PART 6: My Kingdom for an Nintendo 64
Mimi—er I mean Gennai ( Thought I was going to start with Mimi again, didn't ya? ) leaned back on his hickory chair and sighed. His muscles ached…his muscles always seemed to ache these days. Sometimes he would long for the days when he was younger, spryer, able to leap…bound…perform magnificent feats of strength and daring…
Then he remembered that he was a lot dumber in those days too. A lot more headstrong. He smiled and decided being old wasn't completely the pits after all. Besides, the world now lay in the hands of those a lot younger than he is right now.
As if on cue, a signal beeped inside Gennai's head. He bent down and touched the square tile next to his chair. The tile lightened as words began to scroll across his vision.
"Ah! An e-mail from young Izumi." Gennai smiled. Then his smile faded as he continued to read its words. "Oh no…" he mumbled.
Gennai got up from his relaxed position, stretched, and jumped off the roof of his house, landing softly. He then went inside to write a response. He knew time was of the essence.
************
The DigiDestined had stopped their travels again. Taichi was obviously too sick to continue. They had stopped briefly for a snack, and Tai had thrown it back up. He told them that it must have been some sort of allergy or something.
Sora fumed, and forced Tai to stop moving and to stop his ridiculous fronting. Now he sat limply next to an old oak tree, perspiring heavily. His skin was becoming strangely pale. Taichi still managed to argue that it was just something that would pass.
Yamato frowned, bent over, and picked up a small sharp shard of wood. He jabbed it into Tai's right arm, drawing blood. Taichi didn't even notice. What scared Mat more, though, was the viscous blue fluid that seeped from the quickly healing wound.
"Jeez" Yamato breathed. He looked at his friend and shook his head. "You're in trouble, you know that Tai? What an idiot." He frowned. " You might have even dropped dead while we were walking. What the heck's wrong with you? Why didn't you tell us?"
"Nah…nothing…" Tai tried to speak. He was feeling very cold, and unspeakably drowsy.
"Just shut-up Tai!" Sora told him. "You should know by now we're not going to believe anything you say." Then she saw Taichi nodding off and began to gently slap his face. "Oh, no Tai. Try to stay awake." She pleaded.
"It's ok, " Agumon piped up, a quiver in his voice. " Look he- he's still breathing."
"Yeah!" Mimi added. "Maybe we should let him rest, like it might pass on."
Koushiro sat off in the grass, hitting the refresh key of his keyboard time and time again. He was waiting for a response to the e-mail he had sent earlier. He knew one would come, but time was rather important right now.
"Anything?" Tentomon asked his charge.
"No, nothing yet." Izzy answered simply. "I know it would have reached him instantly…I just hope he can send a response."
Suddenly Sora screamed. Izzy's head snapped up in response. "He's not breathing!" she yelled, frantically slapping Tai's face, trying to resuscitate him.
Yamato had brushed her aside and begun to pump Tai's chest with his fist. He didn't seem to be responding. Kari fell into Mimi's arms, not able to look at what was happening to her brother.
Koushiro's eyes widened, then he heard the familiar beep-ring he was hoping for. He looked down at his laptop screen and saw the response message addressed to "Koushiro 'Izzy' Izumi" from "Gennai". "Yes" he breathed. "This is it."
He clacked on his laptop, ignoring the commotion happening around Taichi. He read the message quickly and suddenly stopped…his eyes widening in certain horror. "Tentomon!" he screamed. The Digimon flew to his side and was given instructions by the frazzled computer-genius. Then Tentomon buzzed away into the distance.
Izzy stared at his screen some more, then he suddenly remembered what was happening. He turned around and found Mat beating on Taichi's chest with frustration. Sora covered her mouth with her hands, shock registering on her face. Joe Mimi and Hikari sat clustered together…the older of the 3 trying to console the younger two. None had any idea of the grave danger they were in.
"GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Koushiro screamed at the top of his lungs. It was too late. Mat choked as Taichi's hand quickly came up and clutched his throat. With an unknown strength, Tai lifted Yamato clear off his feet. Tai got up slowly, his eyes still closed, his skin parch white with black veins shooting around. The other stared in horror.
Tai's eyes suddenly opened. They were blood-red. He flashed a deadly smile at the others, and began to choke the life out of Mat.
************
T.K. FallenAngemon, Dawoemon and Celamon now neared the plant-mon described as the Digi-town of Sector. The stopped just a few meters from it's gates.
Takeru was understandably nervous. He had never taken over a town before. He wondered if it was like stealing hotels in Monopoly. He looked up to FallenAngemon, who just shrugged.
"So, um, what am I gonna do in there?" Takeru asked the plant-woman standing next to him.
"As I see it, Takeru-sama, you will hardly have to do anything." Dawoemon mused. " Just walk in and proclaim yourself as the savior. Once the realize who you are, they will go out of their way to help you out."
Celamon let out a rough "hmph" behind the two. T.K. snapped his fingers. "OK!" He said enthusiastically. "Come on Fallen!" and with that, started towards the city.
"NO!" Dawoemon stretched her arms out in front of them. " No, uh, Takeru-sama. The proper way would be to head right towards the city palace, and declare yourself there!"
"Oh." T.K. frowned. Then he thought. "Well, wont people try to stop me?"
"Try is the right word, Takeru-san." Fallen added.
"If its going to be done, let's do it already." Celamon added impatiently. T.K. looked at her and she stammered. "I-If it is your will T.K.-sama…I mean, Takeru-san!" She blurted.
Fallen let out a quick laugh and Celamon fixed him with a deadly stare. T.K. smiled. "Yeah, you're right Celamon. Let's go." Easy as that, Takeru and the others began their takeover of the city of Sector.
Sector was a small, merchant oriented city. All sorts of Digimon milled around in there. There were Kuwagumon and Gekkomon, plenty of those Digimon that had worked for Etimon were there too. Just hanging around, exchanging, trading. None of them looked twice at the 3 strange Digimon that had entered the town, but all eyes lingered at the small blonde-haired boy who was leading them.
Finally the reached a large palace at the north end of the city. Huge knight-like Digimon blocked the entrance. A plate on the brick wall read "Mayor"
"Is this where the King lives?" T.K. asked. The knights looked at him strangely in response.
"There is no 'King' yet Takeru-sama." Dawoemon corrected mildly. "You will be the new king once you take over."
Those words startled the knights, and they brought their huge lances down, pointing at the boy. "What exactly are you thinking of, rat?" One of the knights boomed.
Then he was down, unconscious. Fallen stood between the two knights as they slumped to the ground. His movements were to quick to follow. All that was known is that he had taken them down without breaking half a sweat. He gestured towards the staircase that led inside the palace.
T.K. grinned and nodded. Celamon gaped at the tall angel, then closed her mouth in a tight frown and followed. Dawoemon followed lastly. She smiled. "Their power was amazing", she thought to herself. "The city will be mine without much delay."
************
Taichi got bored of choking Mat to death, and released him. Mat's body hit the ground with a thud and he slowly got up, clutching his neck. A trickle of blood flowed down his nose. He wiped it away angrily. "Tai…" he started.
"I said GET AWAY FROM HIM!" Izzy shouted. He bounded of the grass and pushed Sora out of the way of a devastating punch. The attack nailed Koushiro in the ribs, and he rolled by, clutching his side in pain.
"Tai!" Sora cried. "What the hell are you doing!?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Koushiro scraped through clenched teeth. "That isn't Tai!"
The others stared as Taichi looked at each and every one of them with bloody eyes and an eerie smile. He seemed to be choosing who to attack next. He gazed at Mimi, huddling his terrified sister. He smiled at that and passed on to Joe, who was looking at him, Gomamon growling at his side.
Taichi found that extremely amusing and passed on. He then fixed on Sora. Hey eyes widened in recognition and backed away two steps. Tai followed forward two steps. Biyomon suddenly hopped in front of her terrified charge.
"Not another step, Tai" She threatened.
Tai grinned and continued to press forward. Biyomon didn't budge, but instead began to glow.
Agumon knew what was happening and stared at the ground. He wasn't able to Digivolve, and wouldn't be able to protect Tai from whatever Biyomon decided to do to him. He couldn't look at what was happening beside him.
Biyomon had completed her transformation into the huge winged terror known as Birdramon. Tai seemed to find this hilarious and continued to move forward. "Stop!" Birdramon boomed. "Don't come any closer Tai, please!" she pleaded.
"Listen to her Tai!" Sora yelled. " I don't know what's happened to you, but please listen!"
Tai smiled at the suggestion and leveled his arm at the huge bird. It began to glow with a blood red light. Birdramon suddenly folded her wings, and power began to coalesce in her. "I'm sorry Tai!" she boomed, as she unfolded her wings.
Tai fired.
Birdramon fired.
And so did Kabuterimon, right in the center of their blasts.
The explosion rocked both combatants away from each other. Kabuterimon buzzed above Tai and released 4 arm-full of a strange soil. Tai was flattened to the ground as the soil buried him. His smile disappeared, replaced by a look of pure rage.
"Yes!" Koushiro breathed. He turned to Agumon. "Now, Agumon! If you know what's good for Tai, you'll set that mess on fire!" He yelled.
Agumon stumbled and stammered. "But…but Izzy, I can't…"
"DO IT!" Izzy commanded. Agumon didn't think. He fired a pepper breath on the pile of dirt and soil that covered his DigiDestined.
An eerie scream parted from Tai's lips, and Agumon could only stare in stark panic, as his beloved Taichi started burning in front of his eyes.
************
Takeru and gang had reached the top floor of the palace pretty easily. After the guards, no one bothered to get in his way. Finally he knocked on a huge double plated doorway and let himself in.
Inside, a servant-Digimon called Tyumon sat behind a desk. He was the mayor of this town, as Tyumon's usually serve as public servants. He stared at the boy in panic. "What are you doing?" he gasped.
"Wow!" T.K. thought aloud. "This is a big room! Much bigger than my room back home." He hopped on top of the desk and looked the other Digimon in the face. He looked like a penguin, complete with black fur suit and bow tai, with tufts of hair coming from the top of his head.
"Hi!" Takeru smiled. "I'm the savior of the Digiworld, so I need to be King here." He looked up at the plant-mon behind him and asked "Is that right?"
Dawoemon smiled and looked at Tyumon. "Remove yourself" she commanded simply. "And tell the other Digimon here that Takeru-sama is the new king."
Before she could finish her order, the sounds of many guards thrumming up the stairs came to her ears. They turned around and saw a bevy of guards, armed to the teeth, preparing to remove them from the palace-office.
T.K. made a move to use his power, and FallenAngemon tensed, ready to strike. It was all a moot point however, as Celamon bounded in front of them. She began her attack.
Fallen stared. Celamon stretched her mouth further and further open, more wider than he thought was possible. Her usually pretty face was suddenly 2/3rds mouth, gaping wide, showing rows upon rows of deadly teeth.
Celamon yelled mystically through her gaped maw "Hells Toll!" and an explosion of sound and force was directed at the guards marching towards the entrance-way. T.K. was rocked back to his bum, and Fallen was pushed back a couple of inches. Dawoemon smiled knowingly.
The guards in the entrance-way were devastated. Most of them were simply blown back. Some were actually disintegrated on the spot. All were utterly defeated.
Celamon's mouth suddenly shrunk back to its normal petite size. She turned around and leveled a smile at Takeru. "I told you I was on your side." She said quietly. Then she turned to FallenAngemon. "Not bad eh?"
Fallen grinned. He waved his hand and said simply, "eh. Okay." Celamon's small smile quickly turned into a frown as she directed a growl at the tall angel's grinning facade.
T.K. turned around to Tyumon and smiled. "Can I be King now?" He asked. The bird-like Digimon sighed and left his seat, leaving it to Takeru.
"Yes." He said defeated. "I will declare you as the new King."
************
Taichi had been burning for several seconds now, but his skin was taking no damage. Instead a green mist seeped from his pores and escaped his body. Suddenly his eyes widened and he jumped out of the burning pile of dirt.
"YAAAG!" He shrieked, rolling on the ground to put out the small flames. He jumped up angrily, steam coming out of his ears. "All right! Which one of you jokers set me on fire! Gahh!" He pointed his right arm at Agumon accusingly.
"Darnit Agumon! I told you never to do that!" He scolded. "Jeez, how many times do I have to tell you, I'd go up like a Roman Candle!"
"Tai!" Sora breathed. "Your arm!" Taichi glanced down at his right arm and noticed he was actually using it. His skin had returned to a healthy color. He patted himself down as if to check for himself.
"Hey, what do you know?" He grinned. "I'm alive." He was suddenly mobbed by Hikari, who knocked him down to the ground, hugging him fiercely.
"Prodigious!" Koushiro grinned, rubbing his ribs. " All thanks to Gennai. I told him what had happened with us and the Automomons. He said that if you had been cut by them, you were infected by their virus." Izzy gestured at the burning pile of soil and continued. "He said you'd become an Automomon and try to attack us, and that the only cure was the burning scent of this type of soil. We were lucky Kabuterimon was able to get to it so quickly."
Tentomon blushed. "No autographs, please." Mat rolled his eyes and smiled.
"That's my line, you!" He said. Then turning to Izzy asked. "Good work. Hope you're OK."
Koushiro nodded. "I'm fine. Forget about it." He looked down at the map on his laptop. "Now we can actually continue are real goal, and find T.K.. According to my map, he's settled down right in the middle of this township."
Gatomon looked at the map that flashed on the screen. "I know that town." She purred. "That's Sector. I wandered around there for a while, when I was still searching for Mikari." She glanced at Kari, still hugging Tai. "It's a gathering place, really. I even saw the mayor, he's not too bad."
"Heck." Tai said, trying to peel his little sister off him. "T.K's probably just waiting for us to go pick him up." He said grinning.
Hikari released her older brother and stood. "Well then, let's not keep him waiting." She put to the others. Gatomon leaped to her side as she started towards sector.
Taichi patted Yamato on the shoulder, oblivious to the fact that he had tried to choke him to death moments earlier. "See buddy," he told him. " I told you it was nothing to worry about. Piece of cake."
"Yeah," Yamato muttered. "Piece of cake." However, for some strange reason, he wasn't too sure.
************
T.K. sat, positively tiny in the oversized chair that was brought to him. Everyone in Sector knew that he was the new King. He assured them that they could act normally. That all they had to do was to be prepared to do whatever he told them. He was instructed by Dawoemon that this was the first step to saving the Digital World.
Still, that was all nice and good, but he'd like something to play with. "Man, I wish I had my Nintendo 64 here." Takeru sighed. " I wanna play some games. This is so boring."
"Games, T.K-san?" Celamon asked incredulously.
"Yeah!" Takeru bounded up and stood on his huge throne. "Games! Like Super Smash Brothers! I remember when I played that at home with Mat…" he stopped suddenly, and all the joy washed away from his face. T.K. tried to remember what it was like to play with him, and remembered only taunting and ridicule, and the occasional pity as Yamato let him win a game and sneered at him. T.K.'s lips formed a grimace, and he stared darkly into the unknown.
Celamon glanced at both the boy and his dark protector. Angemon scowled too, his glare seemingly powerful enough to melt rocks. She excused herself and left the two to their anger and despair. She frowned, it didn't seem…right for some reason. She shook her heard, and disappeared into the hallway.
************
Dawoemon took in the surroundings of her new chambers. It was pretty empty, only a bed and a mirror. It was all she needed to relay instructions for now. Besides, she mused, it would only be some time before the decorators came and turned this into a real palace.
She smiled. A knock on her chamber-door brought her out of her thoughts. "Enter." She said simply. The door opened slowly, and a meek Celamon entered the room.
Dawoemon didn't mince words. She hauled up and slapped the smaller Digimon square in the face. Celamon winced and covered her left cheek…not able to look the taller Digimon in the eye.
"You listen to me, and you listen well." Dawoemon snarled. "When I give you instructions, you follow them out. No ad-libbing, no modifying, no changes of any kind. Do you understand me?"
There was no response. She grabbed the younger Digimon's face in between her hand and squeezed painfully. "Do you understand me?" She repeated.
"Yes, mother." Celamon said quietly. "I understand fully."
NEXT: PART 7, REUNION
Hope you liked this installation folks. Eerm, it's a bit long, but I have a lot of thoughts. Heh Heh. Don't worry, this story has a definite beginning, middle and ending. No ad-libbing here, unless it's absolutely necessary. =D. I noticed not a lot of people reviewed my last one. Well here's a plea, please review. Cause I want to know what you think. It helps influence how I write or what I add to the other parts. Thanks. Enjoy. - Incognito