"The chance the eighth child moved to Odaiba is high," Izzy said.
"But I really want to go home," Mimi said, face scrunched with misery.
"Alright, then let's head home first," Izzy conceded.
At the subway station, the kids stared up at the crisscrossing maze of lines, unsure which one to take.
"The fastest way to Odaiba is…" Joe muttered, eyes glued to the route map as he did the math aloud.
"There are too many ways, which makes it harder to choose," Mimi said, throwing up her hands. Izzy fiddled with his laptop, calculated the optimal route, and the kids—having no objections—followed his plan.
This time Tai stayed sharp and didn't fall asleep, and they made it smoothly to Nakano-sakaue (it seemed).
After arriving, the kids boarded a train for the next leg.
Meanwhile, in Odaiba, Myotismon had dispatched a large number of Digimon to search for the eighth child.
"What? Say that again." Myotismon glared icily at DemiDevimon.
"R-Report, Lord Myotismon. MetalGreymon appeared in Highton View Terrace. Those brats are here." DemiDevimon trembled, terrified of being the outlet for his master's rage.
"Curses." Myotismon clenched his fist, veins rising across the back of his hand. "We still haven't found the eighth child, and yet they've come. I will not let you find the child. Absolutely not. Send more troops—expand the search."
"Y-Yes—yes—yes!" DemiDevimon fled the gloomy chamber and exhaled in relief. "I got out alive." Then he hurried to dispatch even more underlings.
Back on the kids' train, they rolled out over a bridge. Tai gazed at the scenery; Agumon sat stiffly beside him, playing the part of a plush toy.
"Such a calm view, but it's far from me," Tai thought. "Until this is over, I can't relax."
Suddenly, the train braked hard. Passengers cried out.
"What happened?" Mimi jumped to her feet in a panic.
Tai stuck his head to the window and saw a Digimon on the bridge—a sea dragon with a lightning-shaped horn. It was coiling itself around the bridge, tightening the cables. As the cables snapped, the bridge began to sway. The cars on the bridge tried to speed toward either end. Collisions followed, vehicles piled up, and the roadway clogged. People began abandoning their cars and running for their lives.
"A Digimon's wrapped around the bridge! If we don't act fast, it's going to collapse!"
"Leave the water Digimon to me," Gomamon said, full of confidence as he leapt forward.
"Gomamon digivolve to… Ikkakumon!"
"Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon's salvo struck MegaSeadramon. With a pained bellow, MegaSeadramon uncoiled, releasing the cable.
"Ikkakumon, lure it away from here!" Joe shouted from the bridge.
Ikkakumon turned and swam for open water. MegaSeadramon forgot everything else—the enemy who hurt it filled its vision. Ikkakumon was fast, but MegaSeadramon was a true aquatic Digimon; its speed outstripped Ikkakumon's by a wide margin.
"Lightning Spear!" Electricity flashed from MegaSeadramon's horn and slammed into Ikkakumon. Ikkakumon cried out, listing to one side.
On the bridge, people stared at the sea battle, dumbfounded, wondering if their eyes were playing tricks. Monsters—in the real world?
"Ikkakumon!" Joe's heart clenched at the sight of his partner in pain.
"Ikkakumon digivolve to… Zudomon!"
Once evolved, Zudomon's speed was in no way inferior to MegaSeadramon's.
"Lightning Spear!" MegaSeadramon fired again. Zudomon lowered his horn into the blast—the lightning met the horn and dissipated.
"Nice!" Joe cheered his partner on.
Buoyed by the encouragement, Zudomon raised his mighty hammer and brought it down. "Vulcan's Hammer!" The blow crashed into MegaSeadramon. With a wail, it sank beneath the waves and dissolved into data.
The bridge would be closed to traffic for some time; many cables had been damaged. The kids climbed onto Zudomon's back and set out once more for Odaiba.
In Myotismon's chamber—
"What did you say? MegaSeadramon was beaten by those brats?"
"Y-Yes, Lord Myotismon."
"Accursed brats."
"Lord Myotismon, they're heading to Odaiba."
"What? They didn't remain in Highton View Terrace? Then the eighth child is in Odaiba?"
"That should be the case. We've turned Highton View Terrace upside down and found nothing."
"In that case… shift some troops to Odaiba. Find the eighth child—do not mess it up this time. Understood?"
"Yes, Lord Myotismon."
By the time the kids reached Odaiba, it was dusk. They split up and headed for their homes. Walking his usual route, Tai took in the familiar neighborhood. But he was no longer the boy he had been. Agumon, covered with a coat, walked silently at his side.
"Here, kitty." Kari set down a saucer of milk for the pet cat and watched it lap away.
"We're home." With the sound of the front door opening came a woman's voice.
"You're back?" Kari and the cat turned their heads toward the entryway.
Kari stood and walked over. "Dad, Mom—you're back." While she stepped away, the cat lost interest in the milk and was drawn instead to the Digivice glowing under the bed.
"How's Grandma? Is she okay?"
"Probably nothing serious."
Under the bed, the cat sniffed the Digivice and pawed at it.
"She just took a tumble down a slope—only a slight sprain. How's your cold?"
The cat clamped the device in its teeth and carried it to the balcony.
"My cold's already better."
"Really?" Mr. Kamiya put a hand to Kari's forehead to check her temperature.
On the balcony, the cat flicked its tail and batted the softly humming Digivice again and again.
"Looks like the fever's gone."
The cat pounced—the Digivice slipped off the edge. But halfway down, a black shadow flashed past, and the device vanished in midair.
"I'm back," Tai said, opening the apartment door.
"Tai, what's this? Weren't you off camping?" Mrs. Kamiya asked, surprised.
"It was canceled because of the snow."
"Snow? Honestly, the weather's been so strange lately."
Tai set his Digi-Goggles down and began scanning for Kari's Digivice. As the result appeared, his brow furrowed. "Weird. Nothing. There's no signal for the eighth Digivice anywhere in Odaiba. Has the plot diverged that far? But I've been trying to preserve the original line as much as possible… Wait. There it is again. On the—roof?"
"I'm going out for a minute," Tai said, opening the door and heading for the stairwell. Agumon hurried after him from the hall.
He stepped out onto the roof. Nothing. He whirled—there stood a black-robed figure. Agumon moved in front of Tai, on guard.
The figure extended a hand. In it was Kari's Digivice.
"What do you want?"
"Let's talk."
"Agumon, stay here."
"But Tai, I need to protect you."
"It's fine. Come on—over there."
Tai led the way to the far side of the roof. The black-robed figure vaulted lightly after him. Agumon followed at a distance, eyes locked on the stranger, ready to act.
Tai stopped and faced the figure.
"You're really this willing to be away from your Digimon?" the figure asked.
"I'm just confident in myself."
"You're as sure of yourself as ever."
"You didn't come to chat about that."
After a pause, the black-robed figure said, "The details of the script can change, but the main course cannot."
"And if I insist on changing it?"
"Then greater upheavals will occur—and everything will fail."
"You've prepared for so many years, and you're afraid of a small disturbance like that?"
"It's small, yes—but with you in the mix, it gets amplified. In the end, it won't be fixable."
Silence spread across the rooftop. From afar, Agumon watched them. The setting sun wrapped Tai and the black-robed figure in light, which spilled between them across the roof, casting long shadows.
"I understand. I'll follow the script."
"Once you step off this stage, you can improvise all you like."
"Got it. Still… you appearing in the human world was unexpected."
The figure smiled. "I only came to tell you this. But I can't go back. Not right now."
"Didn't expect you to be so self-sacrificing."
"For that goal, any sacrifice is worth it. And it's only going back to where I came from." The black-robed figure glanced up at the sky, as if he could pierce the barrier between the Digital World and the human world.
Agumon watched as the black-robed figure gradually turned translucent, then became motes of light that drifted toward Tai.
"We'll make it," he murmured—and vanished into the sunset as the lights flowed into Tai and disappeared.
Tai picked up Kari's Digivice and went downstairs in silence. Agumon followed, wordless.
In the Digital World, many black-robed figures lifted their heads to the sky. Then they returned to their work. To make that goal real, they would sacrifice anything. This was the belief they all shared.
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