Marka Ragnos629: Welcome! Welcome, everyone, to the newest chapter of our story! I tell you all now, it was in no way easy to decide the partners for Barriss and the gang, but after extensive research on my part on several different Digimon, I think we've got some winners. Anything you'd like to add before we get started, DJ?
DJ Rodriguez: Hello there everybody! DJ Rodriguez here, back with my friend Marka Ragnos629 & we have another excellent chapter for you! Humor, hijinks, action, drama and possibly romance is awaiting here at our story!
Marka Ragnos629: Now, before we get started, I think I speak for both of us when I say that we give thanks to God Almighty for giving us the words needed to write this chapter and the knowledge of how to do so. Also, there are going to be a couple of OC characters that'll make an appearance this chapter. Well, without further ado, on to the new chapter, shall we!
*We still own nothing having to do with Digimon or Star Wars: The Clone Wars!*
Meeting The Digimon - The Adventure Of Digidestined Begins!
After everyone took a moment to rehydrate and catch their breath, Jhogolt had begun to use the Force to levitate everyone the rest of the way to his ship, which is also his home. The ride back was uncomfortably quiet. The Jedi didn't really know what to say to anyone here. And Barriss still has some trust issues regarding the Jedi. Although, she seems to be a little more comfortable around Ahsoka, but that's probably because she never agreed to the sentencing.
Eventually, Jhogolt grew tired of the awkward silence and spoke up.
"You guys don't have to be so silent, you know. I'm not going to kill any of you just for speaking."
"Our sincerest apologies for the awkward silence. We just need a little more time to actually wrap our heads around this whole situation. We've never been in such a strange scenario such as this one throughout any of our battles in the Clone Wars." Obi-Wan admitted.
Jhogolt narrowed his eyes at the mention of these 'Clone Wars'. They reminded him far too much of his own fight in the war between the old Sith Empire and the Old Republic. And not in the ways that made his blood boil from excitement and a rush of adrenaline. More along the lines of the 'I'd rather be anywhere but here' kind of way.
He turned to Yoda, the older Jedi Master riding on Khem's Digimon. A small cyborg Digimon that was blue, red and white in color scheme with yellow lenses for eyes. It looked kind of like a cross between a Japanese Kabuto Beetle and a modern day boombox. This Digimon is called Ballistamon.
"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that. How'd that come about?"
Yoda lowered his head and closed his eyes as his ears drooped.
"Hmmm. Fallen to the Dark Side, my old Padawan has. Apprenticed to the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, he now has become. Started these Clone Wars on Geonosis, he did. Plans to eradicate the Jedi and enslave the galaxy, he and his master do. If they are not stopped, a time of darkness upon us all, will fall." Yoda explained.
Ballistamon looked up at Khem with curiosity in his eyes.
"Why does he speak that way, Khem?" he asked.
"It's just his way, Ballistamon. Let him bother you with his way of speaking, and it will never end." Khem replied.
Mace glared at Barriss from where he was standing, almost like he was attempting to burn a hole in the fallen Padawan's head just from glaring at it. And it was making the girl very uncomfortable, as proven by how she inched closer to Duskmon for protection.
"Master Windu, need I remind you that it's that attitude of yours that has lead to you possibly being sent to a world of eternal suffering?" Jhogolt asked, returning the Jedi Master's glare with one of his own.
Luminara got between the two and held her hands up in surrender, trying to avoid any unnecessary conflict within the group.
"Please don't mind him, Sith. Master Windu looks at everyone with that glare. I'm sure he meant nothing bad by it. Right, Mace?" Luminara said.
The bald Jedi said nothing and just continued to glare at the whole place. At least until he felt a pair of eyes staring at him and saw that the eyes on Duskmon's armor were now staring at him. And to be honest, it was freaking him out!
Mace Windu looked around the group, his glare firm and heated until his eyes fell back on Barriss. However, DJ Rodriguez stepped between him and her, his own eyes glaring hard with a flame inside each orb that actually made Mace flinch and release his glare. Angewomon went to her love and stated, "I thought you might want to know, DJ is VERY protective of three things. He is protective of little ones, he is protective of women and also protective towards the innocent. Though he maybe a goofball most of the time, when it comes to rushing in to protect someone, he's all serious.".
The Jedi Knights, Masters and Padawan looked to the young Jedi Master of old. Indeed, his eyes spoke that if Mace would continued his glare stare... his form would have been close to the Check-Out line about now.
Once he saw that Mace was no longer looking at the accused former Padawan, he turned to Barriss and bowed like a gentleman would. He stated, "Sorry if Windu is still holding a grudge to you, Miss Offee. I assure you that in time, he will be more lenient to you in the future. And also that you will have a whole new purpose to your new life.".
Barriss was seriously considering that she was still dreaming, so she subtly pinched herself and when she felt the sharp but small pain... yes, she was not dreaming at all. She answered, "T-Thank you very much DJ.". She was still trying to wrap around the entire event that was still playing before her eyes... and also trying to wrap around that anyone would still want to associate with her on what she had done earlier.
Angewomon stated, "Okay everyone, we are going to pass from the Heavenly Realm to the Digital Realm. So get to your seats and prepare yourselves!". The Digimon nodded, going to their assigned seats on the ship while DJ guided their guests to some spare guest seats on the ship.
Jhogolt went towards the cockpit of his ship, where sitting down at the controls was his beautiful and alluring wife Vette.
Vette is a beautiful Twi'lek woman with dark blue skin. She's currently in her casual attire, a simple black T-shirt, a pair of shorts and sandals. However, she still has her twin blaster pistols and gun belt on her for emergencies.
"Hey, Hon'! I've been waiting for you to get home from your usual Bible study. Though, I see you guys got a bit sidetracked." she quipped, saying that last part teasingly.
Jhogolt merely laughed at his wife's snarky attitude and strapped into the Captain's seat. Her quips could absolutely drive him up the wall, but it's one of the things he loves about her. And, honestly, there's never been a dull moment with her around.
"Yes, I know we did, Love. And I apologise. But we need these people for a task assigned by the big man himself. So, buckle up. Azulongmon's palace awaits!"
After punching in the coordinates for their flight, Jhogolt picked up a trucker's microphone that he found at a garage sale once and incorporated into his ship's tech. Just for the fun of using one of them.
"Attention, passengers, this is your captain speaking. Please take your seats and fasten your seatbelts, we will be beginning our flight in five minutes. Our destination is the palace of Azulongmon in the Digital World, a very charming location with partly cloudy skies, beautiful sunsets, and a marvelous view of the mountains. Our estimated time of arrival will be two days. Once I give the go ahead, you will be free to move about the ship. Thank you for choosing Air Sith." Jhogolt said like an airplane pilot.
Moving quickly, everyone took a seat somewhere on the ship and buckled up. Unfortunately for Mace, he was sitting between Duskmon and Khem, the latter of whom was looking at the Jedi Master as if he wanted to, literally, eat him. Which is quite possible.
And much to Yoda's annoyance, he had to use a booster seat.
"The final indignity, this is." he grumbled.
"You call THAT the final indignity?" Anakin asked.
Yoda looked to a separate part of the ship to see that Anakin, Obi-Wan, Luminara and Ahsoka had been dressed up as a Mexican Mariachi Band. Complete with ponchos, sombreros, musical instruments and fake mustaches. Though, why the girls were also wearing fake mustaches was a mystery to Yoda.
"Try being forced to sit in the costume section of the ship." Anakin quipped.
"Why am I even wearing this thing?" Obi-Wan asked, referring to the fake mustache. "I already have a mustache/beard combo."
"Of all the times to lose my cowl…" Luminara grumbled as she scratched her head under the sombrero.
That thing was so darned ITCHY!
The only one who got relatively normal seating on the ship was Barriss. She was sitting between Angewomon and Ashara, buckled up and reading a magazine about the olden day cultures of the Old Republic and the Old Sith Empire; before the Sith established the Rule of Two.
She still fails to understand why they did that in the first place, but is trying not to think about it too much.
"Attention, passenger, we have just entered hyper-space and are beginning our flight to Digi-World. You are now free to move about the ship. And take off those mariachi band costumes! We're saving those for El Dia De Los Muertos!" Jhogolt announced over the radio.
As soon as he finished saying that, Barriss recoiled back as her stomach turned into a tiger's head and roared as it tried to take a bite out of Angewomon's arm before going back to normal. Vette giggled as she walked out of the cabin with her husband, having been made aware of the situation when he called her on his holocommunicator. But she didn't expect the fallen Padawan's stomach to do THAT!
"You all just go ahead and relax. Dinner will be ready soon. I'll send Toovey around with snacks and drinks to tide you over in the meantime, so just sit back and take a load off." Vette said.
While she went off to the kitchen, the room was suddenly made quite loud by the arrival of two new individuals.
"DADDY! YOU'RE HOME!" shouted a little girl's voice.
Running into the main room of the ship were two children. A little Twi'lek girl who looked to be about four years old, and a three year old boy who was a Sith Pureblood.
The Twi'lek girl had lighter blue skin than her mother, and her lekku looked to be a little on the short side. They had this row of spots on the sides of each lekku as opposed to the stripes on her mother. She has her father's silver eyes and is wearing a green dress and a headdress with a gold teardrop charm in the center.
The boy is a Sith Pureblood with messy red hair and pink skin that was sure to darken as he got older, but unlike his parents or his sister, this little guy has brighter yellow eyes than most other Sith do, showing his latent potential in the Dark Side of the Force.
The little girl jumped into Jhogolt's awaiting arms, showing that she and the Sith Pureblood child are his kids. Jhogolt gave his daughter a big hug, always happy to see his kids.
"Look what I drew you, Dad!" exclaimed the boy.
He held up a drawing of several stick figures of different colors holding hands in front of a crudely drawn ship. It may not have been anything fancy, but to Jhogolt, it was a work of art. He chuckled a bit as he accepted the drawing.
"Well, well, well! That's great, Jackie!" he said, ruffling his son's hair. "Were you and Talon good for your mother and your uncle Andronikos while I was away?"
He got two eager nods in response before the Twi'lek child, Talon, pointed at Barriss and the other Jedi.
"They feel just like you and DJ, Daddy. I can feel it!" Talon said.
"Ahhh…! You can, huh?" asked Jhogolt as his daughter nodded. "I was just making sure our guests, Barriss, Ahsoka, Anakin, Master Beardy, Master Chrome Dome, Master Stick-In-The-Mud, and Master Yoda were comfortable before I came to check up on you."
"HEY!" Obi-Wan, Mace and Luminara said indignantly at those nicknames.
DJ looked at the kids, smiling wide as he saw Talon and Jackie. He said, "Hey kids! How are my Godzilla Brother and Sister today?". The duo smiled and roared loudly, followed by the Rodriguez lad as he roared back before chasing the giggling/yelling little ones around the ship.
The others looked in puzzlement at the actions until Angewomon helped them out. She explained, "DJ here is a big fan of Godzilla movies, Disney ones as well. Heh, was hooked on them LONG ago when he was a kid. And he's a sweetheart to the little ones, chasing them around like a monster and trying to catch them.". She had a soft smile on her face, displaying for all that she really liked how he treated kids.
Vette put in, "DJ showed them some of his old Godzilla VHS collection, and they really liked them. Seeing that they liked the big guy like he used to as a kid, he dubbed them Godzilla Brother and Sister. Heh, gives me a bit of a headache when they play Monster with one another.".
Anakin inquired, "Godzilla? Disney? Who, or what are they?".
Duskmon answered, "Godzilla is a character from a production company called Toho, while Disney is a company that makes all kinds of movies. DJ likes the classic animated movies more than the modern day ones.".
Yoda asked, "Where these things exist, if I inquire? I have not heard of any of them in any of the regions in space.".
Jhogolt answered, "You wouldn't, especially in that galaxy of yours. DJ and I actually hail from another galaxy entirely, FAR from the one you are used to. In fact, I believe that its at the edge of a universe.".
All of the Jedi present, and ex-Jedi, were stunned to hear this. They had technology capable of traversing the galaxies, and there was still much of space to be explored. To hear that the goofball was from a place FAR beyond the Outer Rim was extraordinary! Than again, they were now in situations at the moment that defied logic and reason. A loud sound could be heard, causing the group to wonder what was wrong.
Crawling back on his belly was DJ... with Talon and Jackie on his back, both grinning. The Hispanic young man had a look of mock defeat on his face and exclaimed dramatically, "Argh! I... I have been defeated... oh, the humiliation!".
Angewomon, Duskmon and the others chuckled at this, the lovely blonde angel woman remarking, "I believe that is twenty for them, five for you. And also, you need to work on your death scenes there. Hehehe...".
He than sported a look of mock indignation and exclaimed, "Hey! I took three or so years in Theater Arts! I say that one was worth at least an award!". Jhogolt laughed loudly, than gently got his children off of his friend as they scampered off to go with their mother.
Barriss really had no idea that Jedi Masters of this caliber could be so... carefree and humorous. In fact, it was a breath of fresh air to see this that the ember of hope that had laid dormant within her since she was tried and convicted of her crimes started to burn a bit more intense now.
Ahsoka answered, "Okay before any more weirdness happens, just want to know one thing. Does this ship have a bath or something? I want to freshen up after all we have been through...".
"Well, why didn't you just ask? The bathroom and shower is down the hall on the left." Jhogolt replied.
The Togruta female practically teleported into the room, but a strange grinding sound was heard from inside. The door opened, and out walked Ahsoka, looking like she'd just been turned into a living tuna can. One that went through the ringer. Literally!
"Oops! Oh yeah, I forgot. That one's the canopener. Try the door on the right." Jhogolt said, looking a bit embarrassed.
Wordlessly, Ahsoka looked into said room and after confirming that it was the right one, walked in and closed the door behind her. Vette looked at her husband with a knowing look.
"You sent her to the canopener room on purpose, didn't you?" she asked.
"I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Jhogolt replied with a straight face.
Vette just rolled her eyes and playfully punched her husband on the arm before walking into the kitchen to finish making dinner. She had a feeling the crowd was going to be a lot bigger than usual, so she was making a veritable feast fit for the Knights of the Round Table. Andronikos began to walk in after her, but not before telling the Jedi something important.
"Alright, listen up! The boss and his wife ain't gonna prepare the grub alone, so if you have any skill in cooking or baking, get your butts in the kitchen and help them out! The rest of you, keep an eye on the little troublemakers." Andronikos instructed.
Knowing it was best not to argue with the former space pirate, Anakin, Luminara, and Obi-Wan all went into the kitchen to help prepare the food. But that left Barriss alone with Mace to try and care for the kids. But therein lies the problem. Neither of them knows anything about childcare!
The two stared at Talon and Jackie, and the kids stared right back at the strange new older people. Neither so much as blinked until Talon got bored. She ran into her and Jackie's room and rushed right back holding a book. It was an old fairytale book that held many old stories that small children like.
She held it up to Barriss who hesitantly took the book from the Twi'lek child. She looked questioningly at the kids before Talon asked her question.
"Will you read us a story?" she asked.
"Please?" Jackie added.
Barriss managed to crack a small smile at the innocence of the two children. It did her heart good to know that children could still find a reason to smile in this wartorn galaxy she lived in.
"Oh, alright. But only one story." Barriss replied.
"Thank you, Green Lady." Talon said.
She took Barriss by the hand and dragged her over to a rather comfortable looking rocking chair. Barriss and Mace don't know it yet, but it's the same rocking chair that Vette used to sit in while she was pregnant with both of the little ones. And the one she sits in when she reads them stories.
Barriss sat down and yelped in surprise as the kids scrambled up into her lap. Once they were comfortable, Barriss opened the book and came upon the story of The Three Little Pigs.
"Once upon a time…"
Back in the kitchen, Jhogolt was tasting the gravy that Vette was preparing to go with the meat and felt it wasn't spicy enough. He grabbed a small bottle of Chili Powder and added a few shakes into the gravy before tasting it again. He smiled and mentally gave himself a thumbs up. It tasted perfect.
"Did you just add Chili Powder to your wife's sausage gravy?" DJ asked as he walked up with a fresh baked loaf of bread.
"Why, of course not. Heavens to Betsy, DJ, where did you get such a notion? Just because my Chili Gravy won a blue ribbon at the County Fair and YOUR gravy didn't even place…" Jhogolt began to say sarcastically. "Who am I to tell you how to make gravy? ...The green county gravy champion! THAT'S who!"
DJ rolled his eyes at his friend's banter. He knew he didn't place at the County Fair this time, but he reasoned that there's always next year. Luminara, meanwhile, was trying to figure out whether the turkey that was in the oven was close to being done or not, with little success on her part.
She's never prepared a turkey before, so she's a little lost here.
"I hope this thing doesn't explode in the oven…" she mumbled to herself.
Meanwhile, with Barriss, Mace and the kids, the bald Jedi was having conflicting thoughts in regards to a certain fallen Padawan. He was convinced that she had fallen to the Dark Side and deserved no mercy for what she had done. But looking at her now as she read to the two younglings that resided on this ship, he was beginning to question whether his initial decision in regards to her punishment was the right one.
The Republic as a whole is normally so against slavery and torture in general, and yet the senate was so quick to sentence Barriss to being sold off to the Hutt clan as a slave. Why did he and the majority of the council think that was a good idea? What compelled them to do such a thing?
These questions continued to pour down like the rain. Who are these guys? Why did they go through so much trouble just for Barriss? How did these Digimon come to be? And more importantly, what exactly was going to happen to all of them once they got to the palace of the being known as Azulongmon?
He was broken from his thoughts when he heard Ahsoka D'aawww at something.
"Padawan, what's…"
He was shushed immediately by Ahsoka, who was dressed in some of Vette's casual clothes that she had leant the younger Togruta, specifically a black T-Shirt and a pair of jean shorts. He raised an eyebrow at her and the teenage Togruta pointed towards the rocking chair.
Mace was greeted to what he wouldn't openly admit to be the single most adorable thing he's ever seen. Talon, Barriss and Jackie had fallen asleep midway through the story, the two children snuggling up to the teenage Mirialan like they would their mother.
'I'm beginning to wish I'd brought my camera. If only to provide Luminara with good blackmail material on her fallen Padawan.' Mace thought to himself.
He placed a hand on Ahsoka's shoulder and began to guide her to the kitchen so they could help out.
"Let them sleep. Something tells me that those kids have been running around for a long time today. And Barriss…" Mace paused as he tried to ward off the dark thoughts that tried to enter his mind. "She's had a busy day herself."
Ahsoka nodded and looked back to her wayward friend with a small smile. It warmed her heart to see some semblance of her old friend being brought to the surface by these two children. She walked off into the kitchen to see how she could help out, but Mace stayed behind.
Before going to help out, Mace used the Force to grab a nearby blanket and carefully cover the three sleeping individuals to keep them warm. He looked at his hand for a moment, satisfied that he was at least able to use the Force to do that much. With his work done, Mace walked off into the kitchen while Anakin walked off to take a shower himself.
Turns out, clean clothes had been provided for all of them so their old clothing could be washed and fixed before they got to Azulongmon's palace. But that's not the important part right now.
While Barriss was asleep with the young ones by her side, and covered up thanks to Mace, DJ Rodriguez was talking to Yoda nearby. The young lad had asked Vette to make some chicken fried steak since he was craving some at the moment, so the beautiful wife of Jhogolt obliged. DJ had a selective palette, so it was not unusual for her to make something else for him.
DJ inquired to Yoda, "So, let me get this clear little Jedi Master... if the Republic despises slavery and prostitution like it claims, than why in Heaven's name above was Miss Offee just sentenced to such a life by the Senate?". Nearby, Obi-Wan was hidden around a corner and silently listening to the conversation.
The potent green alien warrior sighed and answered, "Difficult it was... to hear such a sentence on the young one. However, actions speak louder than words. Greatly harm both Jedi and Clones, she did. A lesson be made, it must. The Dark Side is growing stronger...".
DJ interrupted any further conversation after that statement by saying, "You are partially right. Barriss did do something extremely terrible and wrong, yes. But... slavery as a mere toy for the Hutts is NOT the way! Not by a long shot! Also, the Dark Side is not just within the Senate... but within the Jedi as well.".
Yoda looked at him with serious eyes, but DJ did not flinch. The heavenly warrior, while goofy most of the times, has had serious battles against foes that would actually make the Jedi look like a complete joke. The lad continued, "I know all about the formation of the Clones... same as you. That they were created by a fellow Jedi many years ago, long before the Clone Wars started. And it was kept in the dark for a long while until the Separatists started to get desperate and forged an alliance with a joke of a Sith Lord. Count Dooku, I believe you call him.".
The green alien flinched a little, his ears drooping while his eyes lowered. Count Dooku... a person he trained as a Padawan until he left to go to the Dark Side. He was a living reminder on how he failed to keep his student in the Light.
DJ finished, "You and the rest of the Jedi had started to lose track of your real duties and lessons long before the Clones formation. It was losing those true & real lessons that the Dark Side started to subtly gain footholds in many places. Now... sadly they have taken root in government as well as within the Jedi Order.".
DJ started to walk away, heading towards the room Barriss was in so he could see how she was doing. He left Yoda with one last thing to say and it was this, "Yoda... you are old, but even I can see you are not blind. Redeem yourself with aiding Barriss to find the true Light of the Jedi... the one that sadly most Jedi warriors even to this day have forgotten. Anakin is one of those beings.". He than left, leaving not just Yoda but also Obi-Wan to ponder his words.
Once DJ made it to the room, he saw the young former Padawan with Jhogolt's kids snuggled next to her. Smiling softly, he took a small camera that he kept on his being just in case, and took a picture. Luckily, said device was silent so it took the picture with no sound coming forth that would have disturbed them. He used his Force ability to levitate the trio to the bed, setting them down gently and allowing the three to be more comfortable.
The kids snuggled against Miss Offkee more, the former Jedi learner smiling in her sleep. DJ smiled as well, leaning down and actually growling softly before nudging his face against hers. Like an animal would a parent... or in his case, like Godzilla would his son Little Godzilla. He whispered, "Sweet dreams await you, I believe Barriss.".
*To Be Continued…*
Marka Ragnos629: Wow, it looks like some real life lessons are being learned here today, are they not? Anyway, before we leave for this chapter, I have some questions that I'd like you all to take some time to answer.
1.) What do you think of Barriss' interactions with the kids?
2.) What sort of tasks of redemption would you personally assign to Yoda and the others?
3.) What would you use for the Tags and Crests for the Jedi?
4.) What kind of Lightsabers would you have them build, and what colors would their crystals be?
Marka Ragnos629: Do you have anything you'd like to add, DJ?
DJ Rodriguez: I hope you all enjoy the story, and also remember... some crazy randomness is enjoyable! Hehehehe…
Marka Ragnos629: You said it, old friend! A certain afro-haired, nose hair controlling blonde man from an old anime can testify to that. But before we leave, know that we're going to leave a poll up on my profile for Barriss' Digimon partner and its Digivolution Route. So don't forget to cast your votes on that so we can get the show on the way. Also, if you all would be so kind as to leave ideas for Digimon partners for Anakin, Ahsoka, Luminara, Mace Windu, Yoda and Obi-Wan, that would be most appreciated. We'll see you all in the next chapter! May the Force be with you all!