Disclaimer: I don't own any of the official Digimon characters.

FlyingCircus: To answer your question, Kevin & Asuka are not biologically related.

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Sora walked into Kevin's room with a laundry basket of his clothes. She quickly put them back into his drawers and closet before sitting down on his blue-quilted bed and looked around. It hadn't been long since Kevin had left for the Digital World, but she already missed her son. Tai walked in and sat down next to his wife.

"Sora, I'm sure Kevin's okay," he said as he put his arm around her.

"I know, Tai. And I know I shouldn't be worried since we've gone on missions in the Digital World before. Even before we were Kevin's age," said Sora, "I just miss having him around."

"I know how you feel," said Tai. He looked around the room. On one wall were all of Kevin's achievements, both in school and in sports. Various medals, certificates, and trophies either stood on shelves or hung on the wall. The different belts Kevin had had throughout his years of karate were neatly stacked next to each other in ascending order of color. Over on another wall, just above his desk, was a corkboard completely covered with photos from Kevin's first day of daycare all the way up to his most recent school photo. (A/N: Keep in mind that Kevin is in 7th grade right now)

"Anyway Sora, I'd better be getting to work," said Tai as he got back up. He was already dressed in his suit for the day. He grabbed his briefcase on his way out and put on his shoes.

"Have a good day at work, Tai," said Sora.

"Thanks," replied Tai as he approached the door, where Agumon was waiting. As soon as he left, Sora got things ready to take her daughter to school before heading off to work.

o o o

Sunlight streamed in through the window and landed on Kevin's face. The boy moaned before turning over in bed and pulling the covers up more. A few minutes later, he yawned and sat up.

Man, what a night, he thought as he wiped the sleep out of his eyes. Throwing back the covers, he stood up and headed to the bathroom. Along the way, he stopped by the other bed in the room and saw Dinomon sleeping soundly. He smiled a bit before closing the door to the bathroom.

o o o

The Takaishi twins comfortably snug in their bed as they slept. Their Digimon were curled up at the end of the bed.

o o o

Tracy was sitting downstairs in the dining area with some of the Burgermon's breakfast food while Beemon hovered just over his chair. Not far away, Jade and Pittermon were sitting at their own table. Jade was looking through a copy of the Digital Post, mainly to compare it to the newspapers found in the real world.

"MORNING, EVERYONE!" The sudden yelling caused Tracy to gag on his milk, which ended up coming out through his nose. Asuka stood at the entrance to the guestrooms and walked in with Fleumon right behind her.

"Jeez, don't do that!" said Tracy as he cleaned himself up with some napkins.

"Well don't blame me for your own faults," said Asuka.

"MY faults?" asked the redhead.

"Well of course," said Asuka, "After all, you were the one who was scared."

"That was because of you!" screamed Tracy, "Your screaming scared the living daylights out of me!"

"Well look who's screaming now," said Asuka.

"I am not screaming!" screamed the redhead. All of a sudden, his tone seemed to change. "Did it just get colder here?"

"I don't think so," said Asuka as Richie passed by behind her.

"Can you both please stop arguing?" asked Jade.

"She initiated it," said Tracy.

"Morning, everyone," said Kevin as he entered pulling his goggles down over his head and around his neck.

"Thank you, God," Tracy mouthed in silence.

"Where are C.J. and Sakura?" asked Jade.

"Still asleep, I believe," answered the goggled leader.

"We're awake," said the twins as they came down. Sakura was completely dressed and groomed, but C.J.'s hair was tousled, he still looked sleepy, and he was just pulling his shirt over his head.

"How long did you wait before C.J. woke up?" asked Jade.

"Thirty minutes," answered Sakura.

"Well, if everyone's finished eating breakfast, we can go," said Kevin.

"We can just take the rest to go," said Jade.

"Did somebody say 'to go'?" the Burgermon chorused. Almost immediately, the burger bun hat-wearing Digimon came forth with paper bags for the Digi-Destined to put their food in and take with them.

"This looks like a rip-off of the McDonald's logo," said Kevin as he looked at one of the bags. The logo on the front looked like the McDonald's arc flipped onto its side with a line going through it to make it look like a B.

"Well, good luck and help us all and save the Digital World!" said the Burgermon as the Digi-Destined left. Well actually, they were kinda forced into it.

"Okay, okay. Don't need to push," said Asuka.

"Get your hands off me!" said Richie as he pushed the Burgermon away from himself.

"So which direction do we head off to now?" asked C.J., who was now fully awake, but his hair was still tousled.

"C.J., please comb your hair," said Kevin.

"I don't have a comb," said the younger boy.

"Then use some water to wet it down. It's sticking up on ends," said Kevin.

"We don't have water," said C.J.

"Then use spit," said Foogumon offhandedly.

C.J. put one hand in front of his mouth and spat some saliva into it before running it through his hair.

"C.J., that's gross!" said Sakura.

"No, it isn't!" said her twin brother.

"Yes, it is!" she replied.

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"No, it isn't!"

"Yes, it is!"

"Ro-Sham-Bo!" said C.J. holding out his fist.

"Right!" said Sakura as she held out her own.

"One, two three!" C.J. landed with Paper while Sakura landed with Scissors.

"Scissors cuts Paper," said Sakura triumphantly.

"Best two out of three!" said C.J.

How can they even stand those two? Richie wondered as the group continued towards their next destination, which they had no idea what or where it was.

o o o

"Lord Central, they're on the move again," said one of the Tekbots.

"What should we do, Sir?" asked another.

"Where are they now?" Central One demanded.

"By the looks of things, they're heading towards sector 278," answered a third Tekbot.

"What units do we have in that location?" the mechanical overlord asked again.

"Unit P64-988," replied one of the Tekbots.

"Excellent. Make sure those children are destroyed at any cost," said Central One.

"Affirmative," the Tekbots chorused

o o o

"I'm bored," said C.J.

"Well, what can we do?" asked Asuka.

"Hmm. I know it's not much, but how about a little game?" asked Jade, "We each take turns saying a Digimon's name that begins with a different letter of the alphabet in sequence."

"Not a bad idea. It'll give us something to occupy our time with while we walk," said Kevin, "I'll go first. Agumon."

"Bakemon."

"Cherubimon."

"Diablomon."

"Ebemon."

"Floramon."

"Pepper Breath. No wait, it has to be a Digimon name in order of the alphabet."

"You suck at this, Dinomon," said Kevin.

"Hey, I'm new at this," said the green dinosaur Digimon.

"Yeah, you and countless other Digi-dum-dums," said Foogumon.

"Hey!" the other Digimon replied.

As the kids continued, they came across a small town. Towards the back, they could see a large castle sitting atop a hill overlooking the town. Deciding they deserved a break after walking for a while, they went in.

"This place is deserted," Jade observed as they entered the town streets.

Kevin stopped in front of one house and peered into the window.

"Well, whoever lived in this town were obviously tiny people," he said.

"Not really. There are a few bigger houses, too," said Asuka. A trash can suddenly fell over and the Digi-Destined turned to see a small grey Digimon with red gloved hands lying on the ground cowering in fear.

"Please, don't hurt me," it squeaked. Kevin walked over to the Digimon and squatted down in order to be more at eye level with it, which didn't work all that well.

"Don't be scared," he said, "We're friends if you'll let us."

The Digimon took his arms off his head and looked up.

"Oh, so you're not one of them." Kevin shook his head.

"This is the town of Mamemon," said the Digimon.

"And I take it you're a Mamemon," said Jade.

"That's right," Tracy answered after running a search on his Digimon Analyzer.

"So, what happened here?" C.J. asked.

"No time to explain now," said Mamemon, "Come with me quickly." Mamemon led the Digi-Destined through the town until they reached a large mansion. They went inside and found several more Mamemon everywhere in the main room. Many BigMamemon also occupied the building. Seating behind a table was what appeared to be a big yellow Mamemon wearing a crown and royal robes.

"Presenting his Royal Highness, PrinceMamemon!" Mamemon announced. A massive fanfare followed, along with streamers and confetti. The Digi-Destined just stood there staring.

"Kneel," muttered a BigMamemon as he pushed everyone over from behind, forcing each and every one of them onto one knee.

"So, you are the kids who have been taking on Central One," said PrinceMamemon.

"That's right," replied Kevin.

"Very brave, yet very foolish," said the Mamemon monarch. The remark caused anime-style blood veins to appear on most of the Digi-Destined's foreheads.

"Not a problem. It's our job," said Kevin while trying to maintain a straight face while mentally cursing under his breath.

"Anyway, it's a good time that you came here," said PrinceMamemon, "As you already know, there are four types of Mamemon in the Digital World."

"Mamemon, BigMamemon, MetalMamemon, and PrinceMamemon," said Tracy.

"Well you see, recently my MetalMamemon subjects seem to have fallen under his control," continued PrinceMamemon.

"And your desire is for us to free them," Richie finished.

"Yes, that is correct," the yellow roly-poly Digimon answered.

"Then we'll go!" said Kevin as he stood up.

"Excellent," said PrinceMamemon as a BigMamemon walked up to the kids and dropped an enormous map on the table.

"Eh, what's this?" asked Asuka as she pointed down at the map.

"A floor plan of my castle. The MetalMamemon that fell under Central One's control all currently reside there. If you can get through all the security, you'll be able to free them."

"Uh, what kind of security?" asked Dinomon.

o o o

"Why are we doing this again?" asked Jade as the Digi-Destined walked up a stream of knee-high sludge (or in the Digimon's cases, at least chest-high water).

"Because the waste disposal line is the only way to get into the castle without being detected or shot," answered Beemon.

"If I'd known we'd be walking through sewage, I wouldn't have worn my super-absorbent socks," Tracy commented as he brought up the rear of the group.

"Aside from the smell, Sakura and I are fine," said C.J.

"Count yourselves lucky. You're still small enough to hitch a ride on our backs," Kevin said from underneath C.J. as Asuka carries Sakura, "Who here's got their hands free to access their holomap."

Richie brought his hand up to his left wrist and pressed the button on the side, which activated the holomap.

"Another few meters ahead," he said.

After a bit more walking, the kids found themselves looking up at a sewage pipe protruding nine feet above their heads out of the outer wall of the castle.

"And we're supposed to get in how?" asked Asuka.

"Richie, what about that belt your uncle gave to Jade before we came here?" asked Foogumon.

"Of course," said the raven-haired girl as she pulled out a black cylinder.

"How's that going to get us in?" Fleumon inquired.

"Unfortuantely, I have no idea," said Jade, laughing nervously.

Groaning out of annoyance, Richie grabbed the cylinder and tossed it upward, keeping one hand on one end. It extended into a line and the other end quickly latched onto a stone outcropping just over the sewage pipe.

"How did you…" Tracy began when it suddenly hit him, "Of course. Your uncle made it. Of course you'd know how to use it."

"It's secure," Richie said coldly. He gripped the line with both hands, placed his feet on the wall, and began his ascension.

"Is this safe?" Jade asked.

"We'll be here to catch you if you fall," said Kevin.

"Okay then, I'm going." Jade placed her hands on the line and planted her feet on the stone wall as Pittermon made his way onto her shoulder before she began climbing. Tracy followed closely while Beemon just flew up as did Foogumon a few moments ago.

"C.J. Sakura. Think you two can get up there on your own?" Kevin asked. The twins shook their heads. When he asked his and Asuka's Digimon the same question, Dinomon replied no.

"I have my own way, "said Fleumon, "Climbing Vines!" Vines emerged from her arms and grew until they reached the outcropping. Dinomon held onto her and she pulled the two of them up.

"You go first," said Kevin.

"Are you sure?" Asuka asked.

"A good leader always puts his teammates before himself."

Not wanting to questions Kevin, Asuka began to climb with Sakura hanging tightly onto her.

"You ready, C.J.?" Kevin asked is cousin who was still hanging onto his back.

"Try not to fall," was the younger boy's only reply.

Kevin pulled his gloves on tighter before taking hold of the line and beginning his climb. C.J. wrapped his legs around Kevin's waist while keeping his arms around his neck as the blue-clad leader pulled himself up with his hands while keeping both feet on the wall.

"You can do it, Kevin," Tracy called from the top.

"How you hanging back there, C.J.?" Kevin asked.

"Fine," C.J. squeaked just before Kevin suddenly lost his footing. The blond boy screamed as Kevin's foot slipped from the wall and the two of them swung in midair.

"C.J.!" Sakura called out for her brother.

"Kevin, are you two okay?" asked Asuka.

"We're fine!" Kevin called back. Taking a look at the wall, he swung over closer to it and caught a vine with his foot. Using it to pull himself closer, he managed to plant both feet back on and continued his ascension until he and C.J. finally joined the others.

"That was scary," gasped the blond Takaishi.

"At least we made it out," said Kevin.

"Oh no."

"What's wrong?" Tigermon asked his partner.

"I lost three boxes of Pocky back there," C.J. answered.

"Since when have you been carrying around Pocky?" Tracy inquired.

"Since we started. I had them in my backpack," replied C.J.

"Why didn't we know you had a backpack?" asked Nekomon.

"You never asked."

"C.J. always carries a backpack everywhere," Sakura explained.

"Well, let's keep going," said Kevin as he stood up.

The Digi-Destined ventured further up the sewage pipe until they reached a grating leading into the interior of the fortress.

"Looks like the courtyard," Pittermon observed.

"But how do we get in?" Jade asked.

"I'm not sure. We'll have to find a way across," said Asuka.

"You idiots are more hopeless than I thought." Everyone looked and saw Richie standing on the other side of the bars inside the courtyard.

"How on Earth did you get through?" was the first thing Kevin asked.

"I slipped through the bars," replied the black-clad youth. One by one, the rest of the Digi-Destined slipped through and joined Richie.

"Of course, these bars were designed to keep Mamemon-type Digimon out. And since they're round, the bars were designed not to let them through. However, they weren't designed to let non-spherical personnel through," Tracy explained as he told his interpretation of the situation in his monotone lecture voice.

"Okay," Asuka said slowly.

"You get used to it after a while," said Beemon.

"Yeah, a long while," Foogumon retorted under his breath.

"Okay, we're going to need a plan," said Kevin.

"I've already thought of the perfect one to get inside," said Tracy, "Two of us will stay out here in the courtyard to keep an eye on the group. The rest of us will then…"

"Um, Tracy?"

"Yes, Beemon?"

"The 'rest of us' just walked in through the unguarded front door," said the striped insectoid Digimon.

"You mean I've been planning all this from the mansion here for nothing?" Tracy nearly screamed.

"Do you have an escape plan?" Beemon asked, "Because we'll need one if your voice gets any louder."

o o o

As the kids walked through the empty corridors, they kept a sharp lookout for anything that might try to attack them.

"Are we there yet?" asked C.J.

"I have no idea," Kevin replied.

"Turn left at the next intersection, go up two flights of stairs, make a right at the third crossroads, and enter through the big double doors," Tracy said from the back.

"And you know this how?" asked Jade.

"Simple. I downloaded a map of this place," answered Tracy.

"Wait. You can do that?" asked Kevin.

"I guess," said Tracy, "Am I not supposed to?"

"I don't know. I never even thought you could do that."

The group followed Tracy's directions and soon they found themselves inside a large throne room.

"Nobody's here," said Sakura.

"But I can sense danger," said Nekomon, "Look out!"

"ENERGETIC BOMB!" Several MetalMamemon appeared and started firing their arm cannons at the Digi-Destined.

"Those things are Ultimate level. We can't fight them like this!" said Dinomon.

"Then it's time to Turbo Digivolve!" said Kevin as he removed his chain from around his neck and inserted the Keycard of Courage into his D-Frag. Tracy and Asuka followed suit. "Let's kick the tires and light the fires!"

"Autumn winds, come to my aid!"

"Execute: Turbo Digivolution!"

A maniacal laughter announced the arrival of another presence as a massive metallic one-eyed spider appeared from behind the throne.

"Who are you?" Kevin demanded.

"MechaParasimon, your worst nightmare!" the spider answered.

"He must be the one controlling the MetalMamemon!" Tracy exclaimed.

"Well then we'll just have to fix that problem!" said Turbomon as Kevin climbed into his cockpit while Tracy and Asuka seated themselves inside their own partners.

"All systems ready for go," said Kevin as he finished putting on his restraints and checked the power and controls, "Let's go!"

"TURBO FLAME!"

"HELICOPTER BARRAGE!"

"THUNDER DRILL!"

The three Turbo Digimon fired their attacks at MechaParasimon, but several MetalMamemon quickly flew in and blocked.

"As long as the MetalMamemon are under my control, they'll protect me from everything!" MechaParasimon laughed, "Destroy them all!"

"ENERGETIC BOMB!" The MetalMamemon took aim and fired their cannons all at once. The power of the combined energy bombs threw the Digimon back and forced them out of Turbo Digivolution.

"Damn it! We can't even get close to this guy without him sending his mind-controlled drones after us," said Kevin, "There's gotta be a way to get to him!"

"Long-range attacks will have no effect," Richie said suddenly, "We must use close-range techniques."

"How do we do that? We don't have any that are powerful enough," said Jade.

"Well that's a pleasant surprise," said MechaParasimon, "Too bad for you! Attack!" The MetalMamemon flew forward and charged up their cannons once again. All of a sudden, a flash of white light shone out from the ceiling and a Keycard descended down from it and hovered in front of Richie. On its surface was a white lightningbolt – the Crest of Speed.

"That's the Keycard of Speed!" Tracy exclaimed. Richie reached out and grabbed the Keycard from midair. He pulled it closer and examined it carefully.

"I see," he said quietly, "Very well then." He inserted the Keycard into his D-Frag and the Crest of Speed appeared on the screen. "I summon the God of Death!"

The Keycard of Speed appeared behind Foogumon and flipped over before dissipating and surrounding him in chaos. The shifting shapeless mass grew larger in size and from it burst a pair of black mechanical bat wings. A black armor shot out from the chaos as a foot stepped out. The chaos finally dissipated, revealing a giant black and grey robot. It reached out and grabbed a long staff, which, upon activation, turned out to be a scythe with an energy blade.

As the last chaos disappeared, everyone could see a massive robot standing in Foogumon's place, with an appearance closely resembling that of Deathscythe Hell Custom.

"What the hell? He looks like a Gundam!" Kevin exclaimed.

"That's because I'm a Mobile Suit Digimon," said Scythemon as he opened his cockpit, "Richie, climb in." The black-clad boy said nothing as he climbed in and sat down in the seat. The restraints instantly buckled him in and the canopy closed.

"Let's end this," said Richie. He pushed forward on the control sticks and Scythemon dashed forward.

"Get them!" shouted MechaParasimon. The MetalMamemon obeyed and threw themselves at the oncoming opponent.

"BEAM SCYTHE!" Scythemon activated the blade on his scythe and swung, knocking away several of the MetalMamemon.

"Idiots!" MechaParasimon screamed, "I'll take care of this myself! ELECTRIC BIND!" Several wires, presumably tentacles before Parasimon was mechanized, shot out from MechaParasimon's body and flew towards Scythemon. The black winged Digimon drew back his scythe and swung it around, severing the wires.

"You'll have to do better than that," said Scythemon.

"I intend to!" said MechaParasimon, "DIGICABOLIC STEROID!"

"HYPER JAMMER!" Scythemon held out his free hand and sent out a powerful disrupter wave that completely jammed MechaParasimon's DigiCabolic Steroid attack.

"Damn you!" the metallic one-eyed spider yelled.

"We're not finished," said Richie, "Scythemon, end this now." Scythemon drew back his weapon and dashed forward towards MechaParasimon.

"You'll never stop me!" MechaParasimon laughed as he catapulted himself up through the ceiling and onto the roof. Scythemon quickly flew after him.

"ELECTRIC BIND!" shouted MechaParasimon. Scythemon quickly closed his wings and blocked the cables from coming in contact with him.

"Have some more! ELECTRIC BIND!" MechaParasimon lashed out again, but this time, instead of blocking, Scythemon counterattacked. He quickly jumped up over the wires and flew straight towards MechaParasimon.

"BEAM SCYTHE!" He drew his arms up, positioning the scythe over his head, and brought the energy blade down on MechaParasimon's eye. He pulled it out and swung again, splitting the mechanical arachnid in half.

"Long live Central One!" MechaParasimon screamed as his body was deleted. Scythemon deactivated his scythe's blade and rested it on his shoulder.

"Hey Richie! Nice work!" Kevin called out.

o o o

"Thank you for liberating my people of that mechanical menace," said PrinceMamemon as he sat back on his throne surrounded by his subjects of Mamemon, BigMamemon, and MetalMamemon.

"Just doing our job," said Kevin.

"Tell me, where is that young lad who defeated MechaParasimon, anyway?" PrinceMamemon asked.

"Richie? He should be here with us," said Tracy. A Mamemon floated up to PrinceMamemon and whispered something into his ear.

"I see. Well, it appears that your friend is already leaving," said the yellow monarch.

"WHAT?" The Digi-Destined quickly dashed out of the mansion and ran after Richie, who was already nearly at the edge of town.

"Hey Richie! Wait up!" Kevin called.

"I don't require your help," said Richie, "I can handle this on my own."

"Like it or not, you're with us," said Jade, "So live with it."

"Fine…" Richie muttered as the Digi-Destined left town together.

o o o

"Unit P64-988, AKA: MechaParasimon, has been deleted, my lord," said one of the Tekbots.

"At this rate, it won't be long before they find the rest of the Keycards," said another.

"These children are worth more trouble than I had anticipated," said Central One, "We shall need to dispose of them soon."

"Leave that to us." Several machine-like Digimon stepped forward. Some of them had spikes on their arms, others had electrodes, and some were quadrapedal and had a set of three shields on their fronts attached to mechanical arms. The one in the lead was a machine with a large cannon on its head.

"Very well, Machinamon," said Central One, "Do with them as you please."

"Thank you, my lord," Machinamon turned and faced the others in his squad, "Machina Squad, engage!"

–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––

Sorry for the incredibly long wait, but I had an incredibly long period of writer's block. But here it is. Please don't forget to review.