Reviews:
Ackbarfan5556: You bet she would have.
Sweet Cari: Glad you liked the changes I made. Yes, it adds more intrigue to her.
Music Chick: I'm glad it does. They never gave a simple explanation for it, which ticked me off pretty good.
Sakura0410: Thank you. I'm glad you liked it. As much as I want to believe that was the case in the movie, I don't think so unfortunately.
Greymon Leader Batx flashpoint: You ain't seen nothing yet, Greymon. Just wait and see where it's gonna go next ;-) I'm glad you liked the moment between Tai and Izzy. They really are the best of friends.
Thank you, lilflyer87 for the follow. Much appreciated.
Hey, gang. Glad to see you guys liked the previous chapter. This time, things officially take off. I have no serious complaints about the battle shown in the movie other than it made no sense as to why the boys went with the Digimon only to not do much of anything. They could have been cheerleaders in Izzy's office for that matter. Hope you like the way I do it. It's going to get intense.
Enjoy.
The five Destined Jedi flew down the cyberspace tube focused on reaching their target. All of them were dressed in their tunics and pants, each corresponding to the color on their tattoos. From the information Menoa gave them, Eosmon was hiding in an online domain that belonged to an aquarium. Izzy had theorized that since the Destined Jedi were digital whenever they traveled into the Digital World, they could travel within the Internet as well. It seemed a little weird to Tai, but he decided it was worth a try.
Jimi Hendrix's 'Voodoo Child' was pumped into the tube courtesy of Imura at TK's request. Tai nodded his head along to the blistering blues guitar riffs, getting himself pumped up for the battle at hand. They never had the opportunity to have pump-up music playing as they went into battle before so they were not about to let the opportunity pass them by. It made them feel like American GI's in choppers over the jungles of Vietnam.
"This is so cool!" Kari joyously exclaimed. "Look at us. We're surfing the internet."
Tai chuckled with a smile. The plan was simple: By using a wide area siege net that Imura had developed, the Jedi were to contain Eosmon and then disable it so it could be captured. Izzy carried the net in a bazooka-like weapon he had in his hands, which Imura had created. While the Destined Jedi took care of that, Menoa and Imura would stay in the office and hack to retrieve the data of the woman's consciousness. Easy, smooth, and by the numbers as Tai had said. So easy a caveman could do it.
"I'm ready, man," Tai said, a wide, cocky grin shooting up his face. Thoughts of succeeding and then running back home to Sora to pop the question to her flooded his head. "Ready to get it on."
"Great, Tai," Matt replied sternly. "Don't get cocky."
"Aw, come on, Matt. We wrangled up Parrotmon the other day no problem. This won't be a challenge either."
"This isn't Parrotmon we're dealing with. No two jobs are the same."
"Stick to the plan, guys," Izzy chimed in to settle things down.
Tai shrugged and kept his eyes focused straight ahead. "All right, let's go over it again," he said, his voice much more serious. "Izzy, what are you gonna do?"
"Deploy the net when it's ready so that Eosmon has nowhere to go," the Jedi of Knowledge replied flawlessly.
"Correct. Matt and I have first crack at the target until you get that net around the area. TK, Kari, you guys watch our six and make sure Eosmon doesn't try to escape."
"Roger!" the two younger Destined Jedi nodded.
Screens appeared along the top of the entire cyberspace tube. Menoa's face appeared on them.
"Can you all hear me?" she said.
They nodded.
"Loud and clear, Menoa," replied Tai.
"Good. We're going to get you as close to the target as we can. Keep Eosmon busy so that we can get the data from it. Once we have that, capture it with the net and then bring it to the extraction point," she explained. "We're gonna nip this thing in the bud before it gets worse."
Tai smiled. "Don't worry, Menoa. Me and my squad of ultimate badasses will finish this in no time," he boasted. "Get in, capture the target, and get out." He then started to sing, "Easy as 1, 2, 3."
"Do re mi," TK added.
Kari laughed before finishing, "A, B, C."
"That's how easy love can be," the three of them sang before laughing joyously.
"Knock it off, guys," Matt snapped. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves."
"He's right," said Menoa. "Eosmon is very powerful. More powerful than anything you have ever faced before, I'm sure. Twenty seconds to go. Good luck, Destined Jedi."
The group of five saw the end of the tube in sight. Tai's face narrowed, concentrating completely on the task at hand. The time for jokes and tough talk was over. Now it was time to walk the walk like they had done hundreds of times before. He plucked his lightsaber off the belt around his waist, which prompted everyone else to do the same.
"All right, boots," he said with complete concentration. The end of the tunnel was in his sights. "Start walking."
"Six, five, four, three, two, one!" Menoa cried as the group passed through the barrier and into the web domain. "Transfer complete."
Schools of cyber fish and other aquatic creatures swam by the Jedi. Tai didn't take any time to admire the sight as they headed for a large sphere in the middle of the cyberspace. That must be where Eosmon was. What they would find in there, he didn't know, but it was going down.
The group went through the sphere, like drink through a straw. Blocks of various sizes floated in the space around them along with more fish. The target was up ahead. It too was in the shape of a sphere, but this one was smaller. Crystal wings that had a honeycomb design on them were wrapped around it. What its body looked like was a mystery, but they would find out soon enough.
Tai cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "That's it?" He felt cheated. They had taken on tougher Digimon than this. "It doesn't look so tough. I knew it. This is a bullshit assignment."
"Stay focused, Tai," Matt said as he activated his green lightsaber. "Appearances can be deceiving. Let's go see."
The leader nodded and brought out his lightsaber before turning to the younger two behind him. "TK, Kari, stay back. Don't give it any chance to escape," he instructed them. To Izzy, he said, "Have that net ready to go when it's time, Izzy."
"Got it," the other three Jedi responded as Tai and Matt went in to make first contact with Eosmon.
It must have sensed their presence because the Digimon opened its wings and turned to them. Its body was smaller than Tai had expected with antennae and other insect features. There were no discernable eyes, but he could sense it was looking at them. He and Matt raised their sabers behind them and went in for the attack.
"Menoa, I'm ready to deploy the net," he heard Izzy say over the headsets.
"Hold on," the woman said. A second later, "Okay. Fire away."
A boom was heard from behind as several orange balls were fired all over the sphere. When they reached their targets, a series of interconnecting webs that enclosed the entire structure in red and orange light appeared. The Digimon looked from side to side and saw there was no escape.
"Perfect," Imura said. "Now incapacitate it for capture."
Tai clenched the hilt of his lightsaber. "All right. Let's get him, Matt," he said. "You take left. I'll take right."
The blonde nodded and flew off to the left as instructed. Tai raised his lightsaber as he got closer to Eosmon. The adrenaline rushed through his body, which caused a cocky smirk to rise up the side of his face. The Digimon stayed perfectly still, caught off guard by a combination of the sudden change in its surroundings and the two Destined Jedi coming from its sides.
"Grab…me….GOTCHA!" Tai cried, swinging his lightsaber forward.
It only hit air.
Eosmon sped past him like a bullet. Tai looked back, amazed at how fast it went. Never had he seen something move that fast before. Not even the fastest JASDF jets could keep up with it. When he turned to face forward again, his eyes widened. He tried to avoid the oncoming crash, but it was too late.
THUNK!
"Ow!" Tai cried as he and Matt butted heads. The leader took a moment to nurse his head before looking up at his teammate. A red mark had appeared on Matt's forehead. Even though Tai couldn't see his own forehead, it sure felt like one had formed on him too by how tender it felt.
"That didn't go quite the way I planned," he said with a nervous chuckle.
The blonde ignored him and watched in awe as Eosmon sped across the entire enclosure. TK and Kari shot up to prevent it from touching the barrier, but it eluded their attacks. Izzy came over to help them.
"Son of a bitch!" Matt exclaimed. "That thing is fast."
The leader smirked. "Yeah, but you're faster," he said, jerking his head to the left. "Go get him, Speedy Gonzalez."
Matt smirked widely. His tattoo glowed bright blue before he shot off in a blur. Tai watched impressed. Matt's special ability was enhanced speed, which would make him rival Flash if he wanted to.
The Jedi of Friendship finally caught up to Eosmon. "Hey, Moe!" he exclaimed, doing an imitation of Curly from 'The Three Stooges' as he swung his saber at the Digimon.
A mirrored hexagon shot up to hit him smack in the face, sending him flying back. It shot over to where the other three Jedi were.
"He's coming your way, guys!" Tai alerted them. "Be ready!"
Izzy, TK, and Kari pointed their sabers forward in a protective, yet offensive, stance. When it saw the three Jedi in front of it, Eosmon's hand transformed into a cannon and shot orange balls of energy at them. The balls exploded in front of the three Jedi, the energy pushing them back into the netting. Matt came over to help, but Eosmon blasted him with energy blasts from its antennae. He blocked the first two, but the third hit him square in the chest.
Tai shot straight through the smoke, his saber reared back in preparation to strike. A cocky smirk shot up the right side of his face. Eosmon had nowhere else to go.
"Gotcha this time!" he yelled and sliced his saber through the pit of its elbow.
Eosmon screeched in pain as the arm detached itself from the body. Its wings fluttered weakly before it dove straight down. Tai raised his saber and let out a victorious cry, thinking they had won the fight.
Something that sounded like a demonic child's giggle sounded through the enclosure, followed by a light.
Tai's face paled.
It was coming from Eosmon.
When the light vanished, Eosmon was now bigger, looking like a large queen moth with much wider, stronger wings and an extra pair of arms. It had evolved. Its gaze was set firmly on the Jedi.
Tai gulped. "We are in big…trouble."
The Digimon wasted no time in darting straight up for them. With the evolution came much faster speed. If it was fast before, it was practically a bullet in a gun barrel. It went from one end of the enclosure to the next in the blink of an eye via launch pads that appeared throughout the enclosure. None of the Jedi could keep up with it; not even Matt. It would tease them by coming close only to dive up or down at the last second so the Jedi were swinging at air. Tai felt like a mouse being toyed with by a cat before it got gobbled up.
"How are we doing on that data collection, Menoa?" he heard Izzy ask.
"Sixty-two percent!" Menoa replied. "We need more time."
"We don't have time!" Matt roared. "You guys get your butts in gear and act fast! Hurry up!"
Tai watched in awe as Eosmon shot all over the enclosure. How were they going to capture something they couldn't lock down on for one second? It was so fast that he would miss it in the blink of an eye. How could they compete with that? To make matters worse, the enclosure was getting smaller by the second. His brain strained as it tried to think of a plan.
The way they all wrangled Parrotmon the other day flashed in his mind. That was it!
"Brain blast!" he exclaimed, chuckling when he realized he sounded like Jimmy Neutron.
"Whatcha got, Jimmy?" Matt joked.
TK and Kari laughed.
"Spread out in a circle," Tai ordered. "We're wrangling this wild bronco together."
His teammates nodded and fanned out in a wide circle with one person on the far ends of the enclosure. Tai was on the north end; Matt, the west; Izzy went to the east end; and TK and Kari took the southeast and southwest end. They destroyed the launch pads with their lightsabers so that Eosmon couldn't springboard all over the net. The Digimon stopped its wild zinging around to realize it was surrounded.
"There's nowhere left to run, Eosmon!" Tai called to it with a sneer. "You're coming with us."
"Seventy-five percent!" Menoa cried.
The Jedi of Courage put his lightsaber away and charged up Force energy into his palm. This was going to be just like the other day with Parrotmon. Once Menoa and Imura succeeded in downloading the data, Eosmon would be theirs. Then he would go home and ask Sora to marry him. Success was so close he could almost taste it.
"NOW!" Tai roared as he shot his hand out toward Eosmon. Everyone else followed.
The Digimon struggled against the energy bonds that surrounded it, but couldn't break free. Tai gritted his teeth and growled to keep the hold going for as long as it took for the two adults in Izzy's office to succeed. The veins in his neck, temple, and arm stood out. The net got closer.
"Eighty-five percent!"
Just a little longer.
"Ninety-two!"
Almost there! Just a few more seconds and…
Something snapped within Tai. It felt like he was going through an amputation, but he could still feel his limb holding on by a mere thread of skin, bone, and muscle. Like the top corner of a flag that had been ripped off by the wind but the bottom corner was still keeping it tied to the line. Tai's arm shook uncontrollably as the hold on Eosmon weakened.
At first, he couldn't figure out what it was. Maybe something inside the area was preventing him from holding it too long. That was quickly dashed because he didn't feel an external force preventing him from going on. What could it be? Then it hit him like a freight train.
The Force was dying inside of him.
That revelation shocked Tai to his very core. He couldn't feel anything shooting out of his hand anymore. The attack had stopped. His breathing quickened as he panicked. What was happening? Why was it happening?
Matt looked over. "Tai! What's wrong?"
"I don't know!" Tai cried. "My power is failing!"
The other Jedi lost their concentration and flew over to see what was wrong. The Jedi of Courage stared at his hand like it was disappearing right before his eyes. What was causing this to happen? He kept asking himself that, but nothing was coming to mind.
Eosmon darted for a spot in the net between Tai and Izzy due to now not being held by the Force energy. Its body stuck to the net like a fly on a flytrap before tearing an opening through it.
"Shit! It's getting loose!" TK shouted. He shot over to try and stop it, but Eosmon turned and blasted him with a shot from its antennae. It sent him plummeting back down.
"TK!" Kari and Matt cried.
The Jedi of Light caught her boyfriend and held him close as they all watched helplessly while Eosmon escaped. It finally carved a hole large enough for it to fly through and it shot out like a bird from its cage.
"No! It's getting away!" Izzy exclaimed, but there was nothing any of them could do.
Eosmon went through an escape portal and was gone.
They had failed.
xXx
Menoa sighed and slumped back in the chair. At the computer behind her, Imura bit his lip and took a sharp, disappointed breath. It got away. Not only that, but the data he and his boss had collected was incomplete. The number was infused on his retinas. Ninety-eight percent complete.
A long, disappointed silence filled the conference room. Imura then slammed his fist on the desk and muttered only one word.
"Shit."
What is going on with Tai? Find out next time.
Hope you guys enjoyed this version of the battle. It was a lot of fun to write. Like I said, I have no real issues with the first Eosmon fight other than wishing Kari was there, but you guys already knew that. Tai's cocky behavior before the fight was directly influenced by Hudson in Aliens, which I think suited him because he's got all this other stuff going for him.
Next week, we find out why Tai's powers suddenly started failing him. The explanation they gave in the movie for it was stupid, confusing, and made no sense. I hope you think mine does make sense. I officially graduate from grad school next week. Yay! My ceremony is at 8 in the morning, so I may post a bit later than usual, like an hour or so. Not a big deal, but I wanted to just make you guys aware of that.
As always, be sure to review and subscribe if you haven't yet. I am very happy with how things are going so far. Thank you to each and every one of you and I will see you guys next weekend. Once again, feel free to join the Discord group I have if you wish. Here's the link again: discord . gg / XeqvyVsY
Last thing before I sign off: Go see the Demon Slayer movie if you can. It is so damn good! I've seen it twice already.
Tootles.