Darkness covered the Digiworld. Ever since the Master of Digimon had come to power, things had gone from good to worse. Fear was now evident in all free Digimon's eyes.
Sylvimon peered cautiously out of her hiding place. She was not ready to be caught by the Master of Digimon just yet. "Allison! I need you!"
Biyomon and Tentomon flew as fast as they could to get away from one of the Master of Digimon's minions. "Sora! Help me!"
"Izzy! I hate to ask, but...help!"
Patomon cowered in a tree. "TK! I need your help!"
Gomamon dove underwater, trying to escape his pursuer. He failed, but continued to evade the evil Digimon. "Joe...!"
Agumon and Gatomon had managed to escape the Master of Digimon...for now. Both of them knew that they wouldn't be safe in the Digiworld. "Tai!"
"Kari!"
Gabumon had no choice but to swim, even if he hated to get his fur wet. However, wet fur was better than working for the Master of Digimon. "Oh, Matt. I need you now."
Palmon had no need to run. She had the perfect camouflage, and used it. Still, she knew that she would have to get out of the Digiworld to be safe. "Mimi!"
Allison was on her way to practice when her digivice went off. The sound she'd been hearing far too often lately raised her spirits, despite the fact that she knew it wasn't a good sound. Pulling into a nearby parking lot, she called and told the rest of her group that she wouldn't be able to make it, perhaps for months. She told them they might want to replace her. That done, she opened her small computer and settled down to wait.
When her digivice beeped, Sora quickly finished the flower arrangement she'd been working on. After making sure the arrangement was neat, Sora sat down. She took out the computer Gennai had given her and waited.
Had the others seen what he was doing, they would not have been surprised. Predictably, Izzy had been on a computer when his digivice beeped. Izzy quickly completed the program he was working on before opening his own computer. Izzy, too, waited, although not for the same reason. Izzy waited for contact from Gennai.
TK was in the middle of homework when his digivice beeped. Sighing at the welcomed interruption, he opened the computer and set it near his homework. "Might as well work on this while I wait," he told himself as he went back to his homework.
Joe was luckier than the others. When his digivice beeped, he was not already occupied. In fact, he almost welcomed the diversion. He too, settled down to wait.
Tai and Kari were sitting and talking to each other, about the Digiworld oddly enough, when their digivices went off. At the same time, they both pulled out the computer and set it down. They looked up and grinned.
When Matt's digivice went off, he didn't hear it at first. But, during a lull in the music, he heard it. However, it was several hours before he could do anything about it. He set the small computer down on a table and stared at it with his blue eyes, waiting.
Mimi had settled down for the night when she heard her digivice. She reached out and turned on the light by her bed. Then she turned on the computer and waited.
Izzy's wait, at least, was over. He'd gotten the contact he'd wanted, but not from who he had expected. "I am the Master of Digimon," the message began.
Izzy made a face. "Who does this guy think he is?"
"The Digiworld belongs to me. Digidestined, do not attempt to save your friends. They are mine!"
With that, the message ended. Izzy, knowing that the others should know about this, drafted up an e-mail and sent it to the others. They all read it moments later.
The first reply Izzy got was from Allison. "Give me time to get to Japan," her message read. Izzy made a note of that, then settled in to wait for the others' replies.
A few days later, Allison stepped off the plane she'd taken to Japan. "I hate jet lag." Her hazel eyes scanned the crowd, looking for one of the other Digidestined. "I hope Izzy got my message."
Suddenly she was turned around. Her hazel eyes looked at the face of the person before her, a face that, while not the same face she had seen a decade ago, she still recognized. She smiled warmly. "Izzy! Long time no see!"
"Glad you made it."
"Mind if I ask you something?" Izzy shook his head. Allison took that to mean that he didn't mind. "Can I crash somewhere," she asked, yawning. "Jet lag is killing me."
As Allison got the sleep she so desperately wanted, Izzy drafted out an e-mail to the others. "Allison has arrived. Meet tomorrow?" Before he could send it out, Allison woke up.
She yawned. "Thanks for letting me crash here."
"No problem."
Izzy sent the e-mail. "What was that," she asked.
"E-mail to the others." He smiled. "They have to know that you're in town."
"True."
There was silence for a few moments. "Now what?"
Izzy replied, "Wait for the others to reply."
The next day, the others gathered in the park where seven of them had met once before during their search for the eighth Digidestined. Allison looked around in wonder. "My dad came here when I was little, I think," she whispered. None of the others heard her.
"We've got to go back," Tai said.
"Maybe, but what if we have to find the other nine Digidestined," Joe said thoughtfully.
"We honestly can't judge what to do until we know what the full situation is," Allison commented.
Tai considered their words. "I think you're both right, but Allison does have a point. What do you think?"
"Sounds good," Matt said.
"So how do we get back," Allison asked.
"Well, I think I may have found a way," Izzy said.
"What?"
"Come on, I'll show you."
Izzy worked quickly on his desktop computer, then stepped back. "There," he said. On the screen was a picture of the Digiworld.
"Let's go," Tai said. Allison hid a smile. Tai's personality hadn't changed in the decade since she'd last seen him. She reached out to restrain him with one slender hand.
"Tai, maybe we should get some stuff together before we go. What if we get stuck in the Digiworld again and can't get back," Allison asked.
"Hmm. You know, that's a good idea. Let's go get some stuff together," Tai said.
Allison opened the backpack she'd brought. After emptying it, she stuffed her pointe shoes, which had helped her Digimon digivolve in the past, into it. They were followed by some needlepoint that she was working on for the others and a few paperback books. She added some of her other clothes to the backpack, reasoning that she just might want to change out of her T-shirt and blue jeans. She stuffed her sunglasses into her pocket. Her red jacket she tied around her waist. She stuck her CD player and CDs into the backpack.
She put her laptop, something her parents had given her, on top of everything else in her backpack. Satisfied with the contents of her backpack, she returned to the computer after she had clipped her digivice to the strap of her backpack, the way she had a decade ago.
Izzy slid his laptop into the carrying pack. His digivice was already on the strap. He was ready, since he had carried little else into the Digiworld a decade ago.
Before he walked back to the computer, he remembered something he had almost forgotten. He stuffed a pencil and notepad into his pocket, then headed for the computer.
Joe put a few simple medical supplies into his duffel bag. He clipped his digivice to the strap. Then he tossed some nonperishable food into it, making sure they'd have something to eat this time in case they got stuck in the Digiworld again. Joe zipped it shut, then went back to Izzy's, ready to go back to the Digiworld.
Matt slung his guitar over his shoulder, then stuck his harmonica into his pocket. He waited for TK before they went back to Izzy's together.
Sora hadn't gone anywhere. She had all she had taken into the Digiworld before. On her hip rested a small pouch. She was ready to go.
Tai also hadn't gone anywhere. He hadn't been able to think of anything that he'd wanted to take with him that he had had before.
Kari, like Sora, had carried very little into the Digiworld. Her whistle, the one item she could bring, she had given to Gatomon. Thus, she had nothing to retrieve.
Mimi put make-up in her bag. Then she added a few small random items, the sort of items she had taken into the Digiworld before. She stuck her digivice on the bag's strap. Then she left and headed back to Izzy's.
Soon, they had all gathered back at Izzy's. "So how do we get in," Sora asked.
Izzy replied, "Hold your digivice up to the screen, like this." He held his digivice up, then was drawn through. One by one, the others followed him.
Kari looked around. "Where are we?" Tai shrugged.
"I guess a better question would be where are the others," he said.
"Yeah."
"Izzy? Joe? Allison? Matt? Sora? Mimi? TK," Tai called. The only answer was an echo.
Suddenly they heard, "Tai! Kari!" Agumon and Gatomon ran up. Gatomon leapt into Kari's arms. "I missed you," Gatomon said.
"I missed you too," Kari replied.
"Do you know where the others are," Tai asked Agumon.
"Sylvimon's that way," Agumon said, pointing.
"Let's go find her," Tai said. The quartet walked into the forest.
Gabumon, wet from his swim, saw Matt land in the Digiworld. "Matt!"
"Gabumon? Gabumon!"
"Matt!"
Matt turned from Gabumon to see Joe, carrying Gomamon, running toward him. "Joe!"
Joe was quite obviously soaked. He had a smug look on his face. "I'm glad I learned to swim."
Matt laughed.
"Gomamon, have you seen any of the others?"
"I saw Biyomon and Tentomon flying that way." He gestured with one paw.
"My digivice says there are two that way," Matt noted.
"Let's go."
TK fell through branches until he caught one in his hands. He swung himself onto the branch. "Patamon!"
"TK! Am I glad to see you!"
"Patamon, have you seen any of the other Digimon?"
"TK?"
TK looked down and saw Mimi and Palmon. "Hi Mimi!"
"Seen anyone else while you're up there?"
TK shook his head, but consulted his digivice. "There's someone that way," he said, pointing.
"Let's find them," Mimi decided.
Allison stuck her head out of Sylvimon's hiding place. She saw Tai and Kari coming from one direction and TK and Mimi from another. She waved them over and hoped Sylvimon's hiding place was big enough for them all.
Izzy checked his digivice again. Looking at Matt, Joe, and Sora, he shrugged. We should be right on top of them, but..."
Izzy was but off as he was grabbed and pulled into a hole. The others followed him down the hole.
Allison looked at them with a smug smile. "You were right on top of us..."
It was such a lame joke that they had to laugh at it.
Sylvimon led them to a cave where nine digivices lay. "I found these earlier."
Izzy looked at them closely. Where their digivices were an odd shape, the nine before him were octagons. "These must be a different design. I wonder why," he commented.
Allison offered a theory. "Maybe to distinguish the new Digidestined from us."
Izzy was considering the digivices so hard that he didn't notice that she said anything. "Look, they have the crest symbols on them too." He reached out to touch a digivice, a purple one with the Crest of Knowledge on it. Just as his finger touched it, the digivice started to glow. Allison pulled him back as it shot into the air and disappeared. "Curious."
One by one, the others touched a digivice that had their crest on it. The digivices all disappeared after being touched. Allison spoke then, her quiet tone almost commanding attention. "We should get back and find those new Digidestined."
"Not just yet." The strange voice made them turn. An evil looking Digimon, black with glowing red eyes, blocked their exit.
Sylvimon gulped. "That's Sardimon, an evil Digimon. I though I'd escaped him, but I guess I didn't."
"You have made a grave mistake in defying the Master of Digimon."
"Can you digivolve," Matt asked Gabumon.
"The Master of Digimon has made it so we can't, but we don't know how he did it."
Allison narrowed her bright eyes. "You guys get back. I'll keep Fuzzy here off our backs."
"Fuzzy? Never mind." Tai shook his head. "We all go back together."
"Fine, but how?" All human eyes turned to Izzy.
"The same way as before, I believe." Quickly they returned home with their Digimon.
"Close call," Mimi said.
"Yeah," Allison said. "But now we have a mission to find the new Digidestined." She looked determined.
"Right."
How had the Master of Digimon managed to block digivolution? Will the Digidestined find the new Digidestined soon enough to save the Digiworld? Stay tuned to find out.
