Devidramon

It's not about the battle, it's about what happens before. Each monster has a new gimmick, so that the only repetitive part is the battle at the end. It bugs me that all fights go the same way, but the first 25 minutes of each ep is what you're there for. Billy and Kimberly switch bodies, or Zack and Billy see the other rangers as Putty Patrollers because of Zedd's spell, or the monster is infecting the people in the city with some disease and they've got to survive long enough to actually be around for the zord fight. Or maybe the zords have been hijacked, Rita and Mondo are attacking at the same time, [i]plus[/i] the Aquatians are back. The fights are formulaic, but most episodes offer something different than the one before. Most of the monsters are memorable, and Rita always gave them such cool names. The Slippery Shark, the Terror Toad, the Fierce Fighting Flea, the Most Menacing Minotaur... just seeing what the monster would look like, and what the bad guys' preemptive strike would be (The Rangers turned into punks for the Terror Toad, the Flea gave everybody a terrible itch... I forgot what Minotaur did, but it was the first time we saw the Megablaster. It was a cool ep.) I'm still sad that Thuy Trang died last year. She played Trini Kwan, the original Yellow Ranger. She was so beautiful, and I loved the way she talked. And man, when she let her hair down... whoa. Trang's the first person on TV I was ever really obsessed with. She also played Kali in one of the Crow movies. I hadn't followed up on the PR much, so I just found out that Trang had died in a car wreck sometime in September. Reading about it felt like a punch in the stomach. They say that, had she been wearing her seatbelt, there's a good chance she'd still be alive. [i]Always[/i] buckle up, seriously.

The era with Rita and Zedd together had the best episodes. I also loved Lord Zedd's spaceship. If anybody hasn't seen it, it looks like a solid iron version of Majiramon and it can level a planet with a single shot, but guzzles fuel like nothing else. He hides it on the dark side of the moon. So the [i]Serpentera[/i] chases the Rangers from planet to planet, blowing the crust right off of one (Strange how distant alien worlds use the same types of cars we do. :p) and when the Rangers get back, it's finally headed for Earth. They trash the Monster of the Week, get the power transferred to the three new rangers.... just in time for Zedd's unstoppable superweapon to touch down. The thing is so huge that, if we scale it down so that [i]Serpentera[/i] is the size of Majiramon, then the tallest building comes up to Suzie's ankle, and if she's not careful, she might step on it. And then Zedd gets ready to throw down and there's nothing the Rangers can do about it. Zedd pushes the button, the weapon draws power... and shuts down, along with everything else. Out of power. Goldar barely manages to transfer power to the engines... just enough to get home. Now [i]that[/i] was an episode. Say, remember Ninjor? This big warrior with the little high-pitched voice? He's hilarious. He either reminds me of Tentomon or Hawkmon. Say, any of you folks who keep up with VAs know who else Kurt Strauss has played? Same for Oliver Page, aka Klank? Speaking of PR actors, Vaughn Armstrong, aka Admiral Forrest, the admiral in [i]Enterprise,[/i] was once on Power Rangers. I didn't see the episode, but he's listed as having played Agent something. (Don't remember his name. I'm pathetic. But it was a human name and his title was Agent, so he's probably some CIA type.)

The acting is only really bad in Wild Force. In fact, [i]everything[/i] is really bad in Wild Force. But Morphin, Zeo, Space, and Time Force were great.

He's trying to take it because he knows it will annoy Kari. The usual brother/sister thing. And that light green text hovers somewhere between "Almost impossible to read" and "[i]entirely[/i] impossible to read." For the love of the Goddramon, change it!

Gazimon didn't digivolve, he whistled, and Coyotemon "emerged from the darkness." Literally, out of nowhere, as Sage and Cera said. Keep in mind it's a demon Digimon convention here. How did Coyotemon get there? How is he in whistling range? Where did he come from? Also, he vaporized FlaWizarmon, who was once Wizardmon. Not too admirable of him. And since FlaWizarmon's also ArcaDaemon, then, if this ArcaDaemon's like the one in V-Tamer, then to be able to do that, Coyotemon must easily be as strong as Gallantmon Crimson Mode, if not even stronger. So, if Cera agrees, we should find a way of undoing that bit. And Masterdramon, really, we're not trying to beat you down or anything. Nobody's got anything against you. It's just that things like this bring the rules into question, and we've got to figure out how it's going to be from here out. The same thing would happen if my Lycanthromon were to pop in from the ether to save the day (or more likely, knowing me and my love of keeping the characters in trouble, if my SkullMagnadramon were to pop in to ruin it.) And Gemini Mode probably sits better with most people because Beelzemon in a different mode is still Beelzemon, and because it's already ingrained into the story. If he'd asked beforehand, we'd probably be having the same discussion. (Personally, the way I'd have done it was to make biomerging necessary due to his run-in with the Flying Panels of Doom, and when he's bio'ed with one kid, he's normal mode and has Behemoth, but when it's both, he's Blast Mode.) Anyway, Masterdramon, I hope you don't feel like we're bashing you or anything. That's not how it's intended.

Calumon should digivolve into a Lucemon. That's what half the fandom thinks his evo is anyway. And Lucemon's so powerful he doesn't even need forms after that. And Impmon doesn't need a Champion and an Ultimate form. Besides, there are already two more forms that can only be fanmade: Whatever form he's in now, biomerged with just Ai, and whatever his form will be when biomerged with just Mako. And when you can digivolve into one of five possible Mega forms, what would possess you to digivolve into a mere Champion? Something would have to happen to him to make him Champion-capable, since we know from the show that it's normal for him to go straight to mega. But, Cera started this project, so it's her call.

I always thought it was sort of an unwritten rule that we weren't supposed to do that. If we allow fanmades, then eventually, the field will be cluttered with Dogmons, Catmons, and Bunnymons of every shape and size, thus severely detracting from the realism (series-ism, whatever.) No offense, but I think we should stick with existing Digimon.

What happened to your hand, anyway? I know it's OT, but I can't think of anything to write right now. (In fact, the last part was something I sorta threw together so the five questions thing wouldn't be too OT.) And I don't mean to bug you about the petrifier thing, but if I don't bring it up, it'll bother me literally for days. I just [i]have[/i] to say it: Kokatorimon's attack petrifies things, and anything that petrifies is a petrifier. Petra Fire's a CC blunder a la Hugelmon, Peyusumon, etc. Say, what all do you need to recover from the crashing? I'll do what I can. I'm still looking for pictures. And where's this story of yours and Cera's?

A few more questions: (1) Who's still unaccounted for? Anybody? (2) Are we calling the red Sinduramon "RedSinduramon" now? Until now, he's just been a Sinduramon, only red, as opposed to a completely different species of Digimon. (3) Petra Fire is supposed to be Petrifier. (Okay, not a question. :p) (4) What's going to happen with ArcaDaemon? I mean, the guy can take on Megas in his In-Training form. A pastry will last longer against Guilmon then the whole lot of Tamers would last against ArcaDaemon. (5) And with the Wavemakers versus the Reeflords, how do the Tamers know the Reeflords are the bad guys? How do they know which side, if any, is right? The battle sounds like just another territorial dispute to me. And I'm sure the Wavemakers have a long list of grievances against the Reeflords, but the reverse is probably also true. That's how it is in war. ===== Pharaohmon stood before the crystal that was the window to the limbo in which Millenniumon was imprisoned, all of his attention focused on not quaking in terror. Millenniumon liked his lieutenants to appear brave and strong, even when dealing with him. He demanded obedience and respect, but he felt that if they quaked in their boots before him, then they'd also quake before a powerful enemy. Unfortunately, he had a nasty habit of trapping those who displeased him in crystals, in which they were frozen in time, knowing and experiencing nothing. The idea generally evoked much quaking in one's boots. So Millenniumon was quite often displeased. "L-lord M-m-millenniumon... uh... sir..." "Just Millenniumon," the imposing figure depicted in the crystal corrected him. "I don't care for titles." "Yes, sir... I mean yes. I-I have come to beg your... f-forgiveness..." "[i]Never[/i] beg, Pharaohmon. I will forgive failure before I will forgive weakness. I released you from limbo because I thought you were a warrior, with the fortitude necessary to restore me to power, and become my second in command once I am freed. Do nothing that will convince me otherwise." Pharaohmon nodded respectfully, not trusting himself to speak without his voice wavering. "You are still useful to me for now," Millenniumon continued. "Remain where you are and await my instructions." Pharaohmon nodded again. The communication crystal went dark. Pharaohmon nearly sank to his knees. ***** [i]Still very effective, though none too brave,[/i] Millenniumon thought. [i]Unfortunately, the truly fearless are also stupid. As I once was.[/i] He had figured that his powers made him invincible. He only had his own recklessness to blame for his long imprisonment. He had thought he could take on the Sovereigns, but he had rushed in without a real plan. It was a mistake that had cost him dearly, one that he would never make again. Working behind the scenes was more effective. He had recruited Pharaohmon, whom Baihumon had imprisoned, and whose goals were similar to his own. He had promised to make Pharaohmon powerful if he followed Millenniumon's plan. Though he didn't have the strength to send himself back to the digital world, he was able to transmit Pharaohmon. But, he kept a tie to him, a tether of sorts, that allowed him to watch Pharaohmon's actions, and, if necessary, pull him right back into limbo... or, worse yet, into one of his extra-temporal crystals. They were his favorite punishment. When he used them, all who remained got the message immediately. In the time since he had learned to make them, he had had no more than three occasions that required their use. And everyone ever to work for him felt that they were no more than one false step, one wrong move, one wrong [i]word,[/i] away from spending eternity in one. Little did Pharaohmon know that he had not actually failed. One more Sovereign was out of the way. They were as impossible to kill as he himself was, but where there had been the Guardian of the West, there was now a YukimiBotamon who wasn't up to guarding anything. Soon, with them out of the way, he would be free. And while killing the Sovereigns was nearly if not entirely impossible, if they were no longer the Sovereigns, there would still be no one to maintain the seal that was keeping him locked away. There was nothing 'sovereign' about a Mikemon and a YukimiBotamon. From working behind the scenes, he was closer to achieving his goal than ever. And he could always reclaim the Mammalian Masters once he was free. They may have returned to Baihumon, but Baihumon was gone, and "Snowie" was in his place. All he had to do was make a few promises, and they'd belong to him, and there'd be nothing that a YukimiBotamon could do about it. The remaining Sovereigns had assigned more Tamers, but there wasn't much that a few more humans and a Champion or two could do to stop his plans. Zhuqiaomon and Ebonwumon didn't even know that it was he who was the cause of part of their problems. [i]So, who shall I go after next? The bush or the bird?[/i]

...[i]whirrr[/i][B]THUD[/B][i]whirrr[/i][B]THUD[/B][i]whirrr[/i][B]THUD[/B]... Travelling with HighAndromon had its disadvantages. Being more than forty times stronger than Gardromon also made him forty times louder. Engines hummed, hydraulics whirred, and with every step, there was the clanking together of the various metal plates he was constructed of. ...[i]whirrr[/i][B]THUD[/B][i]whirrr[/i][B]THUD[/B][i]whirrr[/i][B]THUD[/B]... ?Do you have to sound like a locomotive?? Kazu complained. ?If there?s any evil Digimon out here, they can hear you from a three-day walk away. We are so gonna get pounded by...? ?By what?? Kenta asked. ?With all this firepower on our side, the noise is just a warning. They?ll go running before we get within miles of them.? ?Oh, sure,? Kazu said. ?Tempt fate, why don?cha? Just for that, watch about twenty VenomMyotismon come charging out of the...? ?[i]Now[/i] who?s tempting fate? Let?s just figure out what we?re doing, and maybe find MarineAngemon. What [i]are[/i] we doing, anyway?? Majiramon spoke. Since he was far too large to walk through the trees without knocking them over, he hovered above the ground and occasionally lowered his head to speak. ?Long-term? Bring all the different civilizations together in order to begin reconstruction. Of course, we?ve got to get them from ripping each other?s throats out over food, territory, or whatever else they can think of to fight over. Short-term, we try to reassemble the teams. All the Devas and everyone who fought D-Reaper.? ?Even shorter term, we get back to the village. They?ll be wondering where we are. We?ve got to let them know we?re all okay, and that we?re already looking for Lopmon,? Zilla said. ?And before that,? Vajramon said, ?we should get your companion some medical attention.? ?I don?t know,? Zilla said loudly. ?Yoshi could use the down-time to think.? ?This self receives edge this soon,? Yoshi mumbled from Majiramon?s back. As he was unable to walk, the others had secured him to Majiramon?s back with vines to transport him. He was slowly recovering, but some of the Jamming Hertz?s effects were still felt. Just as, when he tried to move an arm or leg, the signal was altered, corrupted, or otherwise mixed up between his brain and said arm or leg, causing his attempts at movement to move the wrong limb in the wrong direction, when he tried to talk, his attempts at speech rarely ever produced the words he intended. At best, he produced words that, taken individually, meant the same as the word he was trying for, but, when put together, made virtually no sense. ?He says ?I get the point already,?? Zilla translated. ?They would have attacked whether he, or anyone else, wanted a fight or not,? Vajramon said. ?He was right to prepare for combat.? ?Perhaps. But he has a habit of biting off more than he can chew. I worry about him.? HighAndromon looked up quickly at Zilla?s comment about biting off more than he could chew. Memories of taking on Orochimon and a few of the worse ADRs came to mind. ***** ?We?re almost here,? Zilla said. ?We should be meeting our lookouts any moment now.? ?It?s about time,? Kazu and Kenta muttered together. They still tended to say the same thing at the same time when frustrated. Ryo said nothing. The walk hadn?t bothered him much. After having chased Cyberdramon from one battle to the next, as he?d spent most of his original stay in the Digital World doing, a walk like that was nothing. ?Hopefully, this keeps us out of trouble for a while,? Hopmon said. ?Not many potential attackers waiting to drain the life out of us or something.? ?I?m sorry about that, Hopmon,? Alice said genuinely. ?You don?t know what the hunger is like. It takes over, and I can?t resist. Dobermon and I shared a kind of symbiosis. My energy sustained him, while his sustained me. Now that he?s...? she swallowed hard, ?...gone, it?s like I?m starving, and will do whatever I can to replenish my energy. I?ve become a cannibal. At times like this I hate myself for what I do, and would give anything to never have to again. I?ve said to myself that I?d just let myself die rather than kill again. But when the hunger takes over, all that goes away. I?m the killer again, and I even enjoy luring in victims at the time.? ?I understand,? Hopmon said. ?You... what? You do?? ?In most of my forms, I?m pretty normal. Mentally, I?m just as I am now. But that was before me and Ryo tangled with a synthetic Digimon called Millenniumon. We won... barely, and I absorbed some of his data. Some, but not all. It allowed me to digivolve into Cyberdramon for the first time. And I turned into a monster that makes even Millenniumon seem tame. He at least has a method to his madness. All I did was fight and kill. Always trying to find my true enemy. I searched for him, or her, or it, by attacking whoever was in my path. If killing them was too easy, then obviously that?s not who I?d been looking for. Sometimes the opposing Digimon was hostile... sometimes they just had the bad luck to be in my way. Ryo sometimes had to use an energy rope to restrain me when I got especially violent. Sometimes it worked... sometimes it didn?t. One time... once I almost killed him. It?s like I?m a rabid animal. I don?t think, I don?t reason... I just kill. A few times that I?ve been able to devolve, I felt awful about what I?d done as Cyberdramon. I tell myself I won?t let it happen again, but I can?t stop it. When I?m Cyberdramon again, the rage is back. I can?t think about fighting it because I can?t think, period. The enemies we?ve faced... at least they had reasons for what they did. I just killed because ?I?m Cyberdramon and that?s what I do.?? Alice placed a comforting hand on Hopmon?s fin. ?Maybe the Sovereigns can help us both once this is all over.? ?I hope so.? Zilla called for everyone to stop, and Alice and Hopmon looked ahead. There were two twin cat Digimon in front of Zilla, one white, one black. Ryo raised his Digivice, but Kenta stopped him. ?I almost never get to do it.? Reading from his own digivice, he said, ?They?re Gatomon and BlackGatomon. Vaccine and Virus, respectively. Other than that, their stats are pretty much the same. Champion beast Digimon whose Lightning Paw is said to be the fastest attack in the Digital World.? ?Difference is, I?m cuter,? the two cat Digimon said together, grinning toothily. Gatomon turned to Zilla. ?They?re all with you?? ?That?s right,? the elder DarkTyrannomon answered. ?Including...? he pointed skyward. The two feline Digimon looked up to see the large dragon circling above, completely silent despite his size. The cats gasped. ?Where?s Yoshi?? BlackGatomon asked after tearing her eyes away from Majiramon. ?Wasn?t he with you?? ?Right now, he?s up there, recovering from an attack by the Hive.? He gestured to Majiramon. ?Hey, Yoshi, you okay?? BlackGatomon shouted up. ?Not exist preferable!? Yoshi yelled back. ?Never been better,? Zilla translated as Gatomon and BlackGatomon raised their right eyebrows at once. ?Searchmon,? he explained. ?Their Jamming Hertz does interesting things to a Digimon?s data pathways. At least he?s talking now.? Gatomon nodded, and continued looking over the group. She finally spotted Alice. ?You?re back?? she said. ?I haven?t seen you since the D-Reaper incident. Where?s Dobermon?? Alice looked down. ?He?s... gone.? ?Oh, I?m so sorry,? Gatomon said. ?You poor thing... wait, how can you still be alive?? ?I?d... rather not discuss it.? ?I understand,? she said, though she didn?t. BlackGatomon smiled. ?I can think of someone who might be able to cheer you up,? she said. ?Hey! Over here!? A voice called from elsewhere in the woods. ?What is it?? At the sound of the voice, Alice?s mouth dropped open. ?Is it really... ?? The twin cat Digimon nodded as one. Soon, a boy walked into view. He was short, about Kenta?s height, and as pale as Alice, and sported twelve white wings, even two small ones where his ears should have been. When he saw Alice, he smiled brightly. ?I was wondering if you?d ever return,? he said in a calm, soothing voice that echoed slightly. Alice gasped. ?I can?t believe it?s you!? she said, running to throw her arms around him, and then leaning down to kiss him on the lips. ?I was worried that D-Reaper would get you while I was away.? ?No such luck,? the boy laughed. Ryo, Kazu, and Kenta, Hopmon, and HighAndromon stood in shock, witnessing Alice?s very un-Alice-ish behavior. They had never seen her smile before, and had never imagined her showing affection. ?So you two... know each other?? HighAndromon finally said. ?No, doofus, you think?? Kazu said. ?Oh, yeah,? he added, remembering to check his digivice. ?Let?s see. Lucemon, a Rookie angel Digimon. But these power levels look more like an Ultimate?s. This guy could do some serious damage if it came down to it. His attacks are Grand Cross and Divine Feat. Whatever that means.? ?I?m sure he?ll be happy to escort you all to the Village. Right?? Gatomon said. Lucemon nodded slowly, not taking his eyes away from Alice. ?Thought you might not object,? BlackGatomon teased. ?Come on, Gatomon, let?s keep patrolling.? ?Do we have to?? her Vaccine sister mock-whined. ?Come on. Just another half-hour and we?re off duty anyway. Then we can go back and have some of Babamon?s cooking.? The two cat Digimon departed, leaving Lucemon with the team. ?Right this way, then,? he said, leading them through the thickest part of the tangled bushes and vines. It was surprisingly easy to cross. Lucemon explained that most of it was an illusion. Wizardmon had used spells to make the way appear impassable. Just as the brush looked its thickest, it suddenly dropped away, and the group found themselves in a large clearing. Several small houses and shops, each of different shapes, sizes, and designs, were scattered about. ?We?re here,? Lucemon announced. ?Cool, but... where is everbody?? Kenta asked. Lucemon looked back to the village. Normally, it was always busy, but now, no one was walking about. The few stores and shops whose doors were open had no customers or proprietors. Lucemon motioned for HighAndromon to stop moving, and, in the silence that followed, Lucemon listened for any signs of people working or talking, or children playing, or machinery, or any of the sounds that was normally ever-present. But there was none. The entire population seemed to have vanished without a trace.

In the last days of the Encyclopedia, Megchan changed "Treasure Spear? to ?Treasure Mallet.? (Anybody else wanna inflict harm upon TOEI for having Caturamon turn into a Looney Tunes hammer in the first place?) Say, if and when you put this up on the site, what are you going to do with the cases where some post-ers used different names than others? Oh, and if anyone doesn?t know, ADR stands for Agent of D-Reaper, and are the Reaper?s funky Things on Strings. And though the Hagurumon are [i]like[/i] the ones from Adventure, they [i]aren?t[/i] the same ones. The same goes for Machinedramon. ***** Tally walked the streets of Shinjuku, thinking about the old days. It was too quiet lately. Before, there had always been whatever Yamaki?s latest anti-Digimon project was, and then being Mission Control for the kids in the Digital World, and then the D-Reaper crisis. For the first time in a long time, there was no immediate concern that she needed to be hurriedly working on for the sake of humanity. She had tried sitting on her couch watching television, something simple that she had enjoyed in the pre-Hypnos days but had never had time for during the various crises. But no less than five minutes into her favorite episode of [i]Power Rangers: Lost Galaxy[/i], secretly her favorite show, which only Riley knew about, she found herself stir crazy. Sitting still felt so wrong. So here she was, at midnight, aimlessly wandering the city. She kept expecting an ADR to pop out from behind every corner, informing her that she was to be deleted. But none ever came. And strangely, that felt so wrong. Down a particularly dark alley, she saw a glinting green light. She knew that a dark alley in the middle of the night was no place to be, but she had to know what the light was. Perhaps the danger was part of what led her to it, after being used to being in the thick of things for so long. But, no matter what her reasoning, she went. ***** Somewhere in the Metal Empire, two Hagurumon hovered in front of a control panel, operating machinery with the fine-tune control their master lacked. All was quiet, as it had been as long as the Hagurumon had been there. Being machines, neither the Hagurumon nor their master felt the boredom that would be driving anyone but a machine insane. All was quiet, until now. ?Sir, my lord, sir! Anomaly detected!? the first Hagurumon said. ?HERE?? Machinedramon demanded. ?ACTIVATE TRACER, AND SEND UNITS TO THE ANOMALY?S POINT OF ENTRY THE MOMENT IT ARRIVES.? ?No sooner said than done, my magnificent metallic master, sir!? the other Hagurumon assured him. ?THOSE HUMANS CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO REMAIN IN OUR WORLD. THEY TAMPER WITH IT, AND CREATED BOTH THE D-REAPER AND THE JUGGERNAUT. THE LONGER THEY ARE ALLOWED TO EXIST, THE CLOSER WE COME TO TOTAL DESTRUCTION.? ?Bingo!? the first Hagurumon said, interrupting Machinedramon?s rantings. ?Master, sir! It?s data-emerging!? ***** Tally Onodera . She believed she was simply walking into a dark alley. But little did she suspect that her destination did lie in the midst of the Twilight Zone. When she reached the light, she found that it was a sphere of floating ASCII symbols. She reached to touch a flying green asterisk. And when she did, the world around her vanished, replaced with the symbols, as far as the eye could see. Then, the symbols vanished, replaced by what looked like layers of circuit boards. Many miles beyond them was the ground. Tally only had a moment to take it in before she began to fall. She screamed until she ran out of breath as she fell endlessly. But end it did. She found herself on a street not much unlike the one she had left. Concrete, buildings, everything a city street had. Except that it was now broad daylight. And the street was different: After falling miles to hit it, Tally was still alive and unhurt. Also, there was no debris. No broken glass, no strange odors, no garbage. Everything was orderly, and perfectly clean. Far too orderly and clean for a city street. The street intersected with another, but there were no traffic lights, no stop signs, and neither street apparently had a name. She realized that she was still within a field of ASCII symbols. They formed a dome around her. She started to walk through it, when she realized she couldn?t. The edge was like some kind of barrier. Though she felt nothing there, the harder she pushed against it, the harder something pushed back. And pushing against it revealed something else: her arm was transparent. She looked down at herself, to realise that there wasn?t enough of herself to go around. Like a Polaroid photo, she was in the process of very slowly fading into existence. That was when it dawned upon her. It was exactly as she?d heard a bio-emergence described. The ASCII symbols were to her what the fog was to a Digimon: Just as particles became proteins that formed a bio-emerging Digimon, data was now forming a digital version of her own body that could exist here: the digital world.She was in a biological field, this world?s answer to digital fields. She imagined a top-secret Digimon organization monitoring her movements. She giggled at the image of a machine Yamaki referring to her as a dangerous Wild One. ?Now, if I can just figure out how I got here,? she said allowed. No one was around to offer an answer. She walked along, looking for any signs of life. But the city was void of anything moving. But that changed quickly. Hidden panels in walls opened, and scores of machine Digimon poured into the streets. Having been a fan of the all-too-short-lived [i]Digimon Adventure,[/i] she recognized them as Mekanorimon, Tankmon, and Gardromon on sight. Several of them. There was also the strange gear Digimon that had been seen in one episode, but had never been named. A second later, she remembered that none of them had ever meant anything good. A mechanical voice from one of the machines droned, ?Subject identified: Onodera, Tally. Proceed to delete subject.? ?Compliance,? the other machines droned, raising various weapons. Tally, who had began running the moment she?d heard the word ?delete,? dodged back and forth crazily as bullets and beams of energy blazed struck around her. She turned a corner, looking behind her as she ran. It was a mistake. Had she been watching where she was running to instead of what she was running from, she might have noticed that around the corner was a dead end. She saw it, but too late. The machine Digimon were blocking the way. Tally knew there was nowhere for her to go. [i]I can?t believe I?m going to die like someone in a cheesy sci-fi movie.[/i] Strangely unafraid, she closed her eyes and waited for the end. She wondered if, given the explosive firepower of her executioners, she would even feel it. A voice spoke. Not the droning computer voices of the machines. This voice was deep and sinister. ?Who out there is worthy of me?? it asked. Tally opened her eyes. A black dragon dropped into her sight, speeding for the machine Digimon. They tried to fire, but the dragon was too fast. ?Crimson Claw!? it shouted. Its claws left red streaks in their wake. Almost negligently, the dragon tore through several of the machine Digimon, deleting them immediately. The dragon turned on a dime, came back, and touched down to stand beside Tally, and stared down the machines. Tally tried to get away, but there was nowhere to get away to. The dragon?s four eyes glowed red. The machine Digimon stopped the instant they saw the eyes. ?You will not delete anyone,? the dragon said. ?You will return to wherever you came from.? ?Compliance,? the machine Digimon droned in unison, and left as quickly as they had come. The dragon?s eyes stopped glowing as it turned to Tally. ?Come, we must go. There will be more soon. I am only a Champion. When the Megadramon and Gigadramon arrive, we will meet a most unpleasant fate if we are still here.? ?But you?re... you?re...? Tally stammered. She recognized the dragon from [i]Digimon Adventure[/i]. One of the dragons from Myotismon?s castle. Devidramon were virus Demon Dragons, not exactly the friendliest of Digimon. ?I have been sent to meet you here,? the Devidramon said. ?Before you can see your home again, you have an important task, vital to the future of this world.? ?You can?t be serious,? Tally said. ?Some giant demon dragon needs me to save the world? You?d think you?d be more inclined to take it over or something.? ?Do not presume to judge my character by my trading card statistics,? the Devidramon said, sounding slightly offended. ?I thought by now, your kind would have advanced beyond judging by the way someone was born, or in my case, evolved.? ?We?re not quite there yet, even among our own people,? Tally said. ?Forgive me. Just who are you, and what is this task?? ?I am the one chosen to be your partner. Your task is the one given to all those who are selected to carry this.? With that, a glowing object appeared above Tally. She reached for it instinctively. When the light faded, Tally recognized the object as a digivice.

Yay! [Break-dances, backflips, and lands in a Spider-Man style crouch] It's back. In the immortal words of Homer Simpson, "Woo-hoo!" Let's just hope you-know-who doesn't move it again. As for Sandiramon, (Sage's last part) I suppose the same goes for In-Trainings being evolved into Megas? [i]Pleeeeze[/i] don't change HighAndromon back, [i]pleeeze...[/i] Oh, and Ginny, I [i]loved[/i] the last part with Monmon's tribe. ----- Suzie now understood why Wizardmon had called this place the Null Zone. It was an area that had been hit hard by D-Reaper. There was nothing but devastation as far as the eye could see. It looked like it had once supported life, but no longer. The remains of houses were lying in piles, the very ground was cracked and shifting, and the sky above was tinged red. It became hard to breathe as even the air was thinner. The air was freezing cold, but the ground was extremely warm. Everything was out of step. And this was just a small area within a large safe zone. Outside the safe zone, more than ninety percent of the digital world was ruined like this or worse. "Take care," Mihiramon warned. "The code that forms this area has been disrupted, and reality itself unstable. Nothing here is as it should be. [i]Nothing.[/i]" "This was once my home," Wizardmon said. "If I try, I can still see the children playing. It was a beautiful place before D-Reaper. Now, I wonder if anything will ever live here again." "They will," Mihiramon promised. "The Sovereigns' first priority will be restoration. You have my word that someday, this area will again be whole." "Thank you." Suzie looked back and forth at the ruined city , trying to see if something, [i]anything,[/i] was intact. But the destruction was total. "An-tee-wa-mon," Suzie said, causing the rabbit Deva to hide a smile, "Is anything still standing?" Antiramon looked around. Even at her own two-story height, she saw nothing but devastation. No, wait. There was one house. One house that was completely intact amidst the ruination. "I see something," Antiramon announced. "Over there, a house. It looks untouched." "Investigating would not be advisable," Mihiramon said. "But what if there's something there that could help us in the future?" "Such as...?" "I don't know. But it's worth a look. It will add but ten minutes to our journey." "Very well. But it is against my better judgment." They made their way across rubble, with Mihiramon still grumbling (though, he never hesitated to continue.) At last, they arrived at the small house. It was strange in that it wasn't strange. It could have been any house on any street in either world. There was nothing remarkable about it. Completely out of place in the ruination that surrounded it, and whatever was responsible for it being there was not visible from without. The hairs on the backs of the necks of all four travelers rose. "Well, what're we waiting for?" Suzie said as she ran toward the house. "Huwwy up!" The others yelled at her to stop, but she opened the door and ran inside. He looked to the rabbit Deva, who shrugged. "They get like this sometimes," she said, not very helpfully. "Humans!" Mihiramon growled as if the word were a curse. At first, he had no intentions of going after the brat, but he knew that Antiramon would be distressed were harm to befall her pet. After assuring himself that he was doing it for Antiramon's sake and not the human's, Mihiramon grunted and trotted inside. Wizardmon, not being as fast as the tiger Deva, reached the inside a few seconds later. Antiramon, being taller than the house itself and certainly unable to fit inside, lay flat in order to look in the windows. Suzie walked through the house cautiously, which, for her, meant a fast walk instead of an all-out run. She wondered if there was food. Then she wondered if there was a bathroom. Then she realized that it had been quite some time since she'd eaten, drank, or used the bathroom, and she didn't feel the need to do either. Weird. But, having the usual attention span of a five-year-old, all that was forgotten as she noticed the bedroom. She walked inside to see a large bed that would probably be great to jump on, a dresser, a mirror... everything one would expect to be in a bedroom. But it all looked as if whoever lived there had made it from scratch. "Mihiwamon?" she said, realizing that the Digimon who'd been right behind her on the way in were no longer there. "Wiza'dmon?" Suddenly, the house began to shake. And it began to get very, very warm. Outside, the ground began to split and crack. Antiramon leapt to her feet just as the ground under her became a chasm. A crack separated her from the house, and the ground continued to cave in. She backpedaled to avoid falling with it, and was quickly too wide for even her to jump over. The ground continued to collapse, falling into boiling magma. Soon, there was a moat of lava surrounding the house. And it wasn't over. Fire began to consume the devastated landscape. Every crack in the ground gave forth flame. The sky turned black. "Oh, my God..." Antiramon breathed. "Not God," answered a voice. It was deep, gravelly, and sounded as if the fires themselves were speaking to her. [i]"Definitely[/i] not God." Antiramon turned toward the source of the voice, and saw what looked like a demonic priest. All that was visible beneath his hood were two piercing blue eyes. Daemon spoke, and the flames all around moved with his voice. "Arise, my children!" From the flaming moat leapt many demonic Digimon. Mephismon, Phelesmon, Bogeymon, and more. And, closing in from behind to cut off any possible escape routes, came Cerberumon. One after another, the three-headed demon dogs leapt from the flaming crevices. "The four of you have entered our territory," Daemon said. "And now, your souls belong to me. You, Antiramon, will be the first to descend into the eternal flames."

This is normally Ginny's job, but I figured to list the factions established so far. [b]The Village[/b] - Though it wasn't ever given a name, there's a villiage of mostly peaceful Digimon, which is where most of the Tamers' Digimon were at the beginning. It's close to the forest where Suzie met Lopmon. [b]Saurian Alliance[/b] - Reptilian Digimon who lord it over others, and are notorious for lying in wait and robbing travelers. They live in a valley whose location isn't yet known. They are very territorial. [b]Diaboromon-line Digimon[/b] - Their group doesn't have a name, but a large group of Diaboromon-line Digimon live in the canyon where Beelzemon encountered the Chrysalimon in the show. The Infermon have the ability to use Cable Crusher. [b]Pinion Guards[/b] - Bird Digimon led by Phoenixmon. Their base is in the mountains. Only they know the location of the portal to Sky City. [b]Sky City[/b] - A city built on several hovering platforms miles above the ground, populated by hundreds of thousands of bird Digimon. Ruled by Gryphomon. [b]Monmon's tribe[/b] - A tribe divided between Gorillamons and Apemons, ruled by a childish Monmon. [b]Mammalian Masters[/b] - Angry mammal Digimon who feel that Baihumon allowed the perpetuation of the damage caused by humans, and then by D-Reaper. So they're out to... remove him. Led by Anubismon, along with the curiously non-mammalian Pharaohmon. [b]Mihirashi Military[/b] - A hostile group of mostly Meramon-line Digimon, probably claiming Flare City. [b]The Hive[/b] - Insect Digimon who live deep in the forest. Very territorial and very warlike, and will kill anyone who enters their area without permission. And they enjoy doing it.

These are the DarkTyrannomon that showed up to help out against the Greymon that Suzie and Cocomon ran into waaaay back on the first page. I gave them names to differentiate, try not to laugh. ===== "We'd best be heading back," the older, larger DarkTyrannomon decided. "Too bad. I was hoping to get a few more licks in against those Greymon." "You never were one to pass up a fight, Yoshi. Someday, you're going to wind up in a lot of trouble." "And you were never one to pass up a chance to lecture me, Zilla. Let's just head back, if we must." "We must," Zilla insisted. He and Yoshi began to walk back the way they had come. "The others must know that at least one Tamers has returned. Maybe, just maybe, this world has a chance after all." "Oh, come on," Yoshi laughed. "It's not that bad. The factions are no worse than D-Reaper." "They are, almost. With all of us at war with each other, how long do you think it'll take before we destroy ourselves?" "The world isn't that fragile. We'll get it together eventually." "The world, no. But the people? Very much so. Look at us. All expending resources to fight off our neighbors. The only way we can survive this time of disaster is to combine our resources and work together to extend them. But try telling that to some of the other factions." "You may be right. But what's a hatchling human going to do about... yeow!" Yoshi yelped as he stepped on something sharp, and received a shock. "What the..." The two DarkTyrannomon looked down to see a small blue raccoon in a helmet. Electricity leapt between two points on the helmet. "A Kapurimon?" Zilla said. "How'd you get here?" "I don't know," Kapurimon said. "Me and Hopmon were separated by a data stream. I wound up here, and Hopmon's... out there somewhere." "The data streams have started up again? I suppose that's a good sign that things are working their way back to normal," Zilla mused. "For now, let's get you out of danger. We've ran into a few unfriendly types." "Let me guess. Hive, Saurians, or... Not the Mihirashi, or the place would have been burned to the ground." "Saurians," Yoshi said. "We sure taught them a lesson." Yoshi made punching motions in the air. "They were picking on some human-looking thing that talked funny, and what used to be Lopmon." "Wait! You've seen Suzie and Lopmon? Which way did they go?" Kapurimon said. "You mean you're [i]that[/i] Kapurimon?" Yoshi exclaimed. "And those two were... oh, man! Zilla, you [i]knew.[/i] Why didn't you tell me?!" "Because you would want to go with them, and get yourself into as much trouble as Digimonly possible, instead of gathering food like we're supposed to be doing." Zilla turned back to Kapurimon. "And you're not going after them, either." "I helped fight D-Reaper, remember?" Kapurimon piped up. "Yes, you did. And that's why you must be kept safe. You're too important to be allowed to wander down the throat of a Dokugumon." "Really? I beg to differ," said a voice from behind them. The three spun around to see, sure enough, a Dokugumon. "Speak of the Daemon," Zilla muttered. "You happy, Yoshi?" "Very," Yoshi said. "Fire Breath!" A stream of flame flew towards the Dokugumon, who kicked all eight legs at once to dodge it. Into the Dokugumon's place stepped a JewelBeemon, who was completely unfazed by the attack. "This isn't good, is it?" Yoshi said. One by one, insect Digimon surrounded Kapurimon and the two DarkTyrannomon. "Have at you!" Kapurimon was yelling as he blew pink bubbles their way. No one was impressed by them. "Aw, nuts and bolts," Kapurimon muttered. "I don't suppose we can talk about this?" Yoshi said. All the insect Digimon, the Flymon, Tentomon, Stingmon, Dokugumon, Yanmamon and SandYanmamon, and all four classes of Beemon, and others, hundreds of insects in all, grinned and shook their heads. "Looks like we've got some [i]intruders![/i]" a DinoBeemon announced. "And the [i]Hive[/i] doesn't [i]like[/i] intruders. Do you [i]know[/i] how we handle [i]intruders[/i] around here?" "Uh, you let them off with a warning?" Kapurimon suggested. "Ready!" the DinoBeemon shouted. "Aim!" "Stop it!" shouted a deep voice. "And who are you?" DinoBeemon answered. The owner of the voice, a rather large bull-taur wielding rather large swords stepped into view. "My name is Vajramon. The Deva Vajramon." "Do we look impressed?" DinoBeemon jeered. "You look like one who does not have long to live, if you defy me. Deva Blade!" The blast landed at DinoBeemon's feet. Now, if there's nothing else..." "Ah, but there is," Dokugumon said. "He looks tasty," an Okuwamon added. [AN: NOT the Okuwamon that was with Terriermon a page or two ago.] The insects attacked at once. "Lightning Sting!" "Brown Stingers!" "Poison Cobweb!" Vajramon blocked with his blades, but some of the attacks got through. He tried not to show the pain, and let loose with a Deva Blade. It sliced through two FlyBeemon and a Dokugumon. Other insect Digimon quickly absorbed the data to aid in the assault. "Shot Claw!" JewelBeemon shouted, firing his arm-blades. "Fire Breath!" Yoshi and Zilla shouted together, sending flames at them. One blade was destroyed, but the other simply turned towards the two DarkTyrannomon, slashing at them. "Stun Ray!" a SandYanmamon shouted from above, striking Yoshi. Yoshi blasted the SandYanmamon with a burst of flame, but the JewelBeemon blade cut into him while his attention was turned. Yoshi turned to aim for it, but his reactions were slowing down as the Stun Ray's power began to affect him. He could faintly hear a voice saying "Now!" "Lightning Sting!" eleven FlyBeemon shouted, concentrating their firepower on him. He turned to attack, but was quickly wrapped up with the Poison Thread of two Dokugumon. Zilla tried to come to Yoshi's aid, but his hands were full with DinoBeemon and JewelBeemon. Vajramon hacked away at several Flymon, who were now wisely keeping their distance, and leapt to slice Yoshi's restraints. He ran past Yoshi to slash at the Dokugumon. The Dokugumon dodged away. Vajramon followed them, only to fall into their improvised trap: More than twenty HoneyBeemon dropped Venom Powder onto him, and the instant it made contact, his skin burned like fire. Vajramon howled. Kapurimon was backed against a tree by several Kunemon. His bubbles couldn't keep them back, and he didn't dare get close enough to use his electrified 'horns.' Yoshi shook his head to clear it, and went to help Vajramon. His burst of flame was weak, and easily blocked by a Shadramon. A Dokugumon used a Searchmon's back as a springboard to land in front of him. Still not thinking clearly from the Stun Ray and the subsequent beating, he didn't question where the Dokugumon had come from, and charged, leaving himself open to the Searchmon. "Jamming Hertz!" the Searchmon shouted, bringing his claws down on Yoshi. Every nerve in his body short-circuited at once. Yoshi let out a squawk, and was thrown to the ground. He tried to call for Zilla, but his voice wasn't working, and Zilla was still occupied. "Kapurimon, get ready!" Vajramon called. "Ready for what?!" Kapurimon demanded. Vajramon said nothing, but concentrated. Kapurimon felt a buildup of energy within him, and just when he thought he could contain no more, the energy flared up, and went to work. "Kapurimon warp-digivolve to... HighAndromon!" The insect Digimon stopped immediately to look at the Mega, as did Zilla. Yoshi tried to, but his limbs still weren't responding properly. He twitched and jerked, but nothing more. Vajramon, weak from the battle and the use of the power required to boost an In-Training to Mega, fainted. "It's time we exterminated! Say 'Ra-aid!'" HighAndromon laughed. His attitude hadn't changed with the power boost. The insect Digimon who were bold enough released their attacks at once. HighAndromon simply walked through them. "My turn. Atomic Ray!" A white-hot beam of energy released from a weapon hidden in one hand cut a path through the thick of the insect Digimon, causing several to be vaporized immediately. One of them was the talkative DinoBeemon. The other members of the Hive immediately retreated into the woods. "Well, that was interesting," HighAndromon said. "Everyone all right?" The two DarkTyrannomon answered with groans. Vajramon was just beginning to stir. "Well, don't worry. I don't think they'll be back." He looked at Yoshi. "How long does Jamming Hertz last?" "About ten hours. But if the rest of Yoshi is as thick as his head," Zilla answered, "I imagine it'll wear off in only four or five." Yoshi groaned once more. [i]I am never getting into another fight as long as I live,[/i] he thought. He tried moving an arm experimentally, and, to his surprise, he was able to wiggle one finger. He thought of Searchmon once more. And of SandYanmamon, whose Stun Ray kept him from being able to react to the Searchmon. [i]Then again...[/i] He made a mental note to pay a visit to the Hive when he was a stage or two higher.

Looks like Shyguy got bored again. Ask Cera to move it back. She outranks him, right? Anyway, on with the story... "Don't tell me to 'hasten not!' We've got to find out where Kapurimon is! An in-training all alone nowadays is just data stew for any stronger Digimon who wanders by!" "Peace, lad. Thou shall find that impatience shall avail thee naught." "And if you don't quit talking like that, I swear I'll take you apart!" "Dost thou challenge me?" " '[i]Do you[/i] challenge me?' " "Nay, 'twas thee that sought to challenge me!" "Never mind." Hopmon's patience, which had never been his strong suit, was wearing thin. He and Kapurimon had been searching for food, when a data stream did what data streams were best at: It had come from out of nowhere to sweep them away. Hopmon had found himself in what he called "Picasso land," a black-and-white area where spatial laws were slightly different. Each building had given him a headache if he'd looked at it long enough to try to figure it out. And Kapurimon had been nowhere in sight. Hopmon had taken refuge in a house guarded by a Knightmon. Hopmon hadn't seen the point, as there was nothing to guard them against. The only Digimon around were the harmless but spooky Nohemon. After quite some time, he had convinced Knightmon to accompany him as he searched for Kapurimon and a way back to the village. But Knightmon didn't know the meaning of the word 'hurry,' and he had a bad habit of talking as if he thought he was in King Arthur's court. He had to get Kapurimon and get back in a hurry. It was bad enough that Lopmon had left and not returned. Then the two DarkTyrannomon had gone in search of her, and Wizardmon had gone after them. He figured by now, the entire population was wandering the wilderness, each looking for everyone else. He wondered if anyone was out searching for him and Kapurimon, as they'd left several hours ago. [i]If I could digivolve, I'd have no problem with this,[/i] Hopmon thought. Then, he changed his mind immediately. Better to be weak and himself. Being Hopmon meant that he would not be Cyberdramon again for a very long time. Something happened to him whenever he became Cyberdramon. He became insane, violent, out of control, even his own control. He still remembered the feeling of twisting Majiramon and then driving his claws into the dragon deva's skull, the better to crush it flat. He never got that way as Monodramon, as Strikedramon, as Justimon. And yet, Cyberdramon was his base form. He knew someday, he would return to it, and once again be little better than a wild animal. Worse than an animal. Animals had a structure, a lifestyle. They were ruled by instinct, but while he was Cyberdramon, he responded to nothing but bloodlust. Sometimes, Ryo could restrain him with the D-Power's energy rope and prevent him from killing. Sometimes it didn't work. Since returning to Hopmon, he had only eaten an drank enough to keep himself from starving to death, and made a point of overworking himself. Perhaps if he kept himself weak enough, he could maintain his In-Training form, and would never again become the monster he had been. He had never felt like that before, never had a trace of misgiving as Cyberdramon, but then, there had been the Ark. Upon entering, he had become Monodramon again, and shortly after regaining his rookie form, his rational mind had returned, and all he could think about was what he had done... and what he would do again should he ever regain his Ultimate stage permanently. There had been no time to deal with it during the D-Reaper crisis. He had needed that rage to feel no fear against the Reaper and its Agents, and had welcomed Cyberdramon's return. But now, when most around him were innocents... [i]No,[/i] he thought. [i]I can't allow it. If I'm ever Strikedramon again, I... can't allow myself the time to digivolve any farther. I'll have to...[/i] He didn't put it into words, but he made the decision nonetheless. [i]Besides, if I become Cyberdramon again, the person I am now will die anyway. Same thing in a different sense, that's all.[/i] But someone or something didn't agree with him. A voice touched his mind. [i]...there is another way...[/i] "Who are you?" Hopmon called out. "Who said that?" "Of what dost thou speak?" Knightmon inquired. " 'Tis none but us." "I know I heard..." [i]...follow my voice. I can give you what you desire, come to me...[/i] Could she really help him? How could this mysterious person know so much about him, know what he needed, and know that she could give it to him? But if it was real, he had to check it out. He bounced as quickly as he could towards the source of the 'sound.' "Halt!" Knightmon shouted after him, the lumbering Digimon not being able to keep up with the lighter one due to the weight of his armor. "Thou knowest not what thy follow!" Hopmon didn't listen. He knew in the back of his mind that someone was calling to him, but it wasn't important. The voice was all he heard. He had to find its source. He had to follow. Finally, a fox Digimon stepped into his path, seemingly out of nowhere. She was identical Kyuubimon, only with purple fur and golden flame from her feet and tails. He knew instinctively that she was the source of the voice. And she was the most beautiful female that he had seen in either world from the moment he hatched until the present. "Wow..." he gasped. "Follow me," she said, and began to walk away. Without hesitation, he followed. "Dost thou not see?" Knightmon said, having finally caught up with him. "That is Youkomon! 'Tis not for nothing that she be known as a Bewitching Beast Digimon. The power she doth possess over male Digimon is legendary. Goddramon alone knoweth what she seeks to make thee do." "She's beautiful..." Hopmon breathed. "She can't be evil, she's so beautiful..." he continued after her, in a daze. "Aye, beautiful, and as dangerous!" Knightmon shouted, but his warning fell on deaf ears. Knightmon wanted to follow him, but he knew that if he did, he would only fall under Youkomon's spell. Even now, he found himself calling her beautiful. His resistance was greater than Hopmon's, but not total. "What hast thee gotten thyself into, lad?" Knightmon mused.

Looks like it's been done already. Well, that was the most silentest, most invisiblest vote I've ever seen. Say, now that it's moved, how 'bout we make a "No Crossovers" rule? With a thousand fans of a thousand shows in the mix, I just know someone's going to want to turn the Mysterious Observer into a Final Fantasy villian, or have the Guardian of Forever mess up and take them to the DBZ world, or Mihiramon is Keroberos translated into digital form, or things of that nature. Let's keep this strictly Digimon Tamers.

The ark is Grani. And MagnaAngemon has Excalibur. Don't get the part about the one he loves being white and pink. Who's white and pink?

Ginny: What's a shimata? And no, I'm not going to use Myotismon. (But notice I didn't say the same about Sabermephistopheleswaruhitlersewageastrovenomarshmalomyotismon Nefarious Mode. :smirk: KIDDING! Just kidding.) I just figured the darkness around Rika would do better as a 'who' than a 'what,' so I tossed in the mysterious observer. Sage: Aren?t Birdramon and Saberdramon both Vaccine according to the cards? Though I have heard of a data Birdramon, I don?t think there?s a virus Saberdramon... then again, it doesn?t matter, does it? And Kumbhiramon was hilarious. ***** ?Interesting way of ?welcoming visitors,?? Kenta said. ?Now I know how a trout feels when an eagle snatches it.? ?My apologies,? Phoenixmon said. ?I had to be certain that you were not of an enemy faction. You didn?t respond to my summons, so I had to... send for you.? Kenta looked back at Birdramon and Saberdramon. Despite their unmovable faces, he could swear they were smirking at him. ?What summons?? Kazu demanded. ?We never got any ?summons.? We?re walking along minding our own business, when out of nowhere, these birdbrains snatch us up like worms or something! You?ve got a lot of explaining to do, you...? ?Kazu!? Ryo shouted, yanking him aside. ?Perhaps we shouldn?t anger the building-sized Mega who can barbecue us without half trying. That ever occur to you?? ?I was not aware that you were not Digimon, and could not receive my transmissions,? Phoenixmon explained. ?I could not be certain you were not enemies, attempting to find the portal to Sky City and invade it. You would not have been the first to try. But now, I know who you are. You were with the Sovereigns when they summoned us, and you stood against D-Reaper in the other world. You honor us with your presence, and you are welcome in Sky City at any time. I am sure Lord Gryphomon would admit you, if you wish to enter.? Kenta blushed. He?d never been regarded as a hero before. ?Thank you,? he said genuinely. ?Kenta, shouldn?t we be seeing about finding the others? Come on, let?s go.? Ryo said, already beginning to walk away. ?Didn?t you hear what Phoenixmon said? They have something that can reach any Digimon in the area! Who knows what kind of equipment they have? They?re our best bet for finding the others. And we need food and water, and I sure don?t see any around here.? Ryo was surprised at Kenta?s show of backbone, and he hated to admit that he was right. ?Yeah, let?s go on in,? Kazu said. ?Can?t hurt.? Ryo shrugged. ?Guess it?s settled, then.? ?Good,? Phoenixmon said. ?I shall escort you to the portal myself. Saberdramon, you?re in charge until I return.? ?I thought you had to ask Gryphomon,? Ryo said. ?I did. He agreed.? ?How?d you contact him?? ?We have a way of transmitting messages between Digimon, directly into the recipient?s data itself, without the use of outside instruments. It?s quite efficient. Now, climb aboard, then.? The giant bird extended a talon, as if expecting them to climb on. ?Uh,? Kazu stammered, ?I don?t suppose there?s seatbelts.? ?It?s easy,? Kenta said. ?Sora did it all the time with Birdramon.? ?That?s just a TV show!? ?Oh, come on,? Kenta said, climbing onto Phoenixmon?s talon. ?There?s enough room for all of us.? ?Okay, but if I get killed, I?m going to be really upset with you.? Ryo laughed at Kazu and Kenta?s antics, and climbed on. ?Now, hang on tight!? Phoenixmon shouted. The bird Mega leapt into the air, spreading gigantic, beautiful wings, and plunged down the mountainside. Kazu and Kenta screamed. Ryo didn?t, but was holding onto Phoenixmon?s talon tightly, his knuckles white. Phoenixmon plunged towards the mountain?s base, and then, with twenty feet to go, leveled off and sped just above the tops of the trees at the foot of the mountain. ?Whoah!? Kazu and Kenta shouted. ?You think that?s cutting it a bit close?? ?How do you two talk at the same time like that?? Ryo shouted over the rushing wind. ?Easier than you think!? Kazu and Kenta yelled back. Then, as their path took them too close to one of the taller trees, ?AAH! Watch out!? Phoenixmon?s speed was such that, by the time they had finished saying that, the tree was far behind. Soon, the entire wooded area was behind them, as Phoenixmon?s path took them around the mountain. ?Not much farther,? came Phoenixmon?s voice. Kazu, Kenta, and Ryo looked forward to see a strange rock formation, where the stone had formed a large ring. ?There.? ?Looks like the Guardian of Forever,? Kenta commented. ?Only much bigger.? ?Guardian of what?? asked Kazu. ?Guardian of Forever. The old Star Trek. Don?t you know anything?? Kazu laughed. ?Nerdiness, thy name is Kenta.? Phoenixmon let out a remarkably birdlike cawwing sound, and was answered with a similar cry from... somewhere. The ?Guardian of Forever? changed, and through it, the three Tamers could see several floating platforms in the sky, with every kind of bird Digimon. Data, Virus, and Vaccine, all stages from Baby to Mega. There were Kokatorimon, Akatorimon, Eaglemon, Pururumon, Karatenmon, and more. If it had wings, there was at least one. And, in the foreground, a Gryphomon, attended by two Deramon. ?Enter at will, Tamers,? Phoenixmon said. ?I must return to the mountain. I hope you find what you seek. Farewell!? With a beat of those magnificent flaming wings, Phoenixmon was aloft, and out of sight faster than the eye could follow. The three Tamers watched Phoenixmon go. ?Bye, Phoenixmon!? Kenta shouted. ?So, what? Do we walk through?? Kazu asked. ?That?s what Phoenixmon said,? Ryo answered. ?Enter at will.? The three Tamers stepped through the Portal, expecting to immediately find themselves on the other side. They were wrong. They stepped through the Portal, and into the Twilight Zone. It was as if reality had been yanked from under them. They felt themselves pulled in a thousand directions as energies surged violently around them. They screamed, even Ryo this time, but no sound came. Finally, the energies stopped. And then, the [i]really[/i] bad part came. As if some giant had kicked them like a football player kicking the winning field goal, they were violently thrown, sent pinwheeling through unreality. All the while, lights strobed around them maddeningly in every color they?d seen and a few they hadn?t. And they felt that they were not alone. Something was with them in the endless limbo around them. Something angry. And it saw them. And it had something to do with... ?Rika?? Ryo said. Finally, abruptly, the ride ended. The strange unreality was simply not there anymore, and they landed on their faces. The first thing Kenta felt was that the floor was plush carpet. Luxurious and soft. He stood to his feet, and looked behind himself. There was no ?Guardian of Forever? portal. He saw Gryphomon in front of him, and the two Deramon. The next thing that he noticed was that there were far more Digimon there than Gryphomon and the Deramon. There was a sea of Digimon surrounding them, some on the ground, some in the air but keeping their distance. There was a hubbub of murmuring between the Digimon, and the kids could make out their own names said several times, as well as the names of their partners and the words ?Tamer,? ?D-Reaper,? and ?other world.? Kenta distinctly heard the phrase, ?kind of cute, for a human,? and turned quickly to see one Nefertimon, standing closer than the others. When their eyes met, she winked at him. Several of the Digimon held odd devices that the kids knew had to be cameras of some sort. ?Finally, the adoring fans I?ve always deserved,? Kazu said with his standard smirk. ?Trust me, it gets old after a while,? Ryo sighed. ?Let?s just find what we need and get... oh, boy.? Kazu and Kenta followed Ryo?s line of vision, and looked beyond the swarm of Digimon, to a certain Ultimate who was at the back of the line, waiting patiently. Once the Ultimate knew they saw him, he stood to his full, impressive height. Kenta took out his Digivice, and it told him what he already knew. ?It?s the Dragon Deva, all right. Majiramon.?

[i]Closer, my dear. Step ever closer.[/i] He watched her from the shadows. From the hellish abyss that had been his prison for as long as he could remember. Soon, he would be free. If the body of a thirteen-year-old girl could be called freedom. Still, it was far preferable to the no-man's-land between worlds where forces unknown to both raged out of control. And the girl was quite attractive, for a human of her age. He could do worse. And he would bring some of those forces with him, and make use of them. Oh, yes, very good use. Of course, the body of the girl wouldn't last long with that kind of power being wielded from within it, but he could always find another vessel. And the Nonaka girl would last long enough for him to take his revenge on the one who had imprisoned him. [i]Baihumon,[/i] he sang, [i]I'm coming for you.[/i] ***** [A/N: I'm using Antylamon's Japanese name, Antiramon, just 'cause I like it better. Different name, same chockwit bunny.) "Well done, Antiramon." Antiramon looked back to see Wizardmon standing with Suzie. "Wizardmon, see what you can do for him." Wizardmon nodded, and went to tend to Mihiramon. The tiger Deva had quite a few bruises, but he'd live. Wizardmon began his healing spell. "Who is he?" Suzie asked. "My Digivice says there's nothing there." She held it to her ear and shook it. "It doesn't [i]sound[/i] bwoken..." "Mihiramon's a former teammate of mine. One of the greatest warriors I have ever known." She knelt by him and began gently stroking his left wing with two of her three fingers. "Let's just say his enemies don't find him to be a very nice kitty." "He sure didn't act like one just now." "Fighting all your life does that to you. Of all of us, he was created first, and spent most of his life leading the Sovereign's armies. And he didn't really have a way of knowing I was who I said I was. But he has long been a good friend to me." Mihiramon began to stir, and tried to prop himself up, though Wizardmon wouldn't hear of it. "Lie down, I'm not finished yet. And remind me never to cross her," he said, indicating Antiramon. "We must go... It's imperative that we..." "It's imperative that you lie down and let me finish. It's a long journey between here and the Sovereigns' territory, and we can't have you passing out or something while we try to make it through that deathtrap." Mihiramon grumbled, but complied. "And quit squirming," Wizardmon said. Mihiramon pouted like a child before becoming still. Wizardmon continued his spell. "Deathtwap? What's he talking about?" Suzie asked. "The terrain we must cross is very dangerous," Antiramon told her. "And part of it is claimed by the Saurian Alliance. Virtually every reptilian Digimon you can name is out there, and when anything without scales violates their borders, they shoot first and ask [i]no[/i] questions. And rest assured there will be a lot more of them than three Greymon and a Chamelemon. And that's if we make it that far. Thanks to D-Reaper, the digital world is very unstable in that area. [i]Anything[/i] can happen out there." "Surely, you are not afraid?" Mihiramon said with a chuckle, having leapt to his feet the instant Wizardmon's healing spell was complete. "Only a fool would not be," Antiramon said. "We must take great care in crossing the Null Zone." "But cross it we must. And quickly." "Yes," Antiramon agreed. "Suzie, you know the danger. I would like you to come with me, but if you wish to stay behind, no one will think less of you." "Of course I'm going with you, silly," Suzie laughed. "Very well," Antiramon laughed. She bent down to pick Suzie up. Suzie giggled in anticipation of a ride atop Antiramon's head. Antiramon just knew her poor ears were going to suffer greatly. "Wait," Mihiramon said. "Surely you are not taking... [i]that.[/i]" "Surely, I am. She remains with me." "We have no need for a [i]human.[/i] Find somewhere to leave your pet, and come quickly." "Hey! I'm not anybody's pet!" Suzie piped up. "As she says," Antiramon said. "She is my partner, and I am not going without her." "She is a human. They tried to destroy us." "Have the Tamers' group not proven that humans and Digimon are stronger working together?" "They are murderers, killing thousands with that Juggernaut contraption of theirs. They send the data streams that terrorize us. And they only worked with Digimon during the D-Reaper crisis because their hide was on the line as well." "Human society is as fragmented as the Digital World finds itself now, if not more. Suzie is not among those who are responsible for the Shinjuku Massacre. She has done none of the things for which you condemn all humans. She is young, a child among her kind. If anyone can be said to be truly innocent, it is her." "All the more reason to leave her behind. Can a mere hatchling stand against what lies ahead?" "I have sworn to protect her. And she wields the Digivice, and can use the cards to increase my ability. She will increase our chances of success tenfold." Mihiramon said nothing, but walked to Suzie and leaned down, his eyes inches from her own. Suzie was afraid, but refused to back down. Even from a digital tiger, she knew when someone was trying to scare her. "I'm not afwaid of you, kitty. Go... go back to the litterbox or something!" Mihiramon laughed, turning back to Antiramon. "She has spirit. Much like her... partner," he said with a grimace. "Very well, you may bring your pet. Better to do so than to continue this useless argument any longer." He walked past Antiramon, Suzie, and Wizardmon, and took the lead, ignoring Suzie's protest of "Hey, I'm not a pet!"

Slowly, the spider form approached, until it was finally in view. It looked like a Dokugumon, with a few superficial differences, and one major one: It was barely the size of Gigimon, if even that. But this only heightened Gigimon's agitation. "Uh, Takatomon," he said, forgetting to leave off the 'mon.' His voice was barely a whisper. "We'd better be getting out of here. Now." "What's wrong, boy?" Takato asked Gigimon. He followed the virus In-Training's gaze over to the small spider. "I doubt anything that small can cause too much trouble." But even as he said it, he remembered Kumbhiramon. Rookie-sized, but it had take two Champions to stop him once he'd split into his six parts. "Right?" he asked, a lot less sure. "Wrong," Gigimon said with a graveness Takato hadn't thought him capable of. "That's a Kodokugumon. One of them can't be too much trouble, but they hunt in herds of hundreds, even thousands, and swarm their prey. It's a horrible way to die." Takato quickly stood and picked Gigimon up. Even as he did, another Kodokugumon ran down the tree limb and onto his hand, and bit down. Takato yelped and flipped it away. It took several swings to dislodge the spider Digimon. Takato began to run with Gigimon, but the way was blocked by Kodokugumon as far as he could see, and with the fog, that wasn't far. There was no way to tell if there were nine or nine hundred. He turned the other way, to see several more Kodokugumon creeping up behind him. ***** Yes, Kodokugumon is official. Those are the little spiders accompanying Dokugumon in Myotismon's castle.

"Wake up!" one of the Infermon shouted, kicking him again. "It's not over yet!" Yaamon gasped. Once the Infermon saw that he was awake, he kicked him again. Yaamon could barely think after being bounced like a soccer ball by the Infermon, batted from one to another, mercilessly. Faintly, he could hear Mako screaming his name. But where was Ai? No time to think about that. He couldn't do anything for her if he was dead. He knew exactly why the Infermon were attacking. He had slaughtered hundreds of Chrysalimon just to test out his powers upon becoming Beelzemon for the first time. He felt he was owed no more mercy than he was getting, and, at one point, would not have resisted the death he felt he deserved. But, he had Ai and Mako to protect, and, if they were summoned to the Digital World, perhaps one or both worlds needed him. [i]Hmph. Still weird actually havin' something to live for.[/i] He let loose with his Bubble Blow attack, aiming for the Infermon nearest him. But it was no more effective on them than it was on Blossomon. If the Infermon felt it, there was no indication. "Run, Mako!" he shouted. "Find Ai and get out of here!" He couldn't see through the group of Infermon to tell whether or not Mako was doing as he was told. But he knew Mako, and was sure that the boy was still rooted to the spot. The Infermon began their assault again, slashing and beating him with their clawed cable-arms. He tried to scramble between their legs, but he was dragged back into the center. The instant he was in the center again, another cable arm came down on him. "I'm gonna enjoy hearin' you scream," one of the Infermon said, repeating the words that Yaamon, as Beelzemon, had said before beginning the Chrysalimon slaughter. "Dudes, let Yaamon go," said a bored voice with the accent of the stereotypical surfer. The Infermon stopped, and Yaamon could see through them, to a lone Keramon standing not too far away. "You know who he is!" one of the Infermon shouted. "You know what he did!" "Yeah, I do," Keramon said. "He's one of the dudes who fought D-Reaper in the real world. He's part of why it didn't reduce us to data stew like it did to most of the rest of the Digital World." "But..." "No buts. You're not about to waste the dude that saved our digi-derrieres from some heinous computer program." "Listen, [i]dude,[/i]" the Infermon mimicked, "You're just a Rookie. Any one of us can finish you off faster than you can say 'whoa, this is way bogus.' I suggest you 'chill out,' as you're so fond of saying." "Maybe he's right," another Infermon said. "If what Keramon says is true, we're about to kill the one of the ones responsible for saving us all." "Do you believe that?" "Keramon's never been wrong before, and he has no reason to lie. If we kill Yaamon and it turns out we were wrong about him, the chief's not going to be too happy with us." The first Infermon grumbled, and the group slowly began to disband and walk back into the canyon. "You'd do good not to pass this way again!" the first Infermon said. "Keramon may not be around to protect you next time." Soon, Yaamon, Keramon, and Mako were alone. Yaamon wasn't surprised to see Mako still there, and made no mention of it. "Why'd you help me?" Yaamon asked Keramon. "Like I said, I've seen what you've done in the real world. What you did to those Chrysalimon was still pretty heinous, but you made up for it. Besides, killing you won't bring 'em back, anyway." Mako had been listening the whole time, not understanding. "What Chrysalimon?" Mako asked, fearing the truth. "You didn't really kill anyone, did you, Impmon? They were lying. Aren't they? [i]Aren't they?![/i]" Yaamon started to speak, and instantly had to fight the urge to cry. How could he tell the five-year-old that he was a mass murderer? He could still hear himself taunting the Chrysalimon, he could still bring up the feeling of being back there, and still remembered enjoyment he had felt as he had done it. Every time he tried to rationalize what he had done, he was back there, shooting Chrysalimon, clawing Infermon, driving his hand through Leomon. Finally, as tears ran down his face, he opened his mouth to speak. "I'm sorry, Mako, I'm sorry. I've done some things you wouldn't believe. I-I don't deserve you or Ai, I don't..." Mako looked stunned, as if he'd been punched. His eyes filled with tears as he began to back away from Yaamon. Suddenly, he turned and ran, calling for Ai. Yaamon looked up at Keramon, as if the other Digimon might have some answer... something. Keramon smiled sadly. "Sorry, dude. There's not really an easy answer. He'll forgive you eventually, and so'll... Ai, was it? But it'll take 'em a while. Doubt it'll take as long as it took you to forgive yourself, though." Yaamon nodded as best he could, given his shape. "I still haven't," Yaamon said. "Not yet."

"Aw, nuts," Ai and Mako said together as they found themselves at the feet? Roots? of a ravenous plant Digimon with equally ravenous, toothed flowers on the end of each vine. "What is that thing?" Mako asked Ai, who was still wearing the Digivice. He and Ai reached for it at the same time, but remembered their promise not to fight over things. They held it together. "Blossomon," Ai said. "She's an Ultimate... uh, I [i]think[/i] it's a she..." They turned to the devolved Impmon. "And Impy is now... Yaamon," Mako said. "An In-Training." Blossomon heard the two children, and turned toward them. They were tiny compared to her, but a better meal than the even-tinier Yaamon. She extended the snarling, snapping flowers on her vines towards the two humans. "Uh..." Ai dug into her pockets for the cards she'd been given in the real world. "Digi-Modify! Shurimon, activate!" Nothing happened. She tried it again, this time with the magnetic strip on the card facing down. Again, nothing. She and Mako dodged the gnashing flowers, who growled as their prey evaded them. "We shall feed!" Blossomon and her flowers said as one. "We hunger!" Ai's mind returned to the Digimon Adventure show she had watched sometimes. It had been a great show in the first season, but had been cancelled after the horrid second season. But in the second season, Ken and Sam Ichijouji had recieved a Digivice. Sam had assumed it was his, but it had turned out to be Ken's. Ai's eyes filled with tears as she considered the possiblity, but she handed the Digivice to Mako. "Here. Maybe you're... you're supposed to have it. You try." Mako took the Digivice and card, surprisingly not as happy as he though he'd be if the Digivice, and therfore Impmon, had turned out to be his and his alone. "Digi-Modify. Shurimon, activate." The twins waited... but still nothing happened. "WHAT?" The kids scattered as Blossomon's next assault hit. Yaamon fired his Bubble Blow, but Blossomon didn't feel it. "Spiral Flower!" Blossomon shouted, and several of the biting flowers left her vines. Their petals became stiff and razor sharp. The deadly flowers launched themselves at the kids. Ai and Mako dodged left and right as the flowers struck the ground around them, each one narrowly missing. Blossomon wasn't used to such small targets. "So... hungry... starving..." Blossomon and her flowers rasped as one. The flowers tore themselves out of the ground and started after the children again. Yaamon kept attacking, and kept being ignored. One of the flowers narrowly missed Mako's neck, and doubled back to finish the job, but Ai shoved him out of the way, and jumped backwards to avoid it herself. She wasn't fast enough, and the flower left a deep gash in her shoulder. She screamed in pain as she tried to dodge the other flowers. "Ai!" Mako shouted, running to her, but one of Blossomon's vines came close, and the flower attached to it sank its teeth into his arm and lifted him towards Blossomon herself. Mako let out a cry of pain and fear. Ai, despite the danger she was in, was yelling up at Blossomon to put Mako down. "Run, Ai!" Mako shouted. "Get out of here!" "Put him down, now!" Ai was still shouting futilely at the Ultimate Digimon. "Uh-oh." The flowers were after her once again, and she dived to the ground, letting them go over her head. She could feel the breeze caused by their passing. Yaamon bounced his way up Blossomon's stem, blowing the small pink bubbles at her, but it was doing nothing. Blossomon swatted him aside as if he were no more than a mosquito. Mako was near the creature's mouth now. Desperately, he grabbed the vine that had him, the thorns cutting his hand. He bit down into the vine as hard as he could, grinding his teeth back and forth to make sure to cause as much damage as possible. The flower cried out in pain and threw him down. After falling ten feet, Mako hit the ground roughly and scrambled over to Ai. The Spiral Flowers sliced through the air between them. Crying from pain and fear, they struggled with the Digivice and card again. Mako tried the card again, and nothing happened. Ai took the digivice and card and got the same results. "Spiral Flower!" Blossomon shouted, sending more of the deadly blooms the kids' way. They joined the group of flowers that was already chasing them. Ai and Mako tried to run, but ended up tripping over each other and falling to the ground. The flowers went over their heads. "Ai, I just thought of something. Impmon didn't come back until we learned to share!" Ai and Mako held the Digivice together, and slashed the card. "Digi-Modify!" Ai started. "Shurimon activate!" Mako finished. Two shuriken appeared above Yaamon. "Huh?" he said. "What am I s'posed to do wit' 'dis? Oh, well." He hopped up and butted the shuriken with his head, and they went flying toward the flowers headed for Ai and Mako, deflecting them. The flowers returned to Blossomon's vines. "Yes!" Ai and Mako shouted together. Ai began digging through her cards again. The latest series of cards came from the Tamers' adventures, including several new Digimon. The Three Great Dragons were now the Four Great Dragons, with Megidramon included. Guilmon's line now had cards, with the statistics Takato had given them. Takato had been literally jumping up and down when he found one of the makers of card game was coming to meet him personally and get all of Guilmon's information. Beelzemon and Beelzemon Blast Mode now had cards, as did... "You're gonna like this one, Yaamon," Ai said. "Ready, Mako?" The two kids held the Digivice together. "Digi-Modify!" they said. "Behemoth activate!" There was the sound of a motorcycle revving, and Beelzemon's bike rode in under its own power, stopping in front of Yaamon. "All right!" Yaamon shouted. "Thanks, guys." He hopped aboard. If it would work for MetalKoromon, he figured that controlling it without hands or feet would be easy. "Hey manure breath!" Yaamon shouted at Blossomon in his typical fasion. "Time for some weed whacking!" The motorcycle powered toward the plant Digimon, plowing into her and knocking her over. "This is too easy!" Yaamon crowed. The motorcycle turned around, and plowed at the Ultimate again. The wheel struck her face and plowed through. Blossomon screamed in pain and was broken down into red data particles, which Yaamon quickly absorbed. The motorcycle turned towards Ai and Mako. "That was great, Impmon!" Ai enthused. "Or Yaamon. Or whatever your name is now." "Yeah, Impmon, you sure showed... hey!" Mako shouted. Yaamon wasn't stopping, and Ai and Mako dodged to either side to avoid getting run over. Yaamon's eyes looked soulless, and had a red tinge to them. "Wait a minute," Mako said. "Is he driving the bike, or is it driving him?" Yaamon rode away on Behemoth, his two partners running after him, with no hope of catching up.

I?m spelling Kokomon?s name as ?Cocomon? on purpose to work with Suzie?s logic. And the Kabuterimon isn?t the one from Adventure. In-Training names: Terriermon=Gumimon Lopmon=Kokomon Guilmon=Gigimon Renamon=Viximon Gardromon=Kapurimon Cyberdramon=Hopmon Impmon=Yaamon Calumon and MarineAngemon stay themselves. --- ?Wopmon, what is this pwace?? Suzie asked her partner. ?And why did you get so small before weaving?? ?Shibumi?s Doodlebug plan had the side effect of devolving most of us to In-Training.? Lopmon said. ?You don't know how long it took me to learn how to walk like this. And if Zhuqiaomon saw me, I?d be too embarrased to even look him in the eye. And that's if I was big enough to do so. I don?t even know what to call myself in this form.? ?You [i]really[/i] look like a choc... chock-o-it... chok?wit bunny now...? Suzie pondered. ?...so what about... Cocomon?? ?Um...? the devolved Lopmon began, but she saw Suzie?s eyes, already looking saddened at just the thought of disapproval. ?Cocomon it is,? Lopmon agreed. ?It?s perfect.? She saw the delighted Suzie coming in for one of her infamous ?attack hugs,? but instead of cringing, she accepted it. ?I?ve missed you, Suzie.? ?I miss you too!? Suzie said happily, squeezing "Cocomon" tighter. ?Maybe the sobren... sovrin... so-ve-reign will let me stay here with you?? ?Perhaps,? Cocomon said, trying to hide the fact that she was struggling to breathe. ?I wonder if it was they who brought you here. But now, we must be off to the village. It isn?t safe outside.? Suzie followed Cocomon through the forest whose floor was covered not with grass or dirt, but zeroes and ones. Suzie marveled at the instant change from broad daylight to pitch darkness, but Cocomon was insistent that they continue, even during the pitch dark night. Cocomon explained explained the camp formed by the Digimon who were not transformed by the Shining Digivolution. When the news got around that parks on Earth were unaffected by D-Reaper, a program had been created by a rather brilliant Kabuterimon to simulate organic material, and the D-Reaper had left a large area untouched, thinking it to be vegetation. This area became home to many Digimon refugees fleeing the destruction of the digital world. But Kabuterimon was no the only one with the idea. There were other such safe zones. And after the battle with D-Reaper, so much of the Digital World was ravaged that there was not enough food to go around. The inhabitants of some such zones were willing to share food and resources and work together to rebuild, but many went in for the steal-and-hoard method. Cocomon eventually became tired, and, though the former Rabbit Deva hated to admit weakness, she had to stop and rest. Suzie was still wildly energetic. Cocomon watched her partner with envy, and wondered if there was ever a case of humans devolving. Though her body was weaker as an in-training, her senses were alert as ever, and she heard the three Digimon coming. ?Suzie, come here!? Cocomon called. Suzie was soon at her partner?s side. ?Stay close to me, Suzie. Someone?s out there.? [i]As if I could protect anyone,[/i] Cocomon thought. But she?d try. Three Datirimon stepped close enough to be seen. Suzie said something about tomatoes being the wrong color, and began scanning the three newcomers with her digivice. Cocomon scolded the Datirimon. ?What are you three doing out here? I told you, it?s not safe. There could be any kind of Digimon out here, and if they?re hungry enough, they won?t stop short of making a meal of you!? ?What do you know?? the three Datirimon said as one. ?You?re only an In-Training yourself.? ?I told you, I was the Rabbit Deva, but the Sovereign turned me into Lopmon, and a computer program in the human world turned me into... this. Have you ever seen another Digimon like me before?? ?You used to be Antiramon?? the three Datirimon laughed, still talking at once. "Yeah, right." ?And would you stop talking like that?? Cocomon said. ?You?re not YukimiBotamon. Now, come with me before...? ?You can?t tell us what to do!? The three Datirimon bounced in unison down the dark path. ?That went well,? Cocomon sighed. ?I don?t suppose you brought any cards to speed me up?? Suzie shook her head. "No cawds. I didn't know I'd need 'em." ?No, that would be too easy,? Cocomon said cynically. ?Come on, we'd better go after them.? Suzie and Cocomon chased after the Datirimon, and Suzie commented that Cocomon had sounded exactly like something called a ?mommy.? Cocomon made a mental note to ask Terriermon (or rather Gumimon, now that he was an In-Training as well) what that meant. Datirimon weren?t the world?s fastest Digimon, and Cocomon and Suzie had soon closed the gap between themselves and the three mischievous youngsters. ?Aw, nuts!? the Datirimon said as Suzie and Cocomon caught up with them. ?That?s right,? Cocomon said. ?When your parents hear about this...? The Datirimon spoke once more, in a deeper, ominous voice. As they spoke, the three voices melded into one. ?My parents, as with the rest of my kind, need food. And you have it.? The three Datirimon became one hideous green lizard with red stripes, a tail twice the length of its body, and armor complete with a helmet. Atop the helmet was a second set of eyes. Suzie raised her Digivice. ?It says he?s Chamewemon, an awmored wizard who can take diff'went shapes and imitate voices. It didn?t say he?d be that ugwy, though.? ?Wizard?? Cocomon said. ?You mean lizard?? ?I [i]did[/i] say wizard!? ?Never mind, Suzie. Chamelemon, we don?t have anything of value. Just leave us alone.? ?Well, you look pretty tasty yourselves,? Chamelemon said, his tongue flicking out. ?Run, Suzie!? Cocomon ordered. ?I?m right behind you.? ?But Cocomon, can?t you digivolve or...? ?Go!? Suzie and Cocomon tried to run, but their way was instantly blocked by three Greymon, who had been waiting for Chamelemon to lead the two travelers to them. ?Greymon,? Suzie said, reading the digivice. ?Champion Digimon who kill and cook their prey with one Nova Blast. They?re not nice, I take it.? Cocomon slowly shook her head. ?It?s best we took our leave. Follow my lead.? She tried to lead Suzie between two of the Greymon, but they were far too quick. One Greymon firmly planted its foot in their path, and launched three fireballs. Cocomon and a screaming Suzie ran to avoid the blasts, Cocomon feeling more helpless than ever. The three Greymon surrounded their quarry. ?Hey, you! Get away from them!? a voice called. From behind Chamelemon came two DarkTyrannomon. The Greymon responded with fireballs. Cocomon and Suzie took the opportunity to escape. Unbeknownst to them, Chamelemon saw them and altered his colors to blend with the ground, and faded from sight. He began to stalk toward them. Two Greymon attacked the larger of the DarkTyrannomon. The DarkTyrannomon spouted a column of flames. The Greymon simply walked through it, unharmed by the heat, as was natural for any fire-breather. Of course, the DarkTyrannomon was not on the other side. The two Greymon had two seconds to ponder what had happened before the DarkTyrannomon?s tail was descending upon their heads. Thunk, thunk. Two down. The smaller DarkTyrannomon?s job was almost as easy. After not too long, the Greymon had ventured too close, and the DarkTyrannomon was presently grasping the Greymon by the antlers and ramming the Greymon?s head into a tree. The tree went down after two strikes, though the Greymon was still willing to fight. ?What?s your problem?? DarkTyrannomon demanded. ?Just stay down.? The Greymon roared in fury, yanking his antlers free and kicking the DarkTyrannomon in the stomach, sending him to the ground. ?Me and my big mouth,? DarkTyrannomon groaned. ***** Cocomon led Suzie down the path as fast as they both could run. Cocomon cursed internally at her inability to fight. [i]I was one of Zhuqiaomon?s prize warriors, I fought D-Reaper, and I?ve got to run from an Armor and three Champions while others do the fighting for me. This is just wrong.[/i] ?Who were those wizards?? Suzie shouted. ?That?s ?lizards.? Remember the thieves (pant) from other villages I told you about? Those guys (pant) are the worst of them, (pant) and they?re from a valley of mostly reptile Digimon. They call themselves the (pant) Saurian Alliance, and we just experienced their idea of foraging. The DarkTyrannomon are on our side. They (pant) look mean, but most of them are friendly.? ?What?s fo?aging?? Cocomon sighed and started to clarify, but she stopped as she heard a rustling in the trees above her. Before she could begin to look for what it was, something yanked Suzie into the air, letting her hover about five feet above the ground. Suzie grasped at her neck, gasping for air, as whatever it was was choking her. Chamelemon appeared, hanging from the trees and holding Suzie by the neck with her tail. ?You?ve caused me a great deal of annoyance, human.? Leaping from tree to tree with astonishing speed and agility that, in the world of humans, would be impossible for such a creature, Chamelemon took Suzie back to the Greymon and DarkTyrannomon in a matter of seconds. ?DarkTyrannomon!? he called. ?Stand down, or this dear hatchling?s neck snaps in half.?

Vajramon was not the tenth Deva. There was Mihiramon the tiger, then Sandiramon the snake, and Sinduramon the rooster. then Pajiramon and Vajramon, who appeared at the same time. He's either the fourth or the fifth, if someone cares to watch their bio-emergence in slow-mo and see who came out first. Sixth is Indramon. 7: Makuramon appears, though we don't yet know that's who it is. 8: Kumbhiramon. 9: Vikaralamon. 10: One might say Caturamon, but only his voice is heard, and "appear" indicates sight. So in the next episode, we have #10, Majiramon the dragon. Makuramon's riding on his back.

Darkmoon: I love those style riddles. Kinda reminds me of Gollum's riddles to Bilbo in "The Hobbit." Anyway, #1 is RedVegiemon. He's red, one of his attacks is his poisonous breath, and he's become evil against his will (Dark ring.) #2 is Mikemon. But Gatomon's Vaccine and Mikemon's Data. Clowmet: Not being from the UK, I can't answer the first, but the second's Majiramon.