Chapter 2: Before You Know It

����������� "We've got to find them!!"shouted Tai slamming his fist down on the twin's desk. Despairingly he looked out the closed 15th story window. There was no way they could have gone out that way! He turned around to see Sora silently weeping. She glanced up at him in complete helplessness. Looking past her, he saw the computer screen showing a strange picture. In slight interest he moved forward to examine it, and gasped in astonishment.

����������� "Sora, look!" he called gesturing to her. Her eyes widened as she saw what was on the monitor. Lizzie and Coro were walking in some kind of a jungle with other kids and.... were those digimon!? In an instant the image flickered, and the screen again began flashing its virus warning. Sora stood up straight, a spark of determination in her eye.

����������� "Tai, our kids are in the digiworld" she announced.

�����������"Then I'm going to somehow go back there to find them!"he replied fiercely.

*� *� *

����������� "So,"said Tim trying to break the awkward silence that had fallen over the group, "Read any good books lately?" He was met by a look of disgust from Rab and a giggle from Lectromon.

����������� "All right. I can't take it any longer," Coro said rounding on Quantomon, "Why are we here?"

����������� "To be honest with you Coro, I'm not exactly sure," admitted Quantomon, "You see, we were all raised together in the cave by some other digimon. They said that a guy named Genai gave us to them when we were just eggs and told them to watch over us. Those digimon were pretty strong, and they protected us when evil digimon came to the cave, but more and more evil digimon have been coming lately. No one knows where they are all coming from. The digimon that raised us hardly had time to go and forage for food. What they did find they gave to us. Soon, they were too weak to protect us anymore, so they sent us into the wild to find humans. We were told that we would each have a human partner with a digivice, those are those things you all got thrown at you before you got here. They help us digivolve and become stronger, and only the digidestined can use them. Once we found you they said that the our guardian digimon said that we should bring you to the cave and they would explain everything"

����������� "They were so very kind to us, but they were always so sad, distant. We never could make them really happy. We tried to ask them what was making them depressed once, but they just got far away looks in their eyes and brushed us off,"sniffed Kappymon sadly.

����������� "Oh! That is SO awful. I wonder what's wrong with them," said Jess looking genuinely concerned. They were interrupted by a sudden tremor in the ground.

����������� "Whoa!"yelled Tim falling to his knees awkwardly.

����������� "What was that!?"demanded Rab.

����������� "An earthquake, ever heard of them?" replied Penquimon.

����������� "Does that happen often?" asked Tim shakily getting to his feet.

����������� Lamatomon paused thinking, "Only just lately. It's been getting progressively worse now that I think about it"Coro shivered. He didn't like this much bit.

����������� "Are we close to the cave?" asked Dema hopefully.

����������� "I'd say a day or so," replied Quantomon noticing the setting sun, "We'd better find somewhere to spend the night,"

����������� "Hey!"yelled Jess pointing off in the distance, "Is that a hotel?"

����������� "What's a hotel?" asked Lamatomon peering at the odd looking structure.

����������� "People spend the night there when they're fare away from home like us," explained Jess breaking into a run for the clearing.

����������� "Hey! Wait up!" shouted Coro.

����������� "Man," panted Tim desperately trying to keep up with Jess, "If this was a race I think it's safe to say that the would win,"

����������� The group reached the hotel's clearing with Dema trailing in last and looking miserable. Jess was busily scurrying around the hotel.

����������� "What is it really a hotel?" asked Lizzie staring up at the many windowed structure.

����������� "There's no doors,"Jess said stomping her foot in frustration.

����������� "No doors?" asked Lizzie pursing her lips, "Than what's the point of it being here?"

����������� "There has to be a way in," said Coro decisively.

����������� "Hey!"cried Lizzie, "Maybe we could break open a window or something,"

����������� "Yeah,"said Coro working it out, "Then Kappymon could let down a rope for us with that silk spin attack she used on the bull earlier and we could climb in the hotel.

����������� "Ice Crush!"called Penquimon shooting a stream of ice cubes out oh his beak. The cubes hit and shattered the window.

����������� "Ok. I'm going up," announced Kappymon, sticking to the wall. In a moment she had crawled in the window. Everyone waited semi-patiently, but nothing happened.

����������� "Kappymon,"called Dema wringing her hands in concern. In response, a net made of white fibers was lowered out the window.

����������� "Great! Now we don't have to climb up. Let's get in,"said Jess enthusiastically. All the kids and digimon jumped in.

����������� "Hey!"exclaimed Coro in surprise, "This is all sticky! I can't move!"Everyone started struggling and found that this was true.

����������� "I wanna get out!" shrieked Dema trying to detangle her hair" Unfortunately, at that moment the net began rising toward the open window.

����������� "It's okay, " said Lizzie soothingly, "Kappymon can cut us out once we get up"

����������� In stiff jerks the net was hauled up and through the window. They landed roughly on the floor in a tangled heap of net, kids, and digimon.

�����������"Kappymon? Where are you?" whimpered Dema timidly looking around the dimly lit and barren room.

����������� "Mmmmmph!" exclaimed Tim whose face was nearly pressed to the floor. He began frantically tapping Rab, who happened to be the only he could reach, on the shoulder with his free hand.

����������� "Will you cut that out!?"snapped Rab twisting within the gooey fibers to face Tim. A gigantic gray cockroach with mandibles and long spider legs peered down at him menacingly.

����������� "Aaaaaaa!" screamed Rab kicking and clawing frantically at the net in an attempt to escape.

����������� "Ow! Hey! Cut that out!" yelled the collective voices of the digi destined and mon as Rab feet and hands came in contact with them. Turning to glare at Rab they beheld the hideous creature.

����������� "Gaaa!" exclaimed Coro as he started to pull at the webbing along with Lizzie, Jess, and all of the digimon. Tim seemed to be in shock and was mumbling something about Raid and Roach motels, and Dema had curled in to a whimpering ball.

����������� The digimonster approached slowly chuckling to itself.

����������� "Too easy," it hissed nudging the bundle with a leg and watching in amusement as all the digiteam rolled to the side and became even more entangled.

����������� "Crimson Ray!" screamed Quantomon whose head had now been turned to face the huge insect. A scarlet beam shot out in front of him and fizzled off one of its antenna.

�����������"Aaarg!"it cried hissing in surprise and rage.

����������� "Beak beam!" yelled Emulnomon. A thin horizontal beam was imitated from her beak, slicing the net so that she could pull herself out. Bravely, the little bird turned to face the spider roach. The thing monster turned around causing the beam to harmlessly bounce off its outer shell.

����������� "Web sling!" it hissed shooting out sticky chords to wrap around Emulnomon's slender ankles. With a surprised squawk Emulnomon lost her balance and toppled over.

�����������"Emulnomon! Oh no!"cried Lizzie as the large bug raised its mandibles to destroy her.

*�� *�� *

����������� "Excuse me sir,"said a tall man with a goatee tapping Izzy on the shoulder.

����������� "Oh!" started Izzy glancing up from his computer screen for the first time in hours to look at the signaler, "Yes?"

����������� The blue-black haired man adjusted his time and glanced down at the clipboard he was carrying.

����������� "I work for the government. I was sent to check on you and the others working on the virus's progress for the president,"

����������� "Oh. Of course," said Izzy straightening up his chair, "I've been trying to analyze the source of the virus, because it passes through the Internet, not E-mail, but I'm not having much luck. You see these components are popping up seemingly at random in computer systems. They're not even destroying the data, just reconfiguring it, making it unreadable. Then the virus disappears. It's practically untraceable"

����������� "Oh great"muttered the man making a mark on his clipboard, "If you supposed computer specialists can't figure this out than who can?"

����������� "Do I know you?" asked Izzy scrunching up his brow.

����������� "I don't think so," sighed the man shuffling to the next computer wearily.

����������� Izzy's computer beeped. He leaned forward in his chair staring in astonishment at the results of his data configuration analysis.

����������� "Prodigious,"he said. The man with the clipboard froze and slowly turned around staring at Izzy with a skeptical expression on his face.

����������� "Your name wouldn't happen to be Koushiro Izumi would it?"he asked.

����������� "Yeah it is, but my friends call me Izzy,"he replied, "Ummmm. How did you know that?"

����������� "Izzy it's me Joe, Joe Kido" Izzy jumped out of his chair with an exclamation of excitement.

����������� "Joe? It that really you! Oh my gosh! I thought you were going to be a doctor!" he shouted clapping his old friend on the back, "Now I know that at least someone will believe what my tests just confirmed!"

����������� "I was going to be a doctor, but I didn't get accepted to Med. School. I am one of the president's advisors now,"Joe said proudly, "Wait. What would I believe?"

����������� "The virus," Izzy said adopting a more serious tone, "It's coming from the Digiworld"

*�� *�� *

�����������"Emulnomon digivolve to......"Screamed the bird in the instant before it would have been eaten, "Osomon!!!"

����������� The bird was now gigantic and various shades of green and white. It had numerous curling feathers for a tail, striped designs on its long neck and legs, and a wicked looking curved beak.

����������� "Storm Flap!" the newly digivolved Osomon shrieked flapping her huge wings to launch a cloud of superheated air at her opponent. The bug shrieked, flipped over on its back and began flailing its many legs in the air. Slowly, it stopped waving it's legs and dissolved into digital components, which floated away. Wearily, Osomon went back to Emulnomon and cut everyone out of the sticky webbing with her beak including Kappymon who was tied up in a corner. Then she collapsed into Lizzie's arms.

����������� "Does this mean that our digimon can digivolve more than once?" asked Coro excitedly.

����������� "It looks like it,"said Lizzie proudly picking up the exhausted and slightly battered Emulnomon.

�����������"That is soooo cool!" remarked Jess.

����������� "I don't want to sleep here," whispered Dema looking fearfully around the hotel room. There were several beds, a table, and a door leading to the bathroom, "What if there are more monsters?"

����������� "If there were they would have attacked us by now," Rab said feeling his way to a bed and lying down, boots and all. Dema shivered, not very reassured, but found her way to her own bed.

����������� "Don't worry Dema,"yawned Kappymon snuggling up at the foot of her bed, "I won't let anything hurt you" Dema sighed softly, and drifted off to uneasy sleep.

*�� *�� *

����������� "Crest........digivice..aaarg!" yelled Tai in helpless frustration as he frantically rummaged through shelves and drawers.

����������� "You LOST your crest, tag, and digivice!?" exclaimed Sora opening her sock drawer and carefully removing those items from a very old white sock with a hole in the toe. She placed the tag around her neck. It's gentle presence felt familiar, like it belonged there.

�����������"I didn't loose them," muttered Tai as he sorted through some old shoeboxes, "They were misplaced" Sora rolled her eyes.

����������� "AHA!"shouted Tai triumphantly pulling his digigear from an ancient looking penny jar, causing a cascade of junk to fall and nearly burry him in the process. Sora sighed and glanced at her watch.

����������� "Tai!"she cried anxiously, "It's 5:30. We're supposed to be at Kari and Takeru's house for dinner at 6:00"

����������� "Dinner?! We don't have time for dinner. We have to rescue our kids!" As if to ascertain that fact, the lights flickered.

����������� "They said they had something really important to tell us Tai," Sora implored, "Besides, Matt's probably going to be there too. Maybe they can all help us find Lizzie and Coro,"Tai seemed to turn this over in his mind for a while.

����������� "All right," he finally said clutching his digivice, "But whatever they have to tell us had better not take long"

����������� The children awoke the next morning to the sounds of unfamiliar birds. Tim sat up in bed, yawned, and looked around the room.

�����������"Darn," he said sleepily, "I was hoping that I would wake up in my own bed,"

����������� "What!?"asked Coro angrily sitting straight up.

����������� "Hey, chill," said Tim backing away a little, "I only meant that this all seems a little unreal ya know. Like a dream or something"

����������� "Or a fairytale!" added Jess jumping out of bed, as energetic as ever.

����������� "This is not some kind of a game Tim" snapped Coro, "This is real, okay?"

����������� "Yeah, ok," Tim said looking a little hurt. He walked into the bathroom to take a shower.

����������� "Why isn't he taking me seriously?" Coro asked in frustration.

�����������"Well, who in their right mind would," smirked Rab.

�����������"Come over here and say that!" shouted Coro standing up on the bed.

����������� "Hey! Stop it! Fighting is not going to get us anywhere!" exclaimed Lizzie.

�����������"Coro,"said Dema timidly, "Maybe he doesn't take you seriously because he doesn't want all of this to be real. I know I don't"

����������� Coro's look softened a little. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair several times, "Fine then," he said, "If Tim won't listen to me, he'll have to find out the hard way sooner or later"

����������� "Hey! Guyeees! You awake yet?"shouted a voice from outside the broken window. Lizzie moved forward to see Lectromon hovering outside expectantly and all the other digimon on the ground below her.

����������� "Oh. Yeah I guess," she replied.

����������� "Can we go now then? Can we?" asked Lectromon eagerly. Tim reappeared from the bathroom, baseball cap covering his wet hair.

����������� "I'm ready," he said shrugging.

����������� "All right," Coro announced, "Let's get going!"

*   *   *

����������� "Oh no!" said Joe backing up against the wall, "The digiworld again!? Last time we were there we almost got ourselves killed.....several times!!"

����������� "Joe. Look at it this way. If we don't go the virus completely corrupts all the world's computer systems. We loose all of our electricity, bank accounts are deleted, nuclear missals spontaneously detonate...."

����������� "All right. All right"Joe said covering Izzy's mouth with his hands, "If you put it that way!" Izzy smiled and pulled his crest and digivice out of his brief case. Joe raised an eyebrow and Izzy smiled sheepishly, "I always carry them with me for good luck, k?"

����������� "We need a plan," said Izzy scratching his head with a pencil, "Maybe we could try to find some of the old digidestined"

����������� "Good idea, but where would we look?"

����������� "Hmmm," considered Izzy. His eyes fell upon a "STYLE"magazine on a nearby coffee table. It bore a picture of a pretty young woman with long brown hair. The headline read, "Owner of hot women's apparel store, Fantastic Fashion, Mimi Tachikawa visits local town for exclusive promotion"

����������� "Bingo," he said snatching it up.

*�� *�� *

����������� The travelers finally exited the monotonous forest to view an expansive dry plain. Tuffs of dead grass sprouted here and there. Small bumps in the near flat expanse were obviously caused by the recent seismic activity. Far off in the distance the land rose to form a small mountain range.

����������� "We have to cross that?" asked Tim incredulously.

����������� "Yep!"said Lamatomon happily trotting onto the flat plain. Clearly, he was in his element.

����������� "The cave is just at the base of those mountains," said Quantomon pointing with his tail. Coro sighed, "Let's keep going then,"

����������� After about half an hour of travel, they arrived at a large pit in the smooth ground. It seemed to go down forever.

����������� "What's this?" asked Jess.

����������� "Don't know," said Kappymon frowning, "Maybe it was caused by all of the earthquakes"

����������� Dema backed away from the hole nervously.

����������� "Let's go, " she said, "I don't like this!"

����������� Almost on cue the ground shook, but this time it was worse than the last earthquake. Everyone stumbled and fell. Unfortunately for Tim, he happened to fall to the edge of the pit and hit his head rather hard on the ground. Looking up dazedly he saw two compound eyes, two gooey antennas, and a bunch of sharp teeth.

����������� "Food.." the giant snail called wrapping its antenna around Tim's ankles. With a scream of horror, Tim began kicking and grabbing at the dry grass, but steadily the purple snail was pulling him into the pit. The other digidestined and digimon struggled to get to their feet and help Tim, but the ground was still shaking making their attempts unsuccessful. Desperately, Lamatomon managed to get up, and began pounding the monster with his hooves.

����������� "Obsidian hoof!" he shouted. The snail looked up in annoyance and suck its fangs into Lamatomon's ankle. With a scream of pain Lamatomon fell away.

����������� "I don't want to die! Help!!!" screamed Tim in absolute terror as he was dragged further into the pit.

����������� Lamatomon gritted his teeth and shouted, "Lamatomon digivolve to....Cristokomon!"

����������� Now he was transformed into a glorious white unicorn stallion with crackling blue energy as a mane and tail, still floppy ears, and blue markings on his face and belly.

����������� "Energy slap!" he called rearing up on his hind legs. The blue fire from his mane shot out and enveloped the snail. The snail's shell cracked, and it dissolved. Tim shakily pulled himself out of the hole and gazed up in awe at his digimon.

����������� "Not bad huh?" asked Cristokomon proudly.

����������� "No," said Tim smiling weakly, "Not bad at all"

����������� "Can we ride you to the cave Cristokomon?"asked Lizzie happily.

����������� "Sure! Hop on!"Cristokomon nodded. All the digiteam climbed aboard, grateful or the opportunity to rest their tired feet. With a triumphant neigh, Cristokomon began galloping toward the mountains.

*�� *�� *

����������� "No! No! I won't let you! YOU CAN'T STOP MEEE!!!" wailed a voice despairingly somewhere out there.