Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.


I'm Iori Hida. Earlier today, Armadimon and I received Assignment Alpha, the assignment to find the missing Odaiba Chosen (our friends, in other words). For some reason, Nasagi Saitou—basically the second-in-command at the Resistance—had Tomoki Himi, a boy from another world, come with us.

Things didn't get off to a good start. First, we were sent to the wrong place. Then another group decided to follow us. So we led them in circles. Turns out, they were just lost. Not sure if they're friends or enemies yet. Although one in particular, Shuichon Lee, seems to have something against us…or maybe just me.


Chosen Empire:
The Comrades

"Stop that," Ai said to Shuichon. "I apologize," she said to me. "You see, you've never been her favorite character—"

"What?" I said.

"In our world," Makoto said, looking positively excited, "and I'm guessing that we're in different world now because there's no possible way you could be here otherwise, there's a TV show about you and your friends."

"Are you sure?" I asked suspiciously.

Ai nodded. "Taichi Yagami, Daisuke Motomiya, Wormmon, Hawkmon…yup, I'm sure. So sure that I could tell you everything that happened to you in the year you became a Chosen. About how you traveled across the world with Jyou to Australia, or how your greatest dream was to have your father be alive again."

I stared at her, feeling numb. What was this? Was my whole life being broadcasted to the world?

"Creepy, dagya," Armadimon said, and we both shivered. Unable to help myself, I looked up at the sky, wondering if there was someone up there, recording every movement right then and there.

"How did you get here?" Tomoki asked.

"Well…" Ai frowned. "It all basically started two years ago when all the older Tamers—that's what we call ourselves—just disappeared. We had no idea where they had gone. All we remember is this big earthquake happening.

"Naturally, we searched everywhere for them, and we haven't stopped yet. Just this afternoon we were looking around in the Digital World when another earthquake happened, and we found ourselves here."

"In the afternoon?" Tomoki asked. They nodded. "Same time as me." And he went on to explain Nasagi's theory to them, which seemed to shock them.

"It's not possible," Shuichon said right away.

"But it makes sense," insisted Makoto. "Doesn't it?"

"I've been wondering," Lopmon said, cutting over them. "What exactly is going on here?"

"Yeah, cause if the Chosen are alive, I want to meet them," Makoto added.

I shrugged. "I don't know where they are," I said, adopting the toneless voice I tended to use when talking about my friends. "I don't know if they're alive."

"What are you talking about?" Ai asked.

Armadimon, seeing that I wasn't going to explain, filled them in on everything that had happened in the past five years. When he had finished, they all exchanged glances. "Different from the epilogue," was Shuichon's only comment. "Everyone was alive in that one."

"They probably just made that up," dismissed Makoto.

"It could still happen," Ai pointed out.

"I just want to know how I ended up on a TV show in the first place," I muttered, more to myself than anyone else.

"You and me both, dagya," Armadimon said. "Guess we'll never find out, dagya. By the way, Nasagi's going to kill us for leaving our spot, dagya."

"Ah. Right." I glanced at Tomoki. "We should head back now."

"We'll come with you," Ai offered quickly; there was a ghost of a smile on Tomoki's face as she spoke. "I mean, we aren't doing anything anyway."

"We will?" Makoto asked, sounding surprised. They both turned to Shuichon for approval, which was a little irritating to me. Couldn't they think for themselves? Shuichon gave a half-shrug.

"I guess we are," she said.

Armadimon took the lead. Makoto quickened his pace to catch up to me, and immediately launched into telling stories. Tomoki fell back to talk to Ai, and Shuichon, Lopmon, and Impmon kept to themselves. Makoto was telling some story involving school, but I wasn't really listening, just nodding and smiling and laughing at what I guessed were the right times.

My mind was a blur. I was on a TV show. These people were from a different world. I was on a TV show. What epilogue? What was going on? I was on a TV show. That had to be a violation of privacy. What did earthquakes have to do with anything. Did they say their friends had disappeared too?

"—ori? Iori!"

I jumped. "Yes?"

"We're here, dagya," Armadimon said.

"Iori!" My earpiece crackled as Nasagi spoke sharply. "Iori, are you there?"

I pressed a hand to the earpiece as I replied, "Yeah. I'm here."

"I couldn't contact Evilmon. As it turns out he returned to Earth when you three didn't show up, and I can't send him back, either. There was another earthquake and the machine broke."

"What? Another one?" I exclaimed.

"Did anyone appear like I did?" Tomoki cut in. I'd forgotten that he had an earpiece, too.

"Actually…yes." Nasagi paused. "He's terribly confused and seems to know you. His brother is Takuya, who he claims is friends with you."

"Shinya," Tomoki breathed.

"You do know each other," Nasagi said, sounding surprised. "Anyway, since the machine's broken, there's no way we can pull you out."

"So we're stuck here?" I asked.

"Basically, yes," Nasagi answered. "Unless you manage to find a way out by yourself. But I can still give you help. Who are the others?"

"Huh?"

"The others," Nasagi repeated impatiently. "The three humans and two Digimon you picked up while you were missing."

"Oh, them." I didn't know why, but I was reluctant to tell him. "Er…"

"Tomoki!" The voice was so shrill I jerked the earpiece out of my ear. Tomoki pressed it closer to his ear instead. "Tomoki! I need to warn you—"

"Give that back you brat!" Nasagi roared. A scuffling sound was heard, followed by an oof.

"Tomoki!" the voice yelled again; I assumed he had won and Nasagi was lying somewhere on the floor. "Tomoki, listen! Takuya's disappeared and we can't find him!"

Tomoki froze, his face horrified. "What?" he choked.

The voice went on. "Izumi and Junpei are gone too. And Kouji and—and Kouichi! They all went missing the day after you moved! I tried to find you, but I couldn't!"

Tomoki's face was pale. "That was..." he croaked. "That was over a year ago...why…?"

"Tomoki, listen to me," the voice continued desperately. "You need to get out of there. This—"

Crack. I winced involuntarily. "Shinya!" Tomoki shouted. "Shinya! What happened?"

Nasagi's voice returned, slightly breathless. "Our little visitor got out of hand, that's all. No need to worry."

I didn't say anything. Tomoki looked thunderstruck; his empty eyes stared into space.

Thud. I looked up. Thud. The floor shook. Thud. "What's going on?" Ai demanded. Thud. Armadimon scrambled to my side. Thud. I reached for my digivice.Thud. Something crashed into the trees right behind me.

I whirled around, D-Terminal and digivice already in hand. My jaw dropped. Looming over us was a black muscular dinosaur with red strips on his face, shoulders, and thighs. Brown trainers wrapped around his arms; two mechanical white claws sprouted from his hands. Jagged green spikes ran from his head down his back, ending with a powerful tail.

"DarkTyranomon," Shuichon said, stepping forward. "An Adult level Digimon. Special attack is Fire Blast."

"How do you know that?" I asked, amazed that she knew all that.

Shuichon glared at me from underneath her cap. I flinched slightly; what had I done wrong? "D-Arc," she explained, indicating towards her digivice. I looked and saw a perfect replica of DarkTyranomon snarling in the center of a purple circle outlined in yellow. As I watched, blue light pulsed from the center, emitting waves; yellow triangles circled the image of the dinosaur.

"Wow, dagya," Armadimon said, trying to get a better look.

The circle faded away and Shuichon turned to Lopmon. "Ready?" He nodded. "You?" she asked Ai, Makoto, and Impmon. They nodded as well. Shuichon unwillingly turned to me. "So when do we attack?"

"Me?" I asked, blinking in astonishment, looking to Tomoki for help. To my surprise, he was watching me expectantly as well. "You want me to give the orders?"

"Well if you don't, then I will," snapped Shuichon. "I assumed you would know more, seeing as this is your world and everything."

DarkTyranomon roared. "Pathetic humans!" he snarled. "Forget about me already?"

"Iori!" Nasagi's voice crackled. I listened closely. "Listen to me. Don't you dare attack that DarkTyranomon!"

I hesitated. "What happens if I do?"

"Then I ban you from the Resistance for good! Do you hear me? I forbid you to attack DarkTyranomon. Am I understood?"

"Fire Blast!" DarkTyranomon roared. Blazing hot fire burst in a stream from his mouth. We all ducked for cover. "Ha! Weak little fools!"

"Oh, yeah?" Impmon roared. "Night of Fire!" A small flame appeared at the tip of his gloved finger, which he hurled at DarkTyranomon. It puffed out, barely making a mark.

"Do you understand?" Nasagi repeated.

"Blazing Ice!" Small ice shards flew from Lopmon's mouth and struck DarkTyranomon's feet, freezing them to the ground. DarkTyranomon just grinned and shook them free.

"Nice try." DarkTyranomon chuckled.

"Do you understand?" Nasagi said again, starting to sound irritated.

"Help, you guys!" Ai shouted.

A blue-purple stream of data wrapped itself around Tomoki's left hand. He raised his digivice in his right hand to greet it; his eyes now were full of determination. "Spirit Evolution! Chakmon!"

I didn't need to look at the Tamers or their partners faces to know that their expressions would be shocked. Chakmon inhaled deeply. "Kachikachi Kachin!" he shouted, exhaling loudly; cold wind bellowed forward.

Ice formed around DarkTyranomon's feet and tail. Grinning smugly, the dinosaur broke free. "My turn," he said. "Iron Tail!" His tail whipped around and struck Chakmon in the chest. He fell back with a grunt.

"Tomoki!" Ai and Makoto rushed to his side.

"Iori!" Nasagi screamed. "Do you understand?"

"Yeah, I understand." I turned to Armadimon for confirmation, and he nodded.

"Good." Nasagi sounded relieved.

"We quit," I said. I dropped the earpiece onto the ground.

"What?" I could hear Nasagi shouting. "Iori! You can't quit! You—"

I stomped on the device. Nasagi stopped shouting. I removed my foot; the earpiece was ruined. Without looking up, I asked, "Ready, Armadimon?"

"Let's do this, dagya," Armadimon said.

"Iori!" Tomoki shouted. "A little help?"

"Sorry," I said. "Digimental Up!" I shouted.

"Armadimon Armor Evolution!" Armadimon shouted.

Makoto stopped to watch, his eyes dancing in excitement. "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "I've always wanted to see this in person! Ai, look!"

Armadimon grew in size, taking on the shape of a giant insect with two transparent wings. Gold armor with purple markings covered his body. Drills sprouted from his hands and head; two antennae stood on his head. "The Unbreakable Knowledge, Digmon!"

"Wow," Makoto breathed. "That was so…cool."

Digmon charged. "Big Crack!" He rammed his drills into the ground. The ground broke apart. DarkTyranomon slipped and nearly fell in.

"Hah! Didn't work. Fire Blast!"

We all ducked again.

Chakmon rose and knelt. "Snow Bomber!" he cried, launching several giant snowballs at DarkTyranomon, who swiped them aside.

"Card Slash! High Speed Plug-In D!" Shuichon called.

Lopmon glowed momentarily then shot off at a surprising speed before ramming DarkTyranomon in the stomach. "Hey!" the dinosaur roared.

"Impmon evolve to…" In Impmon's place stood a tall Digimon who wore a purple mask and a black outfit. A red bandana was wrapped around his left arm; his boots sprouted three spikes each. A long mechanical-looking tail wrapped around from his back. "Beelzebumon!"

Beelzebumon held up two shotguns. "Ready?" He held them up to eye level and aimed. "Double Impact!" Bullets peppered DarkTyranomon who roared.

"Go!" I heard myself shouting. "Attack now!"

"Petit Twister!" Lopmon shouted, spinning rapidly into a tornado. Then he stopped suddenly and threw the tornado somehow.

"Gold Rush!" Digmon shouted, shooting his drills at DarkTyranomon.

"Snow Bomber!" Chakmon bellowed, firing his snowballs.

Stowing his weapons away, Beelzebumon sprang forward, brandishing his claws. "Darkness Claw!" he yelled, slashing his claws.

With a final snarl, DarkTyranomon dissolved. Digmon became Armadimon once more, looking bored.

"Funny," Chakmon said. "Usually they just turn dark and a fractal code appears around them."

"No, they don't," Makoto argued. "They turn into a ton of data and our partners absorb it all. If they don't, it's considered a waste."

"Well this is our world," Armadimon interrupted, indicating towards him and myself, "and Digimon just dissolve into data before returning to PrimaryVillage, dagya."

That seemed to end the discussion. Chakmon reverted back to Tomoki; Beelzebumon became Impmon. Then we stood there awkwardly.

"So…" Makoto began. "What do we do now?"

"Um…" Tomoki scratched his head, then turned to me. "What did Nasagi say to do?"

"Doesn't matter," I answered. "We quit. Nasagi's orders can't affect us anymore."

"Oh." Tomoki was silent. I guessed he was still thinking about Shinya and his lost friends.

"Don't you think it's kind of weird?" I asked suddenly. Everyone looked at me. "I mean, I was the youngest Chosen in my group and all the older Chosen disappeared."

"Because they were a threat to the Empire," Ai said. "Isn't that what you told us?"

"Yes, but what about you three? You guys were the youngest and all the older Tamers vanished, too," I said.

We all looked at Tomoki.

"I was the youngest, too," he said slowly. "And Shinya was trying to warn me about something. Something bad."

We were all silent for a moment. Then Tomoki said, "What do we do now?"

"Whatever you want, I suppose," I said. "We're not under any orders." And I've never felt more lost. "So…I guess we're saying goodbye then."

"Why?" Tomoki asked. "What are you going to do?"

"We're going to search for our friends, dagya," Armadimon said. "What else, dagya?"

"Just the two of you?" Tomoki sounded unsure. "Isn't that a little dangerous?"

"We've been through worse," I said. "Sorry to leave you alone and everything." But before we could turn to go, Tomoki said, "Wait!"

We stopped. "Look," he said, "my friends are missing too, and for some reason, I have a feeling that it's got something to do with your world. So, if you don't mind, I think I'll stick with you. Three is better than two, anyway."

"And what, you're just going to leave us here too?" demanded Makoto. "We're searching for our friends too, you know, and we have no idea what to do in this place. We're foreigners here."

"We've been fine by ourselves before," Shuichon said quietly. "Why not now?"

"The more the merrier," Ai said. "Besides, that was in our world, Shuichon. And now…" She trailed off meaningfully.

"If you'll take us, that is," Lopmon added.

I thought about it. We were being a little heartless. If Armadimon and I had gone to a different world, wouldn't we want help too? So I said, "Of course we will. Thank you."

Makoto and Ai smiled. But Lopmon turned to Impmon and Shuichon and asked, "What about you two?"

Impmon just shrugged. Shuichon said, "Well, I'm outnumbered, aren't I?"

Armadimon glanced at me and I shrugged. It wasn't that I was unhappy—I was actually really happy that we would have people with us. I was just wondering how long our group would stay together.

For whatever reason, I hoped it would be for a long time.