Pre-chapter Conversation
"So tell me, how DO you come up with those theories?" I said to Izzy.
"Well it's quite simple when you have a lot of imagination." The redheaded genius started. "In fact, I got a theory having to do with fan fiction. You see…" He rambled on as I turned to audience with an apologetic look.
"Oops… We'll be here for awhile folks. Enjoy Chapter Three!"
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The Substitute
Chapter Three
A Plan Forms
"You're not Ken!" The bug creature yelled for the 2nd time that day.
"Yeah. I got that." Carlos sighed. "Now, would you mind telling me how do you know Ken, where am I, and most importantly, who or what are you!"
"Ken's my master. You're in the Digital World. And I'm Wormmon."
"Pleased to meet ya." Carlos replied with a grin. His eyes then widened. "Wait! Digital world?.! You mean to tell me I'm in another world!.? HOW!.?.!" And so, Wormmon explained everything regarding the Digital World, from digimon to the Digi-Destined to the great Digimon Emperor & his many schemes.
(A/N: See!.? I like him too!)
"Ok. I think I understand everything now." Carlos said after much screaming & fainting. He then pulled out his toy. "So this thing is—"
"Your digivice." Wormmon replied.
"Wow, I'm a Digi-Destined. Cool!"
"Now, why are you wearing Ken's clothes?" Wormmon asked.
"I have no idea. I was sucked into Ken's computer, knocked unconscious, and woke up wearing these clothes." Carlos replied. "I must say, Ken sure has great taste in fashion for villains."
"Yeah. He found that outfit in last month's 'Villain's Wardrobe Monthly.'"
"Yeah. I got that catalog too. It's a shame everything is so expensive though."
"You subscribe to 'Villain's Wardrobe Monthly!.?'"
"Yeah. I always like to check out the latest in sweaters for the villain on the go."
"Hmmm..." Wormmon hummed. The two stayed silent for a few minutes.
"So, what do you do in the Digital World, anyway?" Carlos asked, breaking the silence.
"Well, I'm always with Ken & he usually gets beaten by the other Digi-Destined. I get kicked around because of that." Wormmon stated sadly.
"Oh." Carlos replied, putting a hand to his chin. He then got an idea. "I know. Why don't we team up?"
"Huh?"
"I don't have a digimon partner and Ken is my foreign exchange partner, so he's probably in America now. I can be his substitute." Wormmon started to contemplate this.
"You mean a substitute Digimon Emperor?"
"Yeah! I got an excellent idea on how to deal with those kids you & Ken are having trouble with. What do ya say?"
"I don't know…"
"You want Ken to like you again, don't you? He'll absolutely love you for being able to successfully take over the Digital World." Wormmon got dreamy eyed at the prospect.
°°Inside Wormmon's head°°
"Oh Wormmon! You single-handedly defeated the Digi-Destined!.?" A delighted Ken asked Wormmon, who was standing on a pile of defeated Digi-Destined.
"Yep. All on my own." Wormmon replied.
"I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy!" Ken chanted while bowing to Wormmon. "Please kick me, oh mighty Wormmon!"
°°Back to reality°°
"Umm... Wormmon. Losing you here, buddy." Carlos said as he shook Wormmon, who had a HUGE grin on his face.
"Yes Ken! I'll kick you!" Wormmon yelled. Carlos sweatdropped. Wormmon then snapped out of it. "Please tell me I didn't say that out loud."
"Believe me, I wish you didn't." Carlos replied. "So are we partners or not?"
"Yeah! Anything to get on Ken's good side again!"
"Excellent." Carlos said, sounding like Mr. Burns from the Simpsons.
Later…
"And this is where Ken keeps data on everything in the Digital World." Wormmon said. He had led Carlos on a tour of Ken's hidden base. Carlos walked up to a large computer.
"So I can find out about anything in the Digital World?"
"Yep. Anything that Ken has found while researching the Digital World is stored in this database."
"Cool! If you'll excuse me, I have some learning to do." Carlos dashed over to the console & began typing. He first took at look at a file entitled "Items." Inside were detailed instructions on how to operate the dark rings and control spires and how to keep them operational with the Digivice. Hours flew by and Carlos was starting to get hungry. He ignored his hunger & continued to study Ken's records.
"Whew! This is hard to take in." He sighed. He was now looking at a complete list of all known digimon. He then started to smell something warm. He looked to his left & saw a cart getting pushed up next to him. It was full of many baked goods. Wormmon was behind the cart.
"Is that all for me?" Carlos asked. Wormmon nodded. "Wow. Thanks!" He grabbed a croissant & started to eat. Halfway through his croissant, he noticed Wormmon giving a longing look toward a jelly doughnut. Carlos gulped.
"Do ya want this?" He asked while holding it in the air. Wormmon nodded. "Here ya go!" He grinned as he handed the doughnut to Wormmon, who started to eat happily. Carlos got back to work.
A few minutes later, he felt something tugging on his cape. He looked down and saw Wormmon.
"What's up?"
"Why'd you give me the doughnut?" The digimon asked.
"You looked hungry, so I let you have it. Why? You don't like jelly?"
"No, it's not that. You actually gave me something to eat. Ken would just keep it all to himself. You're so kind. It's surprising that you're the villain."
"What can I say? I always prefer the role of the villain."
(A/N: That's true. You should have seen him in my last fic. He was crazy over Team Rocket!)
"So tell me, what file does Ken have for the Digi-Destined, anyway?" Carlos asked as he picked up Wormmon.
"It's this one." The digimon pointed to a folder on the screen. Carlos guided the mouse to the icon & clicked on it. Pictures & stats were then displayed on the screen. Wormmon was placed on Carlos' lap while he looked at the information on each Digi-Destined.
Carlos first looked at a photo of a blond kid who was wearing a bucket hat. He had on a green & yellow shirt. Next to him was a tiny orange digimon with wings on its head. Carlos scrolled down & was now looking at a picture of a kid wearing a jacket with flames pictured on it. This kid had tanned skin, brown eyes, and red hair. He was also sporting a pair of goggles. Next to him stood a blue dragon-like digimon. He took a quick glance at this child's description. Every other word in it was "hate." Startled, Carlos went on to the next picture, which was of a brown haired girl. She had brown eyes and light skin. She was wearing a pink shirt with sleeves of the same color that weren't connected to the shirt. Next to her stood a cat-like digimon.
"Oooh! So kawaii!" Carlos yelled, surprising himself for the second time that day. Anyway, the digimon was white and had blue stripes on its tail. It also had yellow gloves on its paws.
He looked at a picture of another girl. She was wearing glasses and a helmet that only airplane pilots would be seen wearing. She had on a blue shirt with a brown vest. She was also wearing white gloves. She had brown eyes & violet hair. Next to her stood a tiny bird digimon. It was brown & was wearing a head band with a feather in it.
The last picture on file was that of a tiny boy. He had brown hair & green eyes. He was wearing a brown shirt that looked too big for him. Next to him stood a yellow digimon who looked like an armadillo. Carlos sighed & started to rub his temple.
"Each & every single solitary outfit is hideous! The only thing that looks decent is that bucket hat on the first guy. You'd think they all crawled out of an issue of 'Heroic Wardrobe Monthly.'"
"You subscribe to that too?" Wormmon asked.
"No! I only got one issue to compare styles. Needless to say, that was the last issue I got." Carlos replied. He proceeded to read the info on each kid, even the hate-filled one. "Cool. We got our players."
"What do you mean?" Wormmon asked.
"I don't wanna spoil the plan. You'll find out soon enough." Carlos then got out a book called "Computer Programming for Dummies." He started to read. He got to work an hour later.
A few hours later…
"Man! I never wanna do that again!" Carlos had put the finishing touches on the program & saved it to a disk. "Now all I need is a power source for the machine to work." In that time frame, he also made a machine with which to use the program. For the third & fourth time that day, he surprised himself by actually creating a computer program and making a machine from scratch. This machine was big and black. There was a console on the machine, which was connected to the wall of an empty room of the base. He started to think of something that can serve his purpose.
"Aha! I got it." He pulled out the Destiny Stone he got from the special stage earlier. He opened up the machine & attached the stone to the core. Instantly, the machine started to hum with energy.
"Alright! Now the final & absolutely critical components are the applications for the program." He got in another thoughtful pose. His face twisted and he started to stomp on the ground in anger.
"What's the matter, Carlos?" Wormmon asked.
"The last components for the machine are at my home… IN AMERICA!.!.!.! HOW AM I GONNA GET BACK HOME!.?.!.?.!.?" He yelled out that last part. He started sobbing. Wormmon handed him a hanky & he blew into it with the force of a fog horn.
(A/N: Was that joke corny?)
"Maybe you can program a Digi Port to take you to your computer." Wormmon suggested. Carlos groaned in agony.
An hour later…
"Ok. The Digi Port is set up. Hopefully, it'll take me to my home."
"Good luck." Wormmon said. Carlos gave a thumbs up & turned to the computer screen.
"Digi Port open!" He yelled as he held his digivice to the screen. Carlos then felt the same sensation he felt when he was first brought to the Digital World. Strangely, he didn't feel any pain this time. A few seconds later, he successfully left the Digital World. He opened his eyes & found himself in a darkened classroom. His heart dropped.
"It didn't transport me home." He sighed. He was about to go back to the Digital World when he heard a voice.
"Hey you!" The voice yelled in Japanese.
"Me?" Carlos replied in the same language, trying to find the source of the voice.
"Who are you?.!" The voice asked. It belonged to a security guard.
"Ummm… Bye!" Carlos yelled and he disappeared back into the computer. He arrived at the base.
"Did it work? Did you get the applications?" Wormmon asked. Carlos shook his head.
"I got transported to some classroom. At least it works." He smiled. He then readjusted the Digi Port.
A few moments later...
"Ok. Let's try this again. Digi Port open!" Carlos got sucked in again. This time, he flew out of the computer of someone's home.
"Ouch…" He groaned as he got up from the floor. He was then met with a shriek. He looked up and saw a woman with a frying pan in her hand.
"What in the world are you doing here!.?" She yelled in perfect English. She then prepared to swing her weapon.
"Well, at least I'm getting somewhere." Carlos said as he got hit with the frying pan.
Later…
Carlos finished readjusting the port for the second time. He was now wearing an ice pack on his head.
"If this doesn't work, I'm giving up & I'll try something different." He told Wormmon as he got transported again.
This time, he flew out of a computer that was by a black glass table. Carlos got up and took note of the blue painted walls in the living room. There was a couch with floral patterns on it. A TV was across from the couch in a white entertainment system. Sunlight was pouring in through the window. Carlos breathed a sigh of relief. He was in his apartment. Luckily, no one was home. He walked a short distance from the living room to his room. He grabbed some cases & went back to the computer. Just as he was about to activate the Digi Port, the door to the flat's kitchen opened. He quickly dove into the computer and left. The blue-haired child that was entering the apartment saw a green glow, which then vanished.
"Was that… a Digi Port?" The kid asked himself.
Back at the base…
"Finally! I got what I needed!" Carlos yelled cheerfully.
"That's nice, but I think you'd better go back to Ken's house." Wormmon replied.
"Why?"
"It's morning. Ken's parents will suspect something if you're not there."
"Oh man! You right! I'll have to set up the port to take me back there. At least it's Saturday. I'll just get some breakfast & I'll be back." Carlos then got back to readjusting the port AGAIN.
"What do you mean? You have to go to school." Wormmon replied. Carlos quickly brought his head up.
"Japan has school on SATURDAYS!.?.!"
(A/N: They do?.! Oh, and I guess I should say that Carlos' plane arrived on a Friday.)
"Yeah." Wormmon said.
"Crap!" Carlos yelled as he was hastily fixing the Digi Port. When he was done, he was transported back to Ken's room.
At Ken's house…
Carlos appeared back in the real world & ran out of the room to get breakfast. In the kitchen, Mrs. Ichijouji was busy cooking and her husband was sitting at the table reading the paper.
"Good morning, Mr. & Mrs. Ichijouji." Carlos said as he sat down. He quickly took note that he was in his original clothes again (he was too preoccupied to notice when he was going back & forth between worlds before).
"Good morning." The old couple replied.
"So, how long do I have to get to school?" Carlos asked.
"Well Carlos, we felt that since you're not used to the school system here, we've decided to let you wait until Monday before starting school." Mrs. Ichijouji said.
"Really?" Carlos' face brightened. The other two nodded.
"Besides, you would've been extremely late if you were to go today." Mr. Ichijouji stated. Carlos was blue in the face when he heard those words.
"Th-thank you. I'm sorry I overslept."
"Don't worry about it. It's quite understandable. Just be sure you're up on time Monday morning."
"Yes sir." Carlos replied. He then got a murderous look on his face.
'Just wait until I get back to the Digital World. Wormmon's gonna get it for waiting this long to tell me.' He thought.
Later, Carlos was back in the Digital World. After promptly beating up Wormmon ("It's one of my perks as the villain." Carlos said. "I know." Wormmon sighed.), he got to work setting up the applications for the program in the empty room of the base. After he finished his work, he got up & stretched his legs.
"Well Wormmon, the first part of the plan is complete. Let's go out."
"Oooh. Where should we go? I know of this great place that serves the best noodles this side of the Digital World."
"Actually, I was thinking we could have a little fun. Grab your hard hat! We're gonna do some construction." The duo then ran out of the base.
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Post-chapter Conversation
"And that's my theory on fan fiction." Izzy finished.
The audience and I were asleep, however.
"Ahem!"
Uhhh Wha!.?.!" I sputtered as I and the crowd woke up. "Oh! What a fascinating theory!"
The audience clapped slowly, trying to remember what it was he said in the first place. I yawned as I turned to the camera.
"Anyway, just what is it that Carlos is planning? Will our heroes be able to stop him? For that matter, will they even show up? Find out in the next chapter of The Substitute!"
