'i don't think this is a good idea.' wormon complained. the digimon emperor sighed.

'it's flawless. we can make a deal with him, because we both want the same thing. power, and those pests wiped out.'

the emperor and his digimon partner stood in one of many lairs the emperor had built across the digital world. this one was not his main lair, but one where he had been working on a little experiment. a strange machine made up most of the building. it had been built in a fairly isolated mountain, to stop the pests the emperor spoke of from finding it. the so-called digidestined. mere children who had thwarted his plans time and time again to his anger. but this plan would end them. the machine consisted of four metal pylons and a number of generators and monitors

'turn it on.' the emperor commanded.

'but...' wormon protested, but a crack of the emperor's whip changed his mind. the small caterpillar-like creature ran to the switch. the machine began to glow.

'it charges first, then it opens the gate.' wormon said.

'i know, fool, i built it.'

wormon did not point out the emperor had merely designed it and left wormon to build it. the pylons began to glow, and a white glowing sphere appeared between them. the sphere became a bright light, that filled the entire room. then the glow stopped. a human shape had appeared in between the pylons. the emperor looked and saw the creature that resembled a clown and smiled.

'welcome back to the digital world, piedmon. i am the digimon emperor.' ken began. the former dark master looked down at him

'you are who?'

ken ignored this.

'i have a proposition for you. i have returned you here from wherever it was the digidestined sent you, and i ask only a small matter in return. it is something we both want. revenge, and power.'

piedmon had been considering throwing his hankerchief at this human fool, but the mention of revenge intrested him. he had been in a pocket of the digital world alone for nearly four years, with no light or sound. only his mind and his thoughts to keep him at the same level of sane he had been. luckily he had been insane to start with.

'power?' piedmon asked, dreaming of the revenge part. he had dreamt of that many times in the other dimension

'yes. currently, my enemies are stopping me from taking over this whole planet. i'm willing to give you control of half, so long as in payment for it and my resurrection of you, you deal with my enemies.'

'i presume they are the digi-destined?' piedmon said. ken nodded.

'i'll accept your offer, but on one condition. i keep the change.'

'change?' ken asked.

'oh, sorry, i mean the ones i change.'

ken remembered piedmon's clown trick. a magic spell that could do practically anything. he simply tossed a handkecheif at something or someone and he could change it into anything. he preferred keychains, but he had done other things. rumour had it a whole forest of trees had been made up of his enemies.

'very well. i'd have little use for them.' ken agreed.

~~~~~

kari and mimi had planned to meet in a quiet area of the digital world where the control spires were long gone. it was not for any real reason, just that mimi had been in the digital world and kari had simply seen that she was there first. the two had met in a hut in the woods, talking idly about life and how the other digidestined groups were doing. it was gatomon who heard the noise, the cat-digimon having better hearing than the two humans or palmon.

'there's someone coming.' she said. the two humans and two digimon went to the front of the cabin and saw someone they though was dead, standing outside.

'that's impossible! what's he doing here?!' mimi squeaked.

'maybe it's not him?' palmon tried. gatomon shook her head.

'it's a real piedmon. it might not be him exactly, but there's no such thing as a good piedmon.'

'we've got to stop him.' kari said. the others agreed. they ran out to face him.

'hello ladies. i was just passing by when i thought i'd see my old friends...' piedmon smirked.

'so it is you.' gatomon hissed. the two humans readied their digivices.

'oh, evolving? let me help with that.' piedmon said, holding up a box of paper tissues. he quickly tossed two at the digimon, the paper causing the two to glow. the two humans cried out in surprise, then saw their digimon had evolved to lillymon and angewomon.

'what the?!' angewomon said, but in gatomon's voice.

'he evolved our bodies but not our minds?!' palmon said.

'what does that mean?' mimi asked, as piedmon laughed.

'simple! they're not their original forms. they can't use their own attacks, but they're still just a gatomon and a palmon. they can't even evolve any more and they can't use the attacks from the fake forms they're in. i just think they make prettier keyrings like this.'

the evil digimon then produced two of his normal handkerchiefs, throwing them. they engulfed the two surprised digimon, and they yelled out. the expanded handkercheifs shrank, and kari ran forward, pulling the two keychains out before piedmon got there. he had not made a move though, and simply took his handkercheifs back to his hands.

'oh no.' kari said. angewomon and lillymon had both been turned into solid plastic trinkets. they lacked any details, lillymons skirt having become a solid block, and both their faces simply dots for eyes and a frown expression. both had 'made in the digital world' stamped on their backsides. kari looked up at piedmon, more angry than afriad, but to her surprise, mimi ran past her and tried to punch the evil digimon. he simply grabbed her hand and threw her over his head.

'mimi!' kari yelled out. the older girl had managed to land more gracefully than piedmon had expected by righting herself and landing on her feet, but she still stumbled.

'kari, run and get some help!' mimi instructed, charging again. piedmon laughed, ignoring kari as she fled into the hut with the two keychain-digimon, desperatley trying to get in touch with someone else. piedmon let mimi try to hit him a few more times before he grew bored and simply picked her up by her throat.

'you know, i could turn you into anything. a numemon, a garbagemon... you'd like that, right?' he asked.

'i'm not afraid of you.' mimi gasped. piedmon was not choking her, but he was still giving her trouble getting air. she thrashed pointlessly, kicking his chest. he ignored the blows and held her firm.

'i think you are. do you know what you and your friends did to me by sending me through that gate of destiny? all that time, i was blind, deaf. trapped in my mind and body. i could move, but that was all. there was nowhere to move to. it could have driven me mad...' piedmon said.

'you were always mad!' mimi protested. piedmon laughed.

'true. but what doesn't kill you makes you stranger. and i don't want to kill you or your friends. why, the two keychains? last time it was like a dream to them. they weren't really aware. now, they are... but they have no eyes. no mouth. no skin to feel, no noses to smell anything. they're trapped alone in their minds. their little plastic minds. and you will be too. does that scare you?'

'n-not one bit.' mimi lied. the digimon holding her up sighed, and threw her to the ground.

'you've got braver. you hid the last time, didn't you. only you, that other girl in the hut, and that boy got away from me. but now it's time. you two first, then everyone else.'

he dropped the hankerchief on her. she yelled out as she shrank, feeling herself grow smaller and harder. everything grew dark, the sounds stopped. she couldn't feel anything any more, and she tried to move. but it was like she wasn't in her body any more. she didn't even realise it when piedmon picked her up, looking at the solid mass the skirt had become, the stick-like legs, the balls for hands on the end of her stick-arms. her dot eyes and frown face stared blankly, but oddly, some little details had stayed. the stars in her pink hair stayed. a silver chain led from a loop on her back, to a round circular keychain link. where the digimon had 'made in the digital world' stamped, she had 'made in japan'. she was now just a little trinket, the kind that came out of gumball machines and fairground games.

in the hut, kari had not managed to get anyone. she had finally got someone, but never found out who. piedmon came in and threw her into the wall. unlike mimi, she had no chance to try and right herself and was knocked out. piedmon simply looked at the digivice, saw who had replied, and grinned. they'd be here soon. perfect.

~~~~~

kari awoke a few moments later. she found her digivice in her lap, as well as a keychain. it was mimi. she screamed in suprise. piedmon then laughed.

'afriad of what you'll become? don't worry, you have three friends.' he said, dangling gatomon/angewomon and palmon/lillymon. he also held up mimi's bag, a pink rucksack. a number of other buttons and keychains were on it.

'your friend had a nice bag. but i think i'll be using you two on the key to this place, my new house. i'm getting back on the property market. your digimon friends can go on this bag. i can stuff this full of hankercheifs.'

'its just your colour.' kari retorted. piedmon smiled.

'yes, i agree.' he said, reaching down and snatching mimi away. kari tried to get her first, but she was still stunned and simply swung at nothing. piedmon linked mimi up to a simple brass key. he then placed a tissue on kari's head, causing her to squirm. he laughed.

'it's harmless! not enchanted at all!'

she stared at him.

'i scare you, right? don't lie. mimi lied and look where it got her.' he said, jangling the key and new keychain. kari reluctantly nodded.

'well, don't worry, you won't be scared of me where you're going...' he said, placing a hankercheif on her head. this did nothing as well, and neither did she. piedmon picked it back up and sighed.

'oh well. guess it only works once.' he said, and tossed it back. kari barely had a chance to scream when it turned her into a keychain as well.

she was similar to mimi as a keychain, but her digital camera stayed as a small plastic grey lump on her chest, seemingly glued to a painted on neck strap. like mimi, kari was now left only able to think, and piedmon was sure the two would be driven isane by it. he laughed again, taking the key off and looping it onto a spare keyring loop. he then connected the loop to kari's, and kari's loop to mimi's. he held the key and heard kari's mental screaming. he then held the two loops, and heard mimi. eventually, he knew the two of them might realise they could talk to whoever their loop was conencted to, but it would take a while, the two were so horrified and frightended at their predicament. he'd told mimi she'd be alone, but the lie made it more fun. she might simply think hearing others was herself going mad or something. but he had guests coming. he threw the key and the two keychains onto the table, and wondered when they would arrive...