fortress, but D.S. sends the blue-haired woman, Astronema, instead. To make a long story short, the Rangers, sans Justin (his father came back for good and Justin wanted to stay with him) go after Divatox, but instead run into the Red Ranger, Andros,? ship. It takes a little convincing (and they save his butt by getting his engines working again) but Andros takes them on as his crew, and gives them the other four Astro Morphers. They kick Quantron butt, and the rest is history. Production-wise... probably laziness. They wanted to use sentai footage instead of having to shoot almost all original footage. Quicker, easier, cheaper. I'm glad they did, though. Turbo was the worst series ever (at the time. Wild Force makes Turbo's worst look like sheer brilliance.) I thought the same thing about the Mad Magnet fight. Especially since it looked like they were about to use the same weapon from the first episode. I guess Ninja Storm?s supposed to be lighter than the other series. (The Rangers already remind me of the Ninja Turtles a bit.) EDIT: Argh, beaten! But after typing all that, there?s no way I?m deleting it.:p

Endymion: In some places a season is called a series. There have only been 10 titles, but this marks the beginning of year 11. As for the death of Zordon wiping out all evil in the galaxy, I think it was just the invading force. There were Piranhatrons in Lost Galaxy, remember? And Lost Galaxy is the best PR series ever. Even if it messes up continuity (which Space does as well, I might add. In Morphin, it was explained that Zordon was trapped in a time warp and the tube was how he communicated with Earth. So breaking it shouldn't have done anything to Zordon himself. Notice the complete absence of any purifying light when the Command Center was wrecked in the Alien finale?) it's worth a watch. They show old episodes sometimes on ABC Family, and you can get the Magna Defender arc at any Blockbuster. Watch it, watch it, watch it. Nerdsy: Who's acting [i]isn't[/i] better than Shayla? And in Japan, Gaoranger (PRWF) was the 25th, and after that was Hurricanger (PRNS) and what's on now is Abaranger, so they're up to 27. I loved the zords. (Another hint at knowledge of past Rangers: "All right! A Megazord!") I wonder what you call their Megazord, they just called it "the Megazord." Since "Ninja Megazord" is taken already, they'll probably call it the Wind Megazord, but that makes the Thunder Rangers' zord the Thunder Megazord, which is taken. The plane was parked, but what happened to the people on the ferris wheel or cruise ship? And does the city have a name? The opening tells us the Academy is "deep in the mountains," but we don't know where. Where are they? The Rockies, the Appalachians, Mt. Olympus? (The characters, that is. I know where the production company is.) Though if the Thunder Rangers' Megazord is that big black zord on the opening, then when the Wind Rangers' zord goes up against that big bruiser, I can think of three ninja animals going on the endangered species list. I hope the monsters each have different tricks, like Mad Magnet did. Too many monsters yell the same ol' bad-guy cliches and swing swords. It'll be great if all PRNS monsters have their own power that the Rangers don't know about until it's coming at them.

So, what did you think of it? I like the characters, and having only three lets you develop them better. They?re not your usual Ranger team, either. Past Rangers were A-students and humanitarians, or the best Time Force officers, or something like that. The best of the best, handpicked by the mentor-person (except for the Galaxy Rangers, but if the Quasar Sabers selected them, then they must?ve been pretty durn good before becoming Rangers.) Meanwhile, the Wind Rangers are slackers, and only became Rangers because they were late to the Ninja Academy [i]yet again[/i], thus not being around when Lothor and company trashed it. They didn't even get their attacks right that time (Dustin winding up half-buried, Tory falling in the water.) They're also more easygoing than most past Rangers. They're fun people (with actual personalities and enough acting ability to be believable, unlike the Wild Farce... uh, I mean Force.) They make monster-fighting look like fun. Most of the old production company is gone, except for Koichi Sakamoto, Ann Austen, and Douglas Sloan. We haven't seen Sloan or Austen in ages. As I've said before, I'll miss the MMPR Productions folks, but the show's in the best of hands with Village Roadshow behind the wheel. ([i]The Matrix[/i], anyone?) I just wish they'd kept Worth Keeter and Amit Bhaumik, too. Though it is a new team, new situation, etc, there's some tie to the past for once: Shane or Dustin compared their group to "the Power Rangers." (No mention of which ones.) Tori said the Rangers were just comic books. And Lothor, upon seeing the new Rangers, said "No one told me there'd be Power Rangers." So, there are other Rangers out there. It'll be interesting to see how the universe expands. There's also a few parallels with the series of the original universe, in that Sensei is a bit Zordon-ish. His assigning of the powers is a lot like Zordon's way back in Day of the Dumpster. Also, the Sensei's being turned into a guinea pig by Lothor is like Zordon's being trapped in a time warp by Rita: After battling the main villain, the mentor is trapped in a much-less-potent form, able to use his knowledge to help the Rangers but has no power to directly interact. Also, Grant McFarland is both Lothor and the voice of the Sensei, just as Carol Hoyt was both Divatox and the voice of Dimitria. (For the first half of Turbo, and then Hillary Shepard Turner, the original Divatox from the movie, took back over.) One problem: we rarely ever see punches or kicks connect in the ninja battles. When the other ninja students face the three Rangers-to-be, they show a lot of [i]Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon[/i]-esque effects, but how many actual blows do we see? Not a lot. Ditto with the Calzak fights. Now that it's being produced in New Zealand, it walks a narrower path: PR was banned in New Zealand from the beginning. Ninja Storm is the first PR season they've seen. So the Rangers in human form battling it out with sword-wielding evil ninjas won't fly, they use various tricks to show that a fight's going on without showing actual "violence." Until New Zealand wakes up one day and realizes "Hey, we've had PR for a while now and all the kids in the country didn't turn into raging, murderous savages after all!" don't expect any slugfests on the level of PRZ or PRTF, or dark stuff like death or spirits or Trakeena's descent into madness. We still get death cover-ups. Kapri or Marah says "Trash them all!" Different production company in a different country and they still refuse to use the word 'die.' It's not that big a deal, but it's not like kids don't know what death is, and saying 'destroy' all the time gets hokey reeeal quickly. I figured Village Roadshow might do it differently, because Digimon, also from TOEI and adapted for the US by Saban, always said "Destroy" too, but when Disney took over in late season three, die-related words stopped being treated like curse words. I figured the same would happen to PR, but apparently it's not to be. Oh, well. Lothor's reminiscent of Lord Zedd. He might turn out to be a pretty good villain. Marah and Kapri are funny (though I can never remember which is which.) and we don't find out much about Zurgane from the first ep. He's the only one with a title (General Zurgane) so he's probably the second in command. The bad guy designs are similar to PRLG's feudal Japan monsters (Most of the ones used during Treacheron's era. And Deviot's two goons Teksa and Kubak from the ep they showed Sunday. They'd fit right in in Lothor's army.) And we get better music. No songs with words like the early series had, but still a huge improvement over the cheesy 50s B-Movie wannabe-heroic-sounding music from PRTF and PRWF. It's great to hear those guitars again. I can't wait to meet the Thunder Rangers.

Notice how the tragedies' titles are usually someone's name but the comedies aren't? Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Hamlet, 75% of the cast is dead by the end. The lighter plays? A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Taming of the Shrew, etc. My favorite's Hamlet, anyway.

People always need a scapegoat, and that scapegoat?s usually the entertainment industry. I?ve watched Power Rangers from pretty much day one (I was nine or ten when it first came out) and was I overtaken with the insatiable urge to go beat people up with karate moves? Umm...... NO. I was also a big fan of Mario. I watched The Super Mario Bros. Super Show, and I [i]wanted[/i] to believe that Mario and Luigi were real... but I didn?t jump down any manholes in hopes of finding the Warp Zone and entering Mushroom Land. People don?t want to admit that their dear little angel might in fact be bad, (when what the kid is doing is something wrong. I don?t mean this situation, I mean TV scapegoating in general.) or that they (the parents) might have fallen short somewhere, so whenever something happens, is it ever their fault or the kid?s fault? No, it?s TV, rap music, basketball players, video games, et cetera. It?s sad that those things happen, and it?s said that this happened, and what happened with the Charizard kid is also sad, and anyone who can find a child?s death funny is beyond sick and pathetic, but it?s not up to TV producers in California or Vancouver or wherever to keep an eye on kids and grab them if they?re getting too close to the edge. Though I don?t know what happened, so maybe the parents [i]couldn?t[/i] do anything, and I know they didn?t just stand idly by and say ?Oh, look, dear, our kid?s gasping for air and clutching helplessly at the surface, eh, who cares, you wanna go watch TV?? I do know that, once again, unless they purposely encourage it (which they didn?t) it?s not the responsibility of TV producers to keep an eye on kids worldwide and prevent this sort of thing. Accidents happen and it?s tragic but there isn?t always some evil person who maliciously caused them, and all that kids do wrong is not the intertainment industry?s fault.

I think it was too talky, but once it got down to business in the last half-hour or so, it was really good. It was also good to see Picard get off the ship and get in the action, as he virtually never did in the series. Picard in the movies is actually cool. Like that scene from the beginning with those buggies (or whatever they?re called. Some kind of ground vehicles and Data talking about not understanding why humans felt the need to drive at unsafe speeds, and Picard yelling ?Yahoo!?) Nemesis still can?t beat First Contact, though. That and The Wrath Of Khan are still the best Trek movies.

Hitowhatsis is just one guy who obviously didn?t read all that carefully. Don?t sweat it. I posted this at another board and everyone thought it was the most hilarious thing they?d seen in a while.

The building was gloomy, and it wasn?t long into their walk before the Digidestined found themselves in near-total darkness. They could see Exit signs and the small white light far in the distance representing the elevator button, but around them, there was nothing but pitch blackness. There was something about a building like this that became ominous in the dark, worse than the most sinister alleyway, the creepiest old house. Though Tai knew in his mind that there was nothing to fear, that it was still the same normal building it might be in the day, there was still the feeling that some dire creature was two feet away from him in the darkness, silently walking alongside him and waiting to sink its dagger claws through his body and tear him apart from the inside out, gutting him like a fish before he had the chance to scream in agony. [i]That?s enough,[/i] he ordered his imagination. [i]It?s just. A. Freakin?. Office. You?re the leader, you have the Crest of Courage, you?re not supposed to be afraid of the dark, now quit being a stupid baby and...[/i] Something furry brushed against his leg, ever so gently. ?YAAAAHH!? he yelped, causing the others to similarly gasp and shout. ?Sorry,? Gatomon said sheepishly. Tai glared at where he thought Gatomon was, while the others glared at where they thought Tai was. ?Where?s a light switch?? Matt whispered. ?I don?t think we should,? Tai whispered back. "The less we touch in here, the better.? ?Hey, Kari, can you do that glowing thing?? TK whispered. ?We could use you as a flashlight!? ?TK,? Matt groaned. ?And why are we whispering, it?s not like anyone?s here.? ?Sorry,? Kari began in a whisper, then laughed. ?Sorry, I tried to use the light already. I guess there'd have to be darkness for the light to fight against, like Machinedramon or something. Izzy?" ?Theoretically, your...? "For all we know, Machinedramon and a hundred evil Digimon are hanging around here," Gatomon said. "We sure wouldn't be able to hear them. Could we keep it down?" Suddenly, the lights in the hallway came on, and then, one by one, the lights in each office. "Machinedramon?s not around,? an all-too-familiar female voice said over what sounded like a PA system. "But will I do?" ?Oh, great,? Tai muttered. ?Umm... split up!? Tai said. ?Maybe half takes the central stairway, half takes the one at the end of the hall.? ?And we shouldn?t use the elevators, they might have been sabotaged.? Matt added. Everyone whose digivolutions were small enough for indoors quickly went into them. Unfortunately, that wasn?t many. The team rounded out at MetalGarurumon, Angemon, Angewomon, and Lillymon. "Yes, this ought to be interesting," Tai grumbled. A scratching noise was heard in the ceiling above them, and Angemon, Angewomon, and Lillymon took aim for the source of the sound. "Wait!" MetalGarurumon said. "She likes to play with her opponents. Let's be careful this time. We should stand back to back so she can't sneak up on us." They did so. And they waited. And waited. And waited. ?I didn?t think she was big on patience,? Agumon said. ?She?s got to come out sooner or later.? ?No, she doesn?t,? Izzy said. ?If she is able to delay us long enough, the gate will close. It is imperative that we keep moving.? ?We?ll find her and keep her busy,? MetalGarurumon said. ?We?ll catch up after you?ve had enough time to get through.? ?Sounds like a plan,? Tai said. ?Let?s go.? Tai, Agumon, Kari, Matt, and TK ran to the stairway, trying to ignore the skittering sounds from above them. Tai reached for the doorknob. ?Wait, are we going to just open it?? Matt said. ?For all we know she?s right behind it.? Tai sighed. [i]Here we go again.[/i] He knew the others saw him as always rushing into things, but he figured if it had to be done anyway, there was no point in whining about it. ?We?ve got to go through anyway, and scaring yourself just makes something that should be quick and easy take forever. I?d rather get this over with.? ?Haven?t you learned [i]anything,[/i] Tai? You?ve got to think things through, not just...? ?What?s to think about? It?s a door. We?ve got to go through it.? Tai turned his back on Matt and walked through the door. ?See, nothing. Come on.? The others, though not sharing his enthusiasm or optimism, followed him through anyway. They kept quiet, listening out for SaberNekomon or any surprises she might have brought with her. Slowly, they began to ascend the stairs. Once they were halfway up, they heard a rumbling coming from high above. ?What?s that?? Kari wondered. Like a wave, cats roared around the stairway and pounced on the quintet, sending them tumbling back down again. Tai and Kari were instantly submerged under a sea of fur. ?Ta-aaiiieeeee!? Agumon shrilled as the cats tackled him and began biting into him. Matt and TK didn?t manage to get to their feet before they were brought down as well, hundreds of sharp teeth and claws tearing into them. They fought to pull the cats off, but for each one dislodged, two more took hold. Cats were now filling up the area behind them, sealing off any possible exit. Agumon tried his Pepper Breath, but the cats seemed to anticipate him, and like a school of fish, never failed to part to allow the fireballs to strike empty concrete, and their assault was unabated. Kari flailed about, trying to get out from under the cats, but as with the others, any she dislodged were soon replaced by more. And yet, she felt that something was wrong, something beyond the obvious wrongness of berserk felines acting as an army. Unfortunately, her captors weren?t giving her much time to think. ?Ga-mmmph!? she tried to call for Gatomon, but the moment she tried to speak, one of the was halfway in her mouth, silencing her. She could hardly even breathe. ?I?m going to... aah!? came Agumon?s pained voice. ?I?m going... to...? The cats weren?t going to let him give a warning. The pain of the creatures tearing at him was such that he could barely think straight, much less warn the others of what he was about to do. He flared brightly with the light of digivolution. [i]Here goes nothing.[/i] The small yellow lizard began to grow. The cats began to fall away when he was barely twice his original size, and once the immediate danger was gone he tried to slow the digivolving process. ?Run! Everyone get out of here, now!? The cats were beginning to think better of hanging around, and began to disengage, disappearing into the lower level. Agumon/Greymon tried to position himself so as not to tear the stairwell apart as his transformation continued, though he knew it was inevitable. The Digidestined backed out of the stairwell and onto the floor. ***** ?What?s going on in there?? Angewomon wondered, casting a glance towards the door at the end of the hall. The Digidestined had gone in scant seconds before the sounds began. ?Sounds like... like something?s going on in there. I don?t like it.? ?We have to assume they can handle it. If it was SaberNekomon, they?d call for us.? MetalGarurumon answered. ?What if her plan is to distract us? Keep the ones who can digivolve running around in circles so she can get the others without having to work for it?? Angewomon contested. ?I?m going to go check it out.? She flew towards the doors. ?Wait for us!? Angemon shouted after her. ?We can?t get separated! She could be planning to take us one by one.? Angewomon continued to glide towards the end of the hall. When there were fifteen yards to go, she heard a crunching sound above her. She barely managed to look up before a foot landed on her back and slammed her to the ground. ?Or maybe my plan is to kick your butts six ways to Sunday,? SaberNekomon said triumphantly as she stomped on Angewomon once more for good measure. ?Starting with her. Say, what?s ?six ways to Sunday? mean, anyway?? ?Heaven?s Charm!? ?Not this time, Goldilocks.? SaberNekomon jeered, flipping back out of its way. "You won last time, but I'm not letting you take anything else from me ever again!" "I didn't take anything from you!" [i]And last time sure didn't feel like victory.[/i] Angewomon lunged at SaberNekomon, not giving her the chance to try anything. This battle [i]would[/i] feel like victory. [i]Because I'm going to strangle that little...[/i] She tackled SaberNekomon low, bringing her to the ground with an "Oof!" Determined not to give her time to recover, she began rapid-fire punching her foe. "What..." (Pow!) "...do you..." (Pow!) "...[i]want[/i] with me?" (Pow!) SaberNekomon grunted with each hit, but the mask of rage that her face became when faced with Gatomon in any form never wavered. "I want you to die [i]screaming...[/i]" she brought her legs under Angewomon and kicked her off of her. Angewomon flapped her wings to right herself and land on her feet. SaberNekomon leapt at her. Angewomon flung her foot out to catch SaberNekomon in the solar plexus, but SaberNekomon twisted aside and slipped past her, landing behind her. The instant Angewomon and SaberNekomon were separated by a few feet, MetalGarurumon launched an Ice Wolf Claw at SaberNekomon. SaberNekomon quickly grabbed Angewomon, swinging her in front of the frigid stream of energy and freezing her instantly. ?I?ll kill you once your pals are out of the way. That way I get to take my time.? She let the ice sculpture of Angewomon fall, and leapt back into the ceiling (tearing another hole as she went) as Lillymon and Angemon quickly caught Angewomon to keep her from shattering. MetalGarurumon followed SaberNekomon into the ceiling, but looking around, he saw no one. ?Guys, I don?t see her.? From the direction Tai?s group had gone came the sounds of creaking and crashing, and the fivesome ran back into the hall. ?Greymon, can you stop it?? Tai said. ?I can?t!? Greymon shouted back. ?You?ll have to take the main stairwell!? As MetalGarurumon was momentarily distracted by the happenings outside, SaberNekomon tackled him from behind, bringing the wolf Digimon down through the ceiling and onto the floor, giggling all the way. "Gotcha! And you Megas are supposed to be so all-powerful. Chrome Digizoid soup cans, anyone?" "Hand of Fate!" "Flower Cannon!" SaberNekomon backflipped and let the blasts pass under her. "Tigris Wave!" She flung her attack while still upside down. It would hit Angemon and Lillymon at knee level were they dumb enough to remain on the ground. Which, of course, they wouldn't. So she flung a Tigris Wave higher in the air, the better to let them blunder into it while avoiding the first. Her foes turned sideways in midair, letting it go above them and join the other Tigris Wave in exploding at the end of the hall. "You [i]have[/i] been doing this a while. This might not be so dull after all." MetalGarurumon fired an energy beam from his eyes, trying to get his foe into the deadly center of his field of vision, but she ducked and flipped and whirled and always managed to stay just an inch away from it. The crosshairs superimposed over his vision were always on the verge of locking onto her but never exactly doing so. Her movements fit no pattern for his targeting systems to follow. Finally, SaberNekomon leapt back to the ceiling. "Not bad, Fido! Now..." suddenly her voice was behind him, "Roll over!" A heavy kick struck him in the side, causing him to leave an indentation in the wall next to him. SaberNekomon grinned and looked ready to gloat. "I'll bet you..." Angemon and Lillymon seized her moment of hesitation. A ball of green energy and a beam of brilliant white struck SaberNekomon in the back of the head. "Ugh!" she grunted, and spun around, shouting "Hey-y!" in annoyance as she performed the hand signal she'd seen one of the human drivers use, and flung a Tigris Wave their way. MetalGarurumon pounced on her from the side, causing SaberNekomon to land painfully on her back. Or at least, he hoped it was painful. He pinned her arms to the floor with his paws. [i]Now, which attack to use to incapacitate her but leave her able to talk?[/i] SaberNekomon laughed innocently as she pushed against the Cyborg Digimon's front paws, slowly but surely raising them off of her. One final shove freed her arms. "Not on the first date!" She sat up quickly, gave MetalGarurumon a quick kiss on the snout, and then rammed her fist into his jaw as hard as she knew how. MetalGarurumon landed on his back, and SaberNekomon noted with disgust that her hand was bleeding. [i]If I have to wash this outfit [u]again[/u]...[/i] She prepared to hit MetalGarurumon with her strongest Tigris Wave, but a soft but strong arm caught her own. Lillymon was smiling brightly and pointing a cannon in her face. A cannon that sure didn't look as big a few minutes ago. Lillymon hit her with two blasts, both point-blank to the face. SaberNekomon saw stars as she felt herself slam into a wall, and she heard Angemon say "Hand of Fate!" She instinctively moved aside and felt the heat from the beam's narrow miss. Her vision was slowly clearing.[i]I can still smell them, though.[/i] She took a swing in the direction of the sweet floral scent, and was rewarded with an "Oof!" The smell of feathers was off to the side, and the sound of movement told the tale of where her next victim was. "Tigris Wave!" she called triumphantly as she swung an energy arc in his direction. Her vision was finally clear enough for her to make out Angemon ducking. The arc caught a wing, and Angemon grunted in pain but didn't let it stop him. He, Lillymon, and MetalGarurumon prepared to bring on the attack. SaberNekomon wished she could keep playing, wished she could take the challenge of dodging their attacks and beating them. It would have been quite a game. But she had to deal with the group ascending the stairs. "Just sit tight, or make some pathetic attempt to flee for your lives, or something like that," SaberNekomon said disinterestedly. "I'll be back in a sec after I've dealt with your buddies." SaberNekomon hopped back into the hole she?d made in the ceiling. Lillymon, the closest, followed, but didn?t see her inside. ?This is going to be one of those nights,? Lillymon said to herself.

Sorry it?s taken so long. For once I?m not just being a lazy sumbitch: When I went home for Thanksgiving, I was working on it, then when I got back to school, the part that I had done wasn?t there. I guess the file got misplaced. Rather than do all that over again and try to remember what I?d written, I decided to just wait until I got back for Christmas break less than a month later, and finals were coming up anyway. Then, I got home, and couldn?t find the part that I?d worked on on any of the disks here or my dad?s computer, and thus wound up redoing those parts anyway. But, I?m back on track now, at long last. The office scene's more than a bit rushed, I hope it's okay. ***** When Myotismon had finished instructing SaberNekomon, he dismissed the bats. SaberNekomon would see the window iris shut as the bats surrounding it disappeared inside. He?d spent a great deal of time developing his ?special effects? for maximum impact. It would never do to for the bat window to simply pop in and out of existence. A Cerberumon entered the gate room from the stairs behind Myotismon. The demon dog was in charge of security in Escher Castle, and reported directly to Myotismon himself. "My lord, do you think she?ll actually do it?? "She?s a cat, what do you expect?" Myotismon said. "But she?ll get to it when she?s ready. That?s part of the plan." Knowing better than to inquire further, Cerberumon simply nodded. "Do you have something to report?" "Ah, no, just curious," Cerberumon said, walking deeper into the gate room. "So this is the doorway between worlds." He looked over the huge gate, and the gargoyles lined on either side of it, looking ready to leap from their perches and pounce on whoever was unfortunate enough to be standing beneath them. Which, of course, they were, if Mikemon commanded. "Yes," Myotismon said. "Once this world is ours, it is from here that we will spread our rule to other worlds. Starting with those humans. I have a score to settle with them." Reflexively, he started to warn Cerberumon against getting any ideas, but he noted that Cerberumon hadn?t asked how the gate worked, or even cast a glance toward the card activator. That was what Myotismon liked best about Cerberumon: he didn?t get ideas. He dutifully did as he was told, nothing more, nothing less. He never angled for more power or privelege, never kissed up or tried to one-up the other minions. He didn?t even annoy Myotismon the way Mikemon did. He simply did his job. And he had yet to commit a single screw-up, even a small one. Naturally, Myotismon kept a closer eye on him than anyone else in his employ. Someone like that was too good to be true, and [i]had[/i] to be up to something. ?If you like the gate room so much, you can keep an eye on those fools.? Myotismon gestured to the Soulmon milling about the Gate room. Soulmon were essentially Bakemon who wore black dunce caps with a red trim. The difference was in power. They wouldn?t be defeated by chanting or slaughtered en masse by Rookies. Unfortunately, they weren?t much brighter than Bakemon were. But they didn?t need to be. Myotismon took up the keycards for the gate, turned them over, and lay them in place. It would be a while longer until the gate would open, though. The Ancient One?s temple was in a dimension that was not always accessible. It came into synch with one of the gate?s target dimensions only once every few years, and only stayed for a few minutes. At the right moment, he?d add the Ancient One?s device to the cards. That made the timing of his plan crucial, and he wasn?t even slightly comfortable with making it rely on SaberNekomon. But he?d had no other choice. He had needed to present the Ancient One with a warrior who was capable of handling the Digidestined, but wouldn?t kill them immediately. All of Myotismon?s power belonged to the Ancient One, including the power that he had placed in Miko. He couldn?t afford to have SaberNekomon succeed and the Ancient One pat her on the back for a job well done and take that power back. To be sure, it wouldn?t hurt if she got rid of a few Digidestined while she was at it, but Myotismon would be happy if he could just keep her out there a while longer. It was no coincidence that he had chosen Miko, though any cat, or any animal at all, in fact, would have done nicely. Miko would not kill her former owners, ensuring at least two Digidestined would survive to unwittingly play their part in the last leg of his plan. Even given what was at stake, Myotismon felt the same enjoyment he?d had in the old days when executing one of his plans. He would spring the trap without Mr. Grand Holy High Ancient Superiorness ever suspecting that something was amiss until alas, it was too late. [i]Yes, this is definitely my kind of game.[/i] ***** ?Here we go again,? Tai said. ?We?re the news? top story twice in one day.? The entire team was gathered around the Kamiyas? living room, a tight fit in the apartment. Tai and Kari had made their mother place her hand over her heart and swear before all that was holy that she would not field test any of her recipes on their friends, may a Snimon slice her seventeen ways if she broke her word. Mrs. Kamiya had laughed, but she?d agreed, and kept her word so far. Tai and Kari were still sure to keep a close eye on her. ?Where?d all those cats come from, anyway?? Mimi asked. ?I?m more interested in where they went,? Sora said. ?Nobody could find a trace of them later.? ?Ooh, that?s gotta hurt,? Patamon said sympathetically as he watched SaberNekomon slice her way through Garudamon?s wing and dig into her back. Biyomon winced at the sight and the memory that came with it. [i]Do they [u]have[/u] to show parts like that over and over in slow-mo?[/i] ?Wasn?t fun, that?s for sure.? She examined her wing, the cut from SaberNekomon?s savage attack still visible. Whenever she flew, she could feel the lacerated skin stretching, and it felt like a dull knife was being ripped through it. Sora, being Sora, had noticed her favoring the wing and insisted on carrying her around until it completely healed. Biyomon hated imposing on her like that. And, since her wings doubled as hands, the injury also represented the loss of an arm as well. Curling it to use her finger-feathers was unbearable, far worse than trying to fly, which kept the wing straighter. As Garudamon, her hands and wings were separate so the wound had been barely an annoyance while she was on the ground. She and Zudomon had taken a few minutes to patch up the pet supply store as best they could, and the torn wing hadn?t been much trouble. Then, after she?d gone back down to Biyomon, when she had reached to swat Gomamon on the back of the head for one of his usual corny jokes, it was suddenly as if her hand/wing was on fire. Biyomon looked over at Gomamon. He?d had it much easier. He hadn?t exactly gotten away without a scratch, but at least he was still able to use both ?hands? and his mobility was unimpaired. [i]Lucky seal.[/i] Not that she actually wished that he?d have been hurt more severely, but still, it wasn?t fair. [i]I guess misery loves company.[/i] ?The cats and SaberNekomon aren?t the issue,? Gomamon said. ?Biyomon and I went a couple of rounds with that psycho chick and trust me, that?s no villainous mastermind.? ?We?ve theorized that someone we fought before sent her, perhaps as a preemptive strike,? Izzy said. ?But who?s left?? ?The leaders may be gone, but most of their minions were still out there,? Joe said. ?Any one of them might be thinking they know how to succeed where their ex-boss failed.? ?At least we know she?s not invincible,? Biyomon said. ?Zudomon got a good shot in with his hammer. He actually managed to hurt her. You guys should have seen it.? Gomamon blushed, something he found himself doing a lot of lately. ?Oh, it was nothing.? ?Nothing? You heard them, they?ve hardly been able to make a dent in her until now.? She turned back to the others, and started rambling. ?She?s coming right for us, but Zudomon?s right outside, he turns around, and...? she used her good wing to pantomime throwing a hammer. ?Wham! He says, ?what?s the matter, you?ll attack defenseless humans...?? ? ?Defenseless humans?? ? Joe repeated. He?d forgotten about that part. He grinned, with the grin he usually got before unleashing one of his dreaded tickle attacks on Gomamon. The seal Digimon cringed, knowing his eventual fate. ?Biyomon, please...? Gomamon said. He was bright red now, and the bird Digimon was beaming. [i]I swear, she just likes seeing me stew.[/i] Hey, maybe that was a good sign? Or was it? He filed those thoughts away for later. ?Anyway,? Biyomon said, ?She?s not indestructible.? ?No one is,? Gatomon commented. ?I say we just book the next flight to the Digital World and find out whose harebrained scheme we?ve managed to get sucked into this time,? Matt said. ?There?s nothing for us here but cats with bad attitudes.? ?Right,? Tai said. ?But for right now, I say you should all go back home and gather some supplies. I don?t want this to be like our first trip to Digiworld, with no food, no water...? ?No toilet paper,? Joe added. Everyone made disgusted faces at the unpleasant memories, and TK and Kari exclaimed ?Yuck!? and ?Eew!? respectively. ?Yeah, [i]that[/i] was fun,? Izzy said. ?It is fortunate that for once we have time to prepare.? ?Don?t jinx us,? Sora warned. ?Just for that, the gate?ll probably open right now and right on top of us.? ?You?re [i]both[/i] jinxing us,? Mimi said. ?Besides, you know these gates take longer than Christmas Eve checkout lines. I?m more worried about us being able to get around the Digital World on our walkers by the time one opens.? ***** Myotismon stood in the doorway of Escher Castle?s mini-museum and its enigmatic artifacts. All were rare, many the only ones of their kind, some the only remainder of dead civilizations, and quite a few were things that only Myotismon himself would be able to identify. He held a mask of the recently-extinct Kotemon. When Myotismon?s armies had attempted conquest, they had gotten the nasty surprise that the Kotemon had learned to control their evolution, capable of becoming Ultimate at will. Soldiers prepared to terrify Rookies had been slaughtered by Kyukimon blades. After Myotismon?s spies failed to learn how they?d done it, Myotismon had sent in the Cannondramon. Ultimates with blades were no match for Megas with cannons, and the Kotemon/Kyukimon were no more. Myotismon had kept the mask as a trophy. He also owned the helmet of one of the long-gone Chamelemon, the fur coat of one of the seldom-seen Psychemon, and, just to keep people guessing as to what it was for, the none-too-rare shell of a KaratsukiNumemon. If a KaratsukiNumemon lost its shell, a new one grew in a few days, and the mountainous SCSI Island was up to its neck in the extremely unremarkable creatures. Naturally, that made the one Myotismon had the ultimate curiosity. There were all kinds of theories about it. Was it a weapon disguised as a shell, something so dangerous even Myotismon dared not use it? Did it once belong to some nigh-invincible Mega who happened to have a similar shell? The idea that it was just a shell and he kept it just to mess with their heads was the least popular of all theories. Front and center, though, dominating the room, was an empty pedestal. That space was reserved for the artifact that connected him to the Ancient One?s prison. It would soon have its place in his museum, silently speaking of the one who had attempted to control Myotismon, only to learn in his final moments that it was Myotismon who was truly in control. Myotismon was [i]always[/i] in control. [i]Come, Ancient One! Come, so I can bury you![/i] However, this time, he?d actually found a use for one of his treasures, a cheap wristwatch he?d obtained in the human world. Knowing how humans reckoned time, and having learned their schedule from his time in the human world, it would be fairly easy to predict a time at which all of the Digi-Delinquents were likely to be at home and ready to run to the rescue in the name of truth, justice, and the digital way. And that time was now. He formed a bat window. ?Cerberumon!? he called. ?My lord?? ?Can we open a Digital Gate yet?? ?I?d have to check the equipment, but I think we?ve got the power.? ?Take the power from whatever you must. Tell the Tinmon to allow Digiports from Terminal GS-185 and open Digital Gates in sectors L-25, C-18, P-56, and J-93. Set the terminal to rotate between the Gates to those locations.? ?Yes, my lord. But if I may ask...? ?The Digidestined are onto us by now, and will be coming to investigate at any time. We shall decide where they land. I have surprises waiting for them at each of those location. They?ll not cause us too much trouble.? Myotismon laughed. This was too, too delicious. Myotismon formed a new window. ?Oh, SaberNekomon,? he sang. ***** ?Okay, Biyomon, ready when you are.? Sora gathered her things, and took one last look at the TV screen. The battle had ended, and Zudomon was waving directly into the camera with a big walrus smile on his face as Garudamon rolled her eyes. Sora got a laugh out of that. ?Okay, guys. See you soon.? Then, to Biyomon?s annoyance, the broadcast switched back to Garudamon and SaberNekomon?s aerial fight. Biyomon grimaced at it, and yet forgot her torn wing as she tried to fly to Sora?s shoulder and got a nasty surprise. She had decided to fly anyway, but Sora had seen the pain on her face and picked her up before she could protest. [i]Oh, well. Maybe I should just enjoy the special treatment for now,[/i] Biyomon thought. She waved goodbye to the others with her good wing, and the ones who weren?t still watching the battle waved back. ?Later, guys. And Gomamon, remember us little people when your screen career takes off.? ?You can run my fan club,? Gomamon laughed. ?Bye, Biyomon,? he added. There was something about the way he said it, but she couldn?t put her finger on it. Biyomon waved to Gomamon once more with her good wing, and turned around, beginning to talk to Sora about something having to do with her hat. Gomamon watched her go, muttering to himself. [i]Come on, give me a break![/i] ?We?d better get you home too,? Matt said to TK. ?It?s getting late, and you know Mom.? ?And I?m going to hurry home and start gathering supplies,? Mimi said. ?I?ve got to make sure I have enough makeup, and I?d better change. I mean, imagine getting stuck in the Digital World with these gloves and these jeans? I would just [i]die[/i] if Machinedramon or Devimon saw me like this!? ?Mimi!? everyone chorused. ?Just kidding!? But secretly, she was excited to get back and change into her new designer camping outfit. She could just imagine all the boys staring with awe and the girls staring in envy. A smile spread across Mimi's face. "Kidding, eh?" Palmon said, knowing her all too well. "Hey, you can take the mall rat out of the mall, but you can't take the rat from... I mean you can't take the mall out of... you know what I mean." She had taken exactly three steps towards the door when Izzy said, "Wait! We've got one!" "Figures," Mimi said. "I think someone up there's laughing at us." "Where is it?" Palmon said. "In an office building not far from here," Izzy said. "I suggest we go there immediately. There?s no way to predict how long it will remain open or when another will appear.? ?Nah, that?d be too easy,? Joe said, standing. ?Looks like it?s back to business as usual.? ?Sounds like fun,? Tai said genuinely. ?Let?s move out.? ***** In short order, eight kids and eight Digimon stood in front of the building in question. Izzy had pinpointed which computer the gate was on, and the plan was to break in and get to the room two doors to the right of the elevator on the sixth floor as fast as possible. It would be simple enough. But first, they had to get through the front door. ?This place is locked up tight,? Tai was saying. ?You?d think somebody?d still be working here at night. We?d better just blast it open, that gate?s not going to stay up forever.? ?This one?s on me,? Agumon said. ?Pepper...? ?No, that?ll set off the fire alarms.? Mimi said. ?Watch this.? She pulled a hairpin from her purse, and had the door open within ten seconds. ?How?d you do that?? Matt said, disbelieving. ?A magician never reveals her secrets.? Mimi grinned, enjoying the latest of those moments where she showed herself to be far more capable than she generally let on. Mimi walked inside, and the others began to follow. "Hmm," Izzy said. "It is probable that our entry will activate some sort of silent alarm. It is imperative that we do this quickly, because if the authorities were to..." "Then [i]come on[/i] already!" Tai said, shoving him in. The door clicked shut behind them.

You might want to put in a key to the color-coding, I can't tell who's saying what. (Or even better, do an "Izzy said, '[whatever Izzy said goes here].'" thing so we don't have to refer back to a key at all. Makes it ten times easier.)

Using Times at 12-point size, we're up to 277 pages. Quite an epic we've got going here.

We don't always comment on each other's posts. Anyway, I for one would have no problems if you took over the Overlord arc.

?Are they ready?? Antiramon asked. He, Pajiramon, and a small group of a few dozen assorted Digimon congregated in their hidden underground bunker. Not wanting to depend on humans, this group, led by Pajiramon, had formed their own ?underground railroad? of sorts, moving Digimon to less-developed areas of Japan where they would be relatively undisturbed. Quite a few were machine Digimon, and, while their equipment was not as capable as Janyuu?s, it kept them hidden. They lived in a rural area outside of Tokyo. Antiramon had tried to convince them that humans weren?t all bad, and had told them about Shaochung and the others, but they had no intentions of making the step of forming partnerships with humans, and none were too pleased with the way Antiramon frequently had to run off to help Shaochung. Of course, they never mentioned the times that Shaochung had come to help [i]him.[/i] They had seen with their own eyes the power that the cards gave. He had given up trying to convince them, figuring that if seeing a Corona cannon appear in his hands thus allowing him to singlehandedly show an entire Hypnos team the error of their ways hadn?t convinced them, that if seeing Shaochung?s devotion to him, willingly risking her own life and joining the Digimon on Yamaki?s most wanted list hadn?t convinced them, nothing would. However, since that day, they had been more willing to work with Janyuu?s resistance. ?Almost,? Biyomon answered. She explained Janyuu?s plan as best she could with her limited technical knowledge, and their role in it. She was the only outsider who knew the ?stations? on this Digimon Underground Railroad, and acted as a go-between for them and Janyuu and company. Using the Seeds of Swiftness to give her the speed to keep travelling between Shinjuku and the edge of town, she kept both sides informed about what the other was doing so they could coordinate. ?We know how to open the Digital Zone, but we?ve just got to free up the control room at Hypnos, and keep it free, long enough to do it. With their Yuggoth weapons, even Megas wouldn?t last too long if we just barged in, but...? ?...but let me guess,? a Myotismon said, looking from Biyomon to Antiramon. ?Those other guys and their [i]humans[/i] know what to do.? ?Caturamon?s group,? Antiramon made sure not to identify them as Janyuu?s group, ?has come closer to getting us all home than we have. They know what they?re doing. We?ve gotten a lot farther since we started working with them.? ?Enough, already,? a Shiisamon said. ?We need to focus on getting back home. I don?t care if us, Caturamon, humans, or magic leprechauns are the ones who open the door. I?ve had it with being hunted, with living underground and sneaking through sewers like Numemon.? ?That door opens today,? Biyomon said. ?But it?s going to take all of the above to make it happen. Uh, except the leprechauns,? she added. ?They?ve got someone on the inside who?ll go a long way towards misdirecting Hypnos personnel within the base, and if you cooperate, we can bypass most of their outer defenses as well. But I need to know now if you?re in, because Caturamon?s group wants to begin soon and I?ve got to know what to tell them.? Pajiramon nodded to the assembled Digimon. ?Let?s get to work. We don?t exactly have a lot of time. Myotismon, can you make two bat-portals at once?? ?Yes...? ?Get ready to spread your fog over Hypnos so you?ll be able to go out in the open. Make it thick enough to jam Hypnos? communications. But not yet. Make a portal there so you can do it at a moment?s notice.? ?I still don?t like this,? Myotismon grumbled. ?No one said you had to,? Pajiramon said. ?Once this is over and we?re all back home, I?ll welcome any and all complaints.? Myotismon grumbled again. He still didn?t like it, but he wasn?t about to refuse a direct order from one of the Sovereigns? lieutenants. If he refused, and they [i]did[/i] get back home today, or any day for that matter, there?d be hell to pay. Besides, Pajiramon was [i]usually[/i] right. ?I hope you know what you?re getting us into,? he said as he spread his arms and let a flock of bats pour from his cape. They formed a portal. ?Don?t forget Caturamon and Makuramon are over there. They know the details of the plan, and they?re convinced. They also had a hand in coming up with the attack strategy. If the two most trusted Devas agree on it, (and it?s rare that those two agree on anything) we?d be fools to not go along. This is our best, likely our only, chance of getting out of here.? She turned to Biyomon. ?Go tell Caturamon we?re ready to begin.? ?Right,? Biyomon said. Pajiramon pointed to two points on the map of Tokyo on the wall. ?Now, get ready open another between this point and this point...? ***** ?Sir, I don?t like this,? Shimoyama said. ?Nobody said you had to,? Yamaki said. ?Keep driving. That creature is out here somewhere.? ?And exactly what do we do when we find it?? Yamaki turned toward Shimoyama, ready to tell him to stop asking questions and just do as he was told, when a gigantic, yellow Indian-themed bird with eight wings and a steel helmet flew overhead. ?What?s that?? Akazumi said. Another followed the first. And another. Soon, the sky was yellow with them. ?Those, my friends, are called Phoenixmon,? Yamaki said, grimly reciting the data. ?And they?re Megas.? ?Megas?? Sato asked, not knowing the term. Yamaki gritted his teeth at one of his employees not even knowing something as simple as the stages of Digimon. Even those stupid kids who played with them like pets knew that much! How was he to stop the digital invasion with these worthless pieces of gutter-trash who didn?t even know the most basic... Yamaki calmed himself with no small amount of effort. ?The highest stage of Digimon. Even the weakest Mega could destroy this entire area without much difficulty, and those birds aren?t even close to being the weakest. We have to stop them before they get too far.? The flock of Phoenixmon turned, and Yamaki ordered Shimoyama to follow as he fiddled with the inside of his Yuggoth pistol. Unseen, Caturamon sat in the middle of the street, watching the car pass him as he calmly tapped his tail against the ground. [i]Humans. Are you mad or are you tired of life?[/i] he wondered as the frail humans followed what they thought were several powerful Mega Digimon. [i]Or are you simply fools?[/i] The dog Deva trotted after them so as to maintain the illusion. ***** ?Two more Wild Ones,? Trang said. ?What?s with them today?? Nanashi grinned. ?I guess they?re just gluttons for punishment.? He leaned back in his chair. ?Their emanations are pretty high. Better send the most highly-trained agents to deal with them.? ?Right,? Trang said. ?Don?t you mean ?yes, sir??? ?No, I don?t,? Trang grumbled, wondering if she?d be next in line for leadership if something unfortunate were to befall Nanashi. [i]Nah, I?d never get away with it.[/i] ***** Much later, the core members of the resistance were gathered in the war room, and every screen and speaker in the complex was linked up to its systems. The entire resistance was preparing. ?It?s working,? Janyuu said, pointing to the map on a screen. Another dot representing a Hypnos vehicle was seen pulling away from Hypnos, the sixth in as many hours. ?I know we won?t leave them completely defenseless, but the confusion will buy us some time, and leave the inside relatively unguarded.? ?They?ll have to suspect something,? Strabimon said. ?Digimon don?t cross over at that rate, ever.? ?With Caturamon out there, they won?t know which are real and which aren?t,? Janyuu said. ?And they?ll have to respond to each one because they can?t take the risk that maybe the one they decide dismiss as false is one of the real, hostile ones. When Myotismon cuts off their communications, that?ll be our cue to get going.? ?The flight-capable Digimon and the larger Digimon will engage Hypnos outside,? Kenta said. ?The human partners get close and stay close to the buildings. The D-Hulks will be coming, so all us Tamers need to get our strongest card combinations ready beforehand. Digimon who can affect the minds of their victims will lead the assault inside. We get a few DemiDevimon to knock everyone out, maybe a Tapirmon to make them think they?re somewhere else, or we?re someone else, that sort of thing, and we can take the inside quickly and efficiently with the least amount of bloodshed.? ?Bloodshed is [i]bad,[/i]? Jeri added using her sock puppet. ?Sorry, force of habit. But the majority of people inside will be innocent office workers, technicians, programmers, people who?ve never even held a gun. We should try to keep those people out of the way, not do any more damage than we have to.? ?That?s right,? Janyuu agreed. ?We should all keep that in mind.? All of the Hypnos indicators vanished from the screens, as the signals no longer reached the computers Janyuu was spying on. ?It?s showtime,? Dolphin said.

Relieved that someone finally believed him, ex-Zhuqiaomon was slightly more reasonable than before. It was still clear, though, that Pururumon still saw himself as a king lowering himself to speaking with peasants. Ryo?s eyes were half closed. In the Digital World, he?d had his sleep interrupted by crises before, but that didn?t mean he liked being awoken for anything [i]short[/i] of crisis. That went triple for the cranky Hopmon. ?To what purpose have you called me?? Pururumon demanded. Janyuu, Kenta, and Dolphin grinned. ?This won?t take long, Lord Zhuqiaomon,? Kenta said. ?I know you have a great deal of more important things to be doing right now.? ?I... I see your point. Speak, humans.? ?We just need to analyze some of your data,? Dolphin said. ?Just a feather. You might be able to help us a great deal. And helping us helps you,? he added, knowing about how interested Pururumon would be in helping them. ?Very well, then,? Pururmon said, trying to pull a ?wing? close enough to his beak to extract a feather. It was no easy task, given Pururumon?s size and shape. ?I could...? Kenta said, reaching toward him, but Pururumon hopped backward. ?No,? he growled. ?You may not touch me.? Pururumon looked toward Hopmon, who had fallen asleep again. ?Huh? Wha?? Hopmon said when Ryo nudged him awake. Pururumon ordered that Hopmon remove a feather and give it to the humans. ?Uh, I don?t have hands either,? Hopmon said. ?You might want to let Kenta...? ?Not the human,? Pururumon said. ?If you won?t do it, I?m sure my Devas will...? ?Tear you in half for impersonating their Sovereign, whom they last saw in their Digital World. Not to mention waking them up,? Kenta said. Several minutes of arguing resulted in Hopmon pinning a feather down with his horn and Pururumon pulling back, yanking it loose. It took several tries, after which Pururumon excused himself from the humans? presence and an annoyed Hopmon went back to bed, telling Ryo to tell him in the morning if anything important happened. Ryo remained for all of five minutes before telling Janyuu, Dolphin, and Kenta the same. He went back to bed, and dreamed of his home world. ***** At the same time, Nanashi and Trang tapped at their computers. Though not even remotely fond each other, they had learned to work together flawlessly. Silently and smoothly, the D-Hulk effort continued on into the night. Until... ?I have it!? Trang said triumphantly. ?I know how to boost the D-Hulks? effectiveness. Look at this.? Nanashi stepped over to Trang?s computer and looked at the screen. ?This will improve their speed, and their strength will be quintupled. But the masterpiece is this,? she said, tapping the screen. ?Basically, this will enhance their ability to observe and adapt to different types of attack. They?re smarter than the last generation.? Nanashi bristled at Trang?s dumbing it down for him as if he couldn?t understand the full explanation, but he kept his annoyance to himself. ?Let?s not tell Yamaki immediately,? he said. ?He won?t be expecting it to be ready anywhere near this quickly, so I figure we can relax for a while.? ?Good idea. Looks like you?re not all bad.? Nanashi grinned. ?I try.? Trang left the control room, but Nanashi went back to his computer. [i]I?ve still got one more thing to take care of.[/i] ***** Shaochung growled as Strabimon sank the eight ball, ending their game in his favor. As always. Strabimon laughed. ?What do you know? There [i]is[/i] at least one thing you?re not perfect at.? ?Yeah, but I?m s?posed to be,? she pouted, sounding much like her five-year-old counterpart. Laughing, she left the table. Where people got the idea she was good at everything was anybody?s guess. She wasn?t a scientist like her father, she wasn?t a digital being like Alice and Dobermon, she wasn?t a dimensional traveler like the new Ryo. She saw herself as being pretty normal, and the few things she did excel at, like her martial arts skills, were due to years of practice. Walking around in search of something better to do in the absence of any missions, she spotted the Ryos both talking to Rika, or trying to. Rika didn?t appear amused with either of them. [i]Uh-oh, this could get ugly,[/i] she thought, and began to walk over. ?Hey, Suz... Shaochung,? the non-gauntleted Ryo corrected himself. ?Awe these guys bothewing you?? Shaochung inquired, taking the Ryos by the ear. ?Nah.? Rika glared at the Ryos. ?Though they would make good target practice.? Rika stalked away to somewhere that Shaochung didn?t let them see, for their own safety. ?Thank me,? Shaochung said. ?I just saved you two. You get on hew newves, she gives you so many minutes, and then [i]wham.[/i] She?s made guys toughew than you two wun away cwying.? ?Ouch,? the Ryos said together. After a half second pause, they looked at each other. ?I?m never going to get used to that,? they said. ?You dudes seen Kenta?? Kai said as he passed them. ?I haven?t seen him all day.? ?You know him,? Ryo 2 said. ?There?s nothing in here with buttons to push.? ?Except maybe the Digimon Queen back thewe,? Shaochung added as she checked her watch. ?It?s about lunch time,? she told the Ryos and Kai. ?Wumiko?s paying, which is something we don?t see evewy day... o? month, yeaw, evewy millennium fow that mattew... Maybe I should be scawed?? Ryo 2 looked at her gravely, and put a hand on her shoulder. ?May the Force be with you.? ***** ?Sir, the new D-Hulks are good to go,? Trang told Yamaki. ?Ready to deploy at your command.? ?Good work. When the Tamers appear next, we?ll be ready. Find Nanashi and bring him here.? ?Yes, sir,? Trang said less than enthusiastically as she left the observation room. Yamaki waited for her to leave, and then brought her chair down to ground level, boarding it and taking it back to her console. He took a disk from his pocket and slipped it into a drive. Opening the program on it, he typed in a series of commands, and clicked a button marked EXECUTE when it came up. He clicked his lighter as he waited for the program to load. ?It won?t be long now,? he said to himself. ***** Shaochung was in the process of ordering Champion Burgermon?s Champion Burger, the biggest, juiciest bacon cheeseburger on either side of the Digital Gate. He handed it over, double bacon, no onions, extra mayo, as she always loved it. Rookie Burgermon saw her coming, and immediately prepared his Omega Shake, a special blend that only he knew how to make. In exactly seventeen seconds, it was ready. As always. He grinned, gave Shaochung the thumbs-up sign, and, as always, watched Shaochung take the first sip, making sure she liked it. If it ever wasn?t perfect, he?d snatch it back and make a new one immediately. In seventeen seconds. As Shaochung ate, she decided that, though it was a hard life, she was happy to be part of this organization. It was hard enough finding burgers and shakes in Japan, and none anywhere were as good as the Burgermon Brothers? cooking. Their cooking would have made it all worthwhile if nothing else. Again, Shaochung wondered how the outside world could think these guys were all about chaos and destruction. The Burgermon Brothers would never hurt a fly. The worst thing they?d ever done was overcooking her french fries, and that had only happened once. [i]Those three are what I?ll miss most when the Digimon leave.[/i] She?d miss them all. Her kind, noble partner Antiramon, who was out there somewhere with the other Devas, doing whatever he did. Caturamon and Makuramon, who acted like they hated each other, and yet, where one was, the other was never too far behind. Flamedramon, who... who... Shaochung realized she didn?t know much about him. But she?d have liked to. She?d never have thought she?d say it about a blue lizard, but she thought he was extremely cute. Dolphin?s children, Adrian/Dobermon and Alice/Youkomon. Because of their computerized ?internal clocks,? which had identical settings, they always got hungry or thirsty at the same time, they always became sleepy at the same time, they always even blinked at the same time. Which they both found seriously annoying. The creepy Devimon, who was nice once you got past the chill of pure darkness that gripped your heart when you looked at him. Old Halsemon, with his deep, English-accented voice, who made sure to highly exaggerate his part in any mission. To hear him tell it, every mission was barely pulled from the brink of disaster by his brave acts. And little Flamon, who was always playing pranks, and was always begging her to try to say ?WereGarurumon.? ?Penny for your thoughts?? Rumiko said to her. She hadn?t seen the older woman approach. ?Twy a dollaw,? Shaochung said. ?Considewing how much you?we wowth, you should pay mowe. Anyway, I?m just thinking about what?s going to happen once this is all ovew. Any day now, we could be sending the Digimon back home. This has been my life fow so long I don?t know what I?m going to do once this ends. Do we go back to no?mal?? ?Not immediately, but someday. We can?t stay in Japan, of course, but there are many places we can live semi-normal lives. Rika and I have been discussing moving to America. Ryo, that is, the one we know, will be moving to Italy, Kai and Ayaka are staying with Ayaka?s grandparents in France, I know some are planning to stay with their partners in the Digital World. There is life after the Underground. I?m sure you?ll find something, somewhere. Say, if you?re interested in modeling, I?ve still got a few connections...? ?Uh, I think not. Thanks anyway, though.? ?I figured,? Rumiko laughed. And so the two followed their usual ritual of having lunch together. For perhaps the last time. ?Things will be a lot less interesting, that?s for sure.? Rumiko said. ?No more missions, no more having a full house, I?ll never do [i]this[/i] again...? Rumiko whipped out her digivice as if to read an analyzer profile of a new Digimon. Strangely, Hopmon?s dossier appeared. Rumiko and Shaochung looked up. ?Hey, guys,? Hopmon said from under Ryo?s arm. ?Mind if we join you?? Ryo added. ?Go ahead, pull up a chair,? Rumiko said. Ryo sat down, and Hopmon bounced up onto the counter. ?I hear the Digimon may be going soon,? Ryo said. Rumiko nodded. ?I?m going to miss Halsemon so much, but I know they?re all going home where they?ll be safe. Living cooped up in places like this never knowing when the next attack will come... that?s no life for them.? Ryo looked around, wondering how this house could be anyone?s definition of cooped up. ?We?re going with them,? Ryo said. ?There are dimension-crossing Digimon out there, so maybe we?ll find a way back where I came from on the other side. It?s not much to go on but it?s better than nothing.? ?I?ve got to say, it?s been... interesting having two of you around,? Rumiko said. ?I hope you find your way back.? ?Was that even the wowld you?re fwom?? Shaochung asked. ?We assumed, but I figuwe with youw connection with this Millenniumon...? ?Sort of,? Ryo said. ?Millenniumon?s messing around with space and time has caused some timelines to split. Past a certain point in time, my timeline splits into several possible ones. Some are exactly like what I remember, some are... like this. After a timeline has been split, there?s no going back to being just one. [i]Every[/i] one is the ?right one? because they?re all part of the original. Either my homeworld isn?t any of them, or it?s all of them, I haven?t decided yet. But, one or two things are always off, like, maybe someone?s hair will be different, someone?s eyes will be different, Mom likes raspberry Pop Tarts instead of strawberry, Garurumon?s name is Gururumon and his claws are a different color... just enough to know I?m not in Kansas anymore. It?s close enough, but it isn?t home, and that lady who?s 99.9% like my mom isn?t the woman who raised me, that guy who?s 99.9% like my best friend isn?t the guy who cheated off my math tests and I cheated off his language tests, and I know I can?t go home again but it still won?t do to stay there. I?ll probably always be on the move.? He smiled, not allowing himself to become depressed. ?You know, some things are always the same. Digimon are in every one... If there?s a Tokyo that hasn?t seen Digimon attacks, it just hasn?t seen them yet. There?s always an Antiramon-related Digimon who plays an important part in things... whether that?s good or bad varies. There?s always Hypnos building, though Hypnos isn?t always what?s there, and there?s usually a Riley. Ryos are pretty rare, though.? ?Maybe if you went back and stopped him from forming and causing these splits in the first place?? Rumiko asked. ?There are time-travel Digimon, too. A long time ago, I knew a Clockmon. One ?Tempus Fugit? and I was back in the samurai era... and I was about ten years younger. I think he overdid it. Not that I mind, of course. Yamaki and his boys came for him one day, and he just disappeared. And then so did Yamaki?s people... everything returned to the way it?d be as if he?d never come, and I seem to be the only one who remembers him.? ?Was he Hagurumon?s friend? Did he always say stuff like, ?oh, it?s so terrible, it?s awful, it?s horrific... uh, it could perhaps be a little better??? ?Yes! Did you know him? Anyway, I figure if you found one of them, maybe he could take you back, you know, fix things from the beginning.? ?I knew one version of him. Anyway, stopping Millenniumon before he started would simply cause more chaos. I?d stop him, so he was never there [i]for[/i] me to stop, so I [i]didn?t[/i] stop him, so he [i]was[/i] there, so I [i]did[/i] stop him, so he wasn?t, so I didn?t, so he was, so I did... it never ends. I don?t know how it would turn out in the end, or if it would turn out at all. He caused more trouble with his playing around with the space-time continuum than even the worst of his schemes. The Sovereigns have him locked up tight now, so the best thing to do is... is... aw, nuts.? ?What?? Shaochung said. ?Pururumon was Zhuqiaomon, and now he?s here. That means the power he used to maintain his part of Millenniumon?s dimensional prison is gone.? ?Well, there are three others,? Rumiko said. ?I?m sure they can keep it up between the three of them.? ?I hope so. Which is just about all I can do.? ?If Millenniumon gets out again, Goddramon help us all,? added Hopmon. ?[i]Goddramon?[/i]? Shaochung and Rumiko repeated, amused. Of course, Shaochung?s came out as Goddwamon, but by now, no one took any notice. ?What?s so funny?? Hopmon said. Shaochung?s and Rumiko?s Digivices alarmed. ?Time to go to the war room. Who knows, this may be it?? ***** ?This is it, people,? Janyuu was saying. ?We?ve figured out how to create what we call a Digital Zone.? He pressed a remote control and one of the television screens changed to a diagram. ?To simplify, a Digital Zone is a stable bridge between the real world and the Digital World. It goes beyond any other means of getting between the worlds. While it?s active, you need only walk through. Our contact says the ?track? has been perfected so the other Digimon will be able to hitch a ride from wherever they may be.? ?So, all we have to do is bust into Hypnos and take it over while being shot at by Hypnos agents and chased by a truckload of the Jolly Green Giants. Yeah, we should be done in time for dinner, no problem,? Rika said. ?Are you saying you?re not up to the challenge, Rika?? came Renamon?s voice innocently. ?Hey, that?s not fair,? Rika whispered, not sure where Renamon was or if anyone else was hearing her. ?If we attack swiftly, we can do it,? Caturamon said. ?And we do have inside help. I have complete faith in Metamormon?s abilities. He gains not only the appearance, but also the knowledge of anyone he scans. He could run Hypnos himself if he had more hands. He?ll have all security and tracking systems down before those pathetic humans... I mean before Hypnos knows what?s going on. We?ll have a forty-minute window of time in which to get there and gain control.? ?And the Control Spires?? someone else said. ?That?s taken care of, too,? a woman in red answered. ?Or at least, it will be.? She played with her long, white hair. ?Humans,? Caturamon said, without the usual venom that came into his voice when he spoke the word. He still wasn?t enamored of humans, but they deserved to know what was ahead. He owed it to them, to his own moral code, to be fair to those who had helped his kind. ?This next fight, this last fight, will be the closest thing to true war most of us here have faced. There will be much death on both sides, including that of humans. We will, of course, be as careful as we can and try to end this with the least amount of violence, and if you want to leave this to us Digimon, it would be only fair, but this isn?t going to be pretty. We are trying to reach our home. There is nothing in it for you. I, for one, shall think no less of the human who decides not to take part in the coming battle.? ?Just the same, I?m sure most of us will be on board,? Dolphin said. ?Data or flesh nonwithstanding, you?re our friends. With the hand we had in your creation, we can?t just abandon you. I just wish this whole Yamaki thing hadn?t happened. Your kind and ours could have developed much more peaceful relations.? ?Yes, unfortunate,? Biyomon said. There was a touch of sadness in her voice at the realization she?d soon be leaving Ayaka, but she tried not to let it show. ?But what is past, is past. It?s time for us to go home.? ?Let?s go over the plan quickly,? Janyuu said. ?We haven?t got a lot of time.? ***** Trang had been searching fruitlessly for Nanashi for nearly an hour. She figured he wasn?t still at Hypnos, but she also had no intentions of going back and telling Yamaki that she hadn?t been able to find him. [i]Where the heck is that idiot?[/i] Trang sighed, and began the walk back to the control room. If Nanashi wasn?t there, he wasn?t there. And though Yamaki?s temper was legendary, he hadn?t shot anyone. Yet. As far as she knew. She started to head back to the control room, when Nanashi crossed her path. ?Where have you been, anyway?? he said. ?Where have [i]I[/i] been? I?ve been looking for you for almost an hour. Yamaki said we?re to go back to the observation room. I think he wants to test out his new D-Hulks on someone.? ?I?m sure a good candidate will turn up eventually,? Nanashi said. Nanashi?s words were prophetic: they hastened back to the control room, and in not ten minutes, a new signal appeared on the dome. ?Sir, we?ve got one,? Trang said. ?A few miles east of Shinjuku, but it?s heading away pretty fast. Looks fairly powerful.? ?Good,? Yamaki said. ?Time to see what the new generation of D-Hulks can do. Have Sato, Akazumi, and Shimoyama meet me in the garage.? ?Yes, sir.? ?Nanashi, you?re in charge while I?m gone.? Trang bristled as Nanashi flashed her a quick smile and said, ?Yes, sir.?

Aw, he's adorable. And it goes without saying that Aidan's the height of cool. Your sister's a great artist.