Standard Disclaimer: What's mine is mine, and what's yours is yours. However, if you factor in the internet, what's mine is his, and what's yours is hers, and then the internet takes the sum of the parts and sells them to pirates (BZZKT) ERRORERRORERRORERRRORERROR173086hfgnoubgmut85t308!!! (shorts and dies)
(Shaun and (Agumon) rush out and drag away the robotic author)
Author's Notes: Ahem. Sorry bout' that. The robot still has a few kinks in it. . ;
Anyhow, where was I...ah yes! Sorry for the little delay in getting this chapter out. I was bit hyped on my FFX fic, so I wrote two chapters instead of one. Sorry about that, but I just got excited. I'm sure some of you know that feeling. (Plus, some readers were shocked by the first chapter I put out this time around, thus necessitating an immediate second chapter to calm them down. ;)
Plus...I've been hooked on Disgaea. Probably the first REAL strategy RPG I've played since Advance Wars. And it's a heck of a lot of fun!!! BUY IT NOW!!!
Anyhow, now on to the reviews!
Anthony1: You have suspicions?! WE HAVE A SPY!!! (has Sonocomon attack Anthony1) Heh. All joking aside, I can see you aren't gullible. Perceptive little gnat, aren't ye? ;P
Silver Warrior: Confused, are ye? Well...I can see that you were deceived. You'll see. ;)
Now, begin!
"Hey. TK here. We received a message from someone who was imprisoned, so we set out to rescue him. To our eternal surprise, it was Ken Ichijouji, the most famous teen in all of Japan! After the rescue though, he told us some very shocking news...he heard Shaun speaking with the Emperor!"
Episode 10: Betrayal
Davis lay back in his bed as the moonlight shone through the slits of his window blinds. Even though he should have been asleep by now, he could not.
Not when so many things dominated his mind.
So...Ken Ichijouji's a Digidestined...how about that?! Davis was still hyped up on the fact that the greatest soccer player in Japan – of ANY age group – was now a Digidestined. After all, how often did you get to meet a celebrity?
And even better was the fact that he had a soccer game tomorrow...against him! The Odaiba Overlords versus the Tamachi Titans, tomorrow after school ended! And maybe after that, we can head to the Digital World...
That's when he was reminded of Shaun...and his treachery.
But then again, all he had to go on was Ken's word that he had seen Shaun speaking with the Emperor. But...it would explain Shaun's reluctance to share any information about his past. However, his gut instinct was telling him that something about the whole thing wasn't right.
Man, I hate it when I don't know what's going on. Davis grumbled as he pulled the sheets back over him...inadvertently causing DemiVeemon to fall of the bed.
The In-Training moaned as he scurried back up the bed. "Owieowieowieowieowie..."
Yolei sighed as she dreamed a very typical dream of a fangirl...
Oh...Ken Ichijouji...MARRY ME!!!
Poromon sighed as Yolei sighed and rolled over again, her mind in the throes of a wonderful dream. Unfortunately, she was apparently enjoying it too much...Poromon couldn't get any sleep with her tossing around like that.
Oh man, thought Poromon as she buried herself under a pillow. I wish she'd have a different dream! I can't get any sleep!!!
Cody was still awake.
He was weighing two choices in his head. Choice 1: Accept Ken's word about Shaun and the Emperor's conversation, thus necessitating a confrontation with Shaun. Choice 2: Disregard Ken's word and ask Shaun what really happened.
Cody didn't know...he was, by nature, a suspicious and wary person. Although he had been immediately apprehensive of Shaun from the beginning, Ken struck him as sort of odd...
Maybe it was because he was rather distrustful of celebrities in general.
"Cody? Why are you still awake?"
Cody glanced upward to see Upamon staring down at him from atop his head. Cody simply replied, "I guess I'm still a little pumped-up from today. Nothing to worry about at all."
Upamon seemed to accept it, so he cheerily said, "Okay!" and went back to sleep.
If only Upamon...if only that were all, thought Cody with a frown.
"Geez TK, get some sleep already!"
TK had been unable to get any sleep. He was too busy thinking. He had evidence...enough of it to incriminate Shaun. It was all a matter of confronting him. Patamon (who was perched on his head) had been trying to get TK to sleep for the past two hours...
Come midnight, the boy was still awake. Patamon gave up and just decided to go to sleep. And TK was still thinking.
I don't know, but it looks like we have all the evidence we need to get Shaun...we just need to catch him in the act first. If we do that, then we've got him.
Now, TK was not normally one to be so persistent in proving the guilt of others. However, when it came to a potential ally of a dark overlord...
I can't let this continue on for much longer. TK knew that the stress was getting to him. If he didn't get this whole thing off his chest soon, his performance in the Digiworld would be affected...or worse. I have to get Shaun to tell us what's going on...one way or another!
Koromon quietly snuck out of Tai's window, making his way up to the roof where Gatomon was waiting. It had taken him several minutes to pry open Tai's window, and he nearly fainted at how loud the window squeaked when he had finished. Thankfully for him, Tai's snoring could drown out the siren of an ambulance.
Koromon hopped up the stairs of the apartment's fire escape, reaching the top one minute later. Gatomon was sitting on the ledge of a building, staring at the full moon in the sky above. "Gatomon, I'm here!"
Gatomon turned her head to see the pink blob sit (stand? lay?) beside her on the rim. The city lights gleamed in the night, even as the moon overpowered them all in intensity. "Hey. Did Tai catch you?"
"Nah, he still snores as loud as ever," replied Koromon. Gatomon was grateful for one thing; only a noise louder than a jet engine could wake the Kamiya family up...apparently, they had been conditioned to Tai's loud snoring for so long that they were practically deaf at night.
"So Gatomon," said Koromon as he looked at his long-time friend and ally. "Why'd you wanna talk to me?"
"It has to do with Shaun and Ken," answered Gatomon as she went over what she was about to say in her head. "I know you've heard about our most recent member, Ken Ichijouji."
Koromon nodded. "Yeah. Tai seemed kind of excited when Kari told him about that." 'Excited' indeed. Tai had nearly erupted with shock at the news. It seemed that even Tai looked up to Ken's soccer prowess. "But what does he have to do with Shaun?" continued Koromon, a look of confusion on his face.
"It has to do with what Ken said." Gatomon remembered the look on everyone's face when Ken had recollected his time in the prison. "He said Shaun was speaking with the Emperor...as if though he were an ally. It's got a lot of the Digidestined rattled...but I think TK was actually glad to hear what Ken said." Out of the original group's Digimon, Gatomon was the most knowledgeable...and the most adept at reading people. And she had seen that TK had become increasingly edgy very edgy around Shaun.
Koromon sighed as he looked at the stars. "Do you believe what Ken said?"
"Honestly? I'm not going to trust him yet." Gatomon stood up and started to walk back down the fire escape to Kari's room. The last thing she said before going out of sight was, "But we're going to have to decide who our ally will be."
Koromon nodded in understanding before returning to Tai's room. Unbeknownst to him, Gatomon had another worry.
If Ken was a Digidestined...where was his partner?
The Emperor smiled as he slept.
Tomorrow, his plan would yield results.
/NEXT DAY AT 3:30 IN THE AFTERNOON!/
"Ladies and gentlemen of Odaiba! Please welcome the Tamachi Titans!"
The announcer dramatically spoke into the microphone, causing his voice to echo over the entire soccer field. The crowd cheered as the Titans, clad in green shirts and black shorts, jogged onto the field. Ken, of course, was leading the pack. Cameras belonging to the media flashed as they took as many pictures of Ichijouji as possible.
Man, he IS a big celebrity, thought Tai as the Titans approached the sidelines on the left side of the field. Tai was sitting with TK, Kari, Cody, Yolei, and Matt. Matt's band was taking the day off, and he had decided to join the others at the game. They all had to close their ears in some fashion; the roar of applause coming from the audience was ear-deafening. They really liked Ken.
So did Yolei. She was cheering as loud as the others.
"Go Ken!!!" cheered the Ken-crazy Yolei. Everyone else sweatdropped at Yolei's exuberance. Apparently, she too had fallen prey to Ken's 'charms', be they his popularity, athletic and academic prowess, or his gentlemen's personality.
Hook, line, and sinker, thought Matt with an amused snicker. Then his amused snicker disappeared as a pair of slender arms wrapped around his neck. Matt immediately knew who they belonged to, and he then immediately regretted that the girl who was embracing him hadn't been hooked by Ken's charms as well.
"Hi Matt!" said Jun, her voice drawing on a seductive tone in an attempt to charm Matt. Unfortunately for Jun Motomiya (and fortunately for Matt), her 'seductive' tone only managed to creep Matt out even further. With a nervous tone and a sweaty brow, Matt excused himself to go to the bathroom. Jun immediately followed. In truth, Matt had taken the opportunity to flee for his very life. Later on that night, Matt would be calling Davis, telling him to get his 'stupid sister' off his back.
But that wasn't going to happen until nightfall. Now the Odaiba Overlords were about to come onto the field.
"Now everyone, welcome our own! Come out Overlords!"
The Overlords charged out of gym adjacent to the soccer field. Davis led the team toward the right sidelines – the side that held the bleachers where the Digidestined sat –, his team's red and white uniforms being a complete contrast to those of the Titans. Unfortunately, the applause that greeted the Overlords was less than the applause that greeted the Titans. Tai grimaced as the applause ended. Jeez...we have home field and they get more cheers! This is a mutiny!
"Now, will the team captains please approach the center of the field for the coin toss!"
Davis and Ken were the team captains of the two teams. They approached the referee, sharing a competitive glare as the referee showed them the coin. "Titans Team Captain, please pick your side. Heads or Tails?"
Ken exchanged one more glance with Davis before calmly saying, "Heads."
The referee flipped the coin.
The coin spun slowly through the air. Everyone stopped breathing as the coin slowly began to descend. They knew that such a heated game would most likely be decided on who won the coin toss.
It landed.
The referee shouted, "Heads! Titans win the toss!"
Davis groaned. Ken smiled. "The Titans will start on offense. And we will face the east."
Davis' mouth practically fell to the ground.
And so did Tai's. He was practically appalled at Ken's choices. Kari noticed Tai's shocked expression and asked, "What's wrong Tai?"
"Ken just made two brilliant tactical decisions," replied Tai. Before Kari could wonder why Tai would use the word tactical, he continued on. "Ken is a great athlete to be sure...but he's a brilliant offensive wizard! I've heard of games where the Titans have scored ten points in one half!!! All because of Ken's offensive plans...and with the sun to their backs, the Titans won't have a problem moving downfield. But the Overlords will have the sun in their eyes for the first half!!!"
Kari understood what Tai was saying...although she wasn't as floored with shock as Tai was. Then again, I'm not a soccer fanatic.
Nine players took their positions on each side of the soccer field (forward, two wingers, two halfbacks, three defensive players, and a goalie for the uninformed). Davis assumed his position at left halfback. Four quarters, each 12 minutes long. Three timeouts for each time per half, two minute break between quarters, ten-minute halftime. Every single eye that belonged to an Overlord player fell upon Ken, who assumed the forward position. Ken locked eyes one last time with Davis before the whistle blew.
Two seconds later, Ken was a blur of motion that had already blown past the Overlord halfbacks. Davis blinked and wheeled around to see the defensive backs trying to keep him away from the goal. Wha...how'd he move so fast?!?!
Davis turned back around to see the Titans' halfbacks and wingers rush forward to join Ken. The Overlords' team captain growled; with Ken's sudden offensive blitz, their defense was in confusion. If Ken got into a passing frenzy, the goalie wouldn't know who to look for.
Gah...I wish we could use our forwards on defense for once! Unfortunately, soccer rules did not allow that. Shoving away the shivers that gripped him, Davis charged after the ball that Ken had just passed to a teammate. Before Davis could reach the Titans' left winger, he quickly passed it to the right winger on the opposite side of the field. Less than a second later, he passed it back to Ken...who was standing right in front of the Overlords' goal.
With one kick movement of his left foot, the ball was in the goal.
The scoreboard tallied its first point of the day.
The announcer cheerfully announced (pun not intended), "Well well! The Titans have made the first score! 1 to 0 with 11:45 left in the first quarter!"
Davis groaned as Ken calmly moved back to his forward position, even as his other teammates cheered. This is gonna be a long day...
Tai groaned as the Overlords' forward kicked the ball to their right-winger...only to have it intercepted by Ken. He muttered, "This is gonna be a long day..."
/ONE HOUR LATER WITH FOUR MINUTES LEFT IN THE 4TH QUARTER!/
Davis panted as he glanced at the scoreboard for the fourth time that quarter.
Titans: 11 – Overlords: 4
"Man...we're being slaughtered..." It was true when Davis (and Tai) had said it was going to be a long day. The Titans' offense, spearheaded by Ken, had completely overwhelmed the Overlords during the first half. Thankfully, Ken – being a forward and all – was not allowed to aide the defense.
Not like it had helped much, however. The ball had been kept on the Overlords' side of the field for 21 out of the 24 minutes in the first half. It was only in those scant three minutes that the Overlords scored.
However, it hadn't helped much. By the first half's end, the score was 7 to 1 in the Titans' favor. The ten-minute rest between halves helped relax the team...but one glance at the scoreboard would send the respective player into a shiver-filled frenzy. The Titans had intimidated the Overlords...and Davis knew it.
Come second half, the teams had switched field positions. However, the sun had already descended below the city's skyline, voiding the advantage the Overlords would've had (them with the sun to their backs, the Titans with the sun in their face, yadda yadda yadda). Davis and Tai had rued Ken's choice even more at that point in time; the Titans' advantage would not be the Overlords'.
Ken seemed to remain an unstoppable juggernaut. His teammates, however, had begun to feel fatigue setting in. That had resulted in three more points for the Overlords...but Ken had still managed to lead the Titans into scoring more. By the time the fourth quarter was close to ending, the Titans had scored four more points...resulting in the score of 11 to 4.
Okay, so maybe we can't win. Davis finally admitted to himself that this game was lost. However, he intended to go down fighting.
He turned his head back toward the sidelines as the Titans' left halfback threw the back in bounds. Davis quickly ran in front of the halfback's target – Ken – and began bolting downfield. The Overlords' offensive players began to race down with him. Ken dashed after Davis, steadily catching up with him. Davis turned to his right and kicked the ball as quickly as he could toward his teammate.
Unfortunately for him, Ken had already gotten between him and the intended receiver of the ball.
But unfortunately for Ken, the ball zoomed through the air...and collided with his abdomen. Ken lost air momentarily as he a sharp pang of pain erupted through his torso. He quickly banished the pain, however, and reversed direction, taking the ball with him.
Davis cursed to himself as he skidded before turning around to pursue Ken. How the heck does he do that?! He's like a relentless machine!
On the contrary, however, Ken was still feeling the ache of the collision. He had gotten hurt...which was a rare occasion for him. He felt unfamiliar with it...
He quickly banished it from his consciousness as he slowed down to pass the ball to his right winger. With a mighty kick, Ken caused the ball to sail from his foot to his winger.
Nevertheless, Davis tried to stop it. He leapt into the air to try and deflect the midair ball.
Unfortunately for him, it deflected off of a most undesirable place.
His manhood.
"YAAAAAAOOOOOWWWW!!!!!!!"
Davis impulsively grabbed his crotch as he fell to the ground, whimpering all the way. He tried to hold back the tears that threatened to cascade down his cheek. The referee blew his whistle, causing everyone to pause where they were. Ken rushed over to Davis' side, who was being helped off the field by the Overlords' wingers. "Sorry about that Davis," said Ken, his tone bashful and apologetic.
Every impulse in Davis' body screamed at him to pummel Ken for kicking the ball at his manhood. However, a ray of common sense roared at those impulses to shut up. It had been an accident; Davis was the one who moved into the ball's path anyway. Besides, I'm too numb to move. Davis merely mumbled, "Forget about it." He limped over to the bench and sat down as the coach handed him an ice pack. Davis gladly took it.
The game continued on as normal...but without Davis, the defense was shredded to bits by Ken and the Titans' offensive blitzkrieg. The game ended with the Titans winning 13 to 4.
Ken walked off of the field after the postgame team meeting...only to be hoarded by the media. The teen celebrity immediately ran off, trying to dodge any cameraman, reporter, or hyperactive fangirl that dared to cross him.
Yolei watched Ken lovingly as he left. "Oh Ken...what a super hunk!"
TK looked oddly at Yolei as he said, "Well, Davis isn't so impressed. After all, he DID get hit in the you-know-whats."
"Yeah," Yolei suddenly grinned a devilish sort of grin. "But...Davis probably had something like that coming anyway."
"I HEARD THAT!!!"
With a furious roar – his aches momentarily forgotten – Davis chased after Yolei, intending to pummel her into oblivion...as well as her smart-aleck mouth.
Of course, it wasn't long until he started limping again. Owowowowowow...I really hate this...Davis would have to get his revenge some other time.
Tai winced as Davis limped back over to the bench. "Geez man, I wouldn't advise moving around for awhile."
Davis sighed with defeat. "No kidding..."
"Cheer up Davis." Kari patted Davis on the shoulder, her face contorted into a gentle smile. "At least you were given a good challenge."
Davis instantly felt better...in his opinion, Kari's angelic smile could cheer up anyone in any situation. "Yeah...but I wish we could've won."
"Guys, we have a message." Cody's voice suddenly cut through the silence that followed. That's when everyone finally noticed that their D-Terminals were beeping. Everyone pulled theirs out and read the message within. "It's from Ken."
Dear Digidestined,
Sorry about the little...'accident' Davis. No hard feelings?
Anyhow, I wondered if you guys could come to sector 11-001-ZETA. It involves my partner...and why you haven't seen him. So can all of you come?
And can you bring Tai with you? I want to ask him something.
Sincerely, Ken Ichijouji
"Missing partner?" echoed TK as realization hit him. "Now that I think about it, Ken didn't have a partner with him when we rescued him..."
Cody pointed out, "Perhaps the Emperor separated them." That made sense to everyone. It was obvious now...Ken wanted help with finding his partner.
"Well, why should we deny a friend his partner? Let's go help him!" Tai said with enthusiasm. He was genuinely worried about Ken's partner...but part of him was curious about what Ken wanted to ask him.
"To the computer lab!" commanded Yolei as she lead the way to the computer lab. Cody knew Yolei to be boycrazy every once and awhile...but not to this extent. Perhaps it was because the boy in question was a celebrity.
Everyone left for the computer lab, walking steadily along in a relaxed pace...well, except for Davis. He limped his way to the computer lab.
Shaun sighed with aggravation. "Look Gennai, I've made my mind up...I'm going through with it."
"You sure?" replied the wrinkly old man. He knew what Shaun was going to do next...but they had reached an impasse about how he was going to go about it. "I think it's a bit too hard on them so soon."
"My mind's made up," retorted Shaun as he faced the computer with (Agumon) by his side. "The Digidestined need to learn this lesson...and they'll remember it if they learn it the hard way."
Gennai watched as Shaun pulled his D-3 out, then blinked, as if remembering something. "Hold on. Don't forget your D-Terminal." He handed Shaun his D-Terminal, which Gennai had been working with for the past hour. "I uploaded the erasure program to it like you asked."
Shaun smiled. "Thanks Gennai." He turned to his partner and asked, "Ready?"
(Agumon) nodded.
"Please Shaun, reconsider...they are still inexperienced. They have only been Digidestined again for little more than a week after four whole years!" Gennai was practically pleading; Shaun's sense of logic was beginning to prevail over his sense of principles. He had to admit...Gennai was right.
"You're right Gennai," admitted Shaun as he held his D-3 toward the computer monitor. "I just haven't dealt with anyone in such a long time...DIGIPORT OPEN!"
With a bright flash, Shaun and (Agumon) disappeared. Gennai sighed with a measure of regret...when that boy wanted to teach a lesson, he didn't skimp out on anything...he went ALL the way to make sure that the lesson was learned.
One dogpile later (which was more painful than usual to Davis, due to the fact he landed belly-down), everyone looked around to see that they were in a long, rocky canyon. The vegetation was sparse within the canyon; only a few trees were within the barren gorge. On the top of the canyon's sides, however, vegetation was much more abundant. Which was no surprise, especially considering a river of water was floating – yes, floating – through the trees. A river on both sides weaved through the branches on the trees, providing cool, refreshing nourishment that the trees needed to survive. In the distance, about fifty yards away, sat a Control Spire that loomed high over the strange sight. For a moment, the Digidestined swore they were looking at a scene from a fantasy book.
"Wow..." muttered everyone. For the new Digidestined (with the possible exception of TK and Kari), this was the first time they had seen something in the Digiworld that was so...otherworldly. Thus far, all locations had been similar to places they might've seen in the Real World...but this?
"Beautiful isn't it?"
Everyone turned to see Ken, sitting against the left wall of the canyon. "The scenery's nice...but the reason I called you here isn't," he said with a saddened tone.
Cody dared to say, "Does it have to do with your partner?"
"And the fact that he – or she – wasn't with you yesterday," added Gatomon.
Ken sighed. They had guessed correctly. "You're right...it does have to do with my partner...you see, the Emperor's got him." A tear began to leak from his right eye as he continued. "I don't know where he took him...and-"
"Say no more," interjected TK. He knelt beside Ken and patted him on the back. "We'll find your partner, right guys?"
Everyone nodded. Patamon added, "And when we do, we'll kick the Emperor's butt!"
"AYE!" heartily cheered the Digimon. Everyone was so focused on Ken...they didn't see a blue speck appearing in the distance.
But Ken did. Wha...?
"A stirring performance Ichijouji..."
Everyone turned to see Shaun and (Sonocomon) descend to the ground. The two had exited the Digiport in adjacent sector...but as to why, Ken did not know. Shaun smirked as he hopped off of Sonocomon.
"But hardly worthy of a 'Best Actor' award," Shaun finished with a mocking tone.TK immediately tensed up; he knew Shaun was up to something. He just knew it. "What do you want?" A small tone of contempt laced his voice.
Shaun was about to answer when Ken suddenly yelled, "YOU! I know for sure now...you were the one I saw speaking with the Emperor! You traitor!"
Shaun just stared blankly at everyone, as Sonocomon took the initiative to destroy the nearby Control Spire. He could tell from the glares of anger and stares of disbelief...that everyone else believed Ken's words.
He sweatdropped. He was rather dumbfounded, to be frank. Dang...I knew they were rather gullible early on...but this gullible? Shaun sighed as he shook his head. It was time to implement his plan. "Hand me your D-3 Ken."
That set an alarm off in everyone. Why would he want Ken's purple D-3? ...he must want to give it to the Emperor. Gatomon began to hiss as her fur stood on its end. The thought prompted her to stand defiantly between Shaun and the Digidestined. "If you want Ken's digivice, you'll have to go through me!"
The other Digimon began to realize that something big was up...and they also knew Gatomon would have a good reason for standing up to Shaun. "And us as well!" Veemon, Hawkmon, Armadillommon, Patamon, and Agumon joined Gatomon's side. A look of annoyance and exasperation crossed Shaun's face.
With a sigh, he said, "Forgive me, but this might hurt a bit." Sonocomon dedigivolved into (Agumon) as he bared his fangs. Shaun switched his D-3 to 'Digital'...and pressed the button. (Agumon) was suddenly enveloped in a white light.
(Agumon) digivolve to......(Greymon!)
Everyone gasped as the giant dinosaur Digimon suddenly stood before them. Muscular orange body with blue stripes. Hardened brown helmet protecting his head. Sharpened horns sticking out from the sides and nose of the helmet. Piercing red eyes. And (for some reason no one could clarify) (Greymon's) trademark 'beer belly' was considerably toned down.
The digivolution caused the others to digivolve as well.
Veemon armor-digivolve to......Flamedramon: The Fire of Courage!
Hawkmon armor-digivolve to......Halsemon: The Wings of Love!
Armadillomon armor-digivolve to......Digmon: The Drill of Knowledge!
Patamon armor-digivolve to......Pegasusmon: Flying Hope!
Gatomon armor-digivolve to......Nefertimon: The Angel of Light!
Agumon digivolve to......Greymon!
Five Armored Champions and a Champion faced off with one Champion. Flamedramon boasted, "The odds are in our favor!"
(Greymon) snorted as he prepared to fight. "Don't judge a mon by his cover! Nova Blast!" An orange orb of fire erupted from (Greymon's) mouth. The blast collided with the ground in front of the other Digimon, causing them to scatter. No damage was done, but its purpose was served.
Shaun now had a clear path to Ken.
Only the Digidestined were still in front of him.
He burst off into a run. Kari was the first one in front of him. He simply ran past her. He also ran past Yolei, even though she attempted to grab him. Cody had grabbed a stick and prepared to strike Shaun with it. However, Shaun simply ran around Cody, who was unable to strike him. Shaun was well past Cody when he ran into TK, who prepared to tackle him. Davis and Tai were beside him, waiting to pin Shaun down.
Shaun slid between TK's legs. Dumbfounded, TK blankly turned around to see Tai and Davis begin to pursue Shaun. But it was too late.
Shaun was right in front of Ken.
Ken was shocked. He hadn't intended for Shaun to react this way.
Now he was practically upon him.
Ken raised his arms out of defense as Shaun threw a punch at him. Ken quickly grabbed it and prepared to flip Shaun, but the brown-haired boy quickly twisted out of the attempted counterattack.
TK, Tai, and Davis neared, but they didn't dare approach; they could tell Shaun and Ken were about to duke it out.
Ken huffed as he angrily said, "You can't beat me...I'm not just an academic and athletic whiz. I'm also a master at Tae Kwon Do and jujitsu! You can't beat me!"
Shaun smirked. "We'll see."
Greymon growled as he charged at (Greymon). Unfortunately for him, (Greymon) ducked as he came upon him. Then (Greymon) rose, heaving Greymon into the air with his head. Greymon groaned as he collided with the side of the canyon, causing him to go dizzy with pain.
"Fire Rocket!"
(Greymon) turned to see three fireballs roaring towards him. He opened his mouth...and engulfed the three fireballs. Flamedramon gasped. "Impossible!"
"Now let me show you a real fireball," bellowed (Greymon) as his mouth began to glow orange. "Nova Blast!" Flamedramon was unable to move, still in shock that his fireballs were actually eaten. With his guard down, it was no surprise that Flamedramon was sent flying backwards. Upon collision with the ground, he dedigivolved to Veemon. "Owie..."
"Tempest Wing!" (Greymon) tilted his head to see Halsemon coming from the left as a tornado. He knelt down and pointed his rear into the as Halsemon drew near. Then, in a clockwise rotation, he turned quickly, causing his tail to crash into Halsemon. The bird was sent flying, dedigivolving into Hawkmon before he hit the ground. "I hope I get frequent flyer miles for this..."
"Gold Rush!" The five drills zoomed toward (Greymon)...but he melted them with a Nova Blast. Digmon gulped; in hindsight, he realized he made a mistake. He should've used Rock Cracking, which would've forced (Greymon) to at least evade...but he wouldn't be able to do that. A tail sweep into his head prevented him from doing so. He was already unconscious by the time he hit the ground and dedigivolved.
"Shooting Star!"
"Cat's Eye Beam!"
(Greymon) growled as he put his short arms up in an attempted defense. He knew Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were going to be his toughest opponents. Flamedramon, Halsemon, and Digmon were still inexperienced, and Greymon was sorely out of practice. But not these two though; apparently, they still remembered how to fight. And as they flew back and forth in the air, peppering him from a distance, he knew he wouldn't be able to hit them with a Nova Blast. Time to play my trump card...
"Nova Flame!"
Now, the stream of continuous fire was not as powerful as that of the Greymon from eight years ago (when the giant Greymon fought Parrotmon). It wasn't colored pale white (which would indicate that it was white-hot) either. However, it was colored the same orange that Nova Blast was. And it was still very hot.
And since it was continuous, Pegasusmon and Nefertimon were suddenly in a heap of trouble. They were now on the defensive again, as they weaved in and out of the line of fire (no pun intended).
However, Pegasusmon drifted in too close.
(Greymon) then swung his head to the side, smacking Pegasusmon with the side of his head. The collision hurt (Greymon) as well, but Pegasusmon was worse off. He was sent hurtling, dedigivolving into Patamon before he even hit the ground. Then (Greymon) turned his attention to Nefertimon.
"Rosetta Stone!" A slab of rock rocketed toward (Greymon)...who then leapt into the air. He closed the distance between himself and Nefertimon in seconds...just before he thwacked Nefertimon in the face with his tail. She dedigivolved into Gatomon upon hitting the ground.
(Greymon) then felt a flare of pain erupt across his back. He gritted his teeth before turning around. Greymon was standing behind him, ready to attack once more. "You can use Nova Flame...how come?"
(Greymon) chuckled. "All Greymon can learn that technique in time...but today is not that day for you!"
Greymon growled as he charged at (Greymon), who immediately prepared to counter.
Ken launched a quick offensive, stringing together a chain of front kicks, half-moon crescents, and rapid jabs. Shaun defended the front kicks with upper blocks, sidearm blocks, and lower blocks. Shaun then ducked under a half-moon crescent before countering with a sweeping kick.
The kick swept through Ken's ankles, causing Ken to fall. However, he quickly placed his hands on the ground before he collided with terra firma. It lessened the pain of impact, and it allowed him to quickly rebound. He quickly punched Shaun in the chin before following up with a kick to the midsection. The punch connected, but Shaun still had enough presence of mind to evade the last kick.
Shaun quickly backed away to prepare for the inevitable counterattack. Instead, Ken got up and started laughing. "Very impressive...I've never gotten a challenge from anyone before. In ANYTHING. You've impressed me...and that takes a lot."
Shaun smiled at Ken's compliment. "I'd say thank you, but you don't deserve it...and its time for this façade to end." As he said that, Greymon was thrown into the ground, the collision causing him to dedigivolve to Agumon. (Greymon) huffed as he fell on his butt, his energy rapidly leaving him.
At the point in time, Shaun pulled out...a purple D-3. Ken gasped as his hands immediately searched his pockets. Nothing but his D-Terminal. Wha...how'd he get it?! "How?!"
"I swiped it at the very beginning of the fight," admitted Shaun as he grinned. A look of amusement crossed his face. "I just kept fighting you...so that I could see how you measured up." A look of shock crossed Ken's face. Shaun smirked; the Emperor's plan was falling apart. "And you can hold your own in a one-on-one fight, I'll grant you that. But if you even dared to try and come up against all of us all your own, you'd fail miserably. And that's why you're doomed to fail...Emperor."
That threw everyone for a loop. Everyone had gathered around the two combatants to either watch the fight proceed or wait to ambush Shaun whenever it ended. However, Shaun's accusation had thrown them for a loop. TK, however, didn't buy it. He thought that it was just an attempt to pass the buck. "Where's your proof?"
Shaun smiled; he had been waiting for TK to ask that. "Two pieces of evidence. And they're right in front of you. Hidden...but here nonetheless." That's when he pulled out his D-Terminal and connected it to Ken's D-3; apparently, the D-3's antenna could connect to a tiny slot inside the D-Terminal. "Activating Erasure Program."
The program that Gennai had implemented into Shaun's D-Terminal suddenly activated with a press of a button. A long, blue-white stream of what looked like barcodes (think of how the data from defeated Digimon is absorbed in Digimon Frontier) circled around Ken's purple D-3...and it looked like it was slowly being eaten away. Everyone except Ken gasped...because he could see the black color beginning to appear where the purple sidebars had been moments before. No...how?! Where did he get a program like that?!
"The Digital World itself is very difficult to manipulate," explained Shaun as the barcodes finished eating away at the white and purple colors of the D-3. "But the manipulation of characteristics of singular objects within the Digiworld...that's another matter altogether." Finally, the barcodes faded away...revealing a digivice with a dark gray body and black sidebars.
Everyone gasped at the sight. Ken recoiled as he gritted his teeth. Gatomon hissed; she could feel the darkness emanating from Ken's D-3 now that the cloak was gone. Shaun smirked as he tossed the D-3 back to Ken. "And I believe the Dark Digivice belongs to no one else but the Emperor." He then pointed his D-Terminal - screen-forward - towards Ken. "And now for item #2. Activate Erasure Program."
The stream of barcodes erupted from the screen and encircled Ken. It wasn't painful...just unnerving. To Ken, it felt like he was hovering between both the Real and the Digital Realms at the same time.
Then...his school uniform began to disappear.
Replacing his uniform...was the garb of the Digimon Emperor, shades and all.
Shaun smiled. Everyone was aghast. Yolei looked like she was about to die; after all, it's not everyday when you find out that you have a crush on a teen celebrity who's also a megalomaniac who's bent on ruling the world.
It was now official; Ken was the Digimon Emperor.
The Emperor growled. "Very good Shaun...you've known that I'm the Emperor...but they didn't," he pointed in the general direction of the other Digidestined. "And I could tell they were rather...wary of you." The Emperor could see a few of them wince. Time to pour salt in the wound. "But when they come and rescue me, they buy everything I say. Even I was surprised at how easy it was to deceive them! They took my word, the word of a famous stranger, over that of an ally who is reluctant to share any information about his past!"
At this point, everyone of the aforementioned Digidestined were beginning to feel real stupid and ashamed. Especially TK.
The Emperor suddenly started giggling. It then became an all-out laughter.
"What's so funny?!" demanded Armadillomon.
"Just reminded...of how foolish people are." A smile adorned the Emperor's lips. He was chuckling...and he was shaking his head as if he were feeling sorry for the human race. "Fools...all of them. Just the fact that you took the word of a famous person over that of an ally shows me how foolish people really are! And I will not let myself be tarnished by it any longer!"
The Emperor pocketed his Dark D-3 and opened his gauntlet; his finger hovered over one button as he glanced at Tai. "Oh and Tai...I just remembered, I had a question for you."
"What is it?" Tai was on the defensive...and ready for anything. But he didn't expect the sudden yelp come from behind him. He turned around to see Agumon...but he was wrangling with a metal claw that had grabbed him. He managed to shout, "Tai!" before the claw dragged him into a black hole that disappeared as soon as Agumon did.
"AGUMON!!!" Tai was aghast; Agumon had just been captured!
"I was going to ask you if I could take your partner." The Emperor grinned as Tai turned to glare red-hot daggers at him; the thrill of getting under someone's skin never lost its appeal! "I intended for everyone to turn against Shaun, but I had a backup plan just in case!"(Greymon) roared as he began charging; he had gotten to his feet during the whole conversation. "Say that again when you're face-to-face with me!"
The Emperor chuckled as he pressed another button on his gauntlet, teleporting back to his base. That resulted in (Greyon) stumbling, ramming his head into the side of the canyon. The jarring blow sent (Greymon) into a tizzy, and his wounds finally took their toll on him. He dedigivolved into (Agumon) who was rubbing his head. "Ow...Shaun, take a note. Never let me do that again."
Shaun smiled. "Note taken."
Tai clenched his fist as his eyes glared at where the Emperor had stood just moments ago. His partner had been taken! Right from under his nose at that! Ken...that traitor!!!
Speaking of traitors, everyone slowly turned to face Shaun. The awkward silence that prevailed now was smothering the guilty party; they had practically chosen the enemy's word over that of their ally, and it had nearly resulted in their end.
TK, for one, felt especially guilty. He was ashamed at himself with how persistent he was at trying to prove Shaun's involvement with the Emperor...his involvement with darkness. He was so sure of it...so sure that it scared him now that he thought about it. What was that all about? Why was I so persistent?
Shaun stared at them silently; they feared he was going to rant at them for being so foolish...because in hindsight, they were.
Instead, he looked at them all with a smile. "I hope you all learned a lesson here."
That threw them for a loop-de-loop. Since when did this become a classroom session?
"Trust is not an easy thing to create. Trust, however, is easy to break." The last sentence – or so Cody thought – seemed to have a tone of disapproval. However, his tone immediately became more light-hearted. "However, I know that humans are not perfect...we all make mistakes. You all still have my trust...so how about it? We make amends?"
Everyone was silent. They truly didn't know what to say...Shaun was giving them a second chance. Davis was the first to accept it. "Sure thing! Does that mean we have to reintroduce ourselves?"
Shaun grinned. "Nope."
Soon, everyone agreed. In ten minutes, everyone was preparing to leave for the Real World. TK was the last to leave...because he wanted to apologize.
"Shaun?"
Shaun turned to TK and shook his head, as if telling TK to stop. "You don't need to apologize....in the words of Cody's grandfather, you only fail if you do not take the lessons of life to heart."
TK nodded in understanding. "Thanks." After thinking about it, he wondered why he was so distrustful of Shaun in the first place...so what if he was rather mysterious? A lot of people didn't want to reveal the past to others.
Patamon yawned as he plopped onto TK's head. "Can we go? I'm tired..."
(Agumon) sweatdropped as he nervously scratched the back of his head. "Sorry. I can go a bit overboard at times."
TK smiled as he pulled out his D-3 and prepared to exit the Digiworld...when Shaun stopped him. "Wait. I have one thing left to tell you..."
TK turned around to look at Shaun; he felt odd about how his voice suddenly took on a tone of seriousness. "What?"
Shaun wondered if he should reveal this; it could've been more than they could handle. But on the other hand...what the heck. "I think I might know what the Emperor plans to do with Agumon."
"Let me out!!!"
Agumon struggled against his chains in the darkness of his cell. He had been dumped here and chained since he was kidnapped...and now the Emperor and his partner, Wormmon were watching him.
The Emperor grinned as he replied, "Sorry. No can do. I need you."
Agumon stared straight at the Emperor's unreadable eyes...and if he had been looking, he would've seen Wormmon suddenly recoil, ever so slightly at the words 'I need you.'.
"Why?"
The Emperor grinned as he pulled a Dark Ring out from behind his back.
"You're going to be the most powerful Digimon under my command."
And with one swift motion, Agumon's consciousness was erased.
He was now a servant of the Emperor.
To be continued...
Next time...
Episode 11: Skullgreymon VS. Metalgreymon
Author's Notes: Too unbelievable? The fight scene that is? You know...between (Greymon) and the other six Digimon?
Well...there's actually a good reason for that.
What reason is that?
Well I'm not telling until later on, so nya! :P
See you soon!