Chapter 14: The Dark Ones Meet
"Set up base camp here." I turned to the Ogremon leading one of the divisions.
"Yes sir! Dig in boys!" He waved his club in the air telling the Ogremon to get set up.
"Oh, and one more thing." The Ogremon quickly turned around upon hearing me speak. "If any armed humans come, destroy them. If they are unarmed, capture them. If you see any kids or digimon that aren't with us, capture them, too."
"Yes sir. Where are you going?" The Ogremon lowered his club and asked darkly as I began to walk to the city.
"It is good to know the layout of the city one is about to lay siege to." I lied. I just wanted to get ahead of everybody else. We were in Japan and Gennai had told us to find the original digidestined. I told him I would and didn't want to be let him down...
"Oh. Great idea sir!" The Ogremon was trying to score brownie points. He waited a moment and went back to shouting orders to the Ogremon. I ran towards the city, stopping short though when I saw something. On the other side of the city there was a bright glowing light, reaching past the skyscrapers. Either something had exploded or something had digivolved. I smiled to myself and ran into the city.
The limo suddenly stopped in the middle of the street.
"Julio, what's the big deal?" Matt knocked on the tinted glass between him and his driver. The driver lowered the window.
"I'm sorry Señor Ishida, but there is a kid standing in the street." The driver spoke calmly in his accent to Matt
"I'll take care of this; probably just another crazy fan." Matt stepped out of the limo and walked over to the kid, who was wearing all black clothes, gloves, shades, and a cape.
"What's the idea blocking my limo?" Matt yelled at me. I could instantly tell it was him. I had reviewed myself of any objectives before we left the Digital World.
"You're coming with me." I stood where I was and spoke slowly. Matt laughed.
"Yeah right. What is this? Some kind of sorry ass kidnapping attempt? Listen kid, you are going to have to try harder than that. There are people all over the place who see you so you wouldn't get far, considering who I am."
"You are coming with me either in one piece or in many."
"Whatever." Matt turned around and walked back towards the limo. "Just go Julio; he'll get out of the way." Matt closed the door and left me standing in the middle of the street.
"Okay." Julio pressed the gas and the stretch lurched forward. I simply stood where I was. It came closer and...
"Zero Fist!" I dropped my fist on the hood of the car. The engine block ripped lose and fell out of the bottom of the limo. The back end of it jumped into the air and landed again a moment later. Everybody standing nearby began to run off, except for a few men who walked towards me. Matt jumped out of the limo, shocked.
"Okay kid. I think it's time for bed." The first guy came up to me with his arms crossed. The situation reminded me of the Bakemon.
"I'm warning you. Don't make me angry." I stood where I had and spoke in the same dark tone.
"Listen to him! Alright, if it's a fight you want." The second man threw his fist at me. I jumped up and outside of the circle of four guys who had come to deal with me. Matt watched in horror at my next moves.
"Zero Fist!" I landed on the ground beside the guy who had tried to hit me and slammed him in the back. He was thrown forward into another man, bringing them both to the ground. I could hear the deafening scream come from the man I had hit. The other two men ran at me. I smirked and followed procedure. "Zero Fist!" My glove hit the man in the chest and I could hear his rib cage break apart. "Zero Fist!" I whipped around and hit the other man in the head. A loud snap cracked forth as his head rocked back violently. He dropped to the ground and didn't move. "Now Mr. Ishida, enough of this. You are coming with me. First though..." I pulled out my digivice, completely black, and showed it to him. A wave of dark energy shot from it and flew through Matt. He shook where he stood for a moment with his eyes closed. When he opened them he noticed his digivice.
"Holy shit... Ken?" Matt looked at me with wide eyes, thinking I was the Digimon Emperor.
"No. I am far more than he ever was or ever will be." I ran up and went to punch Matt, not as a special attack but just normally. I had to make sure not to kill him; yet. Matt dodged my fist and walked away backwards from me.
"Who are you? What have you done to the Digital World!?" Matt began to remember his adventures.
"It doesn't matter who I am anymore." At that, I saw them. Kazemon was flying towards the camp but stopped over me, drawn by the smoke coming from the busted limo. The driver finally got out of it and ran off, leaving Matt to defend himself. Kazemon clenched tightly to Kumamon in her arms.
"Matt!" Kazemon yelled out to him as she landed on the other side of me. "Get out of here!" He didn't hesitate and ran down the road. I turned around. These two would have to be dealt with before pursuing him.
"So, I see you two made it here. What about the other losers." I took off my shades and looked at Kazemon. Kazemon let go of Kumamon and he landed with a thud. He ran around her and stopped when he saw me. They both devolved.
"James!" Joey ran up to me and hugged me. "We thought you were a gonner!"
"Let go of me you little brat." I backhanded him and watched as he tumbled to the ground. He began to cry.
"James! What is this all about!?" Jennifer ran up to Joey and helped him to his feet.
"You two need to come with me. Now." I spoke slowly and coldly. Jennifer stood where she was.
"No! Something is a matter with you! What has happened?" Jennifer pulled her digivice back out to digivolve. I pulled mine out as well. Jennifer looked at it and looked at me worriedly. "James, come on! We've got to get you out of here!"
"No Jennifer. I've learned something." I slowly walked towards her. "Love, Friendship, Knowledge, Courage, Hope; they are all useless. You couldn't even protect yourselves from a rookie. It is the pain, suffering, and despair that give us true power." Jennifer's mouth was agape, unable to believe that I was evil.
"What did he do to you James?" She let go of Joey and walked towards me.
"He gave me what I always wanted: Power. Now come with me or I will have to show you my wrath." She held her digivice tight.
"Spirit Code Activate!" Light surrounded her and Kazemon kicked me. I was thrown back a few yards, but landed on my feet.
"That was a dirty trick; how nice." I ran at her. "Zero Fist!" She jumped into the air and flew above me.
"James, snap out of it!"
"Out of what? You snap out of it! Black Storm!" A bolt of energy shot from my gloves and crashed into Kazemon. She floated in the air a moment, but then fell to the ground, smoking from the attack. Joey finally decided to join in.
"Spirit Code Activate!" Kumamon quickly pulled out his bazooka and opened fire. "Blizzard Blaster!" The snowballs launched at me in rapid succession and I merely moved out of his line of fire.
"Zero Fist!" I punched Kumamon in the face and watched data blast off him. The blow itself had made him devolve, not the injury like usual. "You should have run kid. Now, both of you are coming with me, and I'm not going to be nice about it either."
"Leave him alone!" I turned around only to meet Matt's fist with my face. I fell backwards and hit the ground. He stomped on me, pinning me to the ground. "What kind of punk do you think you are?"
"It was a mistake to come back. Zero..." I couldn't finish my attack because he stomped on me again. I felt my chest crack. "Devibomb!" I felt my pain shoot to my heart and blast out. The explosion sent Joey and Jennifer flying, but didn't seem to affect Matt. "What the hell!?" Matt stood shielding his eyes. He lowered his armed and looked around confused. I took advantage of the moment and grabbed his leg. Pain shot through my body from the broken bones. I pulled and he fell, landing headfirst on the asphalt. I stood up shakily and looked around myself; Matt lied unconscious from the blow to his head. Jennifer and Joey were knocked out in the distance from my attack. Why hadn't Matt been hit by it? I began to slowly walk back towards camp. I pulled my shades out of my pocked and looked at them. They were still in one piece so I put them back on. I ached all over from the fight.
"Jennifer! Joey!" Chris ran around the corner onto the street where the three digidestined lied. "Guys hurry over here! They're hurt!" Tai, Joe, Sora, Kristen, Kari, TK, and Yolei ran after him and towards the three. The limo was lying upside down now. It had flipped from the Devibomb. Sirens could be heard in the distance. Somebody who had run off had called the cops. I was long gone though. Tai ran over to Jennifer and picked her up. Joe did the same for Joey. Sora ran over to Matt.
"Matt?" He opened his eyes and looked at her.
"Sora? I'm sorry for being a jerk back at the airport." Matt's pride was hurt from the fight. It was the first time he had lost anything since he had left on tour. Sora helped him up.
"What happened to them?" Tai called out to Matt. They didn't know I had showed him my digivice or that he remembered anything, so it came as a surprise when Matt responded.
"Some crazy kid attacked my limo and nearly killed them!" Matt pointed at Jennifer and Joey. "They digivolved and tried to stop him, but he just tore through them like they weren't even there. I think he was a friend of theirs. They called him James."
"What!?" Chris looked at Matt. "James did this? But how?"
"Well he did break off iron bars and attack Myotismon. He might be strong enough." Kristen looked in awe at the slow-burning wreckage of the limo.
"But why would he do it?" Chris looked at Jennifer who was hanging over Tai's shoulder.
"Maybe Myotismon got to him." Matt answered again, confusing the original digidestined.
"How do you know about all this Matt?" Kari glared at him suspiciously as she leaned out of a store door. She was looking for witnesses.
"The kid showed me his digivice and it blasted me. After that I could remember everything." Matt brushed himself off and Sora helped.
"You missed a spot." Sora licked her thumb and rubbed against a stain in Matt's shirt while he pulled a tissue out of his pocket to wrap around the cut bleeding from his head.
"Then it had to be him." Kristen looked down with her eyes closed. "But how could a kid get power like this? Even Ken had to rely on other digimon; he couldn't ever attack by himself."
"Yeah Matt, you fought him. Tell us." TK looked at his brother with his arms crossed. The sirens got closer.
"Can we do this somewhere else? I don't feel like explaining this to the cops." Matt looked over his shoulder as the glow of the blue lights got closer.
"Let's get back to my house." Sora grabbed Matt's arm and pulled. "Come on." They all ran down the street and turned a corner just in time to see the patrol cars race past them towards the scene.
Sora opened the door to the apartment slowly and walked in. There was a note on the counter from her mom. She had left out the food she had cooked for them.
"Wow, this is for us?" Tai whispered to Sora. "Thank god. That airline food was crap." Tai assaulted the food as everybody filed in. The digimon were strewn about the living room sleeping. Matt noticed them and nearly jumped out of his skin. Matt walked in carrying Jennifer; Tai had worn out on the trip to the apartment. Joe followed in with Joey.
"What are they doing here!? What's going on!?" Matt walked between Gatomon, who was curled up on the carpet, and Biyomon, who was leaning against a coffee table.
"We can talk about it in the morning. Let's just eat and go to sleep." Kari made herself a plate. There was food missing from where the digimon had gotten tired of waiting and had finally dug in.
"Noodles..." Chris muttered to himself dejectedly. Everybody took their fair share and ate quickly. Tai was done first and walked into the living room. He saw Agumon sitting on the couch.
"Man it's good to have you back." Tai looked at the lizard sleeping lazily on the couch.
"Don't wake him up. He's been through a lot already." Chris got up from the table and whispered to Tai.
"What do you mean?" Tai turned and stared at Chris, shocked that anybody would order him to do something about his partner.
"Hey you two; quit arguing and wait till morning." Joe walked down the hall from Sora's room where he and Matt had put Joey and Jennifer. "We all need some shut eye." Tai and Chris agreed and found places to get comfortable. Everybody got situated and quickly fell asleep.
"Hurry it up with that tent!" The Ogremon yelled at some of the others under his command. He turned around to see me limping towards camp. He ran towards me to help. "My lord! What happened?"
"Zero Fist!" I punched him in the gut and watched him drop to his knees. "Leave me alone." I walked towards the oriental style building and walked inside. It had been designated as headquarters. I laid down on my sleeping bag in the room and winced in pain.
"Still human." I spoke to myself as sleep swept over me.
"Yes, you are." I sat up quickly and saw Myotismon walk out of a shadowy corner of the room. "What happened?" He stared at me painfully. I didn't want to be there.
"I... I got in a fight with the digidestined. They've already begun finding the formers."
"You lost?" Myotismon began to fill with rage.
"No my lord! Of course not! All fights come with their prices!" I began to shake. Myotismon was furious. He didn't tolerate failure. And in my injured state, I was in no condition to resist anything he might decide to do.
"Then where are they? I thought I told you to capture them!" Myotismon began to form his whip in his hand.
"More were coming and I was already injured!" I began to talk quickly and tried to stand up. I fell back down in pain from my broken ribs. "I could have captured them but I would have been overtaken!"
"Then you failed me. You know what happens to failures." The Crimson Whip glowed in the dark.
"Please, no Myotismon! It was but one battle! The war will be ours!" I began to panic.
"That's Lord Myotismon to you, scumb. Crimson Whip!" I felt it slash across my broken ribs and pain seared my body. I screamed. It came down again and again until I fell unconscious. "See that you don't fail me again." Myotismon walked out of the building and into the crowd of Ogremon. He had brought more forces with him; Bakemon and Devidramon mingled with the Ogremon. He walked up to two Bakemon.
"Guard that building. Make sure he doesn't come out."
"Yes my lord." The Bakemon gathered a few of their friends and floated about the building, passing in and out of it to make sure I hadn't snuck out for a while.
"It was a mistake to send him already."