From the Depths
Part 1: Return to the Digiworld
By Dreamcatcher and Wulipix

The sun set across the sky and created a picture-perfect sunset. However, the redhead boy failed to notice this amazing view from his bedroom window. He was too busy typing away on his computer. A sound informed the boy that he had an email. “I wonder what it could be?” Izzy asked himself. He opened up the email, which read:

“Izzy, my boy, I’m afraid I have bad news. There’s some trouble brewing here in the Digiworld. A new evil Digimon has been trying to take over. You should be able to find four kids that might help you out with this new evil. I’m sending you their crests and digivices through this email. Just click on the attached file. Without these four kids, you might find yourself in a jam and not be able to defeat this new evil. Oh, shoot! Coffee’s done. Gotta go now! Gennai.”

Izzy clicked on a file, which was attached to the email. Suddenly, eight small objects shot out of his computer screen and landed on his bed. Izzy took a quick glance at the objects, then grabbed his cell phone and started to dial a phone number. A few moments later, he could hear it ringing. After three or four rings, a click was heard, then a woman’s voice answered, “Hello? This is the Kamiya residence. How may I help you?” “Good evening, Mrs. Kamiya. This is Izzy Koushiro. Is Tai at home?” Izzy asked Tai’s mother...

The bus slightly bumped as it drove through the streets of Japan. However, the black-haired boy didn’t even notice it as he stared out the window. It was great to finally be back home again. “Home.” The thought stuck in the boy’s mind. Was that really where he was? Was this really his home? “Of course not, I was never welcomed here,” his mind argued. How long had it been since he was last in Japan? “Four years now,” his mind reminded him. The bus stopped for a moment to pick up more passengers. A soft plop told him that someone took the seat right next to him. Zack didn’t bother to look away from the window, however.

“Hiya,” a cheery voice greeted. When Zack didn’t respond, the voice started again. “Hello! I’m talking to you! Don’t pretend you didn’t hear me,” the voice demanded, getting louder with each word. Zack turned to have a look at his current companion. It was a boy about his age, with sandy blond hair. The kid was crossing his arms in agitation. “Hi,” was the short reply as Zack turned his head back towards the window.

“See? It doesn’t kill ya to talk,” the kid replied. “What’s your name? Mine’s Satori, Yuuchi. Nice to meet you.” “Zack.” It was his adopted American name that he had given himself. He despised his Japanese name and wouldn’t respond to it. “Gee, you don’t talk much, do you?” Yuuchi asked. Zack ignored this and noticed it was his stop. He was glad to get away from this annoying boy who didn’t seem to shut up. Grabbing everything he had brought with him, he climbed off the bus and walked the short distance to his home.

Yuuchi watched the kid with silent eyes. He could tell that the boy wanted nothing but to be left alone. But he wasn’t going to let it be that way. He shrugged his shoulders and stared at the roof of the bus, satisfied with the current silence...

“Yes, Mimi. You have to go!” Izzy remarked sternly on the phone. “All of us have to go, including four new Digi-Destined. Who? Well, I’m not exactly sure... Gennai never mentioned any names in his email. Don’t worry, we’ll find them. Remember that we’re meeting at the park at 12 PM tomorrow. Don’t be late! Good night, Mimi.” He hung up the phone, stretched out his arms, and yawned. Izzy glanced at his clock and noticed it was 11:15.

Izzy had finally finished calling all of his friends. Now, it was a matter of finding the kids that Genai mentioned. “Where could they be? How come Genai didn’t mention them earlier?” Similar questions flew through his mind. They had agreed to split up into groups to find the kids. Then afterwards, they would return to the Digiworld and face whatever new danger plagued its existance. He couldn’t wait to see Tentomon again, they had only been gone a couple of days now. But it must have been years to the Digimon. Plenty of time for whatever new evil lurked on Digiworld to take over. Izzy yawned again. “Plenty of time to think this all over tomorrow.” With that thought, Izzy climbed into his bed and fell asleep...

It was half past noon the next day at the park, where the kids agreed to meet. Everyone was sitting on the grass in a circle, while Izzy was standing. “It’s vital that we find these four Digi-Destined before we depart for the Digiworld,” Izzy explained. “But, how are we gonna find them, Izzy?” Sora asked. “It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” “These should help us out,” Izzy explained as he opened his backpack and pulled out four digivices. Everyone gasped when they saw the digivices. “How did you get those?” Tai blurted out.

“Gennai sent them to me last night through my computer, along with these.” Izzy reached into his backpack again and pulled out four tags, complete with crests. “If anybody doesn’t mind, I plan on holding onto the crests for safekeeping, until we find their owners,” Izzy advised as he carefully placed the crests back in his backpack. “Okay, we have agreed earlier to split up into teams of two. Tai’s with Kari, Matt’s with T.K., Sora’s with Joe, and I’m with Mimi.”

“All right. Let’s get going,” Tai exclaimed as he and everyone else stood up. “Wait a minute!” Izzy yelled. Tai groaned and asked, “What now, Izzy?” “It would be best if each team carries one of these digivices,” he suggested as he handed a digivice to Kari, Matt, and Sora. “They will indicate if one of the Digi-Destined is in the area.” “That will help out a lot,” Kari remarked. “How about we meet back here in an hour. Okay, everyone?” Tai asked. Everyone nodded in approval.

While the others left to search the city, Matt and T.K. decided to stay in the park and look around. “Matt, why are we looking in the park?” T.K. asked his older brother. “Truth is, I’m not really sure,” Matt admitted. “I have a strange feeling that one of them is right here.” Suddenly, the digivice in Matt’s hand started to vibrate. “What is it, Matt?” T.K. asked when he realized Matt stopped walking. He slowly walked around in a circle, watching the digivice as he walked. Matt stopped when the vibration became stronger. “This way!” he exclaimed as he ran off, with T.K. following as fast as he could...

A young girl was sitting on a park bench, reading a book. She took a quick glance at her watch and sighed. “What’s taking her so long?” she murmured as she continued to read. She tucked a small lock of her long chestnut hair behind her ear. Two small black scrungies held a small pair of pigtails in place. Her amethyst eyes looked up from her book. She heard some rustling from a nearby bush. After a minute, she shrugged her shoulders. “Must have been the wind,” she told herself. She looked up again when two young boys emerged from the bushes. She could tell that they were brothers. The taller one around her age was looking at something is his hand, while the smaller boy watched...

“Hey, Matt,” T.K. yelled, pulling on his brother’s shirt. “What is it?” Matt asked. He bent down on one knee and T.K. whispered in his ear. “Is that her?” “Who?” Matt whispered. “That girl over there!” T.K. whispered. “Is she the one we’re looking for?” Matt looked up and took a quick glance at the girl sitting on the bench. “Strange,” he thought. “I have some strange feeling that I’ve seen her somewhere before.” Matt shook off the feeling and looked back down at his brother. “Could be, T.K.,” he whispered. “She’s the only one here, and...”

“Can I help you with something?” they heard the girl ask. She had gotten up from the bench and was walking toward them. She was wearing a purple T-shirt with a pink crescent moon on the front, baggy black cargo shorts, and short black hiking boots. Matt noticed that the digivice’s vibrations became stronger as the girl came closer. He decided to make sure that she was indeed one of the Digi-Destined. A plan quickly formed in his head.

“I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new here?” Matt asked. “Yes, I am,” the girl replied with a smile. “I’m Marisa.” “I’m Matt, and this is my little brother, T.K.,” Matt said. He extended his hand to Marisa, which contained the digivice. “Nice to meet you,” Marisa said as she took Matt’s hand to shake it. Suddenly, a rainbow-like glow emerged from the digivice. “Marisa’s definitely one of us,” Matt thought to himself. Shocked by what just happened, Marisa quickly let go of Matt’s hand, causing the digivice to fall to the ground. “What was that?” she asked...

Meanwhile, a young girl was roller blading down the sidewalk as fast as she could. “Sorry!” she yelled as she bumped into a young man. “I hope Marisa’s not angry with me,” she muttered to herself. She shook her head as an attempt to get her short blond hair out of her face. She stopped for a moment to look at a clock on a bank. The time was 1:05. “Aww, man! I’m an hour late! She’s gonna kill me!” the girl cried out as she built up speed. Suddenly, she turned the corner and SMACK! She ran into a young boy and they both fell to the ground...

“Are you all right, Tai?” Kari asked as she tried to help her brother stand up. “Well, I have had better days,” Tai muttered as he stood up. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going!” he yelled at the girl who ran into him. She was wearing roller blades, a pair of jeans, and a red-and-blue striped tank top. “Look, I’m really sorry about that,” she apologized as she carefully got up. Her blue eyes were also pleading for forgiveness.

Tai felt his little sister elbow him. “All right,” he finally said. Kari elbowed him again. “What?” he exclaimed. “You should apologize too, Tai,” Kari explained. “You shouldn’t have yelled at her like that. It was just an accident.” Tai groaned a bit and turned toward the girl. “I’m sorry for yelling at you,” he grumbled. The girl smiled a bit.

“Thanks,” she said. “Sorry to run off, but I’m supposed to meet someone in the park over an hour ago!” She sped past Tai and Kari. “That’s weird,” Tai thought. “I got a strange feeling of déjà vu from that girl.” He was too busy watching the girl that he didn’t hear Kari yelling for him. “Huh? What is it, Kari?” “I think that girl is one of the Digi-Destined, Tai,” Kari explained. “Why do you think that?” Tai asked. “The digivice reacted when she went past me.” “Aww, man! We probably lost her!” Tai exclaimed. “Didn’t she say she had to go to the park to meet someone?” Kari asked. Tai thought hard about it. “Yeah, she did! Let’s go!” Tai ran as fast as he could to the park, with Kari at his heels...

A boy slowly walked down the streets, holding a few bags in his hands. He had jet-black hair and was wearing a red T-shirt and denim jeans. His dark brown eyes watched the people pass him as they went about their daily business. His parents had chewed him out since he had gotten home so late, and his punishment was to get the groceries. Two kids caught his eye, one was staring at his hand and the other was looking around.

“Got anything yet, Izzy?” Mimi asked dully, looking at the shorter kid next to her. Izzy was about to say no when the little device in his hand started to respond. “As a matter of fact, I do have something,” Izzy replied. Mimi’s head snapped up and looked around. A fairly tall kid was walking towards them. He was carrying a few bags as he made his way. Mimi looked around a little more, but that was the only kid she saw in the crowd of people. “Izzy, is that’s the guy?” Mimi whispered, pointing to the black haired kid. Izzy looked up and pointed the digivice in the direction Mimi was pointing. The digivice in his hand was now vibrating harder then it previously was. “I think you’re right,” Izzy confirmed.

Zack looked at his watch. It wasn’t that late. His parents would still be working by now. A light tap on his shoulder disturbed him from his thoughts. Zack saw the two kids he had been studying earlier standing before him. “What do you want?” Zack asked. The girl looked down at her companion, who nodded. “I was wondering, do you know what this is? I found it on the street,” Izzy asked, holding out the digivice.

Zack looked at the thing and arched an eyebrow. Zack set down one of the grocery bags and went to grab the device to have a better look at it. As soon as his hand touched the digivice, it lit up and he pulled his hand back quickly. “Umm, I have to get going. Gotta get these groceries home before they spoil,” Zack stuttered quickly before walking off. “Now what?” Mimi asked. “We follow him. We can’t go to the Digiworld without him,” Izzy theorized, running in the direction Zack went, with Mimi following behind...

“I still don’t know why we have to look around here,” Joe admitted nervously as he looked around. He and Sora have found themselves in one of the worst sections of the city. The walls of the old, run-down brick buildings were covered with graffiti, the alleys and sidewalks were littered with garbage, and sirens were heard every five minutes or so. “I told you before, Joe. The digivice reacted a little bit earlier, so the kid’s gotta be around here somewhere,” Sora reminded him. She was about ready to give up until the digivice started to vibrate. “Hey, it’s reacting again!” Sora exclaimed as she quickly scanned the area for any kids. A sandy-blond haired boy was carrying a garbage bag to a nearby dumpster. The kid was wearing an army-green T-shirt with black shorts. Joe and Sora looked at each other, then walked over to the kid.

Yuuchi looked up when he heard footsteps walking towards his way. Two kids had approached him. “Hiya! What brings you to this side of the neighborhood?” Yuuchi asked. He hadn’t seen these kids around before. “We’re...looking for someone,” Joe replied hesitantly. “Well, I know a lot of people in this neighborhood, so maybe I can help you out,” Yuuchi offered. “You see, we’re looking for the owner of this,” Sora announced. She held out the digivice, which was now vibrating more then it was before.

Yuuchi’s viridian eyes looked over the device in her hand. He reached out to grab it, so he could have a better look. As soon as he touched the device, it lit up. He didn’t seem bothered one bit, though, since he thought it was supposed to do that. “No, sorry. I’m not sure who it belongs to. Oh, sorry for not introducing myself. I’m Yuuchi. Nice to meet you,” Yuuchi greeted. “I’m Sora and that’s Joe,” Sora introduced. “Well, I should get back to work. I’ll be here most of the day, so if you want to visit, you’re more then welcome to,” Yuuchi mentioned after giving the device back to Sora. “Well, that went better then I expected it to,” Sora exclaimed after he had left. “Yeah, he didn’t even ask questions when it lit up,” Joe admitted...

Meanwhile, back in the park, Marisa was sitting back on the bench, listening to Matt as he explained the situation. “So, you’re saying that there’s a digital world filled with creatures called Digimon?” she asked. “Uh-huh,” T.K. nodded. “And I have to go with you and your friends to this ‘Digiworld,’ along with three other kids?” “Hard to believe, but yeah,” Matt replied.

Marisa was quietly thinking to herself for a moment. “That would explain all that weird stuff that happened a few days ago,” she muttered out loud. “All those monsters attacking, first Japan, then everywhere else around the world. Then, there was that upside-down island up in the sky, and that weird-looking metal cube with that hideous creature on top...Those creatures that attacked, where they Digimon?”

“Yeah,” Matt admitted, “but they were all evil Digimon.” “What about that island in the sky?” Marisa asked as she stood up. “That was File Island in the Digiworld,” T.K. answered. “According to a friend of ours,” Matt explained, “there’s trouble back in the Digiworld again, and we need to find four more Digi-Destined to help us out. You’re one of them, and as soon as we find the rest, we’re leaving for the Digiworld.”

“But, I can’t just leave!” Marisa exclaimed. “Oh, don’t worry, Marisa,” T.K. said cheerfully. “We’ll only be gone for a few minutes cuz time passes differently in the Digiworld.” “It’s not that, T.K.,” Marisa explained. “You see, I’m supposed to meet my sister here and I don’t know what’s taking her so long. It’s been over an hour now.” “Hey, Marisa! Sorry I’m late,” they heard a girl shout. Marisa looked up at the same girl that Tai ran into earlier. She was now wearing red-and-blue striped sneakers on her feet. Her roller blades were connected by a bungee cord and were hanging from her shoulder. “What took you so long, Marni?” Marisa asked as she approached her sister.

“Well, it’s a long story,” Marni explained. “Practice took a lot longer than I thought. By the time I got out, it was almost 12:30. I got lost for about ten minutes, I crashed into some boy a while ago, and he was really angry with me...” She stopped talking when she noticed Matt and T.K. standing nearby. “Do you know them?” Marni asked. “I just met them while I was waiting for you,” Marisa explained. “This is Matt, and his brother, T.K. They’ve been looking for...”

Before Marisa could continue, Tai and Kari arrived. They were both out of breath from running. “Tai, Kari, are you all right?” Matt asked as he and T.K. approached them. “Just...give us...a minute, okay?” Tai gasped. “You two again?” Marni exclaimed. “Where you trying to catch up with me or something?”

An idea quickly came to Tai’s head. “Umm...yeah, we were. You see, my sister, Kari, found something on the ground, and we think you might have dropped it.” “Well, lemme take a look,” Marni asked. Kari walked up to Marni and opened her hand. Lying on it was the digivice, which was vibrating like crazy. Marni reached out her hand to pick it up, so she could look at it. When she touched the digivice, it lit up with a colorful beam of light.

“Whoa, cool!” Marni exclaimed as she moved her hand away. “I’ll admit, it doesn’t belong to me, but can I have it anyway?” “Of course, you can,” Tai agreed as Marni snatched the digivice from Kari’s open hand. “It was yours all along, anyway.” “Huh?” Marni replied, obviously confused by what Tai said.

“I can explain everything to you, Marni,” Marisa told her as she led her to the bench. As Marisa tried to explain, Tai asked, “Who was that, Matt?" “That’s Marisa. She’s Marni’s sister,” Matt explained. “Marisa is also one of the Digi-Destined. It’d probably be easier for Marni if her sister explains everything to her.” “Okay,” Tai muttered as they waited for Marisa to wrap things up with Marni...

Izzy and Mimi eventually followed Zack to an apartment house. He opened one of the doors and had a look in before entering. His parents weren’t home yet. He started to put away the groceries his parents so kindly asked him to get. Zack was almost done when there was a knock on the door. “Be there in a minute,” he shouted. He glanced at the clock. It couldn’t be his parents. It was too early. Of course, maybe dad blew his job over again and just went out to get drunk, who knew. Zack put the last of the groceries into the fridge then went to the door.

He opened it a bit to see who it was. It was the same two kids he ran into earlier. Zack arched an eyebrow and opened the door up more. “What do you want?” he asked, eyeing the kids. “Uh, we were wondering if you could come with us,” Mimi suggested. Zack glanced at the clock again. It was getting late, and he didn’t really feel like being home when his parents arrived anyway. Of course, who knew what these two kids were planning? But they were a couple of kids, so there wasn’t much that they could do, and he needed to get away from the house anyway.

"Sure, why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do,” he replied as he walked out and closed the door behind him. “Where to?” he asked. “The park. By the way, this is Mimi and I’m Izzy,” Izzy introduced. “I’m Zack,” he replied, following the kids towards the park, where they had agreed to meet...

Yuuchi slumped on the ground, exhausted from all the previous work. He wasn’t very fond of having to help out with their family’s business, but who was he to complain? At least he got paid well, that’s all that mattered. He summoned up enough energy to get back on his feet. He was about to leave when he saw Sora and Joe from earlier. They were walking towards him. He waited for them to reach where he was currently standing.

“Hey, you came back after all!” Yuuchi exclaimed. “Yeah, listen, we’re heading over to the park. Would you like to come?” Sora asked. “I’d have to ask my parents first, if you don’t mind, but sure I’ll join you,” Yuuchi replied. “Good! The sooner we leave this place, the better,” Joe muttered out loud. “Joe!” Sora warned, eyeing him. “What? This place gives me the creeps,” Joe admitted. “Joe, every place gives you the creeps,” Sora retorted, rolling her eyes. “Don’t worry, there’s no one to be afraid of here. Come on, I’ll take you to my house,” Yuuchi said as he walked off.

The two shrugged and followed Yuuchi. He led them to a small house not too far from the park. “Umm, can you guys stay here? I’m not sure how my mom will react to brining total strangers to my house,” he asked, looking the two over. “No! We should be fine,” Sora assured him. “Thanks,” Yuuchi said as he headed into the house. They waited a few minutes and he emerged with a smile on his face. “Permission granted,” Yuuchi announced. With that, the three kids headed to the park, where they would meet the others...

“So, lemme get this straight,” Marni retorted a bit suspiciously. “We are going to another world filled with monsters and a bunch of other weird stuff, and we need to save that world in order to save ours?” “From what I understand, yeah,” Marisa replied. “Sounds cool! When do we leave?” Marni asked excitedly, catching everyone by surprise.

“As soon as everyone else gets here, we’re outta here,” Tai announced. “It’s not that easy, Tai,” Matt reminded him. “If our friends can’t find those other two kids...”

“Hey, Tai! We’re back,” Izzy shouted. All heads turned his way as the redhead kid approached them. He was followed shortly by Mimi, and a fairly tall kid, who was looking around. “You found him?” Tai asked. “Yeah. He doesn’t talk much, though,” Mimi admitted openly. “So, these are the other kids you told me about, huh?” Zack asked, looking the kids over. Izzy and Mimi explained the whole situation to him on the way to the park.

“Well, that makes three out of four. I wonder if Joe and Sora had any luck,” Matt wondered. Some rustling from the bushes told them that someone else was about to join them. “As a matter of fact, we did,” Sora admitted, followed by Joe and a sandy-blond kid with green eyes. Yuuchi was looking the group over when he saw a familiar face. “Well, look who it is! Mr. Grumpy himself,” Yuuchi proclaimed with a smile. “You know him?” Joe asked. “We met on the bus going home one day,” Yuuchi confessed. “Yeah, the annoying little twirp couldn’t keep his mouth shut,” Zack informed everyone. Yuuchi gave Zack a quick dirty look.

“Okay, now that everyone met,” Marni interrupted, “how do we get to the Digiworld?” Before anyone could answer her, a massive beam of multi-colored light shined down on the twelve children. Marisa gasped as she started to rise up in the air. She looked up and noticed that she wasn’t the only one floating. “Does that answer your question?” Yuuchi asked Marni a bit sarcastically. Surprisingly, no one saw the twelve kids float up in the sky and then vanish into thin air...

“Tai? Yoo-hoo, Tai?” The familiar voice slowly woke up Tai. He looked into the face of his old friend, Agumon, and for a moment, thought he was still dreaming. “Give me a few more minutes, Mom,” he grumbled as he lied back down and closed his eyes. “Time to wake up, everyone!” the familiar voice of Gatomon yelled.

An ear-piercing whistle snapped Tai into alertness, along with everyone else. “Good morning, sleepy-head,” Gatomon greeted Kari, who was yawning a little bit. “Oh, Gatomon!” Kari exclaimed as she hugged her Digimon. “Wow! You kept my whistle all this time.” Gatomon smiled a bit as she looked down at the silver whistle hanging from her neck. “I promised I’d keep it with me always,” she admitted.

Tai stood up on the sandy beach and looked around. The area looked vaguely familiar to him, yet it was different than what he had remembered. “Agumon, are we on File Island?” Tai asked a bit uncertainly. “Yup. Looks different, doesn’t it?” Agumon asked. “Sure does,” Tai muttered.

“So, this is the Digiworld?” he heard Marni ask. He and the others, including their Digimon, turned around. Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi were standing there, staring curiously at the Digimon with wide eyes and open mouths. “Yup, we’re on File Island now,” Tai replied. “Wow!” Yuuchi exclaimed, looking at the Digimon. “Those are so cool! Do they have names?” “Uh, yeah. This is Agumon, Gatomon, Biyomon, Gabumon, Patamon, Palmon, Tentomon, and Gomamon,” Tai introduced. “Guys, this is Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi.”

“Sora?” Biyomon asked, tapping her on the arm. “Yes?” Sora asked. “Are they the new Digi-Destined?” “Yes, they are. How did you know about them?” Sora asked. “Gennai explained everything to us,” Tentomon explained, hovering in the air. “How come File Island has changed so much?” Mimi asked as she looked around.

“Well, it’s relatively simple, Mimi,” Izzy explained as he started typing on his laptop. “Time runs differently in the Digiworld than in our world. Remember that a minute in our world is equivalent to one day in the Digiworld. Let’s see. We left the Digiworld precisely three days ago, which is also equivalent to seventy-two hours. Multiplied by sixty minutes equals forty-three hundred minutes, which is equivalent to four thousand and three hundred days in the Digiworld. Divide that by 365.25 days in a year...”

“Quit it with all the math and get to the point, Izzy!” Tai yelled out of frustration. “Okay, okay,” Izzy exclaimed, a bit annoyed. “Approximately eleven years, nine months, and twenty-eight days have passed in the Digiworld.” There were a few moments of silence that followed. “In that period of time,” Izzy continued, “natural changes have occurred in the Digital environment.”

“The environment’s not the only thing that has changed here, Izzy,” Tentomon remarked. “What else is there?” Izzy asked. “Ever since you all left, several new kinds of Digimon have appeared all over the Digiworld,” Tentomon explained. The kids gasped when they heard this news. “Prodigious!” Izzy exclaimed. “I can’t wait to observe these new Digimon!”

Suddenly, some rustling was heard from a nearby bush. Everyone froze, not knowing whether it was a good or bad Digimon. A few moments later, a head popped out of the bushes. It was lime-green in color with brown eyes and looked just like Agumon’s head, only it had a curved crest on the back of its head.

The Digimon looked around at the kids. When it saw Marisa, it gasped and bounced up and down in excitement. As it bounced its way toward Marisa, it exclaimed in a high squeaky voice, “I can’t believe it! I finally found you!” Marisa eyed the Digimon nervously as it bounced around her. “What’s wrong, Marisa? Aren’t you happy to see me?” it asked.

“How did you know my name?” Marisa asked, bending down on her knees to take a better look at the excited bouncing head. “Because I’m your Digimon, silly,” the creature answered. “I’m Chamamon. Nice to finally meet you, Marisa.” Marisa giggled. “Nice to meet you too, Chamamon,” she replied with a smile.

With the appearance made by Chamamon, no one noticed the pale pink Digimon slithering out of the bushes. It was about the size of a small python with bright blue eyes. It slithered its way toward Marni, but she didn’t notice since she was watching Chamamon. Marisa looked up at her sister and froze. The pink snake was on Marni’s foot.

“Don’t move,” she whispered with slight panic in her voice. “Why? What’s wrong?” Marni asked. She followed her sister’s gaze down to her feet and saw the pink snake, which had already started to wrap itself around Marni’s leg. “Whoa!” she murmured. “Is that a Digimon?” The snake looked up at her and replied in a slithery voice, “What do you think, Marni?” “Are you my Digimon?” Marni asked as the snake made its way up her body and wrapped itself around her shoulders. “Yesss, I am. The name isss Venomon. Pleasssure to meet you.” It flickered its dark purple forked tongue.

“EWW!” Mimi exclaimed. “That has to be the ugliest Digimon I’ve ever seen!” “Mimi!” Palmon exclaimed. “Well, it’s true,” Mimi admitted. Venomon stared coldly at Mimi and flickered its tongue again. This gave Mimi the shivers. “Don’t be so judgmental, Mimi,” Marni retorted as she stroked Venomon’s chin. Suddenly, a small patch of tall grass started to shake violently. Two Digimon, never seen before by the original Digi-Destined, rolled out of the grass and stopped at Zack and Yuuchi's feet...

One of the two was a navy blue head, which pretty much looked like a cat, besides the fact that it had dark green eyes. “Hi, Zack. I’m your new friend, Cubmon,” the little Digimon greeted. Zack blinked a few times at this, and then arched an eyebrow. He was still having a hard time digesting the previous information. Yuuchi bent down to investigate the little peach thing sitting at his feet. “And let me get this straight. You’re my Digimon, right?” Yuuchi asked with a curious glance. “Yep, that’s right. My name is Manimon, and you’re Yuuchi,” it said. Yuuchi nodded his head in return.

“So this world we’re in right now is the Digiworld, these things are the things you were telling us about, and this particular thing right here is mine?” Zack asked as he tried to figure out the mess in his mind. “Yeah, basically,” Tai admitted. Yuuchi looked surprised. “That’s the most I’ve heard him talk since I met him! I think he’s getting better at this,” Yuuchi remarked with a smile. Zack shot him a glare in return.

“So, what now?” Marni asked. “Well, you were already given your digivices,” Izzy explained. “That’s what these white things are?” Marisa asked, looking at the digivice in her hand. “Precisely,” Izzy replied. “Now, you just need your tags and crests.” Izzy opened up his backpack and was about to reach in when four beams of light shot out. One was red, another was dark green, the third was dark blue, and the last was light green.

The four beams of light headed straight toward Marni, Marisa, Zack and Yuuchi. The light made an impact on their chests, but they didn’t feel any pain, which was what they were expecting. “What the...?” Yuuchi exclaimed. For once, he was at a loss for words. He was wearing a necklace, from which hung a tag with a lime-green crest. Yuuchi looked up and noticed that the others had tags and crests just like him, only Marni’s was bright red, Marisa’s was forest green, and Zack’s was cerulean blue. “Astonishing!” Izzy exclaimed. “The tags and crests went immediately to their owners.”

“Do these crests have any special meaning?” Zack asked as he examined his tag. “Yes they do,” Izzy replied, “but I’m afraid that’s something you’ll have to discover on your own.” “What’s that supposed to mean?” Yuuchi retorted a bit rudely. Before anyone could reply, Marni asked, “What’s that light?” “What do you mean?” Marisa asked.

“That light heading towards us,” Marni explained, pointing at a glowing orange light, which was coming closer to them. As everyone looked at the light, Sora suggested, “Maybe it’s Meramon?” Tai took out his telescope and looked at the glowing light. “It’s definitely not Meramon,” he remarked. “Then, who is it, Tai?” Kari asked. “I don’t know, Kari,” Tai replied. “I never seen this Digimon before. Must be one of those new ones Tentomon was talking about.”

“Let me sssee, Tai,” Venomon requested, who was still on Marni’s shoulders. Tai approached Marni and held up the telescope so Venomon could look through it. It gasped when it recognized the walking blob of lava heading towards them. “Do you recognize it, Venomon?” Marni asked as Tai moved the telescope away. “Afraid ssso,” Venomon muttered. “What was it?” Chamamon asked. “It’sss Lavamon,” Venomon replied. “Oh, no!” Chamamon exclaimed. “You heard of him?” Marisa asked. “Uh-huh. Lavamon’s bad news. He’s a fiery Digimon who’ll destroy anything in his way.”

“I remember Lavamon,” Cubmon muttered angrily. “A few days ago, he destroyed half of my village. Lavamon’s very dangerous.” “Then, why are we still standing here?” Zack asked as he ran to the bushes, with Cubmon in his arms. “Hey, that’s actually a good idea!” Tai remarked. “We can surprise-attack Lavamon from those bushes! Come on, everyone.”

All the other kids and their Digimon ran into the bushes and waited. As Lavamon came closer, Tai told the new kids, “When Lavamon is right outside these bushes, attack.” “Attack with what?” Zack asked, a bit confused. “He probably means attack with our Digimon, Zack,” Marisa whispered.

Lavamon stopped on the beach right next to the kids’ hiding place. They were already starting to sweat from the heat of Lavamon's body. He had a hand-held walkie-talkie in his hand. He spoke into it, “Still can’t find those kids, boss. Are you sure this is where they landed?” There was an angry garbled response. “Sorry, boss, it is my fault. Don’t worry. When I find those Digi-Destined, they’re toast.”

“That’s what you think!” Cubmon yelled as he, Manimon, Chamamon, and Venomon jumped out of the bushes. Lavamon looked down at the Digimon and laughed. “You really think you can take me on, little ones?” he retorted. The four Digimon attacked with their Bubble Blow simultaneously. All four Bubble Blows struck Lavamon in the eyes. “Ahh!” he screamed in pain as he covered his eyes. The kids quickly emerged from the bushes with their Digimon. “We’ll take it from here,” Tai told Marni, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi.

“All right, guys. “Let’s show this hot head what we’re made of!” Tai shouted. “Pepper Breath!” Agumon shouted, releasing a ball of fire at Lavamon. The attack hit the Digimon also. “Tai, that thing’s a fire Digimon. Agumon can’t hurt him!” Izzy reminded him. “Spiral Twister!” Biyomon shouted as a green spiral came out of her beak. This attack also hit Lavamon, but again, he didn’t seem fazed. “Blue Blaster!” Gabumon shouted. “Poison Ivy!” Palmon shouted, only to get her vines set on fire. “Flames of Rage!” Lavamon shouted, sending fire everywhere.

“It doesn’t look good for our side,” Yuuchi informed the others from the bushes. “I think you’re right,” Marni admitted. “Marching Fishes!” Gomamon shouted. “Super Shocker!” Tentomon shouted. “Boom Bubble!” Patamon shouted. “Lightning Paw!” Gatomon shouted. The four Digimon all attacked at once, only to be knocked down by Lavamon’s Flames of Rage.

“Come on, you guys! We have to help them!” Chamamon shouted. “Right!” Cubmon agreed. Suddenly, the four digivices that belonged to the kids started to react. “Venomon digivolve to...Sssnakemon.” “Cubmon digivolve to...Cheetamon.” “Chamamon digivolve to...Chamelamon.” “Manimon digivolve to...Nanmimon.”

“Let’s go take care of that big bully once and for all!” Cheetamon yelled. The four kids just stared in astonishment. “Right!” they all chorused. The four Digimon jumped out of the bushes. “Lightning Slash!” Cheetamon shouted. His long claws sprung out and electricity started to build up around them. He slashed the air, sending electricity in the shape of claw marks straight toward Lavamon. “Psybeam!” Nanmimon shouted. The green triangle on his forehead started to glow and a beam of light shot out. “Poissson Sssting!” Snakemon shouted. He opened his mouth and a dozen glowing white needles flew out. “Fire Spin!” Chamelamon shouted. She opened her mouth and a spiral of fire flew out.

The four attacks combined hit Lavamon in the stomach. He groaned and bent over in pain. “All right!” Cheetamon, Nanmimon, Snakemon and Chamelamon cheered. “Way to go,” Marni exclaimed as she, Marisa, Zack, and Yuuchi came out from behind the bushes. “Don’t celebrate yet!” Marisa gasped as Lavamon stood up. The four kids quickly joined the other Digi-Destined. “Any ideas, cuz we sure could use a good one right now!” Zack exclaimed.

“We’ll attack together!” Cheetamon suggested. “I don’t know,” Zack muttered uncertainly. “Come on! We can do it,” Chamelamon encouraged the other Digimon. “There’s twelve of us and only one of him. We gotta try, at least!” “What are you puny little Digimon gonna try now?” Lavamon asked sarcastically. “Pepper Breath!” “Spiral Twister!” “Blue Blaster!” “Marching Fishes!” “Super Shocker!” “Boom Bubble!” “Lightning Paw!” “Lightning Slash!” “Psybeam!” “Poissson Sssting!” “Fire Spin!”

All eleven attacks struck Lavamon simultaneously. Upon impact, Lavamon screamed in pain and disintegrated. “Yeah!” all of the kids cheered simultaneously. His walkie-talkie dropped in the sand. “LAVAMON!” a deep voice squeaked through the walkie-talkie. Tai approached the walkie-talkie and was about to pick it up when it disintegrated...

Unbeknownst to the Digi-Destined, they were being watched. “They destroyed Lavamon, and all the Digimon were Rookies!” replied the same deep voice, which was coming from a throne veiled in dark shadows, covering the image of the creature. “Doesn’t matter, though. Lavamon was weak, and he’s not the only ace I have up my sleeve. Isn’t that right?” Several pairs of glowing red eyes appeared around the throne as the mysterious creature on the throne laughed evilly...

TO BE CONTINUED