Author's note: Hey everyone, sorry about the wall of text, I never realised that the posting did that. I've gone through it all so hopefully this is a lot better.

No one knows how it happened, or when it happened. What was known was that an ancient evil had returned to the Digital World and it had brought with it the means to enslave all of the Digimon that called the lands home. It had struck fast, without mercy and without giving any chance to flee to safety. First the continent of Server fell to the onslaught of the dark forces that besieged the lands. Then File Island and like a plague, darkness spread across the lands. Digimon either joined the darkness as slaves, or were wiped out and deleted, their data never to be recreated.

Despite the ancient evil that took a new form upon the land, the figurehead of this tidal wave of destruction was in fact a human. Many knew him, many had heard his name and fought alongside him when previous enemies had tried to conquer the Digital World and enslave its inhabitants. Many saw the change in attitudes to be a betrayal of the trust that they had built up, but to the human he saw their views as nothing more than insignificant mutterings of desperate beings not worthy enough to lick his shoes.

From a flying fortress lifted from the ground and born on wings of darkness; the Digimon Emperor, or at least the newest incarnation of the Digimon Emperor looked upon the destruction from within the confines of his spherical command room. Screens illuminated the darkness. Real time information and footage from where his armies decimated the few traces of resistance was all he wanted to see and hear. Blue eyes stared out from behind a crimson mask that was wrapped around his blonde hair. His attire was somewhat unique in fact that when the previous Emperor Ichijouji had chosen his outfit he had something that many might consider modern mixed with science fiction. However the blonde dressed himself in something different; wearing a finely made suit of black with a crimson waistcoat, white long sleeve shirt and a long cape flowing down his back the Digimon Emperor cast a more regal bearing in the way he presented himself. Gloves covered his hands and at his waist was a sabre with a hilt that was shaped into the skull of Airdramon.

Gazing at the destruction before him, the Emperor grinned as one of the monitor's showed a herd of Monochromon rampaging through a village. They crushed the inhabitants aside, flattened buildings and scattered its defenders to the wind as they destroyed. The sight of it caused the Emperor's grin to broaden and as he saw another monitor show a similar event he threw back his head and burst into laughter. This was going better than he could have ever planned! The destruction, the mayhem, the fact that this was all under his control. Yes this was good! It was freedom! No more rules, no structure to follow. His former life was a distant memory that he would gladly never return to. The Emperor found himself staring at different points in the Digital World and as his laughter died down he recomposed himself. Standing straight and strong before turning to leave. He walked away from his control room, a door appearing from the black walls and parting to allow him through.

The Emperor's fortress was a building steeped in darkness and death long before the Emperor himself inhabited. It had once belonged to Myotismon when he had used the portal to travel to the real world and destroy the eight Digidestined. Nothing had truly changed in that time. Of course when the Emperor laid claim to its halls the carpets had faded with age, and blankets of dust had collected. Little work was needed to clean it though. In the end an army of enslaved Tapirmon had proved ample enough to do the task. Then it was just a matter of harnessing the powers of the dark-Digivice that he had gained and spreading his will through the structure and manipulating it so that it tore itself from the ground and began to follow the commands of its new owner.

Many towns and villages would flee at the sight of the flying fortress in the night. It was often the sound of death and within the walls were scores of Digimon just waiting to be unleashed on the world and bring death and destruction in the name of the Digimon Emperor. Some had been foolish to attack the Emperor in the fortress, flying in through windows that were dotted around the castle. They were never heard from again. Some were destroyed by the masses of Guardromon that patrolled the hallways. Others had been imprisoned, tortured and forced to submit to the will of the Emperor himself before being subjugated through the use of a Dark Spiral.

If there was one lesson to be learnt from the time that Ken Ichijouji had been the Emperor was that the rings were weak. They had been created with a flaw that required the presence of dark towers. They were one of many reasons why Ichijouji was defeated. With the spirals though, then the Digital World could be controlled without the need of spires. The Emperor could be in one part of the world and still be able to control a Digimon on the other side of the world.

Stepping out onto the balcony of the fortress; the Digimon Emperor looked out into the night. In the distant a sun was rising. Fires were sweeping across the horizon as his forces spread out and conquered those that opposed him. His grin had never faltered. As the wind swept through the fortress, it blew his cloak and jacket along with it. The Emperor was not bothered by it. The cold weather did not faze him, it did not bother him and it would not stop him.

"Ah what a glorious night to destroy my enemies. Don't you agree, Bakemon?" the Emperor asked, looking over his shoulder to the ghost Digimon that emerged from the darkness of the inner sanctum of the fortress and floated to the Emperor's side. A dark spiral was placed upon its arm to bind its loyalty. Bakemon made excellent spies especially considering the fact that they could appear and disappear at will.

"Of course master." The Digimon responded without a trace of emotion in its voice.

"I'm glad you think so. Now, let us prepare our forces. The time approaches to put our plan into motion and soon the guests of honour shall be with us." Said the Emperor as he turned on his heel and walked back into the fortress. "Come Bakemon!" Without responding, the enslaved Digimon started to fly up and follow his master.

-X-

Two solitary figures stood upon a cliff top ledge from far away, observing the destruction of the Digital World from afar, unwilling to step in and help just yet. They needed to come up with a plan but that was proving quite difficult. How could anyone go up against the person they loved without inflicting both physical and emotional pain?

That was a question that had been plaguing Kari ever since this started three months ago. Since T.K disappeared things had gone downhill. Nothing made sense. Since the fall of Malomyotismon two years ago everyone had hoped that they could move on with their lives. Unfortunately though, when evil threatened the balance in the Digital World then no one could just sit around and do nothing, especially not a member of the Digidestined. Action had to be taken. The problem was that when one of your own was causing the devastation then you always had to step back and look at it from a different perspective.

As the wind blew through the area, Kari instinctively wrapped her arms around her body. Despite the thick jacket she was wearing, it was still cold. Her long brunette hair was blowing in the wind. "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea." Kari said to herself, and Nefertimon who was waiting patiently by her side.

"I said that when we left." The Digimon stated as she turned her head to look at Kari. "But you know I'll stick with you no matter what."

"Thanks Nefertimon." Kari responded as she patted the Digimon's neck and reached for her Digivice and D-Terminal. She flipped open the latter. Underneath the lid was a picture taken the previous year. It was of her and T.K at a school dance. It was their first official date since the pair had started going out. They were so happy. They were innocent back then. None of them considered that Devimon might return and corrupt T.K for some twisted scheme. "I'm going to send a message to the others letting them know what's happening. We'll give it another hour. If we haven't found anything by then, we'll head home." Kari explained as she started to type out her message. She would have finished it though, were it not for the radar in her Digivice going off.

There was another signal in the area.

The others would have messaged Kari if they were coming to join her. There was only one other person it could be. Jumping onto Nefertimon's back, Kari turned to face the direction of the signal.

"This could be a trap Kari." Nefertimon warned as she took a few running leaps and flew into the air.

"At this point Nefertimon I'm willing to risk it." Kari responded. As long as it gets T.K back. She thought to herself afterwards.

-X-

The Digimon Emperor stood upon a patch of burnt glass that was once surrounded by wooden huts and small brick buildings. The carnage done by his army was absolute. Not a scrap of code was left. Only desolation and destruction. Just what the Emperor wanted. His floating fortress was hidden in the skies above. Floating beyond sight to inform the Emperor of company. He was expecting someone. It had been three months since he had last seen her and a rare moment of excitement born not from destruction but from a coming reunion. Beneath his jacket, his dark Digivice started to beep out loudly. That told him everything he needed to know.

Craning his neck, the Emperor could see what could only be described as a shooting star. A speck of white in the darkness above. It began to grow bigger and could quite easily be identified as Nefertimon landed shortly in front of him. The Emperor looked to the Digimon and its passenger. The girl dismounted. Her troubled features were almost beautiful to look at.

"I was wondering when I would see you again my dear Kari." The Emperor greeted her with a theatrical bow, one arm out to his side and the other against his chest. The Emperor's eyes looked to the ground. To see the Emperor bowing was a once in a lifetime sight. He would never do it again.

"T.K you have to stop this! Can't you see what you've become? You're siding with the very darkness that you once vowed to destroy." Kari shouted to the boy that she had fallen in love with, and yet the words only seemed to amuse the Emperor. He laughed. Quietly at first but the laughter grew louder. "What's so funny?"

The Emperor calmed himself before speaking. "Just everything you said was about the weakling that I used to be. The powers of Darkness have made me stronger than ever before."

"This is nuts T.K!" Kari shut her eyes and clenched her fists, trying to fight with the temptation to send Nefertimon to take him down. He was still her friend despite what had happened to him. "Please T.K… there has to be some part of you still inside. Some part of the easy going guy I liked to hang around with."

"Perhaps you just need to get to know the new me better." He responded with a grin before clicking his fingers. There was a boom from above, like a thunderclap in the clouds. What appeared to be a meteorite fell to the earth. It landed twenty feet behind where the Emperor stood. It was a large coffin made from ebony with numerous digital coding engraved across the lid of the coffin. "That gives me a wonderful idea. Devimon!" at the Emperor's command, the coffin broke open in a shower of wood splinters. Floating above the ground was the corrupted form of T.K's partner. The dark Digivice corrupted T.K's Digivice and turned Angemon into Devimon.

"You summoned me my master." The fallen angel spoke with a voice that could chill the bones.

"You know what needs to be done." The Emperor spoke in a cold tone but he still had a grin on his face as he watched what happened.

"Touch of evil!" Devimon shouted out and his darkness spread across the land in front of them both. It washed over Kari and Nefertimon, causing the Digimon to de-digivolve into Salamon, and Kari to pass out, the darkness engulfing her and putting her to sleep.

-X-

She didn't know how long she was out for, but Kari awoke to find herself standing in a dark room with her wrists and ankles chained and those were bolted to loops in the ground. The room she was in was pitch black and the only sounds were of her frantic breathing, her heart thumping and the rattling of chains as she tried to free herself. Fear entered her mind and she started to panic. "Where am I?" she called out to the darkness, but there was utter silence. Not even an echo.

Silence followed for a few moments before the lights surrounding her illuminated the room. It was spherical and void of any furniture.

"I see you're awake." The Emperor stepped through a door that vanished as soon as he was clear. He looked on at Kari before grinning and standing up straight, his hands behind his back. "I was starting to wonder if Devimon had used his full strength."

"What are you doing?" Kari asked as she locked eyes on her former friend.

"I'm making you better of course. You see, I'm an Emperor, and every Emperor needs an Empress." The realisation of what he was about to do dawned on Kari. Her eyes widened as she tried to break free but it was no use. The steel was thick and unbreakable.

"I will never join you T.K!"

"You have no choice in the matter." The Emperor took a few steps towards the girl before stopping three feet away from Kari. He waved his hand and a panel extended from the ground. Kari could see that her Digivice was on top of it. "You see, the chains that bind you are connected to this panel. At my command, the same darkness that floods my Digivice shall spill into yours, corrupting it, and corrupting you." He explained before typing the command. He looked into her pleading eyes one last time, before giving Kari a wicked grin and pressing the button.

There was a shrill whine of power that echoed around the room. The whining stopped and the silence that followed was broken by the sounds of static electricity flowing through the room. A dark beam of purple shot into Kari's Digivice, flowing through its circuitry. The colours changed. White turned to grey and pink to purple. The energy travelled through the platform that Kari's Digivice sat on before flowing up the chains. As soon as it touched Kari's skin she let out a shrill scream as the darkness entered her body, flooding it with negative emotions. It didn't take long for changes to show upon Kari's body. A flash of light and then the girl was cocooned within swirling energies that enveloped her. From within her body started to change. Her clothes vanished, replaced with more regal garments. A long purple gown covered her body. The tight bodice laced up the back which gave her an hourglass figure. The skirt was full and flared and covered in black lace. Her arms were covered in elbow length silk opera gloves and her feet were covered in heeled shoes. Kari's hair started to change. It lengthened and flowed down her back like a waterfall of black water. Her face was covered in make-up, rouge red lips and eye shadow gave her a formal look. The last touch was a crimson mask that covered her eyes. It was wrapped in silk around her head. It matched the Emperor's own mask.

With the last of the transformation complete; the chains that bound the girl snapped and disappeared into puffs of smoke.

Kari knelt down on the ground as a cloak formed across her back. She took deep breathes before looking up. The Emperor knelt down, offering his gloved hand to the girl he hoped would be his Empress. For a moment there was silence. Perhaps the corruption had not worked. Was there the possibility that some people were just too pure to be corrupted in such a way?

"Empress, how do you feel?" he asked before their eyes met one another. She smiled and took the offered hand, stepping up on her feet before standing up straight. Kari stepped back before performing a curtsey.

"Well, my Emperor. In fact better than well." She replied before taking her new dark-Digivice from the stand and grasping it in her hand. There was a flash of light from the device, the darkness recognising the hand that carried it. "I can't help but feel our former allies will be looking for us. Shall we go and greet them?"

"What a wonderful idea my Empress." The Emperor clapped his hands, and the door opened up to show a red eyed feline Digimon walking in. It was Gatomon, only corrupted and wearing a dark spiral around her arm. The powers of darkness had caused Salamon to digivolve into Blackgatomon. "Of course what Empress does not have a servant?" the Emperor asked with a grin before leaning in to kiss his Empress on the lips.