21: Hey, hey every peoples. As promised here is another update!
Sponsor: About time you lunkheads got back here! I've been stuck here since your last update!
George: You know, you'd think he'd be used to getting locked in the building by now.
21: Yeah, we've done it to him several times now.
George: Oh well, it can't be helped.
Sponsor: Can we please just get on with it?
21: Absolutely, we're just waiting on you...
Sponsor: Fine, the21stMartian doesn't own Digimon. Now let's get a move on. I've got to get home!
21: Very well. Without further ado, I present an interesting little number, and the latest addition to my ever expanding story namely...
Episode 11: The Living Skeleton
(Sora): "Last time, Gennai told us about the Demon Lords, and we traveled into the Realm of Darkness to confront Daemon, the Lord of Wrath, who was plotting to use Kari's Crest of Light in conjunction with his own Crest of Darkness to free Lucemon, another Demon Lord, from his eternal prison. Fortunately, at the last minute, Gatomon digivolved all the way to Ophanimon and defeated Daemon…I'm glad that adventure is over.
George sat in Gennai's living room, tinkering with his broken sunglasses. As he worked, he began to analyze the situation.
"Greymon is guarding eastern Driver. Birdramon is guarding the desert on western Server, while Kabuterimon is guarding Server's jungles in the northeast," said the Warrior of Power, thinking out loud, "Ikkakumon is guarding the northern tundra, Garurumon is guarding the area near Santa Geria, and Togamon is guarding the Central Jungle area located on Databank…but it isn't enough."
"Well," said Gennai, "what should we do about that?"
"I think it's time to pay a visit to an old friend," replied the fallen warrior, donning the repaired shades, "I'll make the arrangements."
The Digimon Emperor was watching the many monitors in his control room. On them were the six partners of the elder Odaiba Digidestined. While he was miffed that the Digidestined had managed to escape from the Realm of Darkness, he wasn't unduly concerned. After all, now that he was in the Digital World full time, he could easily overwhelm them, even with Helltower helping them.
"That old fool is washed up," mumbled the Emperor, "and once I begin my latest scheme, they'll all fall before my superior might!"
The Emperor pushed a button and all of the screens changed to display Greymon, who was stomping around the forest, watching out from Control Spires.
"You're first," he said smirking.
Upon returning home from their adventure, the Odaiba Digidestined returned to their respective homes. Thus, we find Izzy frantically typing at his laptop, trying to duplicate the events in the Realm of Darkness.
"We managed to negate the dampening effect in the Realm of Darkness," he muttered, "If I can figure out how, we can negate it in our Digital World."
The Lucky Leomon bar was almost literally a hole in the wall The bartender was a rough looking digimon known as Lohoclamon, a shady digimon who had run the establishment since it first opened in the year 2000A.D.D. Roachmon frequented the establishment, climbing the walls and scuttling around the floors, and yet it was one of the most popular taverns in the Digital World. Why? Because it served the best and most potent beverages in the entire world. Back during UltimateChaosmon's reign of terror, the bar would be frequented by soldiers of the Great Digital Army, usually to honor those who fell in battle against the former leader of the D-Brigade, an elite army of digimon who had fought alongside George and the other original Digidestined during the Great Digital War.
George himself was to be found somewhere in the bar almost every single day during that campaign, sitting apart from the soldiers and moping. This pattern continued until the army's general, who was a friend of George's, had come up to him and offered him a drink…the rest was history.
Lohoclamon looked up from cleaning the mugs as two individuals entered. The bartender was mildly surprised; it had been a while since these two had been there…not since the last anniversary of the defeat of UltimateChaosmon several hundred years ago. One of the individuals was a green digimon with an airfoil; the other was none other than George Helltower.
"It is agreeable to see you again Mr. Helltower," said the green digimon as the two took their seats in a shadowy booth, "although I can't understand why you wanted to meet here instead of New Lionheart City…"
"It's nice to see you again too, my old friend," replied George, "and I chose this venue because it has history, and, I can guarantee we won't be overheard here."
Lohoclamon sidled over to the two with their usual beverages of choice causing George to smile.
"It's been about 500 years and you still remember our usual drinks," he said, "you're getting a nice big tip tonight."
"Thank you sir," said the bartender digimon in a smooth tone, "you were my best customers after all…"
After their host had found his way back behind the counter, George and Fujinmon lifted their glasses in a toast.
"To old friends," said the green digimon somberly.
"Here, here," said George.
Having completed their usual ritual, and their first round of drinks, it was time to get down to business.
"So my friend," said Fujinmon, as the two continued their drinking, "what is it that I can do for you?"
"I need you to organize an army of digimon who are willing to fight the Emperor," said the fallen warrior, "as things stand, the new Digidestined are going to get overwhelmed by the Emperor sooner or later. It would be nice if they had backup."
Fujinmon took another large gulp, finishing his second beverage.
"I thought you were the backup?" he said.
"I'm not enough," said George also finishing his second beverage, "Ken's even draining me of power."
"He's draining everyone's power," corrected Fujinmon, "which could make organizing an army difficult."
"Ikkakumon managed it in the tundra," commented George, beginning his third drink.
"That was after the Control Spire had been knocked down," said the former general.
"So?" asked George, "the army could be used to defend areas that the Emperor hasn't taken hold of yet. That way, the Digidestined wouldn't have to spend energy defending those areas and could focus solely on offensive maneuvers."
"Makes sense," commented the general beginning to stare into space.
There followed several minutes of silence as the two old friends finished their third and forth beverages. Finally, shaking his head, Fujinmon broke the silence.
"No can do," he said, "it's impossible."
"Why?" pressed George, "you yourself said it makes sense!"
"Yes," acknowledged the former general, "but I can do nothing. I am an old mon…to old for fighting anymore."
"Nobody said you have to battle the Emperor yourself," said George, "there are other ways of fighting…remember the Dark Masters?"
"…what of them?" asked the green digimon.
"I very rarely actually engaged them in battle," said George, "with the exception of when they attempted to take over my home on Upload Island, and even then I didn't fight to win."
"Your point?" questioned Fujinmon.
George sighed.
"I mostly encouraged other digimon to fight against the tyranny of the Dark Masters and was the poster child of the Resistance," he explained, "I'd give motivational speeches, that's about it."
"Fine, but you still fought," protested the former general, "even if it wasn't very often."
"Alright," acknowledged George, "bad example…but remember during the Great Digital War, Andromon's task was to coordinate the battles. He himself never fought. He also did the same for the Battle of Tritania."
"True," mused Fujinmon, "but he was much younger than I am. I'm an old mon."
"All the more reason for you to lead," pressed George, "you have millennia of experience. Not many other digimon can say that…besides, I'm still fighting the good fight, and I'm almost as old as you."
The former general chuckled.
"Yes," he affirmed, "but you also age more gracefully than I do…you still look exactly like you did when you were 1000."
"Thanks," commented Helltower wryly, "but that's beside the point."
"Well it doesn't change the fact that I'm old and don't have as much clout with the higher-ups as some other potential candidates," remarked Fujinmon.
Helltower looked his old friend square in the eyes so that he could see the sincerity there.
"You are General Fujinmon of the Tritanian army," said the fallen warrior, "you have thousands of years of combat experience, which makes your opinion count more than anyone else's. I wouldn't trust anyone but you to lead an army against the Digimon Emperor…not even myself."
Bolstered by George's vote of absolute confidence (and likely by some of the beverages he had been consuming) Fujinmon finally agreed to George's idea.
"I'll present the idea to the higher ups tomorrow morning," he said, signaling Lohoclamon for a final round of drinks.
The bartender came over with the drinks already poured.
"Last call gentlemen," he said smoothly, handing over the potables.
George held up his glass.
"To my friend Fujinmon," he said, "no finer a digimon can be found anywhere on this planet."
The green digimon chuckled.
"I'll drink to that," he said, clinking his glass to George's.
The two old friends finished their final drinks, paid Lohoclamon (including the big tip George had promised), and stumbled their separate ways, Fujinmon to New Lionheart City, and George returning to his home on Upload Island.
The Emperor glided silently through the night on his Airdramon minions. His destination? Greymon's territory, more specifically the last known location of Tai Kamiya's partner. His purpose? …well, you'll see.
As silent as death, the Airdramon flew over the forest looking for the orange dinosaur. Eventually, they found him taking a nap near a stream.
"Well, well, well," said the Emperor, "I guess it's true what they say…you snooze, you lose."
The young tyrant pushed a button on his control panel, summoning a Dark Ring. Another click sent it flying towards the sleeping Greymon, who remained oblivious to the Emperor's presence.
George woke up feeling groggy, which was unusual for him. His hair was messy and sticking out at odd angles, his clothes were wrinkled and slightly stained, he smelled of alcohol, and his eyes were fairly bloodshot. (Not to mention his killer hangover.)
"Ugh," he said, "would someone get the license number of the truck that hit me?"
"Well, well, well," said Crocmon somewhat mockingly, "look what the Gatomon dragged in…what did you get up to last night?"
"I went out for drinks with Fujinmon," came the reply, "…you know how that goes."
"How many'd you have?" asked his partner, slightly concerned.
"Lost track after four," mumbled the fallen warrior, "and could you keep it down? Some of us have a headache."
"Well," replied Crocmon, "perhaps some of us should have considered the consequences of his actions last night before he developed said headache."
"Oh shut up," said George angrily, "I'll have you know I was meeting with Fujinmon on a professional basis!"
"I'll bet," scoffed the reptilian digimon.
"It's true!" exclaimed George, "I had an idea I wanted him to run with."
"Might I ask what this idea of yours was?" asked Crocmon skeptically.
"I suggested that Fujinmon gather an army of digimon in order to fight the Digimon Emperor," said George, "groups of digimon are fighting him now, but they're unorganized, so it's not doing much good. With an experienced digimon at the helm, a united digimon army can do some major damage to the Emperor's forces."
"Not a bad idea," acknowledged Crocmon, "but did you have to have so many drinks to suggest it?"
"It was easier to convince Fujinmon to lead the army when he's got a few shots in him," said George unapologetically, "besides, we always drink to honor our fallen comrades; you know that."
Crocmon sighed. He wasn't going to win this one.
"At least clean yourself off," he said, "you can't go around looking like that all day."
"Agreed," said George, as he picked up a towel and headed towards the shower.
Unfortunately, his towel accidentally clipped a nearby lamp causing it to crash loudly on the floor.
George's scream of pain echoed within his living quarters in Gargantuan Mountain.
Izzy was staring at the map on the computer and not liking it one bit.
"This can't be," he muttered as the younger Digidestined entered the computer lab.
"What's up Izzy?" asked Davis.
"Is something wrong?" asked Kari.
"Look at this!" exclaimed Izzy, pointing at the map, a good chunk of territory on eastern Driver had turned black.
"But," began Yolei, "wasn't Greymon guarding that area?"
"My thoughts exactly," said Izzy.
"So how'd the Emperor get passed him?" wondered Davis.
"It's obvious," said Cody, "the Emperor must have captured Greymon."
Kari's eyes widened.
"No," she whispered, "not Agumon…"
"That's ridiculous!" scoffed Davis, "Greymon's too tough to be captured by the Emperor!"
"Biyomon, Tentomon, Gabumon, Gomamon, and Palmon were also tough," said Cody, "but the Emperor managed to capture them easily enough…"
"But," began Davis.
"I happen to agree with Cody," said Izzy, "unfortunately it is the most logical answer to this conundrum…"
"Well?" asked Kari, "what're we waiting for? Let's go find Agumon and save him from the Emperor!"
"It's not that easy Kari," said Izzy, "we don't even know where Agumon is at this point."
"Well then find him!" exclaimed the Child of Light, "we have to save my brother's partner!"
"Easy Kari," said Gatomon, "you need to take a chill pill. We'll save Agumon, but rushing blindly ahead won't help."
Kari calmed down and smiled at her partner.
"You're right," she said, "thanks Gatomon!"
At that moment, Crocmon appeared on the screen.
"What's up Izzy?" asked the reptilian digimon, "you tried calling, but George wasn't awake yet."
"We've got a bit of a crisis," said the genius, "it would appear as though the Emperor has captured Greymon."
"You sure?" asked George who appeared in the background wearing his shades, holding a coffee, and wiping off his wet hair with a towel. (All in all, he was looking a lot better than he had before his shower and the caffeine was helping with his hangover.)
"Fairly certain," ascertained Izzy, "at the very least, the Emperor has captured all of the territory Greymon was protecting."
Throwing the towel aside, George rushed up to a nearby monitor. There followed several minutes of clicking as the fallen warrior pulled up the map program to confirm Izzy's statement.
"…that's not good," he said, taking a sip of his coffee.
"No shit!" shouted Davis from the other end, "now what're we gonna do about it?"
"Good morning to you too Mr. Motomiya," said George sarcastically.
"This is no time for your terrible sense of humor," said Kari, "we've got to rescue Greymon!"
"…and do we even know where Greymon is right now?" asked George.
"…no," acknowledged Kari, "but we should at least try to find him!"
"I'm working on that," said George, "I've got my surveillance cams up and running. If Greymon appears, I'll know about it."
"What do we do in the meantime?" asked Yolei, "can we still go Spire busting?"
"Certainly," said George, "I've got some stuff to take care of myself, but I may join you later. If I get a bead on Greymon, I'll let you know."
"Understood," said Cody stiffly.
"We'll be in touch!" said Crocmon as he signed off.
"Let's go kick the Emperor's ass!" shouted Davis enthusiastically.
"Yeah!" exclaimed DemiVeemon, jumping up and down.
"Where should we go?" asked Poromon.
"Why don't we try to take back some of Greymon's territory?" asked Izzy, "If the Emperor is still in that area, he'll likely show up and bring Greymon."
"Good idea Izzy!" exclaimed Patamon, "you're so smart!"
Sweatdropping, Izzy selected an area within Greymon's former territory and the younger Odaiba Digidestined held up their D3s. A flash of light later, they were gone.
"What do you think about the whole Greymon situation?" asked Crocmon after he had signed off communications with the other Digidestined.
"I think I talked to Fujinmon at the right time," replied George, "the Emperor is getting gutsier with his plans. It's likely he's going to target all of the Odaiba Digidestined's partners."
The fallen warrior walked away from the monitor that was running the scan for Greymon and over to another one.
"Fujinmon said he'd call around now," he said, "in fact, that's who I thought had called while I was in the shower."
"What do we do now?" asked the reptilian digimon.
"…we wait," replied George, "and pray."
The Digidestined found themselves on a scorched terrain. Nearby were several pools of lava and a sulfurous smell filled the air. A Control Spire loomed a few miles away.
"Let's blast that Spire!" exclaimed Davis.
He and Veemon charged towards the evil tower, but as they approached the nearest lava pit, several orange creatures emerged. They appeared to be made of pure flames which were in a humanoid shape. Their mouths were stitched, allowing them to only partially open them. Around their necks were Dark Rings, which caused their normally blue eyes to be blood red.
"What the hell?" swore Davis.
"Those are Meramon," drawled Armadillomon, "watch out for their Fireball attacks or they'll barbecue you like a well done steak…and now I'm hungry."
"Let's get 'em Veemon!" exclaimed Davis.
Promptly, Veemon armor digivolved into Flamedramon and launched an attack at the lead Meramon.
"Fire Rocket!"
The fire digimon smirked as his body absorbed the attack, causing him to grow bigger.
"You moron!" shouted Yolei, "even you can't be so stupid as to think you can actually beat fire with fire!"
"I'd like to see you do better smartass!" yelled Davis.
"With pleasure!" exclaimed Yolei, after which Hawkmon armor digivolved into Halsemon.
"Tempest Wing!"
The Meramon seemed to grow even larger as the gales caused by Halsemon's attack fanned their flame bodies.
Yolei looked aghast.
"Ha!" scoffed Davis, "who's the idiot now?"
As Yolei turned to yell at Davis some more, Cody stepped in.
"Fighting amongst ourselves is counter productive," said the 4th grader, "Digmon can take care of this."
In moments, the small armadillo was gone and Digmon had appeared.
"Rock Cracking!"
The ground underneath the Meramon broke apart as Digmon's attack caused the terrain to crumble. The controlled digimon fell into the pit of lava below them.
"Yeah!" exclaimed Davis, "it's over!"
But the gogglehead's celebrations were proved to be premature as the Meramon climbed out of the fiery pit, completely unscathed.
"Aww man!" he said sadly.
Back on Upload Island, George was finishing his coffee as he received a video call. The fallen warrior drained what was left of his caffeinated beverage, and picked up. Fujinmon appeared on the other end looking slightly worse for wear, but extremely happy.
"It's done!" he said, "the higher ups approved of your idea. I am now the Grand Marshal of the United Digital Forces."
"That's wonderful," exclaimed George, as a smile broke out on his face, "first good news I've heard all day."
"Unfortunately," continued the newly appointed Grand Marshal, "although we have a leader, we don't have very many men. Also, you should remember that we won't be finding too many Megas after the Dark Master's purge a few hundred years ago."
"How many men do you have at this point?" asked George.
"A few dozen ragtag soldiers," replied Fujinmon, "all of which are below Ultimate level."
"We've got our first crisis," said George, "it would appear as though the Emperor has capture Greymon, the partner of Tai Kamiya."
"…he has?" asked Fujinmon, "This is serious."
"Yeah," said George, "but there must be something else going on here. I feel like the Emperor has bigger plans than we know right now."
"What do we do?" asked Fujinmon.
"For now, you must gather more troops," replied George, "and prepare for the inevitable conflict with Greymon."
"Understood," said Fujinmon, "I'll start upping our recruitment."
"Good," said George preparing to sign off, "keep in touch!"
The green digimon nodded and the two friends signed off. At that moment, George glanced at his monitor that was displaying the results of his scan for Greymon.
The fallen warrior's eyes widened. He was heading straight for the other Digidestined!
"This is bad," said Kari, "we need to destroy that Spire!"
The Meramon were proving to be formidable opponents. Any time one of the armor digimon came close to damaging a Dark Ring, or any time one of the Meramon got hurt, all it would have to do was hide in one of the lava pits. The Dark Rings were, apparently, immune to the lava, and the lava healed the Meramon.
"If we can hurt all of them at once, we will have chance to knock down the Spire," said Cody, "then we won't have to fight anymore."
"Good idea," exclaimed Yolei, giving the 4th grader a 'thumbs up', "perfecto!"
"Just one problem," said TK, "there's too many of them!"
"He's right," agreed Kari, "even with Pegasusmon and Nefertimon we're still outnumbered."
"What do we do?" growled Davis.
Suddenly, the gogglehead's mini computer beeped, indicating that he got an email.
"George must have found Greymon!" exclaimed Kari as Davis pulled out his D-Terminal. A frown appeared on the gogglehead's face as he read George's message.
"What's wrong?" asked Cody.
"Greymon is heading in this direction," said Davis, "and the Emperor is with him."
"Great," said Yolei sarcastically, "just what we needed."
Sure enough, on the horizon, several Airdramon were seen approaching. They were lifting Tai's partner off the ground with them via several strong cables. On the head of the lead Airdramon was the Digimon Emperor, a confident smirk across his features.
"Greetings Digifools," scoffed the Emperor as his procession approached, "I'm very glad to see you."
"You are?" asked TK confusedly, as Cody raised an eyebrow.
Whatever the Emperor was planning, it wasn't good if he was actually happy to see the Digidestined.
"Yes," said the Emperor, "you see you shall be the guinea pigs in my latest experiment!"
"Give back Agumon you son of a bitch!" shouted Davis.
"I don't think he wants to come back," said the Emperor, "in fact, the instrument of your destruction shall be MetalGreymon."
"Metal what now?" asked Davis, as TK and Kari gasped.
The Emperor laughed as he held up his dark digivice.
"Greymon!" he shouted, "Dark Digivolve!"
A black bolt of lighting shot out of the Emperor's digivice and hit Greymon, who was then bathed in the black light. The wind picked up around Greymon, causing the cables that held the dinosaur to the Airdramon to snap, which sent the Airdramon flying. Greymon plummeted to the ground, still enveloped in the dark light.
"Greymon dark digivolve to—SkullGreymon!"
"What?" shouted the Emperor, "SkullGreymon?"
Instead of MetalGreymon, a massive skeletal dinosaur landed in front of the Digidestined. He was bigger than a tyrannosaurus and had an evil looking orange rocket on his back attached to his spinal cord.
"What the heck is that?" asked a frazzled Yolei.
"SkullGreymon," explained TK, "an Ultimate level digimon. His Dark Shot is more powerful than an atomic bomb…but at least it isn't radioactive."
"I thought he said MetalGreymon," said Cody.
"He did," said Kari sadly, "something must have gone wrong…poor Agumon!"
"Enough analyzing, let's get out of here!" shouted TK remembering Tai's screw up in the Server desert, "We're no match for that thing!"
"Fuck you!" said Davis, "we need to save Agumon!"
Roaring, SkullGreymon charged towards the Digidestined, who cringed at his approach. However, instead of attacking them, the skeletal dinosaur began destroying the Meramon. Although the fiery beasts tried to fight back, they were no match for the evil Ultimate, who punched through them, ripped them apart, or trampled them to death. Needless to say, the Emperor was not pleased.
"What the hell is going on here?" he shouted, "SkullGreymon obey me!"
In response, the skeletal dino began clawing at the enslaved Airdramon.
"Fine!" shouted the Emperor, "you wanna play rough? I'll give you rough!"
Blowing a whistle, the Emperor summoned several large black tyrannosaurus-like monsters with giant claws and bandages on their right hands.
"Behold my army of DarkTyrannomon!" shouted the Emperor, "a virus corrupted the data of the worthless Tyrannomon and transformed him into this fighting machine!"
As the DarkTyrannomon ganged up on SkullGreymon, the Digidestined remained transfixed at the awesome power displayed by such a fragile looking digimon. The corrupted digimon took down the DarkTyrannomon's assault as easily and instinctively as breathing. With all other adversaries eliminated, he turned to the five armor digimon.
Cody was completely immobilized in shock.
"H-he killed them all!" exclaimed the 4th grader, "Ken has transformed Agumon into a monster!"
As the demon stomped towards them, the Digidestined stood, powerless against such an opponent. The armor digimon moved in front of them.
"Move!" shouted Flamedramon.
"You're making a pretty big target," commented Pegasusmon.
Although the digimon encouraged them, the Digidestined just couldn't move. In one fell swipe, SkullGreymon slashed all five armor digimon causing all but Nefertimon and Pegasusmon to dedigivolve into their In-Training level (they dedigivolved into Gatomon and Patamon respectively), leaving the Digidestined defenseless.
"Dark Shot!"
The demon dragon's single missile sped towards the Digidestined, a harbinger of their demise.
Watching from far above the battlefield, the Emperor had a momentary grin. While it was true that SkullGreymon was out of his control, the Digibrats would still be defeated. He could easily work on controlling Ultimate and higher level digimon at his own leisure once the Digidestined were killed.
Suddenly, Ken noticed something unwelcome appearing on the edge of his vision, speeding towards the Digidestined from the opposite direction of the missile…George Helltower had arrived.
"YAAAAHHHH!"
The Digidestined heard a bizarre scream coming from behind them and barely had time to turn around when George flew over their heads towards the missile.
"Wha-?" began Yolei.
Kari's eyes widened.
"He's not…" she said breathlessly.
"He is," said TK, shaking his head sadly.
"What the hell are you two blabbering about?" asked Davis.
"George is going to intercept that missile," remarked Cody.
"But is he powerful enough to take an Ultimate's attack in his condition?" wondered TK.
"Too late for questioning," commented the 4th grader pointing, "It's done."
Having charged out of his control room as soon as he discovered Greymon's location, George had found that, indeed, the Emperor's scheme was more than it first seemed. Ken was now planning on controlling Ultimate level digimon. So far, it hadn't been a rip-roaring success, but George knew that Ken would figure it out sooner or later.
All these thoughts passed through his head as he charged headlong towards the incoming missile. His last thought before impact was, "I don't think this was such a good idea."
George collided with the missile at high speed, actually pushing the projectile backwards towards the Control Spire. Unfortunately, George knew that in order to redirect the attack, he'd have to hold on the entire time (since he could barely backhand a Champion level attack, there was no way he'd be able to backhand an Ultimate level attack). As such, the Warrior of Power was still holding onto the missile when it exploded near the Control Spire.
The resulting explosion toppled the evil tower and completely vaporized the nearby ground. At the epicenter of the explosion, a large crater had formed.
When the smoke cleared, it was revealed that George had fallen upside down into the crater. His head was buried under the ground, with the rest of his slightly charred body sticking out like a weird vegetable. His legs twitched a bit until he succumbed to unconsciousness.
Fortunately for the Digidestined, firing off his attack had drained the remainder of SkullGreymon's energy. The skeletal dragon was enveloped in a white light and dedigivolved all the way back to Agumon, who was caught midair by one of the Emperor's remaining Airdramon. The Emperor glanced at the crater and noticed that the Digidestined had managed to pull George out of the crater. The fallen warrior's head was bleeding like a bad poker player. It was clear by his pale complexion that George Helltower was not going to survive this one without severe medical attention.
"Hmph!" thought the Emperor, "it looks like it's up to me to save Helltower's sorry ass once again."
Ken Ichijouji hopped off his Airdramon, signaled for it to return to base, and walked over towards the Digidestined. Cody noticed his approach and immediately grabbed a broken shard of the Control Spire to use as a makeshift shinai.
"Don't come any closer!" he exclaimed.
"Can it short stuff!" said the Emperor, "I'm here to give you a hand."
"Why would you do that?" asked Cody suspiciously, "you want George to die."
The Emperor sighed.
"I do hate repeating myself," he said, "as I stated before, while it is true that I want Helltower to die, I myself want to be the cause. As such, I cannot afford to let him die until I can kill him personally."
"But…" began Cody.
"Look shorty," said the Emperor, "it's your choice. He'll die if he doesn't get help, and I'm willing to help."
"It's true," reasoned TK, "there's no use killing a man who's already dying…"
Cody stood aside.
"Very well," he said, "but if you betray us…"
"Don't worry," said the Emperor taking out a swath of cotton, "all I'm going to do is bandage his head wound. He's already lost a lot of blood, but since it's digital it should replicate relatively quickly once the bleeding is stopped…he told me that once. After that, it should be safe for you to take him back to that miserable planet you call home and get him proper medical attention."
Carefully, the Emperor wrapped the cotton around George's bloody head, cleaning the wounds as best he could along the way.
"Don't you dare die on me Helltower!" he whispered, "I'm not finished with you yet!"
George's left eye opened slightly.
"I wouldn't dare dream of it," he mumbled, and then passed out again.
"This is bad," said Izzy, who was again monitoring the situation from the real world, "I need to call Joe!"
Although Izzy knew that Joe was incapable of dealing with the severe wounds George had, he also knew that calling for an ambulance without a body being present was a bad idea. Thus he resolved to call Joe so that they could together determine the best course of action to take in this particular situation.
"I sure hope we can think of something," thought Izzy, "because it looks like George won't be thinking for quite a while…"
"There," said the Emperor, as he finished wrapping the last bandage, "it's not much, but it'll get him home."
"Good," said Cody, "and now that that business is taken care of, you're coming with us Ken."
"I'm afraid not little man," mocked the Emperor, "I have no intention of giving up my quest to conquer this planet. I may have hit a slight hitch, but it's nothing I can't deal with…mark my words, I'm not finished yet."
With that, before Cody could grab him, the Emperor teleported back into his home base.
"Damn!" he said, "he got away!"
"Don't worry about that right now Cody," said TK.
"…but Agumon," remarked the 4th grader.
"Can wait," finished Kari, "George on the other hand, cannot wait. He's got to be our priority now."
Solemnly, Cody agreed, and the Odaiba Digidestined began the difficult task of hauling the comatose George to the nearest DigiPort which, fortunately, wasn't that far away.
"Whew," said Davis, as they plunked down George's makeshift stretcher in front of the TV that housed the DigiPort, "all that's left now it to transport him through. It'll be easy as pie!"
"Hold it!" said Yolei, "remember when Tai was hurt? George had to stabilize the DigiPort so that Tai could pass through safely. Since George is in worse condition, it stands to reason that the portal must be stabilized this time too."
"Fine," said Davis sarcastically, "but who's going to do it? What do you know about stabilizing DigiPorts?"
"I can take care of this," said a voice from above.
The Digidestined looked up to see Sobekmon.
"About time you got here!" chastised Cody, "your partner is in grave peril."
The steel soldier looked fairly pale himself behind his armor, but he was hanging onto his energy by sheer willpower to help his partner.
Yanking off his armored gauntlets, Sobekmon manipulated the knobs on the TV carefully. Eventually, Izzy appeared on the screen looking crystal clear. It was almost as if the boy genius was there with them.
"Whoa!" exclaimed Davis, "that's some good reception!"
"The best," muttered Sobekmon, as he began to falter, "now hurry up and send George through, it won't remain stable for long, and I don't have the energy to stabilize it again."
"Right!" said Kari, holding up her D3 with one hand, and George's arm, which was holding his digivice, in the other, "DigiPort open!"
In a flash of light, the two disappeared. After a few moments, the others followed.
The Emperor sat in his control room and glanced at the screen displaying his experiment room. On the screen was a battered Agumon, Dark Ring still encircling his neck.
The Emperor looked at the diagnostics screens he had set up before the experiment. Everything was in perfect working condition; it was time to begin.
"Agumon digivolve!" shouted the Emperor.
"Agumon digivolve to—Greymon!"
The Emperor looked at his screens; everything was still fine. Time to take it up another notch.
"Greymon dark digivolve into MetalGreymon!" commanded the Emperor.
"Greymon dark digivolve to—SkullGreymon!"
Once again, the skeletal dinosaur appeared instead of MetalGreymon, and, once again, it began breaking everything in sight. SkullGreymon launched several missiles at the ceiling, causing a chunk of it to crumble. The evil digimon then attempted to escape through the hole it had just created, but was fried by an electrical firewall set up by the Emperor.
"Whew," said Ken, "that was close."
The Emperor looked at his diagnostics screen again and realized that his Dark Ring was being overpowered.
"So that's what's happening," he said, "very well, then it's just a matter of making the Dark Ring more powerful."
George awakened in an unknown location. He was lying in a soft and comfortable bed, with extra support around his head. There was a remote just within reach of his right hand, (as his left arm was at the receiving end of an IV unit) and a nightstand next to the bed. On the nightstand were 'get well' cards, George's sunglasses, and a vase of flowers. On the other side of the bed was a plushy arm chair along with a little table. On the wall opposite the bed, was a large television.
"Ah, so you're awake," said a nearby feminine voice.
The fallen warrior tried to sit up to see who was talking, but he sat up too quickly, got very dizzy, and fell backwards again.
"Easy," said the voice, "you took a severe blow to your noggin. You need to be a little more careful or your wounds will open again."
Slowly and carefully this time, George tried to sit up again; the room's other occupant, who turned out to be a nurse, helped him. George fumbled around for a moment before finding his sunglasses and putting them on.
"There now," she said, "how are you feeling?"
"Positively famished," said Helltower, "how long have I been incapacitated?"
"A few days now," replied the nurse, "I'll send for some dinner, but in the meantime, I believe you have some visitors."
"Much obliged," said George, as the nurse left.
Shortly thereafter, the older Odaiba Digidestined entered along with a doctor and a blue eyed, brunette woman who appeared to be George's [human] age. The woman was wearing jeans and a black T-Shirt with a picture of one of George's virtual reality game systems on the front and the words "Helltower Corporation: Games of the Future" written above it in gold. On the back, also in gold was emblazoned "Vice President Terazez." Her hair was tied back in a ponytail, and she was wearing a black baseball cap with a 'HC' written on it. She was carrying a very fancy black purse.
"See?" Tai was saying, "I told you he'd be fine!"
"Ah," said George happily, "greetings and felicitations my friends! I apologize for not being able to stand to greet you all properly, but I appear to be slightly worse for wear."
"Does he normally act like this?" whispered the doctor to the brunette.
"Not usually," she replied, "but then again, he isn't usually very normal either."
"Still," whispered the doctor, "we have to consider that there may have been some brain damage as a result of his injury."
"Are you feeling alright George?" asked the brunette.
"I feel splendid," replied George amiably, "chipper and ready to depart forthwith!"
"Huh?" asked Tai, "why are you talking funny George?"
"George," said the brunette, "do you remember who we are?"
"Certainly," said George looking a little confused, "you are Lady Hannah, and they are Lady Sora, Lady Mimi, Sir Taichi, Sir Yamato, Sir Koushiro, and Sir Jyou."
"Do you know who you are?" prompted Hannah.
"I am Lord George Samuel Helltower Esquire," replied George proudly, "gentleman extraordinaire."
The Digidestined and doctor looked a little confused.
"Is there some issue with my response?" asked Lord Helltower.
"Not at all," said Hannah reassuringly, "but I think you're going to need a lot of rest."
"Wherefore do I require rest?" asked the gentleman, "I feel absolutely dandy!"
Lucky for Hannah, George's dinner arrived, and he was distracted before she could answer.
"Excellent," he said, "I could use a good tuck in!"
As George began to carefully and tidily eat the provided food, the Odaiba Digidestined gathered around Hannah and the doctor.
"What's the matter with him?" asked Matt, "he's not acting like himself."
"Could you describe some of the oddities please?" asked the doctor.
"For one thing, he's not freaking out about being here," began Matt.
"He's kinda got a 'thing' about doctors," explained Mimi, as the doctor looked confused.
"For another," continued Sora, "George usually is a very sloppy eater."
"Not to mention the funny way he's talking," added Tai.
"Yes," agreed Izzy, "his behavior has been most peculiar since he woke up."
"Well Joe," asked the doctor, "what do you think?"
"I think that the concussion resulted in some brain damage, father," replied Joe.
"Excellent deduction Joe," said Dr. Kido, "I'm going to go take another look at Mr. Helltower's X-rays and see if I can't figure out what's causing him to behave this way."
"Good luck," whispered Hannah as the doctor walked out, "people have been trying to figure out what makes George tick for a long time now."
After Dr. Kido departed, Hannah glanced around suspiciously. As soon as she was sure the coast was clear, she walked over to George's bedside, where he was just finishing his meal.
"Is there something I might help you with my lady?" asked George.
Hannah reached into her purse.
"When I heard about your accident, I flew here as soon as I could," she said, "I took the company jet, and snuck you something from its cooler."
"The company jet?" inquired George, "do I have some famous relative who peddles digitized gaming mechanisms? Is that the 'Helltower Corporation' referred to on your attire?"
"Ummm," said Sora, "you're the Helltower being referred to in 'Helltower Corporation.'"
"Pish-posh!" exclaimed George defiantly, "a gentleman such as myself has no use for such childish devices. I prefer to read the Classics like Shakespeare and Tolstoy myself."
"Anyways," continued Hannah, "I smuggled you a beer!"
Hannah pulled out the bottle from her purse and offered it to George, who looked disgusted.
"A gentleman of my distinction does not drink such low class potables," he stated, "only the finest Gin shall ever touch these lips!"
There was a good five minute of shock resulting from George's refusal.
Finally, Tai broke the silence.
"Wow," exclaimed the gogglehead, "there must have been more brain damage than we thought if George is turning down beers."
"Hmph," said Matt, "you can't damage what was never there to begin with."
Meanwhile, George had begun climbing out of his bed. Nobody noticed until he was standing among them, leaning on the wall for support.
"What are you doing?" demanded Hannah, "you shouldn't be standing!"
"Ridiculous," said George, "now that I am fed, I am ready to depart forthwith."
"But," began Hannah.
"There is much work to do," said Gentleman George, "that vile fiend the Emperor has had several days to complete and refine his villainous plans."
The Digimon Emperor in question had, in fact, spent the last few days attempting to improve his Dark Rings. So far, however, he wasn't having much luck. There was only so much power the ring could withstand, no matter how thick or wide it was. Having not had a decent night's sleep since SkullGreymon's treachery, the Emperor's thought process was becoming a little frayed, but he came to a realization.
"The ring shape is now useless to me. Its limitations are a hindrance to my plans," he said to nobody in particular, "Therefore, I must try a new shape…"
Meanwhile, Wormmon was watching the developments sadly.
"Oh Ken," he thought, "Why don't you let me help test your Dark Rings?"
Wormmon also had a realization of his own. If Agumon was gone, then Ken would have no choice but to use him as a test subject. The insectoid digimon scuttled off towards the cell that Agumon had been dumped into.
George stared at the clothes in front of him in dismay. A ratty T-shirt and torn blue jeans were no way for a gentleman to dress.
"Preposterous!" he declared, "These cannot possibly be my attire. A gentleman would never wear such garments!"
"Well these are the clothes you were brought here in," replied the confused nurse.
As George continued to argue with the nurse, Dr. Kido and Hannah were conversing.
"Are you sure it's a good idea for him to leave?" asked the doctor.
"No," replied Hannah honestly, "but once he's made up his mind, that's it. He has to get his way. That much about him hasn't changed."
Dr. Kido sighed.
"You're sure he doesn't remember being the CEO of Helltower Corporation?" he asked.
"Yes," said Hannah, "he's probably blocking that particular fact because it contradicts his view of himself…"
"This isn't good," said the doctor placing his hand on his chin, "I'll keep looking for ways to reverse the damage. In the meantime, make sure he wears a helmet or something to protect what's left of his mind."
"Alright," said Hannah, "I'll also send a scan of his X-rays to his doctors in the States. You can work with them on this one since it's in everyone's best interests to return him to normal…or at least normal for him."
Dr. Kido nodded, and went to procure a wheelchair for George's departure.
Meanwhile, having changed into the T-shirt and jeans (since he was threatened with not being able to leave if he didn't comply) George was staring at himself in the bathroom mirror in disdain.
"I look positively ridiculous," he said, "the first action I am going to take upon my release will be to procure some suitable attire."
"I think you look fine," said Hannah, "but you will need to change clothes…these are a little worse for wear."
The Digidestined had expected resistance when the wheelchair arrived. However, George happily sat in it and smiled merrily.
"Tally ho!" he yelled, as Hannah began pushing him out the door and to freedom.
Wormmon arrived at Agumon's cell. The orange dinosaur was sleeping when Wormmon entered. Quickly, Ken's partner broke the Dark Ring (which had been severely weakened due to the overloading). Agumon woke up, his normal self once again.
"Go now," said Wormmon, "I've freed you!"
"But why?" asked Agumon, a little confused.
"I'm Ken's partner," said Wormmon, "Ken should try his experiments on me and no one else."
"I understand," said Agumon, "thanks."
With that, the orange dinosaur ran off to freedom.
"Hmmmm," said Gentleman George, who was now attired in a high collared white dress shirt, a suit vest and tie, matching suit pants, black dress boots and a pair of white riding gloves, "decisions, decisions."
Having dragged his escort to a fancy clothing store upon his release, Lord Helltower was now looking for a hat. In front of him were a feathered black fedora and a top hat.
"The top hat is reminiscent of Abraham Lincoln, a true gentleman, but the fedora goes better with my attire," he mused, "what ever shall I do?"
"Well what ever he's going to do I wish he'd be quick about it," grumbled Matt, "this is getting really annoying."
Eventually, George decided that the fedora would be better after all. As he began to place it atop his head, Hannah requested that he pad the inside with soft cotton.
"What ever for?" asked George, "That would look utterly ridiculous."
"Your head is still recovering from your injuries," explained Hannah, "the padding is for protection."
As George continued to look mutinous, Hannah decided to play her trump card.
"A true gentleman never turns down the request of a fair lady," she said pouting.
"Very well my lady," said George, "for you I shall protect my noggin, although I assure you it is perfectly fine."
"Yeah right," muttered Tai.
"Hmmm," said Sora, "you know Tai, you could learn a thing or two from Lord Helltower."
"What?" asked Tai, more than a little shocked.
"He knows how to treat the ladies," replied his girlfriend.
"But he's brain damaged," protested Tai desperately.
"That doesn't change the fact that he's quite capable of handling the ladies," muttered Izzy glancing towards Mimi, "perhaps we could learn something from him…"
"Not you too Izzy," said Tai incredulously.
"Wha- wait you actually heard that?" asked Izzy, blushing, "That was supposed to be internal dialogue."
"Relax," teased Sora, "we won't tell anyone."
By now, George had placed the padded fedora atop his defective noggin, and was moving on to accessories.
"Argh!" exclaimed Matt, "how long will this take?"
"One must always properly accessorize," explained the now dapper gentleman, "am I right?"
"Totally!" agreed Mimi enthusiastically.
The Pink Princess was quite enjoying this little foray into the dapper department and had also purchased a few new ensembles for herself.
"I thought we were in a rush to return to the Digital World," muttered Matt.
"Tut tut!" exclaimed George, "one must never rush into a duel without being properly attired. That would be unbecoming of a gentleman."
George purchased a gold pocket watch, a set of cufflinks, a black belt, an aristocratic walking stick, and a personalized handkerchief and proceeded into eyewear.
"These sunglasses are far too unsophisticated for my tastes," he said, "I must find something a little more suitable."
After some discussion with the shop attendant, George purchased a monocle, which he placed over his left eye. Having thus completed his ensemble, George and his escort proceeded toward the middle school to rendezvous with the younger Odaiba Digidestined.
"At last!" thought the Emperor, "my new invention is almost complete!"
On one of the Emperor's monitors he was forming a modified version of the Dark Ring, but this model wasn't a ring anymore.
"Behold," said the Emperor, as he put the finishing touches on the contraption and pushed 'Create', "the Dark Spiral! It is infinitely more powerful than the Dark Ring, and it has a few more bells and whistles too."
As the Emperor glanced at his surveillance cams to find Agumon, he was shocked to find that the orange dinosaur had escaped.
"Wormmon!" he shouted.
The green digimon scuttled into the control room.
"You called Master?" he asked.
"Why didn't you tell me that Agumon had escaped?" he shouted, "this is serious!"
"Good," said Ken's partner, "because what I have to tell you is serious as well."
"Go on," said the Emperor.
"I want you to test your Dark Spiral on me," said Wormmon.
"What?" demanded the Emperor, "Are you insane? Why would I use a pathetic weakling like you?"
"I'm a digimon too," persisted Wormmon, "I can digivolve just as much as any other digimon."
"What would you digivolve into?" scoffed the Emperor, "some kind of weird butterfly with scary wings? Hmph! I'm going to find Agumon. He's a useful digimon!"
The Emperor stomped out of his control room, kicking Wormmon on his way out.
The younger Odaiba Digidestined were in the computer lab on Izzy's favorite computer when Gentleman George and his entourage arrived. They were engrossed in a conversation with Crocmon, who had just located the newly freed Agumon in a place called Rail Town, which had formerly been part of the rail yard in the Factory Metropolis where the Martian Digidestined had faced GranLocomon. As such, they didn't notice that anything was out of place until George brought attention to himself.
"Tally pip!" he exclaimed, causing the younger Digidestined to turn around.
"Hey it's George!" exclaimed Yolei.
"What the hell happened to you?" asked Davis suspiciously.
"Watch your tongue young Daisuke," said the gentleman, rapping him on the head with his cane, "that's no way to address a gentleman!"
"Brain damage," mouthed Tai behind George, causing the others to nod in understanding.
George wandered over to the computer, where he spotted his old chum, Crocmon.
"Crocmon old chap!" he exclaimed happily, "how nice to see you again!"
"Hi George," said Crocmon, a little confused, but happy to see his partner back on his feet, "I'm glad you're feeling alright."
It was then that Crocmon noticed the brunette who was hanging out near George's shoulder.
"Hey Hannah," said the reptilian digimon smiling widely, "I see you got my message."
"Much obliged Crocmon," said Hannah, "it was good of you to tell me about the accident."
As Hannah and Crocmon caught up, Joe was explaining the situation to the younger Digidestined.
"…so my dad thinks that George hit his head hard enough to cause brain damage," he concluded, "he's working with George's personal doctors in the US to find a way to reverse the damage."
"I know how to fix the damage!" said Davis, "if a hit on the head caused the problem, then a hit on the head will solve the problem!"
"Great idea Davis!" said Tai enthusiastically.
"That's absolutely ridiculous!" said Izzy, "there is absolutely no way that idea could possibly work! Hitting George on the head will only make things worse."
"Awwww," complained the goggleheads.
"Pardon me," said Yolei, poking Hannah in the shoulder, "but who are you?"
Hannah laughed.
"I forgot," she said, "we haven't been introduced yet. I'm Hannah Terazez, one of the original five Digidestined."
"It's nice to meet you," said Cody, holding out his hand. Of all the Digidestined, Cody was the only one who believed that the brain damaged Gentleman George was a vast improvement over the original version.
Tai was getting impatient.
"You said you found Agumon?" he asked.
"Yes," said Crocmon, "he's in Rail Town, not far from where I am now. Unfortunately, Rail Town is under the Emperor's control."
"Then let's go!" exclaimed the older gogglehead.
"I concur," said George, "we must rescue Agumon before he is captured again by the villainous Emperor!"
"I'd better stay here just in case my dad calls," said Joe.
"Right," said Izzy, "and I'll stay here to keep an eye on you guys as usual."
"I'd better bring these clothes back to Sora's house," said Mimi cheerfully.
"Then I guess I'd better go with you," sighed Sora.
George was getting impatient.
"Enough dilly-dallying!" he declared, "let us depart post haste!"
With that, the dapper gentleman raised his digivice and was sucked into the Digital World. Tai, Hannah, Matt, and the younger Odaiba Digidestined followed suit.
Weakened to the point of exhaustion by the Emperor's experiments, Agumon clambered onto the single train on the edge of Rail Town, not knowing that the Emperor and his sinister agents were hot on his tail.
Having arrived in the Digital World, George promptly began marching towards Rail Town.
"Uh," said Davis cautiously, "wouldn't it be faster if we flew to Rail Town?"
"And how, pray tell, do you suggest we perform that feat?" asked George.
Crocmon sighed.
"Allow me," he said, as TK, Kari, and Yolei had their partners armor digivolve.
Soon, Gentleman George's eyes widened and a cry of "I can fly?" was heard by all.
Kari and Tai climbed aboard Nefertimon, TK and Matt boarded Pegasusmon, Yolei and Cody were on Halsemon, but Davis was standing awkwardly on his own.
"Fear not little Motomiya!" exclaimed Lord Helltower, "Sobekmon shall carry you!"
The mechanized warrior picked up the younger gogglehead and slung him over his shoulder.
"What about me?" asked Hannah.
"I shall personally carry you my lady," said Gentleman George, "and, as a gentleman, I can assure you that nothing untoward shall occur while I am ferrying you to our destination."
Kari couldn't tell if it was just a trick of the light, but Hannah almost seemed unhappy about that last statement. Nonetheless, she allowed herself to be picked up by the dapper gentleman, and he led the bizarre procession towards Rail Town.
"We're almost there," said the Emperor, "soon Agumon will be back under my control where he belongs!"
"There's Rail Town!" exclaimed Sobekmon, "according to my scanners, Agumon is about five miles south-southwest."
The procession landed by a nearby rail cart.
"We must make haste," said George, "I sense evil not far from our current location."
"That's ridiculous!" exclaimed Davis, "nobody can sense evil!"
"Pip pip!" shouted George bopping Davis upside the head with his cane, "never question a gentleman's intuition!"
"Ouch!" complained Davis, "that really hurt!"
He quickly realized that nobody was paying attention to him as they were all climbing aboard the nearby train.
"Tally ho!" shouted George, flipping the ignition with his cane.
The train shot forward at a very high speed.
Soon, they saw another train, this one going north along a different track, and behind the wheel was…Agumon!
"Agumon!" shouted Tai, waving frantically.
"Tai!" shouted Agumon, slowing his train down.
"Whoa!" shouted George, turning off their own train suddenly and causing everybody but himself to flip out of it.
Tai immediately picked himself up and ran towards Agumon, who jumped out of his train and jumped into his partner's arms.
"Wow," said Tai, "don't take this the wrong way, but you look awful."
"Gee thanks," said Agumon sarcastically.
Tai flipped Agumon onto his back piggy-back style and they began walking back to their train, where Gentleman George was waiting with a big smile.
"Jolly good to see you again old chap," he said when Tai and Agumon boarded the train.
"What's his deal?" whispered Agumon.
"He took a little hit to his head," replied Tai, also whispering. He neglected, however, to state that it was SkullGreymon who gave him the 'little hit'.
Suddenly, George frowned and dive tackled everybody onto the train's floor.
"Damn it!" shouted Davis, "what the hell was that for?"
A giant blast of wind blew over the top of the train, nearly causing it to tip on its side.
"Does that answer your query?" asked the gentleman, "it would appear as though our adversary has located us."
"Well he's not taking Agumon again!" said Tai defiantly.
"Quite," said George, jumping out of the train and running towards the Emperor's Airdramon squad.
"Well, well, well," said the Emperor, "look who is back from the dead…what's with that ridiculous outfit you're wearing?"
"You villainous cur," snarled Lord Helltower, "You have incarcerated digimon for the last time!"
Looking confused, the Emperor glanced back at the Digidestined's train.
"Hey!" he shouted, "what's wrong with Helltower? He's acting stranger than usual."
"Brain damage," called back Veemon, "whatever that means…"
"I'll have you know my brain is in fine working order!" said George defiantly.
"Well?" asked TK from within the train, "we can't let George face the Emperor alone."
"Right!" said Kari.
(A/N: Long story short, all of the younger Odaiba Digidestined's digimon, and Crocmon armor digivolved.)
"Wow," said Hannah, "that armor digivolution really is as impressive as I thought."
"Have at thee!" shouted George, brandishing his fancy walking stick.
As the armor digimon charged, the other Airdramon moved in to protect the lead Airdramon on whose head the Emperor was standing.
"Gentleman Jump!" shouted George, jumping high into the air.
Catching the Emperor by surprise, the dapper gentleman swiped his walking stick at him, while he was on the Airdramon's head. The Emperor lost his balance and fell off the Airdramon, but he landed safely on the ground below.
Meanwhile, George landed not far away. He pulled off his white riding gloves and stomped over to the Emperor.
George smacked the Emperor's face with his gloves.
"I challenge you to a duel!" he declared.
"WHAT THE HELL'S THE MATTER WITH YOU?" shouted the Emperor.
"Afraid to engage in fisticuffs with me?" taunted George.
"Never," said the Emperor, putting up his dukes.
"Splendid," said George, "I shall beat the tar out of you."
Meanwhile the armor digimon were making quick work of the Airdramon. Unfortunately, one of the Airdramon had slunk away as soon as the fighting had begun. This particular Airdramon snuck up on the Digidestined's train and knocked it over with its tail. The Digidestined spilled out of the train, and Agumon rolled right into the middle of the battlefield.
"Agumon no!" shouted Tai, who ran towards the orange dino, but was dive tackled by Matt as an Airdramon's attack neared decapitated him.
"Be careful Tai!" shouted Matt.
"Thanks Matt," said Tai, "I owe you one."
"Gentleman Punch!" shouted George, landing a blow right between Ken's eyes. The Emperor staggered for a little. Somehow, despite being brain damaged, George was actually managing to defeat him.
"Alright," thought the Emperor, "time to cheat."
Quickly, the Emperor withdrew his whip and lashed it at George. The dapper gentleman yawned as he picked up his cane and twirled the whip around it, drawing Ken closer.
"Gentleman Kick!"
George delivered a powerful kick to the Emperor's chin, sending the fiend flying backwards and onto his rump.
"Tisk, tisk Kenneth," said the gentleman, wagging his finger, "what have I told you about cheating?"
The Emperor growled, but then realized that Agumon was nearby, he reached into his cloak and pulled out a tiny black spiral. One push of a button caused the spiral to grow until it was roughly the same diameter as the Dark Rings.
"Hey Agumon!" shouted the Emperor, throwing the Dark Spiral, "I've got a new friendship bracelet for you!"
"What?" asked the confused Agumon, as the Spiral latched onto his arm.
"Agumon!" shouted Tai, running towards his partner.
Agumon looked up; his eyes were blood red once again. He launched a fireball at Tai, who was rescued by Hannah.
"You fiend!" shouted George, "your quarrel was with me!"
"That might be," said the Emperor, "but now it's all over…for you that is!"
The corrupted Digidestined pulled out his dark digivice.
"Agumon dark digivolve!" he shouted.
"Agumon dark digivolve to—MetalGreymon!"
Skipping a level, Agumon digivolved all the way to his Ultimate level, but this wasn't the MetalGreymon the Odaiba Digidestined were familiar with. Instead of his usual orange skin, this MetalGreymon had blue skin. His right arm was bionic and ended in a three clawed hand. His helmet and lower jaw joints were metallic and he had a metal chest plate. There were metallic components on his tail and legs, and red hair stuck out of his helmet. Finally, there was a pair of tattered metallic wings growing out of his back.
"What the hell is that thing?" asked Davis.
"MetalGreymon," replied Tai, looking scared, "an Ultimate level digimon. His Giga Blaster and Metal Claw attacks are forces to be reckoned with…I would know."
"MetalGreymon," said the Emperor, "I believe it's time to bid farewell to our friends."
The cyborg dinosaur roared, and stomped towards the armor digimon. As they prepared to attack MetalGreymon, Tai got in the way.
"Hold it!" he shouted, "we can't risk hurting Agumon!"
The momentary hesitation was all the tyrant needed.
"Attack MetalGreymon!" he shouted.
"Giga Blaster!"
Two strange grey missiles launch from MetalGreymon's chest plate. They erupt amidst the armor digimon causing them all to dedigivolve.
Laughing, the Emperor climbed onto MetalGreymon's head and began to fly away.
"There's just one flaw with your plan!" called George, who was standing next to the Control Spire.
The dapper gentleman poked the evil tower with his cane, causing it to fall over. Unfortunately, MetalGreymon was still too close to the Emperor for that to have disrupted the power of the Dark Spiral.
The Emperor stuck his tongue out.
"Looks like I win again George," he shouted, laughing maniacally.
"Curses," muttered George, "wrapped in thin aluminum sheets again!"
The other Digidestined looked at him funny.
"Wrapped in thin aluminum sheets. Foiled," said George, and then sighed when nobody understood, "I see my riposte leaves something to be desired."
Meanwhile, Tai was sulking nearby.
"It's all my fault," he said, "if I hadn't hesitated, we could have saved MetalGreymon."
Matt walked over to Tai.
"Tai," he said, punching the gogglehead, who fell to the ground.
"What the hell?" shouted Davis, "Why'd you do that?"
"Tai," said Matt, extending his hand.
"Thanks Matt," said Tai, taking his best friend's hand, "I needed that."
The older gogglehead brushed himself off and then made an announcement.
"Alright everybody, listen up!" he said, "in the future when we're facing the Digimon Emperor it's likely we'll have to face MetalGreymon again. If so, you must go at him with full force. I know Agumon would rather be defeated by us than remain a slave of the Emperor."
"Could you say that in smaller words?" said Veemon.
"Allow me," said Gatomon, "the next time you see MetalGreymon, pummel him into next week understood?"
"Yeah!" shouted the other digimon.
"Let us proceed posthaste!" declared George, "MetalGreymon is waiting for us to rescue him!"
The Emperor was flying away from Rail Town at high speed on MetalGreymon's head. He had his first major victory and it would cost the Digidestined dearly.
"Still," he thought, "if I'm to initiate the rest of my plan I will need to make further modifications to my Dark Spiral. I can't afford to let it become deactivated just because the Control Spire in the area is destroyed…"
"Let's go MetalGreymon!" shouted the Emperor, "we have a whole world to conquer!"
The cyborg dinosaur growled menacingly in response.
Narrator: What is the Emperor's plan? Will the Digidestined be able to save Agumon from his evil clutches, and will George's brain damage ever be reversed? All this and more on the next Digimon: Digital Monsters!
21: Ta da! What a plot twist!
Sponsor: You gave your own character brain damage? I'm actually inclined to agree with Matt here, it's just not possible to damage something that never existed in the first place.
The Sponsor gets bopped on the head by Gentleman George's cane.
GG: Perhap you were never informed that it is rude to make disparaging remarks about someone else's intelligence. Especially when you are lacking in that department more so than the person you are insulting.
Sponsor: WHAT THE HELL'S GOING ON HERE?
GG: I'd love to continue this sparring contest of wits, but it is nearly my tea time, so I must be off!
A horse and carriage pulls up to the front door and Gentleman George gets in.
GG: Tally Ho!
21: Well, I think that's enough shenanigans for now. I should be back soon. Cheers!
21 leaves and the Sponsor rushes out before he can be locked in again.