Reviews:

Ackbarfan5556: Yeah, that was funny XD

Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: Not necessarily. You'll just have to keep reading the entire series to find out. Thank you as always for your reviews.

Music Chick: Yes it is :) That is exactly what his thought process was. How very observational of you.


Hey, guys. Welcome. Judging by the reaction, I would say you guys are all excited about where the second arc is going to go as I am. I'll just be sure to not let you down with this arc the way that Toei did to us for the series. I don't really have a lot to say this week, so let's just get right into the story.


Ken took a sip of melon water as he pored over his homework. The equations, which used to come so easy to him, fried his brain out within a minute of looking at them. He stared blankly at the equation on the paper, racking his brain to try and figure out what the answer was. His hand shook as he moved his pencil onto his notebook paper and started scribbling. Ken glanced over at the textbook for some help in doing the problem.

Knock, knock!

Ken shot up from his hunched over position. "Come in," he said.

His mother opened the door and peered inside. She bit her lip, but forced a smile on her face for Ken.

"Ken, honey, are you hungry? Dinner's ready," she said. "If you don't want to join us –"

Ken answered right away. "No, I want to," he replied, putting his pencil down. "I'll come to dinner."

"It's okay. You look like you're busy."

"I want to eat dinner with you and Dad," he said firmly but kindly as he got up from the chair. "Homework can wait a little while. I don't mind. Really."

Mrs. Ichijouji bit her lip before she nodded and opened the door for Ken to come through. This was a surprise to her. Before, Ken hardly ever so much as acknowledged her presence and always ate alone in his room. Over the past month, he spent less and less time alone in his bedroom and more time out of it by doing things like eating dinner as a family. As much as it made her happy, she was still hesitant to fully embrace the change. Maybe it was just an act Ken was putting on.

The family sat around the dinner table and ate quietly after a quick "Itadakimasu!" Dinner consisted of rice, hamburger steak, miso soup, and pickled vegetables. Ken sipped his water quietly, sensing the uneasiness from his parents. He couldn't blame them. After all he had put them through and done to them before, he wasn't surprised they didn't want to talk to him much for fear of crossing him. But the Emperor was contained, and Dr. Jekyll had permanently taken over his body again.

"Want more, Ken?" his mother asked nervously, holding out a scoop of rice.

Her husband watched anxiously from the other side of the table, wondering how Ken would react. Usually, he would eat one helping of everything and then go off to his room. His hand tightened its grip on his wooden chopsticks, threatening to almost snap them in half.

Ken nodded with a smile. "Yes, please," he said, sticking out his bowl to her. His mother put more rice in and then gave it back, which he accepted with a genuine "Thank you."

"Y-You're welcome," Mrs. Ichijouji stuttered, but nodded with a small smile. "Is this enough for you? I can make more if –"

"It's fine, Mom," Ken assured her with firm kindness. "Really."

His father relaxed his grip on the chopsticks and went back to eating. Crisis averted. Over the last month, he had been trying to watch his step around Ken as well. What if Ken was still a ticking time bomb ready to explode at any moment and was just playing nice to relax them? After finding out the truth about Sam, Mr. Ichijouji did not know what to believe anymore.

Dinner passed by uneventfully after that, with Ken having another half-bowl of rice after that one. His parents were relieved that nothing happened, but they were not sure if this was either something new from Ken or if he was just putting on an act to fool them. After finding out Ken was the real cause of Sam's death, they were not sure what to believe anymore.

Ken sensed the uneasy feeling from them as his mother cleared the table.

"Hey, Mom," he said timidly. "Is it okay if I go for a walk just down the street? I won't be long, maybe thirty minutes at most, and then I'll come home."

Mrs. Ichijouji sucked in her upper lip as she thought about it. For a moment, Ken worried she would say 'no.' She nodded. "Okay. Just make sure you come home before nine."

"I will. I promise," Ken bowed respectfully before going to the door. He slipped on his shoes and walked out of the apartment.

Ken wandered aimlessly through the Tokyo streets, paying no mind to the night workers, the salarymen returning to work from a quick dinner, and the foreign tourists he passed. Many stared at one particular spot on his face. Ken knew where, but he did not say anything. His thoughts kept him occupied the entire time. He was no longer the Digimon Emperor, but Ken had never felt more lonely and isolated than now. He thought about what happened earlier in the day, when he saved those three Destined Jedi from that Digimon. He wanted to say something, but he couldn't find the words to say. He couldn't blame Matt Ishida for reacting the way he did after all Ken had done to him and the others. If only there was a way he could make things right with them, show them that he had changed and not what he used to be.

Before he knew it, Ken had wandered far from the borders of Tamachi and found himself near the National Diet. The whole complex consisted of a post office, the actual National Diet building, the library, and offices for the representatives that came from all across Japan. He must have walked for far longer than the thirty minutes he had promised. Ken looked down at his watch and his eyes bulged out in surprise.

"Crap! I'm late!" he cried and darted towards the nearby Kasumigaseki station. Hopefully his parents would be understanding for why he was out longer than expected. He felt horrible breaking his promise to them.

Just as he was about to turn the corner, Ken felt a familiar presence nearby. He looked behind him and saw a small boy with a bowl cut of brown hair and piercing green eyes walking with an older man towards the National Diet Library. It was one of the Destined Jedi. Cody Hida, was it? Ken had a hard time remembering each of their names now. The face was definitely familiar though. What was he doing going to the library this late at night? He shouldn't be out this late at his age.

Ken looked down at his watch and saw the seconds ticking by with every moment he wasted watching the boy. He looked between his watch and Cody, torn about what to do. His parents were probably going to put him on a milk carton again if he didn't get going now, so he chose to leave.


The lunch bell rang at Odaiba Elementary the next day, allowing students an hour of freedom before returning to their lessons. Class A of fifth grade was waiting for the school lunch students to return with the food from the kitchen and hand it out. Davis and Kari were on school lunch duty today as they carried the food from the kitchen. They wore the proper head and body attire for serving lunch, plain white hats and aprons that covered the entire upper body, making them look like salt and pepper shakers.

"I hate this," Davis groaned.

"Everyone has to serve the lunch at some point, Davis," Kari assured him. "It just so happened to be our turn."

"It's not serving the class lunch, that's not an issue. I just hate having to wear this outfit," Davis explained, looking down at the long white apron in disgust. "It's humiliating."

Kari nodded and chuckled. "I could do without these myself, but it is for sanitary reasons."

They entered their classroom and set up shop on the table at the front of the class. Today's lunch was very basic: Rice with peas mixed in; agepan, fried sweet bread coated with kinako powder and sugar; and a side of soup. Cartons of milk were there to drink. Everyone lined up to get their food.

Davis looked over at Kari as she served food to the next student in line. She had been acting a little weird since they defeated Ken. Lately, in their training sessions with Tai, she'd seemed a little distant. Something had to be bothering her, and he wasn't going to let what happened when she got kidnapped happen again. As her friend and training partner, he was going to get to the bottom of it.

"Hey, can I have my lunch please?" the student in front of him asked impatiently.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry." Davis apologized and handed the boy his food.

About five minutes later, everyone had their food and sat down at their desks.

"Itadakimasu!" the class said together before digging into their food.

TK, Kari, and Davis all sat together, making sure to be mindful of the people around them so that nothing Jedi-related slipped out. To get around this, they communicated telepathically through the Force.

"If Cody was right, why did Ken just walk away?" Davis asked. "Maybe he wanted to say something."

"Who knows," TK replied as he put rice and peas in his mouth. "We're probably better off anyway. It's still weird to me that Ken is the ninth Destined Jedi."

"Tell me about it," Kari added, sipping her milk. "Knowing now that he can come back to the Digital World like us, I wonder what he has in mind."

Davis looked at them both sadly and took a bite of agepan. The soy bean powder and sugar filled his mouth, so he wouldn't have been able to talk aloud anyway. "I don't know, but we have to be careful. He probably wanted to get an idea of where we were before trying to restart his empire."

The two nodded and quietly consumed their food.

"PSSST!"

The three Destined Jedi shot up and looked around the room.

"Did you guys hear that?" Davis asked, accidentally spraying kinako and sugar from his mouth at TK and Kari.

"Ew! Davis!" TK wiped some of it off his cheek.

"That's gross!" Kari brushed her nose with the back of her hand.

Davis grinned bashfully. "Sorry. But what was that?"

The voice came again. "Pssst! TK, Kari, Davis!"

The burgundy-haired boy looked past his two friends and saw a face peek out from a crack in the sliding door. It was Cody.

"Cody, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Shouldn't you be eating in your class right now?"

"It's an emergency!" the boy said quietly.

TK and Kari looked behind them and saw the boy too.

"What's going on, Cody?" TK asked.

"We need to talk about something I found out last night," the small boy said urgently. "It can't wait now. I sent a message to Izzy and the others. They said they'll meet us in the computer lab. Come on."

"Later," Davis held his ground. "We're eating."

"NOW!"

TK and Kari pushed back their chairs and stood up before walking out of the classroom. Davis took a second to stuff the rest of his agepan in his mouth before quickly following.


Tai, Matt, Sora, Mimi, and Izzy stood around the computer lab waiting for Cody to show up with the rest of the team present. Since Joe went to a different school, he couldn't be there but they all agreed they would tell him later. They were called away from their lunch in the middle school cafeteria because Cody said he needed to tell them something that could not wait until later. Izzy sat at one of the computers.

"What do you think the big deal is?" Matt asked.

"It must have been important if Cody wants us to meet with them all now," Izzy replied, his fingers flying away on the keys. "Maybe it's something to do with Ken."

The blonde scoffed. "What's there to talk about the guy? If he can come back to the Digital World, then everyone's in trouble."

"Let's not be too hasty about this, Matt," Tai replied, hoping to reason with the blonde. "Remember how broken he was? That seemed to tell me he wasn't interested in conquest anymore. Did he say anything when you saw him?"

Matt shook his head. "No, he didn't."

"So how do you know then that he's interested in starting his empire back up again?" Sora asked.

Matt stood with his mouth hung open for a good two seconds. He was not prepared at all for the question, so he stammered for a few seconds. Just as he was about to form a coherent sentence, the door slid open and the younger Jedi walked inside.

"Thank you all for meeting here on such short notice, but this could not wait until we got to the warehouse later," Cody said. "I went to the National Diet Library last night to do some research, and I found some pretty interesting things."

"What things?" Yolei asked.

Before he answered, Cody looked at her curiously. "Yolei, do you remember what Ken told you about what happened to his brother?"

She nodded. "Yes. He told me that his brother was an abusive fiend, and that he took the kitchen knife one morning and killed him to end the abuse."

The boy then looked at Kari.

"Kari, what did he tell you?"

"That he slit his brother's throat with the knife he had," the Jedi of Light replied.

Matt did not need any prodding to explain what Ken had told him.

"He said that he and his brother were close, and then one day, his brother was gone," he said. "Will you get to the chase already, kid? It's almost the end of our lunch hour."

Cody nodded and took a deep breath. He was still trying to digest everything he read last night. He asked his grandfather if they could stop off at the library after their lesson because he needed to "do some research for a project." The man was all too happy to oblige. They stayed there for two hours. Cody read everything he could get his hands on while his grandfather found something on kendo.

"All of those stories," he said slowly, "they were a lie. It did not happen the way he told each of you. I know what really happened. I rummaged through every article I could get on Ken's brother, Sam Ichijouji. Apparently, he was a genius kid himself, but far greater than Ken. Aside from all the articles praising him, I stumbled across a death bulletin. His brother died a little over two years ago. It said he fell from his apartment balcony and died immediately when he hit the ground."

The girls gasped in horror, raising a hand to their mouths. The boys remained emotionless, but they all felt the hair on their necks stand up. No one said anything for several moments, making the computer lab as quiet as a tomb.

"That's horrible," Yolei breathed. "What happened?"

Cody nodded, understanding her disbelief. "The articles did not dive into detail too much, but one I read mentioned something about someone saying they saw Sam covered in blue electricity before he fell from the balcony."

Matt tensed. "Blue electricity?" he said, his eyes growing wider by the second. That had to be one thing. "You mean Force lightning?"

"Yes," Cody replied, narrowing his eyes. "There's only one possible way that could be. Ken killed his own brother."

Izzy and Tai looked at each other, not sure what to think. Tai gave him a look saying, 'Did you know about any of this?' and Izzy just shrugged. Sora and Mimi stood in a permanent state of shock. Kari and TK gazed at their brothers in fear, not wanting to imagine a scenario like that happening to either of them.

"What more reason do we have for not wanting this guy near the Digital World?" Matt asked, breaking the silence.

"Hold on, hold on," Davis said. "We don't need to be making allegations that are –"

"Do you want to see the articles yourself?" Cody hissed, staring right up at Davis. He pressed his body against the taller boy's. "I'll be glad to take you right to them and have them checked for authenticity."

TK laid a hand on the boy's shoulder. "Cody, that's enough," he said, hoping the boy would back down. "We believe you. You went out and did that on your own? I'm impressed."

Cody stepped away from Davis and glanced back at TK with a shy smile. "Thank you. After the other day, I've had this nagging feeling that Ken is up to something. Why would he save me from that Digimon?"

Matt shifted his feet uncomfortably. He too had been bothered by what happened. The way Ken just walked away without a word, even though the blonde Jedi was ready to fight him, surprised him. He never shied away from messing with them or getting a word in edgewise before. It was the strangest thing.

"I don't know," he said, "but we should be careful going forward. He might be up to something."

"But what?" Izzy asked, tired of getting that same assumption with no supporting evidence.

Ring!

The group jumped at the sound. That was the bell signaling the end of their lunch period. It was time to go back to class.

"We'll continue this conversation when we meet at the warehouse after school," said Tai. "For now, let's not worry too much about it. May the Force be with you guys."

"You too," TK nodded as he led his group out of the computer lab.


"That's strange. You're usually the first one to finish the test, Ken. What happened?" the teacher asked.

"I'm not sure, sir," Ken said with a bow of apology. "But I promise I will do better next time."

The staffroom smelled pungently of cigarette smoke and freshly-printed paper. Ken felt his head swim from all of the stimuli pumping into his senses. He desperately wanted to get out of there.

"Okay, but if you need any help, don't hesitate to ask for it," his teacher nodded slowly. "I'm here to help you, Ken."

"I appreciate that, sir."

Ken left the staffroom and walked back into the hallway. Immediately, he felt the eyes of everyone in the hallway lock right onto him. Kids whispered quietly amongst themselves in doorways, classrooms, and in groups along the hallway. He didn't pay them any attention; he knew exactly what they were talking about.

"Not so much of a genius now, is he?" one girl whispered to her friends.

"I heard he lost a sizable chunk of his IQ during his disappearance," whispered another.

"Maybe it leaked out of that scar on his face," her friend snickered.

"Finally, the evil tyrant of Tamachi has been brought down to earth," said a boy with a satisfied smirk.

"About time he found out what it was like to be one of us normal people."

Ken pushed on ahead, ignoring all the whispers and stares. The gossip was a knife in the heart; it hurt him more now than ever before. Tears built up in his eyes. Everyone hated him; that was no secret, but now that he was no longer the Digimon Emperor, it bothered him to no end. Ken felt like the whole world was out to punish him for all he had done.

A large crowd of students gathered around the bulletin board at the bottom of the stairwell. Ken glanced lightly at it, but didn't pay any attention. The results of the latest math test were posted. Students with the highest marks started on the right and then went in descending order to the left. Ten students names were posted on the top half of the board, and then ten more on the bottom. Ken's name was the twelfth one. Not something to thumb his nose at, but compared to what he usually did, it was a failure.

Everyone marveled at how far he had fallen. He used to dominate the tests running away, but now he was slipping.

"That's odd," someone said. "Who would have thought Ken would do so poorly?"

"Personally, I don't even care," said somebody else. "I'm glad he's given up. Gives the rest of us a chance to look good for a change."

Ken tilted his head downward and finished his way down the rest of the steps. He didn't bother looking at the board. A few students noticed him, but he ignored their attempts to talk to him. He didn't want to talk to anybody right now.

If only there was a way he could get his life back in order. He was trying hard with his parents, but knew there was still a lot of trepidation with them. They wanted to embrace him, but there was always the fact he was responsible for Sam's death keeping a barrier between them. If only he had a friend. Someone who would not judge him from his past mistakes or saw him as the Boy Genius of Tamachi. Someone who could look past the scar on his face and the reputation to see the real Ken deep inside.

'I don't want to leave everything broken,' Ken thought as he trudged down the street towards home. 'I want to make things right. But how do I do that? No one gives me a chance: Not the Jedi; not my parents; not my teachers; anyone at school.'

Then he realized – He hadn't counted on the Digital World. Even so, what creature would forgive him after all the suffering and pain he had caused? He ruled the Digital World with an iron fist and was unspeakably cruel to everyone. Ken's hopeful face fell crestfallen once again.

A pink light glowed on his right wrist. Ken pulled the cuff of his uniform back and saw the tattoo on his wrist was the source of the glow. Then he felt it. The Force was calling to him. A portal opened in front of him and Ken walked into it.

He now found himself in the middle of a lush, green humid forest that strangely reminded him of the first time he came to the Digital World. His grey school uniform had transformed into a plain black yukata and sandals on his feet. He came to a place just like this one when he met…someone. Ken could not remember the name off the top of his head, but it was a dog-like creature that was dressed in a red cloak with a horn on the end of its muzzle. Hackmon! That was it!

Ken looked around, sensing for any trace of it. The feeling was very faint, but not strong enough to determine any location. The former Digimon Emperor felt the urge to call out its name, but he wasn't sure if he was worthy of an audience with Hackmon. The only time they met was when Hackmon told him he would not be one of the Destined Jedi. But that would not stop Ken from trying.

Finally, he strung the syllables together to make a coherent sound.

"Hackmon?" he said in a strained voice, sounding more like a squeak.

Ken took a deep breath and said the name more confidently. "HACKMON!" he shouted, the echo filling the entire forest. "Where are you? It's Ken Ichijouji! Can we talk? Please?"

He waited, but received nothing in response. Ken hung his head until his hair hung over his eyes. Tears started to fall down his face.

"Hello, Emperor."

Ken jumped almost two feet in the air. The deep, monotone voice came from out of nowhere. He quickly turned around and was graced by the sight of the Digimon he was looking for. The creature had not changed at all since they last saw each other. Its golden eyes still gave him that unsettling glare that made it seem like Hackmon was inspecting every aspect of Ken's soul. Its red cloak covered the rest of its body except for any forelimbs and its face. Its ears poked through holes in the cloak.

"Hackmon!" Ken said breathlessly, still shocked by the creature's sudden appearance. He sighed and lowered his head. "I'm no longer the Emperor. I prefer Ken, if that is alright."

Hackmon stared at the young boy with that never-ending glare. The human had grown physically, but was still the same boy he remembered. Its eyes glanced at the scar on the right side of Ken's face before looking into the boy's eyes. He felt all of the pain, sadness, brokenness, and despair that the boy was feeling presently. The suppressed anger and hatred that was bottled up inside of him before was nowhere to be found. He was merely a shell of a human.

The Digimon sighed. "Very well…Ken," it said. "Why do you call for me today? How do you remember me when I erased your memory?"

"I'm…not sure," Ken replied nervously. He then thought back to the past. "I was angry for a long time. I don't expect forgiveness. Forgiveness would be too kind. I would like to ask if I can somehow prove that I'm no longer who I was. Is it too late to fix my mistakes?"

Hackmon continued to stare without any trace of emotion. "I think you and I both know the answer to that question," it said. "You can lie to yourself, but you cannot lie to the Force. As the Digimon Emperor, you made the Digital World unbalanced. Harmony was ruined because of you."

"I know, and I deeply regret all of that, but I want to help restore that harmony," Ken returned, desperation creeping into his voice. "I'm not the same person I was. I've come to realize what I have done and I want to fix the mistakes I made. Is there any way I can do that?"

Tears fell down Ken's face. "Please! I'll do anything," he cried. "I'll do anything!"

Hackmon looked at him with no emotion. A sheen of sympathy washed over its eyes for a moment, but then faded away.

"Is that really sympathy I feel from you, my old friend?" a far-off voice said with a chuckle.

Ken looked up. "Who said that?" he called, turning in every direction for the source of that voice.

Hackmon sighed and replied to the voice, "Gennai, I cannot in good conscience allow this to happen. The boy is still dangerous."

"He wants to learn. I can see it in his heart," said Gennai.

"What if he betrays them? Homeostasis does not wish to have more deaths on its hands, Gennai."

"Last time was extremely unfortunate, but this time is different. The children can show him the way. If I know them well, the Jedi will help him down the right path to being a true Destined Jedi."

Hackmon sighed exasperatedly and looked back at Ken. The boy gazed at the Digimon with hopeful desperation.

"Please," he begged. "I want to become a Jedi. I had nothing but loneliness and despair when I was the Digimon Emperor. I want to make things right. Please, let me do this. I promise I will not let you down."

Hackmon grunted lowly. The more it looked inside the boy's heart, the more the will to do good grew inside. This was not the same feeling it got when it first met the boy. There was no chill. There was no warning in its heart. If the prophecy was fulfilled and the nine Destined Jedi reunited, that would mean the long-sought after balance could finally be established.

It nodded. "Okay," then its voice rose. "Very well. You, Ken Ichijouji, are given my blessing. You will be a Destined Jedi after all."

Ken smiled in disbelief. That was the best news he had heard in a long time. "Th-Thank you! Thank you!"

Hackmon held up a paw. "But," it said warningly, "I am not the only one you need to convince of your trustworthiness."

Ken felt his excitement wash away. He knew what the creature was talking about, and it was the part he was scared to go through with.

"I'll do whatever it takes," he said. "I can convince the Jedi to accept me."

"Very well. May the Force be with you, Ken Ichijouji, Jedi of Kindness."


"YAAAH!"

The two combatants charged at each other. The thunk of their swords meeting each other filled the dojo. Cody and his grandfather were in the middle of their kendo lesson, and the boy was striking him with everything he had. In his mind's eye, he substituted Ken in his grandfather's place.

Cody went for a strike, but Chioka sidestepped at the last minute. Cody stumbled forward and almost lost his balance. The weight of the kendo equipment felt like it was a million pounds for him right now. He breathed heavily as he stared at his grandfather past the mesh protector of his men. He gripped the shinai in his hands tightly.

"YAAHH!" he cried, rushing forward with reckless abandon.

His grandfather elbowed him in the stomach. The armor protected the boy's midsection, but the action stunned him enough to freeze him. Chioka brought his shinai down to strike his grandson's head. Cody closed his eyes, preparing for the contact.

Tap!

Cody opened his eyes and saw his grandfather's eyes twinkling mischievously. The man winked at him and put his shinai down before taking off his face protector.

"Excellent work, Cody," he praised. "That'll be enough for today."

Cody panted heavily and bowed, removing his face protector as well. The bandanna wrapped around his head was soaked with sweat. "Thank you, sensei."

Chioka looked to the side of the dojo. "Joe, would you like to show me what you've learned?" he asked the teenager.

Joe blushed bashfully. He had come along with Cody to observe his lessons with his grandfather, as well as get some saber training in when they were done.

"Nah, no thank you," he replied. "I don't want to wear you out more than necessary."

"Nonsense," Chioka said. "I still have enough stamina to fight against even the most legendary of swordsmen. Come, show me what you can do. Cody speaks highly of your skills."

'Can't say no to that,' Joe thought with a shrug. "Alright," he said as he got up and put some equipment on.

The two swordsmen stood before each other, waiting anxiously for someone to make the first move. Cody watched from the side, sipping on a bottle of water. Chioka moved first and came at Joe with a swing from the right. Joe reacted on instinct and blocked the strike by curling his left arm into his body and keeping his right arm straight.

"Impressive," Chioka complimented with a smirk, "But can you handle this?"

He unleashed a swift combination of attacks, and Joe reacted quickly to block every single one. The older man's speed and power for someone his age surprised Joe, but he didn't let his guard down. He kept his shinai held tight to his body to react to attacks from every angle.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Joe used his strength to shove the man's sword back when he went for another strike, knocking him to the floor. Cody gasped in amazement. For a second, Joe worried he may have hurt him, but the man laughed.

"Excellent, excellent," he praised, sitting up and taking his face protector off. "You certainly live up to expectations, Joe. I am impressed."

Joe bowed appreciatively. "Thank you, sir." He stuck his hand out for Chioka to take. The man accepted and allowed himself to be helped up.

"Excellent work, boys," he said. "That is enough for today. Let's go home."

"Grandfather, would it be okay if Joe and I stay a few extra minutes?" Cody asked.

Chioka cocked an eyebrow. "How long?" he asked. "It's getting late. You also have school tomorrow so we need to be getting home soon."

"Not very long," Joe assured. "Five to ten minutes at the most. Cody promised he would show me this new move he told me about."

The air fell still as Chioka weighed the boy's words. With his narrowed eyes and unchanging expression, Joe and Cody could not tell what he was going to decide.

The old man nodded. "Sure," he agreed. "Five minutes, then we need to be getting home, Cody."

Both boys smiled and bowed.

"Thank you," they said.

Chioka took out a pack of Chu-Chu jelly and left the dojo to get changed. Now that he was gone, Cody and Joe were free to shed the armor and pull their lightsabers out. The blue and green blades roared to life and buzzed with energy.

"You can have the first move if you'd like, Cody," Joe offered with a smirk.

"I'll take you up on that offer, Master," Cody smirked back and then leapt forward. He tucked into a flip and started attacking once he was in range.

The two went all over the dojo in a flurry of blocks and strikes. Cody still had so much energy to get out as his confusion and anger towards Ken fueled him. Joe felt the anger in every strike he blocked.

"Be mindful of your feelings, Cody," he said during a saber lock. He glanced down at the boy's feet and saw how they were planted. "You're unbalanced."

BAM! Cody fell to the floor with a leg sweep. His saber fell out of his hand and bounced on the hardwood floors before skittering away with a few rolls. Joe pointed his saber between the boy's eyes.

"Balance is the key to being successful in battle," he smirked. "I keep telling you that again and again, but you still have much to learn."

He moved the tip of his saber away and retracted it before he helped Cody stand up.

"What's going on?" he asked. "Does this still have to do with Ken?"

Cody nodded with a sigh. "I still don't get what his angle was," he replied. "It's like watching a pit bull that was the meanest dog on the block go from this savage beast that barks and nips at anything that comes near its territory to a whimpering puppy that won't hurt anyone. It may seem nice, but it's still a pit bull and you have that ingrained fear of them still."

Joe nodded, finding the metaphor to be very appropriate. "But what if that pit bull proves itself worthy of your trust?" he asked.

Cody shrugged. "I would guess it would be okay, but it's still a pit bull that is capable of biting the hand that feeds," snap! "like that."

"I see what you're saying, Cody, but even with your powers, you're still limited in what you can see based on information you have in front of you," Joe added. "You can't look at someone and immediately guess what their future is going to be. I'm not sure what Ken wants, but I suspect the Force will grant us the wisdom of that soon."

Cody thought about it for a few moments. It all seemed to make sense. He respected Joe for how he was able to put things in a way that was understandable to a kid like him. But some things were more complicated than others, like the whole Ken situation. With a nod, he said, "Okay."

"Alright, let's go catch up with your grandfather."

The two Jedi left the dojo and changed into their street clothes.


The next day, the Jedi gathered at the warehouse to go back to the Digital World. Everyone took off from whatever they had going on to help out, so the warehouse was filled with all eleven Jedi.

"We are almost ready to go, guys," Izzy said, typing away on the computer. "Don't venture too far."

The other Jedi nodded and hung around the computer room until the gate was ready for them. Davis pulled out his GameBoy Advance to play some Metroid. While he was playing, he sensed a familiar presence nearby. Davis quickly looked up from his game and gazed at the entrance to the warehouse.

"There's someone nearby," he said.

Everyone else stood right up at attention. The presence was getting closer, and it felt vaguely familiar.

The doors opened...and in walked Ken Ichijouji. The Jedi stopped what they were doing and stared, not believing what they were seeing. How did he know where they were? What was he doing here? All these questions went through them.

Ken did not say a word as he stared back at them. His heart pounded in his chest as the anxiety threatened to overwhelm him, but he steeled his courage to do this. It had to be done. The Force wrapped itself like a blanket around him.

He bowed his head. "Hello," he said timidly.

The Jedi lost the ability to breathe. The move was so unexpected. Here was, at one time, their single greatest nemesis that would stop at nothing to make sure they all died, and he was afraid to face them. No one knew what to do.

Matt glared at him with disdain. "What do you want?" he spat. "How did you find our hideout?"

Ken sucked in his bottom lip and replied, "I followed you all here. I came to make a request."

Matt was about to snap right back at him when Tai gave him a warning glare that said 'back off.' The Jedi of Friendship closed his eyes and let a shaky breath out, but did fall back in line.

"What request would that be?" the Jedi of Courage asked.

Ken shifted nervously having everyone's eyes on him. He felt the cold glares not just from Matt, but from Cody, TK, Kari, and several other Jedi. The only ones not giving him a dirty look were Tai, Izzy, and Joe. It made him feel uncomfortable. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. He should just go home and forget this whole idea. Despite his anxieties, Ken stayed put with his eyes cast down to the floor. He swallowed a knot in his throat and finally steeled up the words he wanted to say out loud.

"I would like to join your group," he said in a quiet voice.

"Can you say that again, Ken?" Tai requested. "I couldn't hear you."

Ken nodded and looked up at them. "I want to join you all," he said a little louder, but it still was too quiet.

"Stop mumbling and answer the question!" Matt said irritably.

"Matt, be quiet!" Tai admonished.

Ken took a deep breath confidence shooting from his eyes like daggers and spoke in a clear voice. "I would like to join you all. I want to become the Destined Jedi I was meant to be."


Cliffhanger! How will the Jedi respond to this interesting move from Ken? Find out next time on Attack of the Emperor.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter and felt a little bit of sympathy for Ken. After making him basically the antichrist as the Digimon Emperor, I was not sure how to bring him down and make him human until I figured out to just show how everyone around him treats him. Hopefully it worked well enough for you guys.

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