| "T.K.! Tai! Kari! Sora! Izzy!" Matt shouted as he slowly walked down a dirt path, carrying Tsunomon in his arms. He stifled a quick yawn before he continued. "Joe! Mimi! Yuuchi! Zack! Marni! Marisa! Can anyone hear me?" Matt was quiet for a few moments, hoping to hear a response from someone, but he was met by complete silence in the fog-filled forest surrounding him. "Matt, maybe we should stop and rest for a while," Tsunomon suggested as Matt stopped walking and rubbed his eyes. "We can't stop now, Tsunomon," Matt muttered out loud, trying his best not to sound tired. "Besides, I'm not tired." Just then, Matt let out a long yawn. "Come on, Matt! You gotta get some sleep! You know you can't keep going like this!" Tsunomon pleaded. "All right, Tsunomon," Matt reluctantly agreed. "We'll find a place to spend the night, okay?" "Okay!" Tsunomon agreed as Matt continued walking down the path, still carrying the little orange Digimon. They eventually left the forest and entered a small clearing. "That could be a good place to spend the night," Matt announced as he pointed at a building off the side of the trail, blanketed by the thick fog. Tsunomon squinted his eyes and recognized the building as an old run-down church, with a large spooky cemetery next to it. "What do you think, Tsunomon?" Matt asked. "I don't know about this, Matt. That place looks kinda creepy," Tsunomon admitted. "You're right about that, but where else can we go?" Matt asked groggily. Tsunomon looked up at Matt's eyes and could see how exhausted his human friend was. "Well...I guess it's better than sleeping outside," Tsunomon reluctantly agreed. "Okay, let's go inside," Matt suggested with a quick yawn as he and Tsunomon started to head towards the old church. They had not even taken more than three steps when the two friends heard a strange, eerie moan coming from somewhere in the cemetery. "What was that?" Matt asked a bit nervously. "I don't know," Tsunomon replied, trying his best not to sound scared. Suddenly, Matt and Tsunomon were startled to see eighteen Bakemon pop up from behind the several stone tombstones scattered about the cemetery. "Yup, this place is definitely creepy!" Tsunomon shouted as Matt tried to make a run for it. Unfortunately, he and Tsunomon found themselves surrounded by the group of Bakemon. "Ready, boys?" one of the Bakemon asked sinisterly. "Let's get them!" a second Bakemon shouted as the eighteen Bakemon closed in on Matt and Tsunomon. Tsunomon let out an angry little growl as he jumped out of Matt's arms. "Tsunomon digivolve to...Gabumon." "Blue Blaster!" Gabumon shouted. The blast of blue energy struck down a couple of the Bakemon, but it didn't stop the others from advancing towards them. "Blue Blaster!" Gabumon shouted again, releasing another blue blast at the group of Bakemon. "There's too many of them, Gabumon!" Matt shouted. Before the Bakemon could attack Matt and Gabumon, they all heard a strange distant shriek. "Oh, no! It's Bansheemon!" one of the Bakemon shouted nervously. "Let's get outta here!" The eighteen Bakemon collided with each other as they all tried to fly away at the same time. "What could have scared those Bakemon so badly?" Matt asked uncertainly after all of the Bakemon left. "That could be the reason why!" Gabumon gasped loudly as he pointed at a glowing white figure in the distance that was floating towards them. Matt looked up and was surprised to see that the ghost-type Digimon looked like a human. She was wearing a flowing white dress that was tattered and torn around the edges of the skirt and sleeves. Her long white hair went down to her waist. As the Digimon came closer to Matt and Gabumon, they noticed that her eyes were a chilling ice blue. The Digimon also had a nasty-looking expression on her face. Matt and Gabumon gasped as the Digimon turned her head and looked straight at them. They were about ready to run for it, like the Bakemon before them, when the Digimon shouted, "Wait! Don't go!" Matt and Gabumon looked back at the ghost-type Digimon and noticed that the nasty expression that was on her face was replaced with a gentler, more concerned look. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you," the Digimon apologized. "I was just trying to scare away those troublesome Bakemon." "Thanks a lot!" Gabumon admitted. "Who are you?" Matt asked uncertainly. "I am Bansheemon," the ghost-type Digimon introduced herself. "You're one of the Digi-Destined children, am I right?" "Yeah, I am," Matt answered reluctantly. "How did you know?" "Everyone in the Digiworld knows of the legendary Digi-Destined," Bansheemon revealed. "You and your friends have come here once before and defeated our greatest enemies. Now, you're back again to defeat Armaggedamon. Tell me, what is your name?" Matt hesitated for a moment. He wasn't sure whether or not he could trust Bansheemon, since he never heard of her before. But then again, Bansheemon did save him and Gabumon from the Bakemon. "My name's Matt," Matt finally answered. "A pleasure to meet you, Matt," Bansheemon admitted. She looked into Matt's blue eyes and noticed how drained he looked. "You look very tired, Matt. Would you like to come inside and get some sleep?" Bansheemon offered. "I have plenty of room inside the church, where I live." "All right," Matt agreed, letting out another sleepy yawn. "It'd be nice not to have to sleep on the ground tonight." "Follow me," Bansheemon instructed as she led Matt and Gabumon into the church. She led them down the main sanctuary towards a hallway in back of the church. As the threesome walked down the hall, both Matt and Gabumon saw a door on their left that was slightly open a crack. "What's that room for?" Gabumon asked as they passed it. "Oh, that's just my room," Bansheemon explained. When they approached a second door, Bansheemon opened it for Matt and Gabumon. It was a small room with a bed in the middle and a dresser against the wall. "If you're hungry, the kitchen is right across the hall from your bedroom. Feel free to help yourselves to whatever you want," Bansheemon told Matt and Gabumon as she started to leave the room. "Thank you, Bansheemon," Gabumon admitted. "Umm, Bansheemon?" Matt asked as a question popped into his head. She turned around to look at him. "Have you seen any other kids besides me in the past couple of days?" Matt asked curiously. "No, I'm afraid not, but if I do see any of your friends, I'll let them know that you were here," Bansheemon assured him. "Thanks, Bansheemon," Matt admitted with a look of gratitude on his face. "I'll leave you alone so you can get some sleep," Bansheemon continued as she left the small bedroom. "Good night," she whispered as she closed the door behind her. As the ghost-type Digimon drifted down the hall, she chuckled sinisterly to herself. "What a foolish boy this one is," Bansheemon muttered to herself as she entered her room... "Are you okay, Marisa?" Chamelamon asked her human friend, who was walking a bit sluggishly. "I'm really tired, Chamelamon. Can we please stop and rest for a while?" Marisa asked. "Okay, no problem," Chamelamon agreed. Marisa instantly dropped down to the ground and let out a deep sigh, leaning her back against a tree along the path they had been following. Chamelamon slowly crawled into Marisa's lap and let out a quick yawn. "How much longer is it going to take until we reach that abandoned church you told me about?" Marisa asked curiously. "It'll just take a few more minutes, Marisa," Chamelamon told her. "It'll be safer for us to sleep inside the church than out here in the open." "I definitely agree with you about that," Marisa muttered nervously, looking around at the fog-filled forest surrounding them. "Who knows what bad Digimon are out there in the woods looking for us!" "Don't worry, Marisa. If any bad Digimon tries to hurt you, they're gonna have to go through me first!" Chamelamon proclaimed. "You're so brave, Chamelamon," Marisa admitted with a small smile as she hugged her Digimon. "I wish I could be as brave as you." "You're pretty brave yourself, Marisa," Chamelamon told her. "Remember when you stood up to Minotaurmon? That took a lot of guts to do that!" "Who knows? Maybe I have the crest of Bravery!" Marisa remarked as she took out her tag and stared at the strange symbol on her forest green crest for a few moments. "But then again, Bravery means the same thing as Courage, and that's Tai's crest." Marisa let out a long frustrated sigh. "I wish I knew what this crest meant! Then you'll be able to digivolve to Ultimate, Chamelamon." "There's no need to rush, Marisa," Chamelamon assured her human friend. "We'll figure this out together." "I hope so, Chamelamon," Marisa murmured thoughtfully as she put her tag back underneath her shirt. "You ready to go?" "Uh-huh," Chamelamon nodded as she got out of Marisa's lap. Marisa stood up, stretched out her arms, and continued walking down the path, with Chamelamon walking alongside her. A few minutes later, the two friends approached a fork in the path. "Which way, Chamelamon?" Marisa asked. "The church is to the left," Chamelamon replied. When they reached the turn in the path, Marisa looked down and noticed some marks in the packed dirt. "Chamelamon, look!" Marisa whispered excitedly as she bent down to take a closer look. "They're tracks! One of our friends must have gone by here!" Chamelamon exclaimed. "Yeah, but who knows how long these tracks have been here," Marisa muttered disappointingly. "No way! These tracks are fresh!" Chamelamon revealed. "Whoever it was, they must have passed here a few hours ago, at least." "Yeah, but who could it be?" Marisa asked. "Someone who was wearing boots," Chamelamon reported as she carefully examined the tracks. "Let's see...which one of our friends wears boots?" Marisa asked herself as she tried to recall who wore boots. She gasped slightly when she remembered one boy in particular who was wearing boots the last time she saw him. "Matt wears boots!" Marisa exclaimed happily, her eyes lighting up and her cheeks turning a slight shade of red at the thought of running into him. Oh, great! Anyone but Matt! Chamelamon thought angrily to herself as she looked up at Marisa. I don't see why Marisa likes that guy! Matt's been such a jerk to her! "Umm...Marisa? Are you sure Matt's the only who wears boots?" Chamelamon asked out loud, bringing Marisa back to reality. "Huh? Oh, yeah. Mimi wears boots, too," Marisa muttered a bit disappointingly. "So, it could be Mimi," Chamelamon replied cheerfully. "Yeah, I guess," Marisa muttered as she stood up. "Let's see if we can find whoever it is." "Yeah, let's go!" Chamelamon added as she and Marisa turned left at the fork and continued walking down the path. They haven't gone far down thee path when Marisa's digivice went off. "Chamelamon, look! Whoever it is must be nearby!" Marisa whispered excitedly as she took the digivice off of her shorts. "Well, what are we waiting for?" Chamelamon asked. The two friends ran down the path, following the directions form Marisa's digivice. Marisa and Chamelamon suddenly stopped when they noticed the old church with the cemetery next to it. "According to this, our friends are inside that church!" Marisa explained as she checked her digivice. "Let's go inside," Chamelamon suggested as she started to walk to the church. She turned around and realized that Marisa wasn't following her. She was still standing on the trail, staring at the creepy fog-filled cemetery. "Marisa, what's wrong?" Chamelamon asked. "N-Nothing, Chamelamon," Marisa stuttered nervously. "It's just...it's just that cemeteries give me the creeps!" "It's okay, Marisa," Chamelamon tried to convince her as she rejoined Marisa on the trail. "There's nothing to be afraid of." Just then, Marisa and Chamelamon heard a couple of strange voices coming closer to them. They looked up the trail and gasped when they recognized the two ghost-type Digimon floating down the trail towards them. "Bakemon!" Marisa gasped. "Quick, behind here!" Chamelamon whispered quickly as she ran behind a large tree on the side of the trail. Marisa quickly joined her Digimon behind the tree before the Bakemon could see them. The two Digimon stopped in front of the very tree that Marisa and Chamelamon were hiding behind. "It was MY acting that fooled the kid in the first place," the first Bakemon bragged loudly. He cleared his throat for a moment and shouted out in a convincing frightened voice, " 'Oh, no! It's Bansheemon! Let's get outta here!' " The Bakemon chuckled a little bit out of pride. "Don't forget! Your so-called acting is just a small part of Bansheemon's plan," the other Bakemon reminded him. "When sunrise comes around, that boy and his Gabumon will be shipped off to Lord Armaggedamon!" The two Bakemon began to laugh evilly. "Oh, no!" Marisa gasped a bit too loudly. "Did you hear that?" the first Bakemon asked as he stopped laughing and looked around. Marisa quickly covered her mouth with her hands, praying silently that the Bakemon wouldn't find her and Chamelamon. "It was probably just the wind. Nothing to worry about," the other Bakemon told him. "Come on, we better get back to our posts before Bansheemon lets us have it!" "All right," the first Bakemon agreed as they continued floating down the trail. As soon as the two Bakemon left Marisa and Chamelamon's sight, Marisa brought her hands down and let out a huge sigh of relief. "That doesn't sound good," Chamelamon admitted. "We gotta let Matt and Gabumon know what's going on," Marisa admitted as she stood up. As the two friends headed to the church, Marisa asked her Digimon, "Do you know anything about Bansheemon?" "Not much," Chamelamon admitted. "She's an Ultimate ghost-type Digimon. Bansheemon's attack is Wailing Shriek. She lets out a terrible scream that can shatter glass and even bend steel!" Marisa and Chamelamon stopped at the tall, heavy wooden double-doors of the church. Marisa took in a deep breath before she slowly pushed one of the doors open a little bit, revealing the main sanctuary with its two rows of long wooden benches. As Marisa continued to push the door, the rusted antique hinges suddenly let out a loud squeaky moan. Marisa gasped when she heard the loud moan and quickly let go of the door. "Do you think anyone heard that?" she asked nervously. "I don't know," Chamelamon whispered. Just then, Marisa and Chamelamon heard a strange noise coming from a hallway in back of the sanctuary. "Then again, maybe someone did hear us!" Chamelamon admitted nervously. The two girls quickly ran to the bench that was closest to the door. They had just ducked down behind it when they saw a glowing white figure floating down the aisle in between the two rows of benches. "It's Bansheemon!" Chamelamon whispered softly so that Bansheemon couldn't hear her. Marisa nodded silently as she carefully peeked over the top of the bench to see what Bansheemon was doing. She watched as the ghost-type Digimon floated toward the open door. Bansheemon studied the open door for a moment before she closed it. "I ought to get this old thing fixed," Bansheemon muttered to herself as she turned around and headed back to the aisle. As Bansheemon floated down the aisle, Marisa and Chamelamon slowly crawled down the narrow space between the benches toward the aisle. Marisa slowly stuck her head out in the aisle and watched as Bansheemon drifted into the hallway in the back of the church. "Matt and Gabumon must be back there somewhere," Marisa whispered to Chamelamon as they stood up in the aisle. "There's only one way to find out," Chamelamon whispered. Marisa nervously nodded in approval as she and Chamelamon gradually walked to the entrance of the back hall. They entered the hall just in time to see Bansheemon enter the first room on the left. "Be very quiet, Chamelamon," Marisa whispered softly as she and her Digimon slowly crept past Bansheemon's room. As soon as they were a good distance away from Bansheemon's room, Marisa spotted two doors across the hall from each other. "Which one could they be in?" Chamelamon asked. "Let's try this one," Marisa suggested, pointing at the door to the left. She grabbed the doorknob and slowly opened the door. Marisa gasped slightly when she noticed a small figure lying on the bed in the dark bedroom. "Who's that?" Chamelamon asked curiously. Marisa squinted her eyes so she could see the figure better. "It looks like...I think it's Gabumon!" Marisa whispered. The two girls didn't notice a dark figure slowly approaching them from behind. "But, if Gabumon's in there, then where's Matt?" Chamelamon asked. "I don't know," Marisa whispered. Suddenly, the two friends noticed a long dark shadow coming from someone standing behind them. Marisa froze still like a statue, too afraid to move or speak. Slowly but surely, Marisa turned around to face the figure standing behind her. She gasped loudly out of surprise when she saw who it was. "Matt!" Marisa exclaimed in a hushed voice, trying her best to hide her excitement. "Marisa? Chamelamon?" Matt asked, a bit startled to see the pig-tailed girl and her Digimon standing right in front of him in the middle of the night. Matt was even more surprised when Marisa suddenly embraced him. "I can't believe this!" Marisa gushed out in a hushed whisper. "I was geting worried that I wouldn't find anyone! I'm so glad that I found you!" "Yeah, umm...same here," Matt stuttered a bit nervously. Just then, Marisa realized what she was doing at that very moment. "Oh, I'm so sorry, Matt," Marisa quickly apologized as she let go of Matt, her cheeks turning red from embarrassment. "I'm just so happy that I finally found someone." "Yeah, you kinda made that obvious," Matt remarked. "What's going on, Matt?" Gabumon asked drowsily as he slowly entered the hallway. He stopped and gasped out of surprise when he saw Marisa and Chamelamon standing in the hallway with Matt. "Marisa! Chamelamon! When did you two get here?" Gabumon asked. "Just a few minutes ago, Gabumon," Marisa replied. "Yeah, but now that you're awake, let's get outta here," Chamelamon suggested. "What for?" Matt asked curiously. "Bansheemon said it was all right with her to spend the night here." Marisa looked down at the floor, a bit fearful to tell Matt the truth. "Umm...Matt? There's something you need to know about Bansheemon," Marisa eventually got out. "What do you mean?" Matt asked curiously. "Well, I don't know how to tell you this, Matt, but..." Marisa trailed off. "But what?" Matt prodded. "Bansheemon works for Armaggedamon!" Marisa stuttered quickly. Both Matt and Gabumon gasped when they heard this news. "Are you sure?" Gabumon asked. "Uh-huh. We overheard a couple of Bakemon talking outside," Chamelamon explained. "They were talking about how Bansheemon tricked you into thinking that she was a good Digimon, but the truth is, it was just a trap so she could ship you guys off to Armaggedamon in the morning!" "I don't believe this," Matt muttered out loud. "I'm sure it's kinda hard to believe after what you've been through," Marisa admitted. "Marisa, what makes you think that I'm the one being tricked here?" Matt asked. "What do you mean, Matt?" Marisa asked. "Maybe those Bakemon knew you were there the whole time and made up all that stuff about Bansheemon," Matt revealed, getting a little impatient with Marisa. "But why would they do something like that?" Marisa asked curiously. "Maybe they wanted Bansheemon to look like the bad Digimon, okay?" Matt retorted a bit rudely, staring at the floor the whole time. "Yeah, right," Chamelamon retorted. "Bakemon aren't THAT smart!" "That's a lot of maybes, Matt," Marisa admitted. "Are you sure about this? Why don't you come with us and--" "Will you just stop it with all these lies, Marisa?" Matt interrupted with anger in his voice. Marisa was obviously very hurt by Matt's angry remark. She could feel tears filling up her eyes and slowly running down her face. "Why don't you trust me, Matt?" Marisa demanded, her voice quivering from her crying. Matt looked up and immediately regretted what he said earlier when he saw Marisa's tear-stained face. "Marisa, I..." Matt found himself at a loss for words. He wasn't used to dealing with such a sensitive person before. Matt had no problem dealing with T.K.'s emotional outbursts, since T.K. was his little brother and he was used to it. Matt also had no problem with Sora that one time she broke down and bawled her eyes out. But Sora was a different matter. Matt knew that he wasn't the reason that Sora became upset that day. Marisa was watching Matt the whole time, who was staring out into empty space with a strange look in his eyes. Why doesn't he answer me? Marisa thought angrily to herself. Not being able to take it anymore, Marisa turned around and ran down the hall back toward the main sanctuary of the church, with tears still running down her cheeks. "Marisa, come back!" Chamelamon shouted, which quickly brought Matt back to reality. He looked up and was surprised to see Marisa leaving the hallway, with Chamelamon running after her. "Gabumon, what happened?" Matt asked uncertainly. "Marisa got upset that you wouldn't answer her and left," Gabumon replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hurt her," Matt whispered sincerely. "I know you didn't mean it, Matt, but I don't think I'm the one you should be telling that to," Gabumon told his human friend. Matt looked at his Digimon and nodded in approval. "You're right, Gabumon," he admitted. "Let's go find Marisa." As the two boys headed down the hallway, Matt noticed that Bansheemon's door was open a crack. As they walked past the door, both Matt and Gabumon clearly heard Bansheemon say, "Of course, Lord Armaggedamon." Becoming suspicious, Matt and Gabumon crept up to the door and peeked in through the crack. Bansheemon was sitting on a chair, talking into a black walkie-talkie, just like the ones they had seen some of Armaggedamon's hench-mon use before. "My plan worked so perfectly, Lord Armaggedamon! Thanks to the Bakemon, Matt thinks that I'm a good Digimon! It convinced him very easily!" Bansheemon bragged. "Is he suspicious of anything?" Armaggedamon asked through the walkie-talkie. "No, not at all, sir! He's sleeping in the other room at this very moment," Bansheemon answered. "Excellent work, Bansheemon. I knew I could rely on you," Armaggedamon admitted. "Now, explain to me how you to bring this 'Matt' to me." "It's actually quite simple, Lord Armaggedamon. Tomorrow morning, I'll wake up Matt and tell him that one of his friends has arrived," Bansheemon explained. "I'll lead him and the Gabumon into the sanctuary, where the Bakemon will be waiting for us in ambush. When I give the signal, the Bakemon will come out of hiding and tie them up faster than you can say 'Armaggedamon!' " "Did you hear that?" Matt whispered as he and Gabumon took a few steps back from the door. "Marisa was right about Bansheemon the whole time!" Gabumon gasped. "Yeah, and I just called her a liar right to her face," Matt muttered out loud. "Come on, Matt. If we hurry, we might catch up to them," Gabumon suggested. "Okay, Gabumon," Matt replied as they entered the sanctuary. To their surprise, Matt and Gabumon heard soft sobbing coming from up ahead. The two boys looked up and gasped slightly when they saw Marisa sitting on the front bench with her head bent down. "It's okay, Marisa. Please stop crying," Chamelamon whispered comfortingly to her friend. Matt felt even more guilt-ridden than before. He shamefully stared down at the floor. "Come on, Matt. She's right over there," Gabumon whispered, pointing at Marisa. "I...I can't," Matt whispered. "Why not?" Gabumon asked. "I just can't, Gabumon," Matt replied in a low whisper, shaking his head. "Yes, you can, and you will," Gabumon replied as he grabbed Matt by the arm and dragged him down the aisle to where Marisa and Chamelamon were sitting. Marisa looked up for a moment when she heard Matt and Gabumon coming, but she quickly turned around and lowered her head down again. "What do you want?" Chamelamon asked rudely as Matt and Gabumon stopped next to her and Marisa. "Matt has something he wants to say. Right, Matt?" Gabumon asked as he gently nudged Matt in the ribs. "Umm...right," Matt replied. He looked over at Marisa, who was staring down at her lap. "Marisa, I'm really sorry about yelling at you like that," Matt apologized. "I never meant to hurt your feelings." Matt noticed that Marisa was still looking down at her lap. "Look, I'll understand if you don't feel like talking to me at all, after the way I treated you," Matt admitted. "Do you think that maybe we can put this aside and start over?" "Why should she, Matt?" Chamelamon asked angrily. "Marisa was happy to see you until you yelled at her and hurt her feelings! I would be very surprised if she forgave you at all!" "Chamelamon, calm down," Marisa whispered. "I can speak for myself, okay?" Chamelamon reluctantly kept quiet as Marisa wiped her eyes before she lifted her head up and looked at Matt. "Look, I understand why you felt you had to defend Bansheemon, but you didn't have to be so rude about it," Marisa told him. "I was just telling what I heard those Bakemon." "I know, Marisa. I'm sorry," Matt whispered solemnly. Marisa was silent for a few moments, looking at Matt the whole time. "It's okay, Matt," she finally responded, which caught Matt, Gabumon, and Chamelamon by surprise. "Really?" Matt asked uncertainly. Marisa slowly nodded her head. "I'm kinda surprised," Matt openly admitted. "I mean, you were really upset and angry at me. The truth is, I wasn't expecting to see you here at all, Marisa. At the rate you were going, I thought that you would be long gone by now!" "Yeah, I know," Marisa whispered. "So...why did you change your mind?" Matt asked curiously. "Well, I was about ready to head out of the door when I stopped," Marisa explained. "Why did you stop?" Gabumon asked. "I realized that even though Matt didn't believe me about Bansheemon, I couldn't leave him here by himself," Marisa replied. "Even though we're obviously very different from each other, Matt, we're both in the Digiworld for the same reason: to find and defeat Armaggedamon. We both know that we can't do that on our own." Aww, man! I feel like such a jerk! Matt thought to himself. Marisa has been a much better friend to me than I've ever been to her! I don't deserve to be her friend. "Matt, are you okay?" Marisa asked, which brought Matt back to reality. "Yeah, I'm fine," Matt quickly stuttered. "So, what do we do now?" Marisa asked. "First of all, we're getting out of here," Matt announced. "There's another reason why I had to find you. You were right all along about Bansheemon, Marisa. Gabumon and I overheard her talking to Armaggedamon on one of those walkie-talkies!" Marisa and Chamelamon gasped when they heard this news. "You ready, Marisa?" Matt asked. "Yeah, let's get outta here," Marisa replied as she and Chamelamon got off of the bench. "Leaving so soon, Matt?" Bansheemon asked. Matt, Marisa, and their Digimon turned around and gasped when they saw the ghost-type Digimon floating at the entrance to the back hall. "Bansheemon!" Marisa and Chamelamon gasped simultaneously. "You lied to me, Bansheemon!" Matt shouted angrily. "What did you expect, Matt? I'm sure you know by now that I'm not on your side after all," Bansheemon revealed. She glanced over at Marisa and smirked a little bit. "Looks like Lord Armaggedamon will be getting an unexpected bonus," Bansheemon continued. "Two Digi-Destined for the price of one!" "I don't think so, you old hag!" Chamelamon shouted boldly as she joined Gabumon in the aisle. "What did you call me?" Bansheemon asked angrily, the expression on her face changing back to the nasty hate-filled expression that Matt remembered seeing earlier. "I'll show you, you little Digi-pest! Wailing Shriek!" Bansheemon shouted before she let out a long, ear-splitting scream. Matt, Marisa, Gabumon, and Chamelamon quickly covered up their ears, but they could still hear Bansheemon's horrible scream. "Come on, Gabumon! We gotta stop her!" Chamelamon managed to shout over Bansheemon's scream. "You're right, Chamelamon!" Gabumon shouted. "Gabumon digivolve to...Garurumon!" "Chamelamon digivolve to...Dragomon!" "Howling Blaster!" Garurumon shouted. "Inferno Blast!" Dragomon shouted. The two attacks struck Bansheemon head-on, knocking her down to the floor. "All right!" Matt shouted. "Way to go!" Marisa cheered. "You foolish children! This is far from over!" Bansheemon shouted angrily as she got back up. "Stay back, you two!" Garurumon growled in warning to Matt and Marisa. "Wailing Shriek!" Bansheemon shouted. She let out an even louder deafening screech, but this time, it was followed by a powerful roaring wind that swirled around the room like a mini-tornado, shattering the church's glass windows and knocking down some of the benches. Dragomon was lifted up by the powerful wind, but she used her massive wings to help her steer her way through it. The powerful wind also lifted Matt up and threw him against the front wall of the sanctuary. "Matt! Are you okay?" Marisa shouted. Matt let out a small moan as he slowly sat up. When he looked up, Matt gasped loudly out of shock. He saw the benches behind Marisa starting to topple like a row of dominoes. Unfortunately, there was so much noise from Bansheemon's attack that Matt couldn't hear the benches falling, and he knew that meant Marisa couldn't hear them either. If Matt didn't do something fast, the benches were going to crush Marisa! "MARISA! LOOK OUT!" Matt yelled at the top of his lungs. Marisa heard him, but the warning came too late. She let out a terrified scream as the benches came crashing down, causing a giant cloud of dust to rise up from the floor. "Marisa!" Matt shouted as he quickly got up and ran toward the dust cloud. He coughed a few times from the dust as he entered the swirling cloud to try and find Marisa. As the dust started to clear away, Matt could see Marisa lying on the ground. "Marisa! Are you okay?" Matt asked as he knelt down beside her. "Matt, my leg is caught!" Marisa cried out. Matt looked up and gasped when he saw that the bench that Marisa was originally sitting on had landed on top of her left ankle. "Don't worry, Marisa. I'll get you out of this," Matt assured the frightened girl as he approached the bench, grabbed it with both hands, and tried his best to lift it up on his own. Unfortunately, the bench was too heavy for Matt to even lift up an inch, no matter how hard he tried. To his surprise, Matt felt the bench being lifted up, as though it had mysteriously become lighter. Matt looked up and realized that Dragomon had landed next to him and was lifting the bench off of Marisa with very little effort. As Dragomon tossed the bench aside, Matt once again knelt down beside Marisa. "How's your leg, Marisa?" he asked curiously. "It hurts really bad, Matt," Marisa whispered softly, with tears welling up in her eyes from the pain. Matt looked at her leg and gasped when he saw the large red circle covering her ankle and part of her leg. He gently felt around the inflamed area, silently hoping that Marisa's ankle wasn't broken. Marisa winced a bit when Matt first touched her sore ankle. "Doesn't feel like anything's broken," Matt revealed as he let go of Marisa's leg. "Can you get up at all, Marisa?" Dragomon asked. Marisa tried to stand up on her own, but when she put some weight on her sore ankle; a huge shock of pain went up her leg and she slumped down to her knees. "No, I can't, Dragomon," Marisa whispered. Dragomon looked up at Garurumon, who was fighting off Bansheemon as best as he could, but it was obvious that he was struggling. Marisa needs my help, but so does Garurumon, Dragomon thought. She looked back at Marisa and was surprised to see that Matt was helping her get up. "Take it easy, Marisa. Try not to put any weight on that ankle," Matt instructed as he allowed Marisa to lean on him for support. Although she didn't want to abandon Marisa, Dragomon knew in her heart what the right choice was. "Matt, I want you to get Marisa out of here!" Dragomon announced. Both Matt and Marisa gasped out of surprise. "Are you sure, Dragomon?" Marisa asked. "Yes, I'm sure. Garurumon needs my help," Dragomon replied, pointing at the continuing battle behind the two children. Matt and Marisa turned around and realized that Dragomon was right. "You should go help Garurumon," Marisa admitted. Dragomon slowly nodded as she flew up in the air. "I'm trusting you to take care of her, Matt," Dragomon added before she over the two children's heads towards the battle between Garurumon and Bansheemon. "Come on, Marisa," Matt shouted as he led Marisa to the doors, which had been blown wide open by Bansheemon's attack. The two children slowly made their way out of the church and into the dark, fog-filled cemetery. Matt wanted to go much faster, but he knew they couldn't because of Marisa's injury. "Matt, maybe you should just go on without me," Marisa suggested, which caught Matt by surprise. "What?" Matt asked. "You should keep going without me. I'm just slowing you down," Marisa explained. "No way, Marisa! I'm not leaving you!" Matt shouted with determination in his voice. Just then, there was a terrible crash coming from the church behind them. Matt reacted quickly by pulling Marisa behind a large tombstone in the middle of the cemetery. "What's going on, Matt?" Marisa whispered as Matt peeked over the side of the tombstone. He gasped slightly when he saw both Garurumon and Dragomon sprawled out on the ground unconscious, with Bansheemon floating above the defeated Digimon. "It doesn't look good, Marisa," Matt whispered. "You children might as well come out of hiding!" Bansheemon shouted as she started to search around the cemetery. "Your Digimon have been defeated! You have no choice but to turn yourselves over to Lord Armaggedamon!" Matt and Marisa stayed perfectly still, staying as quiet as they could, but unfortunately, it didn't help them. The two children gasped when they saw Bansheemon floating above their heads. She let out a sinister chuckle upon finding the two children. Matt quickly stood up and glared at her in hate, positioning himself between Bansheemon and Marisa. "Do you really think you can fight me without your puny Digimon?" Bansheemon asked with an amused look on her face. "I'm not going to let you hurt my friend anymore, Bansheemon!" Matt shouted with anger in his voice. While this was going on, Garurumon was starting to gain power from Matt's crest of Friendship. He rose to his feet and used the energy coming from Matt to digivolve. "Garurumon digivolve to...Were-Garurumon!" Garurumon's digivolving quickly caught Bansheemon's attention. "It's time to end this, Bansheemon! Wolf Claw!" Were-Garurumon shouted as he formed his paw into a fist and let out an ice blast at Bansheemon. She was caught totally by surprise, and wasn't able to guard against the attack. Bansheemon let out a pain-filled scream as she broke up into thousands of tiny black pieces, which disintegrated soon afterwards. A walkie-talkie dropped from her hand and onto the ground, which quickly disintegrated. Were-Garurumon quickly ran over to Dragomon, who was just starting to come out of it. "You need any help, Dragomon?" Were-Garurumon asked. "No thanks, Were-Garurumon," Dragomon replied as she slowly got to her feet. "What about Marisa? Is she okay?" "I'm just fine, Dragomon," Marisa replied with a small smile... "Here ya go, Marisa," Chamelamon announced as she dropped some thick yellow-green stems from her mouth on the ground in front of where Marisa was sitting. "You just snap the stems open and rub the sap from them on your bruise. That'll help it heal," Chamelamon explained. Marisa nodded as she picked up one of the stems and snapped it open. She took out the clear gel-like sap with her finger and smeared it over the red mark on her ankle. "It's starting to feel better already!" Marisa admitted with a small smile. "That's good," Chamelamon confessed. Marisa looked up at Matt, who was leaning against a nearby tombstone with Tsunomon in one arm. "Matt, I don't think I could ever thank you enough for helping me out tonight," she admitted. "Thanks, but I don't deserve it," Matt mumbled just loud enough for Marisa to hear. "What are you talking about?" Marisa asked curiously. "Marisa, don't you see? It's my fault that you got hurt!" Matt blurted out. "What do you mean it's your fault?" Marisa asked. "Yeah, Matt. It wasn't your fault," Tsunomon added. "Yes, it is," Matt argued. "If I believed Marisa about Bansheemon in the first place, none of this would have happened!" "Is that what you think, Matt?" Marisa asked curiously. Matt slowly nodded his head. "Matt, it's not your fault. You're not the one who knocked down all those benches on me. That was Bansheemon. You saved my life tonight, Matt. Honestly, I couldn't ask for a better friend than you." Matt found himself blushing a little bit from Marisa's comment. "Thanks, Marisa," Matt replied as he looked up at her. Marisa smiled a bit in return before she looked down and continued rubbing the gel-like sap onto her sore ankle. Marisa's so different from the other girls, Matt thought to himself. She's kind and selfless, like Sora, and she's also sensitive and honest, like Mimi. And Marisa's definitely not like her sister, Marni! Guess if I want this friendship to work out, I'll have to take things easier with Marisa. "Matt, are you ready to go?" Marisa asked, bringing him back to reality. "I'm ready if you are," Matt replied as he stood up straight. "Do you need any help, Marisa?" he asked as he put Tsunomon down on the ground. "I don't think so," Marisa replied as she used a nearby tombstone to help her get up. "Are you sure?" Tsunomon asked. "Yeah, I think so," Marisa slowly replied as she tried to take a few steps. Unfortunately, Marisa tripped due to a shock of pain from her ankle. She would have fell to the ground if Matt didn't catch her. "Then again, I guess I do need some help," Marisa admitted with a nervous giggle. Matt smiled a bit to himself as he helped Marisa stand up. "We should get outta here before the Bakemon get here and find out what happened," Matt remarked as he looked back at the sun, which was barely peeking over the horizon. "Good idea," Marisa admitted as they slowly made their way out of the cemetery, followed by Chamelamon and Tsunomon...TO BE CONTINUED |
| FROM THE DEPTHS Part 10: A Wolf in Digimon's Clothing |