Disclaimer: I still own nothing. Especially not Digimon. If you sue me because you think I'm selling licensed
products in this story, you have no legal basis, and will get no reward.
Author's
Note: Part 2 took a long time to get
up, which I apologize for. It's also
long, which I also apologize for. It is
a continuation of my first published work, so please don't shoot me down to bad
for any conventions I may have been ignorant of/ignored/forgotten. Comments and Critical Reviews are warmly
welcomed.
Tai's Voiceover: All right, I guess I better fill you in. We were in a normal day at school when these guys show up with awesome powers. They told us that the darkness had kidnapped the other Digidestined, and that we had to save them. One of them even Digivolved into the Guardian of Light to save us. They sent us to the Digital World, and told us that we had to find the Gate to other worlds. They told the other kids the same thing, but this dark things called Khartan showed up and they're in deep trouble. I hope they hold out long enough…
Davis groaned. He seemed to be doing a lot of that lately. His head hurt all over. He was also strapped to a wall, and that was not improving his disposition any. He blinked and looked around and notice the other five Digidestined strapped to similar walls. Another quick observation showed that their Digimon were in a cage in the corner, and that their D3s were lying on a table in the middle of the room. To one end of the room was a giant red and black crystal, pulsating with unholy light and power that set hair on edge and covered the skin with a creeping sensation.
Khartan entered the room, grinning. He had changed a little, now a flowing mess of black robes fluttering around a central core of blackness. He had two arm-like limbs and two leg-like ones, but they were shadowy and indistinct, deliberately blurred to prevent identification. His face was almost a black mask, and only his eyes, burning red, showed through with any clarity. Each arm had a distinct, black gloved hand with four fingers and a thumb, the best sign of humanity he had. His face seemed to be gloating at the Digidestined's situation.
Behind him, a group of perhaps a dozen Bakemon flooded into the room, looking around and rushing to different computer monitors throughout the room. A moment later there was the sound of machinery beginning to start, gyroscopes and gears beginning to turn. The dark crystal at the end of the room began to pulse faster, increasing its tempo dramatically.
"What are you doing with us?" Davis demanded, anger suffusing his voice.
"Yeah, what do you want?" Ken was just as defiant, making up for his lack of volume with a rock steady voice.
"Can't we talk about this?" Yolei asked, watching the dark figure nervously.
"Of course we can talk little girl. You can tell me all I want to know, and then I'll kill you." Khartan cackled, a very difficult linguistic feat. "As for what I want from you, I want what makes you dangerous. The power that was instilled in you to allow you to protect your precious world is very tempting as a prize. If I can suck that power from you into my crystal, I'll be more powerful than ever before and you, well, you'll just be all dried up." he laughed at his own joke. Nobody else did.
"You see, the four of you have a lot of power I could use, and I plan to take it from you with all force possible and leave you gasping in the dust, dried up, brainless and useless. But the true prize is those two." A gloved hand briefly came to rest, pointing at Kari and TK, who were hanging off to one side. "The crests of Light and Hope are so powerful that if they can be corrupted, their bearers turned from the Light, I will gain almost unlimited power. Even here I can feel that strength radiating off of them."
"Huh, you can't do that to Kari!" Davis yelled.
"But we gave up the crests!" Kari exclaimed.
TK ignored both of them, he could feel something close trying to talk to them.
"You fools, you really thought that the power of the crests that filled your body would be that easy to destroy. You are pathetic you know that? Ah well, now you pay the price for your foolishness."
He gestured toward one of the monitors and one of the Bakemon grabbed a lever and pulled it. There was a sudden roar as the crystal at one end began to whine with malignant power.
"Hah!" Khartan was gloating now. "In a minute you'll be brainless husks, and you two will be my slaves for all time. It's all over now."
"When the other Digidestined get their hands on you…" Davis threatened.
"They'll tear you to pieces." Yolei finished.
"And when that's over, they'll kick you to Mars." Cody put in, voice filled with anger.
"Those other fools will soon have their hands full. Observe."
An image appeared in the air in front of them. A huge column of Digimon, walking through what looked like a barren desert. Kari groaned and felt her heart falter as she watched all of them marching along. Machinedramon, Metalseadramon, Scorpiomon, Triceramon, Marine Devimon, Lady Devimon, Skull Satamon, legions of Bakemon and Nanimon, and hundreds of Digimon and other black things she could not even put names to. Above them floated huge fortresses that made Ken's old base look puny by comparison. And they stretched on for miles, filling the screen with pulsating black power.
"This is one of our armies. It will pass through that desert and use my Gate to travel to the Digital World, and from there to the world you call Earth. And there, it will conquer all that you can throw against it, and soon, both of those worlds will be mine."
Suddenly, a voice spoke up in TK's mind. Tell him this.
TK opened his mouth and repeated the words that came to his mind. "You don't understand, do you? You may be powerful, but we're strong too, and we know how to fight. We've been waiting for you, for this for a long time. Your power may have grown, but we have made advances as well, and we are not impressed. You have no comprehension of what you face now."
Khartan was looking vaguely perturbed. Kari opened her mouth. "TK…" she whispered, alarmed at seeing him acting so far out of character.
"You underestimated us before, and you have underestimated us now." TK was raising his voice intently, eyes never leaving the shifting darkness that was Khartan. "And we're ready for you, ready and waiting. And that is why you'll fail. Welcome to the big leagues demonspawn, it's time for round two."
"What are you…" Khartan began, and then, on the image, the world exploded.
The empty desert around the column through which the forces of Darkness marched swirled in the wind, projecting the illusion of nothing. Wind and sand obscured the vision in all directions, and the strangely dark sun reduced visibility tremendously. The forces of Darkness marched through, oblivious to their flanks, watching only the front.
Through that medium of wastelands, a near undetectable message sped to hundreds of places, a single phrase, spoken in a tense, strained and stressed voice.
"This is Charles Martel. It's time to drop the Hammer."
Suddenly, the desert shimmered, and it was not from the heat. When the shimmer stopped the desert was not empty anymore. Forty Dreadnoughts, two kilometer long mountains of floating steel armor and weapons emplacements, along with a full escort of other vessels were standing there. Or more accurately, they sprung leaping toward the throats of their foes with a banshee cry of vengeance on their lips. The forces of the Dark were temporarily paralyzed as, with a roar that could have been heard on the far side of the world, twenty thousand Digimon in the first wave broke away from their Motherships and heavy ground units begin to take up firing positions. And ahead of all them, main batteries with more firepower than an Imperial Dramon's Mega Crusher and an Omegamon's Supreme Cannon put together rushed toward the Dark, bringing fiery death in their wake.
The first wings were gunships, heavy, hard to maneuver large flying Digimon, burdened with external ordinance and extra firepower, roaring in on pre-planned attack vectors like harpoons. Behind them came the fighters, small, lithe Megas and Ultimates outfitted for air superiority conflict, supercharged with energy and leaping off the carrier decks behind them with roars of fury that shook the enemy down to their souls. Even as they roared forward the gunships opened up at maximum range, the awe inspiring blasts of Horn Busters and Double Scissor Claws and other attacks mixing with the manmade fury of externally mounted rockets blasting home. The first casualty, the escorting wings, died almost instantly in that hail of fire, before the first strike wings zeroed in on their pre-assigned victims, and the Dreadnought Inquisitor exploded into fiery wreckage.
Khartan screamed in frustration as the image settled back down, portraying what was really happening. One of the Bakemon looked up. "Master, we have contact with forty Dreadnoughts and sixty Battleship class vessels, along with escorts."
"Fourth Wing's entire order of battle." Khartan was now speaking slowly, venomously, his voice dripping with hatred. He turned around quickly, gesturing to the Digidestined behind him. "Quickly, start the operation."
Another lever was pulled and the crystal started to shimmer an unholy light, but TK blinked, as nothing happened.
"What's wrong, what's going on?" Khartan was screaming now.
The Bakemon scattered this way and that, looking for the problem behind every control panel. Finally one of them stood up.
"Master, the cables have been cut."
"What!" Khartan screamed. "Who cut the cables?" His voice was still rising in pitch, and he suddenly protruded two razor sharp spines from his chest. Yolei screamed at the sight. Ken swallowed.
"I did." the voice was flat, a gauntlet thrown in the night, a challenge to any who heard it.
A figure wearing black clothing jumped down from where he had been unnoticed on the ceiling, landing with barely a whisper in the middle of the floor.
"Courage." Khartan's eyes narrowed in recognition, and his voice was cold and harsh.
"In the flesh." The man called Courage was tall, sharp as a blade and just as strong. His body was straight and tall and powerful, like he was made of coiled springs, waiting to explode. A sword handle protruded from a cloth bundle on his back.
"So, you're here to challenge me while your forces attack mine? How amusing." The last word was spat out. Everyone watched in horror as the dark figure kept on growing. Courage did not seem to be impressed. He reached up one hand and grasped his sword hilt. There was a sound like silk tearing and a meter and a third of sharpened steel arrived in the room, reflecting light like lances of fire.
"Such a show off Khartan. You really should get a stage billing somewhere at a freak show or some….Grey, NOW!"
The wall exploded into a shower of gray stone, falling like summer rain. Out of the dust, like an orange and gold thunderbolt, a huge Wargreymon shooting forward at tremendous velocity slammed into the dark figure of Khartan, knocking him backward into the opposite wall.
"Terra Force!"
A massive explosion of red-gold energies demolished another part of the building as the Bakemon scurried for cover. Courage was moving almost too fast to see, he leaped up and chopped at their bonds in a blur, splintering metal like it was rotten wood, slicing the Digimons' cage open in a shining blur before anyone knew he was moving.
"Come on!" he yelled at them while another explosion came from the wall through which Khartan had exited the building. With a rush, he ran through a hole in the wall while the rest of the kids were grabbing their gear and following him.
Outside there was a huge gray concrete plateau, ending abruptly in a massive drop-off, leading to a black stone mountain surface what looked like miles below them. Around them there were a variety of different, oddly shaped towers, but the nearest were almost a hundred meters away, and they did not look very friendly. In the distance there was a plume of black smoke, filled with occasional explosions, evidence of the continuing battle.
"We're going to have to get down." Courage stated.
"How do we do that?" Davis demanded.
"I'll do it if we have to. But right now, I think we have bigger problems."
True to his words there was another massive explosion and the Wargreymon came catapulting out of the distance, crashing to the ground in front of them. He shook his head and then stood up, breathing heavily as he kept his eyes on the dark smoke that now was billowing toward them. For a moment the smoke just hung there, and then it resolved itself into Khartan.
"Was that it little Digimon?" he asked.
"Little? That things a lot bigger than we are." Yolei muttered.
"I think we're in trouble." Cody added.
Courage and Grey looked toward each other. They shrugged.
"Tell me you have another plan?"
"A plan? Us?"
"You have a point there." The Wargreymon shifted his armor uncomfortably.
"So, go by the default plan?" Courage was smiling for some reason. Ken briefly wondered if courage meant suicidal.
"Anytime you're finished talking." The Wargreymon growled and moved upright.
"Omega time Grey!" the man stuck out his arm, a peculiar, yet familiar orange light forming on the palm of his hand, almost as if he was holding….
"With pleasure!"
"Wargreymon…Omega Evolves to……"
He's
Digivolving! Ken thought, suddenly panicking. But a Mega can't Digivolve, can it?
Where the Wargreymon had been standing, there was now a burst of red fire, rising, twisting and tumbling and glowing brighter and brighter, until suddenly it exploded into flames that shot outward like small meteors. In the middle there stood a new figure, about the same size and shape as Wargreymon, but wearing full golden armor, two massive cannon-like devices mounted on his shoulders, and double sword-blades protruding from his gauntlets. His eyes were burning with inner flame.
"THUNDERGREYMON!"
"Go get him big guy!" Courage lifted his hand in salute. "And now, it's my turn."
"Crest of Courage…..Digivolve into Champion!" Courage spun around, moving faster and faster until his features were blurred, finally resolving into someone wearing dark orange and gold trimmed armor, and carrying a huge, unsheathed sword in each hand.
"Who are…" Ken began.
"I've heard of Thundergreymon, but I thought he was just a legend." Gatomon sounded confused. "He's supposed to be a nearly unstoppable fighting machine. His Thunder Force will do a lot more than make your ears ring. I don't know about the other guy."
"Thunder Force!" The cannon-like shoulder mounts glowed with red gold fire a second before pouring forth a startling blast of white energy, cutting like a tornado toward the darkness that shrouded Khartan. The figure screamed in agony as the power smashed into him, batting him around like a tennis ball as he crashed through nearby barricades.
"Mega Claw!" Two nasty looking sword blades took out a chunk of Khartan's darkness, causing him to flinch away and retreat.
The Champion of Courage raised one hand in a commanding gesture. "Fires of Courage!" he roared, and a bolt of red-gold flame tore away from his hand and smashed into the darkness that was Khartan, trying to consume him.
"All right, Grey will take it from here. I'll get you out of here."
"How will you…ulp" Davis's sudden exclamation was cut off as he was grabbed, along with the others, in an invisible fist, and leaped off the building at a tremendous velocity.
After that, he was too busy trying to hold onto his lunch to remember anything.
"So that's what we have to do. Kick this guy out of his castle, take his Gate and wait for the others to help us? How do we do that?" Davis protested.
Courage shrugged. "That's up to you. Neither of us like it, but I can't do something about this whole situation without using more power and causing more chaos than I would like to. You'll have to do this on your own."
TK nodded. "I think I understand."
"Of course you do. Well, you and Kari. The others will have to figure it out themselves." He stood up. "Oh and before I go, here. You each get a present from us, since we think so highly of you. Well, all of you but Kari."
"Why not Kari?" Davis asked.
"You have yours Kari. Let anyone who needs it use the scanner, but the weapon you got this morning is yours and yours alone. It is more powerful than you could imagine, but only if used correctly. So be careful."
Courage began to fade, flickering in and out like a candle flame. "Be true to the power inside guys. And remember, we believe in you…"
And then he was gone.
They moved to where he had been. A large chest was there. They opened the chest.
Ken blinked and removed a small bracelet with his name on it, really a piece of banded wire that he could tighten around his arm. He shrugged and put it on.
Yolei reached in an retrieved a pair of glasses, on which was written in bold writing These don't break. She put them on, grinned and left them there.
Davis managed to get himself a strange looking box. It was black and appeared to be made out of a strange metal. He opened it, but nothing was inside. He closed it again. After a moment he grumbled and put it inside his jacket.
Cody reached in and gasped. He pulled out an elegant sword, the same size and make as his kendo practice sticks, but this one was real, and looked deadly. It had its own sheath, which he placed it in, and put it over his back.
TK reached in and came out with a carved walking stick as tall as his head. For some reason it reminded him of Angemon's staff. He smiled, and then laughed openly at Davis' reaction as the chest suddenly disappeared.
Kari giggled and then sighed.
"Just like summer camp." TK muttered.
"All right." He grinned after a moment, noticing that Davis was still too occupied to do something. "Let's get moving before trouble finds us."
Tai looked around from the top of the hill, one hand resting on Agumon's head. "So now what?"
Izzy closed his new laptop and shrugged expressively. "I really have no clue. My suggestion is that we find some other Digimon and ask them if they know anything, but other than that…" he patted his laptop for good measure. "…you're on your own."
"That helps." Matt muttered, his hands stuck in his pockets as he looked around.
The hill they had climbed was tall, but they could still not see much except forest around them, and mountains to either side. Izzy had tried to figure out where they were, but he had little luck in his attempts. Finally, Tai turned to the others.
"Anybody got any clues?"
Mimi and Joe just looked on, Matt did not even bother to turn around, Sora smiled. "Well, I suppose we could Digivolve and fly around and look for something."
"We might be seen." Izzy speculated. "This is a mountain valley, but due to geological structural clues, I expect that it will turn into a gentle river plain if we head toward the western exit. If this is true, we might be able to find signs of civilization there, and it's only a day away."
"Seen, who would see us?!" Tai exploded, suddenly grabbing Izzy's collar. "Kari is sitting out there alone somewhere, and you're worried about people taking pictures. What kind of a…" he trailed off and stopped. "I'm sorry Izzy."
Izzy patted him on the shoulder. "Apology excepted. I was worried about those peaks up there. If you look closely, I think I can see what look like towers, and where there are towers, and towers imply guards. I don't know about you, but I don't want them to notice us."
Tai peered up closer. "If only we could tell."
"Maybe we could climb up there and see." Matt's voice was sarcastic.
"Hey guys, we had this out once before. And this time I'm not going to climb the mountain during the night." Joe grinned at them, and, despite their worries, they grinned back.
"I have an idea." Mimi looked up cheerfully. "We could just keep to the bushes and avoid any confrontation. Then, if we get close enough, we could wait until night, Digivolve and have a look before they noticed."
They all looked at each other in partial shock. Sora smiled. "Well, at least one of us has a plan."
"Actually," Mimi muttered, "I think that something is easier than that, but I'm not sure what it is."
Suddenly, Izzy laughed. "I've got it!"
"What?" Tai was getting cross.
"We use your goggles!"
"My goggles, what can we do with…oh yeah!" he put his goggles over his eyes and tried to figure out how to make them work. Suddenly, the image of the mountain top zoomed in, as if he was rushing toward it at tremendous speeds.
Izzy frowned suddenly and reopened his laptop, turning it back on. The screen immediately burst into life, displaying the complicated file storage system that Izzy had yet to figure out. He clicked on the Accessories folder, and then clicked on Goggles. There was a moment, and then the computer began to flash the message Not Connected. A diagnostic image of the goggles appeared, and a small switch on the right hand side was illuminated in bright red, flashing on and off.
"Tai, I think there is a switch on the right of your goggles, right by the eyepiece. Could you flip it?"
Tai reached up and felt around until he encountered the switch, and then flipped it to the on position. Immediately the computer screen faded and was replaced by a giant image of a foreboding peak with a large, squat building on top of it. Looking much like a black, short cylinder, the building looked over the valley, and had groups of little gray Digimon that Izzy could not make out patrolling the top. Experimentally he pushed on the images of the gray Digimon and the screen bleeped again, opening a small window in one corner that displayed the words Digimon Analyzer Activated. After a moment, it gave a readout, and Izzy's face was creased in a large smile.
"Prodigious!" he exclaimed.
"What is it Izzy?" Sora asked curiously.
"I can relay what Tai sees with his goggles to the computer, and analyze it. Come look for yourself." Izzy pointed and everybody else crowded along, but the image had changed. They were rewarded by a close up image of Izzy's face on the computer monitor.
Mimi giggled, Izzy looked affronted.
"All right Tai, you can stop playing around now." Joe told the boy with the large brown hair, and Tai shrugged and went back to watching the mountaintop and the odd looking tower. Then he switched over and examined the other mountains that Izzy had mentioned, noticing that each one was topped with one of the strange towers, as if a group of bats had decided to land and fold up on a variety of mountain peaks.
Izzy placed one hand under his chin pensively as he stared at the images and then told Tai, "You can stop if you want." Tai turned off his goggles and came back over to look over Izzy's shoulder.
Izzy called up a map of the valley and quickly filled in the mountain peaks that had the towers with a red mark, and sat back. Like a line of blood drops, the red dots proceeded straight up both sides of the valley, watching over the place like vultures waiting for their prey.
"They've got the whole valley under surveillance. And I don't think that they're friendly." Izzy commented.
"This is the Digiworld, nothing is friendly." Joe muttered, and then looked down, "Present company excepted of course."
"That's okay." Gomamon replied, scratching at Joe's leg.
"I've heard about some sort of Empire settling in off to the East, and the North, but I really know nothing." Tentomon sounded as puzzled as Izzy. "I don't know why they would have such towers all over the place, but they're not supposed to be nice people. I think it might be best to avoid them altogether."
"Yes, that would be faster." Gabumon remarked. "We want to find this Gate, not get into fights all over the Digiworld, and the fastest way to do that is to avoid attention."
"So we walk all over looking for a gate?" Matt asked.
"No, we wander for a bit looking for clues. Remember us looking for the crests? I think it will be just like that." Biyomon sounded enthusiastic.
"Yeah, and we did find the crests pretty fast, didn't we." Sora chimed in.
"All right, all right." Tai muttered. "We'll go west, out of sight."
"Oh, my feet hurt." Mimi complained. When everyone turned around to look at her, she grinned at them. "Just joking, for old times sake. I've been jogging in the evening as exercise. I'll be fine."
"That's good for you to say, but now MY feet hurt." Joe muttered. "Some of us never had the time to exercise."
"And I'm hungry." Sora chimed in.
"So are we!" the Digimon added.
"You're always hungry." Tai complained. Then he sighed. "But I guess we should stop for a rest or something. Just make it short guys."
"How about long?" Izzy asked. "It's getting dark now, and we all know what happens if you wander around in the Darkness in the Digital World. Last time we did that, we woke up in really big trouble."
"No, we can't stop this early!" Tai was yelling.
"We need to find TK!" Matt yelled along with him.
Sora stood up suddenly. "Haven't you two gotten over that yet?" Everyone stared at her. "I mean, look at you. You're worried about your siblings aren't you. Well, you have that right, but remember, they're older now. They can take care of themselves, and they don't necessarily need your help. And think about this, if you're both dead, how will you help them? We need clear thinking now, not reckless risk taking."
Agumon nodded too. "Yeah Tai, I know Gatomon, she'll keep Kari safe, and so will the others."
Gabumon grabbed Matt with one claw. "And Patamon always keeps TK safe Matt, so you don't need to worry."
"Yeah, yeah, I guess." Tai did not sound convinced.
"Remember Tai, they are older. You too Matt." Sora touched both of their shoulders.
They nodded once, without really paying attention, and then Tai hammered his fist into a nearby tree. "I know you're right, it just feels like I should be doing something…"
"If you know when to do something, that's the true mark of a leader. Even if it feels like you should be doing more, you should know your limits." Izzy added.
"I guess I'm not much of a leader then."
"That's not true." Matt spoke up suddenly. "You're the best Tai." He suddenly looked embarrassed.
"If Matt agrees it must be true." Mimi smiled at both of them. "Let's find some place to rest up for the night."
"Okay." Everyone laughed.
TK sighed as he looked around. "Just like old times."
They were sitting in a bowl-like valley, surrounded by trees on the top, with a small, blue lake in the middle. There was a small grove of trees surrounding a flat shelf of earth right next to it, and a series of bushes that spread around the grove. Above them, the sky was darkening, and he judged that it would be night very soon.
"So what I say we do…" Davis started, "is we get ready to do some camping!"
Everyone else just looked skeptical.
"How can we do this?" Yolei asked. "I've never been camping before?"
"We do it all the time." Hawkmon reminded her. "I just find a nice tree and take a nap in it."
"I'm not a bird."
"Don't look at me." Armadillomon waved a paw apologetically. "Whenever this happens to me, I just dig a hole and sleep in it."
Cody sighed. "I guess that wouldn't be very practical for me, would it?"
"Have you been camping much Davis? Because I sure haven't." Ken sounded despondent.
"Once or twice. But don't worry, I'm a pro at this. I'll have us set up in no time." Davis puffed up his chest.
"Uh, can I make a suggestion?" Kari spoke up.
"Of course Kari." Davis puffed up even further. Kari had to struggle to keep a straight face. Veemon snickered.
"I was going to say, since TK has been in this situation before, living off the land and surviving in the Digital World, that maybe he should be in charge of this." Davis looked hurt and Kari carried on. "Oh, you would still be leader, but TK has more experience at this than anyone here. Being able to lead us in a fight doesn't mean anything here."
"Oh." Davis abruptly deflated. He pondered with himself for a moment. "I guess."
He walked off to get a drink. Ken and Yolei just stared at each other. After a moment, Ken asked, nervously. "Did Davis just agree to a reasonable suggestion?"
"I don't know, my brain shut down about then."
Cody looked over at them. "Come on you guys. It's happened before…like when,…well, when….okay, maybe that time … I'm sure it's happened before."
Yolei shrugged.
"Thanks Kari." TK sounded grumpy. "Now I'm going to be responsible if we starve, right?"
Kari reached over and gripped his shoulder warmly. "I know you can handle this TK. Trust me."
TK brightened, and gave her hand a quick squeeze. "Thanks."
"Anytime."
"All right then, let's get to work. The most important thing to remember is that a world like this is filled with trouble, so if you're here, you've got to be careful. The second thing is that, despite the fact that they sometimes act goofy and irresponsible, your Digimon are all better at this than you are." Everyone nodded at TK's statement, even Davis, who had returned from his drink.
"All right. Anybody here know how to fish?"
Cody raised his hand. "My grandfather taught me."
TK nodded. "All right. Cody, you and I are going fishing in that lake. Kari, you remember how to set up a campsite and how to collect firewood, Yolei can help you. I'll look for some too. Davis and Ken, you guys can take your Digimon and look for fruit or vegetables. They should know all the good ones. Everybody better stay together." Everybody nodded, and started moving away.
Cody sat down at the edge of the river, letting his homemade fishing line, made out of a threadlike vine they had found earlier, trail in the water, concentrating on trying to search for fish. He had already caught one, but TK was having less luck. "Have you gone fishing much TK?"
"No, that was Joe's job." TK tried angling his line a little.
"Joe's job? You mean Joe was a fisherman or something?" Cody was confused about why Joe would spend time fishing.
"Yeah. He had the only water Digimon in the group,
so he got to go fishing all the time when we needed to catch something. Gomamon is really good at catching fish,
provided you can get him to give them to you before he eats them. And given that they aren't his special
fish."
"You mean the first time you
were in the Digital World." Cody surmised.
"Yeah, we learned a lot of things we've never had to do again. Like this. If you think catching fish is bad, wait until you start gutting them. And we don't even have a knife."
Cody shrugged. "I have an eating knife in my backpack." He paused. "Can you answer a question of mine?"
"Sure." TK looked over. Cody looked and sounded especially serious now.
"How do you get used to the empty feeling inside? I mean, I've felt lonely before, and sometimes when I'm in the Digital World I'll feel especially lonely and all, but I always knew that at the end of the day I would go home. Even the fear I got when we were fighting never overcame my knowledge that we would soon be back home. But now, I feel like I've been torn away from home."
TK sat for a moment, and then spoke. "When we first came to the Digital World, it was horrible. We had no idea where we were, no idea what we were doing, and we were just kids trying to survive. Every day we woke up missing our parents, every day, we would wonder how our families were doing, we would dream of waking up in our beds in the morning, with our parents getting us out of bed so we could go to school. I remember that I used to dream that it was before the time when my parents broke up, and that any moment now Matt was going to wake me up so we could go to the front room, eat breakfast, and play video games. I know all the others had problems, even Tai when it came down to the facts that we were kids, stuck with people we didn't know very well, trying to survive together.
"After a while, we all realized something. Even though we can never replace our family, our friends acted like one. We all took care of each other, looked after each other and tried our best to be there when anyone else needed us. After all, when it's just you and your friends, it's almost the same as being with family. I know in school you would never cry on a friends shoulder, but we do so here all the time, because nobody else is watching us. We're a team here, a real team, we know each other and trust each other, and if someone feels bad, it's our job to cheer them up. That's how it works here."
Cody thought about that for a moment. "So that's why you guys are so close."
TK nodded. "Yeah. I can still remember the list of everything Joe is allergic too, and Tentomon's favorite kind of berries, and that Izzy tends to murmur when he sleeps on his side too long. I remember that every once in a while Mimi will sleep on her leg and cut off circulation, so that when she wakes up, she jumps around, and that Tai is afraid of swarms of bees. We all know each other well, and when you need someone, everyone here will be here for you."
"I guess that helps. I mean, it doesn't replace my family, but knowing that you guys are here, well…it means a lot to me."
"And it should Cody. Look's like you've got a bite."
"So why do we have to gather the firewood and set up the camp?" Yolei asked, groaning.
"Easy, they're the easiest tasks we have so TK put them together. And I think he was thinking of something else. He and I both have to stay close to camp, and I can't fish." Kari was absentmindedly sweeping rocks away from the area where they would bed down for the night.
"Huh? Why do you guys have to stick close?"
"If you remember, we are the only two that have Digimon that can't Digivolve. That makes us too vulnerable if we go out there. We have to stay close to camp. He can fish, and I can't, so he went with Cody. He stuck Davis and Ken together, because Ken is the only one besides me who can actually reign Davis in when he starts to lose his cool, so we're here."
"Wow. I never thought leadership was that complicated." Yolei whistled.
"It's not usually. TK is just exceptionally good at it. His only problem is that he tends to break down after too long under stress." Kari finished and started looking around for small twigs to start the fire.
"It's too bad that the others aren't here. We could really use their help." Gatomon had already collecting a small group of twigs and was bringing them back. Her fur was a little ruffled.
"Gatomon, where's Hawkmon?" Yolei asked.
There was a sudden yell from outside their field of vision. "Beak Buzzsaw!"
"Oh, he's chopping up trees. He thought we could use bigger logs."
Kari giggled. "Why don't we go help him carry them."
Yolei sighed and went after her disappearing partner.
TK stuck the last fish on a stick, just like Matt had done all those years ago, and turned to the others.
"Okay guys, these will take a while to cook, so why don't we see what we have in our backpacks."
Everyone shrugged and dumped out their gear on the ground. TK and Kari sorted through it quickly.
"A whole bunch of books that we'll never need. Some paper, some pens, and a few other things from school that are completely useless. A pair of music CDs, a cell phone, a set of calculators, a few assorted computer disks. All of which we should probably bury here and leave behind so we don't have to carry them." TK sighed and looked at his pile.
"On the other hand," Kari's voice was much brighter. "we each have a set of gym clothes that we can wear if we need to, some type of jacket and a bottle of water that we can refill. Cody has a complete set of eating utensils, including a very usable knife that we can use to carve tools we need. Yolei brought a flashlight in her pen, and a compass she carried around in her backpack. Ken has a laser pointer, which might be useful someday, a first aid kit, and some healthy snacks. Davis has his soccer uniform, his high quality wristwatch, and a huge collection of chocolate."
"Well, you've seen Demi-V eat, haven't you?" Davis looked up defensively.
"Are you saying I'm a pig?" Veemon demanded, staring Davis down.
"No, I'm just saying you eat like one."
"So what do you guys have?" Ken asked, looking at TK and Kari, who suddenly flushed and looked embarrassed.
"Well?" Cody asked.
TK coughed uncomfortably, then turned around, and yelled out. "Hey, the fish is ready!"
Everyone rushed over and grabbed their fish off from around the fire and started to dig in. There were a few moments when conversation was limited to mumbling about how good the fish was. After a minute or so, they were down to the berries and fruits that Davis and Ken had brought back, and everyone remembered the conversation.
"So, what do you guys have? It's okay if you have nothing." Ken chimed in.
"Between us, TK and I have two first aid kits, a small pillow, a flashlight, two multi-tools, a flashlight, ten meters of rope, and a few other pieces."
Everyone stared. After a moment, Ken spoke up. "So that's why you left your textbooks at school. Why were you carrying that much?"
"We've had warnings, premonitions, that something was going to happen." TK looked uncomfortable. "We came prepared, because we remember what happened last time."
"So, we can make us all blankets out of dried grass and leaves, if you don't mind sleeping on the ground. And then we can give you all something to help you if you get hurt, but other than that, we can't do much."
"That's fine. More than fine. I'm glad you came prepared." Yolei sat for a moment.
"Well, as soon as we're done here, we should probably get ready to sleep. We have a big day ahead of us tomorrow."
TK told them some of the stories of his first handful of days on File Island, letting the others laugh as they discovered how to survive in the wild, before they all went off to bed, leaving Cody alone on watch.
"Mind if I join you?" Ken asked quietly, walking up behind TK. TK turned and smiled at him.
"Your watch isn't for an hour or two you know."
"Yeah, I know. But I wanted to talk to you."
"What about?" Patamon, still perched on TK's head looked at them both sleepily.
"I wanted you to know that I think that you're doing the right thing TK. I'm not quite as socially inept as I claim to be. I know that you're trying to set yourself up so that if Davis needs help leading, you'll be able to provide it. I think that's a great idea, because sometimes he gets out of his depth. And I know that you don't want the job of being backup leader, but someone has to do that."
"I wish I had thought of it, unfortunately someone else did."
"Kari?"
"Yeah, I thinks she wants me to be a leader of sorts."
"Only because she trusts you."
"That's part of the problem."
Ken blinked. "So, you finally admitted that you have a problem. I was wondering about that."
"What do you mean?"
"Girl trouble TK?"
TK looked out for a moment. Was the fluttering feeling deep in his stomach when he was around Kari a symbol of deeper feelings? Or was it merely teenage anxiety? He shrugged helplessly.
"I see." Ken's voice was thoughtful. "I wish genius intellect could help you with this, but I'm afraid it can't. I suppose it's only fair to confess that I'm having problems of my own with Yolei. Half the time I want to sit there and watch her, and the other half I want to hide under a table from her and hope she doesn't see me."
"Yeah, Kari gives me the same problem. I would rather have her as a friend than lose that to a foolish crush of mine. At the same time, I'm becoming increasingly unnerved around her. And then I have Davis to worry about."
Ken chuckled. "I guess we're not ladies men. We can let Wormmon sleep for a while, and you too Patamon. If TK tells me about his problems, I'll tell him about mine, huh?"
TK smiled, and they talked long into Ken's shift.
Kari came out for the last shift and saw Yolei still sitting there. She felt strangely refreshed, as if she had slept for a week.
"So how's it going?" she asked Yolei.
"Boring, tiring. I'm glad it's almost your turn now."
Kari smiled, and then frowned. "Yolei, I have a question that you might be able to answer."
"Sure. Anything for you."
"How do you tell if a guy likes you?"
Yolei whistled. "You don't ask the easy ones, do you?"
"Well?"
"I guess it's hard to tell. Worried about TK, are you?"
"What do you mean, why would I be worried about TK…" Kari trailed off as she saw the smirk on Yolei's face. "Is it that obvious?"
"To me it is. You practically faint every time he starts to compliment you. And I think he does like you, seeing how he keeps staring at you."
"But you don't know."
"No I don't. If I had a way of knowing, I'd know if Ken…oops."
Now it was Kari's turn to smirk.
"I guess we both have problems. Oh well, I'll think about it more tomorrow. G'night Kari."
"Good night. Or rather, good morning."
Kari woke Gatomon up and sat, alone with her thoughts, until morning.
"All right, so now what?" Davis hopped from one foot to the other with impatience.
"We take a look around." Ken suggested. "Whatever Khartan is, he's too strong for us to just smash up. I suggest that we see if we can find some back way into his fortress. Or even some friends."
"I agree with Ken. We can sneak around and no one will be the wiser." Kari was sitting on the ground, stroking Gatomon.
"Well, Kari, you should stay here, unless Gatomon thinks she can Digivolve. The rest of us can go look around." Cody stood up and checked his new sword.
"She shouldn't stay alone. Yolei, you should probably stay with her." TK suggested.
"Why me? Why not you, Patamon can't Digivolve either, can he?" Yolei responded, looking over at him.
"I was just thinking that it might make sense to have the two rookie fliers in each different group. Besides I run faster than the rest of you do. It's just something I get to do." TK grinned and Davis grumbled.
"All right then, the guys will go out looking, and the girls will stay behind. How about that?" Davis almost tripped over Veemon, but stopped himself.
"Yeah!" Veemon was sure happy.
"If you're sure." Kari was reluctant, but she seemed to sit still.
"Let's get going." Davis was halfway gone already, TK and Cody trailing along behind him.
"Can I borrow the Scanner Kari?" Ken looked down at her.
"Of course."
As the guys went off, Yolei turned to Kari and muttered. "I still don't have an answer to that question you asked."
"That's okay, it'll give us something to think about."
"I don't like the way that looks at all." Patamon sat on top of TK's head, camouflaged in the shadows of the leaves around him. The two of them were sitting on top of a tall branch in a shaded elm tree at the edge of a small wood, watching the ground in front of them.
"I don't either."
"Hey, you guys up there see anything?" Davis hissed loudly. TK rolled his eyes, Davis somehow managed to whisper loudly, something nobody else could do. Not that it really mattered.
"Yeah, we see four Digimon over there, big ones. They look like Tyrannomon. I don't like the way they look either."
"What do you mean?" That was Cody.
"I think they're getting ready to attack something. We can see them well, but they aren't watching us, they're trying to look in the other direction. They're hidden from that small valley over there, and it seems like they're waiting for something, and that's probably no good." TK clambered down the tree to rejoin the others hidden in the bushes. It was probably only their suspicious nature that kept them there, but it served them well.
"Do you think they're evil Digimon?" Veemon was curious.
"Maybe they're just enjoying the shade." Wormmon suggested.
"Nah, they're on the wrong side of the rocks." Patamon replied, shifting around on TK's head.
"Then maybe they're enjoying the sun." Wormmon suggested.
Ken frowned and shrugged, tweaking a strand of his long, black hair. "I'm not really sure. The scanner registers something over there in that valley, but the Tyrannomon are the only things that I can actually make out. We all know about their Fire Blast attack and how dangerous they are, but I don't really know what they're doing here."
"Why don't we go find out?" Armadillomon suggested.
"I'm with him." Veemon sounded all fired up.
"All right, we can circle around behind them, and take a peek into the valley." Davis jumped up and started walking off to one side.
"Uh, Davis…"
"What is it Veemon?"
"You're going the wrong way."
Davis poked his head up, and immediately dropped back down beneath the cover of a row of green bushes, almost clobbering himself on TK's staff. "It's a village."
"What kind of village?" Ken asked.
"A small one."
"I think we wanted some more detail Davis." Cody sounded irked.
"No, I'm serious. You're taller than those houses Cody, they're really small."
"A Digimon village then." TK concluded. "I remember the Yokomon village on File Island was just like that."
"So, why are there Tyrannomon around the village?"
"Beats me." Ken shrugged. "Wormmon, why don't you crawl down a little closer to see what's going on."
"Why Wormmon?" Davis asked.
"Because we're surrounded by small green bushes. And Wormmon is green, so they match. He'll be harder to spot than a blue and white lizard." Ken grinned and rubbed Veemon's head.
"Makes sense to me." Cody replied.
They watched Wormmon worm Sorry, I had to say it his way through the bush and disappear for a few minutes. Ken stared at the computer screen and TK went over to join him. Cody checked that his sword was sharpened. Davis stared at the sky. The other Digimon watched a beetle with fascination.
After a bit the bushes rustled again and Wormmon was standing there once more. "I think it's a mixed village. I saw Crabmon in their pond, Tapirmon, Floramon and Mushroomon in the village itself, but there's something going on. They appear to be arguing with a Gazimon in the middle of the town. We can creep closer and listen, but I wanted to come back right away."
Davis was creeping through the grass before anyone could say another word. TK and Ken looked at each other, shrugged, looked at Cody, who shrugged, and then, with their Digimon in tow, they started crawling down the hillside above the village. Wormmon had been right, the entire hillside looked like it was covered in short shrubs, but they were actually quite tall, and the eight quickly burrowed their way through the greenery until they came to the edge of a large pond at the edge of the village, glistening a bright blue. A voice floated to them from the center of the village.
"It doesn't matter what Machinedramon says. We simply cannot and will not pay more taxes. Our farms aren't that rich, we can't send more troops, and we can't afford more taxes. We can't take it any more."
There was a murmur of angry voices. Ken and TK looked at Davis, but he was too busy trying to listen.
"Lord Machinedramon knows that Emperor Khartan needs more from you lazy slugs. If you want to try and get out of it, we'll simply haul you off to the slave mines, and you can work for him there. It's your choice."
"We don't have to. We'll take care of you here, and then get out of here before your army shows up."
The second voice laughed. "You fools, don't you think we anticipated this. So you want to fight, eh? It's going to be off to the slave camps with you! Tyrannomon, attack!"
There was a sudden roar and then, on the ridges of the valley above them, the four Tyrannomon appeared, roaring in anger, claws outstretched and eyes blood red. Fire blazed in their eyes, and in the low rumbling in their throats.
"They're gonna destroy everything, we gotta stop them!" Davis yelled.
"Normally I prefer to avoid violence, but I'm with you this time." Cody stepped up, determination burning in his eyes.
"Let's go get them." Veemon yelled.
Davis and Cody streaked off, with Ken and TK right behind.
"We're outnumbered you know." Ken gasped as he ran after the accelerating Davis.
"I know. But I also know a few tricks. Stick close and follow my lead." TK suddenly veered off to the side. Patamon almost fell off his hat, and Ken raced after him, carrying Wormmon in one arm.
"Let's do it!" Davis yelled as he reached the village center, where the Tyrannomon were preparing to attack, with Veemon, Cody and Armadillomon right on his heels.
"Veemon….Digivolve to….ExVeemon!"
"Armadillomon….Digivolve to …..Ankylomon!"
"My turn Ken?"
"Hero time, old friend."
"Wormmon…Digivolve to ….Stingmon!"
"Patamon…Digivolve to….nope, still Patamon!"
"Could be worse!" TK yelled. "You could be Hogmon."
"I am not a pig TK!" Patamon yelled back, rising into the air.
ExVeemon sprung into the air rising above one of the Tyrannomon. The red dinosaur looked up suddenly, wrath spiraling in its eyes, and then the titanic mouth with all it's teeth opened up and there was a sudden gurgling sound. "Fire Blast!"
As the fireball sped upwards, ExVeemon crossed his arms over his chest, absorbing light. Before the bolt of fiery rage could hit him he spread his arms again.
"Vee Laser!"
The two attacks met in the middle of the air and exploded, leaving the combatants eyeing each other warily.
"Tail Hammer!" One of the Tyrannomon collapsed, being hit by a rolling Ankylomon in the stomach, but in his fall, he tripped up Ankylomon, and they went down into a huge heap.
"So what do we do?" Ken asked as the other two Digimon turned toward them.
"Take care of them!" TK yelled.
"How do I…"
"Hey you buckets of lard, you ever hear about exercise? How about losing weight?" TK howled at the Tyrannomon, who both immediately turned to face him. Patamon accompanied this with a series of Boom Bubbles that hammered into them, drawing their attention to the human and his small Digimon. Two identical balls of flame reached out and stabbed at him, much to the horror of a watching Ken.
But TK was not there any more. Drawing upon a level of skill he never used in basketball, and every trick and resource so many years of being Digidestined had left him with he was already up, using his staff as a pole vault, landing hard on the roof of a nearby hut, and then catapulting off with Patamon now in his arms.
"Stingmon, while they're distracted, you've got to take them down!" Ken snapped, ignoring the pang as he gave an order that would have made the Digimon Emperor proud.
"Right, I know how." Stingmon shot off into the sky, leaving Ken alone for the moment.
TK sweated bullets, using every trick he knew, some of Davis' soccer moves, a few of Ken's judo tricks and even a handful of Kari's dance steps to stay ahead of the raging firebolts. He ducked, dived and turned, racing through the small village in circles while the two furious Digimon fired at him. He knew that every shot drew upon their energies, weakening them, but they were weakening him a lot more, and sooner or later, one of them would get lucky.
There was an explosion closer than any of the others, knocking TK sprawling, and, as he scrambled back to his feet, he realized he was out of options.
Grabbing Patamon extra hard he arced up, trajectory nearly perfect, and crashed into the water, hoping silently that it would be deep enough for what he planned. Fortunately he did not break his neck on a hard surface, and he swam down several layers, allowing his pursuers to waste firepower boiling off the top layer of the water, while he dived deeper. The now cloudy water made him an indistinct target, but it was not stopping the Tyrannomon from shooting at him. As he dodged the deadly, hissing pockets of steam their fireballs became underwater, he realized distantly that he would have a pretty bad time of it when he came up for air….
Ken watched in horror as TK failed to reappear on the surface. He was so focused looking for the missing Digidestined that he missed the sight of an accelerating blur streaking over the landscape like a missile, going to fast that the ground was tearing itself up in his wake. There was a moment before the thunder hit when everyone jerked around to observe the path of the speeding green projectile, and then a familiar voice screamed out:
"Spiking Strike!"
A brilliantly glowing sword emerged from both of Stingmon's outstretched arms. Normally that would not have finished the other two Tyrannomon, but combined with his massive speed, and the energy they had expended upon TK, it was too much. The glowing blades streaked through both of the hostile Digimon, rendering them into the scatter of deleted data as Stingmon made a horrible screeching noise in his attempt to stop.
"Quick!" Ken pointed frantically. "TK's in there, you've got to find him!"
There was a sudden splash and TK reappeared, coughing frantically in the shallows, Patamon coughing equally hard under one arm. He struggled, gasping to the shore, where he was met by a concerned Ken.
"Don't worry…cough…I'll be all right…gasp….help…gasp…others." TK succumbed to a fit of coughing.
"Stingmon!" Ken called, but the insectoid Digimon was already lifting off, accelerating toward the battle on the other side of the village.
ExVeemon and the Tyrannomon he was facing were still stationary, although both of them were covered with ashes. Ankylomon was having some trouble getting back on his feet, and was depending on his hard shell to keep the dinosaur Digimon's razor sharp claws off him.
Stingmon raised one huge hand and smashed down on the Tyrannomon's head, knocking it sidewise and then raised his other hand, letting the blade slide free of its sheath.
"Spiking Strike!"
"Tail Hammer!"
Both attacks hit home at the same moment, and the Tyrannomon howled as he was deleted. Cody gasped, but remained resolute, even though a quivering in his lip almost gave him away.
"Vee Laser!"
"Tail Hammer!"
"Striking Spike!"
The last Tyrannomon exploded into deleted data. TK smiled and then fainted.
"So, Khartan has rulership of the entire world!" Davis yelled. "That's just great."
The Tapirmon in charge nodded. The rest of his people were packing up to go hide deeper in the mountains. "There are still groups that fight against them, but I don't know where many of them are. If you need to get into his gate, you're going to need more help, maybe somebody who worked in there once. Not so long ago it was a fortress of the last king, SaberLeomon, but now it is Khartan's evil fortress. If you can find one of the king's old retainers, they might be able to help you. If you stay out here in the mountains and forests, he'll be hard pressed to stop and find you."
"Do you know anything about a place called Citadel?" TK asked, still recovering.
"Citadel, yes, I have heard of them. They are the fortress of all that is good in the worlds. It is their forces that drive back the darkness. That makes them not very popular with Khartan, and they have no influence here, although they still may have much power."
TK nodded.
"So, what should we do?"
"If I were you, I would try and move around the mountains until you find somewhere that you can use as a base until you find a way to that gate. There are said to be items of power out there somewhere that you can use. Perhaps one of them can save you. We must leave now, you can come along with us."
"No, we better stick together and get back to hiding." Davis nodded to where the girls were waiting.
"Come on guys, let's get going back." Ken gestured, and the four Digidestined and their exhausted Digimon were heading back.
Okay, so you finally got a fight. Or something. Just for a note, neither Omega Evolution nor the Guardian/Avatar techniques will come up very often in the rest of the story. It will be hard switching between the two groups, and I'll have my hands full with that.