205Welcome one, welcome all! The long-anticipated sequel to Destined Jedi is finally here! Welcome...to Attack of the Emperor. I'm going to say right off the bat that this will be the "Empire Strikes Back" of the Destined Jedi series. It's going to be dark in many places with quite a few changes from what 02 gave us. I'm sure you guys are going to be bowled over by what I've worked out and planned over these last few months.
I'm now moving into my apartment to begin the next chapter of my life. Writing is still on the high end of my list of priorities, so I will make sure to balance everything out for you guys so you can enjoy this story when you expect to. I'll once again be updating every Saturday, so you can expect updates every time on that. Got back from Japan recently, and I went to Odaiba! That will come in handy when describing places in Odaiba for you guys going down the road.
Enough of my introduction, let's get this show on the road! Cue the opening theme!
(Star Wars opening theme)
Digimon Adventure
Episode II
Attack of the Emperor
Darkness has returned to the Digital World. After the Destined Jedi saved it three years ago, order quickly fell apart. With no one to maintain the balance in the Force, civil war broke out.
The struggle resulted in two sides battling into a stalemate. After two and a half years of war, no progress was made on either side. It looked like they would be at war forever.
From this deadlock, a new force would rise: a Destined Jedi who calls himself the Digimon Emperor. The Emperor seized control with hardly any resistance and now rules the Digital World with an iron fist…
Darkness blanketed the world in black as far as the eye could see. It was the middle of the day, but the way the tightly packed clouds hovered made it seem night had come early. Like the black shadow of Mordor, it blocked out any sunlight from getting through to the land below.
From his perch atop the jagged Akagi mountain range, a boy smiled wickedly. His wild navy blue hair blew all directions in the wind, and his dark violet eyes glimmered darkly behind tinted sunglasses. He was no more than eleven, but had single-handedly become the ruler of the entire Digital World. His human identity did not matter, for he went by a different name in this world: The Digimon Emperor.
A dark navy cape outlined in yellow flowed from his thin shoulders over his equally navy and white jumpsuit. A whip and lightsaber hung on the belt around his waist and black gauntlets adorned his hands. The sight of him was frightening to any Digimon that was unfortunate to cross his path.
The Emperor stretched out his hand and watched below him as several floating collars shot through the forest. Several creatures ran, desperate to escape the flying objects before they could be captured by one of them. Some were fortunate to escape. Others, not so much.
A collar latched itself onto a canine-like creature known as a Gazimon. The mammal Digimon shrieked in surprise as the device attached itself to its neck, but quickly fell silent. It stood up from the ground mindlessly, its eyes glowing blood red.
A Digimon completely made of rock named Gotsumon, and a unicorn-like Digimon named Unimon also fell under the control of these collars. They all stared blankly as more collars flew deeper into the forest, looking for more Digimon to enslave.
The Emperor's smirk grew wider. "Yes, run, run, run as fast as you can. You can't escape me. I'm the Digimon Emperor!" he snickered. "You insects will all fall under the control of my Dark Rings and like it."
The Emperor was so absorbed in watching as his Dark Rings enslaved even more Digimon, he didn't notice that a motley crew of Digimon were watching from the ridge above him.
A small Tyrannosaurus Rex Digimon peeked out from behind the entrance to a large cave to get a look at the boy below him. The Emperor's maniacal laugh sent shivers down his spine when it echoed across the mountainside. The dinosaur was orange in color with striking green eyes and was known throughout the land as the Digimon of Courage.
"What's he doing now, Agumon?" a seal-like Digimon named Gomamon asked in a hushed voice.
The dinosaur didn't glance at him. "He's using his Dark Rings to enslave more Digimon again," it replied.
The other Digimon gasped in a low tone.
"This is horrible!" a maroon-colored ladybug Digimon named Tentomon exclaimed. "He does this every single time after he has had his fun with whatever Digimon he catches."
"How long are we going to let this go on?" a wolf Digimon named Gabumon said. "We have to do something."
"If we do something, then he'll catch us with those rings," said Gatomon, a white cat with yellow green gloves on her paws and purple on the tips of her ears and tail. "We're helpless to do anything about it."
"There has to be a way," said Biyomon, a pink bird with blue tipped on the feathers on her head. The thought crossed her mind. "Why don't we call the Destined Jedi to come and help us?"
The group of Digimon fell silent in nostalgia. It had been three years since they had last seen the group of children that were brought to save the Digital World. The Digimon served as their guides and would give wisdom in times of trouble for them. Unfortunately, the children lost their connection to the Force, and the creatures were unable to reach out to them.
"I wish we could, Biyomon," said Agumon. "But we can't contact them, remember?"
The smallest of the group, a guinea pig with bat wings for ears named Patamon, finally stepped forward to speak. "It's worth a try. Since we can't do this ourselves, why don't we ask them for help?" it said. "I would love to see TK again."
"And Mimi too!" said Palmon, a plant-like Digimon that served as the Digimon of Sincerity. "I miss her so much."
Everyone looked at Agumon for what his answer would be. The dinosaur looked down to the still-cackling Emperor below and back again to his friends. It may have seemed impossible, but there was no other alternative in the face of the dire circumstances before them.
"Okay, we'll try it," he said. "We must move quickly though. Find a way to reach out to the Destined Jedi. We'll need their help once more."
Before any of the Digimon could move a muscle, another presence made itself known to them in the form of a subtle light from the crystals inside the cave. Once it faded, an old man stood before them outlined in blue. The creatures gasped in awe.
"I appreciate your enthusiasm," said the man. "But the Destined Jedi as you know them cannot help you."
The group of Digimon's once-hopeful faces fell crestfallen.
"What do you mean, Gennai?" Gabumon asked fearfully. "Are you saying that there's nothing we can do?"
Gennai chuckled. "No, not at all. I have been in contact with Homeostasis, and it has agreed to reform the Destined Jedi." After a brief pause, he added, "But with new Jedi."
"New Jedi?" the Digimon hoarsely shouted, not wanting the Emperor to hear them.
"Yes. And we already have the perfect candidates in mind. Don't worry, you'll still see the familiar faces. Now, go swiftly, my friends. May the Force be with you."
Two lightsabers clashed before locking together. The two wielders used all their strength to push against each other in hopes of gaining an advantage. The bright blue color of the blades illuminated their faces, which were inches from each other.
Tai Kamiya squinted his eyes to keep the sparks from the blades out of them. He was now a young man of thirteen, and had grown taller over the three years since he and his friends went on the adventure of a lifetime in the summer of 1999. He would turn fourteen on May 19th. His face had lost some of the baby fat it once had, reflecting his transition into young adulthood. But some things never changed: he was still the loyal, responsible, and hardheaded former leader of the Destined Jedi. His large mop of brown hair was still as messy and bushy as ever, and his warm brown eyes glowed with life. Resting atop his forehead were his iconic aviation goggles.
Tai gritted his teeth as he and his opponent had now reached a stalemate. He had to do something to regain the advantage.
His opponent, however, was one step ahead of him as she mustered the strength to force their sabers to the side. With this advantage, the girl backhanded him across the jaw with a closed fist. Tai reeled back a few feet on the balcony with his hand against his jaw.
The two traded several more strikes, with neither one gaining an edge on the other. Tai thanked his lucky stars that he had kept up with his saber techniques over the years, otherwise he would be getting hammered right now.
He went for a swift strike that would knock his opponent's saber out of their hand, but she had telegraphed it and ducked to avoid it. The girl tied his saber-wielding hand up with hers before pumping her elbow back into his ribs as hard as she could.
Tai groaned in pain and stumbled back. He clutched his side as he could hardly breathe and fell to the ground.
"Okay, that's enough," he gasped as he deactivated his lightsaber. "Good one, Kari. Let's stop here."
"Aw, no fair!" his younger sister cried in protest. "I take one little advantage in the battle and you want to give up?"
"Your elbow packs quite the punch. You sure you haven't been doing anything to help that?"
After several sharp breaths, despite the pain in his ribs, Tai finally got his breath back and gazed up at Kari. She had certainly sprouted up from that little girl he always saw in his mind's eye.
Kari was eleven now and would be starting fifth grade today while he was starting eighth grade. She looked more and more like her mother every day and was almost as tall as Tai at the rate she was growing. Her hair was still short, but framed her face now with a red beret on the left side. Her reddish-brown eyes still showed an innocent spark that had not left yet. Tai hoped it would never leave.
She wore a pink and white sleeveless top with long pink gloves that went to the middle of her arms and khaki shorts with a black belt looped around it. Kari hooked her lightsaber to it before helping her brother up. She also had a small Nikon camera hanging around her neck.
The two siblings heard the sliding door open next to them and looked over to see their mother peeking her head out.
"Hurry up and get ready to go, kids," said Mrs. Kamiya. "You both don't want to be late on your first day of school."
"Okay, Mom," Tai and Kari replied as they walked back inside.
Tai went to his room to put on his school uniform. It consisted of a dark green jacket like the one that was given to the winner of the Masters golf tournament, a white dress shirt, and green pants. Tai didn't like green, but it was something he had to live with. It was only for two more years, including this one, but hopefully the high school uniforms were a better color than these.
After putting on his uniform, he hooked his lightsaber onto his belt and pocketed a device that from first glance looked like a Game Boy Advance. The screen had a cover that would flip up to reveal it when the user needed it. The device was called a D-Terminal, and was invented by Tai's fellow Jedi, Izzy Izumi for all the Destined Jedi to stay in contact with each other.
Tai walked into the family room for breakfast: rice, salmon sashimi, and miso soup along with some orange juice. He and Kari finished breakfast quickly before heading to the genkan to put their shoes on and go out.
"Bye, Mom!" they cried as they left the apartment.
Just down the road from the Kamiya apartment, Takeru Takaishi, known to his friends and family as TK, was finishing up his breakfast: a bowl of miso soup and rice. Nothing too special.
TK had grown tall over these last three years, sprouting like a weed until he was as tall as his mother. His blonde hair, which he shared with his brother Matt and his mother, had grown shaggier underneath his bucket hat. His bright blue eyes were full of life and wisdom from what he experienced three years ago in the Digital World as a small eight-year-old boy.
TK finished his breakfast and carried his dishes to the kitchen. He washed them out and put them in the dishwasher. Today was his first day of school and he had to get going.
He and his mother, Nancy, had just moved in to their new apartment in Odaiba yesterday. Ever since she and TK's father got divorced eight years ago, they had been living in Sangenjaya, two train stops down from Shibuya. His mother's job as a reporter had gotten her transferred to Odaiba. TK couldn't believe his luck: he finally got to be closer to Matt and all the other Destined Jedi. He had told Matt and his father about the transfer, but he said not to tell any of the other Jedi because he wanted it to be a surprise.
"See you later, Mom!" he cried. "I'm going!"
"Have a good day, sweetheart," Nancy called back from her office. "Sorry I can't take you to school on your first day, but I have to get this article done. The editor will have my head if I don't get it done in time."
TK shrugged. He totally understood why she couldn't do it. It wasn't like he was going to beg her to anyway. If his adventures in the Digital World proved anything, it was that he could take care of himself just fine. He killed two of the Destined Jedi's toughest opponents and outsmarted another one.
"That's okay," he said, walking into the office. He planted a kiss on her cheek, which she returned.
"Love you."
"Love you too."
TK slipped his shoes on in the genkan and grabbed his backpack before heading out the door. The crisp cool air of an early April morning tickled his face as he walked outside. It was a slightly overcast day, but TK wasn't complaining. He was in much too happy a mood to care about it.
He reached the elevator and pressed 'down'. He didn't have to wait long for the elevator to reach his floor because it was only a second later that the doors opened. Inside were two children: a girl who looked older than him, twelve most likely, and a boy who was obviously younger.
"Hi there," TK greeted them with a smile as he stepped inside. "How are you?"
"Fine thanks," said the girl. Her violet hair fell past her shoulders and was covered slightly by a blue bandana. She wore big round glasses over her brown eyes, a pink shirt over a long-sleeved red shirt, and purple shorts with a pair of orange shoes. "How are you?"
"Great," replied TK. "I'm TK. My mom and I just moved in to the building. I'll be starting fifth grade today."
The girl shook his hand. "Hi, TK. I'm Yolei Inoue," she introduced herself. "I live a couple floors above you and I'm starting sixth grade today. Want to walk to school with us?"
"Sure."
Once she got a good look at him, Yolei licked her front teeth like a cheetah sizing up its prey. "I must say, you're kinda cute, TK."
TK scratched the back of his neck, letting out a nervous chuckle.
The smaller boy beside Yolei cleared his throat to make it known that he was still there and hadn't been introduced. The girl took the hint.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said, gesturing to the boy. "This is Cody. He lives a couple apartments down from me."
"It's a pleasure to meet you, TK," the nine-year-old boy bowed respectfully at TK. "Let me be the first to formally say welcome to the building."
"Thank you," the blonde boy nodded his head in return. "Pleasure to meet you too, Cody."
TK had to restrain himself from laughing at how much the boy looked like Koenma from Yu Yu Hakusho with how his face was shaped and the bowl cut his brown hair was styled. The only difference was Cody's eyes were green and displayed maturity beyond his years. His style of clothing was also very simple: a long sleeved purple shirt, grey pants, and brown shoes.
The elevator reached the bottom floor quickly and the three children wandered out into the cool, overcast morning to walk to school. Conversation was kept to a minimum as TK walked behind Yolei and Cody. He preferred to silently observe people he just met in order to gain an impression of them.
"Will you come and fix my computer after school, Yolei?" asked Cody.
"Sure," Yolei nodded. "But only if your mom makes some ohagi for me."
"I'll text her in a bit and tell her to get some ready."
"You've got it. Perfecto!"
It took twelve minutes for them to reach the Odaiba School grounds. The complex consisted of both an elementary school and middle school due to the limited space on the man-made island. TK had heard from Matt that he and the other older Destined Jedi, except for Joe Kido, would be attending the middle school.
His eyes spotted a flash of reflecting light near the soccer field. A group of eight boys were playing a pick-up game of soccer. One of them caught TK's eye. For a minute, he thought he was looking at Tai from three years ago until his vision cleared. He was actually looking at a boy around the same age as him with goggles on top of his head, but that was where all similarities to Tai ended. The boy had dark burgundy hair, wild brown eyes, dark tan skin, and was a tad shorter than TK. His clothing consisted of a long-sleeved navy blue shirt with a large white stripe across the middle that had 'St. Louis Blues' imprinted on it. Over the shirt was a light blue over-shirt, and he also wore brown khaki shorts.
"Here ya go, Davis!" cried one of the players as the ball came sailing towards the boy. It was over his head, but he knocked it away before it could hit anything. The ball flew towards TK, who caught it without blinking.
"Thanks," said the boy as he came over to TK. "Great catch, kid. You really did us a favor by doing that."
"It's no trouble," TK smiled before finally getting a good look at him. The two stared at each other for what felt like an eternity, which was starting to creep Davis out. Before anything else could happen, TK threw the ball into his chest. Davis nearly dropped it in surprise.
"You look familiar," TK said. "Must be the goggles I guess. See ya."
Davis continued staring at the boy as he walked away. Had he met this kid somewhere before? He didn't have a good memory to begin with, so he wouldn't have remembered even if he did.
"Hey, Davis! You're holding up the game, pal!" one of his friends shouted.
"Sorry!" Davis returned before kicking the ball back in play so they could resume their game.
The warning bell sounded throughout the school grounds around eight o'clock. Students halted what they were doing and walked to their classes. Davis was one of them, but he couldn't stop thinking about that encounter he had with the blonde-haired boy earlier.
He walked into Class 5-A, and was greeted by the most wonderful sight. A bright smile inched up his face as he saw Kari Kamiya setting her things down at her desk. He quickly took the desk beside her before anyone else could. To say that he had a bit of a crush on Kari was the understatement of the still-new millennium. The two of them had known each other since third grade when they were in the same class together. Kari's brother Tai was also in the same soccer club as him. He thought Tai was the coolest person to ever walk the earth, and quickly grew attached to him.
"What luck," he said. "You and I are in the same class again, Kari."
Kari turned and gave him a friendly smile, with a bit of teasing underlying it. "I wouldn't call it luck," she said. "I believe that things happen for a reason. It's nice to see you again, Davis."
"Yeah, same here. Hey, this new kid said that I reminded him of somebody."
"Oh, really?" she asked. "What did he look like?"
"Blonde, kinda tall, wears a bucket hat," Davis replied.
The 'blonde' part caught Kari's attention. The only people with blonde hair that she knew were Matt and…Her eyes widened in shock. It couldn't be. Her heart pounded with excitement.
The door to the classroom slid open and their teacher walked in, a man in his mid-forties with dark hair that looked navy blue and was starting to thin out. His face was beginning to show signs of wrinkles.
"Good morning, students," he said. "I'm Mr. Hamasaki and I will be your homeroom teacher this year. What better way to start the new school year than the chance to meet a new friend?" He turned to the door. "You may come in now."
The door slid open. Kari and Davis gasped loudly as TK walked inside and stood at the board. The teacher wrote the kanji symbols of his name onto it.
"That's him," Davis whispered.
"This is Takeru Takaishi, and he is transferring from Sangenjaya," said Mr. Hamasaki. "I would encourage you all to help him feel welcomed at our school."
"Please, call me TK," said TK as he bowed before the class. "It's a pleasure to meet you all. I hope we can be friends."
"Well, we're happy to have you, TK," Mr. Hamasaki smiled. "Please take the open desk next to Ms. Kamiya."
Davis watched as TK settled in beside Kari. He gasped in shock as they started chatting it up like old friends.
"Together again," TK smiled. "Just like old times, eh Kari?"
"You bet," Kari smiled back at him, which earned Davis' ire. "It's nice to see you again, TK."
Davis' hand clenched into a fist of pure anger. How did this kid know Kari so well? He thought he was the only one who knew Kari for a long time. What was going on here? He was so distracted that he didn't hear TK say something that Kari giggled at.
This was not going to go unpunished if he had anything to say about it.
Tai splashed some water on his face while washing his hands after using the bathroom. His first day of classes was over and he was ready to go home for the day. He had gotten the chance to see several of his friends like Matt, Sora, Izzy, and even Mimi. Sora was in his class with him, while Matt was in another. Izzy and Mimi were in seventh grade. It felt great to have the whole gang around once again.
A call of his name stopped him as went to dry his hands. Tai looked around the lavatory to see who had called to him.
"Hello?" he called. "Who's there?"
"Right here, Tai," said the voice, which sounded awfully familiar.
"Agumon?" Tai's eyes widened when he recognized the voice. "Where are you? How did you get here?"
"Right in front of you."
Tai looked at the mirror in front of him and nearly screamed when he saw Agumon's face appear where his would normally be. The boy fell to the ground from the shock and backed up into a cubicle.
"Surprise," the dinosaur chuckled. "Did I scare you?"
"Yes, you did," Tai replied, his face pale from shock. He grabbed the cubicle door to help him stand up. "What are you doing here? I thought you and the other guardians couldn't contact us anymore since our connection to the Force was severed."
"We can't," said Agumon. "But I had to find a way to reach you somehow. Things are bad here in the Digital World. We need you right now."
Tai's eyes widened. "But how can I get there? I can't use the Force anymore. I'm sorry, but I can't help you."
That didn't stop Agumon though. "Like this," he said as he reached out through the bathroom mirror and pulled Tai into it. Rather than hitting his face like he expected, Tai passed through it like he was Alice.
He now found himself in the middle of a forest quite similar to the one he and his friends had first appeared in when they first were summoned to the Digital World. The trees glowed with lush green and the foliage grew thick, but the sky was black as night.
Tai looked down and saw he was wearing his old orange yukata. The symbol of Courage was woven into the fabric and a bright blue obi was tied around his waist. Underneath his yukata, he wore a white tunic. Wooden sandals adorned his feet.
"I can't believe this thing still fits me," he remarked, feeling up and down the sleeves and seams. The yukata fit like a glove.
"Glad to be back?" Agumon asked as he appeared next to Tai.
The boy gazed in awe at the world around him. "I never thought I would be back here again," he said. Then he snapped out of his stupor. "Now, what's the problem? Things look fine to me."
"Follow me," Agumon ordered before he took off running, with Tai following right behind him.
Suddenly, two collars came flying towards the dinosaur. He cowered in fear as they came closer, but Tai activated his lightsaber and slashed them to pieces.
"What were those things?" he asked.
"I'll explain later," said Agumon. "Right now, we need to get into this cave here. Come on."
The two resumed running, this time much faster for fear that they would run into yet another of those collars. After a few more yards, they finally reached a cave that went deep into the nearby cliff. The front of the cave was dark, but light emerged as the two ventured further along.
"Okay, will you tell me now what is happening, Agumon?"
"I'll try the best I can," said the dinosaur. "It was not long after you guys left. Everything devolved into chaos and for two and a half years, the entire Digital World was at war with each other."
Tai was shocked to hear this. Why was it that whenever they left the Digital World, everything goes wrong? When they went back to their world to stop a Digimon named Myotismon from destroying the eighth Destined Jedi, who turned out to be Kari, a group of Digimon called the Dark Masters took over the Digital World in their absence.
"Did the Dark Masters come back somehow?" he asked, worried that he may have to face them again. The Jedi destroyed them once, but it took everything they had to do it.
Agumon shook his head. "No. Thankfully. Something much worse than that: this human that calls himself the Digimon Emperor."
"Digimon Emperor?"
"Yes. He came in like an evil flood three months ago and took power from the warring factions. The entire Digital World has been under his thumb ever since. He uses those collars that we saw to control Digimon and use them for whatever purpose he desires."
Tai was horrified. Was there another Destined Jedi that he and the others didn't know about? If so, how could Gennai have not told them about it? Maybe they could have stopped this before it began. Tai's head was swirling with confusion.
"How do we stop this guy?" he asked.
"That's for you to figure out," said Agumon. "My task was just to bring you to the Digital World and I've done it. I'll be around if you need me. May the Force be with you, Tai."
"Agumon –" Tai began to say, but the dinosaur vanished before he could press any further. He groaned in aggravation. It was just like them to explain what had happened and then take off. Now what was he supposed to do?
The first thing he thought of was to call in some backup. Tai quickly pulled out his D-Terminal and typed a message. Once it was finished, he sent it off to Izzy.
TK walked into the front hall of the school to go to his locker. He was about to take off his school slippers and put his regular shoes on when Kari came in beside him.
"Why didn't you tell us that you were moving here?" she asked.
"I wanted it to be a surprise," TK explained. "Had to buy Matt's silence in order to get him to stay quiet about it." He eyed the girl up and down. "You've grown up, Kari."
"So have you. But you'll always be that little boy I knew during our adventures to me," Kari laughed. "So how's your mom liking the new place?"
"She's been so busy that she hasn't had a chance to see it."
The two were interrupted when Davis came storming in with his eyes ablaze. He glared directly at the blonde-haired boy with the bucket hat on his head with the intent to kill.
"Hey, buddy!" he hissed through gritted teeth. "You've got some explaining to do!"
Kari glared right back at Davis. "His name's not 'buddy', Davis. It's TK."
"Whatever!" the boy raged. "How do you know Kari, kid?"
TK was surprised at the boy's attitude. Suddenly, it clicked, and he let out a laugh. "I see what's going on here. You're jealous of me. You're too funny, Davis. A real laugh."
Davis' fists shook as he prepared to charge right at the boy and show him who the joke was. Before he could do that though, a girl with lavender hair came barging in with a piece of paper in her hand.
"Excuse me," she said to Kari. "But are you Kari Kamiya by any chance?"
Kari nodded. "That's right. Who are you?"
"Hey, Yolei," greeted TK. "What's going on?"
Yolei ignored the greeting and instead showed the piece of paper she had been holding to Kari.
"You got a message from a Tai Kamiya," she explained. "Are you related to him somehow?"
Kari nodded. "Yes, he's my brother," she said as she read the message.
Come to the Digital World right away. The Digimon need our help.
Her face paled considerably after she read it. Something was definitely amiss, and she needed to find a way to help. But how did Tai get into the Digital World in the first place? Ever since they gave up their connection to the Force, the group had not been able to go back. But that wasn't important right now. What mattered was finding a way to go there and help Tai.
"Come on!" she said, pulling TK along as they ran back inside the school. Davis and Yolei gave chase in order to find out more about what they were talking about.
As they turned down a hallway, TK and Kari were happy to see a familiar face running towards them. Izzy Izumi, now a handsome boy of thirteen, halted in his tracks as he finished climbing up the stairs. His once spiky red hair had been cut down to a clean mop of hair, and he wore the middle school uniform with a blue tie.
"TK! Kari!" the former Jedi of Knowledge greeted with a friendly smile.
"Izzy! Good to see you!" TK returned the greeting. "Did you get that message too?"
Izzy nodded. "Yes I did. I think I may have found a way that we can reach the Digital World. Follow me."
The rest of the group followed, though Yolei and Davis were demanding explanations for what was going on. The three former Destined Jedi did not heed their requests as they continued running until they reached a computer lab.
Izzy rushed to a computer in the middle of the room and began typing away. Someone must have already been on the computer because he didn't need to get it started.
"I was going to send a reply to Tai when the battery on my D-Terminal went out. I should have recharged it last night, but I was so tired from doing work that I went straight to sleep," he said as he finished the message and clicked the mouse. "And sent."
Yolei couldn't stand being ignored any longer.
"CAN SOMEONE PLEASE EXPLAIN WHAT IS GOING ON?!" she yelled.
The room was deathly silent for a minute. Yolei was normally sweet, but she had a short fuse that was ready to blow in an instant. Izzy had the unfortunate honor of witnessing it first-hand when the two of them had been in the elementary school computer club together.
"What's the Digital World?" she asked. "Is that some kind of new amusement park or something?"
Davis perked up. "You know, Tai mentioned that to me once. He said there were a lot of these creatures called Digimon there, whatever they are."
"You know Tai?" asked TK.
Davis puffed his chest in pride. "Yeah. He and I are in the same soccer club together. He taught me everything he knew and considers me next in line to take over the role of captain."
Kari giggled. "And yet you guys didn't even make the city playoffs last year."
Davis' face burned red in embarrassment as TK joined Kari in her mirth.
"Then let's go!" exclaimed Yolei.
At that moment, Cody peeked inside. He had been walking to his locker when he passed the computer lab and overheard the conversation. The sight of Yolei forced him to stop.
"Yolei, weren't you going to fix my computer?" he asked. "You promised!"
The girl gasped in realization, forgetting that she promised to do that in all the excitement. "You're right, Cody. I'm sorry. Let's go."
The two walked out, leaving the three former Destined Jedi and Davis.
Tai felt his D-Terminal buzz after wandering into the cave a few feet, heading straight for the light that he saw earlier. He flipped the cover on the screen up to see the message. It was from Izzy.
'On our way, Tai. Kari and TK are with me.'
He sighed in relief, knowing that help was on the way, before continuing his progress in the cave. The air swirled hauntingly, like a ghost moaning out to the outside world it was there, and water dripped from the roof of the cave. All of this reminded Tai of the time Gennai sent him into the cave during the beginning of their training to learn how to be patient.
"Well, well," a snide voice snickered from all directions. "Tai Kamiya, we meet at last."
Tai jumped after being startled by the voice. He drew his lightsaber with a flash and snapped his head around to look for the sound of the voice.
"Who are you?" he said. "How do you know me?"
"I know all about you and your little friends," said the voice. "You could say I have an…acute interest in you all and the events from three years ago. Especially your sister."
Tai's blood boiled as a Joker-esque laugh echoed deep into the cave.
"Where are you, you little creep?" he roared as he ran, desperate to search for the source of the annoying presence that was clearly taunting him.
'Twas brillig, and the slivy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe," it sang joyfully while slowly fading away. "All mimsy were the borogoves, and the mome raths outgrabe."
Tai felt a chill go down his spine as the voice maniacally cackled after quoting the first and last stanza from the Jabberwocky. Whoever this mysterious person was, they sure had a love of poetry in the twisted sense.
The voice had now gone, and the cave fell silent once more. Tai continued on until he reached a wide corridor. Light poured in from the opening above, shining down on the far wall.
Tai gasped when his eyes set on it. The symbol of courage was carved into the wall. It felt like it was calling to Tai the way it glimmered in the light above. The Jedi of Courage moved forward and reached out his hand as he neared the symbol. Maybe it was a way he could get his Force powers back and help defeat this Digimon Emperor.
His hand rested on the bottom ray, and immediately the symbol began to glow a bright orange light. Tai shielded his eyes from the sheer brightness of the light until it slowly faded away. When he lowered his arm from his face, he saw three small vertical objects still covered in the light hovering in front of him. Before he could reach out and touch them, they flew up through the opening in the ceiling and away.
"I want to go with you!" Davis repeated for the fourth time. The group of three Jedi and him had spent the past five minutes arguing about whether he would go or not. "None of you are going to stop me."
"It's not that easy, Davis," said TK, taking a deep breath in order to keep calm but his patience was slowly wearing thin. He showed the boy his lightsaber. "You need one of these to get in, and a connection to the Force."
"Granted, we don't have that," Izzy chuckled nervously. "Not anymore anyway. But I figured out a way where we should be able to get in. I'm sorry, Davis, but you'll have to sit this one out."
Just as he said that, a bright light shot from the computer and three multi-colored ones followed. One raptured in blue and orange light fell into Davis' hand while the two others, one red and green and the other in purple and white, flew straight out of the room.
The three Jedi were in awe as the light faded from Davis' hand to reveal the lightsaber in it. The burgundy-haired boy stared at it in disbelief. The saber had six cube-like ornaments on the pommel with the grip being mostly black until silver adorned the middle just below the emitter. A big red button was in the middle, serving as the activation mechanism.
He glanced at his wrist: it had a symbol adorning it. The symbol looked like a sun with the rays on the outer edge but with an eye that had a taijitu in place of the pupil.
Davis couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. His hand shook as it finally hit him that he was holding a real lightsaber. He was about to activate it when he was stopped by Kari and Izzy.
"Not a good idea to do that here," said the computer genius.
"Let's go, guys! We're wasting time!" Kari cried, desperate to get to the Digital World and help her brother with what he needed.
"Well, what are we standing around here for?" said Davis. "Let's get going!"
He forced his hand out, and the gate on the computer reacted to it. The same light from before flashed again, consuming Davis, TK, and Kari along with it. Izzy was about to join them when Yolei suddenly came bursting into the room. He quickly holstered his saber back onto his belt before she noticed.
"What was that light?" she demanded.
"W-What light?"
Davis felt his head start to swim as he finally felt his feet make contact with the ground. That was probably the weirdest thing that had ever happened to him. Next to him, he saw that he and the other two Jedi were in the middle of a dark forest.
"So this is the Digital World," he breathed as he looked around with wide eyes. "Pretty rad."
"You may think it's rad now, but just wait until you meet some of the homicidal creatures here," TK snickered. "It won't be pretty awesome then."
Davis growled as Kari giggled next to TK. When he looked down, he was surprised to see something else on his body than his regular clothes. He was now wearing a dark navy blue yukata with orange adorning the ends of the sleeves and hemline like flames. The obi around his waist was also orange. Sewn into the fabric was the same symbol that adorned his wrist: a sun with a taijitu within an eye in the middle. He also wore a pale blue tunic under his yukata. His shoes were replaced with wooden sandals.
"Sweet! New threads," he exclaimed. "This is pretty awesome."
TK and Kari also noticed that their clothes had been switched out for yukatas and sandals. Kari's was pink with a star-shaped symbol in the fabric and a pale pink tunic, while TK's was a subdued yellow with a shooting star on it. His tunic was white. Kari's obi was lilac while TK's was the same color as his yukata.
"I can't believe these still fit us," said TK. "We've grown a lot since we last wore them."
But Kari didn't answer. She had already run a few yards ahead of them.
"Come on, slowpokes!" she called. "Let's go!"
The two boys quickly ran after her. TK knew that it was not a good thing to get lost while in the Digital World, lest they run into bad Digimon. It did not take long for them to catch up with Kari.
"Where's Tai?" asked Kari, not finding one trace of her brother as she scanned the area in front of them. Since she and TK could no longer use the Force, they couldn't sense when someone was nearby.
Davis stared down a few meters away from them. Something familiar was heading their way, but what? He plucked his saber off his obi in case he needed to protect Kari.
Tai emerged from out of the foliage.
"Tai!" Kari cried, rushing to hug her brother. He accepted the hug and held her for a short moment before looking up at her two tag-alongs. His eyes widened when they settled on TK. He didn't recognize him for a second.
"Hey ya, Tai," greeted the blonde. "Been a while."
Tai blinked. "TK?" The boy nodded. "Oh my God, dude! How are ya? You're so….big now."
TK shrugged with a chuckle. "Yeah, I'm sure I've grown since you last saw me. I was still a little kid."
"Yeah you were," Tai laughed with him. "It's good to see you."
"Guess what. I'm living in Odaiba now."
"No way! That's awesome!"
Davis frowned as his mentor paid more attention to the other two than him. Did they all just forget he was there? It was irritating. He wasn't going to let this slide.
"What's up, Tai?" he greeted, finally making his presence known.
"Davis?" Tai was shocked to see the younger boy with TK and his sister. "What are you doing here?"
The boy showed the symbol and lightsaber that he had just received, which made Tai's eyes widen. He quickly led them into the cave before they could say anything else.
"Where did you get those, Davis?" asked Tai.
"I got them from this funky light that came out of the computer," replied Davis. "Next thing I know, I'm holding a lightsaber in my hand and there's a tattoo on my wrist."
Tai looked down at the boy's wrist to get a closer look at the symbol on his arm. It had the outlining rays of the symbol of Courage, but had the symbol of Friendship replace the middle of it.
He nodded silently. "There were these three lights that came from the symbol of Courage there," he said, pointing at the back wall. "But then who got the other two?"
Sweat dotted Izzy's brow as he stood under the inquisitive glare of Yolei. No matter what explanations he would give her, she was clearly not buying what he was saying. It didn't help that she had a knack for sticking her nose where it didn't belong.
"I'm going to ask you one last time, Izzy," she glared at him. "Where did everybody go?"
"I-I told you. They went home," said the teenager. He was grabbed by the tie and pulled in until he was mere inches from her face.
'And I thought Mimi was scary when she's angry,' he thought.
"How stupid do you think I am?" she hissed. "I know you're hiding something from me, Izzy Izumi, now what is it?! What is the Digital World and what are Digimon?"
"I-I don't know what you're talking about."
"Then what do you call this?" Yolei pushed him back before shoving something in her hand towards him. Izzy's eyes widened at the lightsaber in her hand. How did she get it? Then he realized. It had to have been one of the lights from the computer.
The sleeve of her shirt rose just a bit for him to get a glimpse of her wrist. A heart with a dewdrop resting in between the open space at the top of it rested on Yolei's wrist.
Izzy recognized the two symbols to be the ones of Love and Sincerity. Those had belonged to Mimi and Sora.
"Where did you get that?" he asked.
"I don't know. Some weird light I think," she glared back at the door. "Cody has one too. I'm going to ask you nicely again before I have to use force to get it out of you. Where did everybody go?"
"So what are we dealing with here, Tai?" asked Kari.
Tai scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not even sure myself," he said. "Agumon briefly filled me in, but I'm still not sure I understand it. First, he said that the Digital World has been at war with itself ever since not long after we left three years ago. Then three or so months ago, some kid who calls himself the 'Digimon Emperor' took over and now rules over it with an iron fist."
The three younger children gasped.
"That's awful!" Kari exclaimed.
"That's not even the worst of it," Tai continued. "He uses these collars that he calls Dark Rings to enslave Digimon for whatever he wants."
Kari and TK were troubled to hear about this turn of events. Just when they thought they had brought peace to the Digital World, things go south on them once again. Now that it was in trouble again, they knew they couldn't just run away from it.
Davis was the first to voice this concern.
"Then let's show this Digimon Emperor or whoever he is a thing or two," he said. "Just wait until I get my hands on him. He's gonna regret the day he was born."
A loud cackle echoed inside the room from above. The group of Jedi looked up and saw a figure that Tai took to be the Digimon Emperor. His wild dark raven hair shined in the light and right behind his sunglasses, his eyes twinkled mischievously.
"Be careful what you wish for," he said, moving his index finger from side to side like a scolding parent. "You just might get it."
Tai growled as he activated his lightsaber. "It's about time you showed yourself, you little creep!"
The Emperor smirked. "Cold be heart and hand and bone. Cold be travelers far from home," he said with a snicker. "Now what fun would that be if I revealed myself right away, Tai Kamiya?" He then turned to look at TK and Kari. "Takeru Takaishi, better known as TK," he licked his lips, "and the lovely Kari Kamiya. It's a pleasure to meet you all. I have heard so much about you."
TK and Kari were shocked by what they were seeing. This big, bad Digimon Emperor they had just heard about was no more than a kid. It was obvious by his looks that he was no older than them.
"So the Digimon Emperor is just a kid, huh?" Davis said.
Tai swore that he could see the veins in the Emperor's temple throb in anger.
"Shut up!" he roared. "I am nothing like you pathetic little insects! Now prepare to face my wrath!"
The Emperor raised his hands until his fingertips were pointed towards the Jedi. Tai's face went pale. He knew what was coming next.
"Run!" he cried as a torrent of Force lightning erupted from the Emperor's fingertips. The group narrowly escaped in time as the lightning hit the ground, running down the corridor that would hopefully lead them out.
The light at the end of the tunnel grew closer and closer until the Jedi finally escaped the cave. For a moment, they thought they were home free.
But Davis saw he was standing above the jungle floor below. He realized he had taken a wrong turn in all the panic. How could he have been so stupid?
The Emperor's familiar cackle filled the air. Davis turned and saw him for a brief second before he was suddenly pushed to the ground below by a rush of energy. His head bounced off the ground before landing flat on his back.
Davis slowly sat up , holding his throbbing head as something fell out of his hair and onto the ground. He looked down and saw it was a piece of glass. Then it dawned on him.
He took his goggles off his head. They were completely destroyed.
"Aw shit," he groaned before turning to glare at the top of the cliff. "You owe me new goggles, buddy!" he yelled at the Emperor, who drifted down to them leisurely.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," he mocked. "Let me give you a down payment."
Davis closed his eyes as the Emperor drew his lightsaber and honed in on him for the kill. But just before it reached him, Davis heard the sound of another saber activating and blocking the Emperor's.
He slowly opened his eyes and saw that Tai had stopped the Emperor's attack. The tyrant gazed at Tai with an excited smirk.
"I've been looking forward to this," he said.
"You want me, here I am." Tai shot back as the two broke apart. Davis didn't waste a second, running over to join TK and Kari.
Tai and the Emperor circled each other for a few moments, sizing the other up for how they would match up, before the Emperor made the first move. He came fast and hard, faster than Tai had ever seen before. He barely had time to block the oncoming attack as he raised his saber to stop it, but the Emperor was a hair faster.
"Tai, you disappoint me," he taunted as Tai tried to catch his breath. "I would have thought you'd be better than this. I guess that's what happens when you can't use the Force anymore. Surely, you can do better."
Tai had heard enough and came hard this time, but the Emperor dodged and blocked every single attack that came his way. He grabbed Tai's wrists with both hands and then kicked him straight in the stomach. The Jedi of Courage doubled over before a kick smacked him right in the jaw and sent him to the ground. He was out cold.
"Tai!" Kari cried, unable to watch her brother get the stuffing kicked out of him. "TK, do something! We have to help him!"
But TK stood wide-eyed and completely still. He couldn't believe what he was seeing in front of him. He tried to move his legs forward, but he couldn't move. His body had frozen in fear and shock.
Davis glanced from Kari to her fallen brother, then the frozen TK, and watched horrified as the Emperor kicked Tai's lightsaber from his hand.
"I must say," The Emperor smirked with an evil glint in his eyes. "I didn't expect it to end so soon, Jedi of Courage." He raised his lightsaber. "Oh well. Just one less insect for me."
Just as he was to deliver the fatal strike, a snap-hiss emerged from behind him, followed by a roar of determination. The next thing the Emperor knew, another blue blade blocked his just mere inches from Tai's neck. His eyes met Davis'.
"Brave of you, boy," he said. "But I would have thought you had learned not to interfere in others' business."
Davis smirked. "I am a slow learner."
Behind the two of them, TK and Kari activated their blue lightsabers as well.
"If you want to kill my brother, you'll have to go through us too," said Kari, glaring at the raven-haired boy.
The blonde's shock had faded, and was now ready to fight. "You mess with one, you've messed with us all!" he declared.
The Emperor frowned as he realized that he was clearly outnumbered. Even without their Force powers, the Destined Jedi would still be formidable foes. What fun would it be to kill them all now when he could lure all the other Destined Jedi here and slaughter them all at once? He knew what he had to do.
"Fair enough," he said. "I'll spare you all today, but next time you won't be so lucky."
Before anyone could do anything, the Emperor broke the lock he and Davis shared and used the Force to enhance his leaping abilities. He jumped up to the cliff and ran back into the cave.
"Hey! Come back here!" Davis cried, ready to go after the Emperor, but TK grabbed him before he could do anything.
"Let him go," he said. "We'll get him another time. Right now, we need to help Tai and then go back."
Davis immediately settled down. Kari cradled her brother's head on her lap as he slowly started to regain consciousness. He was a little roughed up at first sight: a black and blue bruise on his cheek, but nothing too horrible.
"You okay, Tai?" Kari asked.
He nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. Boy, I wasn't expecting that guy to be so good," Tai chuckled. "It's nothing I've ever seen before. Definitely someone we should watch out for in the future."
The others laughed in relief, happy that Tai was still in good spirits. He looked at Davis.
"Davis, that was brave of you for jumping in there when you did," he said. "You saved my neck. Literally."
The boy blushed in embarrassment at the praise he received from the person he admired the most. Whenever he got a compliment from Tai, he would become embarrassed because it reminded him just how lucky he was to have a mentor like him.
"Aw, shucks. It was nothing, Tai," he chuckled. "I couldn't let that creep get you." He handed Tai his lightsaber back. "I believe this belongs to you."
"Thanks." The teenager clipped it back onto his obi.
After a couple more minutes, Tai was back on his feet and moving. TK and Davis led the way back from where they came so they could all go home, while the Kamiya siblings walked three paces behind them. Kari stayed close to her brother in case he needed assistance.
After walking another few yards, the Jedi came across a small television. On the screen, they were shocked to see Izzy chowing down on ohagi with Yolei and Cody.
"Aw man!" Davis cried. "We're missing out on ohagi!"
He quickly looked for a switch that they needed to pull or press in order for them to get back. After touching just about everything, his fingers pressed a button and the humans were sucked into the television.
And that is the first chapter, ladies and gentlemen. Hope you guys enjoyed it and liked what I did with some of the characters (The Emperor specifically). The poem he recites is the first and last stanza of the Jabberwocky poem. Credit goes to the legendary Lewis Carroll. Think the scene from Alice in Wonderland (the animated version) with the Cheshire Cat.
Be sure to review because I want to see what you guys think of the beginning. Also favorite and follow the story too because this is going to be a roller coaster ride you do not want to miss.
