[Woo! I'm on a roll now! This chapter is out way early and I got some new pics! Go check out the crests of =Honor= and =Corruption=, and look for a pic of Geno, which should be up soon. As always, don't forget to review!]
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Several hours passed before TK began to regain consciousness. His vision was very blurry, and he felt like a train had hit him… repeatedly. He'd have to make a mental note NOT to try and go up against Jack, or rather Geno, in a fistfight again. His head throbbed, but he slowly sat up and things began to focus.
"Hey, he's starting to come around," said Kari's voice.
Someone grabbed a hold of TK and helped him to lift himself up into a sitting position against the hard, steel wall. TK rubbed his head as he felt someone place their hand on his face and open his right eye open.
"Looks a little dazed," said Joe's voice. "TK, I need you to follow my finger."
Despite his blurred vision, TK managed to follow Joe's finger without too much difficulty as it traveled back and forth.
"Does he have a concussion?" asked Willis.
"Doesn't look like it," said Joe. "He's just lucky his head didn't hit the wall directly."
TK began to rub his eyes lazily as his vision slowly returned to normal.
"How long…?" groaned TK.
"About two hours," said Kari, who was leaning over him along with Joe and Davis.
"Where are we?" asked TK, trying to stand, but failing.
"Whoa there, tiger," said Joe. "You may not have a concussion, but I wouldn't recommend standing for a few minutes."
"We're in some kind of prison cell," said Davis.
TK looked around. The small room was pretty packed. In addition to himself and the three that stood immediately around him, there was Cody, Yolei, Michael, Willis, Izzy, Sora, and Mimi.
"Hey… where's Ken?" asked TK. "And what about Tai and Matt?"
"Tai and Matt were taken just a few minutes ago," said Izzy. "Apparently, our 'good friend' wanted to see them."
"And Ken?" asked TK.
"He's gone," said Yolei with tears in her eyes. "At least the Ken we know is."
"What do you mean?" asked TK.
"Something's happened to him," whispered Kari. "Seems like he's back to being the little emperor, and he's just as mean as ever."
"Wow…" said TK. "Jack… Stormdramon… Ken… How strong is this virus?!"
"Why are the really cute guys always evil?!" shrieked Yolei before breaking down into quiet sobs.
"Strong enough to corrupt the crests to their very core," said Izzy, taking no notice of Yolei. "I've theorized that it would be possible ever since the first time that Greymon digivolved to Skullgreymon."
"How do you mean?" asked TK.
"It's an ingenious, but rather complex plan," said Izzy. "The virus seems to have realized that for the strong positive qualities we possess, there is also an equally strong negative within each of us. Bringing these darker traits out would be almost impossible under normal circumstances, but from what I've been able to piece together, this base is equipped with a special machine that can tap into the darker emotions in the mind, bringing them out to their fullest. It's really quite similar to how the dark ocean works. Anyway, when these dark emotions are brought to life the crest that the individual bears becomes corrupted."
"But that still doesn't tell us HOW he got the crests in the first place," said Davis. "Didn't you guys say that you used them up to seal the Digiworld against evil a few years ago?"
"Yes, but that seal seems to have broken down," said Izzy. "It's reasonable to assume that once the crests lost the ability to defend against the onslaught of evil forces, they may have returned to the Digital World, once again in their physical state."
"Don't forget about the Crest of Kindness," said Cody. "It wasn't used to make the seal."
"Correct," said Izzy. "But it was used in an attempt to stop the emperor's base from exploding."
"But wasn't the base destroyed?" asked Joe.
"Completely," said Izzy. "However, there is still a great deal of wreckage in the area where it was put to rest, which I believe was in this very desert. Although much of the scrap is probably hidden beneath the sands by now, it is highly likely that the crest would have survived. It could have easily fallen into the hands of the virus, especially when you consider the army of machine digimon he has working for him."
"I see," said Cody. "So what happens to the people that have their crests corrupted?"
Izzy looked over at Sora, then Mimi.
"They lose themselves in their dark emotions," Izzy explained. "It was the same way with Tai and Matt. If TK and Davis hadn't interrupted, it might be the same for Kari."
"It was almost too late," said Kari.
"I'm glad you're safe," TK said with a smile.
"I don't get something," said Davis. "Why didn't this machine thingy work on me?"
"Well, I have a guess," said Izzy. "The machine feeds off dark emotions like anger, sorrow, and fear, amplifying them to the point of being overpowering. But, if you don't have any of those emotion to start with, then it doesn't have anything to work with."
"And that means…?" asked Davis.
"Ignorance is bliss," said Izzy.
"Hey, Kari," whispered TK while the others were busy. "I just thought you might want this back."
TK removed the silver bracelet from his pants pocket and handed it to Kari. She gave him a quick peck on the cheek before putting it back on her wrist.
"…probably because I don't have a crest," said Michael. "At least not that I know of."
"Well what about Willis?" asked Davis. "I KNOW he has a crest!"
"Maybe…" Izzy mused. "I notice that you two both have golden crests. Miracles and Destiny, right?"
"Right," said Willis.
"Well neither of you seem to have been corrupted," said Izzy.
"Oh I get it!" exclaimed Willis. "Some inherit property in the crests themselves must make them immune to corruption!"
"It's entirely possible," said Izzy. "It supports my theory behind the golden crests."
"What about them?" asked Willis.
Just as Izzy was about to drone on about another one of his countless hypotheses, Kari got a very strange look in her eyes, as though she wasn't quite all there.
"Kari?" asked TK with a concerned expression. "What's the matter?"
"They're here…" said Kari. "I can… feel them."
"Who is?" asked Michael.
"Wait…" said Kari, closing her eyes tight. "It's not a 'them', it's more like a 'him'. And yet, I can still feel four minds, all part of a greater whole."
"That doesn't make any sense, Kari," said TK. "Are you sure you're feeling alright? Izzy, could that machine have done something to her?"
"It's conceivable…" said Izzy. "But I don't see—"
"I'm not imagining this," said a strangely calm Kari. "There is a being here of immense power. He… er, they are calling to me. They need our help."
"Well in case you haven't noticed," Cody said. "We could use a little of that ourselves."
Elsewhere, in the base's command center, Jack stared down at the central console. He removed the dark sunglasses from his coat pocket and placed them on his face, letting them ride a little low. He ran his fingers through his hair, which had grown a great deal longer after so much time without a haircut. Ken, in full imperial dress, stood directly behind him. Stormdramon had coiled up to Jack, resting his head on the human's shoulder, almost snakelike in his manner. The rest of the room was bustling with several Datamon and Hagurumon.
"Master, all is as planned," said the Emperor. "The DigiDestined have been effectively neutralized, and the two you wished to see are en route now."
"True, that is a victory," said Geno morosely. "But without that crest, all of our work may have been in vain. Now that the DigiDestined are aware of us they will be more resistant to the machine than ever."
"Relax," said Stormdramon soothingly. "We planned this too carefully to let it fall apart now. We still have our backup plan."
"Yes…" Geno said with a hint of irritation. "But carrying it out will be far more costly, time consuming, and dangerous to ourselves."
"Um, excuse me, sir," said a timid Datamon. "But it seems we have a problem."
"What is it now?!" demanded Geno.
"It seems our scan of the human female was incomplete," said the Datamon. "We were able to transcribe only 57.4% of her data. The Vanguard insists on having all data in order to proceed with the experiment."
"I don't see the problem," said Ken. "Just plug her in again and finish the scan."
"It's not that easy, my boy," said Geno. "After the first scan with the device, an individual's resistance to it is increased. Her resistance was already quite high, and now I fear that completing the scan would take days, if not weeks."
"I have the perfect solution," said Stormdramon. "Not only will it get the Vanguard off our backs, but it will be quick and painless."
"Explain," said Geno.
"Simply fill in the blanks with data from the only other scan we completed," said Stormdramon. "No fuss, no muss."
"What other scan?" asked Ken.
"This was before you came into the fold," said Geno. "We performed a scan of my new body; it was very quick since I did not resist. The scan revealed that with my presence this body had almost doubled its individual strength, and thus possesses a power second only to the female."
"Perfect," said the Emperor with a little laugh. "And I take it the Vanguard never need know of this?"
"Of course not," said Geno. "They'll never need the data anyway; I DON'T plan on losing."
Just then, the door behind them slid open.
"Our guests have arrived," said Geno, standing up.
Andromon stood in the doorway, pushing Tai and Matt along in front of him. All three of them entered the room and the door shut behind them. Both humans looked worse for wear; their clothes were dirty and in need of repair, their hair was messy, and their eyes were bloodshot. Geno stood very confidently with the Emperor and Stormdramon at his back.
"All right you computer glitch," Matt said angrily. "What do you want with us?"
"Rude as always," said Geno. "I thought we could just shoot the breeze for a while."
"I'll tell you what I'd like to shoot," said Tai.
"So I guess small talk is out then," said Geno. "Fine. I'll get right to the heart of the matter; I want you both dead. But it's so much more than that. I want you to suffer, to feel pain. I want you to experience what I had to go through when you and I first met. You wouldn't believe how much it hurts to have a blade shoved through your head. I was very lucky to be able to escape to the real world after that, believe me. You can't possibly imagine what it's like to be stuck in the void between worlds for nearly a thousand years. But I will make you understand, oh yes."
"You're a lunatic," said Matt. "Don't think for a second that you'll beat me."
"I already have," said Geno, his eyes slowly fading into being completely white. "Even now, I stand on the very brink of absolute power. I can almost taste the untapped energies that lay before me, waiting for revival, awaiting me. I am ready to ascend, to go far beyond any other, to reach out and touch the oldest power in this plane of existence! I shall gain absolute power, and once I do, NONE shall dispute my reign EVER again! I shall not allow the DigiDestined, or the Overseers, or the Vanguard, or ANYONE to block my path! Even HE will fall under my yoke, and through him I will become the ONE and ONLY God! I will BURN the old worlds away, and set up in their place a new, SINGLE world, a world that shall bow to ONE throne! And from that throne, I shall watch over you!!!"
"I don't think so!" said a strong, mechanical voice behind Geno.
Geno swiveled around on his heel, finding himself looking up at Andromon, who immediately grabbed him in a powerful bear-hug. Andromon lifted him off the floor and maintained a firm hold, threatening to crush his ribs. Before anyone could act, the door was smashed open by a very heavy bone club belonging to none other than Ogremon. The great green digimon immediately rushed in and clocked two Hagurumon. Once Ogremon had cleared the door a small squad of Kunemon rushed in, using their Electric Thread to short out the Datamon and remaining Hagurumon. Ken and Stormdramon found themselves surrounded by unfriendly opponents as Andromon maintained his death-grip on Geno. Needless to say, Tai and Matt were left completely speechless.
"What are you two still standing around for?!" demanded Ogremon. "Let's get the heck outta' here!"
"Shouldn't we stay?" asked Tai, snapping back to reality. "I mean, it looks to me like we just captured the entire leadership of this place."
"No," grunted Andromon as Geno continued to struggle. "There's no way I can hold him for long! You must find the others quickly!"
"You won't get very far!" yelled Stormdramon. "Our troops have every inch of this base under guard. You can't hope to win!"
"Fall back, troops!" commanded Ogremon. "That includes you two guys."
"Right!" said Matt and Tai.
"I must remain here!" Andromon grunted. "You all should leave now! And Tai… tell your sister that I am sorry I didn't get to see her again."
"…Andromon?" asked Tai, realizing that this was in fact his friend from so long ago.
"C'mon!" shouted Ogremon, grabbing both Tai and Matt and dragging them out into the hall.