Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon, The X-Files, or their characters.  They rightfully belong to Chris Carter and Toei.

Author's Notes: For the X-Files, I've been keeping up with the older pre-2000 episodes; I'm not into the older episodes, and I can't get a hold of the old ones (don't have special cable package or satellite!  WAH!!!)  But this time, I swear that I will put in more Mulder and Scully.  Okay, lucky seven coming up!

The Digi-Files: Egos and Icons

Sora groggily looked around the wreckage that was the restaurant.

She growled to herself and balled her hands into fists.  Clenching and unclenching them.

Only one thought was on her mind.  An unholy type of rage with the promise of revenge.

Reaching into the pink fanny pack resting on her backside, she reached inside and pulled out her digivice.

Pressing on a few buttons, the tiny screen showed two nearby blips.

Moving towards them, she found both the unconscious Joe and Matt copies near each other.

She gave both of them a quick kick to each of their sides.

"Up and at them, boys!" she partly yelled, partly snarled.

Both boys took the punishment and stood up stoically.

Matt grinned wildly.  "Thanks for the wake up call."

Joe ran a hand through his hair.  "I swear, my not so significant other would be bawling his eyes out if he were given this treatment."

"Well, better head back to Datamon," Matt said casually.  "We owe it to him to atone for our failure."

"No fear.  Not even of the horrible punishment waiting for us.  Gotta love that," chuckled Joe.

"Heh.  Love.  Gotta hate that," added Sora.

The three imposters knew what to do.  They had already received word of the others' failures.

There were three more obstacles in the Digidestined's plans to free this world of them.

And no strangers from the outside would stop them from bending this world to their will.

It was nightfall by the time they had reached the lake, and the waters reflected the stars and moon above.

Kari sighed.  "It's a beautiful night, isn't it?"

Sora looked up as she walked.  "I have to agree, it is.  Too bad it's spoiled by another mission to save the world."

"How do you guys think we feel?"

The young ones looked up at the only two adults with them.

"Oh yeah, the X-files," muttered Joe.

"They must be a cramp on your social life, huh?" asked Tai.

"Oh, hey!  We're here!" cried TK.  He ran out to where the sand met the lake's waters.

"TK!  Wait up!"  Patamon flew over his friend and stared at their reflections in the water.

Kari ran up to join her friend.  She carefully dipped the end of her shoe into the water.  "Hope we don't have to swim."

"Yeah, you know how us cats hate water!" said Gatomon.

"I think we have a pretty good idea on how to cross," said Biyomon.

The others looked at her intently.

Biyomon pointed a wing further along the shore.

A faint silhouette was made out in the moonlight.

"Then let's check it out!" Tai shouted.  He started running.  After a few paces, he stopped and gestured the others to follow after him.

In their excitement, the children ran up to it to investigate.

"You kids be careful!" cried Mulder.

"You don't want the same thing to happen last time!" added Scully.

Both of them sighed.

"Ah... let's just go after them."

"Trying to recapture the good old days of your youth?"

"Nope, just getting my ya-ya's out."

Scully frowned at him and then they both chased after the children.

The two agents found the children looking the thing over.

It turned out that it was a boat.  A large row boat with a swan's head on the front, and two wings and a tail framing the back.  Two large paddles stuck out from the sides.

"Wow!  This is bigger and better than that paddle boat!" cried Joe.

"Neat!" Mimi squealed with delight.  She clasped her hands together and looked dreamily into the night sky.  "This is just like those romantic gondolas that you find on the tunnel of love.  Boy, I wonder if my dream guy is with me."

The boys, all of them, save for TK, blushed and turned away.

Sora joined her friend in the fantasy.  She grabbed Mimi's hands and held them as they looked face to face.  "I know what you mean.  Just out there, in the middle of the lake.  With the moon and the stars out in the sky.  Then, he'll kiss you!"

The two girls sighed.  They turned their heads to see Tai, Matt, Joe, and Izzy blushing profusely and looking quite interested in their shoes.  Mimi and Sora faced each other again and giggled.

TK and Kari looked at each other, back to the older kids, back at each other, and shrugged.

"I'll never understand what they're talking about," muttered TK.

"Join the club."

Tai shook his head from the embarrassment and hopped inside the small vessel.  He took a dramatic pose, finger pointed ahead of him.

"Enough of the mushy stuff!  We've gotta save the world and the Digiworld!"  Pause.  "Again!"

The kids laughed and clambered over each other to get inside.

The boat unsteadily rocked back and forth.

Finally, Mulder and Scully gingerly climbed inside.

"Think this is big enough to hold us?" asked Scully.

"Well, it's fit all of us perfectly so far, and it hasn't sunk yet," quipped Izzy.

"You're making us proud son," joked Mulder.

Joe and Matt stood up and each took a paddle.

"On three?" asked Matt.

"Three!" replied Joe.

Both boys, the oldest in the group, started to row.  Both of them dipping the paddles into the water and stroking with all their might.

"Oh solo mio!" Joe sang quite out of tune.  He then started to improvise the other words to the Italian sonata.  "Something, something, it's a beautiful night!"

"No, no.  Let's stick with something more familiar," suggested Matt.  "When the moon hits your eye, like a big pizza pie-"

"We didn't get anything to eat back at the restaurant!" complained Agumon.

The digimon joined in and started to grumble about their unsatisfied appetites.

Mulder looked at the group with interest.  He had pretty much figured out who was who by now.

Tai was the leader.  Albeit, he was reckless, but he had spunk.

Sora, their nest mother, or the big sister that everyone could come to for comfort.

Matt was the black sheep of the group.  He kept to himself most of the time, but he was still a part of the team.

Mimi was the morale booster.  She kept everyone happy.  Who couldn't be sad with that kind of attitude around them?

Izzy, well, every group needs the smart kid.

Joe, the resident pessimist/realist/boy scout.  Always prepared with his first aid kit and bag of stuff, and was always worrying about everyone's well being, even if he did tend to think of the worst of situations.

As for TK and Kari.  The group probably needed to be reminded of the innocence of their youth and not grow up too fast while they were on their mission.

Mulder slightly jumped as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Mulder.  Are you alright?  You were looking like you were out of it," Scully said.

"I was."

"Thinking of home?"

"No.  Just these kids."

"Worried about them?"

"Yes.  I still think that they're too young to be going through this kind of thing."

"Well, I think that too.  But maybe they're just the right kind of people to do this."

"What do you mean?"

She sighed.  "Maybe it's my turn to analyze.  Most people in their positions would be babbling that this is some hallucination or a strange dream.  While they're too busy trying to make sure that they're still sane, the evil forces might just come and take over."

"Thanks for helping me understand, Scully."

He reached up and laid his hand over hers.

All of the inhabitants of the boat sat in silence as they reached the shore.

TK raised his head from Mimi's shoulder.  He had fallen asleep!

But as his adjusted into focus, he thought he saw lights coming from the other shore.

"I see lights!" he cried out.

The others, shaken out of their reveries, perked up and looked ahead.

"You're right TK!" said Matt.  "Maybe we'll find some place to sleep tonight."

"I doubt it.  What with all those lights and everything," said Joe.

"I would prefer a night light, but not that bright," quipped Kari.

Joe and Matt picked up the rowing pace and made their way to the docks.  They made their way gently to the long, wooden platform.

As soon as they were safely parked, everyone hopped off and made their way towards the lights.

They followed their sight until they saw the sources of the little pinpoints.

It was a carnival!  Complete with giant Ferris wheel, roller coaster, merry-go-round, game stands, and other assorted entertainment.

The children looked up in awe.  Finally, something fun to do, other than run for their lives.

"A carnival!  Yay!" squealed TK and Kari.

"Something doesn't feel right about this," said Scully.

Tai turned his head towards the female agent.  "This is the Digiworld, Ms. Scully.  You need to expect the unexpected, and if something feels wrong, it's probably nothing."

"Tai, when have you ever been right on a bad feeling?" asked Matt.

Tai scratched his head in thought.  "Oh.  Well then, everyone stay on your guard.  If we get separated, we'll meet at the Ferris wheel."

The children nodded and split up.

Only Mulder and Scully were the only ones left on the docks.

Mulder looked over at his partner.

"A carnival.  Think this is a good place to have our first date?"

Scully glared at him.  "What makes you think that this is a date?"

Mulder shrugged.  "We already went to a restaurant, so our next option is either a movie or the county fair."

There was a silence between the two.

"Just don't try to win me any oversized stuffed toys at the ring toss."

"Can I try to win one for you at the milk cans?"

"Shut up," said Scully, and she made her way to the fairground.

Mulder smiled as he watched her move ahead of him.  He finally wiped the grin off his face and ran after her.

"Hey!  Wait up!"

TK and Kari ran around the brightly lit walkways and were awed by the sights and sounds.

Cheery and festive music was filtered from speakers set up along the lamp posts.

"Bumper cars!" cried Kari.

"No way!  You should try the roller coaster," suggested Gatomon.

Patamon sighed.  "I have some pretty fond memories of the roller coaster."

TK's face brightened up.  "Oh yeah!  That was where you digivolved from Tokomon and whooped Demidevimon's feathered butt!"

Gatomon chuckled.  "That stupid bowling ball bat got what was coming to him."

"So what do we do now?" asked Kari.  "Bumper cars or roller coaster?"

"Aw... C'mon Kari.  Why don't we take some time to look around?  Maybe I can win you a prize," said TK.

"A prize?  Okay!"

Suddenly, the music was cut off, and the screech of feedback rang through the speakers.

"Attention!  Attention!" cried a strange and raspy voice.  "It seems that we have some welcome celebrities!  May the Digidestined and their guests please report to the roller coaster for a special celebration in your honour?" 

"Wow!  A celebration!  For us!" cried Patamon.

"I don't know," said Gatomon.  "Something about this smells fishy.  Or it could be because we're close to the lake."

"Well, whatever it is, I wanna find out!" exclaimed TK.

And the little boy grabbed his companion by the hand and dragged her along with him as he ran to the meeting place.

Tai, Sora, and Matt were busy strolling along the avenue in which all the rides were lined up along, trying whatever ride had caught their fancy.

The announcement was made just as they got off from the Ferris wheel.

"Wow!  A celebration just for us and the agents," said Sora.

"I don't know.  It could be a trap," said Matt.

Tai waved off the blonde boy's concern.  "Phfft.  I betcha that it's nothing at all!  And besides, as long as we're all together, nothing bad can happen."

Sora tapped Tai's shoulder.  "Uh... Tai, where are the digimon?"

"Aw shoot!  They're still at the top of the Ferris wheel!"

The three of them turned on their heels and made their way back to fetch their friends.

Mimi was walking in between Izzy and Joe, each of her arms intertwined with each of the boys.

Tentomon, Palmon, and Gomamon (in respective order) followed behind.

"Wow!  Thanks for getting me the cotton candy!  And the lollipops, and the fries, and the chilidog!" thanked Mimi.

"You're welcome," Joe and Izzy said blandly.

"Oh, but it has been a wonderful night so far," said Palmon.

"And it was kinda funny when we ran into the agents," added Gomamon.

"I tell you!  Those milk cans are rigged!" cried Tentomon.

"You could have told me sooner!" Izzy yelled back at his digimon.

"Yeah!  You could have saved us a lot of grief back there!" added Joe.

"Aw... I'm still flattered that you two tried to win me that pink poodle," said Mimi.  She each gave them a peck on the cheek.

Both boys started to blush profusely.

"Thanks Mimi," they muttered sheepishly.

The carnival music was cut off with a screech and an announcement came on.

"Attention!  Attention!  It seems that we have some welcome celebrities!  May the Digidestined and their guests please report to the roller coaster for a special celebration in your honour?"

The three children stopped in their tracks.

"Prodigious!  A celebration!"

"Wowee!  I hope we get presents and cake!"

"Don't you think this is a little suspicious?"

Gomamon, Palmon, and Tentomon finally caught up with their counterparts.

"Geez Joe, lighten up!" chirped Gomamon.

Palmon nodded her head.  "Yeah!  Take some time and smell the roses!"

Tentomon buzzed over their heads.  "Or in other words, let's get down to some serious partying!"

Joe sighed in defeat.  "All right.  Let's go."

Mimi jumped up in down in joy.  "Yay!  To the roller coaster!"

Mulder and Scully had just heard the announcement and were one their way to see what was going on.

They saw the large structure up ahead, with a wooden platform at it's base was brightly lit and surrounded by many strange digimon.  On the makeshift stage were two large thrones, except that they faced away from the audience.

Both of them found their place at the fringe of the crowd of monsters.

The digimon that were around them were green and purple gooey creatures with two bulbous eyes sticking out of their bodies.

The agents watched as the children met together and clambered on top of the platform, away from the thrones.

Another gooey creature with a top hat perched atop its head crawled over to the children.

"Fellow Numemon!" it cried out.  "Our Queen Kari has returned to us!"

The other Numemon cheered.

"And she has her king!  King TK!"

The 'mons continued to cheer while Kari and TK blushed.

"Now, if they shall approach the thrones to take their rightful places and be crowned..."

TK and Kari (along with Patamon and Gatomon) walked along the large platform.  As soon as they reached the thrones, the large seats spun around to face them.

Except that they weren't empty.

Of course, the dark versions of TK and Kari sat in their places, with their dark digimon nestled on their heads.

"Oh great!  Another royal mix up!" quipped Tai.

"Now is not the time to make wise-cracks!" rebuked Joe.

"This was a trap!" cried Mimi.

"No duh!" said Izzy.

The agents looked at each other.

"Time to put these things to use," muttered Scully as she unholstered her gun.

Mulder followed suit and soon both of them held their weapons out.  Both of them fired a shot at the dark children, but their shots were blocked by a Boom Bubble from the dark Patamon.

Clone Kari tilted her head in their direction and looked at them innocently, despite her blank eyes.  "Now, now.  You shouldn't play with those things around children!"

Nega-TK reached for a button on the armrest of his throne.  "Let's play a game!  Catch us if you can."  He curled his hand into a tiny fist and pounded on the button.

The rest of the stage disappeared from underneath all of them, and the original Digidestined fell through, screaming, while "TK" and "Kari" giggled deviously.

"Down the rabbit hole, Alice?" asked Mulder sarcastically.

Scully merely glared at him.

Knowing the drill by now, both agents ran through the crowd of slimy green digimon and jumped into the gaping maw that was once the stage.

To be continued...

Additional Author's Notes: The end will result in a final showdown, along with new Digimon!