Reviews:
Ratchet McCloud: Not quite, but I like your idea. Thanks for all your reviews, Ratchet. They are always appreciated. And you got all the references right ;-)
Ackbarfan5556: Yup. Thanks for that. Sorry I forgot to attribute that scene to you.
Music Chick: Glad you liked it :)
Yagami Kuzuki: Someone will go down a dark path soon enough, though it probably won't be the person you think ;-) Stay tuned.
Super Saiyan 3 Odd: Thanks for all the reviews and I am glad you loved the last three chapters. You are going to love this one even more. I guarantee it.
Well, guys. There's nothing much more to say other than welcome to the new chapter. We are getting very close to the final confrontation between Ken and the Jedi. This chapter I decided to make a bit longer than the last three because there is a bit more to throw in. Hope you guys like it.
And here we go!
"Arukou. Arukou. Watashi wa genki. Aruko no daisuki. Dondon yukou."
The Jedi walked happily through the forest path. Mimi and Yolei marched at the back of the pack, leading the group in a song to help lift their spirits. It had been a long walk, but the group still found no trace of the Emperor's base. Even though they had covered practically every inch of the continent of Server, Ken's location was hard to track.
Through the forest, over the mountains, and across the plains they went. It was a long and difficult journey, but their determination to defeat their great enemy and end his reign of terror kept them going.
The Jedi now entered a series of dark caves that smelled of sulfur and mildew. They activated their lightsabers to help them see in the dark. As they walked along, they heard the sounds of water dripping from the stalactites and their own footsteps echoing in the cave. The Force was getting stronger the further they went, leading them on to where they would hopefully find Ken's base.
"Can we stop for a moment?" Mimi asked. "My feet hurt."
Tai looked back and gave her a nod. "Okay. We've been walking all day, so we deserve a bit of a break," he said. "Five minutes, everyone. Then we move out."
The others collapsed right on their bottoms, exhausted from all the walking they had been doing in the last twelve hours. The girls stepped out of their sandals to rub their feet, and Davis reclined on his pack to read one of his manga. Their stomachs growled with hunger. The only food they had had that day was a small loaf of bread that was cut into eleven pieces at breakfast. Everyone was tired.
"You know, for all his talk of wanting to kill us, Ken sure is making it difficult for us to find him," said Davis. The thought dawned on him. "Maybe he doesn't want us to find him."
Matt looked at him incredulously. "Ken always hides from us, Davis," he replied. "He's a coward."
"But he is very powerful," Tai said. "If we're going to end this, we need to accept the fact that he's elusive because he chooses to be. Look at all the things he has done to us by being slippery. Not even the Dark Masters were like this."
"That's because this isn't like the Dark Masters," TK added with rising annoyance. "We can't compare the two situations. The Dark Masters manipulated the Digital World to their will and made it difficult for us to do much of anything. We only survived because Kari and I outwitted Piedmon. If not, you guys would still be key chains."
"What's with the attitude, TK?" Matt asked, wondering what had gotten into his brother. "You haven't been yourself since this morning."
TK groaned. "It's nothing," he bit back. "Just we have been walking around this stupid continent all day and there is still no trace of Ken. What is it going to take for us to find him?"
"Be patient," Tai shot back, standing nose to nose with the young blonde. TK stood his ground defiantly, not letting Tai intimidate him.
Matt stood to his feet next to the two. He studied his brother closely. This wasn't like him at all.
Things went deathly silent for several moments before Davis broke the tension.
"The thing about Ken is he always shows up when we don't want him to," he said. "When we want him to come, he never does. Maybe if we do it the other way and hope he doesn't find us, we'll find him."
Mimi nodded. "You know, that actually makes sense," she agreed.
"Yeah," Joe echoed.
"That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard!" Yolei exclaimed. "How does that even make sense?"
"GUYS!" Sora yelled, the sound booming off the cave walls. The cave returned to its previous deathly silence as the echo of Sora's voice dissipated slowly. Everyone looked at her in surprise.
Sora took a deep breath then squeezed the bridge of her nose to get herself under control. She spoke in an even tone that still conveyed her annoyance.
"Grow up," she said. "We've had a long day and we are tired and hungry, but that doesn't give us a reason to fight with each other. We are so close to finding Ken. Don't fall apart before we can get there."
Tai backed off of TK and looked back at the Jedi of Love with softer eyes.
"You're right," he said with a sigh. "I know we've been asking a lot out of you guys, but just hold in there a little longer. We're almost there."
His words were met with nods of agreement.
Cody sensed something nearby. While no one else was looking, he stepped carefully down the tunnel guided only by the Force. Whatever the thing was, it was calling to him. The tunnel got darker and darker the further he went. His eyes adjusted to it, but he used his saber as a torch when he felt far enough away from everyone else.
'This is weird,' he thought. 'Where are you taking me?'
"Alright, five minutes are up." Tai said, standing back to his feet. "Let's keep moving, everyone. We've got a lot of ground to cover."
Joe picked up his pack and looked over to make sure Cody had everything…but all he saw was the boy's pack. It was left in the same spot he placed it, but there was no sign of its owner. The Jedi of Reliability's eyes widened with fear. The youngest Destined Jedi was gone.
"Where's Cody?" he asked, looking around the area for any signs of him. He saw everyone else except for the one whom he was looking for. "Any of you guys seen him?"
"Not since a few minutes ago," Sora replied, her concern rising.
"Cody?" Yolei called, but received no answer. "Where are you?"
"Where are you?" Ken sang in a mocking voice as his eyes remained glued to the monitor in front of him. It showed the desert ground below, which glowed pink in the evening sunset. "Destined Jedi. Come out, come out, wherever you are. Come to me so I can kill you."
A deranged giggle escaped his lips. Wherever the Jedi were, he would find them and destroy them. But he had been looking for an entire day and found no trace of them. He watched the camera feed for another few minutes before giving up.
"In the jungle, the mighty jungle, the lion sleeps tonight," he cackled loudly.
Another cold laugh overtook his laugh. Ken snapped out of his psychosis, realizing how familiar it was. He felt like a large bucket of ice water had been dumped on him.
"Kenny," a ghost-like whisper echoed in the room.
Ken's pupils dilated. He recognized the voice.
"Go away, Sam! You've made your point!" he roared, drawing his saber.
But the voice didn't stop. It kept whispering "Kenny, Kenny, Kenny," over and over again until it sounded like the voice was taunting him.
"Stop," Ken pressed his hands against his ears, trying to block out the voice.
"Kenny boy."
"Stop it!"
"Beware the darkness, Kenny. Lest it send you to the pits of Hell!"
Fire appeared around Ken. It wasn't hot, but it still terrified him. He screamed loudly until the flames finally disappeared. Even with his hands against his ears, Ken could still hear everything the voice said. It was like a small pin poking at his brain and driving him insane. He wanted all of this to end. He unleashed the loudest cry he could muster.
"STOOOOOPPPPPP!"
Force lightning shot from his hands to both sides of the room. Anything that got in the way was electrocuted on the spot and either shut down or destroyed. After a few seconds, Ken stopped the lightning.
The room was now quiet. Quiet as a long-forgotten tomb. Ken breathed heavily, relieved to hear nothing but silence. The deranged smile returned to his face. What did it matter if his brother's ghost was taunting him? He was in control now, and nothing would stop him. Not even some stupid voice.
A low hissing voice entered his head from somewhere in the depths of the base.
"Hungry," it said in a strange language. "Must feed."
"Patience, my pet," Ken replied through the Force in the same language. "Soon, you will get your chance. Those blasted kids will be dead before we know it, and then the real world is ours for the taking."
A loud maniacal laugh filled the whole chamber.
"Cody? Cody?"
The Jedi's voices filled the caverns as they searched for their youngest member. Davis and Yolei led the way in order to sense the trail of the boy's Force energy. He had gone down an extremely dark tunnel that was near them and was on the move.
"Where is he?" Davis hissed. "He should know better than to run off like this."
After a few more steps, the group came to a split in the path. There were three tunnels in front of them: one to the left, one in the middle, and one to the right. Each one was completely dark, not giving them a chance to see which one was better.
"Which way do we go?" Mimi asked.
TK closed his eyes and concentrated with all of his strength. He stopped. It felt like Cody was coming towards them.
Footsteps reached their ears, followed by a far-off cry of, "Guys!" The Jedi waited a few seconds longer to be absolutely sure what they were hearing was real. Out of the darkness from the right tunnel, a green lightsaber blade came charging towards them.
"Cody!"
The boy emerged from the tunnel. When he saw all of their worried faces turn to relief, he knew he had messed up.
"Where have you been?" Yolei snapped with her hands on her hips. "Do you know how worried we were?"
"I'm sorry for leaving you guys without telling you," he bowed as he apologized. "I didn't mean to worry you, but I sensed something nearby."
Davis glared at him. "It better be something good," he said darkly.
Cody nodded and ran back down the tunnel. "This way."
The rest of his friends followed closely behind. The tunnel wound and turned oddly, feeling more like a maze. Twists and turns, running down strange side tunnels that didn't seem to lead anywhere. Finally, fresh air blasted them in the face.
The Jedi were standing on top of a cliff overlooking the valley below. Night had fallen on the Digital World. The air swirled around below, but the Jedi felt none of it. They felt like they were on top of the world. Anywhere was better than being stuck in a cave.
"Nice work, Cody!" TK said, ruffling the boy's head. "You got us out of there."
Cody blushed in embarrassment. "Thanks."
Davis was not quite impressed. "Yeah, but what is there to look at?" he said. "We still have not found the base yet."
Just at that moment, the group sensed Ken nearby. But that was not all. With him, there was another dark presence as well. Something the group had never felt before, but knew it was extremely evil just from the chills they got.
"What is that?" Cody asked timidly. He rubbed his hands along his arms, trying to settle the goosebumps on them. "Do you guys feel it too?"
"Yeah," Tai nodded. He looked around the area for any sign of the base, but saw nothing.
"Look!" Mimi cried, pointing off in the distance.
A large object appeared on the horizon, getting closer and closer to the hills. The Jedi were amazed at the sheer size of it. The ship was made of rock, and constructed at a perfect 45-degree angle. It looked more like a floating colony than a normal air ship.
"Look at the size of that thing," Davis breathed with wide eyes. "Ken built this?"
"I can't believe it," Izzy echoed. He studied every detail of the base's exterior in fascination. A rare feeling of inferiority washed over him. This was something he could only dream of building, but Ken did it in such a short amount of time.
Matt glared at the two of them.
"We can be impressed later," he said. "How are we going to get inside?"
Looking at the monstrosity, no one saw any ways in. The only possible entrances were most likely places that Ken had cameras on at all times. They would be caught if they tried to go through those. Slowly, it dawned on them. There was no real way to get in there without being detected.
"Look, a secret cave!" Davis cried, pointing to a hole towards the bottom of the ship. It looked as though it was safe. It was far enough below that Ken probably never thought of putting security cameras on it.
Everyone looked at Tai for permission. The Jedi of Courage thought of all the possible scenarios and decided it was the best option for them. He nodded with approval.
"Let's go, team," he said. "We've got an Emperor to catch."
"Yeah!"
The younger Jedi got a running start and jumped off the cliff down towards the entrance one at a time. Davis and TK landed perfectly, as did Kari. Yolei almost lost her balance on the ledge, but kept herself upright to stick the landing.
"Come on, Cody!" TK called up to the youngest Jedi, who eyed the distance fearfully.
Cody felt the urge to throw up as a sense of vertigo overtook him. It was a pretty wide distance, and he wasn't tall enough to where he could keep himself stable on the landing.
"Let's go!" Davis shouted.
The youngest Destined Jedi swallowed the fear in his throat and nodded. He took a few steps back before running as fast as he could. The Force gave him an extra boost and he leapt off of the ledge. The wind flapped his yukata all around and blasted him in the face as he fell towards the ledge.
Cody's face fell when he realized he was going to be just short of it. When he was an inch away, he thrust his arms out and grabbed the ledge.
"Pull me up! Pull me up!" he screamed frantically, desperately trying to pull himself up.
TK and Davis rushed over to help and managed to pull him up. Adrenaline overwhelmed Cody's senses. He took a few deep breaths and his body slowly stopped shaking.
"That was scary," he shuddered.
TK patted him on the back and looked back towards the older kids. This was going to be a bit of a problem. They could not use the Force to help them leap over, and the base was still moving. How were they going to get across?
It took him to two seconds to figure out a plan.
"Get ready to jump, guys," he said.
Matt looked at him like he was insane. "What?"
"Are you crazy?" Joe cried. "We wouldn't make it!"
"Just trust me," TK shouted back. "When I say jump, you guys jump. We'll take care of the rest."
The older Jedi did not know what to think. On its face, the plan was completely insane. There was no way it would work. They would plummet straight to the ground below and be stains on the desert sand in seconds. They didn't come this far just to go out like that.
But Tai suddenly realized what TK said. He only hoped that they would be strong enough for it. There was no other way.
"Alright," he called. "But you better know what you're doing."
"What?!" his teammates protested.
"Tai, you're not seriously going along with this, are you?" Sora exclaimed.
He flashed his famous grin at his friends. They relaxed all of a sudden. Whenever Tai would smile like that, they knew everything was going to be fine.
"TK knows what he's doing," he said. "Besides, do you guys have any better ideas of getting over there?"
The other Jedi fell silent.
"It'll be okay."
"Jump!" TK cried.
Without a word of warning, Tai jumped off of the ledge. For a second, gravity did what it was supposed to do as it pulled him downward. Tai shut his eyes, praying that whatever TK had planned, it worked. If it didn't, he was going to be a stain on the rocky ground below.
Suddenly, he felt his momentum start to slow down until he came to a complete stop. Tai opened his eyes and saw he was hovering in mid-air. This reminded him of when the others met Puppetmon for the first time. The Dark Master held the Jedi in suspended air while he made fun of them. This time, he was thankful to be hovering. It was better than dying.
Then, like a yo-yo and string, Tai was pulled towards the entrance. TK had his hand stretched out to assist him until the Jedi of Courage finally landed on the ledge. He let go of the breath he had been holding once his feet hit the ground.
"Thanks," he said. His stomach felt like it had gone all the way into his mouth.
Back on top of the cliff, Matt took a deep breath and decided to just get it over with.
"Here I…go!" he shouted as he ran off the ledge. He screamed with fright until he was caught by the Force and pulled towards Tai and the younger kids.
The others all decided to bite the bullet and jump together. Just like Matt, they all screamed the whole way down until they were brought to rest in mid-air, then guided to safety.
Now that they were all together, and after gathering their bearings, the Jedi went into the base. Just like in the cave, they used their lightsabers to light their way through the darkness.
The whole base felt like it was shrouded in evil. Everywhere the Jedi went, they had the unsettling feeling of being watched. They were now in the belly of the beast, and they had to tread carefully. Whatever else was here, it did not feel friendly.
The Jedi moved silently along the tunnel, keeping their ears open while the younger kids heightened their awareness so that there were no surprises. The walls looked like they were moving, but the kids realized it was just the light from their sabers. This was so nerve-wracking! That other presence could be anywhere. They honestly were more scared of that than Ken because this was something they had never seen or felt before. No one knew what it was.
Joe heard a low hissing sound coming from the walls. He quickly turned, but saw nothing. For a second, he thought it was just his imagination, but then he heard movement to go along with the hissing.
"Guys!" he whispered hoarsely. Goosebumps traveled up his arms.
"What's the matter, Joe?" Cody asked.
"Did you hear that?"
"Hear what?"
"That hissing a second ago."
Matt turned to glare at him. "It's just your imagination, Joe. Don't be a scaredy cat again."
"I'm serious, Matt! There is something moving in here and it's not just us."
Matt grumbled as he hoisted up his saber and looked around the tunnel. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary, just a bunch of rock-covered walls and stalactites at the top of the tunnel.
"There's nothing there, Joe," he said. "Why do you do this every single time? Be mindful of your feelings."
Joe sighed and nodded. It probably was just his overactive imagination. The group continued on.
Up ahead, the tunnel ended and transitioned into a futuristic-looking hallway. It looked like something out of the Jetsons' version of the 21st century. Shiny metal graced the floors, the ceilings, and the walls. Everything was clean and well maintained. Just a few steps away, the floor came to a screeching halt at an open ledge. A long apparatus that went from the depths of the base to the very top was right in the middle of the structure. Pathways branched off from it near the top and at the bottom. This was probably the control base that gave the entire ship power.
Davis gulped. "That's a pretty long way down," he said, looking into the pit below. "How far of a fall do you guys think it is?"
"At least a hundred feet," Izzy replied. "Though I don't wish to find out."
"With you there, Izzy," Mimi agreed.
Tai was surprised that they hadn't tripped an alarm already. He was certain that in a time like this, Ken would beef up his security to leave no stone unturned. For once, the group felt like they were catching a lucky break.
"Here's the plan," he said quietly. "Izzy, you sneak down to the engine room and disable the engines. The rest of us will take care of Ken. We'll hold out as long as you need to destroy the engines."
A low rumble echoed from the walls. The Jedi seized up in fear. Yolei hugged Mimi tightly, whimpering fearfully.
Joe gave Matt the 'I-told-you-so' eye. "Now don't tell me you didn't hear that," he said.
"What was it?" TK asked, looking at the walls.
"I don't know, but we better move fast," Tai said, feeling more skittish by the second. Whatever they had just heard could be along at any moment. "Get going, Izzy."
The computer genius nodded. "Right." He saw a chain-link pulley nearby that seemed to go down to the bottom of the pit and went over to it. "Good luck. May the Force be with you, guys," he said as he rode the pulley down to the bottom.
"Be careful, Izzy," Mimi murmured, worried for his safety.
"He'll be alright, Mimi," Sora assured with a warm smile and pat on the back. "Let's get moving."
"Right."
Davis felt a chill run down his back. He turned around and a door opened. A hoard of Bakemon emerged and went straight for the Jedi. His lightsaber roared to life and he started slashing at the ghosts.
Tai jumped in to help. "Run!" he told the others. "Get going! Davis and I will hold them off."
The rest of the Jedi nodded and ran to a nearby stairwell. The room buzzed with the roar of lightsabers slashing through the air and the cries of Bakemon when they burst into data.
When all of the Bakemon were destroyed, Tai and Davis deactivated their sabers and ran to the stairs. If the Bakemon were sent to stop them, then Ken must have known that they all were there.
'Izzy,' Tai thought as he and the younger boy pushed themselves to catch up with their friends.
Izzy moved down the walkway as quietly as possible. From down at this level, he had a true appreciation for how large the apparatus was. The technology had to be advanced hundreds of years, more than what the human world was capable of now. It was unfortunate that they had to destroy it.
'The things we could learn from this,' he thought. 'Our technology could improve leaps and bounds.'
Izzy accidentally took a hard step on the grated walkway. The sound was so loud that he swore his heart stopped. He cringed, expecting alarms to go off. His heart thumped in his chest, filling his ears with the sound.
He waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Nothing happened. He took a large deep breath in relief. That was scary. Izzy continued on cautiously, watching every step he took and landing softly on the walkway. Because of his snail-like movements, it took him longer to reach the engine room.
'This should not be too hard,' Izzy thought confidently as he walked inside. 'Just have to find the power cables and sever those from the main power source.'
His jaw dropped at the amount of machinery in the room.
"Oh, mama."
Tai felt his heart pounding in his chest as he continued to run up the steps. His body screamed in protest to stop, but he ignored it and kept running. They no longer had the element of surprise to their advantage, but still outnumbered Ken. Bakemon chased them, but were quickly gaining on the two boys.
"Keep going, Davis!" he shouted at the boy next to him.
"I'm going!" Davis shouted back.
They climbed a few more steps. The Bakemon were coming around the bend in the stairwell. Tai and Davis prepared to stand their ground and fight. They took their sabers into their hands, ready to draw them out, when they found themselves pulled to their right.
"Hey! What the –" they exclaimed before hands covered their mouths.
The Bakemon flew right on by without a second thought. Tai and Davis looked behind them and saw the others hiding in the dark closet too. The hands around their mouths belonged to Matt and Sora.
"What would you do without me?" Sora teased before letting go of Tai.
"Thanks, guys," the Jedi of Courage smiled. "Though we easily could have taken them. Bakemon are incredibly stupid."
"We've drawn way too much attention to ourselves because of this," Matt grumbled. "Let's try to stay hidden before we find Ken. I'm sure he's looking for us now."
A maniacal cackle filled the air above them. The Jedi recognized that laugh instantly. There went yet another plan.
"The Destined Jedi," Ken snickered as he descended the stairs slowly like a ghost. "Come to die like the dogs they are. This will be a day long remembered."
It had been a while since the Jedi had seen Ken in the flesh, and they were not impressed by what they saw. His hair was disheveled, and behind his sunglasses, his eyes had a wild, animalistic look that portrayed no humanity in them.
"This is your last chance to surrender, Ken," said TK. "We don't want to hurt you."
Ken snickered. "But I want to hurt you," he returned. "You have foiled me every single time, and ruined all of my plans to bring peace, freedom, justice, and security to a world that needs it."
Matt could not believe what he was hearing. His determination to defeat Ken had been a simmer before, but was now a roaring inferno. The idiot was annoying the hell out of him.
"The only thing you have done is bring fear and devastation wherever you have gone," he shot. "These creatures you're enslaving are real beings, not just files of data on your computer."
"Shut up! I'll give you all one last chance to join me. We can rule this world together. Make things the way we want them to be."
"And we are not interested in your little scheme," Tai shot back. He activated his lightsaber. Pshew! "This is where it all ends, Ken."
The other Jedi copied Tai as their lightsabers roared to life. Ken smirked. The time for games was over. This was the moment he had been waiting for ever since he first met these kids four months ago.
"Very well," he said, pushing the left side of his cape to the side to reveal his lightsaber. He unhooked it from his waist and the blue blade roared to life. "If you're not with me, then you're my enemy." Fire shined in his eyes. "And I slaughter my enemies mercilessly!"
"Shut your trap!" Matt snarled. He was in no mood for the typical villain monologue. His anger towards the Emperor pushed him forward.
Tai tried to stop him. "Matt, wait!"
But Matt didn't listen. He charged at Ken, his saber primed to kill. The Emperor anticipated his move and dodged the saber strike before kicking the back of his right leg. Matt fell and hit the stairs on his back.
Ken didn't stop there. A torrent of Force lightning erupted from his left hand and engulfed the Jedi of Friendship. Matt screamed in excruciating pain.
"Matt!" TK cried, wanting to jump in and help him but Kari held him back.
Ken looked carelessly at his thrashing prey.
"You have annoyed me the most, Matt Ishida," he hissed. "I have never forgiven you from when we first met. For your insolence, I shall kill you first."
Davis looked between TK and Matt. He couldn't sit around and watch this happen any longer. Matt was one of his two crests. He would not let anything more happen to him.
"Hey, Ken!"
The Digimon Emperor looked up and was met with a straight punch to the face. Ken was knocked off balance, which halted the lightning from torturing Matt even further. He and Davis traded strikes as the other Jedi jumped into action.
TK kneeled down beside Matt. "You okay, Matt?" he asked.
The Jedi of Friendship groaned as he rolled over to his side. His body hurt all over as it tried to recover from the assault. Finally, he opened his eyes slightly to look up at his younger brother.
"Yeah, I'm fine, TK," he nodded as he started to sit up. "Let's get this guy."
TK watched as Ken tied Davis' saber up before kicking him in the stomach and throwing him into Tai and Joe. Cody stepped in to try and help, but was also defeated quickly. This was not looking good.
'Izzy, hurry up. We need you to come through for us, pal!'
For the first time in his life, Izzy was completely stumped by technology. The wiring and systems that Ken had at his disposal were far more advanced than anything he had ever worked with. This kind of technology belonged in Star Trek or Star Wars.
One time, he had taken a tour at an Air Self-Defense Force base and picked the brains of some of the engineers about the systems they used. Figuring he was just an interested youngster, they spilled all their secrets with him. The engine types that they used in their fighter planes were 2250-B27s, arguably some of the most advanced in the world. They were so well-designed that the pilots could lose two of them and still fly well.
'Maybe if I do this,' he thought, turning a knob one way. Nothing happened. 'Okay, never mind.'
Izzy sighed as he sat in a frustrated squat. This was something he did not need. Everyone else was counting on him to do this job, and right now he was not doing it. It made him feel useless for the first time since becoming a Destined Jedi. He was the Jedi of Knowledge for crying out loud! He was supposed to know what to do in situations like these.
"What am I going to do?" he asked himself. "This is beyond my knowledge and abilities to figure out. I hate to say it, but there's someone who is smarter than me. Ken certainly lives up to his reputation as a genius. Come on, Izzy. Think."
The boy strained his mind to think of an idea. He concentrated so hard that it hurt, the veins in his head standing out like they were ready to burst. Time was of the essence, and who knew when that thing within the walls would come around. That thought pushed him to think faster. But what?
Izzy looked around the room for something, anything, that could work. The more he looked, the more hopeless he became. Not only was the machinery advanced, but Ken seemed to take serious precautions about keeping anything that can be used against him out of the room.
That left only one option: Blowing the whole room up. As much as he didn't want to, he couldn't think of anything better. He respected machines too much to destroy them, even his old laptop that was severely outdated, but this machinery was probably better off being destroyed. But what was he going to use to accomplish that? There was nothing he could use.
Suddenly, it occurred to him. The answer was right in front of him this whole time.
"Of course!" he exclaimed, his face brightening.
He quickly got to work.
The battle was long and exhausting. What had been just a simple plan of subduing the Emperor enough to capture him turned into a long, dragged out battle that encompassed the entire ship. The Jedi were tired, the long walk and lack of good food taking a toll on their systems and slowing them in the fight. Despite their weakness, they pushed forward with the battle.
"Give up, Jedi," Ken taunted with a cackle as he ran down a hallway. "Admit it. You are not as strong as me."
Davis rumbled lowly in his throat before shouting back, "We may not be as powerful as you are, but we'll do everything we can to stop you!"
Ken laughed again. "I'd love to see you try."
The group followed Ken into a dimly-lit chamber. Torches lined the walls up to a large door at the end of the room. The chill the Jedi had felt the whole time in the ship grew colder. Whatever the presence was, this was where it felt strongest. It was close.
"Hey, where's Ken?" Yolei said.
It took the Jedi a moment to realize that their foe had disappeared. The chamber was so dark that they couldn't make anything out in the blackness. The big door loomed over them like an imposing monolith of impending doom.
"Be careful, guys," Tai advised as they all walked slowly forward. "Stay on your guard."
The crackling of the torch flames filled the deathly still room. It felt like the equivalent of being in a tomb that was sealed away for thousands of years. The Jedi quieted their breathing, heightening their awareness of their surroundings. Ken was close.
A low growl rumbled throughout the room. The dark presence was even closer than before.
"Guys!" Joe whimpered.
"Yeah, I feel it too," Matt replied, tightening his grip on his lightsaber. "It's here."
A familiar snicker, which sounded more demented every time they heard it, came near the far doors. Ken emerged from the darkness as the torch light lit up the left side of his face.
"Had enough yet, kiddies?" Ken taunted. "I'm ready to accept your surrender unconditionally."
"The only way we are coming out is if you are with us, Ken," Davis shot back. "You accuse us of hiding from you, but you are the one who always runs away from us."
Tai placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Davis, I don't think it's wise to insult him in our position," he whispered cautiously.
"You should listen to him more often, Davis," Ken added snidely. "It'll keep you alive."
"We've had enough of you, Ken," Cody said. "You think this is all just a big game, but you're messing with real lives here."
The Digimon Emperor glared at the small boy. "Shut your mouth, you little runt! This is none of your concern."
"Cody's right, Ken," Sora replied forcefully. "The Digital World is not just a place that exists in your computer. It's a completely real place with living creatures that are just as real as we are."
But Ken was having none of it.
"Shut up!" he screamed. "I will not listen to your lies any longer!"
"We aren't lying!" Mimi shouted. "Come down from your ivory tower for once and see all the destruction you've caused. You say you want peace, freedom, justice, and security, but all you've brought to the Digital World is fear and destruction. You're no emperor, Ken. You're a tyrant!"
The Jedi grimaced, thinking that Ken would surely want to slaughter them after that. But the look of pure anger on his face had vanished. A smirk curled up his lip, followed by a light snicker.
"Why so serious?" he hissed. "It's all a game anyway."
BOOM!
A loud explosion tore through the entire base. The ground moved in every direction, sending things toppling to the ground. The Jedi and Ken held their arms out to keep their balance. Cody lost his and landed on his bottom. Alarms went off as an electronic voice said,
"Warning! Warning! Loss of engine power! Warning! Warning! Loss of engine power!"
The Jedi smiled. There was only one explanation for why the engines had suddenly lost power.
"Izzy did it!" Tai exclaimed. "The engines have been disabled!"
Clap, clap, clap.
They all turned and saw Ken clapping sarcastically at them.
"Well done," he sneered. "A very ingenious computer nerd that Izumi is. I must say I am impressed that he managed to figure it out this quickly."
Matt pointed his saber towards Ken as the rest of the Jedi surrounded him. "It's over, Ken. There's nowhere for you to run anymore with your engines destroyed. You've got no other options."
Despite his situation, Ken started to laugh. The depth of insanity in it shocked the Jedi to the core as it grew in volume. His laughter filled the room.
"That's what you think," he gasped between laughs. "You insects are more foolish than I thought. Why do you think I disappeared all these weeks?" He then turned towards the large set of doors. "I was waiting until I destroyed you all to unleash my creation upon the Digital World, but since you are such an annoying thorn in my side, I'll let you have a first glance at what ultimate power feels like."
Ken started to speak in a strange tongue that none of the Jedi could understand. It wasn't Japanese, Latin, or any language they knew of. It was something that sounded like it predated all of those languages.
Once Ken finished speaking, the doors reacted and slowly started to open. Low hisses and growls could be heard from behind them. The Jedi pointed their sabers up to defend themselves from whatever came out. Even so, this did not dilute their rising terror.
Ken snickered lowly. "Prepare, Destined Jedi," he proclaimed. "For you are about to experience the most powerful force that has ever existed. The thing that will cement my rule. I present to you…"
A dark silhouette could be made out from the darkness as footsteps boomed forward. It got clearer the closer it got until it finally stepped out into the torch light. The Jedi gasped in awe and horror at what they saw.
"KIMERAMON!"
The beast was a sight to behold. It looked something straight out of a nightmare with its mix-and-match body parts that were taken from different Digimon. Its body was an orange Tyrannosaurus Rex with wolf legs, and a long tail behind it. A helmet that ended in a long, sharp horn covered its head, and its four arms were different. Two were long and gangly with sharp claws at the end, the Jedi recognized them as belonging to Devimon. The right arm was skeletal tipped with sharp claws at the end, and the left was insect-like. On its back were two pairs of wings: One that looked like angel wings, and the other was a pair of dragon wings.
"Wh-What is that thing?" Mimi squeaked with wide eyes.
Kimeramon locked its sights directly on the Jedi. It stared at them blankly for a moment until Ken said something in the strange language.
"There's no use in trying to reason with him, Destined Jedi," he taunted. "He only obeys me. Destroy them, Kimeramon!"
The creature obeyed and let out a roar, a deafening sound that filled the entire chamber. Kimeramon opened its mouth. Hot, green fire built up in the back of its throat before it shot the flames out with a cry of "HEAT VIPER!"
The Jedi jumped away to avoid the flames, but the heat and intensity was so scorching that it made the entire room feel like a sauna. There was no escaping the attack anywhere they went.
Davis stared at the monstrosity in a mixture of awe and horror.
"We are in huge…trouble," he breathed.
Boy, ain't that the truth. Now that Ken has unleashed his supreme weapon, how will the Jedi handle it? Find out next time on Attack of the Emperor.
As you guys saw, there was a lot of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets influence on this chapter. Unlike in the series, I wanted to hold off on revealing Kimeramon to the world to make it that much more terrifying. The information on the JASDF's aircraft engines was completely made up, just so we have that out of the way.
The song in the beginning was the OP for My Neighbor Totoro, which I do not own at all. Studio Ghibli does.
You will not want to miss the next chapter, so subscribe if you have not. Also leave a review like always. Next week is the chapter you guys have been waiting six months for. I know I have. See you then ;-)