Devidramon

Yeah, the Wild Force formula's not as good. With the original formula, you got to know the Rangers better because they did, well, more normal things that people do. It's a lot harder to care about the Wild Force rangers than it is to care about the others. Also, the bad guys had actual plans. Toxica and Jindrax pretty much point the new Org in the direction of the Rangers and stand back. But, it's gotten much better lately. Unfinished Business, Team Carnival, and The Soul Of Humanity were awesome. Once again I find myself looking forward to the next episode. Something that had never happened during Wild Force. Still can't touch Morphin S3 or Lost Galaxy, though. Say, anybody else think Goldar and Scorpina were a bit cozier than most of the villains? They didn't call each other 'my dear' constantly like Rita and Zedd, Mondo and Machina, Gasket and Archerina, but still, Scorpina often had a hand on Goldar's shoulder, and when she was fighting the Rangers for the first time, he was saying "Although she is a brave warrior, she is greatly outnumbered. She must be brought back before it's too late." Complimenting [i]and[/i] showing concern, neither of which are Goldar known for. Then there's the way that Scorpina tossed the Mirror of Destruction aside when she saw Goldar was going to look at it, despite the way they'd usually stab anyone in the back if it was between them and winning. (Stupid Goldar. They'd have won if he'd been more careful. [Thwacks Goldar with Rita's wand]) Speaking of original PR bad guys, did we see Baboo, Squatt, and Finster in the movie? I think I remember seeing Finster with Rita and Zedd at the beginning. Argh, I've got to watch that again.

Some things I noticed watching Forever Red again: Shadowborg/Venjix's gauntlet would glow with a circuit pattern as he shot Darkseid-esque zigzag blasts. Later, he'd fire energy blasts from the grappling claw-thing. Shadowborg always used the claw as, well, a claw, and had a gun called the Shadow Laser for energy-blast purposes. Also, we didn't see what happened to Lady Borg or the Astral Borg that was using the Thunder Stinger. (You know, the one that went off the cliff.) Lady Borg took two direct hits, and the one in silver and blue with the Thunder Stinger took two direct, sustained hits after which he went off of a cliff, and, though you wouldn't expect they'd be able to survive that, they didn't go kaboom. So, there's a sizable Machine Base with a good amount of Cogs and two Machine Generals at the Sea of Tranquility right now. You know, not only was it great to see some old favorites again, plus all the banter, but it was great to be back in the Power Rangers universe, back when it was a universe instead of a zillion here-today-gone-tomorrow microcosms. Once more there's a planet called Aquitar, a substance called Neo Plutonium, such people as Rita, Zedd, the Machine Empire, an organization called NASADA (wish I remembered what that stood for) and the moon is much, much more than something pretty to look at in the sky. One more time, we're back in the universe that I've been obsessed with since I was nine years old. That was wonderful.

?So you?ve never heard of a SaberNekomon?? Tai said. ?No,? Tentomon answered. ?And I know most of the Digimon who are [i]that[/i] strong. I?ve made a point of it memorizing them since I learned we?d wind up in mortal combat with most of them.? The six veterans of the battle of the Inoue store had immediately rushed to the Izumi residence to get answers. Now, they were sitting in Izzy?s bedroom, with the TV tuned to news broadcasts showing the same tape of the battle over and over. Gatomon winced as she watched the debacle again and again from several angles, becoming more and more humiliated as she watched SaberNekomon batter her and the others. [i]She does [u]not[/u] get away with that,[/i] she vowed, a little of the unwillingness to let a defeat go unpunished that Myotismon had instilled in her resurfacing. Mrs. Izumi had insisted on making snacks for all of them, (double helpings for Tentomon, who was a black hole when it came to her cooking) and had fussed over Gatomon?s wounds. Gatomon was annoyed with all the attention, but didn?t try to stop Izzy?s well-meaning mother. Now, she looked like she?d just come from the emergency ward, the bandages making her look much worse off than the wounds had. Then Mrs. Izumi had departed, not wanting to interfere with what she had termed ?official Digidestined business.? ?My Analyzer doesn?t have a record of any Digimon like that,? Izzy said. ?It can scan new Digimon, but unfortunately, it?d have to be in person to get info on one that?s not in Gennai?s file.? ?In other words, try to take a reading before you get skewered,? Tai said. ?Great plan.? Izzy shrugged. ?Can?t help it. But that?s not the important thing. She can?t be attacking just for the fun of it...? ?Not to hear her tell it,? Matt said. ?She acts like the whole thing?s a game. She laughs when she kicks us around. A real laugh, not like Piedmon or somebody. She sounds like she?s having fun.? ?She sounds almost innocent, like a child. Except when she?s fighting Gatomon,? Gabumon said. ?Then she goes mad.? ?Sounds like a personal vendetta,? Izzy said. ?But she says she?s after all of you?? ?She didn?t attack Kari,? Gatomon said. ?When Kari got in her way, she teleported out just before it was too late.? ?Hmm,? Izzy said, frowning as he did whenever trying to decipher a puzzle. ?Interesting. You don?t think you knew her when she was at a different stage?? he asked Gatomon. ?Maybe. I?ve got no shortage of enemies after my time with Myotismon.? Izzy swiveled his chair around to face the others. ?The main thing is, whenever someone?s attacked us like this, there?s always been more to it than met the eye. And they?re always emotionally stable, even if not entirely sane. I would be willing to wager that someone has sent her. We need to know just who she is and who put her up to this, and how she managed to get through a Digital Gate.? ?Who?d send someone to the real world after us, anyway?? Matt asked. ?It?s not like we?re a threat from here, especially before we knew something was up.? ?Perhaps whoever it is knows who we are, and knows the prophecy,? Gabumon suggested. ?They know that the only way to get whatever they?re after is to go through us.? ?If that?s true,? Gatomon said, ?then whoever it is knows the full extent of our power as of the last time they saw us, and chose their warrior accordingly.? ?So that crazy chick might be able to take on two Megas and eight Ultimates?? Matt said. ?They?d be hard-pressed to find anyone that strong,? Izzy said. ?Most likely SaberNekomon has been instructed to fight us a few at a time, or has some sort of a strategy.? ?Or maybe they figure she can get at least a few of us so there will be less opposition for the less-expendable warriors to deal with,? Gatomon said. ?In other words, we?re still clueless,? Tai stated. ?We do know that we?ll have to face whoever the mastermind is sooner or later, probably sooner,? Izzy said. ?We?d better get prepared for another trip to the digital world, possibly today. I?m looking for open gates right now.? ?What have you got?? Gatomon said, hopping up onto Izzy?s desk to get a closer look at his computer. Her head throbbed from the motion, but she tried not to let it show. ?Looking... got it. Not much right now. There?s a bakery in Shinjuku, but that gate?s already beginning to close, there?s a weak spot in the barrier at a high school in Tamachi, but no gate yet. Next nearest thing is a library in Kawaguchi. If all else fails, there?s just about always one in Kyoto.? ?Right now, I say we call the others,? Tai said. ?Here.? Izzy tossed him his cellular phone. ?But don?t talk too long. I?m almost out of minutes...? Tai rolled his eyes as he began to dial. ***** SaberNekomon was having trouble deciding what to do next. How was she going to kill Gatomon now that Kari was protecting her? Also, she knew she?d have to deal with the entire group eventually. It was the way they seemed to work: if she singled out any one of them, all of them will protect that one. It made no sense, but it worked well enough to give her a few headaches. [i]At least I get to toss them around some more,[/i] she thought. It was more fun that way anyway. She imagined herself picking up MetalGreymon and using him to bat some superpowerful Digdiestined Digimon around. Then came what she was going to do about Tai and Kari. The close call with Kari had given her a rude awakening: Her benefactor had told her to destroy the Digidestined, but she had no intentions of killing Tai and Kari. [i]Oh, well, I?ll think of something sooner or later,[/i] she figured, putting that thought aside. Best not to think about that right now. She?d take Gatomon out of the picture and everything would be just as it was before. Then she?d worry about strange men and bats. But all that could wait. Right now, there was something more pressing at hand. [i]You look hungry, little guy,[/i] she thought, stroking the kitten?s fur. She stood, and turned when she caught the scent of several cats behind her. [i]In fact, you all look hungry.[/i] ?Follow me,? she said simply. They did. ***** ?Gomamon?s not around,? Joe told Tai. ?Once he gets back, I?ll tell him everything.? ?Not around?? Tai said. ?He?s a seal, it?s not like he can get that far.? ?Not as Gomamon. But as Bukamon, he flies, or sorta floats.? ?I didn?t think they could digivolve backwards unless...? ?...they use a lot of energy,? Joe finished. ?So whenever he gets ready to go out, he?s got to use a lot of his power. And we all know what his power is. The pool?s full of fish, the sinks are full of fish, the bathtub?s full of fish... when I get my hands on that seal...? ?I get the picture.? ?I?ll call Mimi, then I?ll see if Gomamon?s back yet. We?ll be sure to make contact.? ?Guess I?ll hear from you then. Bye.? ?Later.? Joe hung up. [i]Just where is Gomamon, anyway?[/i] ***** ?The view?s great here,? Bukamon said. ?You can see most of Tokyo.? ?Told you,? Biyomon said. She and Bukamon were perched on the roof of the Highton View Terrace apartments, not far from where Garudamon had had her battle with Mammothmon. But for once, they weren?t talking about any crisis. ?It?s great to sit up here and watch all the humans. Nothing like watching them run around to make you appreciate our lives. When no one?s attacking, we get to take it easy. I?d hate to be on a schedule all the time like them.?Biyomon sighed contentedly. ?I know,? Bukamon said. ?Or a nice swim through the ocean. It?s like a completely different world down there. Of course, Joe?s afraid of heights [i]and[/i] the ocean, so it?s not like [i]he?d[/i] have much fun...? Biyomon giggled, playfully swatting him with a wing. ?Be nice to poor Joe,? she said. ?Who, me, nice? You know me better than that.? That got another giggle from Biyomon. Bukamon laughed too, and hoped he could get her to laugh again in the future. Then, he sighed. [i]Better get it over with.[/i] ?Uh, Biyomon?? ?Yeah?? ?You see... I...? Bukamon began stumbling on his words, something rare for him. Biyomon looked up at him, her large blue eyes looking directly into his. He got the feeling that she knew already, and was making him suffer on purpose. ?Biyomon, I...? ?Huh?? Biyomon gasped, looking forward once more. ?What?? Bukamon asked. ?You don?t see... oh, yeah, you?re not a bird. Looked like an explosion of some kind, at that building over there.? She pointed with a wing, and then lifted off. Bukamon didn?t see what she was pointing at, so he simply followed. [i]Talk about bad timing. Whoever that is is [u]so[/u] gonna get it,[/i] Bukamon thought. Biyomon and Bukamon glided down to the source of the disturbance. A pet supply shop. Most of the windows were broken, and a great din could be heard inside, as if a wrecking crew was at work. ?Yaargh!? A man came smashing through one of the few remaining intact windows, flying over Biyomon and Bukamons? heads, to land in the middle of the street. A laugh was heard from inside. ?Why us?? Bukamon muttered. The two small Digimon ventured inside to see a curious sight: shelves were overturned and everything breakable was broken. Scurrying about it all were cats. Hundreds of meowing, hissing cats, tearing into bags of food. Even a few cans had been torn open. ?Cats really [i]do[/i] prefer Fancy Feast,? Bukamon observed. ?How?d they get into those cans, anyway?? ?I?d worry more about how they even got here,? Biyomon said. ?Is this someone?s idea of a joke?? ?Quite serious,? a female voice said. ?Rare as that is for me.? In a flicker of yellow energy, a teenager with the eyes, ears, and tail of a cat appeared atop one of the few shelves that was still standing. She had a contented expression, and was idly twirling her hair with her clawed fingers. ?What do you think you?re doing?? Bukamon demanded. ?Feeding them,? she said, gesturing to the cats. ?Surely you wouldn?t have me let them starve? You Digidestined are supposed to be the good guys.? ?How?d you know who we are?? Biyomon asked. SaberNekomon realized she didn?t actually have an answer. She?d just known them on sight, and hadn?t questioned how. Another surprise from Myotismon. She wish she had a way of determining just how much she knew now. She chuckled, realizing she now knew her benefactor?s name. But she also knew it was important to not reveal it. Instead, she shrugged. ?Innate superiority, I guess. Now are you going to digivolve, or what? Wouldn?t be any fun to fight you as you are now.? ?Why do you want to fight us?? Biyomon asked. ?We never did anything to you.? ?Oh, it?s just something to do,? answered SaberNekomon. ?Now hurry up and digivolve already.? ?Um...? Bukamon started. [i]How to refuse without letting her know we?re evolution-challenged at the moment?[/i] ?No. We?re... not going to help amuse you.? ?Too bad,? SaberNekomon sighed, raising her claws. The cats closest to Biyomon and Bukamon moved away instantly. ?Better get it over with, then. Tigris...? ?Wait!? Biyomon shouted. ?We just... what if you, uh, wait until you guys finish eating first?? ?Hmm...? she said, looking down as if deep in thought. ?Nah. Tigris Wave!? She lazily tossed an energy arc their way. They flew to avoid it and wound up crashing into each other, and struggled to disentangle themselves and get out of the way. The arc struck between them, and the explosion catapulted them into the air, leaving them to crash into the stack of dog food cans that was the only thing the cats had left untouched. The cans collapsed onto the Rookie and In-Training. They could hear their foe giggling like a child. [i]Okay, this one?s a few birds short of a flock,[/i] Biyomon thought. [i]Here?s hoping Joe and Sora sense we?re in trouble.[/i] She and Bukamon climbed out from under the can avalanche. ?Spiral Twister!? ?Bubble Blow!? ?Oh, come on,? SaberNekomon said as the attacks failed to do as much as wrinkle her clothes. ?Even these guys can do better than that.? She indicated the rampaging cats. Her eyes lit up as she got an idea. ?In fact...? she gave a meow. Instantly, more than a hundred of the cats stopped their vandalism and surged toward Bukamon and Biyomon, tearing at them with their teeth and claws, knowing to stay away from their mouths to avoid attacks. [i]Why us?[/i] Bukamon wondered again as he flailed to dislodge the snarling, biting alley cats.

When the time comes, it should be something we all agree on, rather than any one person. All the zillion plotlines have to be resolved in a way that makes sense. (Preferably in a way that leaves Alice happy, she's having a rough time.) Here?s part one of the ending to the parallel world thing. I'd like to handle it myself, up until Ryo has his little reunion with Millenniumon. Queen Device is the actual card-game name of the Radiant Something-Or-Other card Suzie used. (Which is why I'm going with the card game name. I listen to it a hundred times and can't figure out what she's saying.) This moves kinda slowly, but I?ve got to wrap up the other dimension arc quickly, which means who?s who, what?s what, and how and why it got that way has to be gotten out of the way so I can tell the story. Think Shibumi Speaks and Azulongmon Explains It All. A lot of stage-setting before the final act can begin. And before anybody asks, yes, those are all real characters, except for the Hypnos operators, Trang and Nanashi. Trang?s Riley?s replacement (remember, the one native to this world was on the bridge Indramon stomped in Out of the Blue) and Nanashi?s Tally?s replacement (I seriously doubt Tally?d stick around if Yamaki became... the way this world?s Yamaki is.) ===== Ryo and... Ryo were trading stories about their various adventures, and the histories of their worlds. Though there were small differences in the two worlds, such as the absence of anyone named Bill Gates, any show called the Brady Bunch, and any bizzare substance known as 'Spam' that was somehow being sold as food. This Ryo was more serious than his dimensionally-displaced counterpart, and was using scientific terms relating to the Digital World as a part of his everyday vocabulary, to the utter confusion of Ryo and Hopmon. The main turning point where the histories diverged was the arrival of the Digimon. The Ryo Akiyama of this world had never known anyone named Millenniumon, meaning Monodramon's transformation had never happened. This Ryo hadn't recognized the name Cyberdramon, and Monodramon had come to him, not the other way around. The Devas had come in a different order, first Vajramon, then Sandiramon, then Vajramon, then Indramon, and then Pajiramon. Ryo 2's tale of Indramon's rampage sounded even more vicious than one Ryo 1 had been told. As Janyuu had said, Riley had been killed when Indramon had destroyed the bridge near his bio-emergence point, prompting Yamaki to redouble his efforts to destroy all Digimon, leading to what the Tamers of this world called 'the roundup.' As Deva attacks continued, Hypnos sought all Digimon using their computers, killing them on sight with their Yuggoth weapons. Their Tamers were taken away. Some were seen again. Many were not. Henry Wong was one of those in the 'not' category. Janyuu had awoke one night to a great din coming from upstairs, and he and his wife had rushed to see part of the outside wall of Henry's room blown out, a helicopter leaving, and a strange green mist blowing away. Henry was nowhere to be found. Janyuu had found Henry's Digivice, recognizing it as a near-exact copy of similar devices he and the Monster Makers had used to control the AIs that had eventually become the Digimon, and in an instant, realized what had happened. At that point, he had a moment of insight into the Devas and their point of view. The hatred he had felt, and underneath that, the fear what could be around the corner, was the same as what the Digimon must have felt when his enemy and theirs had started Hypnos for the first time, doing God only knew what to the Digital World and sending many Digimon screaming to their deaths. With this insight, Janyuu had sought the Devas in hopes of finding a better way than his underground and their random attacks, a way to actually get something accomplished. In an act that had made him a living legend among the members of the underground, Janyuu had stood bravely, alone and unarmed, before a digital field, and awaited the ones who would come through it. That had been Makuramon and Caturamon. Though the two Devas hadn't trusted him at first, and had wanted to kill him on sight, Janyuu had hurriedly explained his situation to the two, and Caturamon had sensed the truth in his words. Now, the Devas were on the side of the underground, and ever since Caturamon had arrived, Henry?s Digivice, which Janyuu had always kept, had been blue instead of green, and the static was gone from it. Though Caturamon wasn't thrilled to have a human partner and didn't spend any more time with Janyuu than with any other human, he and Makuramon worked with the underground directly, and the ones who had come to the real world and hadn't been killed by the Tamers' Digimon were out there somewhere, working unseen. All working towards the day when they could open the gate for the Digimon to return to the Digital World. "And that day might be soon," Ryo 2 said, excitedly. "We've got spies on the inside of Hypnos, and they're giving us whatever they can tell us about Hypnos' systems. We're better at avoiding detection than ever before, and the spies are gleaning information about how the technology works. We think we'll have enough information to be able to open a gate within the week." "Wow," Ryo 1 said. "If we haven't found a way back home by then, we'll do what we can to help you. Right, Hopmon?" "Like you've even got to ask," Hopmon said. "Think you could find a way home for us as well?" "I'm not sure," Ryo 2 said. "Nothing we've discovered hints at dimensional translocation technology. It's more like forcing the opposite of a bio-emergence using what we already know of the Digital World. But once we're on the other side, who knows what we might find? Maybe our equivalents of your Millenniumon or Parallelmon might be willing to help? If not, there might be other Digimon who can do it." "Not Millenniumon," Ryo 1 said. "He's one of a kind. He was created in another world and somehow found his way into mine. He's got some kind of connection to me, and I've been dragged behind him from dimension to dimension ever since it was established. Thanks to him, I spent years in the Digital World trying to find my way back to my own time. But no, he couldn't stop there. He went after us in an even worse form called ZeedMillenniumon, and we had to stop him. After that, he left a little piece of himself behind in Monodramon." "Yeah," Hopmon said darkly. "He somehow forced me all the way back to egg form, and I hatched as an Ultimate, Cyberdramon, which became my standard form. But most of my mind was gone, and even now I turn into a killing machine whenever I go Ultimate. If our friend Millie's still alive and I find him again, it [i]won't[/i] be to ask for help." "We'll think about that later," Ryo said quickly. His partner sounded very different than the rambunctious lizard who turned every knob in his dad's car. Often, when Hopmon was like that, his words were foreboding, and a reunion with Millenniumon was not something anyone needed. The tiny superstitious part of him entertained the idea that if Hopmon said it, it would eventually happen, and all would be well if Hopmon didn't say the M-word until he was his usual lighthearted self again. Speak of the devil and you'll see his horns. Hopmon, of course, found it absolutely hilarious that it was possible to take anything he said as a dire prophecy, but even so, was fell silent for Ryo's comfort. Ryo 2 led Ryo 1 into a large room with pool tables, a dart board, a full-service bar, and at the far end, a gigantic television covering one wall. There were several humans and Digimon around. A Kotemon was handily beating a Volcamon at pool. The volcano on the Volcamon?s back began to smoke and smolder more every time the Kotemon sank a ball. The TV was tuned to the chase through town that the Tamers had led Hypnos on hours earlier. Several kids were sitting on the floor, leaning against Halsemon, who was embellishing the tale, telling of his brave and daring feats, and generally taking as much credit as he could get away with. The kids laughed, and Rumiko stood by, shaking her head. Hopmon laughed, and went to explore, (or so he said. His true target was the pretty Biyomon he?d spotted.) leaving the Ryos to themselves. ?This is the recreation center,? Ryo 2 told an awed Ryo 1, who?d never seen one so big or one of any description in anyone?s house. ?I?ve got to go now. A training session with Piximon. If you?re late, you?d rather deal with Yamaki than him. She?ll show you around the house,? Ryo 2 said, leading him to a tall, shapely woman with reddish hair. She was one of the most beautiful women he?d ever seen, if not [i]the[/i] most. There was something strangely familiar about her, too. [i]No, I?d definitely remember if I knew anyone that looked like [u]her.[/u] Wow.[/i] ?The infamous double,? the woman said, looking him over, seemingly oblivious to his being so taken with her. Her voice was as beautiful as her looks, but there was something strange about the way she talked. What was it? ?Hey, you don?t have that gauntlet thing,? she said, touching his arm. Ryo 1 blushed slightly. ?It, uh, got the D-Reaper treatment,? Ryo 1 said, following her. Ryo 2 waved, and half-ran out of the room and back the way they?d come. ?One of those bubbles hit it and... poof.? ?You look exactly like him,? the woman said. ?Same voice, same walk, same clothes... too bad about that...? ?Hey!? Ryo laughed, with a mock-hurt look. The woman laughed, in a voice that was like music to Ryo. ?Just kidding. You even do that same thing with the eyebrow...? ?Yeah. It?s too strange. When I saw your Ryo, I could have sworn I was looking in a mirror. I could have sworn that was the Janyuu I know back there, and I keep expecting to hear Terriermon?s jokes and Henry telling him to be quiet. To which Terriermon would say...? ??...[i]Moumantai,[/i]?? the woman said along with Ryo, with a hint of sadness. Ryo decided it would be better not to ask. ?Hey,? she said, brightening. She took out a deck of Digimon cards. ?Let?s play a game. I want to see if the ?infamous double? is as good as the one I know.? ?You play the card game?? ?Like anyone who?s got one of these,? she said, indicating her pink D-Power. She had attached a longer band to it, and wore it like a wristwatch. ?You?re a tamer?? ?One of the best.? ?Well, I think you just met your match. The Legendary Tamer doesn?t lose.? Across the room, Hopmon watched his partner stepping into the woman?s trap. [i]This oughta be interesting,[/i] he thought. ***** ?Do you have anything?? Yamaki said over the static. The problem with Control Spires was what their signal did to cellular phones. A real pain in the neck, but to block the Digivices? effect on Digimon, thus taking away the Tamers? one advantage, he?d learn to live with it. He was confident that the game was nearing its end. ?Still nothing,? came Agent Trang?s slightly accented voice. Hailing from Vietnam, Trang was Riley?s replacement. Her quick mind was a great asset to Hypnos. ?The trail vanished before you even stopped chasing them. They could have gone in any direction,? said Agent Nanashi, who now occupied the place of Tally, who had taken exception to Yamaki?s witch hunt and had resigned. ?We can find them,? Yamaki said. ?We must find them. I?m not allowing any more of those beasts to take any more innocent lives. Every one of them must die for what they do, for what the [i]are.?[/i] In the few months the new agents had been at Hypnos, they?d seen plenty of Yamaki?s periodical descents into what Trang called Captain Ahab Mode. She knew to simply nod and say ?yes, sir.? ?Yes, sir,? she said. ?We?ll keep working on it.? ?Are the D-Hulks ready for deployment?? ?Awaiting your command,? Trang answered. ?Good,? Yamaki said, flipping the cell phone shut. When the Tamers resurfaced, he?d be ready. ***** About five minutes into the game, the Legendary Tamer was getting his legendary butt legendarily kicked by a woman that he hadn?t expected to know a Digimon card when she saw one. [i]Well, I can at least take [u]this[/u] one,[/i] Ryo thought. His strategy was nearing fruition... ...and was instantly toppled by the Queen Device card that she lay down with an evil laugh. ?You didn?t think I wouldn?t see that, did you?? the woman teased. ?You lose. You wanna play again, for money this time? I could use it.? Ryo was simply staring in openmouthed shock. ?How did you... how...? ?Sowwy, too bad,? she teased, an impish smile on her perfect face. ?I?ll let you win next time.? She giggled, leading Ryo over to the other Tamers on the couch. Hopmon looked at Ryo, trying not to laugh. Ryo glared at him, which caused him to burst into fit of laughter. When he managed to stop cracking up, he introduced the Biyomon he?d talking to to Ryo. ?This is my partner. He?s been busy. Losing.? Biyomon shook Ryo?s hand with her wing. ?Nice to meet you. I?m Biyomon. And don?t worry about the game, she beats everybody.? ?Biyomon?s kinda new,? Ryo?s lovely guide explained. ?Ayaka Itou found hew when she was wounded. She knows the locations of a lot of Digimon out in hiding. She nevew tells us what?s going on behind the scenes, but she?s been instwumental to quite a few of ouw missions.? [i]No way... She can?t be, she just can?t be![/i] But before Ryo could say anything, the woman had dragged him over to meet a girl with pigtails whose demeanor screamed attitude. Already he was reminded of Rika. ?And here?s Ayaka,? the woman said. ?I?d advise being nice. She may be small, but she?ll do to you physically what I just did to you in the cawd game.? ?Hey, when you...? ?And this is Nami Asaji,? she said, introducing him to a woman and the child-sized Digimon she was playing pool against. ?She?s a teachew on the outside. Her pa?tnew?s called Stwabimon.? The Digimon was what Beelzemon might have looked like in his youth if Digimon had aged like humans. His head was shaped like Impmon?s, his jacket and humanoid shape were that of Beelzemon, but his skin and clothes were tinged blue. ?S?up?? Strabimon said, not taking his eyes away from the shot he was about to make. Ryo read Strabimon?s information from his D-Power. ?Strabimon, rookie level. He?s a martial arts expert with lightning reflexes. And he?s... fluent in German?? [i]?Ja,?[/i] Strabimon said, sinking three balls. He still hadn?t looked up. ?And the big guy?s Volcamon. If he can?t smash thwough it, then the magma fwom the volcano on his back can melt it. Yamaki loses mowe of his shiny black vans that way. My heawt weally bleeds fow the guy,? she said sarcastically. Volcamon grinned and cracked his knuckles. The volcano on his back rumbled quietly. ?You?ll meet ev?wyone else soon enough, but...? ?The way you talk... you?re...? The woman sighed as if about to explain something for the hundredth time. ?I know, I know, the W thing.? she sighed. ?I take it youw Shaochung doesn?t have a speech impediment?? ?Shao... oh. We call her Suzie. And she talks like you do. But she?s five, so it doesn?t sound [i]too[/i] out of place and... I... I?m sorry.? [i]I can?t believe it I?ve been drooling over [u]Suzie[/u] this whole time! Henry would kill me! Then Janyuu would kill me, and then Lopmon, and then Terriermon...[/i] ?I?m [i]five?[/i] How... and how old?s Henwy?? ?I?m not sure. He?s around my age, maybe a little younger. On the outside, at least. On the inside he?s about ten years older.? Suzie laughed. ?Mine was nine. He was always [i]twying[/i] to act more matuwe, but it never weally wo?ked. Except when he?d say something weally pwofound and su?pwise ev?wybody. He always had this stwange insight into things. I guess it wasn?t enough to keep Yamaki away fwom him.? ?A nine-year-old? My Yamaki probably wouldn?t do that at his worst. This guy?s a real piece of work.? ?He?ll get what?s coming to him,? Suzie vowed. ?The only thing that can open a Digital Gate big enough for ev?wy Digimon on Eawth is Hypnos, so that?s whewe the final battle will be fought. You can bet he?ll be thewe, and if I get a shot at him, I?ll make sure no one of data ow flesh has to feaw him again.? At length, Ryo nodded. ?I?m sure you will.? ?Anyway, enough of that. Let?s see what the Bu?ge?mon Bwothews awe cooking, then we?ll see if Janyuu?s got any mowe missions planned. Who knows, maybe Pawallelmon sent in more of your friends?? ?That would be [i]good[/i] luck. Given the past few days, I doubt it,? he laughed. ?Hey, Hopmon, you hungry?? ?Do you have to ask?? Hopmon said. ***** Pururumon circled the house in search of a point of entry, but he sensed that something was very wrong. He may no longer have possessed the godlike powers of a Digimon Sovereign, but his mind was as sharp as ever, and he could still sense a threat to himself, and to the Digital World. Both were very present. And the threat to himself was coming closer. [i]Never a dull day,[/i] he sighed. [i]Unfortunately.[/i]

I hope it doesn't sound harsh, but most people would rather that someone go over the good and the bad. The good: Looks pretty interesting so far. Like the dialogue, and Takato's banter. If this had been at the beginning of the season, Takato would probably be too afraid to say anything like that to Rika. Who's the other Tamer? Good or bad? If good, please, please don't make her a Mary Sue. The bad: Only thing really wrong is the way they just attacked Pteramon and Wendigomon. I could see if Renamon did it back in her data-hunting days, but if this takes place after the season, then they wouldn't just go around killing every Digimon who bio-emerged for no reason with no questions asked, which is sure what it looks like they were trying to do. Nitpicks: Guilmon doesn't have fur, Kyubimon's a fox, and it looks a lot better if you write numbers out (eg. "the four of them" is better than "the 4 of them." Also, I'd really cut and paste it into the reply box instead of saving it as an attachment so we don't have to download it and wait for Word, Claris Works, what-have-you to translate it. A lot of people aren't going to work that hard for it.

Or a cameo. You know how past monsters sometimes show up in places like the Shadow World, Prince Gasket's arena, the Onyx Tavern, or whenever some bad guy's using a lot of monsters at once. (Except for Dischordia, I don't think there was anyone we [i]didn't[/i] know at Master Vile's End of the World Party.) I know that Power Rangers in Space is over. All I ask is two seconds in the background to prove that he still exists. And if Oysterizer can appear in the Lightspeed finale, there's always a chance.

I don't think Zordon's Wave happened at all in the Japanese version. I forgot what I read about the Japanese PRiS ending, but I know it didn't involve the past five or six seasons' villains and the death of a mentor wiping them out. So we're dealing with US events. Maybe they'll say Shadow World like in Lightspeed Rescue. It [i]is[/i] a past monster hell, and we did see one Zordon's Wave monster there. (Eye Guy. He was in the Shadow World in the finale, along with Oysterizer, and the last time we'd seen him before was with Rita and Zedd in Countdown to Destruction.) And Lightspeed Rescue involved demons too. So maybe it's the same place. Here's hoping that means Ecliptor might return. He was my all-time favorite character, and he doesn't deserve to wander the Shadow World forever as a mindless zombie. Maybe something will happen in Ninja Storm that allows for him to have escaped. (Even if we don't see it. All we need is [i]one[/i] baddie we've seen before to get out of the Shadow World. That'll mean it's the same place, and that escape is possible. Yes, I sit around thinking about this sort of thing with every show I watch. Yes, it's sad.)

Yeah, that was [i]definitely[/i] not the superweapon that wiped out a planet. I figure, though, that they used Serpentera's weapon on low power so as not to run down its all-too-limited power supply. Though you'd think Venjix could have just closed Serpentera's mouth. Also, as my screenname suggests, I'm a Digimon fan, and that's pretty much [i]exactly[/i] how they took down MetalSeadramon, a robotic serpent much like Serpentera. His body was made of impenetrable armor and nothing could scratch it. He fires a powerful energy beam from the lens that's where the top half of his head should be. WarGreymon did some spinning drill move through the energy beam, through the lens, through his body, and out the other end. Shouldn't have worked on him [i]or[/i] Serpentera, but having seen something before makes it seem just a little more plausible. Also, the final blow against the main villains has been anticlimactic in every single crossover ep. (Well, except for Aquitian/Zeo.) Psycho Rangers? One "Power-Up Mode." Vypra and the superdemon? One blast from the Red Rangers. I didn't go in expecting much from the final battle. It's really more the trip than the destination with those. The best parts were the various rangers coming together, and Bulk and Skull, and the bantering afterward. "Hey, I discovered a new galaxy!" (No, you didn't. Deviot sent you there.) "Hey, I did all the work while he was busy kissing Kimberly!" (Uh, didn't he always have to come in and bail you out?) I was laughing pretty much the whole time with those things. And Alpha Seven, whose voice was exactly like Alpha Five. And Andros' appaearance at the beginning, almost [i]exactly[/i] the way we first met him. And the continued existence of the Machine Empire. Zordon's wave was supposed to wipe them all out, but if five machine generals are still alive, then there's hope for some of those bad guys, like Finster, or Scorpina.

Here's what, were this a Digimon ep, I'd call the Annoyingly Long Ep Rant. Theodore J. Jarvis Johnson. Hee hee hee. And get a load of Tommy's hair. It changed about five or six times during his days as a main Ranger, and now it looks really weird. And Jason's ribbing of Cole. "Hang back, rookie, and let me show you how it's done!" Cole (whose fanboyishness over Jason and Tommy was hilarious) even said "Morphinomenal," which was Zack's word and we haven't heard it since him. (Though Kimberly was the one who invented it waaay back in S1 Ep 2.) And Tommy got to say "Let's do it" once more. (And practically everybody went on to say it later. Geez, guys, get your own phrase!) I just wish Rocky had been there. Yeah, there's already a red Morphin ranger, but he could have just worn his Ninja Ranger costume. And maybe Psycho Red, too. Yeah, he's evil, but if the Machines take over the universe, he can't. Nobody hated the Machines like the most villianous villians, Rita and Zedd. (Well, they were the most villainous before Trakeena showed.) Let's not even go into the continuity breaks. Primarily certain destroyed power sources working just fine, Bulk being back on Earth, and the way they suddenly remembered about the moon's lesser gravity about halfway through the big battle. I know they always break the rules for crossover eps, but you'd think they'd have made mention of Bulk's return. You know, poked at it kinda like Worf's appearance in Insurrection? Maybe Skull asks Bulk how he got back to Earth, and just as he's starting to explain, Stone and Phenomenus walk in front of the camera talking about a crater on the moon that Phenomenus had noticed that hadn't been there before. Stone would say something like "Yeah, right," and pretty much dismisses it. Speaking of powers, if all the powers are intact and all Rangers know each other this means that there are a heck of a lot of Rangers out there. Here's hoping that we see more of them. Not likely, but I can hope. Seems that the world's gotten used to there being Rangers. They call each other's names without going through any secret identity stuff, keep tabs on each other ("Cole Evans, right? I'm Carter Grayson, Lightspeed Rescue, Red Ranger." Notice he didn't make sure that the four people in plain sight were the rest of Cole's team. And of course there's the way the Wild Force rangers wear jackets of their Ranger colors with their Ranger names on the back.) Which reminds me, I loved the part at the end. "I changed [i]history,[/i] but [i]he[/i] gets a fan club, and I don't!" "Remember the time I got baked into that giant pizza?" "My Q-Rex would eat Dragon Zord for breakfast!" Also, they took credit for things that weren't really their doing. They didn't 'discover' the Lost Galaxy, Deviot sent them there. And the end of Mondo. The first time was mostly due to Mondo himself, the second was due to Rita and Zedd, the third was due to Andros breaking Zordon's energy tube. "Stretching the truth" during shameless bragging is always fun. I wanna to know where they got another Alpha from. Does King Lexion sell them by the dozen? [Imagines Alphas Eight through Twenty running around the Animarium going [i]"Aye[/i]-yi-yi-yi-[i]yiii[/i]!"] Even if he's got Shadowborg's face, I liked Venjix. He had his eyes on the prize, going for Serpentera instead of piddling around with the Rangers, and when Serpentera was blowing up, he said "Forgive me, Mondo. I have failed you and the Empire." It wasn't the usual "Ha, ha, the world is mine" stuff, he wanted to restore his empire, his people, to their former glory. He was a good character. Had I been the writer, though, I would have had Gasket and Archerina be the villains of the day. I didn't mind the bad guys being from Beetleborgs. I was a big fan of it and it was great to see Shadowborg in action once again. And there's the silver guy whose name I forgot, who was using the Thunder Stinger against Carter and Andros. Would have been really ironic if it had been Shadowborg using the Thunder Stinger, as the Thunder Stinger was invented mostly to deal with him. (Of course, he was immune to it, though.) Notice Serpentera's a lot smaller than it used to be? But it looks a lot better. More detail, and its movements are... snakier. And they actually used the phrase "Sea of Tranquility." Neat when they use the actual names of places like that. And whoever played Alpha sounded *exactly* like the original voice. I had to look at the credits to know it wasn't the same VA. The credits also revealed quite a few people we know playing various baddies. Venjix/Shadowborg was Kai, Ladyborg was Kat, and either Green Hunter or the reddish Astral Borg was Zack. Cool. Since Aurico didn't demorph, and in fact we never saw his face, I take it that's not the same actor as before. I also loved The Soul Of Humanity (since shoes weren't involved, I'm going to assume "sole" was a mistake) and next week's ep looked good. I never imagined that I'd actually use the word "good" in the same sentence as "Wild Force," but the Animus arc, Forever Red, and now the character development they're doing with Toxica and Jindrax. Anybody else love Team Carnival? [Growls as self: "No, I will [i]not[/i] start shipping Toxica and Jindrax... I will [i]not[/i]... not..."]

Little nitpicks: Alice does not become Doumon. She skips straight to Kuzuhamon. Gardromon and Lopmon are more or less permanently HighAndromon and Antylamon. Say, how much time has passed throughout this thing? The reminder about Yoshi and Zilla made me wonder if Yoshi's had time to heal from Searchmon's attack yet. What's the time frame for the whole story? Can't wait to see the Parallelmon thing, Shadowdramon. Yeah, where [i]is[/i] Vikaralamon, anyway? How does one lose a building-sized pig? He ought to still be in Wavemaker territory. BTW, I'm copying and pasting this into a Claris Works document as parts are written, and skipping lines but using 9-point type, this story is up to 191 pages.

[i]?You!?[/i] SaberNekomon flew at Angewomon, claws poised to tear her nemesis? throat out. Angewomon swiveled in midair, allowing SaberNekomon to go past. ?Me. And what did I ever do to you?? SaberNekomon pushed off from the ground to fling herself back into the air at Angewomon. ?Kill... you...? she seethed, her voice an inhuman growl. Angewomon tried to use the same maneuver to dodge her again, but SaberNekomon lashed out with her tail as she was passing by, catching onto Angewomon?s leg. A good tug served to throw Angewomon off balance and pull SaberNekomon upwards, as well as turning her to face Angewomon. In a blind rage, she slashed hard and deep with her claws, tearing four bleeding gashes. Angewomon winced in pain as she reached for an arrow, but SaberNekomon didn?t give her the time. ?Tigris Wave!? she shouted, slashing with her other hand. The whole exchange happened in under two seconds. Angewomon took the full force of the assault, and plummeted to the ground in a tailspin. SaberNekomon was already dropping toward her, having made sure to not release her tail-hold until she was moving in the right direction. ?Heaven?s Charm!? Angewomon shouted, spreading her arms. SaberNekomon flew straight into the energy wave, and screamed as she was thrown back into the air. She hit the ground none too gracefully several yards away, and forced herself to her feet. And instantly charged for Angewomon again. ***** Escher Castle was a labyrinthine maze where spatial laws were vastly different than in the outside world. There were several who had become lost in it, and had spent years wandering its halls. Few found their way out. Most found death. Others still wandered, and would likely spend the remainder of their lives doing so. But none who came ever found what they had been seeking when they had entered. The most inaccessible room in the castle was rather bare. Its design was simple, four ninety-degree angles. There were no furnishings, and just enough torches that one would not be completely blind. At the far end was a pedestal with a small, black artifact on a stand with strange writing in a circle around the artifact. The object itself looked like two dragon skulls mounted on a red sphere. The sphere was surrounded by a black framework with an eye on either side as well as up front. Soon, the lord of the castle entered. For once, he was alone. Myotismon was usually surrounded by whatever minions he had not been displeased with or bored enough to kill as yet. But for this meeting, he brought no one with him. Placing his hand atop the artifact, he stared into its center eye. The eyes on the sides turned to look at him, and the writing glowed. Suddenly, the room around him changed. He was standing in a great temple, at the foot of a stairway. At the top of the stairway, far above, was a throne. On the throne, where the light was bright enough to see him but dim enough that no one could make out his features, sat a being. He remained silent, waiting for Myotismon to speak. Myotismon confidently looked up at the enthroned. ?Now do you see?? he gloated. ?She?s winning. Are you satisfied now, oh Ancient One?? he said, saying the creature?s title mockingly. ?Perhaps,? said the Ancient One. ?Your little experiment is working better than I had expected, it is true. But you are far from victory.? ?You see how she performs. Even an Ultimate cannot stand against her. The attack that easily dispatched Lady Devimon could not significantly harm SaberNekomon.? ?Now that she faces Angewomon, how do you know she will not simply kill her and to the Dark Area with our war against the Digidestined?? ?A rather interesting aspect of the program applied to her.? ?You know that such controls, once discovered, are easily broken.? ?Control? Give me some credit, I have much more imagination than that.? ?Then what...?? ?Just watch. This should impress even you, ?oh Ancient One.?? ?Very well. But be warned, Myotismon: I am no more forgiving to those who fail me than you are to those who fail you. See that it succeeds.? Myotismon nodded. ?It shall. All will be ready when the time comes for me to use my gate to allow you into this world once more.? He chose his words so as to remind the Ancient One who was truly at whose mercy. The Ancient One nodded, as Myotismon had just done. ?Very well. I am sure you will show yourself worthy of the power and life force that I provide you with.? The Ancient One left Myotismon with a similar warning, the warning that he could take back the life he had given him whenever he chose. Myotismon bowed politely, and touched the artifact again. A bright light flooded from it, and he felt a sharp stinging sensation in his hand, which wasn?t normal. Another not-so-subtle warning from the one who would be his master. The light faded, and he was in Escher Castle once more. Myotismon made a fist. ?Yes, I shall [i]show[/i] you all right, ?oh Ancient One,?? he growled to himself, walking away. ***** [i]Just how strong is she?[/i] Garurumon thought as she watched SaberNekomon charge at Angewomon. She had apparently been playing with him and Greymon, holding back so as to prolong her own amusement. It was times like this that he missed Izzy and his Digimon Analyzer. If they?d known the extent of her power, they?d know how to fight her. [i]I?m going to regret this.[/i] ?Garurumon digivolve to... WereGarurumon!? WereGarurumon hopped in front of SaberNekomon. ?Garuru Kick!? he shouted, bringing down a foot four times larger than SaberNekomon, energy glowing on his claws. ?Out of my way!? SaberNekomon shouted, flipping sideways to stand next to the foot that was still on the ground. A solid kick knocked it out of place, causing WereGarurumon to fall backwards. The energized foot slammed the ground, causing WereGarurumon to take most of the Garuru Kick?s force. SaberNekomon winced, knowing what that felt like. Just to make sure he got the message, she used his head as a springboard to launch herself at Angewomon again. ?Don?t worry, I?ll play with you soon enough,? she assured WereGarurumon as she turned her attention back to her nemesis. She was greeted with a rude reminder of the need to keep her mouth shut during battle. A thick cable wrapped around her waist, and the steel hand at its end grabbed her. ?Hey!? she shouted indignantly. MetalGreymon, who had digivolved again against his and Tai's better judgment, stamped over, reeling in his bionic arm as he approached. ?You people never learn, do you? Who are you working for? What do you have against Angewomon?? ?You?d think they?d know better than to send one Digimon alone,? Angewomon said. ?We?d better keep an eye out.? ?Right,? Tai agreed from the ground. ?I?ll see if I can call the others.? Tai walked back into the now-deserted corner store. MetalGreymon, WereGarurumon, and Angewomon stood over SaberNekomon. ?So, what do we do with her?? WereGarurumon said. ?Begging for mercy sounds good,? SaberNekomon said. ?For you, anyway,? she told MetalGreymon. ?You, however,? she said to WereGarurumon, winking, ?I?m sure I could think of something for...? ?Are you insane?!? WereGarurumon demanded. ?This isn?t some kind of game!? ?Of course it is,? SaberNekomon laughed. ?You guys take it all too seriously. And those humans of yours are even worse.? ?What do you want with me?? Angewomon said. ?I?ve never seen you before in my life. Did I do something to you in a previous evolution or something?? SaberNekomon snarled, her ?game? philosophy gone once more in the face of Angewomon. She said something inaudiable under her breath as she struggled to get her hands free, in hopes of getting them around Angewomon?s throat. ?...kill you...? she growled. ?Kill you and kill you and kill you [i]kill you kill you...[/i]? she repeated under her breath, her eyes wide and drool falling from her lips. Her normally-beautiful face was a mask of pure rage. She rambled and thrashed wildly for a few more seconds until an epiphany came to her: this wasn?t working. As much as she hated to, she stopped to think. Step one, of course, was to get out of MetalGreymon?s grip. After that, she had opponents to nullify. MetalGreymon would try to recapture her, so she had to make him the first target. Angewomon would... she fought down the surge of anger that the name brought... Angewomon would be the next to attack, from the air, as soon as she was far enough away from MetalGreymon for Angewomon to attack without fear of hitting him. Dodge that attack but strike at WereGarurumon, who?s probably going to try the same bogus move again. SaberNekomon giggled, both with anticipation and because she was glad to be so much smarter than they were. SaberNekomon forced herself to relax. She shut out the yapping humans and Digimon, who were still firing questions at her and speculations at each other, and put [i]her[/i] out of her mind. She realized she?d never actually concentrated before, and figured it might be interesting. [i]Come on, no different than squeezing under the bedroom door...[/i] She felt for where MetalGreymon?s grip was weakest, and began to maneuver herself free. Slowly, so MetalGreymon wouldn?t know at first, but she had to be ready to spring the moment he realized it so that he wouldn?t have time to tighten his grip. Slowly... slo-o-owly... now! She twisted her way free of the cable, and slipped out of the claw like soap squeezed through a wet fist. She landed atop the claw, but not to stay. ?Tigris Wave!? she aimed for the armored Ultimate?s very non-armored jaw, provoking a grunt of pain, even as she flipped away. ?Mega Claw!? MetalGreymon launched his steel hand. ?Make it easy for me, why doncha?? SaberNekomon laughed as she grabbed the cable the hand was attached to. ?For a second, I thought I might have to work for it!? She yanked the cable as hard as she could as she dropped to the ground, and flipped the titanic cyborg Digimon into the air. She made a big show of getting out of the way as MetalGreymon landed on his head. Angewomon zoomed at her, but she simply flipped over. ?Don?t worry, you?ll get yours soon enough.? She?d learned her lesson about carelessness. She?d finish Angewomon once her little helpers were out of the way. ?Wolf Claw!? WereGarurumon shouted, slashing at her. The claw left an energy trail behind it. [i]Well, it?s [u]almost[/u] the same attack,[/i] she thought, hating to admit having been slightly off in her predictions. She rolled under the attack and ran between WereGarurumon?s legs. When the wolf Digimon had halfway turned towards her again, she slashed deeply into his ankle and gave it a good kick, causing him to yelp and land rather ungracefully on his back. She saw MetalGreymon?s shadow fall, and launched herself into the air, feetfirst, and drove her right heel into the same spot on his jaw that she?d Tigris Waved before. SaberNekomon turned in midair to land on her feet even as the dinosaur toppled onto WereGarurumon. She leapt into the air again. ?Now, say adios.? Her claws began to glow as she aimed for MetalGreymon?s throat, but a strong pair of arms grabbed her. ?From behind,? she growled at Angewomon. ?Big surprise.? She kicked her legs upward, flipping to land on top of Angewomon. Taking her by the throat, she steered her to the ground headfirst. Angewomon landed with a satisfying thud, and SaberNekomon planted her foot in Angewomon?s back. ?Game over,? she announced. ?Wolf Claw!? WereGarurumon shouted, knocking SaberNekomon off of Angewomon. With his other hand, he pulled Angewomon out of MetalGreymon?s line of fire and leapt away. ?Giga Blaster!? MetalGreymon unleashed the two gigantic missiles at the relatively tiny SaberNekmon. ?Tigris Wave!? SaberNekomon slashed with both claws, sending twin energy arcs which detonated the missiles. MetalGreymon looked through the smoke to see... no one. After exactly three seconds of wondering just where his foe was, he felt a sledgehammer blow to the back of his head, throwing him onto his face. The loud clang of the blow still echoed through his head. SaberNekomon slashed MetalGreymon?s tail just because she could, and then leapt at WereGarurumon. WereGarurumon tried to bring his fist down on the infuriating cat woman, who simply caught his fist and pulled it forward, bringing him closer. Leaping, she landed a kick to his chest that left him feeling like he?d been hit by a Locomon, and he was sent flying backwards to the ground. From there, she leapt to stamp on MetalGreymon?s head, and bounced to do the same to WereGarurumon?s, getting a rythmic ?Oof!? ?Ugh!? from them. She giggled again, despite her growing annoyance at their ever-continuing interference. She hadn?t had this much fun in... she had [i]never[/i] had this much fun! She hopped down from WereGarurumon?s bruised skull just as he began to devolve back into Gabumon. As SaberNekmon turned away, MetalGreymon reverted down to Koromon. SaberNekomon didn?t have to turn to know that Angewomon was probably taking aim. She dropped and rolled to let any possible Celestial Arrows fly by. Sure enough, an explosion struck the spot where she?d just been standing. She leapt in the direction that the arrow had been fired from, and as expected, Angewomon was in her path. The angel Digimon fired two more arrows, but SaberNekomon managed to twist around them both. She reached Angewomon, knocking her bow out of her hand, tearing it off of the sleeve it had grown from. The arrow she was trying to ready dropped to the ground below. SaberNekomon grabbed Angewomon by the wing and held on tight, yanking off her helmet. She got a glimpse of Angewomon?s blue eyes. Her pupilless blue eyes. Angewomon?s flying instantly became more erratic. ?Hah! And I was wondering how you saw [i]with[/i] this thing!? SaberNekomon laughed hysterically. ?How i[i]ron[/i]ic!? On the syllable [i]ron,[/i] she struck the helmet against Angewomon?s head. Angewomon spiralled to the ground. SaberNekomon touched down next to her, where she was reaching frantically for her lost helmet. ?Keep on,? SaberNekomon taunted. ?It?s right [i]there![/i]? On [i]there,[/i] she kicked Angewomon in the back, causing her to roll over twice. SaberNekomon laughed. ?Heaven?s Charm!? Angewomon fired in the direction of the laughter, and the rainbow of energy sent a nova of pain through SaberNekomon?s body. SaberNekomon screamed, and dropped Angewomon?s helmet. ?Heaven?s...? SaberNekomon wasn?t waiting for the next attack. She forced herself forward, her fury drowning out the pain in an instant. Howling, she flung her foot under Angewomon and kicked her as if she were a soccer ball. In a burst of light, Angewomon reverted to Gatomon. The helmet and bow vanished as Gatomon landed on her back several yards away. SaberNekomon felt an itch that she would later come to realize was Koromon and Gabumon trying to use their attacks against her. Far too angry to compose a parting shot, SaberNekomon settled for leaping into the air and plunging toward Gatomon, her claws poised to tear the Champion to shreds. Her grinning mouth was stretched grotesquely wide as Gatomon became larger and larger between her outstretched claws in her red-clouded vision. ?No!? A familiar voice. Through her rage, it took SaberNekomon a moment to recognize it as Kari?s. Kari was now standing in front of Gatomon, her eyes shut tightly against what she knew was coming. Tears were streaming down her face. SaberNekomon?s eyes went wide as she saw Kari growing closer in the slow motion of crisis, her claws speeding toward the terrified girl. SaberNekomon gasped, and duplicating her exit from the Kamiya residence, she thought of an alley she?d passed by on the way to the store, and decided that that alley was where she was. And in a flicker of yellow light, she was there. With a roar, she kicked a nearby garbage can. It sailed out of the alley and clear across the street, stopping only when it slammed into the wall of a building. [i]Why?[/i] she screamed silently, trying to reason what had happened. [i]Again, you choose her over me. Why?[/i] Tears began to roll down her face. It took her a moment to realize what they were. As Miko, that had never happened to her. She heard a meowing, and looked to see a small kitten where the garbage can had been. Apparently, he had been ready to jump into the garbage can to rummage for food. With a sigh, SaberNekomon gathered the kitten into her arms, and sat down against a wall. The kitten rubbed his head against SaberNekomon, purring. ***** Hikari Kamiya realized that she was still alive. She gathered the courage to open her eyes, and saw that SaberNekomon was gone. Suddenly weak, she fell to the ground beside Gatomon. Gatomon walked over to her shakily, and Kari sat up, and hugged her partner tightly. ?Are you okay, Gatomon?? ?Don?t worry about me,? Gatomon said. ?You shouldn?t have had to do that. I?m so sorry...? ?It?s not your fault,? Kari assured her. Soon, Kari herself was embraced by Tai. Matt, Koromon, and Gabumon were immediately at her and Gatomons? sides as well. ?Kari, are you hurt are you all right what did she do to you I thought for a second...? Tai blurted all at once. ?We?re fine,? Kari said. ?She... didn?t want to hurt me.? ?What are you talking about?? Tai demanded. ?She almost cut you in half! I swear I?m going to kill that...? ?No, Tai,? Kari insisted. ?She stopped before she?d have hurt me. She could have killed me, but she stopped and... where is she, anyway?? ?She disappeared,? Matt said. ?Literally disappeared, with maybe a quarter inch to go. You sure you?re not hurt?? ?I?m sure. But why?d she stop? I know any of the Dark Masters would have given an arm to be where she was.? Kari scooped up Gatomon, and rose to her feet. ?Are Agumon and Gabumon all right?? [i]How does she do it?[/i] Tai wondered. [i]After all that, she?s still thinking of the Digimon, and even trying to figure out SaberNekomon. How?s she do it?[/i] ?Everybody?s fine, Kari. Look, I?ve got to call Izzy again and tell him we don?t need backup. Then we need to get over to his place so we can figure this out. I?d take you home, but we?ve got to see if Izzy can shed some light on this, and I?m not leaving you there alone ?til we get back.? ?Okay,? Kari mumbled, not really caring for all the attention. ?She?s after Gatomon anyway, so I ought to be there.? Tai led Kari into the store where it had all began. ?Back in a sec,? he told the others. ?She [i]was[/i] playing with us,? Gabumon confirmed his earlier idea. ?She had no problem beating us as Ultimates. It [i]is[/i] just a game to her.? ?She could have gotten out of my grip any time she wanted,? Koromon added. ?She just wanted to see if she could do it while ?playing fair.? The Four Guardians only know what she can really do.? ?And she?s seriously unstable,? Matt said, not bothering to ask who the Four Guardians were. ?She?d go from a kid in a candy store to a blind rage and back.? [i]And to think I actually thought she was cute,[/i] he added silently. ?We?ve got to figure what we?re going to do about her. But right now, we?d better get moving,? Gabumon said, motioning to the police, who were out of their cars and on their way, though cautiously. ?Looks like the officers have regained their nerve.? Matt, Agumon, and Gabumon ran into the store after Tai to warn him. Tai said a quick ?Gotta go, bye!? to Izzy before dropping the phone. Kari followed a step behind Tai, and the six made their exit through the rear door.

Also, with the part that Justimon represented gone, Ryo's Cyberdramon will no longer be psycho. Of course, with the Control Spires in the other dimension, he's stuck as Hopmon. And Millenniumon is stuck in limbo [i]and[/i] in the crystal, which I guess means he'll be MoonMillenniumon if he gets out of limbo before he gets out of the crystal, and either ZeedMillenniumon or plain Millenniumon if he breaks the crystal and [i]then[/i] limbo. With the Sovereigns out of power, the door's open, but Millie's gotta get out of the crystal first, which he's on his way to doing. Bastemon and Masahiko are cornered by a buncha Giromon at the moment. I think I'll take the other dimension, or at least the next part. Who's got the Fifth Sovereign line?

In the commercial for Forever Red, we distinctly hear Cole say "You're not going to bring back Serpentera!" And there's a scene of one of the Rangers taking on Shadowborg. Unfortunately, Shadowborg's voice isn't the same. He sounded so cool in Beetleborgs. Argh, it's not like Bob Papenbrook's that hard to get ahold of. (Or at least, I assume not, because he's on every third or so episode as monsters of the day.) Then again, since they probably [i]don't[/i] want it to be the same character, they probably made sure he sounded nothing like his Beetleborgs counterpart. Wonder if he'll still have that Deep Freeze weapon. But mainly, I wonder who the villain will be. There's no way Mandilok knows about a planetwrecking spaceship hidden on the dark side of the moon.

Rogue Shadows would have a field day with the name change feature. At other boards, he changes his name about once a month or so. :p

I haven't heard anything from what looks like a reliable source. All we know is that all the Red Rangers are there, as well as Bulk and Skull, as well as Shadow Borg and a couple of Astral Borgs. Or at least the costumes. Rumor has it the Machine Empire is involved. (But the show had it that the Machines were turned into sand, so I doubt the validity of that.) Of course, the info might be out there, but I'm not looking for it. Like I said, more fun when you don't know what's going to happen next. But, there are a few sites that might have the info, like Sentai Sanctorum. Or Grnrngr might know. Just do a Google search for them.

I'm sure it's in the FAQ, but the FAQ isn't working. For me, anyway. So what do the envelope icons by topics mean?

No, don't. Please. It'd be kinda nice to be able to discuss without being afraid of having the whole thing ruined for you. It's why, though I love discussions like this, you'll never see me on an actual Power Rangers board. We'll learn about Animus soon enough, it's called "watching the show," which is more fun when you [i]don't[/i] know what's going to happen. Let's remember why 'spoilers' are so named. Please, if you do know, just PM him.

Yeah, even [i]Power Rangers: Time Force[/i] did Matrix moves.

[i]The Matrix[/i] was a great movie. A sequel will have the same great music, the same great special effects, and will be so cheesy that Kraft themselves couldn't outdo them. There's virtually no chance of it being any good. [i]The Lost World, Tremors 2, Tremors 3, The Arrival 2, Species 2, The Rage: Carrie 2...[/i] The list goes on. It's a very rare sequel that isn't a complete waste of perfectly good film. I'm not looking forward to it even slightly, but I'll probably watch it. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised. But the track record of sequels say that in all likelihood, I won't be.

I haven't watched the show in quite some time. What's happened lately? Just the important turning points and stuff.

AN: I've never been to Odaiba, and all I know of Japan comes from World Book Encyclopedia and TV shows that originate in Japan. (Primarily Digimon and the Japanese footage used in Power Rangers.) So, if Odaiba's not really like this at 5 PM, chalk it up to AU-ness or something. Speaking of PR, if anybody knows why the Galaxy Rangers always run in that stupid pose, I?ve gotta know. [u]Ch 2: Exploration[/u] SaberNekomon wandered the streets of Odaiba. This was nothing like the world she had known. Before, her entire universe had been the Kamiyas' apartment and the surrounding areas, and she'd rarely seen the outside world. But once she'd been transformed, she'd had an epiphany. It had dawned on her that there was more to the world than that. She'd seen a little of it on occasion, but hadn't had the mind to comprehend it. Now, she had decided to see the outside world as the humans experienced it. She walked on two legs and felt the breeze through her hair, watched as drivers cursed at each other as they sped through the city at breakneck pace. People came in and out of buildings, all in a hurry to go somewhere and do something, running into each other, muttering apologies or insults as they disentangled and scurried on their way. [i]They should learn to sit back, relax, go with the flow,[/i] SaberNekomon decided. [i]I never imagined a world like this.[/i] She also noticed that she was getting more attention. When she had been Miko, people would not have given her a second glance, if even a first. She was just "The Kamiyas' cat." Now, they saw her as being worth as much as any other human. Which didn't appear to be much when they were in?mouse-scurry mode' like this. But instead of passing her by without even knowing, they actually paused to let her past them, or said 'excuse me' or 'watch it, lady' when she almost ran into them. Cool! And it was a rare male eye that didn?t turn her way for at least a second or two. The humans were piling into their cars, which SaberNekomon now saw as more than just something to be avoided when it speeds down the street. She still felt a little trepidation at seeing this many of them moving at once. [i]You're stronger than they are, Miko,[/i] she reminded herself. She noted the changes to herself, as well. The more she walked, the more she noticed. She was thinking in terms that she'd never imagined before her transformation. She knew the [i]concept[/i] of a car, had a mental image of the object, but now, that image was connected with the word [i]car.[/i] All objects and concepts were now attached to such words in her mind, and she knew she'd have no trouble talking to the humans. She felt a tug on her tail, and turned to see a small girl about Kari's age, with large eyeglasses and hair that was strangely purple. The girl and her father had come from a store on a corner. "Wow, that's a great costume!" the girl said. "It looks real!" "Don't bother the lady," the girl's father said, pulling her hand away from SaberNekomon's tail. "I'm sure she's in a hurry." "Yeah, but look, the ears even move!" the girl said, pointing, as her father dragged her away. She was jumping up and down now. "Can you buy me one, please, Daddy, please! I'll keep my room clean, I won't take things apart anymore, [i]please!"[/i] A mildly amused SaberNekomon turned her attention to the store the two had come from, and walked inside. ***** "So, Ayaka, what are you doing Friday night?" Taichi Kamiya asked a short, redheaded girl with pigtails as they both approached the checkout counter. "With you?" Ayaka sniffed rudely. "Nothing." She stalked past Tai and went to the counter to pay for her items. "Smooth as always, Tai," Yamato Ishida laughed as Tai walked back to the fountain drinks. "Even TK can do better than that." "Oh, yeah? I'd like to see you try, blondie." "Watch and learn," Matt said slyly. He put on his winning smile and walked up to Ayaka. Tai couldn't hear what Matt was saying, but he did hear the slap even at that distance. Tai cracked up as a defeated Matt walked away from the checkout line. "Yeah, go ahead, laugh it up," Matt groused. "I intend to." "We'd better get back in a hurry, though. I don't think Agumon and Gabumon will wait out back forever." "Oh, they won't mind," Tai said. "After saving the world a few times, they're probably signing autographs or something." Soon, in stepped a woman with a body worthy of any model. She stood a good deal taller than Tai and Matt, and seemed to be on her way to or from a costume party, with cat ears, a tail, and a rather revealing tiger-striped outfit. "Whoa," Tai and Matt said together, their mouths nearly hanging open. The woman looked at Tai thoughtfully, smiled about something only she knew, and then started looking around the store. Matt was staring at Tai in disbelief. "What can I say?" Tai laughed. "When you got it, you got it." After the woman had taken up an armload of seemingly random items, including several packages of cat treats and a few cans of Fancy Feast, she walked up to the checkout counter. The boys' eyes were glued to her the entire time. Even the two policemen who were guarding the store stole the occasional glance at her. [i]If only you knew,[/i] the woman across the room thought, looking at Tai once more and smiling, causing her former owner to turn pink. [i]If only you knew.[/i] She turned back to the counter. The bored-looking woman behind the counter rang up the items, and told her the price. SaberNekomon suddenly realized that she had no money, and cursed herself for forgetting that she'd need it. [i]Oh, well, it's not like they can stop me. It might be fun to see what they do.[/i] SaberNekomon turned to run back out of the store, slowly so the humans might think they had a chance of catching her. But there was no need for pursuit: The two policemen stepped in front if her. "I'm afraid you can't do that, ma'am," said one. SaberNekomon giggled. This would be so much [i]fun![/i] She dropped the armful of items and glared at the officers, pouting. As one policeman approached, SaberNekomon allowed her claws to slide out. With a slash that was almost too fast to see, she tore claw marks in the officer's shirt, but didn't touch the officer himself. An effortless shove sent the shocked man toppling into the stand of greeting cards. The other took out his club, and SaberNekomon split it in half with her claws even as she kicked out, sending this officer flying into a display. SaberNekomon flipped, gently and effortlessly landing atop a shelf, and posed as if for an audience. "I'm afraid I can," she said. Another flip placed her in front of the counter, where she reached for the cash register so as to take care of the money situation. The cashier wasn't fast enough in getting away from it, so SaberNekomon tossed her to the floor. "That's no costume. I'll get Agumon and Gabumon," Tai said to Matt. "Stay here and... I don't know, something. But we can't let her get away without knowing how she got to the real world and what she's doing here." "Hey, wait..." Matt said as Tai ran out through the front door. "Wonderful." ***** SaberNekomon finished helping herself to the money in the cash register, stopped to pick up the Fancy Feast but left most of the items behind. [i]Ah, I don't need that stuff.[/i] A blonde-haired boy started to say something to her, but thought better of it. She shoved him aside for good measure, and made her exit. There, she saw several police cars collected in front of the store. [i]Guess someone called them when I wasn't looking. I can't be this sloppy against the Digidestined,[/i] she mused. She noted that a news helicopter had arrived. Hopefully, the Digidestined would see the broadcast and come a-running. Where were they, anyway? A real opponent would be far more entertaining. Three officers came towards her, and she spent exactly four seconds tossing them back to the line of cars. [i]These humans are so weak,[/i] SaberNekomon thought. This was going to get rather dull rather quickly. "Tigris Wave!" she shouted, sending an arc of energy their way. The car it struck exploded in flame, and the policemen standing around it ran to avoid the flying debris. SaberNekomon briefly wondered if that had been one of the empty cars or if someone had been in it. She hadn't thought to check beforehand. [i]Oh, well,[/i] she thought, mentally shrugging as she flipped onto the hood of one of the cars, reached inside, and tossed the driver out, all before the other policemen even had their guns drawn. [i]Let's see what one of these can do.[/i] She slipped inside, and tried to see if her newfound awareness included how to operate the vehicle. She started to drive forward, but an orange, clawed foot struck the ground in front of her. "You! Pull over!" came a growling voice. SaberNekomon looked out the window to see a dinosaur in front of her and a giant wolf behind her. The Digidestined had finally seen fit to make an appearance. [i]Hee hee! Maybe this'll be fun after all![/i] She shoved the car door off of its hinges and stepped out. "Who are you?" the wolf asked. "Why are you here?" SaberNekomon shrugged. "You know, see the sights, have some fun, trash the Digidestined, take my revenge, that sorta thing. You can call me SaberNekomon!" She giggled as she backflipped to land next to Greymon. Springing into the air faster than the dinosaur Digimon could react, she jumped as high as his chest and kicked him over, hard. "Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted, sending a carefully-aimed blast SaberNekomon's way. SaberNekomon leapt clear over the blast, and landed atop the car of a terrified policeman. "Tigris Wave!" The energy arc plowed through the air and into Garurumon, sending him flying. Greymon bounded forward. "So, you wanna play too?" SaberNekomon laughed. "This is great!" She jumped from the roof of the car and rolled forward, winding up beneath Greymon. A sweeping kick put him on his back, and with an easy hop, she landed on his head. Greymon took a swing, only to hit himself in the face when SaberNekomon hopped away. "I thought the infamous Digidestined were supposed to be tough. Come on already!" She was still all smiles, and her amusement wasn't the usual evil laughter and taunting, it was genuine. Now that SaberNekomon was standing alone, the police had a clear shot. They crouched behind their cars took aim, and opened fire. Most of the bullets struck the unimpressed SaberNekomon, who turned around, looking mildly annoyed. "Tigris Wave," she said, casually tossing the arc at them. It expanded to strike across the hoods of the cars, tearing them apart. The police leapt backward, and she took aim for the officers themselves, but Greymon launched a Nova Blast from behind. SaberNekomon heard it coming, flipped over it, and Tigris Waved it out of existence even as she spun through the air. She touched down behind Greymon and kicked him forward onto his belly. Garurumon pounced, but SaberNekomon jumped straight up, evading his claws and putting herself in perfect jaw-kicking position. Her kick caused Garurumon to flip completely over. SaberNekomon giggled with childlike glee at the sight. The police officers were completely forgotten, and had decided that that was for the best. They held their fire and watched from the safest distance they could maintain without feeling like cowards. Garurumon and Greymon attacked together, charging at SaberNekomon. She waited as two sets of huge claws descended on her, and then leapt forward, catching Greymon's leg and pulling him into Garurumon, causing them to go down in a heap. "Get up already," she said impatiently. "Come on!" Greymon and Garurumon stood to their feet as their foe waited, impatiently tapping her foot. "Howling Blaster!" Garurumon yelled as he charged her. SaberNekomon leapt over it and launched at him, claws outstretched... ...and Greymon deftly reached out to grab her by the tail and slam her to the ground, facefirst, and then place his foot on her back. "Now, you're going to tell us who sent you, and what's going on." "Or you'll make quite a good snack!" Garurumon threatened. "Hey, that was a pretty good move," SaberNekomon said. "You [i]have[/i] been doing this a while. Watch this! Tigris Wave!" she shouted, jabbing her hands into the ground. There was an explosion, and Greymon was thrown off balance. SaberNekomon winced. [i]Okay, [u]that[/u] hurt,[/i] she thought, having taken most of the force herself. But she wasn't going to let her opponents know it. She leapt up to push Greymon's foot, knocking him over for the third time in as many minutes. She sidestepped the Howling Blaster she knew was coming, flipped, and flipped onto Garurumon's back. "You know, you're kinda cute. I almost hate to have to do this. But you two aren't that much fun anyway. May as well get it over with." Garurumon was thrashing to try to dislodge SaberNekomon, but she wouldn't budge. Greymon reached down to try to pull her off. "Tigris Wave!" she shouted, taking one hand off of Garurumon to slash the air in Greymon's direction. The energy arc exploded against him, causing him to drop like a puppet whose strings were cut. He breathed raggedly as he began to flicker, and finally devolved into Agumon, whom Tai ran to scoop up. "Later, gator. And now..." She poised a claw over the back of Garurumon's neck. "Tigris..." "No!" Matt screamed. "Celestial Arrow!" The arrow sent SaberNekomon flying off of Garurumon. She rolled end over end before coming to a stop. "Okay, [i]that[/i] was mean," SaberNekomon muttered, standing to her feet to look at her newest adversary. She saw the angel Digimon, and with her, Kari, who ran to stand next to Tai and Matt. SaberNekomon laughed with anticipation. Now Kari would get to see her in action. But then, she noticed something about the angel that was approaching her, and her jovial mood vanished in an instant. Angewomon's appearance may have been unfamiliar, but scents didn't lie. It was... [i]her. "YOU!"[/i] she hissed, leaping at Angewomon, claws first.

Well, here's the promo: ***** [i]A time bomb is ticking.[/i] [What looks like a miniaturized version of one of those little Suliban ball-ships is shown stuck to the saucer section with two guys in spacesuits working on it.] Reed: "It's too dangerous." Archer in spacesuit: "I'm not about to leave one of my crew behind." [i]The enemy lies in wait.[/i] [Green ship of some kind cloaks itself.] Trip: "We've got a man trapped out there." [i]But the danger has just begun.[/i] [Quick images: People on bridge getting thrown around. Explosions inside ship. What looks like engineering is totally trashed. Explosion on hull of ship.] Trip: "Captain, what's going on?" [Two people in space suits being flung away from ship.] Archer's voice (out of context) : "Romulans?" [i]All new Enterprise, next wednesday 8/7 central on UPN.[/i] ***** Didn't make sense to me, but it looks like it oughta be good.

I always thought Bogeymon and Phelesmon were freaky, but whoever said evolution had to make sense? [Points at Candlemon to Wizardmon, Goblimon to Fugamon, and Pagumon to Raremon] As for writing more, the rule is, whoever wants to add something can. It's a free board. I for one would like to see more.

I wonder how Ai and Mako can run to him if he's been thrown off of the edge of the castle, but that's the only problem. Now, if only I can stop hearing Devimon's lines in Deviot's voice... >_< I think there's only 1.5 million loose plot threads. ;)

Yeah, it's pretty bad. Break Mode is when he makes some motion in the air to create a field of green light that traps the monster. Then he places Animal Crystals on it and launches them at the monster like pool balls. To call the Zords, he does the same thing, only pointing upwards. And you know when Zen-Aku would call his Zords and the crystals would bounce off of each other? Now they do the same bouncing scene, only playing the sound of pool balls bouncing off of each other. Then there's Saber Mode. But a saber is supposed to be sharp, and the cue isn't. So I'm supposed to take it seriously when that thin little wand bounces off of the monster, causing the monster to holler in pain and dramatically flop over. I swear, it's like a WWF match. Blaster Mode is when it re-forms into a gun. But the way he holds it is so wrong that you can't even take [i]that[/i] seriously.