21: I'm back!
Sponsor: Oh joy...
21: Part of the reason this episode took me so long was because of a review I received that made me start thinking a little more about my OCs. To make a long story short, for someone who hasn't read the D0 trilogy (which I will get back to writing soon), George Helltower does indeed seem like an insert author into story here character, but really he's more than that. George's main function in the 'beyond D0' time line is to replace two of the biggest Canon Sues in the Digimon series. The first, as becomes clearly obvious in this episode, is Ryo. The second is Willis. Naturally, if he's going to replace Sue-ish characters within the canon, he himself will become slightly Sue-ish himself; however, I will admit that some of the fault is mine. I have been rather vague about 'exactly what George's powers are' because, to be honest, I'm not even quite sure yet (also, I've been basing some of his powers on the Q, who are an omnipotent species, which again naturally leads to Sue-ish characteristics). However, other than his powers, I believe I can justify any and all characteristics or abilities George has somewhat reasonably, and again I would like to remind readers that if they have any questions about him or any of my other characters, I would be most happy to answer them. Anyways, as a result of this reviewer (to whom I apologize for wasting his time, and thank him for his criticism), I have began to rethink George's character, and I even wrote an episode that will be posted much later in this series. Also, I will certainly think a lot harder about my characters when [finally] updating D0 again...I think that's enough reflection for now. (Also, despite the allegations in said review, I have not now, nor likely will I ever, watch Twilight.)
Sponsor: Yeah, yeah, you're a better person now. Can we get a move on?
21: Sure thing, just do your stuff and we can begin...
Sponsor: The21stMartian doesn't own Digimon, so please do not sue him, he doesn't even have a car anymore.
21 (crying): That wasn't even my fault either. My car was parked on the street and someone slipped into it.
Sponsor: I knew I shouldn't have brought that up...
21 (perfectly happy now): And so, without further ado, I hereby present the latest of my updates, an interesting episode that may one day get a title change. Namely...
Episode 8: The Emperor's Identity
(George): Last time I had been captured by Togamon, but was rescued by a past version of myself along with the other Digidestined. We managed to destroy the Control Spire the Emperor had planted in the past, only to discover he'd converged his forces back into the present. As we chased after them through the Citadel of Time, a trap caused a cave in which separated us from the younger Digidestined. When Izzy, Mimi, my past self, and I emerged in the present, we found out that the Emperor had managed to conquer the entire Digital World. As a last ditch effort to stop him, I convinced the Sovereigns to allow me to travel back in time (with my past counterpart) to just before the Emperor had erected his Control Spire. Together, we took out the Emperor's forces, and restored the time line back to normal. As we faded into our separate time periods, my past self gave me some interesting advice…I wonder what's in store for us next.
As George quietly packed his supplies into his pack, he pondered the advice his past counterpart had given him.
"You appear to have lost a little of yourself during your maturity process," is what his past self had said, and, to be honest, it made sense. It collaborated perfectly with the fact that, despite the Control Spire, his past self had managed to get Crocmon to digivolve to the Champion level, while he himself could not perform that feat.
"What is it that I have lost?" thought George, "not courage surely, no one has told me lately that I'm a coward…"
He continued to think as he stuffed a large cooler into his pack.
"Not knowledge, I've got plenty. I'm still fairly reliable, and I always speak my mind," he thought, "I think I'm a good friend, and I truly love my friends and companions as if they were my family…which means, I've lost hope."
As he placed the last of his miscellaneous objects into his overstuffed pack, the fallen warrior pondered this line of thought.
"Could I have lost hope?" he wondered, "I always believed there was a bright future for the Digital World. Have I lost that belief?"
The fallen warrior shrugged as he slipped on his pack. He left a scribbled note to the Izumis thanking them for their hospitality and explaining that he'd had to catch an overnight flight back to the States as something important had come up. He also quickly e-mailed Izzy a list of crucial targets along with the incomplete blueprints of the new digivice that he'd compiled earlier. Finally, just before he opened a DigiPort, the former gogglehead placed a flash drive onto Izzy's nightstand. The drive was labeled "Security".
After taking one last look around to make sure he hadn't left anything else behind, George opened a DigiPort. One bright flash of light later, he was gone.
The next morning found Davis practicing soccer with Tai.
"Thanks for the one-on-one training coach," said Davis, as his kicked the ball down the field, "it really makes up for the fact that I've been missing practice."
"No problem," said Tai, as he intercepted the ball from his protégé, "I know you're missing it for a good cause, so I do the best I can to help."
After a few more minutes of practice, Tai decided to call for a break.
"Not bad Davis," he said smiling his goofy smile, "but you've still got a lot to learn."
"That's why I'm here," said Davis happily.
"Right," said Tai, "and I'll have to teach you most of it by tomorrow."
"Why's that?" asked the youngest gogglehead.
"Because that's when our first scrimmage is," replied Tai, "and it's against last year's champions, the Tamachi Torpedoes."
"The Tamachi Torpedoes?" asked Davis excitedly, "that's the team with that boy genius isn't it?"
"That's right," said Tai, "Ken Ichijouji is the Torpedo's captain, and so you'll have to be careful. He may even be better than I am."
Davis snorted.
"Nobody's better at soccer than you are coach," he exclaimed.
Tai laughed and the two continued practicing.
A few hours later, the sweaty soccer duo joined up with several of the other Digidestined in the park. Notably absent were Joe (he had a big test to study for), and George.
"Where's George?" asked Davis, "I thought with the whole 'Emperor being in a perfect position to take over the Digital World' thing he'd be here helping us take out Spires."
"He is," answered Izzy, "but he's acting as a separate group than us. That way the Emperor will have two threats to deal with simultaneously, and we have the added bonus of a 24 hour presence in the Digital World while the Emperor has to come home every night."
"So George is remaining in the Digital World and not coming back?" asked Cody.
"He'll be back," said Izzy, "but for now he wants to make sure the Emperor can't complete his bid for conquest."
"So who called the meeting?" asked Yolei.
"I did!" said Izzy, "utilizing the data sent to me by George, I have managed to learn more about the new digivices. Apparently they have three functions, Digital, Detect, and Discover. Digital controls digivolution, which is a new function the old models didn't have. Apparently you can now digivolve your partners without there being imminent danger. Detect is the locator program for other digivices. It's been updated a little since our model because now you can see the individual Crests, or colored dots so you know who is close by and not just that someone is close by. Discover is a function that wasn't necessary back when we were in the Digital World; it allows the digivices to find new DigiEggs."
"Wow," said Tai, "imagine the convenience if we could've digivolved our partners whenever we wanted. I wouldn't have had to overstuff Agumon so much that he digivolved into SkullGreymon…"
The older gogglehead sighed as he recalled his fateful mistake that almost killed him back during their first adventure in the Digital World.
Sora gently patted him on the back.
"What's done is done," she said, "you've learned a lot since then."
Tai nodded and smiled his goofy smile again.
"I think we should call the new digivices D3s," said Mimi, "it's a lot easier than calling them 'new digivices'."
After a few nods, the motion was passed, but Matt was grumpy.
"Is that all we're here for?" demanded the rock star, "I ditched practice for this you know."
"Patience Matt," said Izzy calmly, "I also brought George's list of targets."
The others leaned in as Izzy passed out copies of the list. Several sectors were circled. A few were crossed out.
"The circled sectors are the ones George wants us to hit," said Izzy, "the ones that are crossed out have been freed since last night when I received the list."
"Okay," said Tai, "so what now?"
"For some reason George is being nice to us," said Izzy, "he said we can take the day off. The situation still isn't good, but it's getting better."
"Speaking of taking time off, he should do the same," said Mimi, "he works himself too hard."
Davis nodded happily.
"Maybe he can come to my soccer game tomorrow," he said, "if I have George Helltower cheering me on, who cares if my opponent is Ken Ichijouji? He's just a small fry next to George!"
"You're playing against the famous Ken Ichijouji tomorrow?" demanded Yolei, as she grabbed Davis' shirt, "why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"I only found out today," choked Davis.
"You'd better get his autograph for me!" said the lavender haired girl as she dropped him.
"Here's a thought," said Cody, "why don't you get it yourself? You can watch the soccer game."
"That's a great idea!" shouted Yolei, "perfecto!"
"Wonderful," thought Davis sarcastically, "just what I needed."
Izzy misinterpreted Davis' look of despair, and clapped a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry Davis," said Izzy, "I'll tell George about the game. Maybe he'll actually give himself a break to watch you play."
"You want me to what?" demanded George.
It was a few hours later, and George was video chatting with Izzy from his control room in Gargantuan Mountain.
"I said you should come to Davis' soccer game tomorrow," said Izzy, "you've been driving yourself too hard lately, especially since yesterday. I'm not sure what's going on with you, but you appear to be borderline obsessed with eliminating the Emperor."
"Well he's evil," said George simply looking away, "and I can't stand evil within the Digital World."
"I don't recall your having such an attitude when the Dark Masters were wreaking havoc," replied Izzy, "you let us take care of them."
George sighed. "I had no choice," he replied.
As Izzy began to ask why, George quickly changed the subject back to the soccer game.
"So who's Davis playing against?" he asked.
"The Tamachi Torpedoes," replied Izzy, "it might interest you that their team captain is—"
"Ken Ichijouji," finished George coldly, "the boy genius. I'll be there."
As he signed off, Izzy wondered what had angered George.
The afternoon sun was shining as Davis walked onto the soccer field. It was here he would make his stand, here where he would transform from just a normal kid to a living legend, here where, for the first time, Ken Ichijouji would taste defeat.
Davis smiled as he looked at the people who had come to cheer him on. As soccer team coach, Tai was of course there, but so were Sora, Izzy, TK, Yolei, Cody, and, most importantly, Kari. Even George could be seen sitting next to Izzy, a grumpy expression on his face, but at least he was there. The newest Digidestined had also brought their digimon, and DemiVeemon was relaxing comfortably in TK's lap.
"With such good friends," he thought, "how can I lose?"
It was then that the Tamachi Torpedo's bus arrived, cueing a mass of squealing fan girls to encircle it, lying in wait for the genius within.
Unfortunately (for them) Ken wasn't on the bus, and, as the vehicle began to drive away, the fan girls were upset, but none was more upset than Yolei.
"Hey!" she exclaimed, "where is he Cody?"
"I don't know," said the 4th grader simply, "maybe he's sick."
"I highly doubt it," said George, and then looked appalled that he had said anything.
"What do you mean?" asked Sora, who was still suspicious that George was hiding something important from them.
"Nothin'," said George coldly, "I just meant he's probably busy doing a commercial shoot or something. Just because he isn't here doesn't automatically mean he's sick."
Meanwhile on the field, Davis wasn't too happy about this turn of events either. How could he become a living legend if he didn't beat Ken?
He ran over to the green clad team's coach, another high school student.
"Where's Ken?" he asked.
"He couldn't make it," replied the coach.
"He's so busy he rarely has time for soccer anymore," sighed one of Ken's teammates.
"Hmmm," thought Davis glancing at George, "that sounds like someone I know."
"Davis!" called Tai, and the youngest gogglehead ran over to his mentor.
"Yeah coach?" he asked.
"Don't forget even if Ken isn't here these guys are still champions," said Tai.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Davis pumping his fist, "and if I defeat them I'll still be a living legend!"
"No need to get ahead of yourself Davis," said Tai, "just because Ken isn't here doesn't mean you can underestimate the Torpedoes."
"Don't worry coach!" exclaimed Davis, "I'll do you proud!"
Tai sweat dropped as his protégé strutted onto the soccer field.
On the bleachers, George was watching with mild interest.
"Rather confident isn't he?" he asked nobody in particular.
The rest of the players took the field, and the whistle was blown.
Davis quickly gained possession of the ball and charged down the field with the opposing players hot in pursuit. As Davis was surrounded by the green team's defense, one of his comrades passed close by.
"I'm open!" he shouted, but Davis ignored him and continued charging forward, dodging the two defense players and a midfielder before kicking the ball into the Torpedo's goal.
"GOAL!" shouted the referee, "the Odaiba Ocelots take the lead!"
"Not a very good team player," remarked George, who had pulled out a small notepad and began taking notes. Sora noticed.
"Whatcha doing?" she asked curiously.
"Writing lesson plans," replied the Martian Digidestined casually.
"Lesson plans?" asked Izzy, "who're you teaching?"
But George's attention had returned to the game, so he didn't respond.
By the time the half-time whistle was blown, the Ocelots had scored another three goals (two of them scored by Davis), while the Torpedoes had yet to score.
"Curious," said George, "weren't these guys last year's champs?"
"Yeah," said Sora, "supposedly they destroyed the competition, but now it seems like they can't put any plays together. The team seems disjointed."
"Maybe it's because Ken isn't here?" hypothesized Izzy.
Sora shook her head.
"One player couldn't possibly be that important," she remarked.
Although neither of them noticed, George was scowling.
"Well coach?" asked Davis as he sat back on the bench, "how am I doing?"
"Not bad Davis," said Tai, "but you shouldn't hog the ball so much. Remember, there's no 'I' in team."
"Man," said Davis confidently, "these guys are terrible. How'd they even get to be champions at all last year? Beating them will be a piece of cake!"
Of course, as we all know, one should never say such things out loud, because it was at that very moment that a taxi cab pulled up to the soccer field and deposited a boy.
At first glance, nobody would guess that this scrawny pale individual was even remotely athletic, let alone a soccer star. His plain gray school uniform hid the many talents of this particular individual.
As he walked down the bleachers onto the field, Ken Ichijouji (for of course that's who this individual was) noticed some very familiar faces both in the crowd and on the field. The Digidestined's leader turned to stare right at him, an expression of mild interest displayed on his features.
"It's those kids!" he thought, and then took another look, "and Helltower too…hmmm, this makes things interesting."
Moments before, George had felt a tingling in his spine. He turned to look behind him and saw Ken staring at him as he descended the stairs to the field. A confident smirk could be seen on the boy genius's lips.
"Hmmm," thought George, "now things will finally get interesting."
"Hey coach," said Ken, as he arrived on the field.
Somehow, he'd managed (aside from George) to make it to the field undetected, but now that he was in plain sight, there was massive squealing and other fan girl noises coming from the bleachers (especially from Yolei who was once again squishing poor Poromon).
"Ken!" exclaimed his coach, "glad you could make it, now hustle up and get changed. We could use your help."
The pale youth ran off to the locker rooms and, in moments, reemerged in his green soccer uniform.
Barely a minute later, the whistle was blown and half-time was over.
"The Tamachi Torpedoes are now substituting in number seven, Ken 'The Rocket' Ichijouji!" exclaimed the referee, as the pale youth took up his position, which happened to be opposite Davis.
"So you're Ken," said Davis, "I'm Davis, you probably heard about how I was dominating the field last half."
"Somebody may have mentioned something along those lines," said Ken casually.
The starting whistle was blown. Barely a second later, Ken gained possession of the ball and was speeding down the field. Before the Ocelot goalkeeper knew what hit him, Ken had scored a goal.
"Goal!" shouted the ref, "number seven Ken Ichijouji."
"He's fast!" said Tai, staring at 'the Rocket' wide eyed, "no wonder he got his nickname."
With Ken in command, the Torpedoes began shaping up. 'The Rocket' ordered his teammates around like a drill sergeant, and they pulled off play after play. In mere moments, they had tied the game, and a few moments later they were far ahead with the score being 9-4.
"Man," thought Davis, "this guy really is good!"
Tai called for a timeout and the Ocelots gathered around him.
"What do we do?" asked one of the midfielders, "Ken is unstoppable!"
"I can't even see him coming!" exclaimed the goalie, "it's impossible to block his shots!"
Tai glanced at the clock, there was barely a minute left in the game. There was no way they'd win now, but at least they could end on a positive note.
"No matter how fast he is, Ken is still as fallible as everyone else," said the Ocelot's coach, "the main source of his skills is his speed, but since he's moving so fast, he may not be able to stop himself in time if he comes up against a tough defender. Davis, I'm switching you to a midfielder, that way you can block him from taking another shot. If we can even make one play against this guy, we'll be better off than any of the other soccer teams that faced him last season."
"Right!" exclaimed Davis; he was going to get a piece of Ken no matter what!
As the players ran back to the field, Ken noticed the change in Davis' position.
"Clever," he thought, "they're trying to play a little more defensive now, but it shouldn't matter."
Back on the bleachers, Yolei was practically drooling over 'the Rocket's' moves.
"Isn't he great Cody?" she demanded, "He's mopping the floor with Davis!"
"Way to support your friends," remarked George, who had pulled out his notepad again, and was scribbling furiously.
Izzy tried to glance over the fallen warrior's shoulder, but George's handwriting was unintelligible to him.
The whistle was blown, and once again Ken rocketed (pun intended) across the field.
"Formation C!" he yelled as he ran, causing the other offense and midfielder players to surround him. Davis looked on. While it was true Ken was protected for now, he knew that the other players would have to step aside for a moment to allow Ken to shoot, and Davis had no doubts that Ken wanted to score the last goal of the game, well that wasn't going to happen!
As Ken and his teammates approached the Ocelot's goal, Davis prepared to charge. At the very moment the other players parted to allow Ken to shoot, he dove towards the ball.
"Not this time buster!" he yelled, as he slid past Ken, accidentally grazing 'the Rocket's' ankle with his cleat as he kicked the ball out from under him.
"What?" exclaimed Ken.
As the ball rolled out of bounds, the whistle blew signifying the end of the game.
"Good game Davis," said Tai, "you played well, although I think you went a little overboard on Ken's shin…"
Davis glanced over to the other team's captain. Blood was dripping from the wound his cleat had inflicted.
"Oops," said Davis sheepishly.
"You'd better go apologize," said the Ocelot's coach.
"Right!" exclaimed Davis running over towards the Torpedo's bench.
"Oh," said Ken simply, "it's you…"
"Sorry about your leg," said Davis rubbing the back of his head, "I guess I went a little overboard…"
"Think nothing of it," said Ken, "that play never fails. I must've been too distracted thinking about scoring, and didn't notice you."
"Well, that play failed against me," said Davis happily.
"Indeed," said Ken standing up shakily and holding out his hand, "I hope we get to play each other again. Until then, farewell my worthy adversary until we meet again on the field of battle."
Davis shook Ken's hand proudly. This was one of the most rewarding experiences of his life. Now Kari would definitely choose him over that lame TQ.
"And then he called me his worthy adversary and we shook hands!" said Davis excitedly.
The Digidestined were walking towards the computer lab, and Davis was retelling the story of his conversation with Ken.
Yolei punched him.
"Ow!" exclaimed Davis, "what was that for?"
"For hurting my poor Ken!" exclaimed the lavender haired girl.
"Settle down," said George, who had once again pulled out his notebook, "there's work to be done."
As they arrived at their destination, Sora's cell phone rang. She picked it up.
"Hello?" she said, "oh! I totally forgot!"
Sora hung up.
"I was supposed to meet Mimi at the mall right after the game ended," she explained, "I've got to go!"
As she dashed out the door, she pulled Tai with her.
"Hey!" exclaimed the gogglehead, "why do I have to come along? I never made plans with Mimi to go to the mall."
"It's part of the job of being a boyfriend," said Sora as she tugged him along, "you have to accompany me to the mall and carry all of the shopping bags."
"Guys help me out here," said Tai, who was hanging onto the door by the tips of his fingers and slipping fast.
"Have fun you two," said Izzy, somewhat malignantly.
"Enjoy your date," said Davis.
"Have him back before midnight," said George attempting to sound jovial.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Tai's scream faded away as Sora dragged him farther from the computer lab.
George shut the door casually.
"Now then," said the fallen warrior, "to business."
"Right!" said Davis pumping his fist, "what's on the agenda for today?"
"We're splitting up into two groups," explained George, "I will continue knocking down Spires on Western Driver as I was doing before your soccer game."
"So what do we do?" asked Cody.
"You guys can take out this Spire here," said George, pointing at a black square on the screen, "it popped up overnight in an area that had been cleared out yesterday afternoon."
"Which group will I be in?" asked Izzy.
"You're going to stay here and monitor our communications Izzy," said George, "that way, if one group is in trouble, the other group can come help."
Izzy nodded. It wasn't what he'd prefer to do, but it was still an important job.
"Right," said George setting the coordinates on the DigiPort, "in you go!"
"Let's do this!" exclaimed Davis enthusiastically as he held up his D3.
The others followed suit and, after a bright flash of light, were gone.
George tapped a few keys on the keyboard, said his farewell to Izzy, and also disappeared into the computer screen.
Izzy sat back and waited.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Davis, "where are we?"
"I believe this place is known as the Valley of Death," said Hawkmon, "a most ominous name…"
Indeed the name seemed to fit the surroundings. Tall gray cliffs rose up over a desolate, sandy terrain. There was no vegetation, nor any sign of life whatsoever. There was, however, a Control Spire standing at the top of a canyon several miles away. It was almost impossible not to see.
"I don't like this," thought TK, "it's like he wants us to find the Spire."
"I sense a trap," thought Cody.
"Well?" asked Davis, "what're we waiting for? Let's go!"
The gogglehead took a step forward, and that's when all hell broke loose.
Izzy, having gone to the bathroom, didn't notice the pale boy in a gray school uniform who went into the computer lab and also disappeared into the computer. An evil smirk stretched across his features. He would make the one who had cut him suffer for his insolence. Nobody was his equal or superior for he was the Digimon Emperor!
Davis whirled around at the sound of his friends screams.
"What the hell?" he exclaimed.
The ground had begun swallowing his friends and, try as he might, he couldn't stop it. He tried pulling them out with his hands, with a nearby piece of scrap wood and with Flamedramon, but nothing worked. In mere moments, his friends disappeared beneath the ground's surface.
"Shit!" he exclaimed, crying, "dig Veemon dig!"
Davis and Veemon dug a big hole, but there was still no sign of his friends anywhere. It was as though they had disappeared off the face of the earth.
The ground started rumbling, causing Davis and Veemon to scramble out from the hole.
"Let's go Veemon!" exclaimed the gogglehead, "before the ground swallows us too!"
He and Veemon dashed across the sandy terrain, which seemed to be collapsing behind them. The only direction it seemed they could safely go was towards the Control Spire. It was all too clear that, one way or another, they had fallen into one of the Emperor's sinister traps.
(A/N: Davis should have listened to Admiral Ackbar (I do not own Star Wars).)
TK woke up, although for a few moments he couldn't tell whether his eyes were open or not. The room he was in was pitch black. He could sense the presence of several creatures nearby, getting closer and closer; their glowing red eyes being the only source of light. He reached for his D3, but found that it wasn't there. Further investigation revealed that his mini-computer was missing as well. The creatures came closer; TK could feel their slimy hands grabbing him. Before he could even scream, he was tightly bound and shoved into a bright room. His other friends (except Davis) were there as well, and so was the Emperor.
"That's the lasht of them your highnesh!" exclaimed one of the creatures who had bound TK.
"Excellent!" said the Emperor jovially, "that goggle brained buffoon has almost reached the Spire. It's show time!"
The Digidestined were hauled by the creatures (who turned out to be Geckomon and Otamamon), to an unknown destination.
"Timber!" shouted Sobekmon; as yet another Control Spire bit the dust.
"Not bad old friend," said George, "now let's move on to the next sector."
"Couldn't we take a break first?" asked Sobekmon as he dedigivolved to Crocmon, "I'm beat."
George chuckled.
"Alright," he said, "I suppose we could take a quick break."
As he and Crocmon sat down on some nearby rocks and sipped from water bottles (although George's was a bit of a misnomer as it wasn't filled with water), Crocmon turned to look at his partner. George hadn't slept in over 24 hours. For some reason, ever since yesterday George had become even more obsessed with defeating the Emperor.
"George?" he asked cautiously, this was a topic that required extreme sensitivity.
"You want to know why I've become so obsessed with taking out the Emperor right?" asked George.
He sighed.
"Alright, I'll tell you," said the Martian Digidestined, "but it's a long story…"
Davis had reached the canyon in record time, and the ground had stopped shaking. Above him, the Control Spire dominated the sky like a black needle piercing at the never-ending gray.
On one side was a narrow rock bridge that connected two of the cliffs, but Davis hadn't noticed that yet, he was too busy trying to catch his breath.
"Well, well, well," said the Emperor from above.
Davis looked up. The Emperor was standing next to his Spire glaring down at him through his tinted sunglasses.
"How many times must I tell you to stay out of my garden!" exclaimed the tyrant.
"This world doesn't belong to you!" shouted Davis, "and as long as I'm alive I will continue to fight you and everything you stand for!"
"Dear me," said the Emperor, "rather confident aren't we today. I wouldn't be so snarky if I were you boy!"
"And why's that?" demanded Davis.
"See for yourself," said the Emperor pointing to the narrow strip of rock.
While they had been conversing, the Emperor's minions had tied the other Digidestined and their partners to the rocky bridge. They struggled there for a moment, unable to move.
"You bastard!" exclaimed Davis, "let them go right now!"
"I'm afraid I can't do that," said the Emperor casually, "you see it's Deltamon's lunchtime, and he gets very cranky if he isn't fed."
On cue, a giant digimon burst out of the ground near the bridge. He was blue with a white scaly belly. He had three heads, two of which were in place of hands. His regular head was blue. His right hand was actually a skull head, similar to SkullGreymon's, and his left hand was actually a robotic reptilian head. All three heads were growling ominously.
"What's that thing?" asked Davis.
"Meet Deltamon," said the Emperor, "his Triplex Force will eliminate his enemies!"
"That does it!" said Davis, reaching for his D3, "I'll barbecue you!"
"I wouldn't do that if I were you," said the Emperor, "because you see, there is still a chance to save your friends, but if you attack me I might reconsider."
"How can I save my friends?" asked Davis.
"Beg," demanded the Emperor, "please Master spare my friends."
"Please master," repeated Davis kneeling, "spare my friends."
"Please master," prompted the Emperor, "spare my worthless friends."
"Please master," began Davis, but Veemon could take no more.
"Davish!" he exclaimed, "what're you doing?"
"Be quiet Veemon!" said Davis, "we have to save the others no matter what!"
"I believe you were in the middle of saying something?" said the Emperor.
"Please master," repeated Davis, "spare my worthless friends."
"Now Veemon," continued the Emperor, "restrain him!"
"Never!" exclaimed the bipedal dino.
"It's okay Veemon," said Davis, "it's for a good cause."
Veemon sighed and slowly placed his foot on Davis' head.
The Emperor laughed.
"Ah, but I do indulge myself," he said wiping away imaginary tears from his eyes.
"Now Geckomon relieve Mr. Motomiya of his digivice and computer," said the Emperor, "we wouldn't want him to hurt himself with such dangerous equipment."
From his kneeling position, Davis scowled, but did not resist as the Geckomon took his D3 and mini-computer.
"Davish…" said Veemon quietly, "how long do we have to do this?"
"Until he frees our friends," whispered Davis, "it's what George would do if he was here…"
"By the way," called the Emperor from above, "I noticed that once again Mr. Helltower has left you all alone. Didn't I tell you he doesn't care about you?"
Afraid of the consequences if he were to argue with the Emperor, Davis remained silent.
The Emperor made Davis and Veemon stay in that position for another agonizing five minutes before finally deciding he'd had enough fun.
"Very well," he said, "you have a lifeline."
"What is it?" asked Davis.
"Well, since math is beyond you, I shall explain," said the Emperor, "you see, Deltamon has only three heads, but there are four of your friends and their partners. That means that one of them may be permitted to live without making Deltamon miss his lunch, but as for which one will be saved, that is for you to decide."
"You're making me choose which one of my friends to save?" asked Davis, "but what about the others?"
"Unfortunately for them, I cannot let them all go," said the Emperor in mock apology, "they will be eaten by Deltamon."
"Shit!" thought Davis, "how will I decide who to save? By saving one, I condemn the others!"
The Emperor laughed inwardly at Davis' indecision. How he loved watching his enemies squirm! It was time to add another constraint to the equation.
The Emperor took out a small hourglass.
"Better hurry," he called down, "you have until the sand runs out, and it isn't very long pretty boy!"
Davis watched helplessly as the sand ran down the hourglass.
"Who should I save?" he thought desperately.
"…and so the reason nobody else remembers what happened is because by traveling into the past, my past self and I corrected the time line such that none of it actually happened," finished George, "the only reason I remember is because I was outside of the normal time line when the resetting occurred."
"I see," said Crocmon, "that explains a lot."
The two sat in silence for a little while before Crocmon continued.
"You should really tell them," he said.
"There are some things best left forgotten," said George.
"You know what I mean," said the crocodilian digimon sternly.
"How can I tell them?" demanded George, "I can't just go up to them and say, 'hey it's my fault that the Digimon Emperor exists!' They'd think I'm loco!"
"Everyone makes mistakes," said Crocmon, "and trying to cover up for yours by not telling them who the Emperor is isn't the correct way to fix it."
"They don't need to know," said George, "it's not relevant information."
"On the contrary," countered Crocmon, "it's highly relevant information, and they'll find out sooner or later whether or not you tell them!"
"How can they possibly understand though?" said George, "I can't tell them because they'd condemn me!"
"Let go of your pride!" said Crocmon, "just because in this instance you have been given permission to interfere directly with the Digital World, doesn't mean you should exclude the others and take out the Emperor by yourself!"
Before George could answer, they heard a beep emanating from George's pocket. The fallen warrior put on his sunglasses and typed a command on the right arm of the accessory. Instantly, George had Internet access and was reading an urgent e-mail from Izzy.
The others are in danger! They need help!
Izzy
"You see?" said Crocmon, "the Emperor now dislikes them almost as much as he hates you."
"Fine," sighed George, "I'll tell them when we get back to the real world."
The Warriors of Power, feeling refreshed from their break, took off at top speed for the nearest portal.
"Time's running out!" said the Emperor, about half of the sand remained in the hourglass, and still Davis had not come to a decision, "perhaps you'd like to be able to talk to your friends?"
Before Davis could object, the Geckomon climbed up to the narrow bridge and took off the gags on his friend's mouths.
"Don't worry about me Davis!" shouted Kari, "save someone else!"
"Don't take your eyes off the Emperor!" shouted Cody.
"Get me out of here!" screamed Yolei.
"Run Davis!" yelled TK, "save yourself!"
"My, my," said the Emperor, "even in death your friends are brave…except this one of course."
The Emperor nodded, and Yolei was lowered towards one of Deltamon's awaiting mouths.
"I think you'll agree with me that she's not worth saving," he said.
"Wait!" shouted Davis, "I still have time left!"
"True," sighed the Emperor, "I suppose I should let you mull this one out a little longer. I enjoy seeing you attempt to think."
Davis sat there, with his friends yelling at him.
"Save someone else!"
"Get out of here!"
"Keep your eyes on the Emperor!"
"HELP!"
"What do I do?" he thought.
"Argh!" he yelled.
"Argh?" repeated the Emperor, "that's not one of your friend's names. Surely you'd like to save one of your friends. By not saying anything you are allowing all four of them to be eaten, but I have generously allowed you to save one of them."
"If I save Kari, she'll be mad at me for not saving someone else," thought Davis, "if I save Yolei she'll be mad at me anyways. If I save Cody he'll be mad at me for falling into the Emperor's trap. If I save TK he'll be unhappy I didn't save Kari. What do I do?"
The Emperor was enjoying every minute of this. He had more than repaid that vulgar idiot for slicing his shin, but he just couldn't help it. It was too much fun watching him squirm and seeing the smoke come out of his ears as his attempts to think overheated his brain. This was truly what he lived for.
In his frustration, Davis began pounding on the ground. He threw a temper tantrum and got really mad.
"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Damn it!" he thought, "what would George do?"
The last of the sand fell through to the bottom of the hourglass.
"Time's up!" called the Emperor, "you're not a very good friend are you?"
Izzy was watching the unfolding drama helplessly from the real world. George had given him the access codes to his old surveillance equipment on the same flash drive he'd left the hacking code for the D3's security system. He knew that if he had been in the Valley of Death, he would either be one of the hostages or he'd be just as helpless as Davis. Either thought saddened him immensely.
As he watched George and Crocmon running towards the portal, he realized that if they didn't make it in time, it was a distinct possibility that they'd have their first fatalities in the Digital World, and that they'd have to explain said fatalities to the parents concerned.
"Please George," he thought desperately, "make it there in time!"
George and Crocmon charged into the portal at top speed. He realized that if Izzy had sent him the message, that the odds were that nobody on the other side was capable of sending him that message, which would mean that haste was certainly necessary.
"Shit!" he thought, "what if they're…no! They can't be dead! They can't be…"
"I gave you the chance to save one of your friend and you blew it," said the Emperor, "you must not like them very much."
"No!" shouted Davis, "give me more time!"
"I already gave you plenty of time," said the Emperor, "you're just too stupid."
Deltamon began advancing on his friends. The Emperor had left them ungagged so Davis could hear their screams as Deltamon ate them alive.
"Wait!" shouted Davis, "take me instead!"
"You think you could satisfy Deltamon's hunger?" scoffed the Emperor, "very well, we shall see about that. Deltamon, new plan! Eat the one with the goggles!"
The dinosaur ambled slowly towards Davis, who stood his ground.
"Davish," said Veemon nervously, "if you've got a secret plan I think now would be a good time to use it!"
"Sorry buddy," said Davis, "not this time. I have to sacrifice myself so that my friends can live."
"Oh great!" shouted Yolei sarcastically, "you're trying to play the hero!"
"You can't trust the Emperor!" yelled Cody, "he'll have Deltamon eat you and still not set us free!"
"Listen to Cody!" screamed TK, "at least if you live someone will be able to continue the fight!"
"Save yourself!" hollered Kari.
"Sorry guys," said Davis, "I have to do this…"
"But wait," said Veemon, "Cody is right. What if the Emperor just has Deltamon eat you, and then the others? You'll have died for nothing!"
"I can take that risk Veemon," said Davis, "if I don't do everything I possibly can to rescue my friends I wouldn't be able to live with myself."
"How noble," scoffed the Emperor, "still, you have my word that as soon as Deltamon eats you I will let the others go."
"Don't trust him Davis," warned Cody.
"Save yourself while you still can!" advised Kari.
"Make me look bad why don't you?" grumbled Yolei, "fine don't save me then!"
Deltamon was only a few feet away now, but Davis wasn't even going to flinch. He was going to die a hero, and he wasn't going to give the Emperor the satisfaction of seeing him squirm…well any more than he already had that is.
"I may have screwed up my life," he thought, "but at least I can do something right by my death."
By now, Tai, Sora, and Mimi had returned from the mall. The girls walked into the computer lab chatting amiably, and Tai stumbled in under the weight of several dozen shopping bags.
"Oof," he said as he set the bags down carefully, "what'd you girls buy rocks?
Sora chuckled, but then she noticed that Izzy was looking rather tense.
"What's up?" she asked, "trouble in the Digital World?"
Speechlessly, Izzy pointed to the unfolding drama. On one screen, the youngest Digidestined were being held captive by the Emperor while a giant dinosaur with three heads was walking towards Davis.
On the other screen, George and Sobekmon were flying as fast as they could towards the canyon. The question on everyone's minds was 'would he make it in time?'
"Go ahead Deltamon!" shouted the Emperor, "lunch time!"
In one step, Deltamon closed the gap between himself and Davis. The dinosaur leaned over to take a bite out of Davis. The youngest gogglehead could smell the enslaved digimon's breath (from all three heads). Deltamon opened his middle mouth widely and Davis started walking in.
Suddenly, a feral roar echoed across the canyon as George Helltower made his presence known.
"LEAVE THEM ALONE!"
Back in the computer lab, the four occupants gave a collective sigh of relief. During the tension, Mimi had, unknowingly, began clinging tightly to Izzy's arm.
"He made it!" gasped Tai.
"That was close," breathed Sora.
"Arm hurting!" said Izzy, whose arm was turning purple due to the lack of circulation.
"Oops," said Mimi blushing and letting go of Izzy's arm, "sorry about that Izzy!"
Izzy cleared his throat trying to maintain a calm exterior despite the fact that his insides had been experiencing a warm fuzzy feeling moments before, but something caught his eye on the screen. What was the Emperor doing?
Abandoning all senses of reason, the Emperor had sent Deltamon to attack George.
"Triplex Force!"
Three bluish purple beams of light gathered in Deltamon's three mouths. They met up in front of the middle head and fired straight at the oncoming Helltower.
In his fury, George just smashed right through the assault, and slammed into Deltamon's Dark Ring, shattering it into microscopic particles.
George didn't even slow down as he and Sobekmon fired blast after blast upon the Geckomon and Otamamon below, breaking their Dark Rings as well. They charged towards the captive Digidestined and, in moments, managed to free them, but they still didn't have their D3s.
His rage subsided, George flew up to the top of the cliff behind the Emperor.
The Warrior of Power casually shrugged off his trench coat, revealing the white sword underneath.
"It's over Ken," he said.
Tai returned to the computer lab with a bowl of popcorn. Now that the immediate danger was over, he figured he'd just sit back and watch the show.
"George versus the Emperor," he said grabbing a handful of the popcorn, "this should be good…"
"…"
The others were too busy staring at the screen to reply.
"W-w-wait," stammered Yolei, "did George just call the Emperor Ken?"
"Yes he did," said Cody, who had very astute hearing, especially when it came to things George might have 'neglected' to tell them.
"But, surely that doesn't mean," began Davis sorrowfully glancing at the Emperor's shin. Sure enough, the tyrant's pant leg was red with the blood from the gash Davis had given him earlier.
"It can and it does," said the Emperor grandly from above, "I am Ken Ichijouji, the boy genius."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" screamed both Davis and Yolei.
"Wow," said Tai, munching another handful of popcorn, "I knew that kid was too good to be true."
"And I knew that George was hiding something from us," said Sora, "he's known who the Emperor is since the beginning!"
"I'm sure there's a good reason he hasn't told us yet," said Mimi.
"He'd better hope so," said the redheaded girl smacking her fist into her other palm, "or he's gonna get it."
"Surrender Mr. Ichijouji," said George, "you never were a match for me."
"Perhaps not before," said Ken, "but the circle is now complete. When I last fought you I was just a learner; now I am the master."
"Only a master of evil Ken," said George smirking. (A/N: I still do not own Star Wars.)
Ken scowled, "it's about time for some changes around here!"
"This just keeps getting better and better," said Tai munching the popcorn enthusiastically.
"Shouldn't we…I don't know, maybe…go in there and help them?" asked Izzy.
"No," said Tai, "I'm pretty sure we'd just get in the way. Besides, this looks like it's going to be a good fight. Why spoil it?"
Izzy sighed; sometimes it wasn't easy being the only person who thought logically. Mimi noticed his sulking and patted him on the back.
The two combatants stared at each other in unwavering glares. The hostility emanating from the Digimon Emperor was unlike anything the Digidestined had ever seen.
"Well Ken," asked George, keeping his gaze level, "what's it gonna be?"
"You know as well as I do Helltower," came the reply, "there can be no going back now."
The former Warrior of Power sighed, "as you wish," he said.
As Ken's right hand shot for his whip, George's left hand withdrew his sword, and the two weapons collided midair. A slight smirk flashed across George's face.
"I see I taught you well," he said.
"NO!" shouted the Emperor, "what I learned, I learned on my own! You were never there for me, never willing to teach me anything, and certainly never looking out for my best interests. The one thing you taught me was that I can only trust myself."
The weapons collided again and again as Ken slashed his whip George blocked with his sword.
"Is that what you think?" asked the former mentor, "I always had your best interests in mind, and I certainly cared about your wellbeing."
"Bullshit!" spat the tyrant, "if that's true then why did you leave me to wander the Digital World alone for months before finally showing up?"
"…that was a mistake," came the reply.
The Emperor slashed his whip with more anger than ever as a fire as burning as Hell built up in his eyes.
"How could that have been a mistake? You were always perfect…so perfect in fact that you were trying to remake me in your own image. You smothered my very essence, my very being was at stake!" he retorted.
"It was for your own good," sighed George, and to himself he whispered, "to prevent something like this from ever occurring."
"MY OWN GOOD?" roared the Emperor, "now you've gone too far Helltower! How DARE you tell ME what's for MY own good!"
As the Emperor launched his next blow, he jumped off the rock on which he was standing. George barely had time to blink before the Emperor was upon him slashing and hacking with his whip. Although George managed to block every strike, it appeared that his determination to fight had been exhausted by the harsh truths of Ken's words…he, George Helltower, had given rise to the deadliest adversary the Digital World had yet encountered.
"You may have a point Ken, but enslaving Digimon is not the answer. Your quarrel is with me, and me alone. Don't drag everyone else into this!" said George.
"But master," scoffed the Emperor, "destroying your precious plaything was the only way I could get your attention. Honestly, is what I'm doing any different from what YOU were doing not so long ago?"
"How do you figure?" asked George.
"Think about it Helltower. You're revered as a deity in the world…all I'm trying to do is be just like you. Isn't that what you always wanted?" came the Emperor's retort.
George snarled as the flames of determination rekindled themselves within him. He no longer halfheartedly parried the Emperor's blows, but matched them with slashes of his own.
"You dare compare yourself to me? We're nothing alike! I became renowned in this world for my heroics and the protection of digimon. You are most well known for enslaving helpless digimon and massacring countless others!" he countered.
"You can call it what you will, but I will not rest until your presence is purged from this world and replaced with mine!" Ken replied.
The Digidestined's eyes widened as they came to a startling revelation.
"This is all just a game to you isn't it?" said George, having known it all along, "you don't believe that this world is real do you? The only thing you're worried about is winning the game, and to you that constitutes defeating me, the apparent ruler of this universe. Well, I've got news for you Ken Ichijouji! This world is real, and anything that happens to us here, has a direct effect on our bodies."
"So if I kill you here and now, I'll be rid of you forever?" inquired the demented Emperor, "good, all the more reason for me to show you no mercy."
"But to drag all these innocent digimon into this feud as well? You're massacring hundreds of living creatures and enslaving thousands more. Have you no shame?" asked Helltower, as he parried the Emperor's frantic onslaughts.
"I think you're just trying to trick me because you don't want to lose. Sure, this world is perfect for you. You're practically worshipped by the native creatures, you have powers beyond that of an ordinary human being, and you've practically had everything made for you these passed few years…until I showed up. It's natural for you to want to believe this world of yours is real, albeit slightly pathetic, because you created it to fit your specific needs. You're the god here, and I'll be damned if I'm going to stand by and let that happen!" replied Ichijouji.
"Believe me or not," said George, "either way, thousands of lives are at stake, and I can't afford to let you win."
"You have no right to stop me! It was your thoughtlessness that led me down this path in the first place!" spat the Emperor.
For a fraction of a second, George let his guard down as he processed this new information. In that moment, the Emperor let loose a slash with all the power he could muster. His whip collided with the side of George's head with a sickening "Crack" as the once mighty Warrior of Power fell before his former apprentice's feet, the Sword of Chaos slipping from his fingers and clattering to the ground.
The Emperor smirked at the sight. "That's right Helltower, grovel at my feet where you belong," he taunted.
The Digidestined recoiled as Ken Ichijouji, alias the Digimon Emperor, lifted his foot and smeared it across George's face.
"Oh how the mighty have fallen," laughed the tyrant, but his mirthful eyes quickly regained their anger as he started kicking and whipping Helltower's body as hard as he could.
"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" he repeated with every strike, and yet George did nothing to defend himself, his sword lay discarded a few feet away, yet within grasp.
"Come on George," yelled Sobekmon, "get up."
"Don't let this guy walk all over you!" shouted Yolei.
"What the hell are you doing man?" demanded Davis.
"…he's lost the will to fight," said Kari quietly.
"How do you figure?" asked Davis bewildered as always.
"Ken's remarks must have hurt him like no physical blow ever could," said Gatomon.
"Think about it this way," said TK, "if you had spent so much time trying to protect someone, and then found out that by your actions that person had become an evil threat poised to destroy the world you spent thousands of years protecting in an attempt to be like you, how would you feel?"
"Lousy," acknowledged Davis.
"But George didn't create the Digimon Emperor," said Cody sternly, "Ken Ichijouji did that by himself."
"That may be," said TK, "but George feels that if he acted differently, this whole scenario could have been avoided."
"Well, if George won't fight him, then I will!" exclaimed Davis, "ready Veemon?"
"Always ready Davis!" exclaimed the blue bipedal lizard.
"Stop!" shouted George, as Veemon and Davis began to charge at the Emperor. The duo stopped cold, and the Digidestined looked at the fallen warrior in shock as he glared at them.
"This is my fight, and I'll finish it myself!" exclaimed the warrior, as he began to rise.
This prompted the Emperor to whip him harder than ever, but it appeared as though George was beyond caring. The former Warrior of Power slowly stood, stopping only to grab his sword on the way up.
When at last he was fully standing, he held out his sword in an offensive stance. The Emperor, who moments before had been rejoicing in the fall of his greatest adversary, was looking at the beaten and somewhat bloody warrior with traces of fear in his eyes.
"Ken Ichijouji," sighed George sadly, "you have made your bed…now you must lie in it!"
As he said the last part, George swung the Sword of Chaos with all the strength remaining within him. All traces of fear gone, the Emperor countered with a slash of his whip…it would never be enough.
George's sword slashed through the whip like it was tissue paper. The sheer force of the blow knocked the Emperor to his knees, just as George delivered a powerful roundhouse kick which sent the fiend flying over the edge of the cliff…right onto an enslaved Airdramon.
As the Emperor flew away, he noticed his sunglasses were cracking. He smirked down at his former mentor.
"We'll call this one a draw!" he yelled, "but don't worry, I WILL be back again soon."
As he said this, his sunglasses broke completely, revealing, for the first time, Ken's icy blue eyes. There was no mercy there, only hatred, hatred for the one who had betrayed him and who had stolen all his glory.
Panting heavily, George stooped down to pick up the youngest Digidestined's D3s and minicomputers. He casually threw them back to their owners looking around at the somewhat hostile and confused faces.
"I can explain," he said.
Narrator: What is George's connection to the Digimon Emperor, and what will happen now that the Digidestined know of the Emperor's true identity? Find out next time on Digimon: Digital Monsters!
21: Well, well, well, so George is Ken's old mentor. Who could have seen that one coming?
Sponsor: Yeah, yeah, you're a genius, now let's get out of here shall we?
21: I apologize for this being a shorter episode (with a longer introduction) than usual, but since a lot happens I can [hopefully] be forgiven.
Sponsor: Fine, now let's go!
21: Very well, but since I don't have a car anymore, I'm going to have to borrow yours.
(21 runs off towards the parking lot with the Sponsor's keys)
Sponsor: Wait, what?
(The Sponsor sees his car being pulled out of the lot.)
Sponsor: COME BACK WITH MY CAR YOU JUVENILE DELINQUENT!