Oookay. This is my first fan fic, so please keep an open mind. It is the

result of 3 weeks of work and severe writer's block. It takes place after

(For Matt, "Ogremon's Honor") Machinedramon is defeated.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, but this storyline, and any new characters

are MINE.

************************************************************************

"Ice Wolf Claw!"

"Waaaaaaaahhhhhhh!" Puppetmon cried. His wooden body hit the grass,

smoking, with a thin sheet of ice on him. Finished. Defeated. Inaudible to

anyone, he asked..

"Cherrymon? .. What do those kids have ..that I don't?"

FRIENDS. Came a faint yet strong reply.

The Dark Master disintegrated into bits of data. Matt walked up with a

look of satisfaction on his face.

"Thank you Matt!" Sora exclaimed, running up with the rest of the group.

Matt turned and stared. Five pairs of eyes looked back. Tai's stunned brown

eyes. Kari's sweet innocent ones. Izzy's wide black and calculating.

Sora's sympathetic and understanding. The Digimon's.

And TK's. The wide crystalline blue eyes, the image of an innocent soul

Matt had tried so hard to protect. TK needed him still.

It would be so easy, just to stay.

He walked off.

Left the others. Left his friends. He couldn't face them. Not now at

least. Puppetmon was gone, by his hand. They were safe, for now. He could

of stayed.. but it hurt to much.

Do you know what is hurting you, Matt?

The question tortured him. What's wrong with me?! I keep running, with

nowhere to go. What am I supposed to do? DO YOU HERE ME?!! WHAT AM I

SUPPOSED TO DO!? He shouted silently to the sky.

Matt did the only thing he could think of. He ran. And ran, with

Metalgarurumon loping after him.

He ran until he collapsed, miles away from the others. A faded looking

beach was up ahead. My mind is playing cruel tricks on me. He thought. On

the beach was a peddle boat shaped like a swan.

Matt sat on the beach, his face buried in his arms, sobbing.

Metalgarurumon devolved to Gabumon and walked up to his companion. He

placed a caring arm around the weeping boy.

"What's wrong with me Gabumon?" Matt asked between sobs. Gabumon gave no

reply, but kept his arm around him.

That Cherrymon. Gabumon thought bitterly. He used Matt's insecurities for

his own plans. They failed, but look what it did to him!

Matt fell asleep, with Gabumon keeping watch. Near midnight he awoke.

Gabumon had dozed off. The air was deathly still. Matt gazed across the

smooth black surface of the lake. He tensed. Was someone calling him? No.

Still, he was drawn to the opposite bank.

He roused Gabumon, and they went off in the boat. His harmonica was still

on the beach where it had dropped.

The trekked through the dark forest until they came to a clearing. The sky

was lightening to a pale gray.

"Going somewhere?" a voice from the shadows asked.

Matt froze. Why did that voice sound so familiar? He'd heard it

somewhere...

Then it hit him. It was his own.

"You know, you're only running from yourself." a second, female voice

added.

"Who's there?!" Gabumon demanded, standing protectively in front of Matt.

"Chill Gabumon." the first voice asked.

"Show yourselves!" Matt demanded.

"Okay!" the second voice, taken aback, said. "Sheesh."

The female speaker stepped from the shadows. She was his height, wearing a

purple T-shirt, jeans, and boots. Her hair was blue-green, pulled back in

two ponytails. Her laughing bright blue eyes seemed to look right through

him. What startled him most was that she wore a Tag. No crest, no

Digivice. Just a Tag.

The other speaker stepped out next. Matt found himself staring

at...himself. A perfect copy. Same too-cool pose, same wild blond hair.

Their were only two differences. The boy wore only a Tag, and his eyes were

a pale violet.

"Who-Who are you guys?" Matt managed to stammer.

"I'm not your conscience or anything, in case you were worrying." His

double replied with a smirk. His eyes tore holes right through Matt.

"How about being a little less vague, David." The girl crankily told Matt's

double, taking his gaze off the startled Digidestined.

"For getting us here Myu sure wasn't a lot of help, Cybra. We were lucky

to have gotten out of that time rift and found- Oh, you're still here." The

last sentence was aimed at Matt.

"What are you talking about? Who's Myu? And I don't recall having a

clone." For some reason the boy (David) grinned.

"This could take a while." The girl(Cybra) said, rolling her eyes.

"MATT!" a voice in the distance shouted as the two new people snapped

their heads around towards the sound.

"Joe!" Gabumon exclaimed.

"Matt!" Joe emerged from the bushes, panting, with Gomamon at his heels.

He walked up to a startled image of his friend. "I knew you'd be here, I

mean with Elecmon seeing you leave in that boat, and finding your

harmonica-"

"Dude," said a very startled David, who was holding up his hands to ward

off the ecstatic Joe "Matt's there." He said, pointing over his shoulder at

the real Matt.

"Wah?" Joe glanced from Matt, to David, then back at Matt "I knew cloning

was going to far."

"No, really." David said dryly. Cybra scowled at him.

"Since when are there two Matts?" Gomamon asked.

David sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Here goes nothing." He muttered "About a week ago the two of us and seven

other kids ended up in some strange world.

Before that we(the nine of us), and some other guy were in a museum, in our

world. Then some freaky lady in a black cloak appeared and told us it was

time. Time for what? we wondered. Then the building blew up. I am not

kidding. But we didn't. Everyone else in the museum did. Including our

families." David shuddered, but continued "We were protected by some

shield. At first we thought that the lady had done it, but she told us it

had been terrorists. She said her name was Myu.

The only thing(besides ourselves) that hadn't been destroyed was this huge

mirror. Myu turned it into some kind of portal, and we went through. What

happened to Ron (the other guy) we don't know.

We ended up in some strange place of mist. Myu appeared, and gave us the

Tags. Myu told us that we were needed here in the Digital World, that we

were special in some way. We found out how soon enough. All of us have

these cool abilities."

Cybra continued "She told us about what was go'in on here, and about you

guys, and that we're sort of like you guys' doubles. We opened a doorway

here, but on the way we got stuck in some time-rift, where we found the

ninth and tenth Digidestined-"

"WHAT?!" Matt, Joe, Gabumon, and Gomamon shouted. Cybra looked annoyed

but continued.

"We got out of that mess and came here. We split up to find all of you."

She let the info sink in.

"Whoa." Said Gomamon.

"Tai? I don't feel so good." Kari told her brother weakly.

"You're not getting sick again, are you?" Gatomon asked her.

The main group of Digidestined had just defeated Machinedramon. TK and

Kari had just finished building a little memorial to the Nuemamon when Kari

had moaned.

"Me neither." TK added. Both of them were pale.

"Good thing we have the medicine," Sora said soothingly, coming over to

them. "Both of you can take it."

Kari reached into her pocket and pulled out nothing. She groaned.

"I must have dropped it when Warumonzemon chased us." she looked near

tears. Tai tried to console his sister while Sora fished through her first

aid kit. She pulled out a box of aspirin.

"There's only enough for a dose each." She whispered to Tai "We'll need to

find medicine somewhere."

TK and Kari took the medicine. Then the group trudged on, slower than

before.

Mimi sighed for about the tenth time. Had Joe found Matt? She wondered.

Palmon was asleep on her lap, Gekomon and Otamamon snoring beside. The

other Digimon, Elecmon, Meramon, Ogremon, and Frigimon, were scattered

around the small clearing(Frigimon very very far from Meramon). Mimi was

the only one not asleep.

A snap of a twig and a rustle in the bushes made her heart stop, then start

again ten times faster than usual. The minuscule sound also stirred the

other Digimon. Palmon had felt Mimi go rigid, and now she was awake and

ready to fight.

The sound stopped, but no one relaxed a hair. The air was deathly still.

An object whistled through the air. Mimi piped a small scream when it

landed at her feet. She picked it up and examined it.

It was a cross. One of the crosses that Mimi had made to remember the

Digimon that had sacrificed themselves to help the Digidestined.

"You made one too many." A quiet husky voice said. Mimi's heart was at

her throat. She knew that voice. Did she dare hope?

"Wizardmon?"

It was him. The Digimon stepped from the shadows. Mimi ran up to him..but

stopped. Another figure was emerging from the shadows. Tall, with a cloak

that resembled bat wings.

"MYOTISMON?!!!"

The figure glowed, and devolved. Wizardmon watched uninterested, as if he'

d seen this before.

Instead of a Digimon, there stood a girl.

"Mimi?" the girl asked

"The Pink Lady?" another voice said playfully.

"Don't you dare call me that!" Mimi said to the girls. Two girls that she

knew. She ran up and hugged her best friends.

"Rae? Jenn? What happened to you?"

"We're finally on the top!" Izzy announced. He and Andromon had been

messing with the computer.

"I'm glad I can't see down, I'm scared of high places." said Kari. The

medicine was in effect for her and TK.

"Shhhh, someone's coming." Tai said. A sinister laugh filled the rocky

wasteland. Out of nowhere a dark form flew into the sky. The Digimon was

very similar to Angewomon, only clad in black. Instead of a winged glove

there was an out of proportion claw-hand. Red eyes glared at the

Digidestined.

"It's LadyDevimon!" Yelped Gatomon. Why, oh why now? I can't fight her, I

can't!

Gatomon, digivolve to..Angewomon!

Tentomon, digivolve to..Kabuterimon!

Biyomon, digivolve to..Birdramon!

Patamon, digivolve to..Angemon!

"Let me warp digivolve Tai, I can take down this black and white

nightmare!" Agumon begged. Tai shook his head.

"We need you to save your strength. For when Peidmon comes."

The other Digimon flew up to the threat. LadyDevimon only laughed.

"Fools! Darkness Wave!" she spun in midair and a cloud of darkness flew

at the kids' Digimon. They were almost knocked out of the air.

"Electro-shocker!"

"Meteor Wing!"

LadyDevimon pushed aside the attacks. Angemon attacked. She dodged.

"Celestial Arrow!" The attack grazed LadyDevimon's shoulder, causing

visible pain.

"Darkness Wave!" the attack hit all but Angewomon square on, draining

their energy and devolving them back to rookies.

Angewomon gasped as her friends hit the ground. The kick came without

warning, and she spiraled through the air.

"Oops, sorry blondie." LadyDevimon mocked. Angewomon didn't know what hurt

more. The blow, or being hit by her former friend. This wasn't the time,

she reminded herself, Kari needed to be protected.

Angewomon struck back. Then the other. Back and forth.

"If that isn't a cat fight, I don't know what is." Sora remarked. Kari was

yelling in the background.

"That's right, get that witch, you're stronger than her! Go get her!"

"Nightmare Scythe!" LadyDevimon wielded a silver blade, and slashed at the

angel. Angewomon cried out in pain, and tumbled. Kari screamed as her

friend fell to the earth.

Falling..

THUMP

Something caught the angel. Angewomon was now looking at a winged maroon

mask and bright blue eyes.

Her rescuer was rewarded with a slash in the face. The Myotismon

look-alike yelped, and released Angewomon, who put some distance between

them.

The new Digimon clutched her face. "That's gratitude for you." She said

sarcastically. Angewomon gasped. Around the Digimon's neck was a Tag and

Crest. The symbol was a four pointed star in a circle. A Digivice was on

her belt.

"Lookout!" she suddenly shouted, and knocked Angewomon out of the way of a

Nightmare Scythe.

"Oh no you don't," the Digimon growled at LadyDevimon. "Crimson

Lightning!"

The red beam of energy struck LadyDevimon in the face. She glared at the

new Digimon.

"Nightmare Scythe!"

"Crimson Lightning!"

Tai and Izzy watched open mouthed. "Who is that Izzy?" Tai asked. Izzy

took out his laptop and began to type furiously. The analyzer screen

popped up. Tentamon's voice explained.

"Eramon is living proof that looks can be deceiving."

"What else?" Tai demanded. Izzy shook his head. "There isn't anything

else. That's all the information."

"Weird."

The Arial battle continued, with Angewomon back in the fight.

"Where are you?" Eramon muttered to no one "Now would be a good time."

A bright beam of white light shot out from behind a huge boulder. The

beam hit LadyDevimon squarely. The black Digimon spiraled down to the

rocks. Angewomon couldn't take it anymore.

"NO!" she cried as she swooped down in an attempt to catch her friend.

Eramon, calmly blocked her way. LadyDevimon hit the ground and the impact

made a small crater.

"About time Jenn." Eramon said as the source of the attack made itself

known. A sorceress resembling Digimon holding an opal staff pumped her huge

eagle wings up to where Eramon and a very startled Angewomon waited.

"Miss me, sister dear?" Lunamon asked in a laughing tone. She also wore a

crest and Digivice.

"Is she one of those weird prophetic Digimon?" Patamon asked. Eramon

looking both irritated and amused, shook her head.

"Nope. My sister just has a warped sense of humor. By the way, very nice

first impression." Eramon dictated the last sentence to Lunamon, who

grinned. Izzy finally got the analyzer up (he'd been mesmerized by Lunamon)

and Tentamon's voice explained: Lunamon is Eramon's twin sister. A natural

born trickster.

"Hey! Wait for me." An irritated voice stated, and the owner came from

behind the boulder. It was a Digimon that resembled a jester.

Authors Note: I hate long explanations. So..

Think Batman, the jester girl, all in black.

Thank you.

"Sorry to break up the reunion," LadyDevimon hissed, coming up behind them.

"Nightmare Scythe!"

"Ace of Spades!" the jester Digimon flung a bright green ace at

LadyDevimon, causing no damage whatsoever. She narrowed her blue eyes and

attacked again.

(Tentamon's voice) "Guesstramon lives up to her appearance. This Digimon

loves to play tricks."

The odds weren't looking to good for LadyDevimon. Strategy is everything,

she reminded herself. So if I can't beat them head on...

Her scarlet gaze fell on Kari. That's it! she thought triumphantly. The

Digimon in the air were stunned when LadyDevimon dove towards the ground.

Straight at Kari.

"KARI!"

She screamed as the claw hand flew at her. She shielded her face. Then..

"Thunderball!"

The small energy ball sent LadyDevimon off balance, halting her dive. No

one was watching her, however. All eyes were on the Digimon that had

rescued Kari.

Wizardmon.

And Kari had a deathgrip on him.

"I thought you were dead," she sobbed. He smiled.

"Myotismon can't get rid of me that easily."

"But how..." Tai wondered. He'd seen Wizardmon die by Myotismon's Grisly

Wing. Or had he? Now that he thought about it, Wizardmon had never been

deleted. Before fighting VenomMyotismon the Digidestined had covered his

body with some large cloth they'd found.

"All right now," Lunamon said triumphantly "Let us Digivolve! To mega!"

"Ultimate." Her sister corrected her.

"Ultimate, mega, same difference." Both of the girls' Crests glowed, Eramon

's white and Lunamon's pale lavender. Wizardmon managed to pry Kari off

him.

Lunamon, digivolve to.. a symbol with two triangles overlapping each other

burst over her. Her wings glowed and split into six. The staff changed

into a thunderbolt shaped bow. A silver faceplate with her crest on it

slipped over her face, and her clothing became all white.

-Celestiamon!

Izzy stared, and not just out of fascination.

Guesstramon, digivolve to.. the same triangle crest burst over her. She

flung off her hat, revealing blonde hair, then she glowed white. She

re-materialized resembling Angewomon, but dressed in a plain pale blue

one-piece. A plain faceplate covered her face.

-Sorsramon!

Eramon, digivolve to.. the star-in-a-circle crest burst over the vampire.

A brilliant white light came from her heart, enveloping her. An angel

wielding a silver sword took her place. The faceplate had the crest on it.

-Nayamon!

Angewomon gasped as her friend began to glow.

Wizardmon, digivolve to.. the star-in-the-circle crest burst -Warmon! A

tall Digimon in a scarlet cloak dressed in black, and a mask that completely

covered his face, stood where Wizardmon had.

"W-Wizardmon?" Kari stuttered, craning her neck up to see his face. She

felt, more than saw him smile.

LadyDevimon was not happy. It had gone from 4 Champions VS a Mega to 4

Ultimates VS a Mega in a matter of moments.

"Ariel Attack!" The energy blast to the back put her in a worse mood.

"That was Unimon!" Izzy exclaimed "Which means.."

"Mimi!" Kari finished.

Mimi was astride Unimon, with Lillymon beside her. On the ground were

Ogremon, Meramon, Elecmon, Frigimon, Gekomons, and Otamamons.

"Yeah!" the group cheered, then stopped short. Flying behind Mimi were

seven kids their age. SEVEN KIDS FLYING!!!??

It took a few minutes for the Digidestined to absorb the information. In

that time the battle in the sky resumed.

"Darkness Wave!"

"Thunder Arrow!" Celestiamon shouted. She stood on a rock, and released a

brilliant white arrow.

"Heavenly Blade!" shouted Nayamon as she slashed the air, releasing a wave

of energy.

"Magical Blade!" cried Sorsramon. A white blade flew.

"Midnight Spell!" shouted Warmon as a deep scarlet fire came from his

hands. All four attacks plowed into LadyDevimon, visibly weakening her.

"Finish her off Angewomon!" cried Kari to her partner. Angewomon, who was

attempting to hold back tears, flew forward.

"Heaven's-" she began, then saw it. A black crest around LadyDevimon's

neck. Angewomon lunged and snatched the pendant from around LadyDevimon's

neck. The chain snapped. LadyDevimon gave a strangled scream, then fell

to the earth. She hit with a thud. The crest was eradicated.

Angewomon knelt beside her friend.

"Angewomon!" Kari cried as she ran up to her companion. "Be careful! Did

she hurt you? What-" the sight of the angel's face cut her off. Everyone

hushed.

Kari's crest shone brightly. The light washed over LadyDevimon's broken

form, and her appearance changed completely. She now wore a long-sleeved

black shirt with tattered edges, and black leggings/boots. Purple scarves

were tied around her gloved wrists and ankles. The fierce scarlet eyes

changed to pale glowing blue.

"Ga-Gatomon?" she asked weakly. Angewomon pulled her into an embrace.

"You're all right!" she exclaimed.

"I won't be if you suffocate me."

Everyone stared at the two. "We were friends, before Myotismon." Angewomon

explained a bit nervously.

"What was that black crest thingy?" TK asked.

"A crest of despair." LadyDevimon said, climbing painfully to her feet

with Angewomon's help.

"Don't you mean the crest of despair?" Izzy queried "Or are there more than

one?" LadyDevimon nodded. "Peidmon got his filthy hands on one, and

decided I would make a nice bodyguard. This was the result. Don't be

surprised if you see more of those.""

In a flash, a glowing blue and white vortex appeared out of nowhere.

"I have to go," LadyDevimon said tonelessly "She's calling me. Thank you

for your help." She hugged her friend, then plunged into the portal. It

then disappeared.

"Who was calling, I wonder." Said Biyomon.

Everyone's attention was turned back to the seven flying kids, who were not

flying now, but standing on the ground.

One stood out. She was tall and thin with blonde hair and green eyes. She

wore a loose forest green T-shirt over black leggings. A cocky swagger was

in her stance.

Beside her was a boy that looked remarkably like Izzy. He had a open

orange shirt over a red one, khaki shorts and palmtop computer in his

pocket.

Then was a girl with pink hair in a ponytail and light brown eyes. She

wore a yellow T-shirt with a sun on it and khaki jeans.

After her was a girl clad in all green, enhancing her deep red hair in a

ponytail that fell past her knees.

Beside her was a boy with messy brown hair and eyes, dressed like he had

come from a game of soccer(minus the cleats)

Next to him was a boy with brown hair and eyes, a black shirt and jeans.

Last was a girl in black leggings, a white tank top under a long turquoise

wide sleeved shirt. Her eyes were silver, and her brown hair had her bangs

like Kari.

Each of them wore a Tag.

"Who are you?" Tai demanded. The first girl grinned.

"I'm Vera, and these guys(in order) are Ender, Sarah, Andrea, Aaron, Alan,

and Tara."

"They have these cool powers." Interjected Mimi.

"What kind of abilities?" Izzy inquired. Ender, the one who looked like

Izzy's clone, answered.

"You might have already noticed we can fly," he said dryly "We can also

teleport within a 100 foot radius, manipulate some forms of matter, and if

our doubles' crest is functional, shoot beams of energy."

"Double?" Kari asked, bewildered, and now holding an exhausted Gatomon.

Ender shrugged. "We don't quite understand ourselves. Myu was never too

specific. And," seeing the unsaid questions "I'll explain who Myu is. She

is a being that lives at a higher level of reality, almost like a super

being. She transported us her, but on the way we found-"

"Rachel and I floating in space." A voice cut in.

"Right. When we ended up here, we split up to find everyone."

"Don't forget about Ron," Sarah (pink hair) said "Ron's my brother, and he

was with us when Myu came, but we haven't seen him since."

"How come your hair is pink?" Kari asked her.

"It was black before, but it changed when we came here. Same with Cybra.

Her's went from black to turquoise."

"David and Cybra are the last two members of our gang. They went to find

Matt and Joe." Vera added.

An impatient a-hem turned everyone around to where the 4 mysterious

ultimates had stood. They were gone. In there place were two girls holding

In-training Digimon.

The first had a green tank top with a lighter band around the middle,

jeans, and boots. Her blonde hair was in a high ponytail, and her eyes were

blue. The star-in-the-circle crest was around her neck, and a Digivice was

clipped to her belt. She held what looked like a stuffed animal, a

cartoonish reindeer with chubby antlers and little balls for feet.

The second had a sky blue T-shirt, khaki shorts, and sneakers. She wore

the triangle crest and a Digivice. Blonde hair was pulled into a low

ponytail, and she wore her bangs on either side of her head. She had the

same blue eyes, but they were laughing instead of serious. The Digimon she

held looked like a pink Gatomon, only it wore red boxing gloves, had small

triangles for ears, amber eyes, and a line for a mouth. No nose.

"I'm Jennifer," the second girl introduced herself "This is Kitmon." She

indicated to the Digimon in her arms. "Call me Jenn. And this is my sister,

miss-humor-of-a-rock-"

"Rachel." The second said.

"And I'm Bunomon!" the little reindeer said cheerfully.

"Where's Wizardmon?" Gatomon asked wearily. Bunomon grinned.

"Right here silly! Dontcha recognize me?"

"But how-"

"We'll explain," said Rachel "Everything."

Matt, Joe, Gomamon, Gabumon, Cybra and David were trekking through the

woods, toward the main group. No one spoke.

I can't believe this, thought Matt I'm rushing back to the others because

two total strangers and Joe say its my duty. Maybe it is, but I haven't

found what I'm looking for. Not yet.

Why did Myu have to come select us? I'm about ready to think she arranged

for our families' ends. Cybra thought bitterly We never asked to be heroes.

Can we trust them? Thought Joe I mean, this is a little strange of a time

for them to show up. Is it some trick of Peidmon's?

Twin to the Crest of Friendship, ha, that's a laugh. David thought I didn'

t even tell them Ron and I were friends. We might have argued sometimes,

but still.

Here I am now, shrugging off everyone new I meet. No wonder I don't make

any friends. They probably think I'm some reject, someone who doesn't care.

Maybe that's who I am.

What had happened to Ron? Had he been caught in the explosion? David

refused to consider that.

A sudden light filled the darkening woods. The group stared at the blue

and white vortex that appeared. Some one was in it.

Someone with black hair, and brown eyes shot with gold. He stared at them

coldly.

David's heart went to his throat. He knew that boy. He'd known him a long

time. He'd last seen him before the explosion in the museum.

David's voice shook when he finally found it.

"Ron?"

****************************************************************************

*********

Dontcha hate cliffhangers? Don't worry, more will come. The next will do

some serious explaining.

I LOVE OPINIONS! E-mail me at mgealta@msn.com. Even if you wish to spit

flames at me.

Finally! Sheesh, this took forever! So, here it is, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon. I have no idea who does. Don't sue me,

unless you want a pile of Monopoly money.

************************************************************************

The Past .

By: Foxfire

Odaiba Orphanage

Rachel

Saturday morning. And someone was daring to wake me up.

My name is Rachel Arita.

"Go away." I mumbled. The person promptly yanked me out of my lower bunk "I

will hurt you Jenn!"

My twin sister grinned. She knew better. The last time we'd fought, a year

ago I think, the both of us had felt cut in half. We never tried that

again.

Where's are parents on this? you're probably wondering. Hah. We don't

have any. Four years ago someone brought us to this hellhole of an

orphanage. We don't know anything about ourselves before that. And I mean

nothing.

I quickly got dressed. My crest (at least that's what the lady in charge

called them) and gadget thingy (Digivice, or whatever its called) were on my

nightstand. I put them on. Jenn was already dressed. She was holding a

lavender egg with white triangles, about the size of a cantaloupe. I had

one too, sky blue with white stars. They were some sort of toy I guess,

but we'd never gotten rid of them for some reason. They seemed to important

somehow.

We went downstairs to the cafeteria. Eggs & Bacon. Not to bad. After

heaping our plates we went to an empty table against the far wall. I

watched as Jenn wolfed her's down. Its a wonder she's thin.

My mind drifted back to my dream. It had Matt in it, which is no wonder, he

's this guy at school I have a crush on. But there'd been other things.

And it ended abruptly, not because I'd been woken up.

"The misfit having visions again?" a sneering voice asked. Two dimwitted

giggles followed. I looked up at Dominique's smirking face. Casey and

Courtney flanked her. They're soul purpose in life seems to be tormenting

me. This says something about their egos, considering I'm at least an inch

taller than them.

"Have we disturbed you? Oh, we beg your forgiveness." Dominique leered.

"Go boil your heads." I growled.

"Tut tut. When your folks bashed your heads it must have affected your

brains. At least our parents didn't leave us behind because we were

retarded losers."

I was gripping the table with a grip that could crush metal. Keep your

cool. I told myself.

Dominique snatched off my right glove. There's a reason why I wear those

gloves. A very good reason.

"Oh, how cute." Dominique trilled "You love that necklace so much you

tattooed it on your hand."

"Give it back." Jenn demanded.

"I wasn't talking to you, loser." Dominique cruelly told Jenn.

That was it. They could pick on me, but not my sister.

I tackled Dominique, sending her tray flying. Holding her collar, I drew

back my fist.

"Don't do it Rae." A deep husky voice told me as I glared at Dominique's

terrified face. That cooled my temper. I snatched my glove back, and

stormed out the cafeteria with Jenn following.

I flopped down on my bunk and grabbed my egg. That's what I do when I'm

stressed. The thing seemed to calm me down.

"I knew you could change your voice, but not that well." I told Jenn "Thank

for stopping me."

"Rae," she said worriedly as she shut the door "I didn't say anything."

* * *

Present Day

"That didn't tell us much." Tai said impatiently. Rae rolled her eyes.

"Sheesh. I've got to start somewhere."

"Who was the voice?" Kari asked curiously. Bunomon smiled brightly.

"Me!"

Sora thought a moment. She then asked Rae to take off her glove. She did,

reluctantly. Sure enough, a tattoo of her Crest was on the back of her

right hand.

"Do you have it too Jenn?" Sora asked. Jenn nodded and rolled up her right

sleeve. The tattoo was on her shoulder.

"Okay, may we go on?" Rae said a bit impatiently. Everyone nodded.

* * *

Camp Tiowanus

Jennifer

Oh goody, summer camp. Oh well, at least its an entire week without the

three musketeers(Dominique, Casey, and Courtney). I saw a few kids I

recognized. Tai, Joe, Sora, Mimi, Izzy, Matt, and TK. Rae and I are sorta

friends with Mimi and Sora (I call Mimi 'the pink lady', it drives her

nuts, tee-hee). Izzy & I are in the same gifted and talented computer

class, even though he's practically Bill Gates. Matt's in a few of our

other classes.

I always tell Rae she's too serious, and then she says I don't take

anything seriously. Maybe that's true, considering I crack jokes

constantly.

Tai at the moment was up a tree, literally. The other seven kids were

spread around the equipment building. Rae and I were in some clearing off

to the side. I was at my usual pastime, fiddling with the stupid

Digivice! The thing won't do anything but blink once in a while. Once I

was about to give it to Izzy, but thought better of it. Rae was just

holding her egg.

"Ah hah!" I exclaimed. The little screen now displayed three words.

It is time.

"Time for what?" Rae asked skeptically. Both of our Digivices began to

glow.

"Time to enter the twilight zone." I said ominously, and we both laughed.

Then we both heard awed voices. We peeked through the bushes.

An aurora filled the sky.

"Its too far south." I heard Izzy mutter. Without warning, what looked

like seven small comets blazed straight for the ground. The impact covered

the seven with snow.

A bubble of light came out of each crater. Tai grabbed the one floating in

front of his face. The others followed in suite.

"What are they?" Sora asked no one, opening her hand. I suppressed a gasp.

In her hand was a Digivice. Rae and I started to come out of the bushes

when-

-What looked like a huge green wave reared up. The nine of us had barely a

chance to scream before we covered.

"What is going on here?!" I demanded as Rae and I spiraled away from the

main group. We hit a turbulence in the green mist. It started to pull us

into different directions.

"Hang on!" Rae shouted, as we hung on to each others hand.

"NO!" I screamed as her glove slid off her hand. Rae fell away from me, and

I was left clutching her glove.

The mist ended, and I was falling through thin air towards land!

"AHHHH!"

"Wings." A voice similar to my own said.

"No DUH! Wings would be nice!"

"Than say it!"

What the heck. But my voice came out calmly, and said-

"DIGITAL WINGS!"

My back felt veryyyyyy weird to say the least. I pumped my wings and-

MY WINGS!!!!?????

Sure enough, two glimmering magenta fairy wings were protruding from my

back.

"This is some bizarre dream, right?" I asked to no one.

"Nope." The voice in my head told me.

The wings had slowed my fall, but the impact still knocked me out.

Rachel

I plummeted towards the small hunk of land below me. And screamed at the

top of my lungs.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a mostly stable human being, but I was going to die.

"AHHHHHHHHHH!"

"Fly, Rae." The same voice that had stopped me from punching out Dominique's

lights spoke to me again.

Fly? That'd be great but I can't.

"DIGITAL WINGS!" I shouted. What the heck? I hadn't planned on saying

that. Then why had I?

I finally opened my eyes (I never remembered closing them), and saw I was

falling slower. Awkwardly, I looked over my shoulder. A pair of white and

brown falcon wings were there.

"Flap harder!" the voice urged.

"I'm not exactly experienced!" I shouted back hotly.

Twenty feet to the ground! Man I was working those wings.

Bam.

I hid the ground hard and passed out. And I was still clutching my egg to

my chest.

Jennifer

"Jennifer? Oh Je-nni-fer!" A childish voice sang.

"What?" I muttered crankily. Then I opened my eyes.

Two amber eyes looked back. Two eyes on a pink face. I face belonging to a

creature that was sitting on my chest.

"AHH!"

I was up before you could say 'yo'. I dug my hand into my bag, looking for

my pocket knife, and realized that something was missing.

The egg.

"What did you do to my egg?!" a demanded from the pink cat-like creature.

"Nuhtin. I hatched, that's all."

Authors Note: Yes, I know In-trainings don't come directly from Digieggs,

Just bear with me here.

"So you hatched from the egg I've had since I was seven." The creature

nodded vigorously. It then banged its head with one red boxing glove.

"Where's my manners? My name's Kitmon. I would have still been in my baby

form, Toramon, but I couldn't hatch in the real world, so I digivolved

inside the Digiegg."

"Could you run that by me again?" I asked, overwhelmed.

"Otay! Where's my manner's? My name's Kitmon. I would have still been-"

"I was kidding Kitmon. But what's this thing about digivolving?"

"Its what we Digimon do when we go to the next level. Right now I'm an

In-training, then I'll be a rookie, then champion."

"Ah. So that's what you are, a Digimon."

"Mmhh. Digital Monsters, Digimon."

CRASH! CRASH!

The sound of a very large creature coming near froze me to the spot. It

took all my self control not to yammer like an idiot when I saw what the

creature was.

A huge red and green dinosaur.

"Its Tyrannamon!" Kitmon exclaimed in her childish voice. "He's a hot

headed Digimon, and his 'fire blaster' will burn you!"

"That's a Digimon?!" I shouted hysterically.

"Yes!"

"Fire Blaster!" Tyrannamon shot a ball of fire from his mouth.

"Lookout!" Kitmon, stronger than she looked, knocked me over as the fire

ball flew above us.

"Bubble Blow!" Kitmon puffed up and spat a few pink bubbles at the monster.

It had no affect.

"Ah!" she yelped as Tyrannamon swung his tail towards her. It missed by

millimeters.

"Hey! You!" I yelled at Tyrannamon, trying to get him away from Kitmon "You

over grown bad breathed foul tempered-"

WHAM!

I never saw the tail. The impact rattled my bones and knocked me back

several feet.

"Jennifer!" Kitmon cried. Dazed, I saw my Digivice light up with an eerie

light. The light washed over Kitmon, and she glowed.

Kitmon, digivolve to..Katamon!

Where Kitmon had stood, a creature that looked like a cat standing on its

hind legs stood. Its ears were much larger and had sky blue tufts on the

ends. White gloves were on the three clawed paws. Its eyes were green,

standing out vividly against the white fur with pale sky blue stripes. The

tail was long and thin, and had a tuft of fur the same color as the ear

tufts on the end.

The light dissipated, leaving me staring at the cat.

"Tiger Claw!" Katamon cried, slashing the air, and three orange stripes left

by her claws knocked into Tyrannamon. He stumbled, but got right back up!

"Fire blaster!" the monster fired point blank.

"NO!" I shouted, running to her. She'd been trying to protecting me. Now I

had to return the favor. All I was focused on was protecting her. If I

hadn't been so transfixed, I would've noticed the mark on my shoulder

burning with a shimmering white light. The light traveled down my (right)

arm, and to my hand. A flood of glittering white light exploded from my

glowing palm towards Tyrannamon.

"STAR SHOCK!" I shouted (not having a clue why). My attack pushed back the

fire, sending it on its owner. Katamon recovered from her shock and joined

in.

"Tiger Claw!"

With a roar Tyrannamon dissolved into dust. I stood there, breathing hard.

Katamon looked at me, awed and curious.

"Jennifer," she said "You're part Digimon."

It wasn't a speculation. Wasn't a guess. She was sure.

Rachel

"Uhhhhhh," My head felt like it had been split in two. Slowly and

painfully, I opened my eyes. I was lying on my back in what appeared to be

a forest. Out of curiosity, I felt my back. If I had had wings, they'd

would've been crushed. Nothing was there.

I sat up. Beside me was a crushed sky blue and white eggshell.

My egg.

I swore. It must have broken with the impact. Slouching, I let loose a big

sigh. The forest, I could now see, ended abruptly about twenty feet away.

Probably a cliff or something.

Something rubbed against my thigh. I was standing in a flash.

The creature that had rubbed my leg blinked up at me. It looked almost like

a reindeer. Its legs were positioned so its belly was on the ground. The

legs were short, and there were no hooves, just little paws with no claws.

The antlers were short and chubby, and it had small ears on either side.

Its cute smile and bright blue eyes made it undenyingly adorable.

I relaxed. The thing wasn't much bigger than my egg had been. "You're so

cute!" I exclaimed. It smiled and blushed.

"Thanks!" he said in a cute childish voice "M'name's Bunomon, and you're

Rakel, right?"

"Rachel," I corrected, grinning despite myself. "You can talk?"

Bunomon smiled brightly "Yup! Everything's gonna be otay now that you're

here!" he exclaimed, bouncing up and down.

I sat back down and picked him up. "What do you mean?" I asked. Bunomon

shrugged. "I dunno exactly."

"What am I doing here?" I wondered, out loud. Bunomon looked at me

curiously. "To help restore peace to the Digital World." He said very

seriously.

"Digital world? I'm in computer land? Great. Where's Jenn when you need

her?"

"Whose Jenn?" Bunomon asked.

"My twin sister."

"Oh. Otay!"

I sighed, stood up, and started to pick up some dry twigs. Bunomon followed

at my heels.

"Whatcha doin'?" he demanded. I laughed. He was just too cute.

"Getting fire wood." I replied, picking up a few large branches "So we have

light once it gets dark."

I piled the wood in a star shape, and pulled out my matchbox. Bunomon

looked on in awe as I struck a flame. He reached for the orange fire.

"Don't!" I exclaimed and he drew back his paw. "Careful, you'll get burned."

He nodded, a little shaken.

The fire blazed up satisfyingly. Now if only I had some food...

Bunomon rubbed his stomach. "Boy, I could use some fish."

"Fish?" I inquired. He nodded. "There's a stream over there," he gestured

toward the forest. I nodded.

"Let's get some food."

The stream was within sight of the campfire, and teaming with sleek silvery

fish. No matter how hard I tried to catch one, it would slip from my hand.

Bunomon watched with a grin of amusement. Finally I gave up and flopped on

the bank.

"Urgh." I groaned. Bunomon giggled.

"Like this," he said, shuffling over to the spot beside me. A look of great

concentration on his face, he stared at the silvery surface of the stream.

SPLASH! SPLASH!

With twin sudden swipes of his paws, two large fish landed neatly on the

bank. Drenching the both of us in the process.

Bunomon giggled. "Oops." We both cracked up.

The sun was only a gleam on the velvety sky when we finished eating. The

little reindeer wiped the few specks of fish off his mouth. I did the same,

and thought again that Jenn had the glove that hid my tattoo. Oh well.

Where was she?

I yawned loudly, making Bunomon more than a little startled.

"Tired?" I asked. He defiantly crossed his arms and gave me a stern look.

I suppressed a snicker.

"No." he said firmly.

"All righty then."

Before my eyes, his eyelids drooped, and he slumped forward, out cold.

Noticing he was shivering, I put him on my lap. I leaned back against the

tree behind me and looked up at the sky.

It would be a long night.

I awoke to a snuffly snore coming from my shoulder. Bunomon was curled

around my neck, sleeping peacefully. The fire was nothing but smoldering

ashes. A breeze blew across my face, making me shiver and rouse Bunomon.

"Mornin." He mumbled, yawning widely.

Click. Click.

The sound pierced the relative silence. Bunomon tightened his grip on my

neck and whimpered.

"What was that." I said fearfully. Bunomon said nothing.

Click. Click. Click. Click.

As silently as I could I rose to my feet.

And screamed.

Jennifer

Katamon and I walked through the forest. She was still weirded out by the

fact that I had used a Digimon attack. I was weirded out by the fact that I

was in a computer program filled with living breathing pieces of data!

At one point Katamon stopped a Digimon called a Kunemon (some caterpillar

with a horn). From him we found out we were on a continent called 'Server'.

Also that a village was nearby.

The forest ended and the desert began. A desert that seemed to have no end.

Katamon groaned.

"It can't be too far," I said sympathetically. She nodded her feline head.

After a walk that seemed to stretch into eternity we reached the village. A

village filled with pink heads bouncing around.

"Koromon." Katamon explained. I nodded, very convinced.

"Gizamon!" a Koromon bounced down from one of the watch towers. Chaos

erupted. Koromon scattered everywhere, running into their respective

houses, leaving Katamon and I standing in the empty street.

"Katamon," I said very calmly "What are Gizamon?"

"You do not want to know."

"But your gonna find out!" a scratchy voice shouted. A few dozen creatures

began stalking towards us.

"Easter bunny on steroids?" I muttered as the two of us slowly backed away.

"Well the bunnies are going 'bye-bye'." I pointed my right hand towards the

advancing Gizamon.

"Star Shock!" the white beam shot at them.

"Tiger Claw!" Katamon shouted as she joined in.

"Electric Stun Screen!" the Gizamon shouted in synchrony. Blue electricity

came from their sunglasses, blocked our attacks, and rammed into us.

"Argh!" it felt like I had jabbed barbed wire into my stomach. Katamon wasn

't much better.

The Gizamon laughed at our plight. Katamon narrowed her emerald eyes

dangerously.

"All right," she hissed "You asked for it."

My Digivice glowed once again, this time the light washed over the both of

us. The sensation, it was like nothing I'd ever felt. A surge of energy

and strength.

Katamon, digivolve to..Guesstramon!

Beside me now stood what looked like a girl my age dressed in black. A

jester hat (you know, with the bells)\ mask covered almost all her face.

The sleeves and ends of her pants were fringed with bells. Her eyes were

now a dazzling blue, like my own.

But the light still surrounded me.

Jennamon, digivolve to. My wings reappeared, grew larger, and changed into

eagle wings. The sleeves of my shirt widened, my shoes turned into form

fitting black boots, black gloves slid onto my bare hands. The rest of my

clothing turned purple, and a mask the same color came to rest over my eyes.

An ebony scepter topped by an opal materialized in my hand. For a finishing

touch, my hair came loose. -Lunamon!

The light disappeared, leaving the Gizamon gaping at us.

"Cool." I said, fingering the staff in my hand. Desperately trying to

ignore the fact that I was no longer in the same form, my Digimon had

changed completely and was staring at me.

"Electric Stun Screen!"

This time we were ready.

"Ace of Spades!" Guesstramon cried, flinging a glittering green ace at the

offending Digimon.

"Er, uh, Moon Beam!" I pointed the staff at them and a beam of dazzling

white light came from it.

The little rabbits turned on tails, and scurried away.

"Yeah!" I cheered as a strange yellow glow surrounded me and Guesstramon.

When it dissipated I was in my normal clothes and such, and Katamon was

back.

"This may be strange," I told her "But there's something I have to do. Find

Rachel. Then I figure out what's up with me.

Rachel

It was a spider. A large spider. A very large spider with horrendous,

clicking mandibles, and a swollen bulk covered in wiry black fur.

Arachnimon

"AHH!" Bunomon and I screamed as it came nearer. I backed away and-

Fell off the cliff!

"AHHHHH!"

The ground was very very far away. Terrified, Bunomon clung to my

shoulder.

"DIGITAL WINGS!" I cried, if for nothing else than to save him. Thanks be,

the falcon wings reappeared. Straining them, I flapped back to the edge.

Arachnimon was still there.

"Poison Blaster!" a dark cloud of energy flew at us. This was it.

"Bubble Blow!" Bunomon leapt in front of me, directly in the path of the

poisonous cloud.

"BUNOMON!"

The tattoo on my ungloved hand glowed a fiery orange. It expanded until my

hand held fire.

"SUN BURST!" I screamed, firing the flame at Arachnimon. The attack was

destroyed and the spider shuddered.

A glow from my Digivice bathed Bunomon in an unearthly light.

Bunomon, digivolve to..Panthremon!

A black cat with porcupine quills covering its back now stood there.

"B-Bunomon?" I asked fearfully. The Digimon grinned.

"Still me." His voice was considerably lower.

"Poison Blaster!" Arachnimon brought itself back to attention.

"Oh no you don't," Panthremon growled.

"Poison Jab!" he leapt into the air, curled into a tight ball, and spun,

releasing quills that shot at Arachnimon.

"Sun Burst!" I added. Arachnimon shuddered, and disappeared.

"Yay!" Panthremon leapt into my arms "We did it!"

"You haven't accomplished anything yet." A sinister voice dripping hate

echoed over the clearing.

He appeared.

"Myotismon." Panthremon hissed, jumping nimbly from my arms and onto the

ground. The vampire smiled a sinister smile.

"The Digidestined will prove to be an annoyance," he said smoothly "But

you," his icy blue eyes glared straight into mine. Those strangely familiar

eyes. "You will be a bother to no one when I am through with you."

My blood froze just about then. Panthremon sensed my fear and made some

ground for me.

"You don't know who're you're dealing with," he said defensively. He was

answered by a laugh as cold as the winds of the arctic.

"Oh, but I do."

"Poison Jab!"

"Sun Burst!" I said, trying to overcome my fear.

"Crimson Lightning!"

The red beam of energy knocked aside our pitiful attacks and pinned the two

of us to the ground.

"We're.not.finished." Panthremon said painfully. My Digivice lit up again,

the light washing over the two of us. The pain vanished as the crimson beam

faded away. Myotismon shielded his eyes from the blinding brilliance.

Panthremon, digivolve to..Wizardmon!

A sorcerer Digimon now stood beside me.

The light was not through with me.

Rakamon, digivolve to. The falcon wings on my back vanished, and a long

black cloak lined with blue took its place. My hair came loose and a maroon

mask shaped like bat wings came to rest on my face. The clothes I wore

changed into a one piece red and gray outfit. -Eramon!

I looked like Myotismon.

I floated into the air.

"Crimson Lightning!" the words came out so easily. The blood colored beam

whipped towards Myotismon, who countered with his attack.

"Magical Beam!" Wizardmon's staff fired a beam of blue lightning towards

Myotismon, who simply deflected the attack.

"Grisly Wing!" a column of bats and dark energy took shape.

"Grisly Wing!" I spread my cloak and the same attack materialized. Both

attacks annihilated each other.

"You put up a good fight," Myotismon said mockingly "But it has come to an

end." Blue fire formed in his raised gloved hands. It grew larger and

larger before my terrified eyes.

Once it was huge enough to fill the entire clearing, he launched it at us.

Will Rachel and Wizardmon survive Myotismon's attack, and will Jennifer

find her sister before its to late? Find out in part two.

****************************************************************************

*********

YES! * kisses computer screen* Its finished! Don't worry, more will come.

Dontcha hate cliffhangers? Why does Bunomon look like a reindeer?

Because he's just too cute!

All right, all right, I'm goin'.

SPIT THE FLAMES! a mgealta@msn.com

For those you wanted to know what's goin' on with Matt and the others, here

it is. It happens while Rachel & Jennifer are telling their past. Warning:

Before reading this, read New Allies'. You will not get a thing if you don'

t.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon

****************************************************************************

*********

.To the Present

By: Foxfire

"Ron?" David asked shakily.

The brown and gold eyes flickered at the name. Matt and Joe started.

Around the boy's neck was a tag and a solid black crest.

"Ron!" Cybra exclaimed "You're alive! Sarah was so worried when you

disappeared-"

The boy lunged, snatching Matt's wrist with a grip that defied logic, and

began to drag him into the portal.

"NO!" David shouted, shocked. He grabbed Matt's other arm, but Ron was

too strong. Matt was pulled in, and the portal disappeared. His Digivice

and Crest of Friendship clattered to the ground.

"MATT!" they all shouted in unison. David clenched his fists, while Cybra

shook visibly. Joe had his usual 'worried' look.

David broke the silence. "Did you get anything?" he asked Cybra. She shook

her head.

"No, there was some powerful barrier around him."

"Huh?" Gomamon, in the dark, asked.

"I can sort of read minds." Cybra explained quickly, not really focusing on

the question.

David picked up the forgotten Crest and Digivice and came to stand next to

the distraught Gabumon. He concentrated on the objects, picturing the

owner. The forest flickered, then vanished like a wisp of smoke. A

different scene took its place.

It was dark. And cold. On one wrist was a cold metal shackle. Dimly he

could see two brown and gold eyes.

Then the forest was back. David blinked. It had worked!

"David!" Cybra shouted, waving her hand in his face "Digiworld to David

Barker!"

"What?" David said, snapping out of his trance.

"You did it again, didn't you."

"Yup. I know where Matt is."

"And how do you know?" Gabumon asked quietly. David fidgeted.

"I um, sorta, went in his head and saw what he was seeing."

"Ah. So you can do it too. Let's go." Joe said enthusiastically. David

shook his head.

"Just me and Gabumon. I have to do this alone."

Cybra furrowed her brow worriedly, but said nothing.

"All right," she said "Good luck."

"You'll need it." Joe said helpfully, and Cybra scowled at him. Gabumon

nodded. He and David walked into the forest of shrouded trees.

Matt had awoken in a dim cave. The boy, Ron, who'd captured him was

slouched against the wall opposite to him. He hadn't moved since Matt had

woken up. The gold and brown eyes were glazed with boredom.

The only thing keeping Matt from escape seemed to be the shackle that

chained him to the cave wall. As far as he could see, the cave had no

opening. And he was pretty sure Ron would prove as some barrier.

"So," Matt said, unable to take the silence anymore "Why am I here?" To his

surprise, Ron simply shrugged.

"I don't know exactly, she was never to clear on this."

"She?" Matt inquired. Ron winced, as if he'd said too much, and refused to

answer. Matt continued pushing.

"David and Cybra seemed to know you. They said you disappeared after Myu

showed up, so what happened?"

Ron seemed confused, then plain angry. I've hit a nerve. Matt though

grimly.

"I've never heard of them." Ron said angrily.

"Yes, you have. Why are you pretending not to?"

Ron leapt to his feet. The gold and brown eyes now glowed with a sick

shade of red. With one hand Ron yanked him of the ground and slammed him

into the wall.

"No." he hissed as Matt winced in pain. The black crest around his neck

glowed with a dark light. It seemed to increase his fury. He stepped back

from Matt. The dark light from the crest flowed out and surrounded Ron. A

mad look in his eyes, he launched the black flame at Matt, who screamed.

Nothing had hurt more in his life. It felt as if he were on fire, but it

was more than that. He felt a deep pain from inside, pure, unfiltered

despair.

Ron continued his attack, heedless to the cries that now echoed through the

cave.

Gabumon winced and stopped walking.

"He's being hurt." He said softly. David looked pained, and flopped down

on a rock on the path.

"What do I think I'm doing?" he muttered "Who'm I kidding? 'I have to do

this alone', sheesh."

Gabumon looked at him curiously. "You know, I think you're going through

the same thing Matt is. Questioning it all." David looked at him

incredulously.

"Am I that much like him?"

Gabumon nodded. "You think everyone's better off without you, that you have

no purpose."

David became very interested with a rock on the ground. "You're right. I

mean, having my mom around was the last thing that kept me hanging on, but

when the explosion happened.." he trailed off and wiped his eye with the

back of his hand "My parents got divorced when I was seven, and Dad got my

sister Vera, and Mom got me. After that, Vera and I avoided each other,

intentionally or unintentionally, I'm not sure. I only had one friend, and

we used to argue all the time." He smiled sardonically. "That guy was Ron,

the one who kidnapped Matt. I don't know what happened to him, the Ron I

knew wouldn't of." he stopped. Why'd I tell Gabumon all this? Have I lost

it?

Gabumon, who'd been listening patiently, finally spoke. "You may not

realize it, but you're going after Matt, not because its your duty, but

because of your friend Ron, and," he paused "and because you and Matt are

friends. You might of only known each other for a day, but you are his

friend."

David was stunned. This Digimon had seen right through him.

"The rest of your group, they're your friends. I am your friend, remember

that."

"Gabumon." David said, not quite knowing what to say. The Crest and

Digivice in his hands suddenly glowed with an unnatural brilliance, and

surrounded Gabumon with a pillar of it's light.

Gabumon, warp-digivolve to..Metalgarurumon!

The light disappeared, leaving David gazing at the armored wolf.

"But Matt's not here," he said, bewildered "How did you.."

"It doesn't matter," Metalgarurumon said in his low, growling voice "You and

Matt are linked, and I'm here to protect the both of you."

David narrowed his eyes and nodded. He climbed on Metalgarurumon's back.

"Let's go find Matt."

The latter slumped on the ground, beaten mentally and physically. Ron

remained standing, breathing hard and sweating, the sickening red gone from

his eyes. Replacing it was, doubt? Confusion? Frustration? Coming from

him, it seemed doubtful.

"You've meddled to much Yamato." He said sullenly "Dug to deep. Go ahead,

get rid of that fool Peidmon. Then leave. This isn't were you belong."

What's he talking about? Matt thought wearily.

BOOM!

Ron and Matt's heads snapped around as an explosion at one end of tunnel

allowed daylight to flood in. Silhouetted in the now blinding light were

two forms. A giant wolf. And a tall boy with spiky hair.

Metalgarurumon and David.

A tired looking smile flickered across Ron's face.

"Good. You repaired my mistake for me."

David clenched his fists. Matt mused over how familiar the scene was. When

he had fought with Tai, he'd stood by Metalgarurumon fists clenched, same

expression.

"I don't know what happened to you Ron." David said quietly "But I'm leaving

this cave, and Matt is leaving with me."

What? This guy he'd known for a grand total of, count 'em, twelve hours,

had come back by himself to rescue him? How'd he gotten Gabumon to warp

digivolve without him? Matt's brain buzzed with questions.

"You can have him," Ron said casually, and a sudden movement of his hand

flung Matt towards David, snapping the chain. "It was a mistake."

Matt groaned as his already fractured arm snapped. David knitted his brow

in worry.

"I'm not as good as Sarah," he muttered "But we don't have much of an

alternative."

He placed his hand over Matt's injured arm. A pale blue glow came from his

hand. Matt relaxed some as the pain of his broken arm receded.

With great difficulty David hauled him to his feet and onto Metalgarurumon's

back.

"Get out of here," he told Matt "Go back to the others."

A spark of determination returned to the blue eyes. "No," he answered David

"I'm not leaving you here with this, this," he broke off, not being able to

find a word for Ron.

"Oh please do," Ron said "Very good call David, you'll make it easier for me

to deal with you. My mistake was capturing Matt. He wasn't the target.

You are."

David's lavender eyes widened, then narrowed. This wasn't his friend.

This wasn't the only person he'd been able to talk to for the past few

years. This was some evil using his friend's face.

"Just go!" he told Matt. David stepped up to his opponent. The same sick

red glow returned to the brown and gold eyes.

"Show time." He muttered victoriously. Black flames grew and surrounded

him. David felt a twinge of fear. Ron could use energy attacks. He couldn

't.

A burst of flame knocked David into the rock wall with a sickening thud. A

fairly large chunk of stone detached itself from the rock wall and fell

towards him.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them a second later they

glowed with an eerie blue light. Without any bang or flash of light he

vanished, to reappear behind Ron.

Ron tutted. "Don't even," he chided, as if he spoke to a child "I can see

your every move." He turned around and again shot the flames at David, who

could only shield his face with his arms.

Then-

An azure glow flared up from David's empty tag, enveloping him so only his

eyes shone clearly through. The blue light deflected the black flame.

"What!?" Ron exclaimed. David turned, still surrounded by the light, to see

Matt leaning heavily on Metalgarurumon. He held up his crest, which was lit

with the same eerie blue glow.

"Friendship," Matt said, almost inaudibly. His eyes then widened "Lookout!"

Ron had taken advantage of the distraction and nailed David with an attack

like none before. The latter was knocked back into the rock wall and

remained there, unmoving. Ron grinned maniacally and prepared to destroy

him, as he'd been ordered.

"NO!" Matt shouted as he ran at Ron, oblivious to the fact that the crest of

Friendship was glowing like never before.

How touching, Ron thought sarcastically, But a mere human can't stop me.

The look of arrogance on his face suddenly melted into horror as the

impossible happened.

This is it, David thought bitterly, This is what this all comes to. A great

big dead end. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end. An odd light caused

him to open them again. His lavender eyes widened in amazement at what he

saw.

I know I can't do anything, Matt thought grimly, But I have to try. Isn't

that what friends, friends, are for?

Friends. Friendship. What I've been searching for all this time. I've had

it all along, he realized suddenly.

The light of his crest grew, and enveloped him in the blinding azure light.

A figure of flame. Fire.

Matt pointed with one arm at Ron.

The torrent of blue and white energy plowed into the figure in the dark

light.

It was impossible. Yet it was happening.

David climbed stiffly to his feet, clutching the stone for support, and

added his attack to Matt's.

The energy dispelled the blackness around Ron, his only barrier, and knocked

him into the rock. The blue fire did not disappear, but hung around the

black haired boy. The black crest slid out of the tag and dissolved, and

the fire left as well.

The two boys watched in deathly silence. Metalgarurumon bounded from his

post at the door to behind them.

Ron raised his head. There was no red glow in his eyes. No look of

madness. Just shock, confusion, and pain.

"David," He said, shocked "My gosh, what have I done?!" he paused, then

slowly held up his now empty tag and smiled bitterly. "I should of known.."

he muttered.

"That crest, it was controlling you, wasn't it." David asked quietly. Ron

nodded, and stood up. Fierce determination now filled those gold streaked

brown eyes.

He walked toward the entrance of the cave, into daylight. He turned

halfway around.

"Thank you." was all he said, and then he vanished.

David and Matt watched him go. All of the sudden, their tags began glowing.

As the two boys watched in amazement, a beam of blue light linked the Tags.

The light then faded.

Matt's Tag still had the Crest of Friendship. But now, so did David. Two

Crests of Friendship.

The rush of adrenaline wore off. Lack of sleep kicked in. They didn't

realize they were asleep until they hit the ground.

Hazy, faraway voices filtered into the silence.

"Do something!"

"Me? You're the doctor, Joe."

"Will you two cut it out!"

Silence.

"They're just taking a nap. From what I can see, they probably were in some

kind of fight,"

"No, really. What do you think all the fallen rocks, scorch marks, and

broken bones mean?!?"

Matt opened his eye a slit. Joe, Gomamon, and Cybra were standing over him

and David. Cybra was wearing her usual scowl.

"That girl has a killer glare." Matt thought, amused.

"Sheesh," Gomamon interjected "You two fight more than Joe and I do."

Matt and David have both found what they'd been looking for, but will they

return to their friends in time? Find out in the next chapter of the 'New

Allies' series.

****************************************************************************

**

*Beats off Matt's fans with a stick* Back I tell you! Back! Yes! I

dared injure your favorite character! MWAHAHAH! I have the power!

*regains calm (yeah right) composure* Hope you liked it. More with come.

So long!

THIS NEXT ONE IS UNRELATED

Gee, can we spell 'sappy romance'. Tee-hee. I just felt like writing a

Sora&Tai fic. Its got a *cough* slightly adult *cough* situation, so take

warning. Anyway, enough of my babbling. Enjoy! (This takes place whenever

you want after they defeat Machinedramon.)

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon, I haven't the slightest idea who does.

This story line HOWEVER, is MINE!

****************************************************************************

******************

Heart of Ice and Flame of Courage

By: Foxfire

"SORA!" Tai screamed over the roar of the blizzard. The snow was blinding

and cut at him, and Phoenixmon's fiery feathers did little to help.

"SORA!" Pheonixmon echoed in her deep feminine voice.

Two days ago Peidmon had sent all eight of them in different directions,

with the wrong Digimon. He'd outsmarted himself though. The Digimon had

all been at mega level. It was true, without the right human partner they

couldn't digivolve, but they couldn't devolve either. And it wasn't

helping.

Pheonixmon hadn't been able to attack anything since the day before, and it

was a wonder she could still fly. Tai had seen Sora and Wargreymon go to

the same frozen wasteland, but the hadn't met up yet.

"Tai!" a faint throaty voice penetrated the wind of white.

"Its Wargreymon!" Pheonixmon exclaimed. With great difficulty they flew

closer. They gasped at the sight that met their eyes.

Wargreymon was a sad sight indeed. His polished armor was dented and

crusted over with ice. Exhaustion showed clearly on his metal-plated face.

Held protectively to his chest was Sora.

"Tai..." Wargreymon said weakly, then collapsed on top of Pheonixmon. Now

in contact with Tai's digivice, he devolved back to Koromon.

Sora was blue from the cold, and her clothes had ice forming on them.

"Pheonixmon," Tai said "I know you're worn out, but we need to find shelter

or we'll all die."

The giant four-winged bird nodded, and flapped her fiery wings to the cave

she and Tai had found earlier.

They reached the cave. The tunnel turned back on itself, so the snow was

kept out. With the last of her strength Pheonixmon placed her passengers on

the dry dirt floor, then turned back into Yokomon.

Okay, first aid, Tai thought, For hypothermia (freezing to death) use a dry

sleeping bag-

"Where in god's name am I supposed to find a sleeping bag?!" he shouted to

the empty cave. As if to answer his question, a sleeping bag rolled out

into the open.

"Give me a break. Oh well, a sleeping bag's a sleeping bag."

He unrolled it on the ground. Trying not to think about what he was doing,

he removed Sora's freezing clothes, so she was wearing only her bra and

underwear. He slid her, Yokomon (unconscious) and Koromon (unconscious)

into the fur-lined sleeping bag.

He then removed his cold and wet clothes, and then got into the sleeping

bag and zipped it up around the four of them.

Sora's skin was colder than ice, and the Digimon were no better. Tai

wrapped his arms around Sora and the Digimon beside them. Praying that he

could warm them, he drifted into an uneasy sleep.

It was cold. So cold. That was all Sora could think of. Wargreymon had

done the best he could, but they were both worst for the wear. She was in

the oblivion of unconsciousness, painfully aware of the cold, and the fact

that she might never wake.

Then a wave of billowing warmth swept through her. It was easily the best

sensation she'd ever felt. She slowly opened one eye, and smiled. This had

to be a dream. Still, it was a nice one. She snuggled closer to Tai and

drifted off into peaceful sleep, without noticing her Crest was glowing

brightly.

Yokomon and Koromon felt a strange feeling surge through them. They both

digivolved to Biyomon and Agumon, and wrapped their arms around each other

and the children they were to protect.

In the shadows a large squirrel Digimon chuckled. So sweet, Squijummon

thought, and continued chuckling. He curled his flaming tail around the

gold orb before him. Placing both paws on it he chanted something

incomprehensible. The orb glowed with a buttery warm light, softly lighting

the chamber of the cave. Picking it up again, Squijummon then whisked back

into the shadows and vanished.

Sora awoke the next morning. Then she saw Tai sleeping next to her. She

cocked an eyebrow. So it hadn't been a dream.

Both of their clothes were spread out on the floor, now dry. She quickly

got dressed, and attempted to wake Tai.

"C'mon, sleepy head." She said while shaking him.

"Uh? Wha?" he responded intelligibly. Sora laughed, fully waking him.

"And good morning to you too." She said jovially. Tai sat up, blushed deep

crimson, and Sora threw him his clothes.

She turned around as he put his clothes back on.

"Agumon and Biyomon?" Sora asked "Could you go into the other room?"

Biyomon gave her a look, then left with Agumon following.

"Sora?" Tai asked after a few moments "Are you okay?"

She looked at him incredulously, then grinned. "I'm better than okay!

Thanks to you." she then grew serious "Tai, there's something I want to

tell you,"

"Me too," Tai replied "Uh, Sora? We've known each other for a while, and,

and I want to say that now we're more than friends."

Sora smiled "Me too. C'mon, spit it out." She said teasingly.

He blushed deeply "I love you Sora."

Tai leaned over and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Sora kissed back and

wrapped her arms around him.

"I really really hope this isn't a dream." She thought desperately.

After a few minutes they broke the kiss, and noticed the two Digimon

peeking from behind a large rock.

"I knew they liked each other." Biyomon whispered. Agumon nodded.

"Biyo!" Sora shouted.

"Uh-oh. I think they see us." Agumon gulped. The two Digimon surrendered

and came from behind the boulder.

A high pitched laugh filled the chamber. The quartet saw what looked like

a giant squirrel with a tail of fire was on top of another large rock,

laughing like there would be no tomorrow. In its paws was a gold orb.

"It's Squijummon!" Biyomon exclaimed.

"Yah know 'im?" Tai asked her. She nodded her feathery head. "Squijummon

is a cave dwelling Digimon, the cold doesn't bother him because his 'flame

tail' attack can melt anything."

"Almost anything." The squirrel corrected, coming out of his hysterics. He

jumped off the rock and landed right in front of them. He came up to Sora's

elbow.

"Were you the one who gave us the sleeping bag?" Tai asked. Squijummon

nodded. "Where did you get it?"

"If I told you K-mart, would yah believe me?"

"Nope." Sora replied.

"Ah shucks." He said, snapping his fingers. "So, guardians of Love and

Courage, in exchange for my service, I require some help."

The group grew wary. What exactly did this creature have planned?

"What kind of help?" Tai asked, eyes narrowed. Squijummon cocked his furry

head.

"There is a mystery, within these very caverns. No one understands it. I

will take you there, if" he paused "If you wish."

Tai and Sora looked at each other, concerned. They whispered inaudibly to

each other.

"He's helped us," Sora argued. Tai frowned.

"What if he helped us then to destroy us now? We can't risk it !"

"Squijimmon may be a trickster, but he's straight. He wouldn't work for

Peidmon." Biyomon said backing up Sora.

"I'm flattered Biyomon. Its a good thing I have red fur." Squijummon's

voice cut in. The kids and their Digimon stared at him.

"How dya hear us?" Tai demanded, causing Squijummon to wince and flatten

his ears in embarrassment.

"I have excellent hearing and, no offense, you're none too quiet."

They stared the Digimon down until Sora broke the silence.

"We'll help you Squijummon," she said softly, while the other three looked

incredulous. Squijummon's ears perked up again, and Sora smiled a gung-ho

grin Tai didn't know she had. "Show us this prophecy."

Squijummon was practically bouncing in excitement. From behind the boulder

he produced two fur-lined cloaks.

"You'll need these." He said as he threw them at the kids.

"Also from K-mart?" Sora teased, and was rewarded by a bright smile. They

quickly put the cloaks on. They came down to their ankles and were very

soft and warm.

The squirrel gestured to an opening leading to another chamber.

"Follow me."

Squijummon led them through a long twisted path. His gold orb lit up the

cavern with a soft glow. Other than the ruffle of cloaks and the distant

sound of water dripping, it was quiet.

The path they traveled on was dry and covered by packed earth. The other

chambers and paths branching off were darker, wet, and cold.

The path began to slope downwards.

"How far is it?" Agumon asked Squijummon.

"Far." Was the reply.

A frigid breeze suddenly wafted through the tunnel as the air grew colder.

Sora shivered and pulled the cloak tighter around her shoulders, glad she

had it. Agumon and Biyomon hid under their partner's cloaks. Squijummon

seemed oblivious to the rapidly dropping temperature.

"Must be because his tail is made of fire." Tai thought.

A cold light filtered into the tunnel, giving everything a cold blue glow.

Icicles now hung from the rapidly enlarging cavern. A small jagged doorway

in the rock and ice marked another chamber.

The group stepped into a room of dazzling white. It was the size of a

football field. They were on a raised path a few hundred feet above the

ground. The walls were coated with ice, and the ceiling was pure ice,

explaining the cold light. In the center of the circular chamber was the

thing they'd come to see.

A large stone carved into the shape of a heart, completely encased in ice.

It hung in the air, held up by nothing, a few feet from were the pathway

ended.

Tai and Sora gasped at the incredible sight. Squijummon skirted up to the

cliff end of the path.

"That's it!" he exclaimed, his shrill voice echoing against the walls of

the chamber. Sora and Tai walked closer, followed by their Digimon. The

squirrel pointed at some writing on the piece of stone, barely visible

through the thick ice.

"What's it say?" Tai asked, teeth chattering.

"It says 'The Heart of Ice will remain frozen forever.'"

Sora suddenly burst into tears. Tai, shocked, put his arms around her and

tried to console her.

"What's wrong?" he softly asked the weeping girl. She halted her sobbing

and wiped the tears off her face before they froze.

"After Demidevimon told me my Crest would never glow, I started to have

nightmares. Of this place. I could read what it said, and I knew it was

talking about me." She said mournfully.

"That's not all that is there," Squijummon pointed out "There's more

writing, but the ice is too thick to read it."

"Why didn't you just melt the ice?" Biyomon inquired. Squijummon scowled.

"Watch." He instructed. He whipped his tail in an arc, and a blade of fire

flew at the ice encrusted sculpture.

"FLAME TAIL!" he shouted a the fire plowed into its target. The children

watched expectantly.

The fire glanced off and burned itself out. Not even a chip of ice had

been melted.

"Its useless." Sora said tonelessly, tears forming in her eyes.

"No!" Tai said forcefully, putting his arm around her. "We can do it! If

for no other reason than to prove you're wrong Sora. Your Crest glows. You

care about the group. And," he pulled her closer "I love you."

He kissed her. Sora felt all the pain, sorrow, guilt, and loneliness leave

her heart. A feeling of calm, peace, took its place.

"I do too." She murmured.

Both their Crest glowed brightly as the three Digimon watched in awe.

Without warning, the symbols of their Crests burst from the tags. The two

golden symbols collided with the ice encrusted heart. The Crest of Love hit

first, growing and laying atop the ice. The Crest of Courage overlapped

the other Crest. Then the ice shattered.

A brilliant red and orange flame exploded outward, filling the entire

chamber and washing over the five figures. It melted all the ice in the

room and the chambers beyond. The ice ceiling evaporated and let unfiltered

sunlight pour in.

The fire contracted and came to rest around the heart, a living flame.

"That's it!" Squijummon exclaimed excitedly, reading the exposed writing "

'The Heart of Ice will remain frozen forever unless the flames of Love and

Courage melt the spell despair on the land of the north.'"

Two small, smooth, disk-like stones clattered to the ground. They were

warm, as if heated from the inside. They were sandy beige, and one had the

Crest of Love carved on it, and the other had the Crest of Courage carved on

it.

"Tai," Sora said in an oddly hushed voice "These have to be important. I

think they're the key to defeating Peidmon."

"You're probably right," Squijummon said. Agumon and Biyomon came closer.

"Guess what Sora!" Biyomon exclaimed "We can warp-digivolve again!"

"Now that's great news!" Tai said enthusiastically.

Biyomon, warp-digivolve to..Pheonixmon!

Agumon, warp-digivolve to..Wargreymon!

Tai and Sora mounted their partners. Squijummon watched with an

indecipherable expression on his face.

"Thanks for your help," Tai called to him from Wargreymon's shoulder.

Squijummon was crestfallen.

"So," Sora said gently "Would you like to come with us?"

Squijummon's blue eyes went wide in disbelief. Had she just said what he

thought she said? He perked up his ears.

"I'd be honored to travel with you, Digidestined." He said eagerly.

He climbed up beside Sora on Pheonixmon's fiery back.

"All right," Tai said confidently "Let's go find the others!"

Far far away from that spot a sneering Peidmon watched the pillar of light

before him. Suspended in it was a small form of a child.

"They may have fulfilled one part of the prophecy," he said to no one in

particular "But without their source of strength they will fall like leaves

in the wind."

The pillar of light around Kari flared up as her silent statement said

'Wait and see. Just wait and see.'

What of the prophecy? Will the Digidestined find one another and save

Kari? Find out in the sequel, 'Desert Rose'.

****************************************************************************

******************

'Someone's been stealing my pen name' you're probably thinkin'. I'm not

being myself. This has no new characters, no twisted bizarre plot, no-

Fine, I'll shut my big mouth. Frankly, I'm not sure I will write a sequel.

If you want one, E-mail me at mgealta@msn.com. If not, spit flames at me

anyway.

So long!

-Foxfire