"Where did everyone disappear to, Izzy?" Megan demanded, leaning towards the older boy.
"I-I told you already, Megan, they went home!" Izzy stammered, trying to silently communicate to Jeanna not to give it away. Megan, however, wasn't buying it.
"I'm not letting you off the hook that easy," Megan said, folding her arms across her chest, "I know you're hiding something Izzy. Now WHAT is the Digital World and what exactly are Digimon?" Jeanna suppressed her laughter at the Izzy's expression of discomfort.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" Izzy said frantically. Megan gave him a deadpan stare and then went for something in her pocket.
"Then what do you call this?" She asked, holding up a red digivice, "Don't try telling me it's nothing; Jeanna already showed me hers and Dakota got one, too."
"Huh? Where'd you get that?" Izzy asked, looking startled.
"No, Megan's not coming over," Dakota was telling his mother over the telephone, "We have to stay after school for computer club, but since you already made the brownies, I'll come home and pick them up first." His fist tightened over the yellow digivice.
"The Dark Digivice is draining our power and making us all weak as new born kittens," Gatomon complained, shaking.
"That's why you couldn't digivolve," Tai said, looking at Augumon with sudden revelation. Augumon looked at Nekomon and folded his arms across his chest.
"Yeah, if I could Digivolve, he wouldn't stand a chance."
"It's also preventing me from using my psychic power," Nekomon said, gesturing towards the red stone on her forehead.
"The Digimon Emperor," Gatomon told Austin, Mimi, and TK, "uses these dark rings to control the digimon."
"Yeah, that's right," Patamon chimed in, "And once the ring captures you, you're his slave for life."
"The callers do everything but get rid of flees," Gatomon joked weakly.
"Stupid Digimon Emperor!" Kari burst out, "I'm going to slap a dark ring on him!"
The Digimon Emperor laughed.
"Oh, you think so, do you?" He asked Kari's face on the monitor, "Well, this is just a game anyway. And I'm afraid if you can't play by my rules, I'll have to disqualify you." He lifted a finger and a square of red boxes appeared, "Hm, who will I have destroy you all?" He mused, "Eenie, Meenie, Minnie, Mon." A black tri-ceratops like creature with a dark ring around his middle appeared on one of the screens. "Attack, Monochromon!"
A series of lights flew down a dark corridor lined with cages. Hundreds of pairs of red eyes lit up the darkness. Finally, the lights stopped at a cage holding the same digimon on screen. With a squeak of bolts, the Monochromon was let loose from its prison.
"Looks like a deflated beach ball." TK commented after they were shown the Digi-Egg laying on the rock.
"Well, it DOES have a spike through it," Kitty said, bending down to get a closer look.
"Yeah, plus it's heavier than my mom's meatloaf," Tai said, hands on his hips.
"Both Tai and I tried to lift it," Tiffany said, "It was a no go." Without a word, TK walked up the small incline the egg was sitting on and bent down to pick it up. He grunted a few times, but to no avail.
"It won't budge!" He said. Kari sighed and walked up.
"Move aside, this is a woman's job." She, too, tried to lift the egg.
"Too bad we don't have a woman here to help," TK teased. Kitty elbowed him.
"Let me try." Kitty wrapped her hands around the egg and pulled as hard she could, but she couldn't lift it from its place either.
"Guys, I pump iron all the time!" Austin exclaimed, "Let me do it." He rolled up his sleeves and rushed to where the rest of them were standing. He braced himself and slowly went for the egg. He strained and then gave a pull. The Digi-Egg easily popped out of place, causing Austin to fall on his rear. "What I tell you? Light as a feather." Everyone stared, mouth agape, "You guys need to work out a little more."
"There's a problem," Tai warned, as magma began to spew out the hole left by the egg. Austin gasped and looked up. Suddenly a shape appeared in the hot red liquid. It becomes clearer and clearer until a blue digimon could be seen. One eye popped open, then another, and then the digimon leapt at Austin with a huge grin on its face.
"Free at last! Free at last!" It chanted, hoping in circles around a startled Austin. Augumon and Tai exchanged confused looks, "You moved the Digi-Egg of Courage!" The little digimon lifted a claw up to Austin, "My name's Veemon, but you can just call me Veemon." Austin stared.
"Hi, I'm Austin." He said.
"I've heard of Veemon before!" Nekomon said with a grin. Augumon nodded.
"Supposedly he's a fun-loving, adventure-seeking little digimon that brings good luck!"
"But I thought they were just a myth," Coronamon said, looking at the pair of digimon.
"Nope, I'm real alright," Veemon said, still looking at Austin, "And I've been waitin' a very long time to meet ya Austin."
"Uh, I think you've got the wrong guy," Austin said.
"Nope, you're the one alright, because you're the only one who could move the Digi-Egg of Courage."
"That's right," Tai murmured to Tiffany, "Even though I had the Crest of Courage, I couldn't move the Digi-Egg, but Austin could."
"Hey, there's another Digi-Egg over here," Kitty called, pointing towards the rock wall of the cave. The group walked over and stared at the pale gold egg that was glittering in the half-light of the cave.
"I don't recognize that symbol," TK said, squinting at it.
"Either do I," Kari confirmed.
"That," Veemon said with an air of importance, "Is the Digi-Egg of Innocence."
"Innocence?" Tiffany repeated, "I don't think we've ever had anyone with the Crest of Innocence."
"Let's see," Kitty said, ticking the crests off her fingers, "Light, Hope, Compassion, Friendship, Courage, Harmony, Love, Serenity, Reliability, and Knowledge."
"Nope," Tiffany agreed, "No Innocence."
"Well, maybe it's Mimi's," Austin said, looking pointedly at the girl, "She has a Digi-Vice, too." Mimi's hazel eyes widened and looked at the egg in the wall before she quickly shut them and shook her head.
"What's the matter?" Veemon asked, walking to stand next to the girl, "Don't ya want a Digimon?" Mimi nodded, "Well, what are ya waitin' for?" He asked. Mimi opened her eyes and looked more determined. She slowly walked forward towards the hole in the wall. Arms shaking, she reached forward and grabbed the egg. It came out easily and bright pink light exploded from the hole left behind. Mimi toppled over and fell to the ground, still clutching the Digi-Egg.
"Ya-hoo!" A voice came from the hole, "Thank goodness! It was getting cramped in there." Suddenly, a white dog with huge pink, feathery wings soared out of the hole. It's blue eyes fell to Mimi and it immediately dropped to the ground in front of her.
"You're the one!" The digimon exclaimed, "You're the only one who could move the Digi-Egg of Innocence. That means you and I are paired together. Please to meet you. I am Rikumon."
"Wow, a Rikumon," Coronamon said, eyes widening, "They're really rare. They are known throughout the Digital World for their beauty."
"Riku...mon?" Mimi asked, speaking for the first time.
"I've been waiting a long time to meet you." Rikumon said. Rikumon really was beautiful. Her snout was pink, as well as it's belly, and she had a flower-like pattern over one of her eyes.
"I'm Mimi," Mimi told her partner, reaching out one hand. Rikumon bent down her head and whipped her flame-tipped tail around her frame happily to allow Mimi to pet her, "You're very soft. And you really are pretty." Mimi said.
"Don't think that means I can't fight," Rikumon said, "I'm legendary for my fighting skills, too." Suddenly the whole cavern shook and everyone pitched forward.
"What's that, an earthquake?" Austin asked, looking wildly around.
"No, look up there," TK shouted, pointing straight to the top of the cave. The Monochromon had made it and was gouging a huge hole in an attempt to get the kids at the bottom.
"It's a monster!" Austin screamed. Rikumon leapt in front of Mimi, teeth barred.
"No, that's a Digimon!" Kari shouted over the loud sounds of falling rock.
"A Monochromon!" TK added. The Monochromon growled and plunged into the cave.
"Boom Bubble!" Patamon attacked.
"Pepper Breath!" Augumon said.
"Psychic Blast!" Nekomon said, shooting a rainbow beam towards the attacker. But everything glanced off the Monochromon's diamond hard shell.
"Volcanic Strike!" Monochromon called, a fire ball blasting from his mouth.
"Come on, let's go!" TK shouted and ran the other direction. Mimi, Kari, Tiffany and Tai followed. Tai turned around.
"Austin!" Austin screamed and ran after them just as the fireball came for him.
"Austin, hurry up and open the Digi-Egg!" Veemon said. Austin panted and looked at him.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" The Monochromon was in hot pursuit, still flinging fire balls at the fleeing teenagers. Finally, Veemon and Austin got out of the cave, only to find themselves looking over a cliff with the Monochromon right behind them.
"Austin, get down here!" Tai shouted from below. Monochromon sent another attack towards Austin's turned back. Veemon tackled him, and the pair fell to the ground below the cliff. The fire ball sailed forward and Kari and Kitty ducked as it came their way.
"Are you okay?" Veemon asked, standing over Austin.
"Everything but my earlobes," Austin groaned.
"You own the Digi-Egg of Courage! You've got to use your courage to open it up!" Tai came running up to them with Tiffany right behind him.
"Austin, get up, it's not safe!" He called. Austin sat up.
"I can digivolve if you open the egg," Veemon said, "But you have to have courage to do it."
"It worth a try." Tai said. TK and Patamon rushed up to them.
"We've got to get out of here!" He said, pointing at Kari.
"Kari?" Gatomon asked.
"I can't move my ankle," Kari said, wincing in pain.
"Kari is injured!" Kitty called to them, kneeling next to the girl.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Mimi asked. Rikumon looked at her.
"You need to open the Digi-Egg of Innocence so I can digivolve!" Rikumon said. Mimi looked at her.
"How am I supposed to use Innocence, though?" She asked, "That doesn't sound possible."
"We're sitting ducks here," Tai said. At that moment, Monochromon sailed into the clearing and straight towards the three girls. All three, plus Tai, gasped.
"Austin!" Veemon cried desperately.
"Mimi!" Rikumon said, looking up at her.
"Have courage," Tai told Austin.
"Kari's in trouble!" Austin said. Mimi looked around and decided panicking would not help. Focusing inside herself like Dakota had taught her, Mimi tried to find her innocence. She opened her eyes, held out her digivice and said:
"Digi-Armor Ener-gize!" Austin clutched his Digi-Egg harder then ever and then stood up, whipping his goggles off of his head.
"You want courage? I'll show you courage! Digi-Armor Energize!" He held up the egg, which exploded with red light.
"Veemon Armor-Digivolve to...Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage!"
"Rikumon Armor-Digivolve to...Mikarimon, the Warrior of Innocence!"
Veemon was replaced by a tall blue creature with flame-like armor on different parts of his body and Rikumon was replaced with feminin human form wearing blue and pink armor and weilding an enormous shield and sword. Mikarimon slashed at the Monochromon with her sword, causing it to go flying. Flamedramon landed next to her.
"Armor Digivolve?" Tai asked.
"Armor Digivolve, huh?" The Digimon Emperor asked, folding his fingers together and leaning forward, "Against the power of my Dark Digivice, they shouldn't be able to Digivolve at all. They're more resourceful than I thought."
The Monochromon raced towards the defending digimon. Flamedramon easily stopped it in its tracks. He threw it behind him towards Mikarimon and nodded at the warrior. She slung at it with her shield and sent it flying into the trees where a loud crash told them it had fallen to the ground.
"Volcanic Strike" It said, hurtling even more fireballs towards them. Flamedramon merely ran forward, extinguishing each one with the armor on its wrists. Growling, the Monochromon head butted Flamedramon who was lifted upwards into the sky. He flipped over and becoming covered in flames.
"Rocket Blaze!" Flamedramon shuttled downward towards the Monochromon.
"Barbecue that Dark Ring, Flamedramon!" Gatomon cheered. Flamedramon hit at the precise point and the ring shattered.
Flamedramon landed behind it and shook hands with Mikarimon. Then both were enveloped in light that shot towards their partner's digivices, which lit up and caused a communicator like Izzy and Tai's to form in the pockets of their jackets. Both Digimon shrunk back to their original forms.
"That's a good Monochromon," Kari said as she and Kitty stroked the now exhausted dinosaur.
A green, caterpillar-like Digimon slunk into the Digimon Emperor's look out.
"You called me, oh evil emperor?"
"I believe we've found ourselves a worthy foe at last." The boy told the digimon.
"Great, just one question...what's a foe?"
Kari, Kitty, and Mimi waved after the departing Monochromon.
"Bye Monochromon! Don't forget to write!"
"I can't believe the Digimon Emperor can turn such a nice digimon into such a nasty creature," TK said.
"Nice workin' with ya Austin, let's do it again some time," Veemon was saying as he shook Austin's hand.
"Great!" Austin said.
"That was amazing, Mimi!" Rikumon said, flying in circles over Mimi's head, "With you, I'm powerful than ever."
"Hey guys," Tai said, walking over to Austin and Veemon, "That armor digivolving was pretty cool."
"Yeah," Augumon agreed, "Even though we can't digivolve, I know you guys will be able to defeat the Digimon Emperor with no problem."
"And we'll always be there to help," Nekomon said. Tiffany nodded.
"Yeah, leave it to me," Veemon said. Tai's face grew serious.
"Austin, I thought you were really brave back there in that battle," He began, "But I noticed you broke your goggles. And as we all know, the leader of the Digi-Destined wouldn't look right without them. So here. I want you to have mine." Tai took his own goggles off and handed them to Austin.
"Wow," Austin said, putting them on and blinking.
"They look real cute," Kari said with a smile. Austin blushed and grinned.
"Good, the sun's going down. Now we can relax." Patamon said.
"Why's that?" TK asked.
"The Digimon Emperor never appears at night," He explained.
"Excuse me, Tai, but it is getting late," Augumon said, "Shouldn't you be taking Tiffany home?"
"Yeah, but I'm not sure if we can even get home," Tai said, looking worried. He turned his head to speak to Mimi and Austin, "Be careful. Never stay too long." Just then, the voices of Megan, Izzy, Jeanna, and Dakota came from a little ways off.
"Now that Dakota's here can we go to the Digital World?" Megan asked.
"It's too dangerous," Izzy answered.
"But at least I got the brownies," Dakota said. Walking towards the voice, the group found a TV set laying on the ground with a picture of the four others eating brownies on it.
"These are the best things I've ever tasted," Izzy said, chewing happily. Megan looked at the screen.
"What does it mean when the light on that goes on?"
"What thing?" Izzy asked.
"That thing on the computer," Jeanna said, pointing, "We just saw the light go on." Megan looked again and screamed. The group in the Digital World could be seen on a small square in the screen. Austin's face filled up the whole screen.
"Hey guys, let me in, it's Austin!" A light came out of the screen and suddenly the entire group had landed in a heap on top of the other four.
"Hey, get off, you're squishing my brownies!" Izzy's muffled shout came from the bottom of the pile.