Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Poinsettia: 'Twas the Night Before... ❯ There Arose Such a Clatter... ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Note: This story takes place in Season 02 during the Christmas episode. THERE IS NO ANTI-COUPLING IN THIS STORY AND NO CANON ONES EITHER! This is just how several Digimon feel for one another. I will be using a mismatch of Japanese and English character names and other related words. There is a reference of Silicon Heaven that I saw used in this classic BBC sci-fi/comedy series called Red Dwarf. As usual: Really goofy dialogue, poor vocabulary, poor spelling, poor grammar, poor verb tense, bad clichés, and all that. THERE IS VIOLENCE IN THIS CHAPTER!

Important Note: The following story was inspired by many of my favorite authors. If there is any resemblance to anyone else's work, I apologize. KEEP IN MIND THAT I WILL BE USING DIFFERENT ALTERNATING DIGIMON POV'S FOR EACH CHAPTER. Some of you may be disappointed to actually read what is going on in Gomamon's mind. In my story, he is much more than just a trickster at heart. HE WILL ALSO BE MISPRONOUNCING AND USING THE WRONG WORDS TO DESCRIBE THINGS! Besides being possible spelling errors, it is all intentional of how mismatched Gomamon's knowledge of the Human World is.

Just as a reminder: Just because two Digimon fall in love DOES NOT necessarily mean their respective Human partners have to fall in love too! Nor does it happen the other way. Just because two DigiDestined have feelings for each other DOES NOT necessarily mean their respective Digimon partners have to share the same feelings for each other!

This story takes place during the Holiday Season of 02. Gomamon's POV.

Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon… not even a Limited Edition Dimension Monster! All Digimon songs and translations were provided by Megchan's Digimon Senkai (http://www.megchan.com/digimon/). "A Little Light of Love" lyrics written by Eric Serra.

Poinsettia: There Arose Such a Clatter…

by Mimi, Myself, & Iz.

Excerpts from the song I Wish

Original song by Tonosama Gekomon
1999 Version arranged by Mimi Tachikawa

From the karaoke disc "Shogun" Gekomon's Greatest Hits
A forgotten (for a reason) duet recording by Agumon & Gomamon

~~~

Tokyo, Japan
Nerima Shopping Center

A Vaccine Digital Monster… Gomamon

'G and P.'

It was fun needling Piyomon like that. For once, I am finally able to play the trickster once again. Now that Jyou has matured enough to be somewhat immune to my playful cynical self, I still could make my fellow Digimon sweat! HA! Being the jester and fool, I watch my fellow Chosen Digimon become fools in love.

'Now what to do now to make this even more fun?'

Hmmmm…

or best yet…

Secretly put T-shirts on both of them while they were asleep!

T-shirts that say…

"We're GAP Kids!"

"And all we got from that was this
STUPID T-SHIRT!"

'SWEET!'

Take a few pictures with a camera! Great! Love it! I could use Jyou's computer and printing device to pull this whole thing off. I think Jyou has some leftover small undershirts that don't fit him that I could use. I could print out my own shirts using a little transfer kit I found in Shin's computer station! Pictures could be taken! Copies made! Post it all over the Internet!

Well, maybe not to that extreme! With all of this gift-giving holiday season that has these Humans in a frenzy, this would be perfect! I could play this Santa Clause! I need help with air transportation though. Kabuterimon comes to mind. If it doesn't work out with the sneaking in part, I could still just give the shirts to Gabumon and Piyomon in nicely wrapped boxes as gifts. I must make sure they open it in front the rest of our friends! That would be a riot! This whole situation is so devious! Digimon falling in love, acting goofy like Humans will always amuse me! Who would have thought I, Gomamon, Submariner Trickster Extraordinaire, would have a ringside seat of watching actual Digimon going through these goofy acts of courtship. With little old me to make it fun!

You must understand of course that this was by no means sabotage! My intentions were not to ruin their newfound relationship at all. I WANT to make sure they do love each other! I can play on their reluctance to express their true feelings for the other! At least I don't have to worry about this role Humans call matchmaker. My role in this would be totally different! I guess I do know something about love after all! Well… I still have to experience it myself though. I just know enough to pull this off!

I for once haven't felt love like the rest of my friends. Romantic love to be precise. The purest of all compassion… Love. I guess I can love. It hasn't struck me head on as the rest, even with Jyou being heels over head with the Child of Purity. I know for sure that I am of serial polarity, to be in intimate relationships with Digimon of the opposite inter-phase compatibility. However, I haven't even been involved in anything to prove my inter-phasic preference or otherwise. I do find Palmon and Piyomon very attractive female Digimon, but I knew I would never have a chance to… engage… in a relationship as my fellow Digimon have. I've always known that Palmon deserved someone special other than me. Agumon was the luckiest Digimon to have… wooed her.

As for the other Chosen females… Gatomon still scares the poop out of me in all of her digivolved forms. I sense she is singular or perhaps a bit of binary parallel orientation and modulation, programmed with the capability of boy as well as girl Digimon inter-phase compatibility. But the way I see it, by the way she acts, she is singular. I have the sinking feeling she hates male Digimon. But that can't be true. She jogressed well with Hawkmon to become Silphymon! Of course there is another side to that. Hawkmon too is singular parallel! The major difference is that their inter-phasic compatibility was complete opposites! Gatomon may like only girl Digimon, while Hawkmon likes boys!

'HA!'

I guess it does not matter how any Digimon are programmed when it comes to jogress digivolution. Gatomon and Hawkmon seem to understand their differences and are both good friends as well as fighting partners both separate and jogressed. To tell the truth, the sex of the jogressed Digimon, Silphymon, was something I can't tell for sure. Maybe that's what happens when these two singular parallel Digimon get fused like that. Gatomon hasn't said anything if she was romantically in love with anyone. But Hawkmon sometimes inadvertently hinted whom he likes! Unfortunately that featherbrain was too shy to come clean about it!

Still, back with Gatomon… The only other male Digimon she hangs around with was the ever so young Patamon. I guess because he was just young for his Rookie form. Or perhaps my theories of Patamon were true. The Rookie form of Patamon was SEXLESS! Only during his…

'His? It? I think it is easier being his… Or is it her?'

Oh well… In his Champion form as Angemon, he undergoes what I heard as celibacy… celibate… or abstinence from something. Probably because not only does he gain the level of maturity, he also changed his sex! …or gained one! To put it simply, as an Angelic being, he is NOT interested in falling in love. For Gatomon it was a whole different story. Her Angelic form is her Ultimate. Still, I don't think she undergoes abstinence to begin with. Her attitude was just the same as her Champion form. I heard Jyou called her Ultimate form a bit too revealing to be anything associated with angels. She's just as bad as LadyDevimon. I think Gatomon is just… or wants to be the dominant one. I guess because of her torment under VamDemon and also her being digivolved to Champion naturally. I don't think anything could change that. So much for my Angemon and Angewomon Together Forever theory.

Like I mentioned before, I do see and somehow understand some stuff of love to formulate my plans of getting Gabumon and Piyomon in a lover's bind. For myself, I guess I did my best to ignore falling in love completely, especially since I had Jyou to kid around. I shunned it all my life, thinking it was all nonsense. Without all the fighting and death, fun and play was my pride and joy in life. Maybe my responsibility and respect for Jyou as a companion and charge would be an example of love, but not as something romantic. My affection for him was different. More like compassion. Even being with Jyou all this time as his love for Mimi has grown over the years, hasn't fazed me much. I wondered if I would find that special someone. That would change a lot of things. Is it a need to find love? Is it something unavoidable? I have been in existence for many Digital years, yet everything about me was the same when I was just a Fresh Digimon.

'Same old me… Same old me… Same old fun loving me…'

Now sadness fills my heart…

I finally realized that…

'I haven't changed at all.'

'Jyou changed, but not I'

My empty life now flashes before my eyes…

'NO!'

I fought my tears…

'Never! Don't say it was empty!'

'Don't cry!'

…think of the present…

…think of the present…

…think of the present…

…Gabumon and Piyomon…

…I smile again…

'Take a deep breath…'

It was all strange. Us original Chosen Digimon were of Natural Born, we experienced Human emotions by our exposure to the DigiDestined. We were selected by the last will of the Elders to be the Chosen Digimon of Generation Zero Seven. Our incubation was monitored and conjoined with the powers of the eight surviving Crests. However, for the Digimentals, they were born from a special fusion. Chosen by whom I don't know. The Elders are all long gone. Maybe it was Gennai! He has been revealed to have access to an old Factory Village where we were formatted. Well, our new Digimental friends were uniquely programmed species of various Digimon matrixes from the Recycle. They probably had matrixes from previous Generations of Chosen. They were born one of a kind if you will. They were the new evolution in Digimon with direct jogress abilities. Of course, that does not mean that they are any different from us. They act the same about Human emotions. V-mon and Armadimon I could tell. They might have had past experiences with Human emotions of the past DigiDestined and Chosen Digimon from the generations before us.

Now every Chosen Digimon was aware of how much Human emotions have effected us. On top of that, we have this ability to determine the exact sex of each Digimon, a concept unheard of before and still sketchy to understand completely. It was only when Jyou and the rest of Generation Zero Seven first arrived. Also we understood our own preference to these sexes, or our inter-phase compatibility. It seemed that after the last reformation of the Digital World, all Digimon now, not just us anymore, have gained this knowledge of both sex and preference. I often wondered if it was all caused by Generation Zero Seven's sacrifice of their inner crests to reform the Digital World. Maybe…

We also have this strange ability to… dream! Yes, dream! It was still an unexplained phenomenon that occurs in any intelligent being's subconscious. So many theories explaining about it in the Human World, each theory held some validity. To them dreaming during sleep was routine, but to us it was very special! What I dream about? Some I can't remember well when I wake up. Most of those turned out to be bad dreams, nightmares. Still I love the good dreams I had. One I remembered clearly was me exploring the underwater City of Abacus. Another would be me digivolving to my Mega form. I just wished I remembered exactly what it was. Another dream was about me for once NOT being the convenient living boat for the group! Also, I vaguely remember these numerous dreams I had of Palmon wearing that princess dress she wore long ago-

'Uh… Okay… let's get back to the subject…'

I believed all of this was caused when we were able to cross from the Digital World to the Human world. According to Koushiro and Tentomon, beings living in the Digital were just that, digital. Even when our Human partners came to our world, they have become digital as well. When we crossed over, our Human partners reverted back to their organic form. Along with them, we Digimon have gained some sort of organic element when we first arrived in the Human World. A DNA encoding of various proteins and other fibers as Tentomon had explained. We became partly organic, not just pieces of data anymore! There was a time I noticed when I was injured after being exposed to the Human world, I… I bled! It wasn't the usual data gash I was accustomed to. I mean it was still viable data escaping the wound if it was not too serious, but now it took on a new appearance. This was true to the others that suffered injury. We now bled this red substance like Humans! Like with the understanding of emotions, attractions, such, it is not just we Chosen anymore, it was all Digimon! My suspicions were correct when Gatomon spoke of VamDemon actually feeding upon and loving the taste of Human blood instead of Digimon data!

Since back then, I often wondered what else we gained. I guessed my wonderment has been answered now. Our original emotion programming has been intertwined with Human ones. It was not that we experienced newer types of emotions, it's just that the ones we already have are felt even stronger and was more significant!

'Right back then when I was sad that I did not change, I almost cried! I never cried… for something like that. Have I bottled it up so long and hard that it hurts so much now?'

Well, enough about this astral psycho babble… This little revelation of Piyomon liking Gabumon was what's important now. And also that bond forming with Agumon and Palmon was turning out to be true, even if I still had doubts about it. Still, I watched Palmon and Agumon work a lot together in the past. Such awkward coupling has presented themselves within the Chosen. As for the others, I came to realize that Gatomon hates any male Digimon that is older than her or has any serial polarity attraction to her. I don't even want to know whom Tentomon likes. He probably would bore anyone any ways, since he absentmindedly takes any normal conversation and turn it into machine language. He'll put you to sleep eventually.

I know for certain that Armadimon has his heart set on a certain non-Chosen female Digimon. A sea-dwelling Digimon named as Seahomon. I believe to have seen this Digimon as well the same time near the Corel Offshore Drilling Platform. It was strange. This Digimon appeared to be Digimental armored, but that was not possible because of my current knowledge of Digimentals being something quite newly introduced into the Digital World. Still, I knew that some of my friend Rukamon liked Armadimon in his armored form as Submarimon. Unfortunately, Chimeramon has deleted them all long ago.

Well, V-mon seemed to have drawn a lot of other admirers. Some of them did include Palmon, but… well… never mind. Forget I even mentioned that. I have seen some wild female Digimon that admire his winning personality and charm. Of course V-mon have gained a huge crush club from the male Digimon populous as well, even though V-mon is somewhat serial polarity! Need I mention his admirers included Wormmon? Also, in the past subject of Hawkmon, he inadvertently hinted liking this one particular male Digimon! I guess you figured it out by now that it is V-mon that Hawkmon likes! HA! However, V-mon fails to notice any of this. Nor does he realize that Gatomon is mostly singular parallel orientation and modulation, yet he still tries to get her to notice him! That fool! I can't put the blame on him though. I just wished Gatomon would just admit to him that she does not like him… that way.

Hey… Maybe I am wrong about Gatomon being singular parallel. Rumor has been circling around Tentomon, Agumon, and myself that she had some sort of relationship with PicoDevimon! HA! That rumor was actually my doing to rouse little old gullible Tentomon and Agumon. Not that I had anything to prove or disprove it. Never did I consider doing a rumor surrounding a possible VamDemon relationship. That wouldn't be right at all. I've heard from Hawkmon himself that she has had these frequent nightmares about him. I feared like the others of the trauma she suffered and how vile VamDemon could be. I am not the person to reopen old wounds.

Still PicoDevimon was a different story. Gatomon freely tells old stories about him as well as Wizarmon. Gatomon and PicoDevimon seemed to have gotten along well before VamDemon came along. It was strange considering he was really a big jerk to the rest of us, especially when he told vicious lies to young Takeru. Nothing we know of that Wizarmon fellow. Perhaps there was some deep dark secret in that relationship as well. I'll think of another wild yet playful rumor to spread about Gatomon and PicoDevimon. I hope I don't get caught! She'll turn me into a brand new Gabumon suit for sure!

'Love… love… love… G A P!'

I would have thought all of this amusing until I saw Agumon at that Local Grinds diner. I saw that look on his face! That look he gave directly at me! Jealousy! I still can't believe that Mon! He still has feelings for Piyomon! And for him to think I was hitting on Piyomon now! What a jerk! Wasn't Palmon enough? It appeared true that he does flirt a lot, especially with wild Digimon! I've seen him actually flirting innocently with Mimi in the past! Luckily Mimi, especially Taichi, was not yet mature in Human years to understand what Agumon was trying to pull. I don't think his problem was a Human quality that rubbed off on him, he was always like that! But these days, he was doing this arrogant routine with his closest friends now! Does he think that all females, Digimon, Human, or other, in existence are his and only his? If he breaks Palmon's heart, I'll use Marching Fishes to swim right up his…

'What am I saying?'

'Why did I think that?'

'Jealous… Was I jealous as well?'

Jealousy… Where did that come from? Now I remembered. Jyou had these rushes of jealousy of the Child of Knowledge long ago during the battles from Devimon to the Dark Masters tyranny. Can you imagine that? The once old dorky Jyou got these jealous fits with Koushiro because of the apparent attention Mimi gave Koushiro! I am sure he changed a lot since Mimi returns his affections. Plus, Koushiro seemed to be backing up Mimi and Jyou's relationship! All that jealous hoopla in the past… I am glad Jyou changed for the better. I hate to see him at his maturity being overcome with childish jealousy! Did Jyou's jealous fits finally rubbed off on me now? I guess my bright outlook on life cushioned it from me. Thank Jiji and Baba I didn't become a klutzy hypochondriac dork!

'Well, enough about this jealous bit! Now where was I? Oh yes! Palmon.'

I guess I do have feelings for her, but only in the sense of being protective of her. I feel like… a brother to her. Humans referred to it like that. Like the secret vow I made during the Dark Masters exodus. I would never let anyone or anything ever harm her. I remembered the time our Human friends chose to be in the exodus. Jyou and I ended up with Mimi and Palmon. As if we were seemingly wandering around the outskirts of Spiral Mountain, we found new friends and allies, and former foes. It's amazing what toilet paper can do. Well, besides that, all the death and sadness around us… I never would have thought that Palmon could have survived through all that, much less her delicate partner, the Child of Purity, Mimi for that matter. I was wrong. I understood why Mimi and Palmon were the Chosen Ones of Purity. It was that strength of a purest heart, body, mind, and soul that could endure even the most hardships being physical and spiritually. So true, for Palmon and Mimi.

Those things I had felt as I remembered. All those numerous times I slept with Palmon during the Dark Masters Exodus…

'HA! I know what you are thinking… like a Human!'

It was nothing really! It was the time we had to keep our selves hidden, so our fire had to stay low during nights. Meramon gave us some warmth for the entire group. Jyou had to snuggle with Mimi with us together. It just so happens I end up being close to Palmon, very close! Keeping her warm. Snuggling up with Ogremon wouldn't be so pleasant any ways. I sort of kept the Gekomon and Otamamon from getting close to Palmon. They never meant any harm to her of course. Sort of like continuing treating her with the Digimon Princess routine. I just wanted to be with her… to be faithful to her… for her to have faith in me.

'I was so close I could almost feel her soul-'

A sudden rush of blood came to my face. 'Ugh… Am I blushing?' I mentally slapped myself. 'Ridiculous!'

Let me continue on…

I don't think I felt anything like what Agumon, Piyomon, or V-mon to name a few would describe as a swelling rush of emotions.

'Oh and another thing… That feeling I just felt just then… DOES NOT COUNT!'

Well… back to my theories…

I heard Tentomon refer to all of this mushy love stuff effecting us as empathy subroutines. Well, all I can say about Palmon was that she has and will always be my best Digimon friend. Maybe underlying that bond friendship could there be love. But was it all just an illusion of love.

~~~

Nerima Shopping Center, Postal Service Satellite
Present thoughts…

'Muteki na bataashi…'

I always had that song in my head. It was a song I made for my sole commitment I give to Jyou. Although I often think it would be better suited if it were to be for someone else. I got the music part down, just these lyrics I wanted to be more meaningful. It started off as a poem, but I never got around in completing it.

'The things I think of when I have been stuffed in Jyou's shopping bag for what seemed like hours.'

HA! You never knew I could write songs, did ya? Well, not that I would want to let both worlds hear my beautiful singing voice!

Hoshi ni negai WOOOH-OOOOOOHHH…
kaze ni puraiDOOHHH…
noseta-

DA-DING…

DA-DING…

DING…

'What the…?'

DA-DING…

DA-DING…

DING…

DA-DING… ;

DA-DING…

It sounded like a bell ringing. Never stopping once… a constant ringing. My head started to ache. Not only was it constant, it was getting louder and louder and annoying and annoying! I peered at the opening of the shopping bag where I could see Jyou's face… from the chin up. I asked, "Jyou? Where are we going? What is that racket?"

Without turning to me, he just answered. "Just something to do."

DA-DING…

DA-DING…

DING…

DA-DING… ;

DA-DING…

Judging from the ringing getting louder, we were getting closer and closer to the source of the ringing. I figured that anyone in his or her right mind would avoid such noise! I carefully popped my head out of the bag to see where and what was causing that ringing. To my surprise, it was the costumed Human known to be Santa Claus. He had the red coat and overalls, matching hat, usual black boots, beard… Wait a minute! This Santa's beard seemed to be growing twenty millimeters from were Humans usually have facial hair. The beard was fake! A much too white to be real kind of fake. This person was too poorly dressed to be the Santa Claus as well. This was not the Santa that was here in the afternoon taking pictures with children on his throne. I came to the conclusion that this was one of the Santa Clones I have seen throughout the mall. This one was different though. The Santa Clone had a kettle this time, plus a very… very… very… very… large bell! That would explain the irritation in my ears.

I ducked my head back in the bag, hoping it would muffle the ringing. Through it all, I managed to say to Jyou, "Can we avoid that guy, Jyou! He is not that good playing that instrument. He has bad rhythm also."

"It's important," Jyou replied.

"Whatever Jyou."

We walked closer to this Santa Clone…

DA-DING…

DING…

DA-DING…

DA-DING… ;

DING…

Okay… I am not sure what this Santa Clone's problem was. That stupid bell of his was driving me nuts! He never stops! He just wants attention!

"What the hell does he think he is?" I managed to groan under the noise.

"Now now… watch your language," Jyou replied.

I don't think the Santa Clone noticed us having a conversation, thanks to his bell. I peeked out of the bag again to see Jyou place a few bills and coins into the Santa Clone's red kettle. Amazingly the Santa Clone stopped his ringing. Unfortunately the ringing still continued in my head!

"Thank you, sir. Merry Christmas!" the Hearing-Impaired Santa Clone whose Job is to make the Whole World Ring with Joy said.

"You too. Merry Christmas!" Jyou replied as he stuffed his wallet back into his pant pocket.

As my hearing felt better, I tried to listen to their brief exchange of words they had earlier. Nothing else was said. Well, I began to enjoy the softer ambient noise now. The Santa Clone looked away from Jyou and…

DA-DING…

DING…

DA-DING…

DING… < p>DING…

"ARGH!" I cried, not caring if anyone else could hear me… not like they could hear anything else around this guy. If my suspicions were correct, only this guy alone was blessed with the courtesy to have provided only himself earplugs!

Understanding these Human ceremonial practices was something that was ongoing for me. Spirit of giving, Jyou said to me. That was true for Jyou I guess. He always cared for anyone other than himself. His dream of becoming a doctor was never bleak like before. He would care for those that need help regardless even if they would be his enemy out to take his life. To protect life as well as his art… errrr… That… hypocrite's oath he said. Or was it Hippocratic? Something to do with hippos or whatever. To add to that, Jyou was more independent now, more than his brothers. I often felt that he no longer needs me anymore for I haven't changed one bit. He still loves me just the same. Nothing could set us apart. Maybe I should never look down on myself for still being the same. Maybe there were changes in me I haven't actually realized yet. I am still young!

Of course this thing with Jyou and Mimi. There's that love thing again.

I can remember this story that Jyou told me that Mimi got really angry with him. It wasn't really all Jyou's fault. It was about three Human years ago or seven hundred fifty two digital years during the Digital Gaia, the day before the Rising of the Deboramon Web. Jyou did not know this, but Mimi had gone to the United Sectors, or was it States, to a place called Hawaii. It was a week long vacation for her. Jyou did not get immediate word on it since he had to board at the Junior University. For some odd reason, Mimi contacted only Taichi at the time. Maybe her leaving was on short notice. Well, before Jyou left for another seminar to further his studies, he gave Mimi a heart shaped box of chocolates! It was during the morning in hopes of surprising her, not realizing that she was gone far away and would be gone for a long time. He was too blind by love to even realize the stuffed mail slots of unread unopened mail!

Now this box of candy sat there for awhile. Well, you know what happens when you leave sweets with semi-reliable shrink-wrapping in the open like that? I think you got the idea. When Mimi and her family got back, she gave Jyou a scolding when she saw the once lovely gift. I don't blame her though. How would anyone take it if they got crawly vermin infested heart-shaped box of stale half vermin eaten chocolates!

"There's Koushiro!"

"Huh?" I asked, as I awoke from my thoughts of candy. I looked around and sure enough it was Koushiro that just exited a transportation bus. He was carrying a backpack of sorts slung over his back. It was quite larger compared to his usual laptop case. Like the rest of the Humans, he was dressed warmly with a coat and scarf. Being the typical person that he was, Koushiro overall attire was predominately green in color with bits of orange.

"Strange… Miyako's not with him?" Jyou then said.

He was right, I was expecting Miyako to join us as well. "Ken's party must be something!" I commented, and then added, "…to drive Koushiro away."

Jyou ignored me and said, "Looks like he just got here for the concert! I hope he doesn't run into that Dimension Monster fiasco."

I stayed quiet. Koushiro probably would leave Tentomon home. However, like the rest of us, we were inseparable. It wouldn't hurt to at least try inviting that big bug here. From what I heard from Agumon, Tentomon was in fact the Master of Disguise. I have doubts on that. The crowd would still notice him stick out like a sore opposable thumb. Still, from a Dimension Monster point of view, Tentomon shouldn't be as popular as cute and cuddly me! I don't see Tentomon at the moment. I guess he didn't come. Koushiro thought it wise not to bring him… Unless, that bag he is carrying…

'Motimon?'

That would make a lot of sense. He, like most others, was smaller in his In-Training form and would be easier to be hidden. Unlike me, I was just as big as Pukamon! And pretending to be a floating balloon animal would be down right degrading! Jyou and I were about to catch up with Koushiro and, if all is possible, Motimon. However, Koushiro must have had something else to do since he was going in the opposite direction of where the concert was supposed to be.

"Maybe he wanted to do some last-minute shopping," Jyou speculated.

I noticed Koushiro was heading for the same Arakawa Jewelry store that Jyou went to get Mimi's gift. Maybe something for Miyako!

Great, another annoying reminder regarding love…

I am not sure what happens during or perhaps after love. I heard Jyou said procreation was a possibility but not inevitable. I don't see how though. We do not procreate like Human's do… Well, not in organic fluids sort of sense. And all that close Human physical… er… repetitious… leaky… extraneous… direct interfacing… I/O contact it takes to get that far? Yuck! Forget it! For us it is a moment in time of fulfillment in which a Digimon would contribute his or her final energy, pure life giving data, into the Recycle.

Still, my thoughts dwell on the soul, the soul of a Digimon. Energy from a physical being is one thing, but the soul. Jyou joked about it, calling it Silicon Heaven. Is there such a place, or do we go through the Recycle? Our souls would live in another form. Many of our Digimon religions, all diverse in many ways, still dwell on similar possibilities of a Silicon Heaven. With every different religious sects there are many different names for such a place. Among all of us Chosen, only Tentomon does not believe in Silicon Heaven, nor does he believe in the soul of a Digimon. Everything was just one's and zero's to him. I respected him for that, but only that. Like I respected those of many faiths, I also respected those that turn away from it for the sake of logic. To me, that belief in only logic was a faith in itself. I wouldn't push Tentomon in believing it like that either. Everyone's entitled to his or her beliefs, despite how diverse anyone's beliefs may be.

Apocalymon proved one thing to me… There is a place of damnation for Digimon! There is no corruption, just fragmentation of lost souls. Doomed never to be whole or complete. Scattered with others until they take shape. Neither good nor evil dwells there in that darkness. Pain? Fear? Anger? Emotions have no meaning there unless they take on a shape of their own. They were nothing, just shadows. Lost in a realm of purgatory. I won't call it Silicon Hell, Hell being one of the Human names for such a place. All our Digimon faiths have no name for it! Not like they believed it does not exist. It shouldn't have a name. It is a place of non-existence.

There are times that I questioned in the belief in Heaven or that other place. The last time I saw Wizarmon caused me to have such doubts. What happened to him? Was that his soul we all witnessed? It appeared his access to the Recycle was denied! But the Recycle was also present in the Human World. Was he trapped between the organic and digital? His soul will never reach Silicon Heaven? Or perhaps what has happened was that he was in some place of damnation! No! That can't be right! It was just hard to believe in anything anymore.

And this place Hikari and Ken called the Dark Ocean… another unexplained phenomena that appeared to have seeped into both our world and the Human world. Gatomon, Wormmon and Hawkmon's description of it was still a bit confusing to me. All they do know was that it has caused deep emotional scars to Hikari. Perhaps also, as I understood Gatomon correctly, Hikari was also physically… scarred… as well by those dark digital beings there. Hikari does not want to talk about it. Gatomon is not sure what really went on. Case closed. Yet the nightmares continue for her. For Ken, the once Digimon Kaiser, the Dark Ocean seemed to have reopened such scars. It seemed that this Dark Ocean was what caused Ken to be turned into the Kaiser. Now it has its sights on Hikari! They seem fine now, but Gatomon fears it would haunt them again. It was just one of the many more strange happenings that continue to plague all of us.

After all the battles we Chosen have fought, never could we find any peace! All that bullmon-shit about Destiny Stones, or was it Holy Stones? Or were they supposed to be Cores? Whatever… And that Qinglongmon, the Holy Dragon Digimon of the East… Who does he think he is! He acted and sounded like he was the reincarnation of the Dual Digimon Philosophers, Jiji and Baba! But his words are all wrong! Weird! And I still don't believe in everything that Qinglongmon said. Some of it I didn't understand or cared to understand. Another realm beyond Silicon Heaven and purgatory would emerge. A new battle will be fought that would reveal our true meaning of existence. All a bunch of bullmon-shit! I would rather be spending the rest of my existence searching for the Lost Continent of Abacus. Or perhaps trek through the battle scorched wastelands of the Continent of Folder.

'Our existence… The Digital Monsters… What does it all mean?'

Still, from what Hawkmon told me, Sora's Father had a most interesting theory. Sora's Father is a universe or something pro-wrestler that studies various folklore of his world with the assistance of Jyou's other older brother Shuu. Even for a Human, that universe pro-wrestler Mr. Takenouchi gave a spiritual sense to our existence between worlds. Before being digital, we were like these spirits that acted like guardians, haunters, or tricksters for that matter. We embodied objects of the Human world and later on our souls manifested themselves with computer data. That was a very interesting theory indeed! Much more interesting than Tentomon's theory of us being the "evolution in artificial intelligence." To him all Digimon were and still are "artificial life forms!" I can't believe him to even say that! It makes us seem so insignificant! Still, his beliefs would prove one certain aspect of our existence… we were created by Human beings!

'A tiny part of me wants to believe that… The rest does not…'

Perhaps Gennai could explain what was happening to us now. Why our Worlds are no longer defined by the boundaries that separate the Human World from the Digital World. The Dark Ocean… the Recycle… All of these were boundaries that defined us as Digimon apart from Humans. On the other hand, it was what these boundaries meant that makes both Humans and us not so different. And another thing… WHERE WAS THAT OLD GEEZER? I always thought of him to be the descendant of the Jiji and Baba Philosophy. Yet, his purpose follows that of the infamous Digimon Elders. He was acting just like that, an overseer! But he is not really a Digimon Elder, is he? I hope not!

I sighed, seeing some humor in it all. Luckily we were never Analog Monsters. Maybe all of this was an illusion. The whole meaning of life was an illusion. Believe in all of this was a waste of time.

I remembered someone saying to me when I first questioned the meaning of existence…

'All we can do is hold on to what we believe in our hearts.

No matter what we believe in

No matter how we believe

No matter what anyone says otherwise

Believe… believe in our hearts

That is when we find peace.

Faith…

No one could ever take that strength away.'

It made some sense. Not really some rhetorical nonsense but very comforting words for those that want to believe. That was what it was, solace in our beliefs. It was what Digimon and Humans share in that need for solace.

It was strange…

Gatomon was the one the said that to me.

~~~

Nerima Shopping Center, East Square
3 Minutes Later…

We decided to head towards the concert area again. Koushiro would no doubt meet us there. Ugh! This shopping bag was getting stuffier and stuffier. Even with my aquatic pressure respiratory system, I can't go on forever without breathing normally. I had to get some fresh air! I figured it was getting dark for anyone to see me, so I just tried to get my head out in the open. Feeling the cooler air in my face, I took a couple of breaths. After I am done, I would go back into that stuffy bag again for another ten to fifteen minutes without discomfort. If it were anyone else, suffocation was inevitable in less than a minute! Now I see why there were so many warnings on this shopping bag. They were pictures even! Warnings that stressed to children especially that these plastic bags are not to be used as playthings!

Inhale…

"Hey Jun!" Jyou yelled.

'Perfect…' I muttered in sarcasm. I took another deep breath of air to get my aquatic respiratory system in order. Well, actually I gasped at yet another Human contact was about to get underway. I quickly plopped myself back into the bag.

"Ah, Kido Senpai! Hi!" a female voice greeted us. I figured this Human was Jun. Hold on there… The Jun? Motomiya, Jun? I never met her… up close. I only know her mostly by what V-mon had told me about her. Well, I won't go into what he said about Jun, I am mostly interested about the conversation happening now. Too bad I couldn't see anything being coped up in this bag.

"I guess you are definitely here to stay for the Teen-Age Wolves concert!" Jun said.

I heard Jyou reply, "He is my friend. The less I could do than attend his first widely televised concert here."

Jun then said, "This is my friend Inoue, Momoe."

"H-hello," I heard different voice say. It was another Human female.

Jun continued, "Momoe, this is Kido, Jyou. Sort of an associate to my brother's friends and Yamato!"

Hmmm… there was a companion with Jun I did not notice before. I heard the one I distinguished as Momoe say, "Kido… Are you… Wow! I haven't see you in a long time since our junior class visit to the Hokkaido Institute of Technology last Spring."

Jyou replied, "No, I am not Shuu. I am his younger brother, Jyou."

"Oh. A pleasure."

I felt the motions as if Jyou and Momoe were shaking hands. After that was done, I heard Jyou say, "Inoue… Miyako's sister right?"

"Hai," Momoe answered.

I managed to sneak a peak at the two Human females talking to Jyou. One matched V-mon's description of Motomiya Jun. I could see the resemblance to Daisuke. The other female was still new to me. Yet Jyou mentioned Miyako's sister. Momoe. She didn't look like Miyako even if she does wear framed lenses. Her hair was a nice dark chocolate brown, not the lavender color of imax coral like Miyako's. She strangely had the same type of lens frames as Jyou was wearing. Unlike Miyako, Momoe was a quiet person. Her soft melodic voice did indicate some shyness.

"Yes. I guess we all have our brothers and sisters who know each other," Jyou said.

Momoe then replied, "Well, Miyako… she doesn't… We are not that close."

"Oh?"

"Well… She avoids us a lot now, my other younger Sister, my Brother, and myself. Well I… With me trying to be the big sister, it doesn't help either of us. When both our parents run our family store, I have been given the responsibility to watch over my Brother and Sisters. I haven't actually told her that I do care a lot for her. I listen to her problems and help as much I can, then she backs away again!" I sensed that ting of guilt, anger, and sadness in her voice. Hawkmon wasn't kidding about all of this.

"Momoe, if you don't want it to be brought up again. I don't think this is the place-"

"Is it that bad?" Jyou asked.

Jun answered, "Well, that's another reason why she is here… to get her mind off things."

"Well, if you feel it's none of my business we can talk about something else," Jyou said calmly.

"Well…" Jun started.

"It's okay. I do want to talk about it," Momoe said.

"Let's have a seat," said Jyou.

I felt like we were moving again. There was a slight thump and all was still. I guess we found a place for all of us to sit. Probably it was a bench. Then I felt myself being lifted and put on the side. I guess Jyou does not want me to be seen, even if I am in this bag.

"So, what happened?" Jyou asked.

Amazingly it was Jun that continued for Momoe, "She got into another nasty… er… just an argument with Miyako over this Christmas party happening very far from the other side of town. Tamachi district. I assured her it was a friend's house. Ichijouji, Ken. You know him too, right?"

Jyou replied, "Yes, I do. Really a great friend to your Brother, his friends, and of course Miyako."

Jun continued, "Well, her other Sister's meddling made it worse when she brought up Ken's widely televised disappearance. Her Brother got pissed about it stormed off to whom knows where. It finally got worse as Miyako revealed who was taking her there. And it wasn't really my brother." Jun stopped. "Maybe I shouldn't start. Sorry, Momoe. I think my mouth went off again."

I heard Momoe say, "No, Jun, it's okay. I just wanted to let out some way." Momoe continued the conversation. "I try to show her how responsible I can be. Well, Miyako is a very strong and responsible person, I know. I was kind of taking on my Mother's role. I think I over did it. I-I just don't want her to get into situations that even she can't handle."

"I see."

"Not that I am prying into her life, but she is still young." I heard Momoe let out a sigh. "And when I found out the hard way that she was dating this guy named Koushiro for some time…"

"Uh… oh." Jyou said

"You know him too?" Momoe asked.

"A very close friend of mine. Miyako would never find anyone better to be with then him. You can trust me on that. You are also right about Miyako being strong and responsible. But I feel it is also right that you take some part in her life. She is young. I am sure she would agree, if the both of you settled it."

"I-I'm glad."

Jun added, "You see, Momoe? There's nothing to worry about. Plus, Koushiro is very nice kid, not to mention very smart!"

"That's for sure!" Jyou then added, "He would be at the concert tonight."

"With Miyako?"

Jyou hesitated to answer, knowing full well that Koushiro came here without Miyako. I am not sure if Jyou nodded or shook his head because I couldn't see anything. He just continued, "I'm sure if you want to know more about him, you can finally get to know each other. Hopefully Miyako won't mind."

"S-she might," Momoe answered in a worried voice.

"I'm sure with all of us there, things would turn out differently than you think."

"I hope so."

Hmmm, I began to realize what Hawkmon told me about Miyako's siblings. It was almost as bad as Jun's relationship to Daisuke, but in Miyako's case it was even worse. Far worse! For these new DigiDestined, their siblings they do not know of the Digimon with them. Jyou's two brothers know of Digimon. It would be so easier for these siblings of the new DigiDestined to know also. It would bring them closer. I heard many times from Hawkmon of the rift forming between Miyako and her siblings. I've come to realize how bad it is now. However, this Momoe seems very kind and caring, much like Miyako. Though Momoe was not as loud and extroverted as the Child Digimental of Love and Purity.

"…Miyako's talking to someone?"

"…in her room."

"…be pink with a beak and a feather?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"I see…"

"Her Dimension Monster or something makes a better sibling than any of us."

"Now that's not true…"

I guess one answer to that was for their protection. Unlike the Yagami's and the Ishi- no Taka- um… Yamato and Takeru. Their siblings do not have Digimon to protect them. Jyou has two older brothers that were older and could take care of themselves. Mimi has a younger kid brother. No doubt Mimi would want Palmon to meet him. I guess it is different with the older DigiDestined. We fought the final battle with Piemon while their families could only watch. They knew about us. Now a new journey for the new Chosen. I guess it was just Human nature for their young to keep secrets from their family. Especially if they made themselves special because of their older siblings do not have what they share with Digimon. But I knew deep down, it was for their family's protection. Now how this whole fighting thing escalated was a surprise. I wondered how Miyako felt about all this. I felt sorry for Momoe. It appeared to have affected her greatly.

"Thank you, Jyou."

"Your welcome, Momoe. I'm glad to have helped in a way."

I felt like we were moving… We were walking now. Jyou, Jun, and Momoe are quiet.

'Great, I must have missed the rest of their conversation regarding Miyako and Koushiro!'

~~~

Nerima Shopping Center, East Square
1.6 Minutes Later…

"PEOPLE, PEOPLE! I MUST REPEAT…
THERE ARE NO DIMENSION MONSTERS SOLD HERE!
THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A MISTAKE!"

"NOW PLEASE, EVERYONE, MOVE BACK
LET OUR FINISHED CUSTOMERS LEAVE
SO THAT THERE WOULD BE ROOM TO SHOP IN THE STORE!"

I started to hear a crowd like noise getting louder and louder! Lots of disappointing sounds was heard, as the announcer was finished. I wondered what was happening so I managed to sneak a fast peek through the bag. Sure enough, there was a mob of people surrounding this area in the shopping center. Jyou and the others stopped a good distance from the crowd. They seemed to be in a frenzy, pushing and shoving into this one little store. Some gave up disappointed while others continued to see if they could get into that store. Was this all caused by this Dimension Monster craziness that just happened to plague this very day?

"Wow, check out that crowd. Can you believe it?" Momoe exclaimed.

"Well, at least Yamato got two of them as gifts! I didn't know they were the Dimension Monsters!" Jun added.

"Yamato?" Jyou asked in astonishment. I was just as curious as he was too.

Jun continued, "Yeah, we spoke to him and his girlfriend, Sora, backstage about three hours ago."

"…"

Momoe then added, "I hope he packs those dolls away! Man, this crowd is wild! Someone can just mug and steal them if he or she is not too careful."

"Sora… Girlfriend?" Jyou stammered.

Hmmm, was this Taichi and Sora thing that serious? Everyone got the impression that Sora and Yamato were going out. I don't know if it was true or not, but Sora did say it was all a misunderstanding. Now this thing with Gabumon and Agumon… with Piyomon in the middle?

'This was just so dandy,' I thought sarcastically.

Jun then replied, "Well, yeah. They make a cute couple, I guess. Though I keep seeing this Tai kid around."

"…"

"Any ways, I think they had the Arctic Unicorn Wolf and the Pink Piyo bird." Jun added, "I, myself, have the earlier Cat Doll."

"I have the original Albino Punk Rock Seal," Momoe said.

I rolled my eyes, 'I guess that was my official name that's gonna stick with me till I Recycle.'

Again Jyou did not say a word. Now, both girls seemed quiet now. Like they were waiting for Jyou to say something. I was not sure about what until Jyou finally exploded, "Okay okay! I admit it! I have two plush toys as well. Like you, Momoe, I have the First Edition Punk Rock Seal plus I also have the Palmo- I mean the Dino Poinsettia."

This seemed to have brought on some embarrassment to Jyou I noticed.

"Wow! You do? The Dino Plant was hard to get. Yet, I think the Seal is the coolest and cute too!" Momoe replied happily.

I felt a big grin stretching on my face. She thinks I'm cute and that word cool also! I am not sure what came over me… Momoe's kind words of me… or the fact that I was beginning to suffocate again! It was more to the fact that I loved to see Jyou under pressure! So I took this opportunity to reveal myself. Without thinking of the consequences, I popped my head out the shopping bag.

"Woah!" Jun exclaimed.

"Huh?" Momoe said.

"What is it?" Jyou asked them, oblivious that I just made my presence known.

"You have the Seal with you now?" Momoe asked Jyou.

"Huh?" Jyou looked around nervously until he finally met my glance. I gave a good mechanical grin back at him. The only thing Jyou did was give me this shocked face that looked even funnier with his lenses making his eyes even wider. He let out a mixed emotion groan, "Errr…"

Jyou's dumbfounded reply made me smile. This was all too fun! Still I had to be careful! We were a bit close to the toy buying adult crowd. This was the most dangerous game I ever put myself in, but the way I've got Jyou in this predicament, it's worth it! With another mechanical grin I turned to Jun and Momoe. "Hello, I am the New Edition Dimension Monster," I greeted in my usual conversation voice.

"WOAH!" both females cried.

"It IS true! It does talk!" Jun said.

"AND IT DOES MOVE ON IT'S OWN! WOW!" Momoe added.

"Sssshhh! Momoe, quiet!" hissed Jun, motioning to the mob.

Momoe looks at the mob not too far from us. No telling what might happen to us, not to mention me, if they got word of a New Edition Dimension Monster not far from the ransacked store. "Oh right," she replied to Jun. In a softer tone, she said, "It looks different… especially with the hair… but it looks like the official ones. Ooo… unless… could it be…"

I, for once, anticipated her answer. I knew so, especially after what Jyou said about the past Dimension Monster craze. I replied, "Bootleg? No. Official is right! I'm even better!"

Momoe looked at me in shock. "I don't believe it! It just answered me!"

"Gomamon…" Jyou finally said to me.

I forgot that Jyou was right over me. I turned mechanically to face him eye to eye. HA! You should see his face now! It's so priceless! A KoJack moment, like many say here. I then said to Jyou with my closed-eyed grin, "That's my name, don't wear it out!"

"Gomamon?" Momoe pondered. She appeared to be thinking about something and looks at me, especially my back. She reaches her right hand out towards me and I felt her gently brush my fur! Finally she said, "Oh I see! Goma… goma, sesame seed. Like the shape of the lavender spots on his back!" She stopped stroking my fur and retracted her hand from my back. I already started to miss that.

Again, Jyou's famous way of words, "…"

Hehe hehee…

Well, enough about Jyou… I looked at Momoe in surprise, but I tried not to react too much. I was supposed to be just a toy with limited mobility. This Momoe was something! 'Wow! Was that what I was named after? The shape of the spots on my back… which I have difficulty seeing in the first place without the help of another Digimon? Wait a minute! How did my form get that name?'

'Oh no…'

That sinking feeling of us Digimon being created by Humans was gaining validity! I shook my head. 'Nah! It's just coincidence! My name could have different meanings anywhere and-'

"And that 'mon.' You added that for Monster, much like Pocket Monsters?" Jun added. She waited for Jyou to answer.

Of course, let me summarize for Jyou, "…"

I tried not to laugh. I could tell Jyou was mortified by now. I was glad I could still get to him even though he matured a lot. I figured associating with girls were his weakness. Seeing young matured men with dolls must be something quite peculiar to his Human society!

"Gomamon. That's a nice name," Jun said.

"Yeah," Momoe added.

"Thank you," I replied to both of them.

"Neato! It IS fully interactive! That is remarkable!" Momoe said. "Certainly state of the art technology…"

Finally Jyou added a few words to his existing vocabulary, "Well, actually it is not really-"

"Must have cost a bundle!" Jun said.

"But I am worth it!" I added. I could feel Jyou tightening his grip on the string handles of the shopping bag. I hope he doesn't do anything else with them.

"I wish I could own one but…" Jun looks back at the mob scene. "Well, with this crowd, I am not even going to try to get these New Anniversary additions that seemed to be exclusive to the Nerima Shopping Center. I'll just settle for my two-year-old originals. Still, my brother seems to be starting his own collection. Not the originals but almost the same and lifelike like yours. A blue goblin. Sometimes I see another bigger glue goblin with a horned nose."

'Daisuke? Blue goblin?'

Jun continued, "Ha! And he teases me that dolls are for girls! Still, I think his one is fully interactive like Gomamon here and Miyako's because I hear him talk to it in his room. The voice mechanism sounds broken though, or perhaps that is how it was supposed to sound like."

'V-mon! HA!'

His jagged mouth did cause a bit of a speech impediment. He denies he has any kind of impediment of course. He says he talks just as anyone else. It's not really his fault that was the way he was programmed. The overall jaw structure was part of his super alloy skull of his. His neck may look slender to support that big fat head of his, but it was reinforced with the same alloy down to his spine. I believe even his neck muscles have some sort of reinforced steel substance within the cell clusters. All of this serves to protect the rest of his body when he does his viscous powerhouse V-Head-butt attack. He just does his best in the speech department.

"Oh… that blue… gremlin," Jyou said.

"Goblin," Jun corrected him.

"Goblin…" Jyou said flatly.

"Well, I guess you heard about my Sister's fluffy pink ball," Momoe said.

Pink fluffy ball? I guess I missed that part of their earlier discussion. She must be referring to Poromon. I decided to continue, "But I am cuddlier and -OOF!"

I was cut off as Jyou shoved one of his other packages over me.

"Whoops! Can't let the batteries drain out!" I heard him reply. I got the message and stopped struggling. I think I went too far with this game.

"I see, is it a gift for someone?" Jun asked.

"Or is it for yourself?" added Momoe.

"…"

I wanted to laugh soooo hard, but I held it back. Not to mention I could inadvertently use up my air!

"…"

It would seem like moments until the two females let Jyou off the hook. "We're just kidding you, Kido Senpai!" I could hear the two females laugh. Jyou on the other hand did nothing of the sort. I could only guess how he feels right now.

Jun finally stopped laughing and said, "It's all weird though! Do you remember the real Dimension Monsters?"

Momoe replied, "Yep! Scary! Who would have thought it could happen. Monsters for real even!"

"Yeah, monsters…" Jyou said in a dull tone. However, the other's did not pick up on his sour mood.

"Well, the concert starts in less than an hour," Momoe said looking at her watch.

Suddenly, Jun yelped. "Yikes! I forgot! I have to get a gift for that Dolls are for Girls Brother of mine!"

Momoe said, "Well, I guess we will join you later, Jyou. Hopefully, to see my Sister and meet Koushiro."

"Right… Seeya! Come on! Bye, Jyou!" Jun said frantically. I could tell she wanted to leave in a hurry.

"Goodbye, Jyou. Thank you for listening. It really helped," Momoe added.

"You're welcome. I'm glad I was helpful," Jyou replied comfortably.

"Goodbye to you too, Goma!" Momoe seemed to yell at me even though I was smothered in the shopping bag.

I managed to speak out, "Likewise! Merry Christmas!" This caused Jyou to push the packages down on me even harder!

"Merry Christmas," Jyou said with plaster cheerfulness.

"Merry Christmas!" Momoe replied. I heard a scrambling of footsteps as if Jun was dragging her away off her feet.

Moments passed. If I could see out, I knew we were alone now… All of a sudden the packages above me were lifted. I looked up through the opening and saw… a very… very… very… pissed… Jyou.

"JUST WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, GOMAMON?"

His outburst shook me up! I would have truly felt guilty then. Yet the playful part of me stayed cool. I heard myself reply, "Whaaat…? No harm done."

~~~

Nerima Shopping Center, Eastside Circle
6 Minutes Later…

We were on our way… again.

We passed what appeared to be a television news crew gathering at the still present mob crowded store. I am still not sure how this sudden interest in the Dimension Monsters came about. After Jyou showed me his edition of me not too long ago, I was really flattered. I mean it was great being appreciated. The doll looked amazingly like me, though not as handsome or charming as I was. Not to mention I could talk up a storm! I often wondered how they got a good look at me, or all of us Digimon for that matter, to make the doll so much like us.

I remembered I was in Jyou's bag most of the time during the whole VamDemon slash 8th child incident. Probably some other Human who saw us re-enter the Digital World to face the threat of the Dark Masters. Still, there were some fashionable and anatomical errors to my toy doppelganger. They gave me whiskers like I am old or something, and my fiery mane, a mohawk these Humans called it, was too spiky and stiff. It looked like it was cut and sliced by a Sinomon! Black stripes replaced those goma seeds Momoe talked about on my back. Amazingly, they got Palmon, or Dyno Point Set Tea Ya something as they called her, exactly right! Just her emerald seed eyes were done wrong. She does not have Human-like pupils and iris.

Toys… toys… toys…

'HEY! I JUST REMEMBERED! GET THIS!'

Need I mention there was also a homemade Mimi doll next to his Palmon doll? It was about the same size as Palmon. A chibi doll of the Child of Purity in her pink cowl girl thing or whatever it was called! HAAAA HAAAAAA! I still haven't found out where it came from or who made it! Well, with my cunning, I will sooner or later!

'Jyou's very own MIMI DOLL…'

"HMMM… MMM… …HA HA HAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"

"ACK! JEEZ!" Jyou poked his face in the bag and asked rather irritably, "WHAT-IS-IT-NOW, GOMAMON?"

"Oh nothing," I said.

Jyou hissed, "THEN BE QUIET! That toy store still has a crowd! Now a news crew is there! We have to cross this mob to get the Shell." That was true. To continue on to the place where Yamato and his band were to perform, we had to again cut through the still present mob at this particular… toy store. Jyou continued, "And for the love of God, PLEASE BE ABSOLUTELY QUIET! If you so much as belch again, I will… surely… through you into the mob! Let them wrestle each other to see who takes home the Limited Edition Albino Punk Rock Seal Dimension Monster!"

This brought a chill down my spine in a way I never felt ever. "You wouldn't," I replied in a small voice.

"Wouldn't I?"

I got even more nervous. "Y-you wouldn't do that to your best friend in the whole wide worlds, right Jyou?"

His famous words again.

"…"

This time it was a serious tone to it.

"Look, I am sorry for that bit with Jun and Momoe. I promise I won't pull a stunt like that again!" I reasoned to Jyou.

"…"

"J-Jyou?"

Jyou finally sighed, "Okay, I would not actually do it! BUT DON'T TEMPT ME!"

"Okay… okay… Not a peep! I promise!" I said.

"Good!"

For some stupid reason, I added, "…for the time being."

Jyou suddenly let out an irritated groan and put the bag with me in it on the ground. He reached in and grabbed the tuff of fur on the back my neck… and proceeded to pull me out of the bag! Fear gripped me, as I knew what he was about to do…

"HEY! HEY! HEY! I SAID I PROMISED!" I cried and struggled.

Jyou stopped. Luckily, he did not completely remove me from the bag. "I'm glad we agree," Jyou said coldly as he let me go back in the bag. I let out a yelp as I landed hard onto the bottom. He picked up the bag and continued on.

I couldn't believe it. That was cruel! Even for him! I mean, I knew I was asking for it. That run in with Jun and Momoe was a bit out of line, but I never knew it would really get on Jyou's nerves to put me in danger! Usually he was just passive as I continuously mock him. Not that I intentionally wanted to hurt Jyou. Now I am surprised of how much Jyou has really changed. He was no longer the push over I once knew so long ago. NO more being the jealous kid. Now he is too serious! I never been able to find that wonderful sense of humor he had when he was younger. I haven't much gotten him to laugh when I just arrived back in the Human World. I feared it was my doing! I thought needling him endlessly was all fun and games, yet I was the one that pushed him too far. All his devotion to his studies has made him so… alien to me. I started to feel sad, not just that I did not change much, but Jyou changed a lot more than I knew. It was if I no longer knew him as a friend. Would we eventually drift apart? I would be just some childhood bother to him?

Luckily I was in the shopping bag again. I can't let Jyou see me cry. I can't give him the satisfaction that he was getting back at me. But it was me all the time. I was responsible. All those years, it was still my fault to have made him the Human he was today. He doesn't need me anymore.

~~~

Nerima Shopping Center, Anywhere
Channel 72 News…

I could hear voices… I didn't feel like listening. I just let myself slump in the bag, enjoying the darkness…

One Human was male and identified himself as a news reporter or something…

"Could you explain this sudden Christmas Toy Rush Riot for these supposedly new Anniversary Editions of the Dimension Monsters.

A Human female replied…

"Yes, well it all started with this foreign girl with bright orange hair and-"

"It was Ms. Claus, Mommy!" a young child's voice interrupted.

Reporter then said, "Excuse me, young man. Did you say Mrs. Claus?"

The child, her son, replied, "Uh huh! And it's MS. Claus. She's-"

"Honey, it is Mrs. Claus. And that can't be," the Mother said.

"Why not ma'am?" the reporter asked.

The Mother continued…

"Well, she was too young.
Though I have to agree…
She did look half-Caucasian with that red hair and eye color of hers."

"Go on…"

"To top it all off, she swore! A lot!"

"Swore?" the news reporter, asked.

"Yeah! Such dirty language for someone her age!
Can't even speak proper Japanese without resorting to such profanity!
She said f this and f that!"

"Really?"

"She also lied to us abou-"

"It was Mr. and Mrs. Santa Claus's daughter!" the child interrupted her again.

"Takato?!" the Mother asked.

All of a sudden there was a rush of noises. The reporter must have found the child's bit of news important. No doubt with a microphone pressed up to his face.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY? COULD YOU REPEAT THAT, YOUNG SIR?" the news reporter asked.

"It was the daughter of Santa Claus!" the child, Takato, replied.

This brought the sound of shock among the crowd. Lots of ooo's and aahh's. This was interesting if I even cared to think about it. I still felt like poop that came out of a drunk Numemon.

All of a sudden, the reporter exploded…

"THE DAUGHTER OF SANTA CLAUS!?"

"Takato…"

"THAT WAS WHAT I WAS TRYING TO SAY! I THINK SHE'S COOL!" the child cried.

"How does supposedly using profanity and lying cool, Honey?" the Mother asked her son.

"She's being herself and teaching us an important lesson!"

The news reporter asked Takato, "A lesson? And what lesson would that be, young Sir?"

It sounded as if this child stepped a little closer the news reporter. Then Takato spoke… "Reverse psychology my Mom calls it. She acts and sounds mean, but on the inside she understands it is the only way to get her point across. To remind other's that Christmas is and has always been the celebration of the birth of the Christ Child! Not some commercialized holiday to help the local economy shell out millions of hard earned yen. It is not about the material things to possess, but something more. The spirit of giving is more than just getting people the best deals for presents. That was why Ms. Clause was here!"

"I believe so too!" another child said.

"Yeah!" said another.

And another, "Me too!"

"Hooray for Ms. Claus!" said yet another child.

Finally the reporter said, "Well, this is really a scoop for our youngsters here!" The reporter then asked the child, "Takato is it?"

"Hai!"

"How old are you, young Sir?"

"I'm six! Going on seven!"

"You sure are a smart bright young kid, Takato!"

"Thank you, sir."

The reporter then seemed to be addressing the Mother…

"You have a very smart son, Mrs-" However he was interrupted by the children.

"YEAH! MS. CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN!"

What happened next amazed my ears. These children sang a little chorus!

"YoU BettEr WaTcH oUt!
YoU BettEr NoT cRy!
YoU BettEr NoT PoUt! I'm TeLLiNg YoU wHy!
Ms. CLaUs iS cOmInG tO tOwN!"

The news reporter then asked the Mother of the child. "Excuse me, Ma'am. Off the record… What is your occupation?"

"Child Psychologist."

"…"

The reporter did not respond. There was a long pause as if the Mother had just said that her head was full of candy…

The children finished their song and were cheering.

Finally, pretending that the conversation of the Mother's occupation never happened, the reporter continued talking…

To himself?

"Well, there you have it! So far the mall supervisors had no comment on this recent riot or this mysterious girl with red hair. The mall security tapes have not been released for public scrutiny. We only have eye-witness accounts of this mysterious red-headed girl."

I then heard one child say, "I have red hair… and nobody cares…"

"Be quiet, Ruki," said an older sounding child.

"Humph!" replied the child named Ruki.

I heard the Mother again. She seemed to be not so pleased with her son…

"Honey, why did you have to go on and say that?" she asked.

"Because it's true, Mom!" Takato said. "Right, guys?"

The supporting children all cried, "HAI!"

"HeRe CoMeS Ms. SaNtA CLaUs!

HeRe CoMeS Ms. SaNtA CLaUs!

RiGhT DoWn SaNtA CLaUs LaNe…"

"Oh God…" the Mother groaned, "I think I need an even longer vacation."

With all that, the news reporter continued…

Talking to no one in particular…

"Ms. Claus. Is it true that this girl was in fact, the daughter of Santa Claus? It seems our youngest shoppers believe so. If it is true, has Ms. Claus's actions been for positive reasons despite the obvious negative effects? In that case, has her message rang truth that that we sometimes stray away from the true meaning Christmas and all other holidays we celebrate? Perhaps there are no answers. Being the daughter of Santa Claus, some stranger, or just an ordinary girl… she has made an impact in this shopping center. I myself believe that Christmas has been overshadowed by this entire gift buying mayhem. This mystery girl's words should ring true for all time as we further celebrate Christmas."

All of a sudden, some guy with a familiar voice spoke out… "True… true… But still it wouldn't hurt to SPEND, SPEND, SPEND!"

The reporter continued, "Well, reporting from Nerima Shopping Center… this is Miyagi, Jiro, Channel 72 News! Back to you Michiro…"

"HeRe CoMeS Ms. SaNtA CLaUs!

HeRe CoMeS Ms. SaNtA CLaUs!

RiGhT DoWn SaNtA CLaUs LaNe…"

"Gomamon?" a voice called my name.

Jyou was addressing me.

"Um, yeah Jyou?" I asked, with a small voice I never knew I had.

"Let's get out of here, Gomamon."

"Okay, Jyou."

"Hmmm… All this havoc over Dimension Monsters. All of this was caused by one Human girl's lies. Still, after all this… the effect it had on young people was quite different in a more positive way."

All I could do was sigh. I was still thinking of what I did to make Jyou so different.

"Gomamon?"

I tried my best to be cheerful. I wanted to get into the subject at hand so I wouldn't give the impression that I was sulking all this time. "Yeah, I might add that so far I am beginning to understand what the true meaning of Christmas is all about. Pretty much in contrast to what I have seen so far. Well, except for that Santa Clone with the bell. I understand what you had done. There is more than just getting the best deals on gifts or the best gifts to get. I remembered, the spirit of giving?"

"I'm glad you understand, Gomamon." Jyou then added, "And I am sorry back there for threatening to throw you into the crowd. I was out of line. I'm sorry, Gomamon."

I was shocked by his apology. Strange I didn't respond. I was still full of guilt that I couldn't trust what would come out of my mouth. Yet, not saying anything would still make matters worse. Hopefully Jyou would read my silence as a respectful response.

For what seemed like minutes, I started up the conversation again about this whole Dimensional Monsters fiasco, not to mention this strange girl with supposedly red hair running around. This whole Ms. Claus itself bit was very intriguing. I said to Jyou, "I wonder if Sora knows about this… this… offspring of the one and only Santa? I mean Sora wasn't in the best of moods… or should I say Christmas spirit when we met her for dinner."

Jyou replied, "I am sure Sora does know. She most certainly knows everything that has transpired here."

"What makes you think that, Jyou?"

"Just remind me that we need to have a little talk with Sora…" I could have sworn I heard him stifling the urge to laugh.

I just replied, "Sure thing, Jyou. But wh-"

"Takenouchi, Sora…" Jyou said slowly.

"…"

Jyou then added, "A.k.a. Ms. Claus."

~~~

Nerima Shopping Center, Shell Stage Entrance
45 Minutes Later…

We were waiting in line to get in. There were certainly a lot of people here. Most of them were female I noticed. After Jyou gave his ticket to the lady behind the glass, we went in and waited near the front seating area. I am sure Jyou was looking for the others who were at this special reserved section for us, compliments of Yamato. Unfortunately, only Taichi knew the exact place, and well, by the way things were going, we had to look for him… if possible.

"Hey, Koushiro. Miyako couldn't come?"

I was startled as Jyou's voice came to my ears. I turned and realize that it was Koushiro he was talking to. Miyako was still not with him. He was carrying a shopping bag similar to Jyou's. Probably it was a jeweled present, no doubt for Miyako. I noticed this time that Koushiro's backpack was all stuffed up with something bigger than before.

Koushiro replied, "No. She wanted to, but she decided to attend Ken's Christmas party till the end at his home in Tamachi. She owed it to him for always being there for her and the others. I agreed with her."

All of a sudden Tentomon appeared from the bag! Right in the open! Luckily everyone in this place were too busy to be seated to even notice.

He flew up to me and Jyou and said, "Hey, Gomamon… WAAAHHHZZUUUUUP!"

That was strange. Before I used to have a kick about this weird Human routine I saw on Jyou's old video recordings. It was even fun when I shared it to the other's especially Armadimon. Now it seems empty. It couldn't even lift this guilt I have about Jyou. Gee, I guess Piyomon and Palmon were right. This was getting old…

"What's up," I replied flatly.

~~~

Nerima Shell Stage, Seating Area AA-7
3 Minutes Later…

The place was really packed! This was a really big arena. I could finally see why they called it a Shell stage. The overall shape of the stage was like an open Shakomon shell with rows of seats forming a half circle it. A tent canopy high above provided covering for the seating area. It was probably to protect the audience from the chilly night air, or to keep the music noise in. I guess the concert was set. Large speakers around us… Amplifiers on stage… Special colored spotlights… I bet that's a smoke machine! This would make even Etemon green with envy. All they would need was a mirror ball to make it Etemon approved. I could see some of the band instruments already on stage. Microphone stands present. The lights were dim here so, it would be safe for us to be in the open. Still, a good disguise wouldn't hurt. From experience, I knew these concerts would have lots of flashing lights that would strike not just the performers, but the audience as well.

"Hey Koushiro, Tentomon! Hey Jyou and Gomamon!" I head a familiar voice call to us. About a few rows above us, I could make out four figures in the dimly lit aisle. Sure enough it was Sora with Piyomon already seated in the reserved section. Also Taichi and Agumon was seated on the same row a few seats apart from Sora and Piyomon.

Jyou and Koushiro greeting them with the chorus of, "Hello, Sora, Taichi, Piyomon, Agumon."

"Taichi? Agumon?" Koushiro tried, but to no avail. Taichi did not greet any of us and neither did Agumon. They never even acknowledge our existence of us at all. They were both silent and just staring forwards. Agumon loudly munched on his little bag of buttered popcorn as if to irritate Piyomon. He didn't even bother to remove the hood of Taichi's black coat liner he wore for a disguise. I feared things were pretty bad now. I am not sure about Taichi and Sora, but I just hope Gabumon stays away from Agumon. Gabumon must be with Yamato backstage.

Koushiro and Tentomon made their way to their seat. Jyou and I were still looking for one that was sanitary. I took another glance at the grumpy twosome. Still neither of them said anything nor even cared we were there. I don't think they even liked sitting so close to Sora and Piyomon even if there was a three-seat gap between them. I decided to just leave them be. As my eyes adjusted to the light, I noticed Sora and Piyomon seem to have taken a new wardrobe the last time I saw them. Piyomon now had Sora's scarf wrapped around her neck… shoulders… and head? I guess it was her disguise to escape anyone thinking she was a Dimension Monster. I noticed Sora now wearing a wool hat or stocking cap that was a light bluish in color. It sort of looked like her old helmet one but without the hanging straps. Sora must have bought it… very recently. The reason being was that she had neglected to take the pricing tag off! It was in the back of the cap in which Sora could not see nor did she have any clue it was still there.

"Hey Tai, Agumon, Piyomon, …Ms. Claus," Jyou said.

"Huh?" Sora turned to face Jyou.

"Nothing," Jyou replied innocently. "Nice hat."

"Ummm, thanks." Sora continued to stuff her reddish hair underneath the stocking cap.

"You could have bought those red Santa hats with the fluffy white trim and cotton ball top," Jyou added.

"Why?" Sora asked.

"Just a suggestion, Ms. Claus," Jyou said.

I began to realize the big picture of what Jyou was trying to do! Again, Jyou's use of Ms. Claus caused another wash of confusion over Sora's face. "You said it again. Why do you keep calling me that, Jyou?"

"Oh nothing," Jyou replied again.

This was sooo hilarious! Sora just gave us this quizzical look and rolled her eyes. She turned away from Jyou and I. I looked at Jyou. What Jyou did surprised me. He was stifling another urge to laugh!

"She'll never live this one down for the rest of the holiday season, Gomamon," he whispered to me. "Of course, needling her about the price tag would serve as a good insult to injury. That would have to wait till later though. The Ms. Clause bit is too much!" His eyes meet mine and he winked at me! He then looked at Sora again.

I gave him a questioning look. This can't be the same Jyou I once knew. "Jyou? Are you…"

He turned to me and whispered, "You're not the only prankster in the universe, Gomamon. Wanna join in the fun?" He offered his hand to me.

I couldn't believe it! Jyou does… I mean still has a sense of humor! I shock his hand and said, "Sure thing, Jyou!" Well, I was wrong about Jyou. I came to realize that it was not important that I never changed much, but that I brought a lot of change in Jyou! No matter what these changes were, it was still I that brought out the best in Jyou!

"Great!" he replied.

"Anything else, Jyou?" I asked, my mind thinking of other funny possibilities for Ms. Claus.

"Yeah… Don't think I'll let you off easy if you pull another Limited Edition Dimension Monster bit on my expense."

Whoops. I sighed. He was right about that. With a serious look I could give, I assured him, "No problem, Jyou."

Amazingly after all this time of our scheming, we still were looking around for that close to sanitary seat around here. I sighed. This hypochondriac bit was getting old and Jyou knew it. He just found a seat three rows behind Taichi, Agumon, Sora, and Piyomon, a seat next to Koushiro and Tentomon. We sat down, me out of the bag and in Jyou's lap. Koushiro and Tentomon to the right of us, and we waited for the Yamato's concert to begin. Seven o'clock as I remembered on the ticket. It was five minutes past seven according to Jyou's watch.

Three rows below, one could see the tension between Taichi, Agumon, Sora, and Piyomon. The two "couples" looked very uncomfortable even if it would be a hundred kilometers apart. From all that has transpired today, I figured they would just get up and leave. They acted like they were too proud to do that.

I noticed Piyomon trying sneakily to snatch that pricing tag off the back of Sora's new cap. Piyomon noticed that I was looking at her as I gave her my single "cocked" brow look. She looked back at the tag and then back to me. She quickly snatched her wing back to herself. It was not that I was accusing her of anything. I guess my little play with her relationship with Gabumon has put her at odds with me. So I gave a reassuring and knowing look that would urge her continue and to pull that tag off. She did so. Piyomon looked back at the tag and stared at it… for a long time. With a soft sigh she backed away again. She seemed to have given up for some reason. I guess she wasn't sure how Sora would take it if she just forcibly yanked it off. Still, I wondered how Sora would take it if she finally found out she had that tag on all the time. She could have just told Sora, but Piyomon just shrugged at me and sat facing forward.

I heard Koushiro ask, "What was that all about, Jyou? What were you talking about with Sora?"

"Nothing."

"Ms. Claus?" Koushiro questioned.

Jyou said, "I'll fill you in later, Koushiro."

"Whatever." Koushiro turned and glanced below at the fearsome foursome. "Jeez. You see those two? I may be just imagining things, but it looks like Taichi and Sora are at it again."

"Yeah… You're not imagining things. I just wished we were! And it's four. See those four." Jyou said.

"Four?"

"Yeah. Digimon included now."

Koushiro let out a groan, "Incredible…"

Jyou then added, "I believe that-"

"HELLO, NERIMA!"

Jyou couldn't finish. There were loud screams around us! The Master of Ceremonies continued…

"WELCOME TO THE NERIMA SHOPPING CENTER, SHELL!"

More round of screams from the predominantly female audience…

"BROADCAST LIVE VIA CHANNEL 72!
SPONSORED BY TOYS R JOYS DEPARTMENT STORES!

HERE IS THE FRESH YOUNG BAND
YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR…"

"TEEN-AGE WOLVES!"

Again the crowd goes wild! I could have sworn I heard some noises from the audience that sounded like Were Garurumon and-

BOOM!

'ACK!'

I thought something exploded on stage, but it was part of the show!

'Great, this concert show has pyrotechnology ala Etemon!'

As the smoke cleared, I looked at the stage and saw that Yamato and his band had taken their place. For some reason, I wouldn't mind if it were Etemon on stage-

BANG!

Damn it! My ears were already ringing and the band hasn't played yet! Could the decibels get any worse?

"YEAH, YAMATO! I AM YOUR NUMBER ONE FAN!
YYYAAAHHH AAARROOOOOO!!!"

I guess it could get worse. Jyou, Koushiro, Tentomon and I looked towards our right and saw no other than Jun with Momoe. Jun had this weird shirt on and these shiny plastic artificial… plants… on each of her hands. She was waving around frantically while yelling and AAARRROOOO-ing. An awestruck Momoe watched her friend go at it. Even with all of the noise and flashing lights, I could still see Momoe's bright red face.

~~~

Nerima Shell Stage, Seating Area AA7
Teen-Age Wolves' First "Song"

Yamato and his band…

Kimi no yasashisa ga
Massugusugite
Sukoshi dake tsurai yo

Sunao ni narenai
Sunaosa nanka ja
Kotaeru shikkaku mo nai ne

Hitoribotchi no shiisoo de
Daremo ga dareka ga kuru no wo matteru
Boku mo onnaji dakedo ne
Itsu demo hantai muki shite
Suwatte itan da…

Whatever! It would have been fun to understand the lyrics… IF IT WEREN'T SO DAMN LOUD! I went back into the bag and clenched my ears. I figured I had to go on and bear with it!

Muri shite miru koto
Yappari kimeta yo
Waratte kuretemo ii sa…

"Get away from her, Gabumon!"

"There's nothing going on between us!"

"Agumon, come on. You and Gabumon are friends!"

'What? What was that?' I noticed some familiar voices…

"Back-stabbing friend is more like it!"

That was Agumon! He was talking to Gabumon? I popped my head out of the bag. I looked below and saw what was happening between Taichi and Sora. It was Agumon and Piyomon…

'Wait! Gabumon?'

Sure enough it was him. He decided to join us in the seating area. What struck me the most was that Gabumon had put himself in a really bad position! He was seated between Agumon and Piyomon! I thought he knew better than rubbing it in Agumon's face that Piyomon loves him now. What was he thinking?

"Agumon! Stop it! You're overreacting!" Piyomon cried.

Agumon finally removed his hood and revealed himself. There was a real nasty sneer look plastered on his face. Brows arching downward, he glared at Piyomon with his emerald eyes…

"Why do you always take his side, Piyomon?" he demanded through gritted sharp teeth.

"I am not! What I am trying is to help straighten things out here!" Piyomon replied.

Agumon let out an arrogant snort.

"Um, would you three want to be alone?" Taichi asked.

"YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!"

This brought a lot of gasps from our little group. The Yamato's band couldn't drown that out. I was totally shocked of the last outburst. Not only was it directed at Taichi, it came from Agumon! I tried to listen closely to the three of them, but Yamato's music was getting much too loud again!

"What's up with those… three now?" Koushiro finally asked Jyou.

"I have a feeling I know," Jyou said.

"And it has absolutely nothing to do with this Ms. Claus business, right?" Koushiro asked.

Jyou replied, "Not… entirely. I think our three Digimon, and not only Taichi and Sora, are having a… lover's spat."

"You must be -cking kidding me!"

"I wish I were, Koushiro… I wish I were…"

~~~

Nerima Shell Stage, Seating Area AA7
Another Teen-Age Wolves "Song"

And the band still plays on…

Sonna mainichi ni iyake ga sashitara kyouto ni demo yuku no kai?
Shiranai furi shite sugosu yori mitsumeyou bokura no shinjitsu
Kore dake wa yuzurenai jibun no puraido mune ni hisomase...

Hashiridasou dare no tame demo naku tomatteru yotu mashi dakara
Toumei na kuuki kirisaite mabushii ano umi ni mukatte
Oh keep on running keep on running
Find out your reality

"Argh!" I was still trying desperately to listen to what Agumon, Gabumon, and Piyomon were saying! Even to what was being exchanged with Sora and Taichi! It was obvious they didn't care at all about Yamato's concert! All I could see were wild hand jesters, pointing, sneers, and snarls from Human and Digimon alike. These goofy lights and that music Yamato was playing were messing me up. It was like Etemon's Love Serenade all over again!

"Understand, Agumon. The gift was for Gabumon," Piyomon said.

"Yeah, I know that!" retorted Agumon.

"He misses Palmon," Piyomon continued.

"What?"

'What?'

"You saw the gift! You should have figured it out!"

'What gift are they referring too?'

"…"

There was a strange pause in the conversation, until…

"You do love her then?" Agumon asked… Gabumon?

Gabumon replied, "Yes, I do."

Okay, it appears that Agumon was slowly accepting Gabumon's and Piyomon's love…

"Even if you don't know she feels the same?" Agumon continued.

"I still love her… with all my heart."

Agumon nods in understanding. He… shakes paws with Gabumon!

"No matter what, Gabumon. I believe that she feels the same about you," Agumon said.

Wow! I never knew that this love could be so touching! Ahem… I was just glad Agumon finally realized the truth of Gabumon and Piyomon's love. He seemed to support it! Still Agumon's question to Gabumon that he doesn't know that Piyomon felt the same way seemed odd. No matter… Everything seemed to be going for the better! Now for those T-shirts!

I thought everything was going to be all right, until Piyomon said…

"I too have a feeling that she loves you just the same, Gabumon."

'She? But this was Piyomon talking!'

I looked back towards the three in confusion… Piyomon was facing Agumon now!

She continued, "Probably not as much as I love you, Agu-"

"…"

Agumon smiles… AND TAKES HER HAND!

Okubyou na kimochi furihodoite hontou no kotae sagashite
Oh keep on running keep on running
Find out your reality

"WHAT?"

My outburst went unnoticed. The loud noise of Yamato's band crept in again. I couldn't hear Agumon, Piyomon, or Gabumon anymore! Damn it! I felt like using my Marching Fishes and let them swim all the way down Yamato's throat!

'Okay… okay…'

It turned out that Piyomon still loves Agumon and Agumon still loves Piyomon! But was it true? I missed everything that they said, courtesy of Yamato! I am sure to figure this out soon enough! I have to ask them-

"H-he does?" Taichi asked in total shock.

"Yes, Taichi."

Then on the Human side… Another conversation takes place!

Taichi stares back at the stage… "I never knew…"

"How do you feel about that?"

"Feel? I don't know… Flattered, but I am not… I mean I can't…"

"He knows you are not like that, and he respects that…"

"I do too, Sora."

"I'm so glad, Taichi!"

'WHAT IN JIJI AND BABA'S NAME ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT!?'

Kimi datte kitto dekiru
Kitto tadoritsukeru kara...

The song ends… AND THE CROWD GOES WILD!

"YEAH, YAMATO! YYYAAAHHH AAARROOOOOO!!!"

The cheering crowd noise was deafening! Jun's actions were nerve wracking! This went on for what seemed like an eternity!

I looked back at the seats in front of me. The situation with Agumon, Piyomon, and Gabumon were calmer now! This was the same with Taichi and Sora. What just happened? I just wished I could hear them! Even with Yamato's music and the crowd noise, they still could resolve their differences! I wanted to know too!

I waited for the crowd to quiet down…

Waited…

Waited…

"I'm glad you two… er three made up," I heard Taichi say.

"I'm the one to apologize… Gabumon… and especially to you, Piyomon…"

I noticed that they were audible again, I strained my ears to the scene in front of me. No words could describe what I saw! Agumon and Piyomon were already looking lovingly at each other! I guess Agumon won Piyomon's heart and not Gabumon! I saw Gabumon start to get up. I guess he found it wise to move one seat back and let Agumon and Piyomon finally be together by them selves. Not soon after, Agumon and Piyomon were snuggled together close sharing a bag of buttered popcorn!

As for Gabumon, he made himself comfortable in the seat directly behind Agumon, I noticed he was carrying something in his hands. This was the first time I noticed it. It was a flowerpot of some plant. Even in the dim light, I could see it was a beautiful plant. Gabumon held it very close to him all the time, treasuring its presence. That's why I couldn't see at first. That was strange for him. I never knew Gabumon to be… like that. I wondered where he found such a plant. It was bright green with small light colored flowers on the top surrounded by bright pink bracts. The bright colored bracts looked lovely… much like-

"Gee you guys! Get a room!" Taichi said.

"Stop it, Taichi. Leave them alone!" Sora hissed.

Taichi then wrapped his blue fossil coat around Gabumon. "Come here, Gabumon! You lucky guy… ummm… dog!"

Gabumon laughed as he let Taichi give him another suit to wear. Gabumon let the top portion of the Taichi's coat carefully drape over his semi-sharp horn like… pitching a tent? Whatever… Gabumon looked really funny with it on, but I guess it was necessary. He needed a disguise himself. Still, how he managed to even walk in here to the seating area without being noticed was beyond me.

"Now, a way to get you and Palmon together! Don't worry, Gabumon! I am sure to get a sure fire way how!" Taichi said next.

"Oh brother…" Sora rolled her eyes and-

'WAIT!'

Taichi's words finally sunk in my processor! 'You and Palmon. Gabumon and Palmon?'

'GABUMON AND PALMON?'

'GABUMON AND PALMON!?'

"…"

"Gee, Jyou. Lover's spat was right!" Koushiro's voice broke into my thoughts.

Jyou chuckled as he continued, "Yeah! Who would have thought our Digimon falling in love? Now look what it almost got Sora and Taichi in."

"Affirmative. I guess Cupid had manifested himself as many Digimon to strike love in those two."

Jyou then asked, "How about you and Miyako and your Digimon?"

This time Tentomon answered, "Pheh! You must be kidding! The logical why to fall in love is… OOMPH!" Tentomon was cut off as Koushiro shoved his backpack over Tentomon.

"Enough with your logic, Tentomon," Koushiro said.

"There you go," Jyou replied as if his speculations were right about Koushiro and Miyako.

Koushiro countered, "Oh yeah? What about you and my Sis… I mean, you and Mimi?"

There was a pause as Jyou pondered to answer. I wasn't this Cupid either. Finally, "Okay I'll stay quiet."

"Good!"

I don't believe this! It was Gabumon that liked Palmon all along! Was that why Agumon was sort of stalking us? This Agumon and Piyomon situation seemed to have cleared up. I always knew there was something between Agumon and Piyomon. Sneaking off on occasions… This thing with Sora and Taichi seemed to be connected as well. This was all a big misunderstanding. Somehow Piyomon being caring for supporting Gabumon's newfound feelings for Palmon has created a spark in everyone. I wonder if Palmon feels the same though? Like all this misunderstanding was meant to remind them all who they truly love and trust, both Human and Digimon alike!

Another shocker came to me…

"OH JIJI AND BABA! AND HERE I THOUGHT I HAD MY CHANCE TO PULL OFF THE GREATEST OF ALL DIGIMON PRANKS ON THESE TWO LOVERS!"

"Did you say something, Gomamon?"

I ignored him as my mind was still racing to salvage something!

'WAIT! GAP!'

I remembered how Piyomon reacted when I said that! She figured I was talking about Gabumon and Palmon actually and not her! Perhaps later on she thought I meant Gabumon and herself.

'G-A-P! Gabumon and Palmon! IT STILL COULD WORK!'

Out loud, I beamed, "NOW I JUST HAVE TO FIGURE A WAY TO GET PALMON HER T-SHIRT!"

"What is it now, Gomamon?" Jyou asked me.

"Nothing," I replied with a sly smile.

~~~

Nerima Shell Stage, Seating Area AA7
Teen-Age Wolves "Song"

From a little light of love…

I was born and in my cry, my cry
Was a little light of love
For the honoring of life
And the Pharos of my soul
Is this light of love
Precious little light of love

A slow song sung in a different language. Softer instrument playing, and Yamato wasn't yelling his head off anymore. I noticed some Human couples cuddling. Yuck! I guess this was what it all comes down to, a love song! At least the screaming had diminished for the crowd to just settle down and enjoy this… love song. I saw Jun and Momoe resting on each other's shoulders rocking to the slow rhythm. I guess my suspicions about those two Humans came out true. They must be singular! Or perhaps, binary.

A treasure
Your shimmer
In the middle of a shady desert
Brings on a field of light
In a light of love
Fairy light of love

"Yamato's gotten good over the years. Of course, I may be biased."

Only one
Religion
Will lead us to the love we aim for
Over the dark illusions
Of the warring nations

Would you die for their lie
For a greedy hunting cry
Rely on your light
On your inner loving power

"Nice! Sound's like it would be our song," Taichi said to Sora.

"Yeah. If I could understand what the hell he was saying," replied Sora.

Too bad those two were still seated far apart. I am sure they would want to snuggle up close like Piyomon and Agumon. I guess they didn't want to disturb their Digimon. Agumon and Piyomon on the other hand were snuggling close and moving to the slow rhythm! He never put the hood back on since. I looked at Gabumon now. Gabumon looked lonely, but the plant seemed to give him comfort. He didn't mind the mushy scene with Agumon and Piyomon in front of him. It was like he was reminiscing with the flowerpot. I guess he misses Palmon and wants to show how much he loves her. I sighed. By looking at these three, I sort of felt like I was missing out.

A little light as sole religion
We will lead a light of love
Take this little light of love
A little light of love and freedom

Take me…

Come to think of it. That plant… Was it supposed to be like a reminder of Pal-

PALMO000111100

00100

010

Nerim010011 01a Shell

A 001100 1001 00

011100

010001010rea AA7
Teen-Age01 Wo-00111ss00100 "S-Sss 00100 001

0100

1010 0 10

0010011001

1100011100

ERROR

A Human voice… "Something's wrong."

Another voice… "Sound's like Yamato's going into new wave."

0010011001

"Great going, Gabumon. You jinxed them!"

SYNTAX

SYNTAX

00110110111100000000

100010010 11110000001

O0011101000010

00010010

BIOS

'W-what?'

I realized I had just experienced a massive dizzy spell. UGH! Now it definitely felt like it was Etemon all over again!

I thought it was over until I felt a sickening feeling in the pit of my stomach! Great… I tried to keep the bile in before I vomited on Jyou and the others around me. Luckily my marine body was able to stand up against the massive pressure of underwater depths. Unfortunately I was doing the opposite of keeping my dinner in. Tears were in my eyes, but I kept my half-digested food in so far so good. I hope nothing comes out my other end! Ugh! Other than me almost to the brink of vomiting, I don't think Jyou would appreciate it if I made a runnier load of pink poop in his lap… with a mixture of shrimp bits, hot burning wasabi sauce, and whatever became of my Green River drink! It of course would not be a pleasant sight! This would be totally different from the times I vomited and sometimes pooped on Jyou back when he was a lanky doofus… most of the times intentional!

'Vomit… puke… I like the word barfing… and possibly now, the runs.'

I felt a slight rumbling in my insides. It seemed to be working! But I still had to fight to keep it back. The more I fought, the more I became light-headed as it gave me a buzzing headache! I tried to figure out why this sudden illness came about. It couldn't have been the shrimp and wasabi. I knew it wasn't that Green River drink either. I thought it was just me until I saw Piyomon showing a bit of green under that pink feathered hide of hers. She felt sick too! She was no longer with Agumon and was clenching on to Sora.

"Piyo? Is something wrong?" Sora asked in concern.

"I don't f-feel too well," Piyomon said in a weak voice.

Piyomon embraced Sora tighter as if fighting the urge to vomit. This seemed to be an epidemic among us Digimon. I don't know if Gabumon was similarly ill because he was hidden behind Taichi's big blue coat. However, I could see that Agumon looked like he was about to puke. I couldn't tell what Tentomon was feeling, but I new he felt sick too by this buzzing noise he was making.

"Hey, Aug. You all right?" Taichi asked Agumon.

Agumon didn't answer. His checks were already starting to puff! Instead of even attempting to fight the urge to vomit, Agumon just let himself go in his little bag of popcorn… now doubled as a makeshift barf bag!

(choke) AUUUAAAAAAAHHHHAAACK! (puke)
(choke) UUUUAAAAACK! (splat)
(cough)

(cough)

Agumon breathed in heavily. Agumon looked relieved for the moment. Without much as a second thought, he gave Taichi the bag. Taichi looked at the bag of puke covered popcorn. He had this look on his face as if questioning himself as to why he was still holding it.

"Eeewwww… Gee, thanks a lot, Agumon. There's a better way to butter popcorn, you know," Taichi groaned.

In a weak voice, Agumon whispered, "T-Tai… chi…" Agumon still looked ill.

Finally realizing the seriousness of his friend, Taichi took Agumon in his arms. "I'm sorry, Agumon. Are you all right?"

"Something's wrong. I don't know what it is but it feels so familiar," Agumon said.

'Agumon was right. It does. It feels so familiar! But, what was it?'

"Hey you two, you guys okay," Jyou asked.

"Agumon's sick," Taichi told him.

"He's not the only one," Sora added. She was busily rocking Piyomon. I could see the strain in Piyomon's face that she fought the urge to puke.

I once again wanted to see how Gabumon was feeling until…

"Piyom-" I heard Sora speak but stopped. "What the -ck!" she grumbled. I glanced at her direction again and noticed that she had taken off her new hat and clenched it near Piyomon beak. I realized why she stopped and cursed. Sora finally noticed the price tag still on her hat! She immediately yanked it off and discarded it on the floor. I bet she hoped no one noticed it was still on.

Finally, Sora continued, "Piyomon, if you need to let it out, you can use my hat."

Piyomon shook her head. "No. Not your new hat, Sora."

Sora gave her a reassuring smile. "It's okay, Piyo. Some other people use my hat for a barf bag without my permission." I noticed Sora was now giving Taichi a mean glare.

This caused Taichi to laugh nervously. "Ah ah heh heh…"

"Gomamon?" I heard Jyou say.

I was about to answer him, but the sudden rush of air to use my vocal chords nearly let my dinner escape. I shook my head to at least acknowledge Jyou in some way.

Jyou put his hand on my forehead and then my check. His other hand was touching my wrist. He was making some kind of medical diagnosis… no a diagnostic. "Your cold," he replied. He wrapped me closer to his warm body and stroked my mane. "It's okay, Gomamon."

I gulped the puke down again. Jyou's embrace seemed to work. I heard myself say, "J-just hold me, Jyou."

Jyou did so. Strangely, I started to feel even better. My digestive systems seemed to have begun correcting themselves. I realized it was that oh so wonderful power I have not felt in a long time. A strength coming from Jyou. The power of the inner Crest was still there within him, faint but its presence was very comforting. I could feel my connection to him. The sound of Jyou's Digivice in his coat confirmed my feelings.

'But what was causing this sudden illness? It feels familiar… What was it? I do know it was something I shouldn't feel here in the Human World.'

"It seems the Digimon have gotten ill," Koushiro said.

"You g-got that r-right," I heard Tentomon mutter. I looked at Tentomon. He was slumped over in Koushiro's lap. That droning sound he was making sounded even weirder. I hate to see what would come out of Tentomon's mandibles.

"Great! And I left my Pineapple back home!" Koushiro cursed.

Finally Jyou asked me, "Was it the food?"

"No. I mean, I don't think so," I replied. I looked to see again if Gabumon was all right. He was sitting still… no movement.

'At least Gomamon seems to be okay.'

No sooner had I thought that, Gabumon yanked off Taichi's coat. His fur cowl was strangely paler than before. There were tears in his eyes. His once golden scales were a murky color. He was just as sick as everyone else was! He looked like he was about to puke himself! His partner was not there to offer immediate comfort!

There was no time. He looked around desperately for a place to let it out. I thought he was going to use that flowerpot he had, but no. He put the flowerpot far away from him as possible in an empty seat. Gabumon than looked around for a much needed little receptacle to catch his puke. Anything that could serve as a barf bag! Unfortunately, Agumon and Taichi were busy trying to discard the already butter-puked popcorn bag away underneath the bleachers. This left Gabumon with nothing. I could see he could no longer hold it!

A real sickening throat sound came from Gabumon… "EEUUAAAHCK!"

'Oh Jibi and Baba! HERE IT COMES!!'

Nobody else seemed to notice what Gabumon would be doing. I wanted to help him, but I couldn't get to him in time.

Fortunately, our old resourceful Gabumon found a solution and let loose…

(choke) IIIEEEEEERRRRRUUUUURRUUCCKKKKK! (puke)

(choke) EEEEEEEERRRAAAAAAUUUUURRRCK! (splash)

(choke) UUUUAAAAACK! (splat)
(cough) OOOAAAACK! (cough)"

With the last of the puke dripped out of his throat, Gabumon let out a gasp for air. Luckily, the other Humans did not notice us Dimension Monsters having stomach problems so this would have been okay. The entire situation seemed okay! Unfortunately…

'You know that solution Gabumon found to remedy as a barf bag?'

'Do you want to know what it was?'

'Do ya?'

'Let me tell you.'

'It was… THE HOOD OF TAICHI'S BLACK LINER!'

'Disgusted, yet? No? Well, here's something that completes the picture…'

'The black liner was still worn by Agumon!'

"Ewwww…" Taichi said as he looked at his once freshly clean liner. Amazingly the fabric was water resistant, or should I say vomit resistant. All of Gabumon's puke remained in the hood that was draped on the back of Agumon and never spilled or leaked. Luckily for Agumon, he was saved being soaked in vomit. He just had to be careful taking it off not to let any vomit spill on him.

"Ick! And I thought I would have gotten used to seeing that by now," said Jyou.

"Easy for you to say!" Sora added. She looked like she wanted to puke herself at the sight of the mess being worn by Agumon. "Can you take it off already, Agumon?"

Agumon said nothing nor did he move. I guess he was still in utter shock and disgust. Taichi was not too pleased to be sure, but he wasn't mad. He just gave a comfort pat on Gabumon's head. "Gee, thank you, Gabumon. Remind me to send Yamato the cleaning bill."

"Stop joking around, Taichi! Something's wrong here!" Sora said.

Taichi ignored her and continued to check on Gabumon. "You okay wolfmon?"

Gabumon nodded weakly, but replied, "Yes, Taichi. Sorry about your clothes."

"Don't worry about it, Gabumon." He draped his blue fossil coat over Gabumon again and said, "Just don't mess this one up, okay?"

"Sure thing, Taichi. Thank you."

Taichi now checked to see if Agumon was okay, despite the obvious of stable pool of vomit on his back. "How about you, Aug? Let me take that off for you…"

Time seemed still, as Agumon slowly turned to face Gabumon, with a look of absolute surprise no doubt. I would have found this all amusing. I am sure all of us would. However, what I saw shocked me. Agumon was furious! I have never seen him like this before! Not even when he was controlled by a dark ring or that dark spiral! I couldn't describe the color in his eyes now. The fury in Agumon's eyes was unmatched by all his digivolution forms, including Skull Greymon!

Everything was quiet…

The music died…

No more audience noises…

In a voice that would make Apocalymon sound like a Poyomon, Agumon exploded!

"YOU DID THAT ON PURPOSE!"

Gabumon was as shocked as anyone! He desperately tried to calm Agumon…

"No… Agumon… I am sorry- ACK!"

Gabumon couldn't finish as a puke covered Agumon launched himself onto Gabumon and was strangling him!

Agumon then screamed…

"I'LL KILL YOU!!"

"…"

Agumon brought one of his paws into a fist…

…AND SLAMMED IT AGAINST HARD GABUMON'S HEAD!

WHACK!

…again…

WHACK!

…again…

WHACK!

…again…

'Blood…'

'Blood…'

'I see blood…'

"OH -UCK!" Sora screamed.

"Oh my God…" I heard Jyou say.

I stared in disbelief. T-this was so chaotic! My mind couldn't process any of this anymore!

'This is not real'

'THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!'

CCCRRRAACK!!!

CCCRRRAAAAAAAAAACK!!

CCRRAASSSHHH!!

"Oh God… Now what?" Jyou cried. I was still in Jyou's arms, but I felt as if my body has died and my soul in another place.

I just shrieked! "ARRRRGGGHHHH!!!"

My processor was totally messed up. All I could see was the tent canopy starting to crash down. The lights were exploding! People scrambling to get away…

The screams!

THE SCREAMS!

Everything was just… going to Hell!

All the chaos!

I felt myself curling up into a ball…

'…Recycle me…'

'…Recycle me…'

001100 1001 0011110

01110000000011 011111110

111000000001 0010

GOMAMON

DIGI-EGG FORMAT

REFORMATTING

REFORMATTING

REFORMA-

"NO!"

'CONCENTRATE, GOMAMON!'

ACTION CANCELED…

0100

0010

0000

A voice…

"Gomamon… GOMAMON!"

Jyou… It was Jyou! I came to my senses to realize I was still in his arms.

"Jyou…"

"Come on, buddy! We have to get moving! We have to stop Agumon! This place whole place is collapsing too!"

Agumon…

At the corner of my eye, I saw Sora trying to break up Agumon from Gabumon! Agumon let out a nasty swipe at her with his paw! It struck her square in the midsection! The force of the hit sent Sora flying in the air!

"SHIT!" Sora cursed, as she landed hard on her butt a meter away.

"SORA!" Piyomon cried as she ran to Sora's side. Sora was winded, but okay. She seemed to be pumped up with adrenaline bytes to even register pain.

"DAMN IT, TAICHI! STOP HIM!" Sora yelled at Taichi.

"GABUMON!" I heard Yamato scream.

Taichi finally came out his trance of seeing his trusted Digimon attempting to kill Gabumon! With great effort, Taichi tried to grab Agumon away from Gabumon. Agumon was still at Gabumon's throat!

"AGUMON! STOP IT! GABUMON'S YOUR FRIEND! OOF!"

"…"

I couldn't believe what I just saw! Agumon hit Taichi square in the head! Taichi's body twisted around sickly. He staggered limply before hitting the ground hard on the face.

"TAI!"

"TAICHI!"

Those voices belonged to Yamato and Sora! They both leaped to Taichi's prone body…

"Is this an earthquake?"

"LET'S GET OUT OF HERE!"

"RUN!"

"MOVE!"

"GET OUT NOW!"

The surrounding crowd was scrambling for the exits. They did not even care of the bloody scene with Agumon and Gabumon. The entire Shell stage was going to come crashing down! Everyone scrambled for his or her lives!

CREEEEK!

"JUN! LOOK OUT!"

I managed to turn toward that voice. It was Momoe trying to get Jun on her feet. Jun seemed to have hurt her leg and could not move…

"NO, MOMOE! SAVE YOURSELF!"

"No way, Jun! COME ON!"

CRRRREEEEKKKK!

I looked up at the sound of that noise. In horror, I saw one of the support beams come loose from the canopy and was falling straight down upon Jun and Momoe! Momoe scrambled to get Jun to move. They only got seconds before-

CRRAAASHHH!

I lost sight of them in the dust…

"EVERYONE! GET OUTSIDE! MOVE!"

"COME ON YOU GUYS!"

With all that screaming around me…

I couldn't believe how silent it was…

…where Jun and Momoe… were.

'D-did I just witness two Humans die?'

"I couldn't save them… I should have. I SHOULD HAVE SAVED THEM!" I heard my voice say.

'Digivolve! Digivolve! I WAS SUPPOSED TO DIGIVOLVE!'

Nothing…

Nothing…

NOTHING!

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

I leaped from Jyou's arms and ran back to the pile of metal, canopy shreds, and smoke that Jun and Momoe were.

"GOMAMON! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?"

Without turning to face him, I cried, "T-THEY CAN'T BE DEAD! I CAN'T LEAVE THEM!"

"WELL THEN, YOU'RE NOT GOING IN ALONE! I'M COMING WITH YOU!"

He was at my side, trying to get through the wreckage. He knew! He cared! I felt his strength again! It was enough to keep me going!

'OF ALL THAT IS GOOD IN THE UNIVERSE, BLESS YOU JYOU!'

As I was trying to peer through the wreckage for some sign of life, a strange growling noise was heard. It didn't come form the tent covered metal pile, but from… outside. It came from outside the half-fallen tent. That was strange. I just ignored trying to find the source of it and continued my search through the rubble and managed to tear a hole into the tent piece. I still couldn't see anything clearly yet. There were so much clouds of dust and metal to get through as well…

Then I heard something…

"Momoe…"

"I'm okay, Jun. But we're trapped. Just be calm."

"Damn it! My leg!"

"Just don't move it. I have a small flashlight pen…"

Pure relief washed over me! "THEY'RE ALIVE"

"HELP! Anybody still out there?"

"HELP!"

"THANK GOD! COME ON, YOU GUYS… WE NEED HELP HERE!" Jyou called for the others. Unfortunately, they were still transfixed by something else.

"LOOK THERE!" Piyomon cried.

I turned towards where Piyomon was pointing. It was a trail of puke!

'I-I forgot about Agumon and Gabumon!'

0010011

0111010

Fear gripped my processor again!

1111011

1100001

"DAMN IT!"

Fighting for my sanity, I followed the trail of puke that led to a dust cloud. As the dust started to clear, I saw them. Agumon still strangling Gabumon! Amazingly, Gabumon was still conscious after the constant brutal hits from Agumon. The blood had soaked his fur, but Gabumon was tougher than he ever lets on! Agumon continued to hit him! Gabumon was busy trying to defend himself, yet he made no effort to strike back!

"STOP IT, AGUMON!"

I saw the throat of Agumon began to glow and flicker…

No! Is he going to incinerate Gabumon with his Baby Flame attack? At this close range, it would definitely be fatal!

I cried, "NO! DON'T AGUMON! DON'T DO IT!"

"BEBII…"

"AGUMON! NOOOOO!!!" Piyomon screamed.

"FUREIMU!!!"

I shut my eyes. All I could hear was Gabumon's scream…

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

To be continued…