Kari (short for Hikari) found herself struggling to continue to maintain interest in the subject being discussed at length by one of the many creatures known as "Scubamon" that she ruled over. She'd been their queen for how long was it now, at least five years?
Kari shook her head, she'd lost track long ago and hadn't bothered to ask for the length of time. Strangely enough though, every now and then, there came a nagging feeling at the back of her mind. A sense that she'd had a life before being queen of the Dark Ocean, though what that life had been like she couldn't remember.
"And in conclusion, my queen, that's why we would be honored to hold a banquet tonight," The Scubamon concluded. "We've had a bountiful harvest thanks to you, and the least we can do is share some of the fruits of our labor with you, our beloved queen."
Kari adopted the best smile she could, pretending that she'd heard everything when in fact she had zoned out. Luckily, she was good at acting, especially when it came to being happy. "That's very nice, I'm sure a royal banquet will be quite lovely. I look forward to it." She told the Scubamon.
The Scubamon bowed before Kari, who by now had gotten used to the creatures' strange appearances. He departed a moment later.
"Well, that's the last of them," Kari thought to herself, getting up from her throne. "Perhaps now I can go out for a stroll, and just this once not have to worry about others recognizing me and asking for favors. I know I'm their queen, but can't these Scubamon ever do anything by themselves?"
But just then, the throne room doors burst open, and another Scubamon came rushing in! He stopped at the foot of Kari's throne, gasping for breath! "Sorry to disturb you, your majesty," He apologized at great length. "But we've just received word that a small band of intruders has been captured near the beach! They call themselves 'Digi Destined' or 'Chosen Children' or something along those lines."
"What?!" Kari gasped, her eyes widening in shock! All the while, a nagging thought lingered at the back of her mind. "Why do such phrases ring a bell, as if I've heard them before?"
"Your reaction is the same as mine, I can't imagine why anyone would wish to violate the sovereignty of the Dark Ocean," The Scubamon continued. "But we were wondering, what shall we do with them? We very well can't just leave them all tied up on the beach. Should we deport them back to wherever they came from?"
Kari opened her mouth to speak, but when she did so she found that her mouth developed a mind of its own. She wanted to give the order to have the intruders exterminated (so as to set an example for others), but what she ended up saying instead was. "Bring them before me, I wish to see these so called 'Digi Destined' with my own eyes."
The Scubamon bowed. "Of course, your majesty. As you wish."
Five minutes later, amidst a series of groans, curses, and shouts of protests, nine figures were brought into the throne room and placed on the red carpeted floors. All of them tied up with thick, black chains that prevented them from escaping.
Five of the figures appeared to be of the same breed of creature as the Scubamon (creatures known as Digimon, or digital monsters). They consisted of: A weird, blue coated, bipedal, dinosaur like creature. Some sort of small hawk with a head band and a blue and yellow feather sticking out of its forehead. An armadillo. Some kind of flying guinea pig. And a white coated cat with two yellow gloves on its front paws.
But the remaining four figures seemed more like Kari. From left to right they consisted of: A spiky brown haired (with goggles resting on top) and brown eyed boy with a flaming t-shirt, a girl with brown eyes hidden behind glasses and purple hair that hung down from an orange helmet of some kind, a mop top brown haired boy with green eyes and a light brown shirt, and a boy with shaggy blonde hair and blue eyes, who wore a white hat and a green (with yellow sleeves) shirt. And for whatever reason, all seemed vaguely familiar to Kari, despite the fact that she didn't recall ever having met them before.
Kari tried not to let this fact distract her, she had interrogations to carry out and information to extract. She sternly approached the intruders and said to them. "So, you are the intruders I've heard of. Why have you come here, violating the sovereignty of my kingdom?"
"Your kingdom?!" The spiky brown haired boy exclaimed, as though shocked to hear such a thing! "What are you talking about?! You're no queen, you're a Digi Destined, like us!"
"Davis, she's obviously been brainwashed, she's not going to remember!" The purple haired girl snapped back.
"And that's why we're here, Kari," The cat like Digimon spoke up. "We've come to free you from whatever spell these so called Scubamon have placed you under. We need you to help us defeat the Digimon Emperor."
"Who is this 'Digimon Emperor' you speak of?!" Kari demanded, her eyes narrowing. "And how do you know my name?! I don't recall telling any of you who I was!"
The blonde haired boy cleared his throat, and his eyes looked deep into Kari's as he explained. "Your… majesty, this may come as a shock to you, but the life you know here is a lie. You are not Queen Kari, ruler of the Dark Ocean! You are Hikari Yagami Kamiya, one of the Digi Destined who helped to save the Digital and real worlds from the forces of darkness! A few weeks ago, you were abducted and taken to this Dark Ocean world, where you were brainwashed into believing you're the queen of these strange creatures. Your family has been worried sick about you, including your older brother, Tai."
"Lies, all of it! I have no family!" Kari snapped back. "Whoever you are, your tricks won't work on me!"
"My name is Takeru Takashi or T.K. for short, your highness!" The boy spoke in a venomous tone. "And this is Daisuke "Davis" Motomiya, Miyako "Yolei" Inoue, and Iori "Cody" Hida. And our partner Digimon and friends are, Patamon, Veemon, Hawkmon, and Armadillomon. The one currently without a partner is Gatomon, because she belongs to you!"
"Kari, please, surely you remember me!" Gatomon pleaded with tears in her eyes. "All the good times we had together, all the secrets we shared, all the hardships we endured! Surely, names like Wizardmon and Myotismon ring a bell for you, don't they?!"
Kari wasn't swayed in the slightest by Gatomon's performance. But what did catch her eye, was a strange, pink colored device that was sticking out of the front right pocket of T.K.'s pants. She picked it and examined it, surprised to find that it could fit right into the palm of her hand. "What is the meaning of this device?! Were you planning to blow me up or something?!" She accused!
"That device is called a digivice," T.K. explained. "When you were a Digi Destined, you used it to aid your partner, Gatomon, in battle. It's a new model that you and I obtained to aid the second generation in their fight against the Digimon Emperor. They allow us to access armor evolutions. Each of us has a similar device, but in a different color."
Kari examined the device carefully, as though she suspected T.K. might be lying to her. But after minutes of fiddling with it, she could find no traces that the device was "suspicious". At the same time, something about the device seemed to touch off the faint traces of a memory that she previously never recalled having. A memory of her fighting alongside these children as one of their own. But, what did that mean?
"Your majesty, what shall we do with these so called 'Digi Destined'?" A Scubamon spoke up, interrupting Kari's mental ponderings.
Kari paused, unsure of herself. Was it just coincidence that this "memory" was appearing now? Reluctantly, she turned away from the intruders and commanded. "Let them go, they mean us no harm. They're just a bunch of nosy kids who don't know better." And then she departed the throne room without another word.