Digital Balance (Sweet and Amanda)

[SweetSerenade]

Tai was not in the least surprised, and neither was the others. He grinned brightly as he tugged Sora up and after him. All of the original eight were now standing on the stage together, all of them together in one place again. This town remembered when they were children, when they had saved the world. When they had ended the evil reign of a demented digimon. This town, this place, would always remember them for it. But now, he was going to do something that they would remember him for even longer for. He stood with Yamato to one side, and facing the woman he loved.

He nodded to Mimi who ripped open the bag and tossed him a familiar pink hat. A hat of which Mimi had cleaned up and stitched up to be good as new. Mimi herself threw on that amazing pink cowboy hat, and all the others started pulling out old tired and familiar items from their younger years. At that same moment that those items came out, in their hands they raised up the one device that bonded them all together as Digidestined. Tai trusted Yamato to catch up with the others on this, though knew he likely didn't have his harmonica - as there was no pockets in his outfit.

Instead he caught the hat from Mimi and held it out to Sora. "I need you to put this on." He said with that goofy grin on his face, he slumped back a little and shoved his hands in his pockets. He was hiding his next action, palming the ring while his hands were buried in his pockets. Then he slowly withdrew them and gathered up Sora's hands in his own. "Sora, we've been together for a long time, the eight of us are the best of friends. Though we can't see each other very often, we know we are all tied to together in our hearts." He licked his lips as the nervousness mounted inside of him.

"You were, are, our Crest of Love, the bearer of the Crest of that which helped unite us in love and joy. You brought us together many times, and even at moments we didn't think we would survive. Even after we left the Digital world behind, and began our lives... You were always the love that held us together." He said as he cleared his throat and dropped down to one knee, still holding her hands within his own. "And that's why... here with our friends, with that which means something special to us... I want to ask you Sora... will you please be the Love that stands beside me forever. Will you be my wife, and possibly the mother of my children. Will you be a part of my forever?" He asked as he looked up at her.

The audience for once in their lives was dead silent, as dead silent as the woman that was watching from the side stage. Jealousy flashing in green eyes as she looked away from the scene of beauty. Still, Nyamon hadn't returned, and Mei crossed her arms over her chest holding her shoulders with her hands and digging in her nails. She shivered a little, and just held back the tears from such a sight of beauty. Such a sight that she was never going to be a part of, that group that she would never belong to.

[Amandashow]

Had she really heard Yamato right? No, of course not. This was a concert not a public forum. Though the crowd had certainly responded favorably to the notion of the Digidestined joining him up on stage, Yoshi was seething. Whatever was happening was definitely off script and most of the show runners were sent scrambling away in an attempt to salvage things or, god help them, prevent things from escalating wildly out of control. Yamato seemed to be the only one with any idea of what he was doing. Sora glanced at Tai, startled to find him reaching down for her hand, that same goofy grin plastered across his face. The one she had fallen so in love with.

Yoshi made to rush forward, hands tearing at what little hair he had left but a barrage of reporters blocked his path, shoving mics into his face like murderous spears.

"Do you have a comment?"

"The Digidestined here? What is about to happen?"

"Is Yamato retiring?"

Inquiring minds demanded to know, leaving the manager at an utter loss for words for the first time in his professional career. "Yamato-san is...is...he's such a kidder. I imagine we'll be getting back to the music any moment now, yes. Did I mention their last album went double platinum?"

Sora followed the rest of the group as the crowded into the spotlight, waving nervously to their captive audience. She huddled close to Tai, looping her arm through his, hoping to siphon some of his self-assurance in wake of the situation, still developing before thousands of people. Her ear caught a few smattered chants from the gathered. First for the Teen-Age Wolves, then for Digimon and finally a rousing cry of Digidestined and they owned the night.

Sora did not notice the hat until it was thrust upon her. She blinked down at it in confusion, recognizing it at once but not fully comprehending how it had gotten there. "This is...?" She started, tilting her head in confusion. "How did...?" It was a little faded from the last time she had seen it and mended by an expert hand but it was certainly the same hat. The hat Tai had unceremoniously vomited in back when they were still young. Sora glanced at Mimi, pleading answers and was even more surprised to find her starring right back, wearing her large pink cowboy hat with the little tassels beading off of the brim. It clashed terribly with her designer outfit but the smile on brightening up her face said that she hardly cared.

Wordlessly, he took the hat into her hands and stretched it over her head. It fit a little more snugly than it had when she was a preteen. Had Yamato really called them all up on stage so Tai could give her the hat back? It all seemed like a lot of effort to make amends for something she had long forgiven the man for-. Then she caught sight of her friends and their matching expressions. All eyes were on her, elated smiles on every face. She swayed on the spot, Tai's sweet words lost in the fog that was billowing through her mind. At some point he had taken her hand and dropped down to one knee. When had that happened?

Tai's words echoed up at her as if coming from a very long way away. Together for a long time....tied together in our hearts....crest of love...love and joy...

She teetered again, lips beginning to tremble and she snapped her bottom lip up with her teeth in order to keep the sob from escaping. The spotlight narrowed around them, creating a great cone of light from above that belonged to them, only to them. Her heart was hammering in her chest like a caged animal railing against the bars. It almost felt too big for her body.

...the love that held us together...special to us...wanted to ask...the image of Tai cradling her hand in his blurred and she wiped at her watery eyes, sniffling. All the sound in the world had vanished in an instant, leaving the entire room hinging on a subtle gesture and what would happen next. She clutched a hand to her chest as if to still her fluttering heart, willing herself to keep it together long enough for her to answer.

"Tai," she breathed and the room leaned inwardly, as one. "Yes! God, YES!" She dropped to her knees before her boyfriend-no, her fiancé and threw her arms around him, unable to contain the tears of joy a moment longer. "Yes, yes, yes!"

[SweetSerenade]

Tai took that slim delicate ring, the white gold ring that held that small pink diamond in the shape of a heart. That small pink diamond heart was surrounded by the circular blue diamonds. Upon closer inspection she'd realize there was seven in a circle around that heart. Because she was the heart, their center, the love that tied them all together. The seven blue diamonds represented all of them, including him. He held it out, so she could see the inscription of 'I love you' as corny as it was, before he slipped it on to the proper finger and pulled her against him.

"You've made me the happiest man in the world." The crowd was going wild, screaming with joy and elation as the crescendo at the middle of the show reached a pitch that shook the earth for a moment.

Except it wasn't their joy and cheering that was shaking the earth, it was something else entirely. Like a bat out of hell the small grey and black digimon darted across the stage. The feline sliding to a stop and shaking with harsh breaths as she released a deep hiss and popped up on to two legs. "If you value your lives, you'll leave now!" The Digimon, Nyamon, called out to the people in the audience. But all they did was cheer, that was until the roof of the Music Venue was literally ripped off and a large Beetle like Digimon screamed it's anger and dissent at the people within the stadium. That started them moving, as people flooded for the exits. Kuwagamon crashed down before the stage, and screamed it's protest as it was realized there was three digimon clinging to it's armored body.

Blood, ichor, something dangerous was leaking from the beetle creature as the digimon dislodged and were thrown down onto the stage hard. Agumon, Biyomon, and Gabumon crashed into the stage and skidded into their respective Digidestined, the digimon looked much worse than usual - their bodies covered in marks and acidic burns from the beetle digimon.

"Tai... so glad we found you." The little dinosaur digimon said as he stumbled to stand up. Panting a little. He was only a rookie level, and fighting against Kuwagamon was harder than usual because of how long they had been fighting without the aid of their Digidestined. "We were coming to get you, but saw him.."

Nyamon hissed again, her fur bristling as she took a rather strange looking stance, reaching out with one paw towards the green eyed woman that stared at her transfixed. "Mei I need you!" The digimon called out as the woman started to run towards her.

It took only a moment as Mei's entire world changed. Everything slipped away as the fighting energy filled her and she skidded to a stop near Nyamon. "Alright, Feral Claw Barrage... I'll get you going for it!" Mei said as her eyes snapped with a dark green inner light as she grabbed her digimon's paw and the woman started to spin herself in a circle. Hauling her digimon into the air and then going faster till she released the feline digimon to go barreling through the air. Nyamon's claws glowing with a dark light as she was literally suspended in the air above the Kuwagamon.

"FERAL CLAW BARRAGE!" The feline screamed as the arcs of light left her paws and she descended down upon the Kuwagamon with a terrifying power. This was no rookie digimon, this was a champion. But not one that was used to fighting such large opponents. The blows landed on the large beetle digimon and then suddenly there was a scream of an unearthly nature as the creatures eyes rupture and it's eyes bled with ichor and goo.

Something was wrong, Digimon didn't bleed... what had happened in the Digital World?

[Amandashow]

The symbolism wasn't lost on Sora, the smaller blue diamonds encircling a large pink heart in the middle. She glanced over at her seven blue jewels with shining eyes, silently thanking them since her voice had not yet returned. Tai had once again left her speechless but for all the right reasons. She embraced him warmly, peppering his lips with sweet kisses to seal her promise a thousand fold. Speaking would hardly benefit either of them anyway. The crowd was threatening to blow the dome off the building and even though Tai was speaking almost directly into her ear, his words were lost in the din. The ground was trembling beneath her knees and she couldn't help but giggle. She had heard about feeling the world move during momentous occasions but this was just silly.

Sora lifted her hand aloft to study the ring properly in the light. It winked back down at her, almost mischievously. She vowed then to never take it off; it would remain on her ring finger until the day she left this world behind. She kissed Tai again, more tenderly now that some of the initial rush of the moment had tapered off and allowed the gravity of the moment to settle in and guide her back to earth. She would be marrying the man she loved, her best friend, her soulmate. I have to be the luckiest girl in the world, she thought, working her mouth eagerly over Tai's. If it had not been for their fervent and captive audience, she might have taken him right there. In that moment, she wanted nothing more than to feel her future husband inside of her so badly it was giving her chills, almost like it was their first time all over again. In a way, it was. It would be the first time they made love as engaged. Her reservations of shyness and willingness to wait for a bit more privacy certainly didn't stop her hands from groping about his back and chest, even slipping briefly underneath his shirt to tickle her fingers about Tai's waist.

Later, she promised him with her eyes. Later, you are mine, little boy.

Somewhere far off (at Yamato's cue) the guitar plucked out the beginning notes from 'Here Comes the Bride' on the higher strings of his guitar to a smidgen of laughter. It would be short lived however, since a moment later they were screaming in fright.

The rumbling escalated to fervor and for a brief moment the audience was allowed to consider that it was the beginnings of an earthquake. The general uneasy did not explode into full blown panic until the roof came away like an impromptu skylight and that terrible shriek overtook them all.  All eyes turned skyward just in time to the light fixtures get torn away in a shower of sparks. Rays of moonlight filtered down through the massive hole, magnifying he mammoth shadow scuttling inside. A great exodus began then as thousands of fans raced for the exists, their footsteps thundering.

Yamato ducked down as Kuwagamon crashed down before the stage in a cloud of wreckage. The beast raised to its full high, towering over the frightened group and casting a long, dark shadow.

"What is that thing?!" It was Yoshi, tangled up the backstage curtain. His glasses had been knocked askew but his cellphone was still pressed into his right ear. "Is that...a Godzilla?! It's a Godzilla!" He scrambled back in a crab walk, his pants riding up to reveal his hairy shins. "Call the JSDF!" he screamed redundantly into the phone.

Kuwagamon turned to the noise and seemed to zero in on Yoshi despite possessing no visible eyes. It snapped its pinchers menacingly at the man and that was enough to send the businessman tumbling backwards, quite unconscious.

"Gabumon!" Yamato collected his Digimon companion up into his arms, gaping down at him in shock and confusion. "Gabumon, speak to me!"
The digital beastie cracked open a bleary eye, starring up at Yamato unable to focus. "Yamato....sorry for barging in like this...I really liked your music..."
Yamato fingered the visible burn marks in the Digimon's coat, making the creature wince in pain. "Don't worry, we're gonna-." His words of reassurance were cut short as Kuwagamon howled again, swiping his hand down at Nyamon, missing but tearing loose a series of cables from the knots littered all over the stage. The lights flickered overheat but failed to go out. It gave Yamato a plan. "Gabumon, I need your Blue Blaster. Can you manage?"

Yamato took off at a run, the guitar bouncing on his hip and hastily scooped up a fistful of intact cables. "That cat...," he spied Nyamon leap aside, narrowly missing another of Kuwagamon's attacks. "...does that mean that she's...?" There was no time to consider the implications of an ninth digidestined. He snapped the cable into his instrument and wheeled the guitar around to his front. "Sora!" He simultaneously snagged the girls and Kuwagamon's attention but that was fine...

He pointed to the beast's feet and made a swirling motion with his finger. He set his eyes on the monster and flexed his fingers against the tuners and hastily adjusted the strings. "That's right, ugly! C'mere, let me play you a lullaby! I'm talking all requests!"

Sora dashed ahead and dove for the bundle of cables strewn about the stage and seized them with both hands. While Yamato had Kuwagamon's attention, she set to running a tight circle around the creatures legs. She wouldn't have the strength to trip it up, not on her own, but it would serve another purpose.

The insect Digimon took note of the girl buzzing about its feet and swatted her away with the back of its hand as if she were a bothersome fly. Sora was caught in mid-stride and knocked away, sent rolling end over end along the stage.

"Sora!" Yamato gritted his teeth, winding the last of the keys on his guitar into place. "You sonofa-!" Kuwagamon charged him, tearing great footprints in the wooden stage with each step. It cleared the distance in a matter of seconds, passing right by the towering stack of amplifiers just as Yamato hoped. "Now!" He struck a sour power cord that rang out with all the ferocity of a missile strike.

Kuwagamon staggered and tumbled off the stage in a heap, taking with it the coil of sparking wires like an improvised net. "Now!" Yamato shouted again. "Attack with everything you've got!"

[SweetSerenade]

Chaos descended upon the event, and there was the dark haired woman seeming calmer than she ever had been. There was a strange ferocity that glinted in her eyes as she motioned to the others that didn't have their Digimon. "Go help get the people out safely!" She called to them, watching all of them scatter quickly so that they could start dishing out duties and getting people out safely. She darted back and forth, keeping herself on her feet and when Kuwagamon made a swype at Nyamon... Mei sprinted across the stage, jumping and catching her Digimon in her arms.

There was Chaos all around her, but she knew what was happening. She could see what was happening. Mei kept Nyamon to her chest for the moment and then released her. She saw that Tai was trying to use Agumon to distract the Kuwagamon enough to let Yamato and Sora get out their plan. She stood up, winging at the feeling of a sharp pain in her back. She had landed on something broken, but when she reached back she felt no broken skin. Probably just a really nasty bruise would form, whatever. She had something more to worry about.

"Come on Agumon! You got this!" Tai called out, finding himself swinging into the old method rather easily. A small sound leaving him as he watched his girlfriend - fiance - future wife - get thrown and then rushed over to her side. As soon as he heard the music he knew something was up. The sour note went off and Agumon leapt to the forefront to deliver a terrifying blast to the blinded digimon. The pepper breath ripped a chunk of armor off of the Digimon and ichor and blood tripped on the stadium floor. His breath caught as he held sora, and the terror filled his face.

"Sora... they're bleeding... their actually hurt.This is nothing like before." The crest of Courage whispered as he slowly stood up and pulled Sora up with him. Knowing they needed to move and get out of the way. "Get Biyomon, she seems the worst off." He said softly as he gave her a quick kiss. "Be safe." He murmured as he stroked a hand down her hair.

"Alright Nyamon, this is it." Mei called out as the 'signal' seemed to be given off by Yamato. She motioned upwards to her digimon who started to propel herself upwards using the dangling cables. Her gold eyes narrowed as she ran across the catwalks of the stage and then launched herself from above on the distracted Digimon. The other digimon was a live with electricity and Nyamon was going to take it down further. She wouldn't use her claws directly, for fear of electrocuting herself, but she pulled back with that glowing dark energy. "Feral CLAW!" The feline screamed as she released one super charged pawswipe of energy at the downed digimon.

She trusted Mei to catch her, and her tamer didn't let her down, Mei once again dove across the stage just to catch the falling digimon. Both turning, alongside Tai and Agumon, to watch the results of all the attacks falling on the Kuwagamon.

The result was an explosive shell cracking sound, like stabbing a beetle with a pencil, and armory shell bits flying everywhere as goo splattered across the stage floor. Kuwagamon was dead... but he was gruesomely slaughtered by the digimon that had attacked him.

Tai took this moment to stare in abject horror and shock, before he turned to look at those left on the stage with him and Agumon. Three other digidestined on the stage, one of them very very new. "What is going on!?!?"

[Amandashow]

The strings rattled on fret, surging with electrically charged energy, snapping off one by one from the force of Yamato's fingers. The blaring noise echoed endlessly in the stadium, so loud that even he had to throw down the instrument and clap hands over his ringing ears. The speakers on the amplifiers burst one at time with fresh bursts of sparks. Yamato dashed away, the bits of electric snowflakes biting at his naked flesh, shouting more orders that were lost in all the chaos.

Sora was coming too, blinking away the twinkling lights playing before her vision. "Tai?" she gapped up at her fiancé. "Kuwagamon, did we get him?" She sat up too fast and her head swam, forcing her to lie back down. She cradled her head between her hands, frightfully wondering the blow had given her a concussion. Gabumon and Biyomon scrambled back up onto the ruins of the stage, nursing wounds of their own. Kuwagamon had indeed been dispatched thanks to a combined effort of all of their special attacks at once but the fight had taken its toll. Biyomon collapsed next to Sora, her pink feathers soiled and plucked out in places.

"Sora," her companion Digimon cried. "Are you hurt? That was so brave of you!"

Matt brushed his hands down the front of his chest, slapping the last of the stinging sparks out but leaving behind great black smears of oily dirt. He took up post at the edge of the state and peered down at the corpse of Kuwagamon, the very idea unsettling. A Digimon corpse, sprawling out in the mess of stage and sound equipment with its carapace cracked open. The strobe light effects of sparking cables and winking floor lights created an eerie scene indeed. Yamato thumbed his nose down at the creature and turned away in revulsion. The situation demanded answers and there was only three people that could provide them. Well, 'people' was the wrong word...

"Gabumon," Yamato knelt down next to his exhaustion old friend, giving his fractured horn a caress. "Buddy, is great to see you but next time, a post card would be just as good." The attempt at humor fell flat, even for himself but bless the Mon, Gabumon attempted a smile. "How is this possible? Why isn't it...why isn't Kuwagamon turning into data and..." He trailed off.

Gabumon straightened himself up to a sitting position. "It's the reason we came to find you. Something is happening in the Digital World. Something that even we Digimon cannot handle on our own." He looked at the others for support. Biyomon nodded concurrently.

"Gabumon is right. Kuwagamon's attack here wasn't a mistake. He was after you."

Yamato shared a meaningful look with Tai, falling comfortably back into their old roles without any effort at all. "Guess there won't be an encore."
Sora's hand groped along the floor, searching for Tai's and gave his fingers a squeeze. Finding her strength, she stood up on somewhat unsteady legs with her hand favoring the small of her back. "No, looks more like a reunion show, now." She held up her hand again to inspect the ring, breathing a sigh of relief to find all of the stones and her pink heart still in place. Small favors....

Yamato stood up again and brushed soot from his pant legs, finding fresh holes torn in the knees of his pants. He searched around the smoky stage searching for Mei and her cat-no, her Digimon. He found her on the fringes of the group, per usual and made his way over.

"Your...guide animal," he started. "It's not a guide animal at all. You have a Digimon, just like we did...do." He shook his head. The whole turn of events was making his brain scream for a smoke, a drink, a fuck or some lewd combination of all the above. He addressed Nyamon, "Did you know about this?"

[SweetSerenade]

Tai was still in shock even as he held Sora's hand and stood there on the stage. He stared down at the corpse, and for the first time in his life he felt all of his courage truly leave him. "They can really get hurt." he whispered as the fear started to settle into his stomach. Digimon could really get hurt, like badly, like permanently dead badly. Even as he watched he noticed that that Kuwagamon's corpse had started to slowly flake away into black particles of data - or something like that. Nothing like when they had destroyed digimon before. "What's happening to it?"

"It's not coming back Tai... we learned when Digimon do that they don't come back." Agumon said as he stood there for a moment. He dropped into a seated position as he was much too tired to even stand anymore. They had practically fought the Kuwagamon the entire way there. He was tired, but he was focusing on what was going on. "That's a Nyamon... they are an old digimon. We haven't seen one of those around in a really long time." Agumon noted as he cocked his head to the side and stared at the feline. What was she even going to Digivolve into.

"Nyamon... and Mei - you're a digidestined, you're one of us! Why didn't you say anything! Why have you lied and said it was a service animal!" Tai said as he turned on the dark haired girl. "TK and Kari call you their friend, and you knew what we were! You're a Digidestined like us, why did you hide it from us? Why did you lie!" He said as he felt his anger rising. Maybe it was because he was bad at redirecting his anger, but maybe it was because he was suddenly jealous. They had all been without their Digimon partners for a long time, and she had hers this entire time!

"You're as confused as I am, Yamato-san." Nyamon said with a rather strange culturing for a Digimon, her golden gaze sliding over the ones there. "I hatched here, in the human realm. I've never been cognizant within the Digital realm, as far as I know." She said as she rolled her shoulders back and dropped to all fours, sweeping herself around Mei's legs and stretching out. "I did leave, but that's because I needed to deal with some things of my own. I found them... when I was out. I ran back as fast as I could to try to warn the idiots in the audience."

Mei was withdrawing, and that strong confident woman from the fight was fading away into the shy woman that couldn't bring herself to be at the forefront of a group. She slipped back, stepping back further even as Yamato all but seemed to stalk towards her. She could feel the energy in the air, she could see how all of them were acting. She saw TK and Kari walking back and the look of betrayal on their faces. Her throat constricted as her breathing picked up, Tai started yelling at her and the woman took another step back.

She tripped over a cord on the ground sprawling on her ass and scrambling back until she bumped into the drums and pulled her legs against her chest. "But I'm not... I'm not one of you, I never was... I... I... my digivice is broken... and Nyamon never digivolved after she left her smaller stages... she's been Nyamon for years..." She whispered as her body shook a little and she wrapped her arms around her legs. "I'm not a digidestined, I'm digi-failure... " She whispered as she let her chin rest on her knees as she watched them with tear filled green eyes.

"I don't belong with you."

[Amandashow]

Yamato was taken aback by Tai's stern words and placed a hand on his shoulder in an effort to calm his anger. "Mei has her reasons I'm sure but that doesn't matter right now. What's really important is finding out why Kuwagamon attacked us and why our Digimon have come all this way to get us." He gave his friend's arm a reassuring squeeze, turning the youth around to give him a meaningful look. "We just need to take all of this one question at time, so instead of brow beating her, let's let her talk. With a little luck, she might even be able to give us a clue as to what's happening." Wishful thinking as it turned out but you couldn't blame a guy for trying.

"Yamato is right," Sora chimed in, gentler in her manner when it came to speaking with her boyfr-fiance. "We need to get to the bottom of this." She turned to Biyomon, still smarting from the battle and took a seat next to the bird-like digital monsters. "Okay, Biyo, I'm all ears."

"It's like Gabumon said, Kuwagamon was coming through to the real world in order to seek you all out. It was going to eliminate you before the Digidestined could interfere."

Yamato stepped closer to Biyomon, all ears. "Interfere?"

Byomon nodded but it was Gabumon that continued with the explanation. "Since your departure, Yamato, things in the digital world have grown grime. There are those among us that blame you, the human Digidestined for bringing the blight to our world. They plan on a cleansing of the entire Digital World, one that will wipe out all of your influence. Their efforts are noble but the means are..." Their collective eyes drifted down the stage and Yamato saw they were all starring at the wreckage of Kuwagamon.

"So you came here to get us," Yamato nodded. "Only..."

"Only we weren't the only ones. We were discovered and once they found out what we were up to, they sent that corrupted Kuwagamon after you, hoping to destroy you."

"Who is they, Gabumon?" Sora wanted to know.

"That is the most distressing part," the Digimon confessed. "Even we aren't certain of who the villain is. Whoever they are, they have assembled a formidable army of the most dangerous digital monsters imaginable...."

Biyomon shuddered against Sora, looking apprehensive. "But we think we know who might be able to tell us."

Solemn nods all around but not one of them was willing to offer up the name without goading. Yamato pressed them for it, "Who?"

"Myotismon...."

The images assaulted Yamato, flashbacks all the way from childhood; the humanoid Digimon with its vampire teeth and ghoulish appearance. Guess today is just full of blasts for their past. The notion of facing such a formidable foe sank his stomach to somewhere around his knees. "Myotismon? Are you...sure?" Redundant but it needed repeating, to solidify the monster in his mind, a frightening target but a target all the same. He raked a hand through his messy hair and stalked away, collecting his thoughts before he spoke. Not only was there this monstrous foe in their path but they would need to conquer him as an obstacle on their way to discovered the real culprit. Could there really be a Digimon even more fearsome than that? His imagination dare not venture there just now.

Yamato found himself next to Mei, in time to hear her outpouring of emotion. "Mei," he began offering his hand down to help her up. "You handled yourself pretty well back there, better than most would, Digimon or no." His eyes fell on his manager, Yoshi, still passed out beneath the tangle of curtains and fixtures. He wondered if he was okay....he wondered if he really cared. "Whether you think you're a digidestined doesn't matter right now because it sounds like we're going to be up against the toughest fight we've ever faced." He shook his head. "And Biyomon, Agumon and Gabumon aren't going to be able to do it alone. We need Nyamon...we need you."

Sora joined him, dragging Tai with her. "Yamato is right," she smiled, nodding her agreement. "We need your help. If you didn't belong with us before, you definitely do now." The group rallied around the shy girl, offering to share in their courage...their adventure and truly belong

[SweetSerenade]

Tai frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes narrowing as he found himself trying to stabilize even with everything else going on. He gave a huff and then turned his attention to Agumon who was currently leaning against him. "how you doing buddy?" He asked as he stroked his hand down Agumon's head. He was worried about the little digimon even as the others showed up and started to join back in. He watched them surrounding Mei, and he felt guilty now because of how he had reacted. His head turning as he looked towards the others.

Biyomon started to fill them all in and he felt himself drifting a little more in those feelings of guilt. "So... Myotismon is who we have to go after?" He said as he looked at the Digimon that were there. "And we should all get ready to go?" He asked as he noticed the others surrounding Mei and trying to get her to join in. "If she doesn't want to join in, she doesn't have to. We shouldn't force her." Tai said as he looked down at Agumon.

"We're not all going... only four of you." Agumon said as he stretched out and looked around at the others. His legs stretching out and his feet moving up and down a little as he stretched. "Gennai said there was a Prophecy. 'Balance and Friendship, to be found. Love and Courage together are bound. Through these Four Crests, Four Hearts, Four Souls, the Darkness unwinds.' is what he said..." Agumon said as he looked up at the others. "Since none of you have a crest of balance..." Agumon said this and his eyes landed right on Mei.

Mei shook her head as her chin rested on her knees, she just watched them with all that sadness in her eyes. "I can't belong with you." Mei said as she reached out to stroke her hand down the resting feline Digimons back. "She can't digivolve... we'd be a burden... " She said as she stopped and looked around for a moment. Her head resting on her knees again. "We'd be a burden... Nyamon's just a Champion level... all of yours can go Ultimate and Mega... Mine can't..."

"Well do you have your tag and crest?" Agumon asked as he rolled over and got up to make his way over to the Feline Digimon.

"We have never had a tag or crest." Nyamon said as she stretched out and then stood up, popping up on her feet. "What's a tag and crest? Are they really that important? Mei had a Grand Mal Seizure the last time I almost digivolved..." She said as she started to walk around.

"I was in the hospital for three days." Mei whispered as she cocked her head to the side and stared at the others. "Aren't you all Champion Digimon?... You're around the same size as Nyamon. I figured you were all Champions too..."

[Amandashow]

The question left the group rather stunned and all eyes fell on Nyamon, the unassuming feline Digimon who just so happened to be champion level. Yamato was skeptical and knelt down to get a closer look at her. "You're really a...champion level Digimon?" She certainly did not look like much but then again, none of them did in their current state. If this was her champion level then what did the others look like?

Gabumon stepped forward helpfully to explain, "Nyamon were responsible to seeing the data transferred to the rebirth area long before Primary village was created. They were the guardian Digimon of the dead."

"So that prophecy only pertained to a few of us this time," Yamato mused, reaching out to stroke Nyamon behind the ears. "Balance and Friendship, Love and courage...guess that pretty much singles a select few names out. Sora and Tai, Me and..."  He trailed off, nodding down to Mei. "We found our balance, it seems. Now we have to find this darkness and unwind it. Sounds easy enough." He finished the last thought with confidence he didn't feel. He wondered if the minibar in his dressing room was still intact. Or if his Lucky 7's had survived the attack?

Sora pressed her fist to her mouth, lost in thought. Could they really take on something more sinister than Myotismon on their own? During their last encounter, there was all of them together and that strength had only just barely been enough. Then again, there was Nyamon to consider....Sora glanced over and appraised the Digimon and her tamer. The feline was a butter pat in Yamato's hands, leaning into his nimble fingers. At least he got a lil' pussy tonight...The thought caught her so off guard that she started laughing before she could stop herself.

"What is it?" Yamato asked suspiciously, but she waved him away. In truth, he had been brooding on the same thoughts. With Nyamon already at the champion level then they may have a chance on their own. "So our first order of business would be finding her crest and tag?" He spoke like the question of Mei's accompaniment had already been decided.

"Well, slow down," Sora caution. "Mei hasn't exactly agreed to anything yet."

Once again, all eyes fell on Mei for her decision.

[SweetSerenade]

"Well you probably had a seizure because... from first hand experience, forcing a digivolution never turns out well for anyone. I tried to force Agumon to Champion level..." he said as he walked over to his wife to be, and the rest of the digimon. The other Digidestined seemed to be hanging back, assessing the situation, leaving the four chosen for this adventure. He pushed a piece of Sora's hair back and let his fingers rest on her cheeks. "I mean, that was just Rookie to Champion, I could imagine the backlash from trying to go from Champion to Ultimate without a tag and crest.."

He turned his attention on the two new members of their team, feeling strangely like there was something more to this balance. "Myotismon did take a lot from all of us. But almost all of us have more experience in the digital world than others. We are all old enough to handle it differently, and besides... We have the two digimon that made the singular digimon that made the killing blow on Myotismon. Perhaps there is more to Nyamon than we can see..." he said as he held Sora's hand and just stroked his thumb over her wrist. "How long do we have till we have to be in the digital world?"

"The next portal opens tomorrow night... and then we have to go through. The next won't open for weeks..." Agumon said as he watched the feline getting stroked by Matt. "We really do need you. It says we have to have balance... and when we have your tag and crest you can Ultimate Digivolve!"

Mei rubbed her hands over her face, a frown on her face as she slowly pushed herself to stand up. She crossed her arms over her chest, and just watched all of them. Nyamon was practically useless with what Yamato was doing to her. She noticed the others had started talking among each other and Mimi was the one that stepped forward.

"We think you guys should go get rest and pack, we can all hang out tomorrow before you have to go." Mimi said as she took off her pink cowboy hat. "You guys.. you need time to get your heads together, and we can hang out tomorrow."

"I... have to go back to my apartment and pack a traveling bag... at the very least..." Mei murmured as she shifted a little nervously, turning her attention to Tai and Sora, wondering what they would choose to do. "I mean... I could just meet up with you guys tomorrow after you spend time with your friends." She said softly as she reached out to scoop up her rather relaxed Digimon.

Nyamon had been purring and stretched herself out a little and let herself slump in her Digidestined's arms. "mmmm well we can go home."

"Actually, I think you should go with Yamato, it'll be easier for us to get together tomorrow if you are in one place instead of two... Me and Sora live together, so it's just easier to just go pick you up to meet with the others. Besides Mei, you're... you need to not be alone... after something this shocking. Trust me, it's easier to deal with it if you have a friend nearby." He said as he tried to extend a friendly hand to her.

"But... we're not... we're not friends." Mei whispered honestly as she looked around her. "I mean TK and Kari sort of are... but you barely know me." She murmured. Well on that note that was a bit of a startling though, that Mei didn't automatically see them as friends because they were all Digidestined. She still, despite having somewhere to 'fit in' still saw herself as an outsider.

[Amandashow]

Tomorrow night. That at least bought them some time to prepare, Yamato thought. They would need to bring plenty of supplies for the journey there and should be infinitely better suited this time. Now that they have forewarning, they could pack accordingly and right now, that meant a healthy supply of bourbon and cigarettes. He wondered again if he could sneak off for a quick drink and smoke while everyone was still planning things out and have them just fill him in later?

No such luck since Mimi stepped in and pretty much worked everything out. Still, it wasn't a complete loss. This meant he would have a chance to go home and see to his vices before the long journey. "Same here," he chimed in. "I can't very well go about looking like this." He gestured down to the ruin of his leather pants and the fact that he was still very much without a shirt. "We should all pack a bag of essentials for the journey. Tomorrow, after we've had some sleep, we can tackle this thing head on."

The suggestion that Mei go with him certainly had possibilities and he certainly wasn't going to protest the company of a young woman after the evening he had had. In fact, topping the list of his sins was a good, hard fuck and she had been interested earlier, hadn't she? Of course, she was. It was practically a done deal! Once he got her back to his place and everything calmed down. He would have the home field advantage at his place, prime for making his move and seducing the shy girl.

"They're right," he told Mei, nodding his head. "We should stick together. After all, how can we be certain that Kuwagamon is going to be the only threat thrown at us tonight? There would be safety in numbers."

Sora looked to Tai, giving his hand a squeeze in hers, internally hoping to gain a little bit of that confidence he was practically shining with then. "Listen to them, Mei," she agreed. "I understand that you're probably feeling overwhelmed right now but there is a reason Yamato was gifted with the crest of friendship." She smiled at the youth, feeling a bit of that spirit returning. It was a little spooky how quickly they had fallen back into their old roles. Tai the brash, but well-meaning leader. Matt the cautious and sensible balance to her fiancé and Sora, the heart of the group. It's as if nothing really changes at all... "You may not see it now, but you are one of us Mei. It's just going to take a little more time for you to see that. Sometimes it just takes awhile...." She looked at Yamato, giving him a meaningful look

[SweetSerenade]

Tai wrapped his arm around Sora now and turned his attention to the others. "I'm sure you all can get back in the van that Mimi rented. We really should get going and soon." He said as he grinned and said his goodbyes to the other Digidestined, each one was someone special to him. "Besides, I bet you all want to get home with your boyfriend or girlfriends... and spend some time alone." Tai said with a playful wink as he looked back at Yamato. The poor guy was going to really really need to get out of those pants.

"Well you're backstage area seems fine, I'm sure you can go get yourself a quick shower and into your clothes from before?" He commented as he let his gaze slide to Mei. "Did you brink your bike, or a car? Cause you'll have to get to her place... and the Digimon have to go with you." He pointed out as he squeezed Sora a little closer, Agumon leaning against him now as they watched the entire group. "Yamato is the crest of friendship, and even though we aren't friends now... we will be - and I promise he'll be the one to do it." He said with that slightly goofy grin.

Mei moved a little nervously as she stayed standing where she was, crossing her arms over her chest. "I could use with digging through my clothes and putting something more on...and I do have to pack up some supplies.. if I have to go somewhere for a long time." She said as she let herself think ahead for a moment. Definitely some basic essentials, especially feminine care items. Maybe even some Plan Bs, for the others. Maybe a good first aid kit, could always use one of those. Definitely several changes of durable clothing. She had a good set of clothes that she hadn't worn in awhile, but they still fit.

"I guess... well I can wait for Yamato-san to change and be ready to go to my place." She said as she held her Digimon closer to her chest and stroked her hand down the practically sleeping digimons back. "I'm sure if he doesn't have a vehicle now, we can kick the sle- kick Yoshi-san awake and have him give us one of the vans for the band. It's going to take emergency services awhile to clean this up, so they won't need to haul out the band gear for awhile?" She said as she turned her gaze to Yamato.

Each of them seemed to have a place in the group, so what was Mei's place? What was the place of Balance? With Friendship, Love and Courage? What was Balance good for? What was she good for?

[Amandashow]

Sora couldn't help but lean into Tai, looping an arm easily around him. The gestures weren't deliberate but unconscious movements, practically reflexes now. It astounded Sora sometimes how well she fit beneath Tai's arm, her head coming up just high enough for his shoulder to be comfortably used as an improvised pillow. They were made for each other and this proved it. The weight of the evening was settling on her shoulders like an almost physical presence. It slumped her shoulders and added lead to her shoes, making her steps drag.

She checked the time on her cellphone and was equally alarmed that it wasn't at all that late. The show had an hour left before it concluded...or would have concluded. It seemed the proposal was just the party, not the after party. She glanced up at Tai from their close proximity, wanting nothing more than to be alone with the man. Selfish, yes and she felt guilty about that fact but she couldn't help it. After the ordeal of being proposed to, attacked and weathering revelation after revelation, she could use some time alone; Tai too she suspected. It had nothing to do with sex (okay, maybe a little to do with sex) and everything with wanting to cool comfort of being with the man she loved more than anything and leaving the wolf at the door. Whenever she fretted about something that happened at work, Tai had a way of brushing it off with a goofy grin and if that failed to alleviate her concerns, a kiss would usually do the trick. She wanted that now more than ever, childish as it was. She wanted to know that everything was going to be alright.

Yamato liked the idea of a shower. The grime kicked up from the short battle had been enough to nearly hide his tattoos underneath a coating of oil muck. He refused to think of it as Kuwagamon's blood and dutifully steered his mind clear of the notion. The worst of the destruction seemed to be isolated in the stage area leaving the back intact. He was certain that shower units, cramped as they were, would be operational. He didn't think he could stand feeling so gross until he got home.  "I came here with Yoshi but he looks indisposed," he replied. "But I can find us a ride. A cab, at the very least." He hoped that would be a last resort, not wanting to explain the two other passengers to a nosy cabbie. No sir, not Digimon just...elaborate Halloween costumes. Yes, I know that its summer...an on it would go.

Yamato turned to Mei, jerking a thumb toward the mangled curtain. "I'm going to wash up before we go. Do you mind waiting?" Would you like to join me instead? He almost added that last little tidbit but caught his tongue at the last minute. Too soon to start the flirting again, he reasoned with himself internally. Timing is everything, my man. Bid your time. Lost in his own thoughts of what a shower with Mei might be like, he sauntered off; climbing over bits of scaffolding that had be pulled down and vanished behind what was left of the curtain. Backstage was equally deserted but was thankfully otherwise undamaged. Small favors. He stole into his private dressing room and reconsidered that thought. The minibar had been extensively raided. Countless tiny glass bottles littered the room, drained of their contents. The rest was missing or shattered nearby. He groaned internally and threw open the door to the cramped shower unit. They looked more like portable toilets than anything else, stocked with bargain basement toiletries and smelled a little too ripe for his liking but it was either this or...he looked down at his bare midriff and traced a finger through the black muck, revealing the tail of the leaping carp beneath. Taking pains to breathe through his mouth, Yamato twisted the pressure control knobs and peeled the pants down his thighs.

His penis fell forward heavily, as if it too was spent from the exercise. It was half erect, thanks to his lewd imagination. Yamato palmed himself and stepped into the scalding spray, considering stroking himself to climax again after his wash but ultimately decided against it. He lathered up the bar of soap between his hands and scrubbed at his chest. Already a pool of black mess was collecting at his feet before spiraling down the drain. If he waited too long, Mei might decide to leave with T.K. and Kari and his frustrated libido didn't like that idea in the slightest. 

[SweetSerenade]

Tai hung back for a moment, watching the two and their digimon. He turned to Sora with a small smile on his face as he reached out to brush his fingers across her cheek. "You ok?" He asked as Matt and Mei seemed to disappear. He drew in a sharp breath as he motioned to the digimon. "Come on Agumon, I bet you're pretty tired and need to rest up. I bet with some rest and food you'll be as good as new." He said to the digimon as he patted him gently on the head. A grin on his face as the dinosaur Digimon started to walk off towards the side. He kept his arm looped around Sora, and stopped for a moment.

"You should probably carry  Biyomon, she looks the worst off of them all. Though I bet she'll be ok with some rest and food." He said as he motioned to his partners digimon. It didn't take them very long to leave the venue, heading towards his car. "Hey, Sora you wanna just go to a drive through and grab as much food as we can buy? So we can go home and spend some time together and just not worry about packing till the morning?" He asked as he gave her that boyish grin. He was intent on putting off responsibility for as long as possible. Mostly because he didn't want to have to face the reality of their lives changing.

"We should probably contact our jobs and school huh? I mean most of the world vaguely remembers we are digidestined, and after this gets out... well us going over there could be 'excused'... kind of like military going to war, huh?"


Mei followed after Yamato, rather quietly. Her eyes sliding over the stage as she stood outside of his changing room. She had been tempted, a small part of her, to say that she could wait with him inside. But now she was more intent on hanging on to Nyamon and then figuring out what they were going to do. She needed to pack her bag, and that would require understanding what she would need. Mat had mentioned using a Taxi, but that was expensive as shit, and was a bad idea. She shook her head a little as she stood outside of his changing room.

Green eyes swept over the area and landed on a passed out body. She gathered her facilities around her and stalked over to the man, dropping Nyamon on the ground beside him. "Oi, Yoshi-san get your ass up now." The green eyed woman said as she started nudging him with her foot. Pushing and then flipping him over with her foot and frowning at the passed out man. "I said get up!" She snapped as she hauled her leg back and kicked him in the side.

With a yelp Yoshi was up, his eyes blinking in the strange light around him. "Huh- what? Where's the monster!?!?"

"It's gone, we killed it. Here's the deal... Yamato's not playing for awhile. We have to go to the Digital world otherwise this one is fucked. Can't become famous in a world that doesn't exist anymore, right?" Mei said as she put her hand on her hip and cocked it to the side - glaring darkly at the sleezy man. "So here's the deal, I want the keys for the van, now. This is now a crisis center, and the crisis clean up will take awhile. So you can't get the band out for awhile. So you can give me the keys to the van." She stated as she held out her hand, that hard edge in her voice didn't seem to leave much room for argument.

[Amandashow]

"You okay?"

Sora shook her head in reply, smiling wearily back at Tai. She caught his hand in hers, pressing her cheek into the warmth of his palm. The sooner they were alone the better. A quick drive-thru sounded reasonable if not at all appetizing. The original plan had been to go out to a nice restaurant to celebrate the reunion and her pallet was less than enthusiastic about settling for a burger and fries at Micky D's. The irony of enjoying company with a nice meal getting supplanted by a lackluster fast food trip wasn't lost on her. One was intended to celebrate friendship and love together. The other an ominous quick stop to prepare to scatter again. Three of the original Digidestined plus a brand new one charging into the unknown...she wasn't too sure about those odds. Still, Tai had his carefree grin fixed into place and that gave the girl small comfort. Whether it was a show or not, she always appreciated the effort.
Biyomon bushed her feathery arms down her front, mustering her strength and went to stand next to Agumon. "I'll be okay," she cheeped. "The fight took a lot out of me but I've had some time to rest and once we get some food, I think we'll all be feeling much better." She was still a little unsteady on her feet but was making an effort to hide the worst of her injuries. She was a brave little Mon, that was indisputable.

"Okay, Biyo, but don't push yourself too hard. We're going to need you in top fighting shape when we leave." The bird-like Digimon nodded with renewed determination. She mustered up to her full, diminutive height and thrust her chest out boldly.

"You can count on me!"

Yoshi roused, wincing at the hard kick and rolled into his side. He was huddled in the fetal position, knees drawn up to his chest with a thumb suckled greedily between his wet lips. His eyes rolled around to appraise Mei from behind his cracked lenses as if he had never before seen a human woman before. With a violent start, he sat up in the rubble and looked around wildly. "Where is it? Where did that monster go?!" The thumb came out of his mouth with an audible pop. "Did it eat Yamato? Tell me it didn't eat Yamato! It can eat Takeshi, he's the drummer, easily replaced but not my poor, sweet Yamato!" His eyes were wide, panicked saucers. The light of potential lost profits caught in his irises flickering like a candle in the wind.

He flipped over and scuttled about on his hands and knees just in time to see his star vanish into the dressing room. She slumped onto his face, his comb over spilling out around his bald dome, the sheen diminished in the filth of destruction. "Oh thank...oh thank goodness..." He nodded his head in agreement, barely hearing Mei. "Digital World, yes. Fucked, yes. Van keys, of course, whatever you need. That all sounds just fine." He sat up in the ruins and glanced around again, looking rather demure about the disaster now that he was armed with the knowledge of Yamato's safety. "Crisis?"

The gears were visibly churning behind his eyes, the pupils shining a little brighter with each new piece of destruction he observed. Slowly, he clambered to his feet and straightened his tie, nodding his head approvingly despite not being asked anything. "We can use this," he said to no one in particular. "Can you imagine the headlines? Rock star saves concert goers from certain doom!" He spread his hands out in the air as if picturing the words on an invisible banner. He turned to Mei excitedly and rushed over. "You helped, right? You and your friends? Listen, doll, I can make you famous with this. I can make you rich." He rubbed his fingers and thumbs together in what he thought was an enticing gesture. "Interviews, talk shows, radio, a reality series where you and Yamato travel around the country staying at haunted onsens. You've got a pretty face so how about it?" His phone rang before she could answer and he held up shushing finger before taking the call.

Yoshi was back in his element, doing what he did best...for better or worse. "You got Yoshi....yes, we'll be more than happy to address the press first thing tomorrow morning. Listen, can you hook up my main man Yamato and his honey with a ride? Yea, just pull the limo around back and make sure the minibar is stocked. You know he likes the hard stuff...." He laughed at something on the other end, doubling over. "Yes...giving AND receiving, that's Yamato!" he slapped his phone off and stuffed it away. He cut a little jig then, waving his hands in the air and wiggling his backside, chuckling. "Money, money, mooooow-nay!"

Yamato emerged a few moments later, stepping out from the dressing room in a cloud of steam. He was dressed in the clothes he had arrived in, black jeans and button down t-shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbow. His Wayfarer sunglasses where perched atop his blonde hair, still damp from the shower. An unlit cigarette dangled from his lips while he patted around his clothes for a light. He caught sight of Yoshi's celebratory dance and made a face. "Aren't you embarrassed to be acting like that?" He asked, plucking the stick from his mouth. "Never mind, does anyone have a light?"

[SweetSerenade]

Tai stayed close to his partner as he walked out into the parking lot. At least his car was safe, there was that. He unlocked his car and climbed in, waiting for Sora and the Digimon to clamber in. "We will hit up fast food than, stuff our faces. Plenty for the mons. There is a new Taco drive through, think they will like that?" He asked as he started up his car, frowning as the engine rolled over and didn't start. He slapped the dashboard for a moment and groaned. "Damnit, come on don't do this shit to me." He said as he climbed out.

It was known that Tai's car was a bit of a beater, but he had bought it off his dad so he loved the old thing. "Give me a moment, you know how the old grandma runs." he said with a laugh as he slipped out and flipped open the hood, he fiddled for a few moments and then slammed the hood. He slipped back into his seat and slid the key back in, it flared up and then bam the car started up with a roar. "Alright, let's get going." He said as he pulled out of the parking lot and started to drive.

Mei was not in a good mood, and Nyamon could tell just from how her Digidestined was acting. Mei was rather reserved most of the time, but in situations like this her PTSD kicked in and she reacted like the military brat she was. Mei's green eyes flared as Yoshi spoke to her, and it was as Yamato came out that she finally snapped. She was so focused on the situation before her that she hadn't even noticed that Yamato had come in until she had jumped at Yoshi and started to act.

She slapped the cellphone from his hand, watching it skitter across the floor, her other hand came up as she gripped the front of his shirt and full on back hand pimped slapped him upside the face. "I'm not sure where you stuck your brain, but you are going to listen to me and listen to me well." She said as her voice reached a depth of cold that was beyond strange. There was a darkness in her eyes, a true horror that most people didn't understand - and couldn't even possibly understand.

"My name is Mei, it's not gorgeous or baby or anything else you can come up with. I am not going on any goddamn talk shows, and I will not under any circumstances be going along with your little bullshit plan." She said as her voice dropped lower, and she slapped him again as he opened his mouth to speak. "I said you are going to listen to me, that means shutting the fuck up and listening." She hissed between her breath as she drew in a sharp breath. She tightened her grip on the front of Yoshi's shirt as her green eyes seemed to burn with the anger and darkness inside of her.

"We have to go to the Digital world, and it could be months, or longer... before we get back. It could be days, it could be years for all we know. So you are going to pull that fat balding combover head out of your gelatinous ass cavity and stop this shit now. I don't want no goddamn limo, we want one of the vans. We have to leave tomorrow, and we are going to do it without you and your little bullshit money grubbing shit storm that is building. Am - I - Clear" She said as she leaned in close to enunciate each of her final words to him. Only after he gave an assenting answer would she release him.

[Amandashow]

"Seatbelts, please," Sora reminded the Digimon, helping them both with the safety mechanism and buckling them both into the backseat. She settled herself into the front and had just connected her lap belt when Biyomon started grumbling from the back. She wheeled around to peer over the top of her headrest to find the two bickering beside each other.

"Your leg is on my side," Biyomon chided, pressing her toes into Agumon's foot to urge him back over. Biyomon caught her stare and addressed her tamer tensely. "His leg is on my side of the seat, Sora!"

"You two behave," she called back, rolling her eyes. "Don't make me come back there!"

"But he keeps licking his finger and touching me!"

"I am going to count to three...," Sora started and very nearly did when she caught herself. She buried her face in her hands, humiliated at how easily she had slipped into her mother's voice. Sora fleetingly wondered if this is what being a parent would be like, once she and Tai decided to take that step. "Look, you two settle down back there or no tacos!" The threat of being denied real human food raised a cry of protest from both Digimon. She had them now. "That's right! Keep it up and you'll just go to bed hungry!" Maybe I should call mom and...either thank or her apologize. Maybe both. I'll decide during the conversation.

Sora watched with bemused interest as Tai wandered around to fiddle about under the hood, resisting the urge to remind him that perhaps NOW was a good time to start looking for a new car. His beater was barely holding it together and thought she had never chanced a peek herself, was fairly certain the engine was being held together by shoestring and wads of chewing gum. By the coughing, sputtering noises it made upon startup, that didn't sound too far off.

"Let's just get home before we have to chance these two on the subway," Sora chuckled, jerking a thumb back at the two bickering Digimon.

Yamato stood aghast at the sight, the unlit cigarette dangling perilously from his lower lip. His eyes were fixed on the sight of Mei, shy and innocent Mei being anything but! She had seized Yoshi by the lapels and was threatening to wring the life out of the man. His face was flushed again and he was looking down at the girl in alarm and confusion. "I-I-I," he stammered feebly before a hard slap to his cheek sent the words sailing out of his mouth, never to return. He nodded his head obediently at her comment, snapping his jaw shut tight. Once she was done stating her demands he pointed a trembling finger behind them, toward the loading ramp that led out back. "The-the keys are in the...ig-ignition!"

"Hey, Gabumon," Yamato whispered, leaning down to his Digimon companion. "Hey, do me a favor?"

The horned Digimon had been watching the exchange with his own looks of concern but turned his attention up to his tamer at the address. "What is it, Yamato?"

"Remind me to never, ever get on that girls bad side."

Gabumon nodded. "You're right. I don't think I could handle her even in my ultimate  form."

At least they had a vehicle so that was settled. Cautiously, Yamato eased forward. With all the care of a snake handler dealing with a venomous cobra, he touched Mei's shoulders and encouraged her to loosen her grip. "Mei, we need to go now if we're going to have any hope of getting everything we need to do finished tonight. Um, I'll drive."

[SweetSerenade]

Tai had heard part of the argument between the digimon, and had chuckled privately to himself as his future wife reacted the way she did. He was glad now, that he had proposed. Sure things were about to change, but it was ok. He'd have to leave notes for his family, but he also knew that the other Digidestined were going to let the parents know. Because as terrified as they might be, they knew it would be worse if the Digidestined didn't follow their destiny. He kicked the car up higher as they started to drive and rolled his eyes a little at the sounds she was making. "Just an oil change, I'll give her to TK to fix up while I'm gone." He mused aloud as he listened to the silence in the car.

"So... tacos..." He said as he pulled into the driveway. "I'll just order the jumbo family pack." he said staring at the option that had almost 40 tacos in it, with soft and hard shelled. "Did you want anything particular, Sora?" he asked with a small smile as he looked back at her. "Drinks of course, juice for the digimon... heaven knows how they'd handle Soda."

Mei was seeing red but as soon as she had the knowledge she needed, she stepped back and looked off into the distance. She gathered herself as soon as Yamato touched her, a blush breaking across her face. "Oh shit..." She whispered as she covered her face and bolted outside, shaking as she heard Nyamon scrambling after her. She had done it again, something rather embarrassing. Something she only did in the most stressful of moments. She was unbalanced in some ways, and that was a weird side effect of her issues.

She was finally outside and Nyamon stood nearby, giving her person the space she needed as Mei shook and shivered. Clutching herself and hunching over a little as she dry heaved. She could have, would have killed him, if she actually had a need to do so. She hated that part of her, the one wiling to hurt and maim, but now she was shaking even further as she curled over and started to heave. It was a dry heave, but a heave none the less. She was shocked at herself, and shocked at everything else that was going on.

She was overwhelmed too much so, as she curled in on herself. "I'm an idiot."

[Amandashow]

At the mention of food, Sora's stomach gave an audible rumble as if it had been waiting for its cue. She smiled sheepishly over at Tai, wondering if he had heard and cupped a hand over her grumbling belly. She too was trying to make a mental list of 'to-do's' but was too famished to focus on much. Monster fighting and impromptu marriage proposals can take a lot out of a girl, she chuckled to herself. She would need to make a number of phone calls, maybe get a friend to collect the mail, water the plants...how long would they be gone? She doubted they could just call time out on Myotismon or whoever was really running the show and hop out of the digital world to turn the apartment. Maybe Kari could stop over while they're gone? It would cut down on the length of her explanation.

"Oil change, sure," she echoed sardonically. She noticed that he was omitting that before it had 'just' been the brakes and before that the battery, and before THAT the starter. The old beater had more wrong with it than right! Still, she wasn't going to bother dredging up that old argument. They had bigger fish to fry. Ugh, more thoughts of food!

She climbed out and wrenched the sliding backdoor open, allowing the Digimon to hop out. "No, it sounds like you have it all down and I don't think Biyomon and Agumon have any real preference when it comes to American style Mexican food."

Their apartment was a modest upstairs unit, two flights of stairs up and Sora led the troop up the climb fishing her keys out of her jeans pocket. She clutched the shopping bag from Mimi's boutique in her arms, awkwardly fishing around until she was able to find her set of keys in the mess of unfolded clothes. She had a feeling that Tai was watching her swaying hips as she climbed, especially given her unusual attire. Grinning naughtily to herself, she slowed her pace, making a show of rooting around the bag for her house key and rolling her hips a little more with each step. The seat of the designer pants clung to her pert rear end, outlining the smooth curve of her buttocks. She even allowed them to slip down a little without protest, revealing the subtle rise of her hip bones, small of her back and crack of her ass.

Sora halted at the door and had to squint down at the knob for a moment in the low light. The moon was out and shining brightly but even that wasn't quite enough to allow her to see the slot. She stabbed the key forward, getting it on the third attempt. "Bingo! Home sweet home!"

Yoshi slumped, sighing in relief at finally being free from the girls grasp. He clutched a hand to his disheveled shirt as if physically trying to still the heart pistoning in his chest. He cowered away in the rubble, blending in remarkably well with the rest of the filth, Yamato observed.

He blinked in surprise when Mei wrenched away and tore out of the auditorium. He stood rooted on the spot, listening for the distant slam of the backstage exit as she dashed away. His hand was still suspended in the air where her shoulder had been and slowly he let it fall back to his side. That was unexpected but then again so had her attempt to throttle his manager. He looked down at Gabumon searchingly for answers but only got a shrug in reply.

"That-that girl is a psychopath!" Yoshi stammered, slipping two fingers into the collar of his shirt and twisting his tie loose. "You should watch yourself, Yamato, baby. That chick is miles of bad road. Not the best girlfriend material."

An angry heat welled up inside the youth's chest and crept steadily higher until his face was flushed. Yoshi, perhaps sensing another assault, took cover behind the large form of fallen scaffolding. "Let me get something straight with you, Yoshi," Yamato bellowed dangerously. He took a threatening step forward. "You don't talk about her ever again. You don't look at her, you don't say her name, you don't even think about Mei. Is that clear?" With that he stormed out after her, leaving Yoshi to stare after him and wonder if he still had a job.

Yoshi then blinked to find Gabumon starring at him from inches away and gave a start of surprise. All at once, the Mon raised its arms high over its head and bellowed a loud and feral cry of attack. Yoshi reeled on his heels again, eyes rolling into the back of his head and fainted all over again.

Yamato stood at the crest of the loading bay and searched the concrete expanse for Mei, final spotting her huddled on the ground with her trusty feline Digimon hovering nearby. The sound of her dry heaving made Yamato wince and he raced down the loading ramp, boots thumping against the metal to announce his presence, and knelt by her side in the gravel.

"Mei, are you okay?" Foolish question. Of course she wasn't okay, she was dry heaving in an empty parking lot after nearly wringing a man's neck. "Sorry," he added, sheepishly. "Standard question. Do you need anything? You didn't look so good..."