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Super Saiyan 3 Odd: You'll see soon ;-) Amen. Thank you for your reviews.
Ackbarfan5556: Who knows what he's hiding. My instincts tell me he's been hiding a lot of things from them.
Music Chick: Yup, a lot to like about this last chapter. Thank you for being so loyal.
Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: Thank you for your always-generous reviews, my friend. You'll find out the answers to your questions over the next few chapters. In the meantime, yes those are quite a few of the references I was making. Though with deciding Matt's dad's girlfriend's name, it was just a random pick. Still missed a couple though.
Ratchet McCloud: Yup XD That was the obvious one.
Guest: I'm glad you like that. Yeah, he was a little too Mr. Perfect Goody Two-Shoes for my liking. You'll get your wish, you just have to be patient :-)
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And thank you to all of you for getting me over 100 reviews already. This is the fastest I have ever gotten to over 100. Thank you all for your words of encouragement and feedback.
Welcome back, guys for yet another chapter. The response to last chapter was tremendous. I could not have asked for anything more. Now we are getting into the final part of the Emperor arc. That's right. The group is going camping! Before we begin, I want to advise you guys that the chapters will be a bit shorter in this final arc simply because there's going to be a lot of hard-hitting stuff and I don't want to overwhelm you guys with too much.
I'll get to who got the most references at the end. For now, enjoy the chapter!
"Where are you, you son of a bitch?"
Matt scanned the entire area for signs of the Emperor's presence. The vast plain looked like it was alive with the grass blowing in the gusty winds. He, TK, and Izzy were in charge of checking this section of the Digital World for any signs of the Emperor. The Jedi each took different sections, but no sightings had been reported thus far.
"Nothing," TK muttered.
"What do we do now?" Izzy asked.
Matt shrugged. "I guess there's no other choice but to go back," he replied. "That coward is hiding somewhere that we can't sense him." He then bit his lip. "We'll find him though. He won't pass up a chance to mess with us."
His two companions nodded.
"Not unless he finds us first," Izzy added.
"That's what I'm afraid of."
The three Jedi headed back towards the television they came out of just a quarter mile away. The wind thrashed their hair in all directions, and almost blew TK's hat off of his head.
Izzy pressed against his earpiece to communicate with the others.
"The plains are clear," he said. "No sign of the Emperor. Over."
Tai's voice entered his ear. "Jungle's clear. We're heading home. Over."
"Roger," Sora replied. "We've got nothing at the beaches either. Over."
Izzy clicked his tongue against his teeth. "Alright, let's go home," he said. "I don't think we're going to find him today."
"We've only been doing this for the past three days," Davis said over the radio with dripping sarcasm. "Maybe we're just not looking hard enough."
"Davis, that's enough," Tai chastised.
Izzy heard where this was going and quickly muted the radio traffic in his ear. He and the blonde brothers soon reached their destination. TK raised his hand and opened the gate with the Force. The three of them vanished back to the real world in the blink of an eye.
"Alright, let's go home. I don't think we're going to find him today."
Joe nodded and looked down at Cody, who was struggling to climb up the rocks. The Jedi of Reliability stayed put and waited for the boy to catch up with him. Just as he was about to, Cody's hand slipped on a rock and started to fall. Joe quickly caught his hand.
"You okay?" he asked.
Cody nodded, his small body shuttering with adrenaline from the brief fall. "Yeah. Thanks, Joe."
"That's why I'm here," Joe smiled. "Izzy gave the order for us all to head back. We'll take one last look up this hill, and then head back if we don't find anything."
"Okay."
Joe pulled the boy up so he could wrap his arms around his neck and then resumed climbing. It took three minutes for them to reach the top. They stopped for a moment to catch their breath before looking over the other side of the hill. What they saw shocked them.
Down in the valley below, a large, pointed rocky structure that reminded the boys of Pride Rock sat nestled in the soil. A large crater surrounded it, looking almost like a moat. For some reason, Cody thought the structure was vaguely familiar somehow.
"What is that?" Joe asked in a hushed voice.
"I don't know," Cody replied. He pulled some binoculars out of the folds of his yukata. "Let me take a closer look."
Bringing the device up to his eyes, Cody zoomed in on the rock. Now that he saw it a bit closer, his hunch had been correct. There was machinery and a large mechanized dome in the middle of the structure, proving this was no ordinary rock. From behind the binoculars, Cody's eyes widened in disbelief.
"We've found it," he breathed.
"What?" Joe asked.
"Joe, I think we've found the Emperor's base," Cody elaborated, excitement filling him. "Hurry, take some pictures so we can use them later. Do you have your camera with you?"
Joe pulled his camera out, flashing a sly grin at the boy.
"Way ahead of you, partner," he said with a wink.
Joe took several photographs from different angles. Once he felt like he had enough, he put the camera back in the folds of his yukata and they started their way back down the hill.
The Destined Jedi sat around Izzy's room waiting for Joe and Cody to get back. Outside, the sun shined brightly into the bedroom even with the blinds closed. It was one of those days that was too good to be spent indoors, even with the scorching hot temperatures of August bearing down on Tokyo.
A flash of light came from the computer and Joe and Cody emerged from the gate.
"Did you guys find anything?" Tai asked.
"Oh man, you are not going to believe this!" Cody replied with excitement. "We just found the Emperor's base."
A gasp went through the room at the good news.
"Where was it?" TK asked.
"Did you guys get photos of it?" Davis added.
"Yeah, right here," Joe took his camera from his pocket and started showing pictures to Izzy. The Jedi of Knowledge's eyes brightened with every photograph that he saw. This was more than he could have hoped for.
"Good work, guys," he said, taking Joe's camera and hooking it up to his computer. He dragged the photos from the file and stuck them in a folder of his own. "Now that we have some reconnaissance, we can start building a plan of how to infiltrate it."
"The last time we got in was a complete accident though," said Davis. "How are we going to get inside this time?"
"That's what we're trying to figure out, Davis," Matt replied. "Things like this take time. So now that we know where the base is, what's our plan going forward? We might not get this good of a chance again."
"I'm thinking. I'm thinking," Izzy said irritably, still typing away on his computer.
Kari stood up from Izzy's bed. "We have no choice but to destroy it," she said. "If we can do that, then the Emperor won't be able to escape us when we go to capture him."
Tai nodded. "Good thinking, Kari," he said with a proud smile. "That's what we'll do. In order to do that, though, it probably will take some time more than just one day."
"That's right," TK agreed. "Ken's not going to go down without a fight, so it's going to take longer than a day to defeat him. Let's promise that we won't come back until he is defeated, whether we capture or kill him. Are you guys with me?"
Cody's eyes gazed down at the floor nervously, and Yolei had a conflicted look on her face. Davis was a bit more open about it, but even he had some reservations about going away without telling his parents where he was going. All of them felt that way.
"Guys?" TK's voice snapped them out of their thoughts.
"I understand what you're asking of us, but I'm not sure if we can go through with it," Cody answered. "If I'm gone for a few days without telling my family, they'll think something bad happened."
"Is there no other way we can do this?" Yolei asked, her eyes pleading for him to say there was. "There has to be another way."
Matt growled in frustration at all their whining. "What part of 'it's not going to be easy' do you not understand?" he stormed. "When all of us older kids were sent to the Digital World, we did not have the luxury of coming back home at the end of every day! We had to struggle to survive and make it to the next day!"
"But there must be –" Yolei said in a weak voice.
"You're acting like a bunch of spoiled brats! There's no time to discuss this in a committee!"
"Matt, stop," Sora intervened.
Matt turned his fury on her. "Don't tell me to stop, Sora! We've been coddling them for too long! They need to learn what it really was like for us during our time there!"
Tai needed to think fast before things got worse. What was a plausible excuse the younger kids could give to their families that they would buy? They only had a month left for summer vacation.
'That's it!' he thought. Summer, nice weather, needing a valid excuse for being gone a couple of days. Camping! That was what they would do.
"I've got an idea," he said, silencing Matt and Sora from their argument. "Let's go camping."
Matt glared at him. "Tai, let's be serious for a moment. Now's not the time to think about camping."
"No, hear me out."
Everyone gave Tai their full attention as he explained his plan.
"Since it's still summer, the only thing that our parents would buy as an excuse for us being gone for a few days is a camping trip. You younger kids will go to the Digital World and get scouting on the Emperor's base. Meanwhile, us older kids will go to the campsite because if our parents call and we're not there, we'll get in trouble. Once we get there and are settled in, we'll meet you guys at the designated rendezvous point and begin our assault."
Izzy nodded with a wide smile. "That's not a bad idea," he said. "Good thinking, Tai. What would we do without you?"
Tai chuckled. "You guys already know the answer to that question."
Matt calmed down, taking a deep breath before nodding his head. "That's a good plan. Let's do it."
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Come in," Izzy said.
Mrs. Izumi opened the door and greeted everyone with a warm smile.
"Oh, you're back," she said.
"Hi, Mom."
"Hi, Mrs. Izumi," everyone chorused.
The woman's smile widened a bit. "Hi there, kids," she greeted. "What are you all doing inside on such a nice day like this?"
Izzy sweatdropped. "Uh, heh heh," he chuckled nervously. "We were actually just discussing the possibility of going camping for a couple of days."
"That sounds like fun, but you're going to need a chaperone with you kids. Who's it going to be?"
Matt quickly spoke up.
"Oh, don't worry, Mrs. Izumi. My dad will be happy to do it. He loves going camping," he said. That was a lie. His dad hardly left home when he got back from work, and he hated camping.
Tai leaned in to whisper to him, "You sure about that?"
"No, but it sounded good," Matt whispered back.
Mrs. Izumi glanced their way, but didn't say anything.
"Okay," she said. "But how will all eleven of you fit in one car? If that's the case, you should probably ask someone else to go too."
"We will," the kids replied.
"Have fun, kids."
"Thanks, Mom," Izzy replied as his mother finally closed the door and left. "Any ideas on who else might be willing to go?"
That gave TK an idea. If Matt was going to ask their father, maybe they should try and have some fun with him. A smirk slowly worked up his face.
Matt noticed.
"Whatcha got, TK?" he asked.
"How's about I ask Mom to go too?" replied the younger blonde.
Matt frowned. "I don't think that's a good idea, TK. You know how they are when they're together."
"Oh, come on, Matt! That was years ago. Plus, Mom's been working pretty hard lately too. She deserves a break." The smirk was wider this time. "Also, it would give us a chance to mess with Dad a little. We haven't pulled a prank like this in years."
That only concerned Matt more. This was not sounding like a good idea the more he heard about it. But TK did have a point: Their dad did need a little excitement in his life. Maybe this would be good for him.
He sighed. "Alright. Fine. But you get Mom to come."
"Don't worry. You just work on Dad."
"Forget it."
Matt winced. He should have known this would be the reaction from his father. The two of them sat outside of the Tully's Coffee that was attached to the television station, sipping on cups of coffee.
"Aw, come on, Dad. I already told everyone you'd be going with us," he whined. "They've been looking forward to going. You don't want to let us down, do you?"
"I'm sorry, Matt, but I have so much work to do," his father replied, taking a sip of coffee. "You know I don't like camping."
Matt did not want to go there, but desperate times called for desperate measures. "But it's a chance to get away, like you've been wanting lately," he said. "I'll even let you bring Rumiko along. You guys can have that vacation together after all, and TK can finally meet her as well."
The man's face turned slightly pink and looked away from his son. He had to hand it to Matt. He was growing more and more like him every day.
"Y-You sure Rumiko can come?" he asked. "It's not going to be weird?"
Matt nodded. "Yeah. It's just cover for us so that our plan can work. You guys will be the ones actually camping while we're taking care of business in the Digital World. Take some time to get to know each other better. Just no funny business while we're away."
"Shut up!" Mr. Ishida squeaked, his face reddening even more at the thought of such a thing. "We've only known each other two months."
"When did you and Mom first started 'exploring' each other?"
"Not until you're older!"
Matt snickered mischievously.
Mr. Ishida sighed and slapped a hand to his tired face. He ruffled his short brown hair as he thought about Matt's proposal. He had been wanting to take some time off. He built up enough paid time off that he could do it now and still have more than enough left over. Plus, the chance to introduce Rumiko to TK was something he couldn't pass up.
"Okay, I'll do it," he sighed.
Matt beamed. "Thanks, Dad. You won't regret this."
'Hope you're not too mad at me for what I didn't tell you.'
Davis zipped up his duffel bag and double-checked everything to make sure he wasn't leaving anything out. He stuffed his backpack with some of his manga and IPod. If he was going to be gone a few days, he would need something to keep him grounded whenever they had downtime.
Knock! Knock! Knock!
"Yeah, what is it?" he replied.
Jun entered the room with a tray of sweets and a glass of orange soda in her grasp. She took one look and saw all the camping gear littered around her brother's room. The little schemer was up to something.
"What are you doing?" she asked, placing the tray behind her brother.
Davis turned and gave her the evil eye. "None of your business!" he growled.
"Looks like you're packing for a camping trip," Jun continued with a knowing smirk.
"No, I'm not. Just airing everything out."
"Are TK and the others going?"
"Why does it matter?"
"So, is Matt going too?"
Davis clenched his fist, wanting to smack his sister right in her big mouth so badly. But he kept himself in check for now. Jun was not worth wasting energy on.
"Get out of here, Jun! I mean it!" he hissed.
Jun's smirk grew wider until she almost looked like the Cheshire Cat. "So if you're going, the others are going, and Matt's going, can I come too?"
Davis slapped his hands on the floor and finally stood up. Jun stepped back two steps to get away from her agitated brother.
"Go. Away. NOW!" he shoved her out the doorway, coming dangerously close to letting the Force drip into the shove. The siblings' mother was sitting on the couch watching television and didn't seem to notice what was going on.
"Davis, what the hell?" his sister protested. They both were about to get into it when a newsflash appeared on the television.
"It has been almost three months since boy genius Ken Ichijouji disappeared, and there still has been no sign of him," the news anchor said. "The boy's parents recorded this message for their son."
"Wow, that kid's still missing?" Jun said.
Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji appeared on the screen, sitting on their couch at home. Mrs. Ichijouji had tears in her eyes and was using a tissue to try and keep herself calm. Her husband was much more calm and stoic, but he looked on the verge of crying himself.
"We hope our son is watching this right now," said Mr. Ichijouji, his lower lip trembling. "Ken, wherever you are, please come home. We miss you. We don't know why you ran away, but we promise that we'll do everything we can to help you."
Mrs. Ichijouji burst into inconsolable sobs as she began her speech.
"Ken, please come home!" she sobbed into the tissue. "Please just come home. We don't want anything else. Your father and I just want to have you home safe and sound with us. That's all we care about. Wherever you are, please just come home."
Her sobs overtook her, preventing her from speaking further. Her husband pulled her tightly to his chest.
The television switched off. That was all TK could take before it became too much.
"If only they knew," he muttered. He could not understand why Ken would be so cruel as to mentally torture his parents. They looked nice enough, and at least Ken still had his family in one piece.
The door opened and closed.
"TK, I'm home!" his mother's voice filled the halls.
"Hi, Mom," he replied.
Nancy came into the room and planted her briefcase down on the kitchen table before going into the kitchen and putting groceries on the counter. TK stepped over into the kitchen to give her a hand.
"How was your day, Mom?" he asked, putting eggs in the fridge.
"Long," his mother replied. "Still no trace of where Ken Ichijouji could have gone. We've interviewed some sources who claim to have seen him, but they were less-than-reliable."
"Aw, man," TK walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I almost forgot. I wanted to ask you something."
"What is it?"
"The gang and I are going on a camping trip for a few days, and we need a chaperone to be with us. I was wondering if maybe you'd be interested in being ours."
Nancy pried her son's arms from around her waist and put rice in the rice cooker for dinner.
"I'd love to, TK, but I have work to do," she said apologetically. "I can't take time off now, especially since the Ken Ichijouji story hasn't been solved yet."
"But you've been working so hard lately, Mom," TK argued. "Taking a little break to spend some time with me is something you haven't done in a while. Matt's coming too."
Nancy stopped what she was doing. The mention of her oldest son unlocked something within her. She and Matt were on better speaking terms now, but their relationship was still a work-in-progress. If they could spend some time together, maybe things would get a little better.
The woman sighed. "Have you asked your father or any of the other parents?"
"You know Dad. He's always busy." TK thinned his lips, slightly conflicted about lying to her. "He couldn't come, so I said I'd ask you. Everyone else's parents are too busy as well."
Nancy tightened her grip on the hand towel in deep thought. After a few seconds, she relented with a nod.
"Okay, I'll come," she said. "I suppose taking a couple of days off wouldn't hurt."
TK beamed with a wide smile. "Awesome! Thanks, Mom," he cried, giving her a big hug. "You're the best ever."
Nancy chuckled. "I appreciate that, TK. Dinner will be ready in a little bit."
Yolei felt her mind slow down as she quietly meditated in the darkness of her room. It took a while after the incident with Ken for her to feel comfortable sleeping without the lights on, but now she loved the darkness again. Slow, deep breaths went through her nose and out her mouth.
It was a little past midnight, but Yolei was unable to sleep because their plan weighed heavily on her mind. She still was not entirely comfortable with the idea of not coming home after a day in the Digital World. Even with the cover of a camping trip, it still didn't sit right with her.
"Let's promise that we won't come back until he is defeated, whether we capture or kill him."
Then she heard Matt barking at her in her head.
"What part of 'it's not going to be easy' do you not understand? You're acting like a bunch of spoiled brats! There's no time to discuss this in a committee! The fate of the Digital World is in your hands."
Yolei winced, feeling like the Jedi of Friendship was yelling straight into her ear. Funny, she didn't remember him saying that last part, but he might as well have. Even though she was slightly reserved about the whole thing, she couldn't think of any better ideas. As much as she didn't want to, she was just going to have to suck it up and go along with the plan.
Ever since Ken kidnapped her, Yolei was trying really hard to be a team player. Some days were easier than others, but she was certain that she was making good progress. Her and Sora had also gotten a lot closer in that time too.
With her mind made up, she nodded, opened her eyes, and stood up to head back to her bed. She was going to do her part to help end Ken's reign of terror on the Digital World.
The last thing on her mind as she laid her head down on her pillow was, 'Go, Yolei! Go, Yolei! Go!'
"Let's give that cute jerk a little what-for!" Yolei cried, so hopped up on adrenaline that she didn't know what else to do other than let it all out. Punches and karate kicks went flying around the room.
"HYAAAH!"
SMACK!
"Ow!"
Yolei came down from her adrenaline high and saw Izzy lying on the floor with his hand pressed against his jaw.
"Oh, Izzy. I'm so sorry," she cringed, smiling apologetically.
"Hey, Jackie Chan, watch the fists of fury, will ya?" Izzy chuckled as she helped pull him up.
The Jedi were all gathered at their hideout. The plan was for the younger Jedi to go to the Digital World and then the older kids would head back to Matt's apartment and wait for his father to come home and take them. TK said his mom would be there around the same time. Everything was ready.
"Alright, troops, fall in line!" Yolei said like a general as the younger kids marched behind her towards the computer room.
Tai looked at Sora, who laughed. Yolei was taking this way too seriously.
"Sir, yes, sir!" TK added with humor.
Matt couldn't help but snicker. "You've got a lot to learn about women, TK," he jabbed.
Kari giggled, which made the younger blonde turn red in embarrassment. Izzy filled them in on what their objective was.
"Okay, so we'll send you guys to the spot where Joe and Cody found the base. Keep close tabs on it, and if something happens, let us know. We'll meet up there as soon as we get settled into the campsite. Good luck."
Yolei couldn't wait one second longer.
"Alright, let's go!" she exclaimed, shoving her hand forward. The digital gate reacted with the tattoo on her wrist and the younger kids were whisked off to the Digital World.
"You guys ready?" Mr. Ishida asked as he stepped out of the van. He wore a light blue button-up shirt with a black vest over it and cargo pants.
"You bet!" everyone replied with excitement.
"Alright, let's start getting loaded up."
Everyone helped out with putting the gear in the car. Mr. Ishida put down the extra row of seats to make room for everything, which also meant there was less room for people.
"Hiro!"
Everyone turned at the sound of the call and saw a woman with black hair that was cut similar to Sora's coming towards them. Her cute face and bright, brown eyes beamed when she set sights on Matt's father. She carried a duffel bag with her.
Mr. Ishida turned slightly pink when he saw her.
"Hi, Rumiko," he greeted, as bashful as a crushing schoolboy.
Matt snickered. "Already giving you a pet name, huh?" he teased.
"None of your business!" his father shot. "Everyone, this is Rumiko. She's a friend that will be joining us, if that's okay with all of you."
"Hello, everyone," the woman greeted with a wave, which the Jedi all copied. Matt struggled to contain his giggles. "I promise I will not get in your way. We're all going to have such a great time. Right, Hiro?"
Mr. Ishida's blush darkened. "Y-Yeah," he said and took her bag. "I'll take that for ya."
"Hello, Hiroaki."
The man snapped around and let out a frightened squeal. Nancy stood a few feet away with her arms folded across her chest. Her car sat in the parking space right behind his.
"N-Nancy," he squeaked. "W-What are you doing here?"
"TK asked me if I would chaperone him and the others on their camping trip," the woman replied simply. "He told me that you were too busy to go. What's going on?"
Mr. Ishida turned back to glare at Matt for a moment. The blonde teenager grinned innocently. The man then tried to think of an explanation, but his words failed him every time. Nothing came to his head. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Hiro, who's she?" Rumiko asked, appearing by his side.
"I could say the same about you," Nancy returned, eyeing the woman suspiciously.
'Just perfect!' the man thought, wishing a car would just come by and hit him now. He wanted to cry, but kept himself stable. He cleared his throat.
"Nancy, this is Rumiko," he introduced. "She's a friend of mine." Then he turned to the other woman. "Rumiko, this is Nancy, my ex-wife."
The younger woman bowed respectfully. "Oh, I see. A pleasure to meet you, ma'am."
"Hello," Nancy replied with a slight nod of her head. She then sighed and looked at her ex-husband. "We'll talk about this later. Let's just go." Looking around, she noticed her youngest son was missing. "Where is TK?"
"I'll explain everything once we get to the campgrounds, Mom," Matt injected himself into the conversation. "Can I talk to you real quick?"
Nancy saw the way her son moved his eyes to the side. He wanted to talk without the threat of the other woman discovering their secret.
"Okay," she said with a nod.
They walked down to the corner away from everyone else.
"What's going on?" she asked.
"All you need to know is that we're just camping to have an alibi while the rest of us take care of Digital World business."
"So, it's that kind of thing, huh?" his mother replied. "No wonder TK has been so secretive lately. I guess I can understand that."
"Yeah. He didn't want to scare you. Like I said, I'll tell you everything when we get there."
"Okay."
The two of them went back to the group, who were busy packing that they didn't notice their return.
Nancy's gaze then went to Mimi and Sora. "Girls," she said, "why don't you come with me? That way we can make it a girls car."
"Yay!" Mimi cried as she and Sora went over to pack up their things and get in. "Girl power!"
"Thanks, Ms. Takaishi," Sora bowed in thanks. "See you guys at the camp grounds."
"You know where to go, right?" Mr. Ishida asked before Nancy could get in the car.
She nodded. "Yes."
"Alright, we'll be right behind you."
The woman got in the car and the three females drove off down the road. The guys finished putting everything in the van and got in. Things were a little cramped with Tai, Izzy, Joe, and Matt all having to sit in the second row of seats, but it was nothing they could not manage.
"Hi there, Matt! I'm ready."
The blonde-haired boy's face went pale. Looking out the front windshield, he saw the owner of the annoying voice. Jun stood right outside the car, a backpack and other gear piled up in her arms.
He slapped a hand to his face. "Oh, great," he groaned.
Tai studied the girl curiously. "Isn't that Davis' sister?" he wondered. "What's she doing here?"
"I don't know," Matt whimpered.
"Well, get rid of her. We can't risk blowing our cover."
"I know! I know!"
Matt got out of the car to confront her and see what was up. Inside, Joe eyed the girl with curiosity. She was honestly kind of cute, if he had to give a fair assessment.
"Davis has a sister?" he asked Tai and Izzy. "What's she like?"
"All you need to know, Joe, is that she's a psycho with a capital 'PSYCHO'," Tai replied. "She's almost caught us more times than we can count. She also has the hots for Matt."
Joe shrugged and went back to reading his book. Tai saw the cover and instantly groaned.
"Are you going to be studying this whole time?" he said.
"No!" Joe replied defensively, then weakly added, "Just on the way. I have one more term left in my middle school career before entrance exams. I have to be ready!"
"You're gonna be fine, Joe," Izzy replied. "There's no need to panic." He looked out the window. "Besides, Matt looks like he's about to push the panic button himself."
All three boys giggled.
"Hey, Jun," Matt rubbed the back of his neck nervously, forcing a smile despite his wish to run and hide. "What's up?"
"I thought this camping trip would be a perfect romantic getaway for us," Jun replied happily. She looked through the window and saw only Tai, Izzy, and another boy she didn't recognize. "Hey, where's Davis and the others?"
"You just missed them. They went ahead of us in another car," Matt replied. "My mom drove off with them a moment ago."
Jun made a bold move and wrapped one arm around his shoulders. A shiver went down Matt's spine at the unexpected contact. Her arm snaked down his back before going down south to squeeze his butt.
Matt squeaked and glared at her. Jun giggled mischievously. This was getting more uncomfortable by the minute. He needed to lose her now.
"Hey, I've got something for ya," he said.
Jun gasped, her face turning bright red. This was so unexpected.
"For me?" she squeaked.
"Y-Yeah, but it's in the car. I didn't get a chance to wrap it, so close your eyes and count to ten. I'll be right back with it."
Jun did as commanded and started counting. Once she covered her eyes, Matt made a break for it and went straight for the door. Tai and Izzy exploded into uncontrolled fits of laughter.
"I'm gonna kill you guys!" he roared. "Get out of here, Dad! Step on it!"
Mr. Ishida was caught off guard by the command. "You want me just to leave her here?" he asked.
"Yeah! Now, step on it!"
The man rolled his eyes and moaned before putting the car in drive. "You've got a lot to learn about women, Matt," he said as they rolled away silently so Jun couldn't hear them.
"Now where have I heard that one before?"
"Is this normal?" Rumiko asked.
"You have no idea," Mr. Ishida replied.
"Nine! TEN!" Jun cried, releasing her hands from her face. When she looked up, Matt was nowhere to be found. The car that was there a second ago had disappeared too. Looking down the street, she saw it. "Matt! Wait! Where's my present?"
Matt looked back and saw her disappear the further they got. He sighed and pulled out a CD from his bag, The Beastie Boys' License to Ill.
"A little music, gentlemen," he said, then turned to Rumiko, "and lady?"
"Go for it," his father shrugged, putting the CD into the disc player.
The beats of the first track exploded inside the car. Matt, Tai, and Izzy got into it right away, pounding on the seats in front of them and throwing their heads forward. Joe tried to concentrate on the book, but was finding it hard.
'I can't believe I have to endure four hours of this,' he moaned. 'Hopefully the younger kids find the Emperor's base quickly so we can end this now.'
What awaits the group as they begin their final assault on the Digimon Emperor? Find out next time on Attack of the Emperor.
Poor Joe XD
Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint got the most references. There was one glaring one that I'm surprised you guys did not catch. The part with the lightning striking the building and Davis saying he hoped no one was on an elevator was a reference to the Tower of Terror at Disney World, formerly at Disneyland.
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and are anxiously looking forward to what is coming. Leave a review and subscribe to the story if you have not already because you do not want to miss what happens next.
See you all next weekend. I am almost done with the next chapter, but I hold back to stay on schedule. I finished this chapter in two days XD