A darkness grew behind him. Sensing something was off, Johnny turned, his eyes filled with terror as a dark shadow began to engulf him.
"No, no, no... please don't do this... NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!"
Within moments there was nothing but silence as the darkness vanished. The only thing left on the roof was Demidevimon, who watched the Ichijoujis down below as the Digital Feast went up in flames before their eyes.
"I'm on my way back now, boss. It is all taken care of." Demidevimon flew off, seemingly speaking to himself.
The next day at the home of the Ichijouji family, Yolei Ichijouji, who was behind a Shoji screen with a sliding door where four small lamps lined the walls, sat at the small tea table on a tatami mat in her white and green kimono. She poured green tea into a cup for her guest Kari Takaishi, who was wearing a white and red kimono and graciously accepted the drink. Yolei then poured herself some and as the two women enjoyed their tea, Yolei told her friend of the tragic events from the night before.
"I just feel so bad Digitamamon sacrificed his life for me. It should have been me that died in that fire, not him."
Kari took her friend's hand and squeezed it. "No, your family needs you. Digitamamon knew this as well. Inside his hard shell, he was a real softy and would never allow any harm to come to his friends. Did any of the other Digimon get out alive?"
"No. It was closing time, so only the employees remained. In all, fourteen Digimon lost their lives last night." Yolei ran her sleeve over her eyes as she choked back her tears. "It was all so senseless. To make things worse, one of Ken's sources inside the digipolice say it was not an accident."
"Oh my! They don't believe Digitamamon had anything to do with this, do they?"
"Well, he had an insurance policy taken out on the place, but Digitamamon would never do such a thing, never, never. I refuse to believe it."
Kari walked around the table and kneeled down, hugging her friend. As tears rolled down Yolei's cheek, she let out the grief she had been holding back over the death of her friend.
In another part of the house, standing outside the kids' bedroom, Hawkmon, a small brown and white hawk, talked to Gatomon, a white cat Digimon.
"So, a purrrrfectly good evening was marred by this tragedy?" Gatomon purrs as she sways her tail about.
"I am afraid so. Poor Kenny was up all night with nightmares. His sister and mother tried to comfort him, but to no avail. It was his first trip to the digital world, you know. I am afraid he will never want to return now."
"I wouldn't worry. Human children are stronger then they seem. Kari was not much older than Kenny on her first trip to the digital world, and this was during the reign of the Dark Masters. Not only did her and the other Digidestined put an end to the Dark Masters, they stopped Apoclymon from destroying both worlds. I have no doubt Kenny is just as strong and will overcome his fears."
"I hope you're right, but the children now live in a much more peaceful world, or so I believed until last night."
In the bedroom, with toys and clothes scattered around the room and toy box open and overflowing, the children could be found napping in the bunk beds; Kendra up top and Kenny on the bottom. The young boy was clutching an Agumon plushie as he tossed and turned. Tears and sweat were pouring down his little face as he mumbled in his sleep.
"Mommy, no mommy! Don't go in there, mommy! Please, mommy! Nooooooo!"
In the office of Ken Ichijouji, the plain brown wood floor and walls matched the oak wood desk which Ken sat behind in a brown leather chair. A picture of his family sat upon his desk along with an IBM computer, a telephone, intercom speaker and a stack of papers. On the the other side of the desk sat two chairs for visiting clients. Against the far right hand wall was a couch for Ken's partner Wormmon to sit upon. Next to it was a coat rack on which hung Ken's tan trenchcoat and fedora hat. Ken was busy going over a stack of papers at the moment.
"As much I want to shut down the people behind the digiblight, I have to remember I have bills to pay as well as food to put on the table for my family. Ohhh, do I have bills to pay," Ken thought to himself as he went over the papers on his desk, half of which were past due bills.
"Mr. Ichijouji, I am sorry to bother you, but I think you should take this call. The caller says they have information on the digiblight case." The voice of Ken's secretary Ai Hamasaki came over the intercom.
"Thank you, Ms. Hamasaki. Put it through, please," Ken pushed the button on the intercom, replying. A moment later, the phone on his desk rang and he picked it up. "Hello, this Ken Ichijouji. I understand you have information on the digiblight?"
"Last night was just a warning. What happened to your friend's restaurant was just a start if you do not stop interfering with my operations, Ken - or should I say Digimon Emperor?"
"Who is this? How the hell do you know that name?" Ken screamed into the phone.
At that moment, Ken's partner Wormmon, a little green Digimon with a yellow chopper-like mouth, scuttled in, returning from an errand.
"Ken, I... Oh, I'm sorry, you're on the phone."
"I know more then you could imagine, Ken Ichijouji. Such as how your children are now taking their afternoon nap, or the fact your wife is having afternoon tea with second grade teacher Kari Takaishi."
The husky voice on the other end of the phone hung up as Ken desperately dialed his home number. Getting a busy signal, he tried his wife Yolei's cell phone. As he got no answer, Ken's eyes went wide with fear.
Meanwhile, outside the Ichijouji home, a shadowy figure sneaked by the bushes on the outside lawn right by the children's bedroom.