Legend of the Digi-Destined
---By Blitzkrieg---

Everyday in the week I'm in a different city,
And, if I stay too long, people try to pull me down.
They talk about me like a dog,
Talkin `bout the clothes I wear.
But they don't realize they're the ones who're square

And that's why you can't hold me down,
I won't go down
I gotta move
Hey!

Stone Free, to do what I please
Stone Free, to ride the breeze
Stone Free, I can't stay
Got to, got to, got to get away!

Woman here, woman there tryin' to keep me in a plastic cage.
But they don't realize it's so easy to break.
But sometimes I get, uh hot!
Feel my heart runnin' hot,
That's when I got to move before I get caught.

And that's why, you can't hold me down.
I don't wanna be tied down,
I gotta move on. Hey!

Stone Free, to do what I please
Stone Free, to ride the breeze
Stone Free, I can't stay
Got to, got to, got to get away!

Stone Free, to ride the breeze
Stone Free, to do what I please
Stone Free, I can't stay
Stone Free, I got to, got to get away!
Stone Free, movin' on down the highway
Stone Free, don't try to hold me back, baby
Stone Free, oh yeah, baby
Stone Free, got to, got to get away
Stone Free, goodbye, baby.



"Stone Free"
By Jimi Hendrix
From the album Are You Experienced?


Chapter four: Alone again, naturally

Leomon couldn't tell if his captors thought he was still unconscious or if they were simply stupid. Either way, they had been loudly discussing their business in front him for some time without thinking much of it. Of course, given his helpless state, Leomon could hardly have done anything if he knew every detail of their plains; which he didn't. Yet. Still, even as he was being trucked along in a cart by the two Monochromon, Leomon had found a reason to be happy.
He had been able to save the Digidestined.
Or, at least, he'd helped them. From what he'd overheard from the two Monochromon, the Digidestined had been victorious over Seadramon, but it was a very close battle. One they'd nearly lost. If they had only barely defeated the one Seadramon, then they would certainly have never been able to stand against three. Fortunately, Leomon had been able to insure that two of the would be attackers never troubled the Digidestined. He wasn't the least bit upset that they would probably never know how he'd helped them. While he couldn't lift his head above the mangled boards that made up the cart, he could see well enough through the cracks to know where they were headed. The trail they were now on was the treacherous route that would lead them up, in, and later down, the labyrinth that was Infinity Mountain. Straight into the lair of Devimon.
No, the Digidestined would probably never know.

After what had seemed like an eternity, the cart had reached it's destination: a terrifyingly huge opening in one of the cave walls. While obviously a natural formation, a number of tricks with light (what little there was) and shadow (which was much more plentiful) created the astonishingly convincing impression of a huge mouth, waiting to devour it's prey. Leomon, looking at it with blurred eyes, doubted the effect was as innocent as others would have assumed. Anyone who'd had the "pleasure" of meeting the occupants of the fortresses beyond it would remark that the impression was a perfect representation of what laid ahead. It was there that two Mekanorimon approached the cart and relieved it of it's increasingly groggy passenger. It was all Leomon could do to keep his head up as the Mekanorimon dragged him down the dank, dimly lit corridor. He used every technique he could recall to heal his injuries and purge his body of the viruses that had infected him, but his chains had been designed to keep depositing more into his system, so he met with little success. The charming atmosphere of his surroundings did little to help Leomon out of his sloth. The first, last, and only color he'd seen sense entering Infinity Mountain was black; the most loathsum shade Leomon had ever encountered. He hadn't thought it would be possible for anything to be so dark.
But, then, he'd never been here before either.
Here, the black was far more than a color on the walls, it was the walls. It was the entire corridor. It was the air. It was every smell, taste, touch and sound that existed in this hell. All this engulfing blackness surrounded Leomon. It pressed on top of him. It crushed him from all sides. It tried, with admiral resolve, to suffocate him. How Leomon had even managed to survive the arduous trip down the maze of never ending corridors was a mystery even to him. But some how, there he was, looking at the unimaginably huge and ordinate doors of Devimon's chambers.
The gates, it seemed, of Hell it self.
The spacious throne room on the other side of the monstrous doors was far more elaborate than the crude crypts he'd just been dragged through. That cursed black was still ever present, however. All the walls were covered in intricate carvings depicting horrific, unspeakable acts of torture and violence. No doubt Devimon has had great practice in all of these Leomon thought to him self. The rest of the outer perimeter of the room was filled with multiple rows of columns, far more than the room actually needed. The columns all stopped at a sudden dip in the floor, leaving a patch of open space in the center in front of the room's main feature. On the wall opposite of Leomon, unobstructed by columns, was the giant carving of a demon's head; not actually of Devimon, but there was a resemblance. The orifice's jaw drooped unrealistically so that it hit the floor and expanded into a large basin in which a large fire was providing light for the room.
Well, "providing light" in a manner of speaking, the darkness engulfing the entire catacomb was even more oppressing here. But then, what else could you expect from the dwelling place of a being such as Devimon?
"Hey, hey, hey! If it isn't the great Leomon! Champion of all that is good, warm, and fuzzy!" Leomon heard from behind him. He swung his head around as far as he could, which wasn't any where near far enough to see behind him. Not that he needed to, anyway; Leomon would recognize that despicable gurgle of a voice any day.
"What are you doing here Ogermon?" he demanded.
"Listen to you," Ogermon laughed, or, more accurately, belched "even when you're being dragged around like a bag full of horse plop, you still talk like you're all that."
As he spoke, Ogremon walked around Leomon so he could see him. Even in this suffocating darkness, Ogermon was hideous. His skin was a crawling mess of wounds and pulsing veins hidden under a vile film of dirt and puss. His jaw drooped so low that he couldn't have closed it if he wanted too. As a result, he had to form all his words with his giant, boil covered tongue. Ogermon's horrendous looks alone were more than enough to fend off most digimon, but he also had a giant, crusted bone club to take care of the really tenacious ones.
"You didn't answer me." Leomon growled as Ogremon playfully poked Leomon with his club.
"I work here, stupid." Ogremon laughed again "Whadja expect?"
"I don't see any gears on you." Leomon commented, weakly.
"Oh! Been checkin' me out, huh?" Ogremon snickered as he struck a ridiculous, modeling pose "Well look all you want, `cause you won't find any gears on this gorgeous bod'! Those things may make you all stronger and stuff, but the also make you slow as crap and just as stupid." As Ogremon said this, he rapped one of the Mekanorimon on the head with his cub to illustrate his point. Like a statue, it simply starred straight ahead.
"See what I mean? So, anyway, I convinced ol' Devi that it would be a crime to make a champ like me into one of these basket cases, so now I just work for him straight up."
Leomon shook his head; not really surprised, but disgusted none the less. "Just when I thought you couldn't sink any lower" he growled weakly but ferociously
"you knowingly and willfully align yourself with the beast that has been laying waste to this Island-"
"Yeah, but he's winning!" Ogermon interrupted "I don't care what happens to this dump, if I'm chummy with the guy in charge, well, that's all I need to be set for life!"
"You disgust me." Leomon snarled.
"And I wouldn't have any other way, big guy!"
Ogermon would have gladly mocked longer, but a sudden chill sweeping the room brought him to a halt. "Well, it looks like the big guy's almost here!" he snorted before shouting to the Mekanorimon "What are you tin idiots waiting for? Make him kneel!" The Mekanorimon quickly complied, dropping Leomon to his knees and holding his head down, with far more force than would have been needed.
Devimon's presence was undeniable long before he was actually there. First and foremost was the stench. Far more than just a vile scent, one could almost taste the death that reeked from the beast. A ghastly, disgusting odder that a million wormy, rotten corpses could produce, yet Devimon put it off naturally. Even if his mind had been clear, Leomon would have been unsettled by it. However, his mind was far from clear, and what he felt went far beyond "unsettled". He could feel panic's withered tendrils crawling up through him, penetrating him as hard as that wretched stench. Leomon fought, with only partial success, to hide his terror as the fire at the far end of the room turned to a ghastly blue. Because the Mekanorimon were holding his head down, he couldn't actually see him (or, more accurately, it) but he could see Devimon's gaunt shadow clearly on the chamber's floor. His/it's already disproportionate frame cast an even more ill-proportioned shadow; the ridiculously long arms and bony, multi-jointed fingers seemed to stretch for miles across the stone floor. His/it's gigantic, raged wings seemed to be worlds across; the ragged, wormy holes appeared as islands on the infinitely black sea of Devimon's shadow. He/it seemed to take a step forward as he/it spoke: "Greetings, oh great Leomon. You honor us with your presence."
Devimon had no voice as we have come to think of them. He/it "spoke" with a blood curdling hiss, almost a whistle. It sounded like a million dying voices letting out their final breaths before slipping into the great beyond. "After all this time of pestering each other, I relish the opportunity to meet face to face."
Leomon could have pointed out that, thanks to his escorts, neither of them could actually see the other's face, but he didn't feel like it.
"Ok, boss" Ogermon bellowed "What'll it be? Decapitation? Skinning? Oh! Maybe we can take him apart and see if we can put him back together!" Ogermon waited eagerly for Devimon's response, but received only an awkward silence.
"Well, OK," Ogermon said, unsteadily "How do you wanna do him in?"
"We're not, you thundering moron." Devimon hissed "Our friend will be a great asset to me."
"Wha-wha-WHAT?!?!?" Ogermon stuttered "You don't actually mean I'm gonna have to work on the same side as goody-goody face?"
"You will work with whomever I tell you to, you wretched intestinal parasite!" Devimon shrieked with an unexpected intensity "I cannot afford to waste this opportunity. Not with these children here now."
"You're a fool if you actually think that anything, even me, could stand a chance of standing against the will of the digidestined." Leomon whispered, not out of a will to be quiet, but because he couldn't spare the energy to muster anything louder.
"They certainly didn't do much to justify your faith in there encounter with Seadramon." Devimon snickered "If they did so poorly against that weakling, what possible chance could they have against a battle hardened warrior like you?"
The same question had raced through Leomon's mind a million times on the trip down. He had worked everything with every possible out come he could think of. He was quite displeased with the results. Now matter how he played it out, he always got to the same answer: the Digidestined were still too weak. In time, they could become strong enough, but they had some ways to go.
A ways the would never have the chance to go if Devimon siced Leomon on them. Only one way out presented itself.
"I'd sooner die than help you." Leomon growled, weaker than he'd hoped.
"You seem to have the misguided impression that you have a choice in the matter." Devimon smirked.
"I do." Leomon whispered "More so than you could possibly imagine."
Over the years, Leomon had mastered an unimaginable number of attacks. Many of which, he supposedly had been incapable of, ether because the were supposedly outside his type, or beyond his level; but he had mastered them anyway. His arsenal was, most likely, more varied than any other digimon on the island; maybe in existence. However, Leomon's training over the years had stretched far beyond simply mastering the attacks of other digimon, he had delved deep into techniques that had been lost over the ages. Methods of attack that, most likely, hadn't been attempted sense the dawn of the digital world. Centarumon and Unimon had been aware of them, and they had been quite displeased at Leomon's intent to resurrect them; "you cannot possibly understand the implications of the power you seek, Leomon." Centarumon had told him "There has never been good in them. Only evil and destruction." They had been able to dissuade him at the time, but then Devimon came. If the powers his masters had cherished couldn't fend him off, only those they loathed were left. Thus, Leomon had educated himself in ways of attack that stretched far beyond what most digimon had ever dreamed possible. They certainly weren't known to the two Mekanorimon who, in the blinding flash that erupted from deep within Leomon, were whipped form existence in a moment. The light from this blast of power had yet to disperse when Leomon prepared to do what his masters had tried so hard to keep him from knowing was possible. The ancient digimon masters who first documented the attack never bothered to give it a name. No name in existing language could ever have fully grasped the nature of it, anyway. I, at least, find myself at a loss for words as I attempt to put it's effects into terms within human comprehension. It is simply too far removed from what we would consider normal. The best way I can put it is: Leomon, or the essence that was Leomon (as I said, it's extremely odd) would, in layman's terms, go off like a stick of dynamite. Leomon enveloped himself in a Sheath of light as he prepared to unleash this nameless, suicidal attack.. He hoped that Devimon wouldn't survive the attack, though it was likely that he'd only be injured. Ogermon probably wouldn't survive. Leomon definitely wouldn't, as there wouldn't be a Leomon to survive in the aftermath. Not that that troubled him. Don't worry, children was the only thought in Leomon's mind I'll protect you.
He never saw the black gear streaking with blinding speed from behind him.
He didn't become aware of it at all until he felt it burrowing into his skin.


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



With a chilling call, Birdramon soared in a circle through the desert sky. Down below, Sora stood in silent awe of this giant phoenix that only minutes ago had been little Byomon. Myramon was far less impressed.
"Come squawks!" he grunted through the fetid stitches that held his mouth shut "You think that just because you're up there, I can't knock you silly?"
"I'd love to see you try it, pal!" Bridramon bellowed.
Myramon proved more than eager to take Birdramon up on her offer, letting lose a huge ball of fire form his flaming hands. Despite her impressive size, Birdramon artfully dodged the blast and, with a flap of her flaming wings, showered her devilish attacker with a storm of embers. While a remarkable spectacle, the attack had absolutely no effect on Myramon. Instead, the embers vanished into the walking flame that was his body like a drop of rain disappears into the ocean.
From the bough of the rusting hull that at one point had been a ship, Matt, despite his best attempts to the contrary, couldn't help but scoff at the ridiculous match up.
"So, you're going to burn a walking flame to death?" he snickered "That's like trying to drown a fish."
"Actually, you can do that if you can get them to stop moving" Izzy pointed out from behind.
"You know what I meant." groaned Matt; didn't this kid have any sense of humor?
"He's right!" Gomamon chimed in "I knew a mackerel that nearly checked out that way! See, he had some of those tennis shoes that you pump up (don't ask me why he had tennis shoes, he just did) so he's pumping them up, see, and-"
"ALL RIGHT! Shut up all ready!" Matt growled at the little, white seal.
"Why don't you shut up, smart guy?" Tai yelled while nursing Agumon's injuries.
"Gladly." Matt said as he turned his attentions to Garurumon down below
"Ready to show these losers how it's done?" he called from the bent railings.
"Just say when." Garurumon shouted up from the muddy ground.
"Give `em hell!" Matt shouted, waving Garurumon off. As the giant wolf dashed into the melee, Matt added "And don't screw up like Greymon!"
"Hey!" Tai shouted back "Lay off him! Greymon tried his best!"
"Fat lot of good it did, too." Matt said, pointing to the many burns across Agumon's body "Call me stupid, but I don't see how body slamming a walking bonfire can, at any point, seem like a good idea."
Rather than try to argue the point (as he had been thinking the same things himself) Tai just said "You don't have to remind me to call you stupid."
If there was anything Garurumon did, "screw up" wasn't one of them. He flew like a white streak of lightning over Myramon's head; not hitting him, but throwing off balance. Myramon was still stumbling to regain his footing when Garurumon darted around and let loose "Howling Blaster!", a thunderous, blue stream of energy that tore through the air, hitting Myramon square in the face. He stumbled tail over teakettle through the dirt before the brunt of the blast had even had a chance to pay the smoldering monstrosity a visit. The clumsy (if imposing) lummox scrambled madly to stop himself before he rolled off the shear cliff that, only minutes ago, had been the lake's shore. He succeeded, teetering on the edge perhaps, but he'd stopped.
"AH HA!" Myrimon laughed as he got up, cautiously "In your face, you flea bitten mutt! And tell it to that buck toothed canary friend of yours, too!"
"Say that again." Birdramon growled from behind (through her "buck teeth") as she slowly rose up from the dried lake basin.
If Myramon could have sweat without putting himself out, he would definitely have been doing it as he spun around with a start to face Birdramon.
"Uh..well..." He sputtered after an awkward silence.
"Say it again!" Birdramon bellowed.
"Uh, well, I don't think I can." Myramon began, throwing up a snow job at a rapid pace "Ya see sometimes you know a guy like me all ways getting like caught up in the moment you know see I start saying things and you know sometimes my mouth kinda has a mind of it's own see and that's why I got it stitched up so see like I didn't really mean that the way it sounded and by the way I really think your teeth are beautiful and so are your friends if that's what you think and... I'm boned aren't I?"
"Oh yeah." Birdramon smirked as she grabbed him in her frightful talons.
"HEY! Come on! Put me down! Let me go!" Myramon cursed as Birdramon carried him up into the sky.
"What was that?" she asked with a wicked glint in her eye.
"I could be wrong," Garurumon shouted, knowing fully what Bridramon had in mind "but I think he wants you to let go!"
"NONONONONO!!!!" Myramon shrieked, realizing his mistake "I like it up here! The view's great, and I can use the frequent flier miles!"
"Too late pal!" Birdramon bellowed "This is where you get off!"
It was a long way down. A very long way down. I'm talking "long as the line of passengers waiting for a plane at Hartsfield-Atlanta International Airport" long, OK? And Myramon would easily have screamed the whole way down, had he gotten the chance. Unfortunately (for him, I guess) Garurumon had other plans and showed him what wonderful stuff he'd missed when he fell out of that first blast. From below, Garurumon unleashed another Howling Blaster at the collapsing campfire, knocking him a good distance beyond anyone's view.
Although he was going to fast for anyone to tell for sure, several of the spectators down below could have sworn that they saw the pieces of something black falling from him.
It took about half an hour of walking to find where Myramon had landed. Under normal circumstances, a fall like that would have done the fellow in. Fortunately (I suppose, read on), he landed on top of an unusually high concentration of the telegraph poles that sprouted up throughout the Yokomon desert (though the poles no doubt contributed a good bit of damage themselves). Myramon was unable to give any explanation on his sudden anti-social activity (evaporating all of Sunken Lake, trying to burn down Yokomon Village, turning down his invitation to the Annual Yokomon Pudding Fest but showing up anyway and taking some one else's seat); all he could remember was an unsettling humming sound, something hitting him in the back, and something about a big, angry thing that had bucked teeth. Not wanting to risk encouraging the fiery fellow, they decided to feign ignorance concerning the mysterious buck toothed thing and sent Myramon on his way.

Back at the Village, Byomon found herself nothing short of a living legend. A Yokomon that had digivolved at all was something remarkable in it's self to the villagers; but digivolving to Birdramon? Most of them had never even heard off anything like that.
The sea of little Yokomon crowded around Byomon like something out of a Beatles documentary; all the while bombarding her with questions.
"What's it like to fly like that? The Village Elders have told me about it, but they've never flown that high!"
"Did you get hot while you were on fire?"
"What was that attack you used called?"
"Did it hurt when you held Myramon in your claws?"
"How did you talk with all those teeth?"
"If you had a choice, would you rather be chased by Tyranomon or Rockmon?"
"Do you like Wild Cherry Pepsi? I do!"
"If you could go on a date with any one, who would it be?"
"What's the maximum number of electrons in one energy? I have a chemistry test tomorrow, so I really need to know!"
"What are hot dogs made of?"
"Have you ever eaten a bug?"
I couldn't tell you where the bug question came from (probably Gomamon), but it came right after the hot dog question, and the easily imagined connection between the two subjects made everybody stop and laugh for a moment. Leaping on the momentary laps of chatter, Byomon decided to tackle the most common question she'd been getting:
"How did you digivolve?"
"Attention! Everyone!" Byomon shouted over the squeaking buzz of the Yokomon around her "You all seem to have a lot of questions." (a master of understatement, that Byomon) "Most of all, you seem to be curious about how I digivolved today. I'm not sure how much help I can be, but I'll do my best to answer your questions if you'll all calm down!"
But calming down was the last thing on the Yokomon's mind. Just the sound of her voice seemed to wind the little digimon up even more. Off to the side, Sora was getting concerned. At first, she'd tried to remove herself, not wanting to intrude on Byomon's fifteen minutes of fame. Now, however, she was beginning to fear for Byomon's safety. The Yokomon may not have been the most powerful digimon, but herd mentality could do some wild things to people. Sora had seen Tai once on his way back from a monster truck rally and he'd looked like he'd been put through a meat grinder.
"Uh, guys?" she shouted to the pulsing, pink mob "Could you calm down please?"
No effect.
"No really. I really need you all to calm down for a minute."
She could have been shouting to a waterfall to shut up and she would have gotten better results.
"Will you all please BE QUIET?"
Like water of a duck's back.
Sora look helplessly around her for some help and found Mimi.
"Mimi? A little help, please?"
"No problem!" Mimi chimed happily as she sauntered over to the herd of Yokomon. Once at the edge of the mob, she stopped, shut her eyes, took a long, deep breath...and unleashed the most ear shattering shriek this side of Yoko Ono.
"HHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
There probably wasn't anything within ten miles that didn't freeze for a moment to find out what had just happened. There certainly wasn't anything in the Yokomon Village that didn't.
"That's better!" Mimi chimed happily, like nothing had happened "Byomon will be more than happy to answer all your questions, but first, she needs you all to calm down so she can think, `kay?"
The Yokomon were still starring, more than a little shell shocked, when Mimi stopped. Sora, trying to knock the ringing out of her ears, said "Whoa...where did you learn to do that?"
"Oh, that?" Mimi giggled innocently "My little brother can be a handful sometimes. Plus, my mom baby-sits for our neighbors and those kids can get pretty rowdy sometimes, so I've had plenty of practice."
"Well, the practice sure paid off..." Sora commented, in awe of the pacified crowd.
"Oh, that's nothing;" Mimi laughed "I've shut up whole preschools before."
"Uh...thank you Mimi!" Byomon shouted, a little dazed "Anyway, as I was saying, I can't really tell you a whole lot about how I digivolved, but I'm more than happy to share what I do know. As you all know, Sora was out trying to help all of you Yokomon into the ship hull before Myramon got here while I was out with the others trying to hold him off. When he broke through and started heading for Sora, I just had to protect her. I was flying as fast as I could to catch up with him when this surge of power washed through me, and the next thing I knew, I was Birdramon!" suddenly Byomon began to look embarrassed "I'm sorry," she apologized "that didn't explain much of anything, did it?"
"Actually, It may have." Izzy piped up from behind Sora, giving her a bit of a start (he'd been so quiet, she hadn't even realized he was there) "You digivolved at a moment when Sora's life was in danger. Now, the first time any of us ever saw you digivolve was when Kuagumon attacked us. Since then, I've seen four other instances of digivolving: Agumon and Gabumon's digivolving in our encounter with Seadramon, and again when we tried to hold Myramon off at the ship. In both instances, Tai and Matt were in equally perilous situations."
"OH! I see where you're going!" Tentomon interrupted "We've always digivolved when our partners were in jeopardy!"
"That it the point I was planing to make, yes." Izzy agreed "Although I would have appreciated it if you had allowed me to finish saying it."
"Oops." Tentomon blurted, sheepishly "I'm sorry. I suppose I got a little caught up in the moment."
"Well that may have cleared up the why," Tai shouted from behind the others where he was sitting on top of one of the Yokomon's huts (it was about the size of a foot stool to him) "but you still didn't explain how."
"Well, I can't say this with complete certainty," Izzy said, fishing his digivice out of his pocket "but it would seem that the answer lies with these."
"Bua-wha-I-" Tentomon sputtered, exasperated "I've been telling you that for days now!"
"Yes, but, frankly, you never made any sense" Izzy explained "seeing how you couldn't tell us how we operated them."
"So, what did we do?" Matt spoke up.
"I'm not sure we did anything." Izzy continued "When Myramon tried to jump onto the ship, I could see two beams of light shoot from you and Tai's pockets and strike Agumon and Gabumon just before they digivolved. Now I assume you two have your digivices in your pockets?" when Izzy saw both of them nod, he continued "All right then. I believe that, somehow, our digivices are capable of detecting threats to our person and will automatically react by triggering the digivolving process."
"But why have Agumon and Gabumon digivolved more than everybody else?" Palmon asked.
"Well, Matt and Tai do seem to have a stronger tendency to get in harm's way." Gabumon offered, casting a bit of a scolding glance at Matt as he spoke.
"Well, it nice to have all that business cleared up!" Tentomon announced.
"I wouldn't celebrate just yet," Izzy admonished "there are still plenty of questions about this entire occurrence that I would still like to see answered. The whole idea of an organism spontaneously changing to another and back is still quite over my head."
"Hey!" Sora shouted "Where's Byomon?"
Looking up, the other saw that they'd been so engrossed in conversation that the whole mob had vanished without their noticing. From behind them another Byomon, this one native to the village, announced "Your companion's presence has been requested by the Village Elders at the great hall. You may join them if you wish."

To the Yokomon, the thatch tower that was the "great hall" must have seemed humungus. It was far less impressive to the seven humans packed tightly into the main audience chamber. Still, it was certainly a welcome improvement over the knee high huts that made up the rest of the Village. At the far end of the chamber sat the elders: seven Byomon who happened to be the only Byomon in the Village. With them sat "our" Byomon. While the elders seemed, for the most part, identical, "ours" stood apart. While weren't any single differences in there appearance that jumped out on it's own, there were enough subtle discrepancies to make her stick out. Her beak, for example, came to a sharper point than the others'. Her claws also seemed sharper, and she also seemed thinner than the others. The overall effect was, she seemed, well, more lethal than the other Byomon. The eight digimon were seated behind a shinny slab marble that served as a table. "Our" Byomon was sitting near the center on a highly ordinate chair that, by all appearances, seemed to signify her as the guest of honor. To her left, the largest (and, it appeared, oldest) of the Byomon sat in the only chair fancier that that of their guest. They, all sat silently, waiting, it seemed, for the steady flow of Yokomon into the chamber to come to a stop.
"WOW!" Mimi remarked at the increasingly huge mass of Yokomon continued to grow "What a crowd!"
"The last time I saw a crowd this big was when mom took me to see The Grinch!" T.K. said, in awe "But then, we had a whole parking lot to stand in. How are all these guys supposed to fit in here?"
"It's crowded enough as it is." Joe complained from the corner he'd been forced into "How are we supposed to have any room to breathe if any more try to squeeze in?"
"Hey, this place wasn't build with humans in mind," Agumon admonished "you're just going to have to bear it."
"Oh, you're one to talk about `bearing it' when you can't even stop scratching those bandages." Gomamon laughed, pointing at the wrapping Agumon was encased in.
"Come on!" Agumon whined, scratching "All this burn lotion itches something crazy!"
"Why'd you even give them to him Joe?" Palmon asked "It just seems to be making him worse."
"Hey, it may itch now," Joe said, defensively "but he'll thank me latter."
"Don't bet on it." Agumon grunted under his breath.
"What are those old pigeons waiting for?" Tai moaned impatiently "Can't they hurry up and say what ever they're here to say?"
"It would appear that the elders intend for all of the village to be present for whatever is about to occur." Izzy pointed out.
"It must be important, then." Matt mussed.
"I hope it's not bad news." Sora said, looking worriedly and Byomon.
"I shudder to ask, but what would make you think it is?" Tenotmon asked.
"Well, look at Byomon." Sora said. While Byomon's face wasn't as expressive as a human's it still portraed an obvious air of concern.
"I wonder what she's worried about?" Sora continued.
"Well, she seems to be staring at us quite a bit," Izzy postulated "maybe it has to do with us."
"I hope we're not doing something were not supposed to." Gabumon wondered "I don't know a lot about customs concerning this place."
"Maybe we're in some one else's spot?" T.K. offered.
"Well, that somebody's out of luck!" Mimi said firmly "Every place else is even worse than this, so I'm not moving!"
And move they didn't, despite the massive hoard of Yokomon that very nearly pushed them through the walls of the great hall. For several minutes after the last Yokomon had entered the hall, the elders continued to chatter quietly between themselves, occasionally motioning towards their human guests. All the while, Byomon sat motionless, with worried eyes locked on Sora. Then, without warning, the oldest of the elders rose. In an instant, the hall fell silent.
"Finally!" Tai groused "Now maybe now we can find out what all this is about."
"Thank you all for coming." the large digimon half grunted through it's considerable jowls "As you no doubt know, we have all been privy to a most disturbing turn of events today."
"We have?" Matt whispered, suspiciously.
"I wonder what it was?" Agumon asked to no one in particular.
"Surely, he's not referring to Byomon's digivolution." Izzy mussed, not at all sure.
"This morning, Yokomon Village fell under a ruthless and unprovoked attack at the hands of Myramon. Given the evidence and circumstances surrounding this attack, we have come to the unanimous conclusion that this was the work of Devimon."
"Who?" Sora muttered to her digimon companions.
"Devimon." Tentomon explained "He's a most unpleasant fellow who live deep in the island interior."
"Lives?" Gomamon objected "That's putting it mildly."
"He's the dictator." Gabumon explained. "A totalitarian dictatior. Nobody messes with him." He would have elaborated further, but a Yokomon in front of them "ssshhh"ed him, so he shut up.
"This is an understandably unsettling development, as Devimon has never before shown any hostility towards our village."
"Could he be attempting to increase his power in this area?" One of the Yokomon inquired.
"Unlikely," a Byomon to the side of the old one piped up "There is a considerable stretch of land between us and the perimeter of Devimon's realm. If this move was powered by mere territorial lust, he would have attempted to move in on that land before ours."
"Well, if that wasn't behind the move what was?" another Yokomon asked.
"AHEM!" the old Byomon thundered, annoyed at the diversion of attention from himself "I was preparing to explain that. Given the lack of interest Devimon has shown in us until now, it is obvious that something drastic has recently happened to sour his opinion towards this village."
"And that would be?" a third Yokomon piped up, impatiently.
"Our 'guest's' would seem to fall within both categories." he said, eyeing the seven humans warily.
"Does he mean US?" T.K. asked, confused.
"I'm afraid so." Tentomon gulped. "HEY!" Mimi shouted "Don't you pick on us! We didn't do anything! It's not our fault if this Devi guy doesn't like you!"
"Your companion here has given us reason to believe otherwise." another of the elders remarked, gesturing towards Byomon, who was looking more ill by the minute. "She tells us that you recently had an encounter with a Seadramon with a large gear in it's hide. Is this correct?."
"It is." Gabumon answered.
"The black gear is the tool of Devimon." the elder shot back.
"Through them, he controls digimon throughout this island." another elder elaborated "Your encounter with the forces of Devimon clearly shows that you have incurred his wrath."
"Well, what did we do?" Tai asked "We didn't even know who this guy was until just now, so how could we have ticked him off already."
"You don't have to know somebody to get on there nerves." Matt pointed out from behind. After all, he hadn't known Tai when they first arrived at camp, and that didn't stop him from getting on his nerves.
"Hey, just who's side are you on?" Tai whispered through gritted teeth.
Before Matt had a chance to answer, the big Byomon cleared his throat once again to regain the attention of the assembly. "The details are beside the point." he bellowed "The fact is, some how, you've become the object of Devimon's wrath, and I cannot permit this village to suffer that wrath as well."
"Uhh, I hate to be a fear mongerer," Izzy whispered nervously to his companions "but that sounded mildly threatening."
"Thus," the large elder continued "I must insist upon the removal of this threat in the most expedient manner possible".
"WHOA, Whoa!" Gomamon shouted "Whadaya mean 'remove'?"
"He means" an elder to the left explained smugly "that, for the safety of this village and it's inhabitants, you and your companions will leave."
"And stay far away." the big one added. The suddenly unwelcome group of vagabonds stood aghast, frantically jogging their minds to come up with something in there defense. Before any of them had a chance to come up with anything, Byomon stood and, nervously, addressed the elders surrounding her:
"In all respect to this body of elders, I must express my shock, now as before, that you could arrive so readily at such a hasty an action. My companions and myself have done nothing to any of you to warrant such treatment."
"Oh, so Myramon just wandered in by accident." someone muttered, incredulously.
"Can you prove he didn't?" Byomon shot back, wishing she knew who had said it so she'd know where to be looking.
"I don't see why any one would need to." some one else snickered.
"Besides, what good could possibly come from your staying?" one elder asked, with a mockingly false tone of curiosity.
"She's probably just gotten comfy in that chair." some one in the crowd poked.
"Yeah," another concurred "she just wants to take over the counsel!"
"Hey! You leave Byomon alone!" Sora shouted at the laughing crowd that, only an hour ago, had been hailing Byomon as a hero.
"I have no such desires!" Byomon insisted, becoming increasingly frustrated "I'm simply trying to do what's right!"
"Well," the eldest elder rumbled "it's time you stopped and started doing what was in the best interest for this village."
"How would a stranger like her know what that is?" a voice from the crowd whispered, insuring that it was loud enough to be heard.
"Just because I wasn't born at the same Primary Village as the rest of you doesn't mean I don't know the difference between right and wrong." Byomon said, her voice beginning to quiver.
"I sincerely question that if you think that crossing Devimon is right." the old elder quaked.
"WHAT?!?!?" Byomon cried, aghast "How many times have I come to this very hall and heard you extolling what a `villainous wretch' Devimon is and how `his evil ways cannot be tolerated much longer? What happened to the great elder who urged his fellow villagers not to allow Devimon to intimidate them ant to hold fast to there convictions?"
"What good are convictions if no one is alive to hold them?" the ancient digimon hissed angrily as he leered over this insubordinate whelp "If we rise up against Devimon, we will be destroyed and now one will be left to stand. When the time is right, Devimon will reap the seeds of destruction he has sown; but that time is most certainly not now, and I will not allow some band of stranger hobos to invite that worm's wretched business here!"
After seeing her valiantly battle that afternoon, one might have expected Byomon to shun these barbs with the ease that she'd withstood those previous attacks. However, this situation proved far different from that one. Simple brutish violence from a total stranger doesn't bear anywhere near the emotional strains as persecution from friends as violent as this. It certainly was more than Byomon had come prepared to face. She tried once to reply, and twice afterwards, but even if her thoughts had been clear enough to form words, hear quivering beak would never have been able to form them. The only thing that made it through the suffocating sea of frustration and despair and entered her mind was to flee. So she did, bawling.
Sora rushed out to find Byomon while Mimi shouted "What did you do that for?"
"Yeah!" T.K. concurred "Stop being such a jerk!"
"The truth isn't always nice." the elder answered "It's not our fault that your friend couldn't handle it."
"Wha-" Tai exploded "That's just a load of-"
"Give it a rest, Tai." Matt said, grabbing Tai's shoulder "These guys already have their minds made up." With that, he started for the door, saying "We're not welcome here any more."
As he watched the downtrodden group make there way to the exit, the old Byomon said "If it makes any difference, I am sorry that it has had to come to this, but if Devimon does wish to destroy you, we cannot risk interfering."
"Well I'm sure Devimon is grateful for your loyal aid." Matt shot back with a sneer before he left. Behind him, the hall was quiet as a tomb as the sting of that barb soaked in.

Sora ran frantically through the Yokomon village, trying not to step on one of the knee high huts. But then, she was so angry at the moment, she really didn't care if she did. The only thing that really mattered was finding Byomon. She had to be here some where. For little things that weren't even three feet tall, the tiny huts had a knack for obstructing her view. There always seemed to be more of them, and Byomon wasn't in any of them. After what had seemed like an eternity, Sora found her crouched and sobbing against the wall of the well on the outskirts of the village. She tried to reach around her to comfort her, but Byomon refused and pulled away.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry..." she wept "I let you down..."
"Hey." Sora admonished as she wrapped her arms around the bawling digimon, not giving her a chance to wring out this time "Come on, don't beat yourself up. You did what you could. Some people are just jerks and you can't do anything about it."
"That's just it!" Byomon wept, pulling herself away "There should've been something I could have done! I should have been able to help you! I'm supposed to protect you!"
Sora tried to come up with something she could say to comfort her, but instead decided to try a more direct approach and gave the hug thing a third shot. This time, Byomon didn't resist and instead buried her face in Sora's arms. "I'm supposed to protect you..." she whimpered weakly.
And there they sat for a few minutes until Joe and Gomamon found them.
"Oh, WHEW!" Joe sighed as he ran up to the pair "We were looking all over for you!"
"What's the matter?" Sora asked "We're getting kicked out, so it's not like we wouldn't have wound up out here anyway."
"That's what we needed to tell you!" Joe panted "They're going easy on us!"
"WHAT?"
"Yeah!" Gomamon explained "They still don't want us hanging around, but we still get to spend the night while they gather up some supplies we get to take with us!"
"Really?" Sora exclaimed "ALL RIGHT! Did you hear that Byomon?" It was then that she noticed that Byomon had fallen asleep.
"Hey, wake up!" she said, trying to rouse the groggy digimon "You did make a difference!"
"Uhhh, Sora?" Joe whispered "If anybody made a difference, it was Matt."
"Well, she doesn't have to know that." Sora whispered back.
"Understood." Joe winked as they got up to leave.

All of the Yokomon's huts were, of course, too small to accept any human guests; but the inventive villagers were able to work out accommodations anyway. Along side the great hall were a number of large (to their builders, at least) storehouses built to hold fruits harvested from the trees on nearby Mount Chooser. If the group had arrived much later, the storehouses would have been holding a years worth of food. Fortunately, they didn't so the houses now found themselves holding seven exhausted humans. While they rested, the digimon busied themselves with gathering supplies. The Yokomon had told them about a number of huge structures a few day's travel form the village. One of these was supposed to be some kind of temple. Although none of the Yokomon had actually been there themselves, Leomon had mentioned it to them on occasion and it seemed he hung around there a lot. Not having any better ideas, it was decided that this would be the group's next stop; so they were packing accordingly.
"OK, we've got the hats and the dozen scuzzy fruits, but we're still gathering up the rest." Gomamon announced as he skimmed the list the Yokomon had written up.
"What all to we need to gather up?" Palmon asked, lugging a bag of fruit behind her.
"Well," Gomamon began as he took a deep breath "we're gonna need canteens, water, plenty more fruit, water, some bedding, water, stuff to haul it all in, water, water, some more water, and most importantly, WATER!"
"OK! OK! I get the idea!" Palmon said shaking her head "Water good! No water bad!"
"Well, water could be a bit of a problem." Tentomon called from the shore of Sunken Lake. Myramon's little escapades earlier had had some very adverse effects on the lake: there wasn't one to speak of at the moment.
"Oh, don't worry." one of the Yokomon assured Tentomon "The water from the springs on Mount Chooser will have filled the lake completely within a week."
"Unfortunately, we won't be here to see it." Tentomon pointed out.
"We'll be out in the middle of the dessert hot and thirsty and tired by then!" Palmon whined.
"There must be something we can do." Patamon said.
"Don't you have any other sources of water?" Agumon asked.
"It all comes from the same source:" the Yokomon explained "the springs on Mount Chooser."
"So, are those springs still flowing now?" Gabumon asked, with a plan struggling to form it's self in his head.
"Yes sir." the Yokomon answered, not sure where Gabumon was going.
"In that case, we could just go up there and get it now!" Agumon exclaimed, knowing just were Gabumon was going.
"Exactly!" Gabumon answered.
"I don't know," the Yokomon said, concerned "it's quite a difficult trip up there, and I don't even want to think about trying to get back down with all that water."
"Desperate times call for desperate measures!" Palmon exclaimed, exuberantly "I say that Agumon and Gabumon should go ahead with their plan!"
"I second that!" Patamon shouted.
"I third it!" Tentomon grinned (well, if he'd been capable of grinning, he would have) "Especially the part about them doing it!"
"Hope you boys brought your hiking gear," Gabumon said, giving a very flabbergasted Agumon and Gabumon lists of what would be needed "`cause you are really gonna need it."
"How do I get myself into these things?" Gabumon sighed to himself as he walked off to get some gear.
"I dunno," Agumon jabbed as he followed "but I wish you'd stop getting me in
`em with you... Boy, I envy Byomon right now."
"Say," Patamon asked "Where is Byomon, anyway?"
"She was still pretty wiped out from earlier today, so she went on to bed." Palmon explained.

In their storehouse-turned cabin, gently held Byomon in her arms as they slowly rocked in their makeshift hammock. Although she wasn't actually asleep, Byomon hadn't mover or made a sound in some time. So, it came as quite a surprise when she whispered "Sora?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not being angry at me."
"Byomon," Sora laughed "you don't have to worry about me getting angry with you over something like that."
"I'd be more than happy to be angry with both of you if you don't keep it down." Mimi shot down from her hammock.
"Sorry." Sora apologized.
"That's what I think I admire the most about you." Byomon whispered softly.
"What?"
"You never get mad at any body. Or, you don't stay mad. You always seem ready to forgive somebody."
If Byomon had been looking, she would have noticed Sora wincing considerably at that.

Although their was quite a bit of racket outside the hut, Matt wasn't bothered the least by it. He actually preferred some noise when he slept (must be a result from living in big cities all his life). He was, however, quite bothered by Tai's frequent tossing and turning bellow him.
"Hey, Matt?" Tai asked eventually.
"What?" Matt answered, wearily.
"How long have we been here?"
"What?"
"In the Digiworld, I mean."
"Uhhh..." Matt said as he tried to figure it out "I'd say...about four days, almost five."
"Oh, damn...five days." Tai moaned.
"What?" Matt inquired, thought it seemed longer?"
"Hell, yes." Tai sighed "Five days cold turkey."
Matt shook his head. It seemed natural that something like that would be the main thing on Tai's mind. "Wait, wouldn't you also need to count the two weeks of camp?"
"Naw," Tai answered "I was getting some stuff off of Mr. Crosby."
"WHAT?"
"Well, what do you think they were doing down at the Canteen all day?"
Matt sighed, a little flabbergasted. There must have been an extreme lack of background checking involved in hiring counselors.

"What are ya doing, Izzy?" T.K. asked from his bunk.
"OH! I'm sorry!" Izzy apologized from the floor, where he'd attempted to get quietly "I didn't mean to wake you!"
"It's All right, I couldn't sleep anyway. Too much noise."
"Yes, it is indeed quite a nuisance." Izzy concurred.
"So whatta ya doing?" T.K. asked again.
"I was attempting to see if my computer was working. Unfortunately, I neglected to consider the absence of lighting in this structure. Thus, I shall have to postpone my investigation until a later date."
"Uh, OK." T.K. said, not even bothering to try to understand what he'd said.
"In the mean time," Izzy added "I sincerely doubt that Matt would approve of my allowing you to remain awake for this long a period."
"Uh, oh." T.K. said , warily "Are you telling me to go to sleep?"
"That's it exactly." Izzy confirmed as he climbed into his hammock.
"Oh, man. You're as bad as my mom..."

Gomamon, Palmon, Tentomon, and Patamon laid in a heap on the storehouse floor, having left the stockpiling in the capable hands (or, antennae) of the Yokomon and retired for the night. As the snored contentedly, Joe tried in vain to cover his head sufficiently to drown it out.
"OH, SURE!" he complained to no one in particular "Let's all go sleep with JOE! He won't mind a bit!"

The next morning, the group of soon-to-be travelers slowly assembled on the perimeter of the village.
"What's the matter with you?" Sora inquired of a very sleepy looking Matt. Pointing at Tai, he answered "That guy actually SNORES `Purple Haze'! Every damn note! He even does the high squeaky sound at the end! I had to put up with it all night!"
At the same, Izzy noticed that Tai looked rather sleep deprived.
"It's cause I was up all night doing 'Purple Haze' for Matt." he explained with a wicked laugh.
"These things sure don't look very sturdy." Joe said, eyeing the makeshift backpacks the Yokomon had constructed for their individual supplies suspiciously "Are you sure they'll hold?"
"They don't have to last forever," Gomamon explained "just till we get out of the dessert. Then we can just live off the land again."
"Well, you could have at least tried to make them look more attractive." Mimi complained, holding her's with two fingers, like a dead animal.
"Hey!" Patamon exclaimed "Where's Agumon and Gabumon?"
"Right here!" Gabumon grunted wearily as he an Agumon limped into the village, dragging two bags of canteens behind them.
"Now, this had better be the best water you've ever tasted" Agumon panted "After what we went through to get it."

Once the two exhausted waterboys had had a chance to rest, the rag-tag group prepared to set out. Before they'd gone, however, the chief elder approached and addressed all those assembled:

"I would like to take this moment to assure you all that we of this village bear no ill feeling towards you and it saddens us terribly that we must send you on your way so soon. As such, I wish you all a safe and pleasant journey. May that which you are searching for present it's self quickly."

"Man, that guy lies with the best of them." Matt mocked as he began to walk off.
"What did you expect? He's a politician!" Joe pointed out.
"Still, it was a nice little speech." Agumon said.
"Well, I personally would have liked 'we changed our minds. Come on back' a lot better." Tai shot back.
But, of course, that was never mentioned as the small band of refugees wandered off into the dessert sun.