A/N: What do you think about my fight scenes? Like Killua vs The Emperor, or the two fights against Blademon? Leave me a review.
A few days passed after receiving Wizardmon's warning, the kids had started to dedicate their efforts in locating the Emperor. Whatever he was planning, wasn't anything good, they needed to figure it out and stop it before it even starts.
The older group and their partners also joined on the search, teaming up with their younger counterparts, they scattered across different sectors to find a clue that would guide them on the right direction. A clue that will reveal where the Emperor has been keeping an eye on his operations. Meanwhile, Gatomon has also being dedicating her efforts in finding Wizardmon. Feeling the need to make sure her friend was safe and sound.
And so... On a rocky formation, they finally hit the mark.
Cody was struggling to keep up with Izzy and the two Digimon as they climbed through a really rocky hill, that had trolley carts sticking out from it, something actually common on the Digital World. He stretched his small arms forward to grasp the next rock, only for it to break and almost make him fall. "Ah!"
Luckily, Izzy grabbed him in time. "Hang tight Cody, we're almost there."
"R-right..." The younger boy said as Izzy helped him get on top of one of the trolleys' roof.
Tentomon fluttered down to their level. "Guys, I think we are on to something!" He informed.
The group managed to reach the top of the hill, and what they found made them gasp. A whole field covered by Control Towers and a strange building in the middle of it all.
"Dear God..." Izzy mumbled, as he warched the field. Never has any zone possessed so many of them at the same time. It was usually just one per zone.
"This has to give us a clue... Right?" Cody wondered out loud. His eyes widened when he saw a group of Tuskmon get out of the forest, charging to attack the towers.
To their surprise, the side of the structure in the middle of the field started opening, and from there various Kuwagamon and DarkTyrannomon came out of it, all of them possessing a Dark Spiral attached to their arms.
The two armies charged against the other, with the army of Tuskmon's quickly losing advantage. The possessed Digimon didn't even seemed to be willing to take them prisoners, they were bitting on their necks and stomping them when they were down—They were ready to kill the Tuskmon.
"This is awful..." Cody said, gritting his teeth at the massacre.
Armadillomon narrowed his eyes. "Those big guys came out of that building. Something smells fishy about this..."
"I bet that structure could be the Digimon Emperor's base," Izzy mused.
One of the DarkTyrannomon pushed his opponent away and turned to the hill where the group of four were watching. Its read eyes narrowing before letting out a roar that rang across the field.
"They've spotted us!" Tentomon gasped and turned to his partner. "Izzy, quick!"
"I can't..." The red-head said as he looked at his Digivice. "With so many Control Towers my Digivice doesn't work."
A Kuwagamon popped in front of him. Its jaw salivating and leering at the group like a hungry beast.
"Oh hell no! I'm not a bug meal!" Armadillomon said as he turned to his partner. "Let's show 'em partner!"
Cody nodded and raised his Digivice. "Right. Digimental Up!"
"Armadillomon Armor Digivolves to.. Pteramon! The Armed Love!"
Pteramon rammed his head against the Kuwagamon to push him away from the hill. Meanwhile the two humans and the rookie used a metal slab of metal in one of the trolleys to slide down the cliff to get away. They had their clue, now they were going back to the human world!
"Okay," Izzy said looking at his Digivice and noticing how the red runes vanished from its screen. "Now we can do it!"
"Do what?" An all to familiar voice said as a shadow loomed over them. The Emperor, on all his infamous glory, smiled at them casually on top of a Devidramon. "Hi."
"Oh great, what do you want?!" Tentomon snapped at seeing his former slaver.
"We haven't seen each other in so long and that's how you greet me?" The Emperor said. "I'm wounded... Meh, not really. Anyway, can I please know what are you doing around my place?"
"As if we'd answer that question!" Cody said, glaring at the dreesed up boy with rage.
"Izzy!" Tentomon said. "Let me at him!"
"Okay then," Izzy raised his Digivice which started to shine.
"Tentomon Digivolves to..."
The Emperor also raised his Digivice and a black wave came out of it, cancelling the glow of the Digivice and Tentomon's too.
"...Kabuterimon?" Tentomon blinked as he realized he was still the same. "What?!"
"Tentomon, have you forgotten?" The Emperor gloated. "My Black Digivice is the one powering my towers, it can cancel Digivolution. You've chosen the wrong side, General."
"Don't call him that!" Izzy growled.
"Whatever. Devidramon, blast them," He snapped his fingers and from the mouth of the best a black fire started to form.
"Missile Storm!" Various projectiles impacted against the ground between the Emperor and the Digidestined, creating a smoke screen that blocked the vision of the tyrant from his targets.
Pteramon swept down and grabbed his friends, all the while dropping missiles from beneath his wings to leave a trail of dust to cover them.
Devidramon flapped its wings to clear the dust, but by the time it all cleared up their targets were gone. The Emperor clicked his teeth. "Clever little bastards... Oh great now I sound like him..." He mumbled, remembering his treacherous second in command.
Pteramon landed on a forest bordering the desert where they escaped and reverted back to Armadillomon after dropping his passengers. "Sorry guys, between those damn bugs and my missiles I ran out of fuel."
"Thanks for the save anyway," Cody said, patting his back.
"Yeah..." Izzy said, looking at his Digivice, who now didn't possessed any of the red runes. "Leave it to us now."
"Tentomon Digivolves to... Kabuterimon!"
From the desert, the Emperor watched as Kabuterimon flew away with the others on his back. His lenses including a scope to observe his targets. "There goes one of my former Generals..." He smirked. "I have to thank you for your service, Kabuterimon... Your data in combat will be put to good use."
His laughter resonated across the landscape as Devidramon turned around to take him back to his base.
Soon, those fools won't stand a chance.
The computer lit up and Izzy, Cody and their partners were spat out on the room. Izzy looked up and saw the room. "Oh, everyone's back,"He said, everyone being the new kids, Tai with Agumon, Matt witb Gabumon, Killua, T.K and Kari.
"Welcome back," Killua greeted with a wave. "Found something?"
"Yes, we did. Is my mom back yet?" Izzy asked.
"Don't sorry, she's still outside. Mimi, Joe and Sora all had to left. Joe for collage bullshit, Sora to help at her mom's shop, and Mimi needs to pack... She'll return to America soon." Tai explained as he adjusted himself on the chair. "So what did you find?"
"Control Towers... A lot of them; A whole field filled with them all over," Cody explained. "And in the middle of it, some sort of structure."
"I found those too, but they were all lined like phone posts... It was a scary sight," T.K informed, as he remembered the disbelief at seeing so many towers lined up like that.
"We didn't actually got to see much," Kari said, looking down at Gatomon who had a sad frown on her face. Their searching for finding Wizardmon didn't beared results either.
"On the forest where we were looking, there were was almost a tower for each tree, it was insane!" Yolei informed.
"So many Control Towers... This must be part of Ken's endgame," Killua mused, putting a hand on his chin. He looked at the duo of newcomer. "That structure you saw. Think it might be his base?"
"It's highly possible," Izzy nodded. "We saw Digimon with Dark Spirals come out of it to fight others trying to take down the towers around it. And after we were spotted, Ken himself appeared to attack us."
"So the jerk finally shows his face," Davis rolled his eyes. "Hasn't done that since we took Agumon from him."
"... I would have liked to stay and continue to scout," Tentomon said. "But with so many towers around at some point my evolution could go down."
"Don't feel bad," Agumon reassured. "We had to do the same," He said with Gabumon nodding.
"Okay everyone look here," Izzy called as he pressed a few keys on his computer. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news again, but look at how the map is at the moment."
As they did they immediately felt a sense of dread on their stomachs. The map was almost completely black, except for a few exceptions on File Island and the Server Continent. Only a few zones on the borders of the continent were safe from the control of the Emperor.
"If my calculations are right..." Izzy continued. "Ken has taken over almost 76 percent of the Server Continent, and fifty percent of File Island, and that's only thanks to our efforts."
"How did he expanded so much?!" Davis asked. "We worked our asses out all day taking out the damn towers!"
"We have a limited amount of time on the Digital World!" Killua explained, rising his voice to calm the boy with square goggles. "Ken has all the time in the world to work there, and let's not forget about his attack dogs." He subconsciously touched his shoulder as he remembered his last encounter with Blademon.
"If he's this close to winning, then I don't wanna know what his endgame is..." Matt sighed.
"Well I'm not about to let him continue to expand!" Poromon fumed.
"He is ruining our Digital World!" Patamon growled, hating to see his world this way.
"He has to go down!" Demiveemon nodded along his friends.
"I am not letting that prick control our world!" Upamon bounced up and down in the bed, while making his furious declaration.
Gatomon got on the bed and started walking back and forth in thought. "We're running out of time..." She mumbled.
"We need to hurry," Kari agreed with her partner. "Who knows what he'll do if he gets the last territories under his control."
"Nothing good, that I can tell," Davis nodded. "Now we know where his base is, let's go and bust some heads!"
"Hold on, Davis, if we are going in we need a plan first," T.K said.
"Yeah, I-I know," Davis amendeds. "I mean that that's just the main thing we have to do."
"But first we need to take two things in consideration," Killua said.
"Which are...?" Yolei inquired.
"First, that Ken must know that we are going for him," Killua explained. "Now that he knows that Izzy and Cody where around his base, he'll probably put a wall of Digimon between him and us. He might be arrogant, but he is also smart. He won't wait for us to without a plan."
Grimaces covered the group's face at the thought. They didn't took that in consideration.
"And second, is the problem we always had," He said and everyone immediately caught on.
"The time..." T.K said, scratching his head and sighing.
"Exactly," Killua nodded and crossed his arms. "Fighting Ken while he has the field advantage will be harder than any prior showdowns we had with him. And we can't just let it all end at five when you guys have to go home Even if I were to stay in the Digital World, it would raise suspicion on Miss Kamiya as to why I didn't go back."
"Then next time we go there, we have to stay until the Emperor is defeated," Kari said, getting up the bed. "We have to be ready for that."
"S-stay?" Yolei mumbled in surprise. A sense of nervousness filling her up at the prospect.
"While that's a good plan, it still leaves the matter of our parents," Cody said. "My mom will surely get worry if I don't get home by five."
"Just fed her some excuse, like you're staying at a friend or something so you can get away with it," Davis said, while folding his arms with a grin.
Kari send him a mock-glare. "I hope you don't do things like that often, Davis."
"Bwah- Who? Me? Naaaah," He sputtered, believing the glare was real.
"And more importantly," Killua said. "Lies will get us nowhere since all of your parents could end up calling to check on you, the only one who knows is Matt and T.K's dad, and that was on accident. We need a safe place where we can get to the Digital World, and an excuse to be missing for whatever time it takes us to destroy the base."
"He's right," Matt said. "And we can't also go and help you guys. With the amount of Control Towers we would be next to useless there."
"Hey, don't say that," Tai smiled and leaned forward on the chair. "We might not be of use on the Digital World, but that doesn't mean we can't help at all. Soooo... How about we go camping?" He asked, leaning back.
"Camping?" Kari tilted her head at her brother's suggestion.
"You mean, use camping as an excuse to go to the Digital World?" T.K asked, eyes widening as he understood the idea.
"Wow, that's a great plan, Tai!" Killua smiled at the teen.
Tai chuckled. "To make sure everyone buys it, Izzy, Matt and I will go camping for real, while you guys take care of everything on the other side."
"That takes care of the alibi," Matt smiled. "But now we need to find where to camp and how to get to say place."
"We'll sort out the details later," Killua said. "For now, we already have a solution for the time problem."
Before the discussion could advance, a knock on the door was heard. "Izzy? Are you there?"
"Oh dang, mom's back," Izzy whispered. "Act natural!"
The door creaked open and the smiling face of Kae Izumi showed up. "Is everything okay here, kids?" She asked.
Everyone in the room had decided to pretend to do something important in the room. Matt and Tai were holding a model of the earth to put it back on a shelf... From where they took it in the first place. T.K and Yolei were arm wrestling with Cody as the judge. Izzy took all of the In-Trainings, with Gatomon and Patamon included, and hug them as plushies. Davis and Kari looked like they were dancing. And Killua... Killua stood in the same place, only using Zetsu to hide his presence so the mother wouldn't notice him, and rubbing the bridge of his nose at his friends' definition of natural.
"Hi Miss Izumi/Mom!" They chorused, Killua included though less enthusiastically, and knowing that his voice will be drowned by the others' voices.
"What's the occasion?" The mother asked as she entered the room. "Are you guys planning something for the summer?"
As one, everyone turned to Izzy. He was both the genius and the son of the lady, so he was the one that could bail them out of this one. Izzy gulped for his part, and decided to better just go with the truth. "W-well mom, we were actually wondering if we could go to a camp around this weekend or so. C-can we? I mean... Can I?"
"A camp? Well, that sounds like wonderful idea, actually," The kids were ready to give a sigh of relief when they heard that. "But is a parent going with you?" And like that the tension was back.
"Argh. Well... You see..." Izzy's eyes darted all over his room, to find something to tell the woman who raised him.
"M-my dad!" Matt butted in. "My dad is coming with us, he's taking us and everything!" He said, waving the model of the earth in all directions.
"I see. Then I hope you all have a good time there," With one last smile she left the room and everyone breath a sigh of relief.
Tai leaned over the blond. "Hey there's not going to be a problem with your dad taking us and all that, right?"
"No I don't think so," Matt answered, waving his hand in a dismissive manner. "While he knows the Digimon are back, he doesn't know what we're doing. A camp would be something harmless to him, and besides he always said he needed some vacations."
"Then we got all our bases covered," Killua said collapsing on bed. "Hiding from your parents is more nerve-wracking than fighting Ken and his lackeys."
"You said it," Almost everyone chorused.
And in that moment, Agumon and the other veteran Rookies came out of the closet, where they hide themselves before Kae entered the room. Gabumon and Tentomon collapsing over the dinosaur. "Owch."
"Sorry..."
"On a camp?!"
At the front of the building of Fuji Tv was a small cafeteria for the employees to eat during their breaks. Hiroaki stared at his sons with a twitching eye after he heard their proposition.
"Yeah, a camp. You know, to expend some time to relax and forget all the stress you had with the whole ghost thing," Matt explained with a smile, while inwardly he was nervous his father will reject.
"But camping?" The man asked while fixing his tie. "Besides, you shouldn't have put that compromise on me without asking first."
Luckily for Matt, his brother came to his rescue. "C'mon dad, it'll be fun. Mom told me how you used to camp, you could use some vacation."
"And for extra-relax, I'll be the one to cook!" Matt promised, sweetening the deal even further.
Hiroaki sighed and ran a hand through his hair. His boys made good points. He's been stressed even after the whole ghost thing, and even more when he discovered that those Digimon from five years ago where somewhat involved. But with the strange creatures only being his sons' friends, and with nothing better to do with the payed vacations he has reserved, a trip won't hurt.
"Okay, I'm in. But you better hold on to that promise of cooking, Matt," The man said.
The brothers smiled. First part of the plan: Success.
"Hey, dorkface, dinner time," Jun Motomiya said as she entered her brother's room.
"Uh-huh, sure," Davis mumbled as he stuffed his bag with all the necessary items for the mission.
"What are you doing?" She peered over his shoulder to look at him packing.
Davis huffed in annoyance. "What does it look like?" He asked with sarcasm. "I'm packing. I'm going to a camp, and yes I already ask my parents for permission."
"Camping?" Jun asked as she started putting the puzzle together.
"Yeah."
"With your friends?"
"Sure."
"T.K too?"
"Why do you care?"
"Because if T.K goes..." She started smiling. "Then Matt's going too!"
"Okay that's it," Davis snapped as he zipped his bag back. "Out of my room, now!"
"Aww come on! Tell me I can go!" Jun said as Davis started pushing her out of the room.
"Yeah, you can go... Away from my room," Davis growled as he pushed her pass the door frame.
"Don't start you two," Their mother said while sitting on the couch and watching the news.
Both siblings huffed at each other and turned around to leave to their rooms. But Davis stopped when he heard the reporter on the TV. "In other news, the boy genius, Ken Ichijouji is still missing. This is what their parents have to say in the matter."
The screen changed to show the parents of the boy. His mother wiping her eyes with a handkerchief while the father, who had bags under his eyes, spoke for the two. "We haven't lose hope yet. I know that our son is still alive, somewhere." His declaration sounded more like he was reassuring himself.
The mother wiped her eyes. "He's a good boy. He must be scared and feel so lonely... We just want him to come home."
Davis huffed and rolled his eyes before locking himself in his room. His mother and sister looking at the door with confused expressions. "Man, what's his deal?" Jun asked at her brother's lack of empathy.
Yolei turned off the TV on her room after seeing the news on the Ichijouji family. She huffed in anger at the thought of the boy she formerly idolized and put her covers over her head. "That jerk better watch his back."
As her thoughts drifted to the Emperor, they also drifted to thoughts of their incoming task. Going to the Digital World for an undefined time... It was quite a scary thought.
She shook her head at that. 'I can't think like that! Our superiors went through the same the first time around, heck Kari, T.K and Killua did!' She mused. 'I can do it too!'
She raised her fist high and proclaimed it proudly. "I am going to give my all!"
Her small boast woke her partner up, who was sleeping on a small basket on the bed. "You're still awake? Go to sleep we have much to do tomorrow."
Yolei nodded and whispered and apology, before laying down in bed. "I have to be ready. I have to be ready." She repeated as a chant before going to sleep.
This is weird.
That was the thought of Kari as she noticed that the usual time for Killua to wake her up for their training sessions, yet there was no sign of the silver haired boy. She got up and took the hair pin on her bedside to accommodate her hair and walked out of bed, careful to not wake Gatomon.
When she got out of the room, she found her teacher sitting on the couch, wearing sweatpants and a white t-shirt as a pajama. He was looking down and his hands clasped together, a pensative look on his eyes. Yet despite being in deep thought, he noticed her presence. "Still awake?" He asked.
Kari was taken by surprise at the sudden question. "Oh, just... Thinking that we were going to train?"
Killua's eyes widened. "Oh, right. It slipped my mind to tell you, we don't need to train today. With how much control Ken has on the Digital World, and with everything happening tomorrow, it's better if you rest for the day."
"Eh?" Kari's mouth departed in surprise at the thought. Feeling the slightest bit of annoyance at not receiving the news she could sleep in, but disregarding it in favor of curiosity. "Okay then... Why are you awake for then?"
"You said then twice," Killua commented while giving her a side-glance. She pouted but still waited for an answer. "I'm a bit nervous. I'm sure you are too."
"Yeah..." She admitted. "A bit. But why would you be nervous for? You handled Ken pretty well last time."
A smile formed on Killua's lips at the remainders of that day. How he completely thrashed the boy who pretended to be a ruler without any kind of mercy. "Yeah, Ken shouldn't be a problem if I face him... It's more about those surrounding him that I'm worried about."
Kari blinked but she realized what he was talking about. "Blademon?"
"Yup," He said, popping the p. "I haven't thought of a way to bypass his Tiger's Hunt. His technique is the perfect counter to my Whirlwind. And I haven't found a way to stop it, I've had a few ideas but... Didn't have the time to test them."
Kari stared at him for a moments. Killua looked genuinely worried about this, even scared. And remebering the sight of his bloodied arm, she couldn't exactly blame him.
"Well... If you can't do it alone we can help right?" She asked. "We could all take him on if he gives you problems," she said with a smile.
Killua was about to open his mouth to refute that—Blademon took down all of their friends in one swoop and was likely an Ultimate—But at seeing a determined shining on her eyes he sighed, despite anything he says she would like to help. "Sure. I guess I could use the help." He nodded and looked down.
Who was he to deny her desire to help in the end? It was one of the reasons she even asked him to train anyway, to give him a hand in tough situations. It was a bit naive... But admirable.
"We better go back to bed," Kari said getting off the couch. "You said it, tomorrow will be busy." And with that she walked back to her room.
Killua nodded. "Osu." Despite his poker face, some worry could still be heard on his voice
The next day, everyone gathered again on Izzy's home to start with the mission. While the older group gathered basic stuff for camping, the Digidestined all prepared their own stuff necessary for the Digital World's somewhat hostile environment.
And also... Let's just say some where more excited than the others.
"Hi-yah! Wa-cha! Ka-plam!" Yolei imitated the sounds of punch and hits she probably heard in movies while throwing fists and kicks to the air. "Let's go! Let's go! To defeat the Emperor!" She chanted.
Killua sweatdropped at her attitude and turned to her partner. "Is she okay...?"
"She's been like this ever since she woke up," Poromon explained. "Maybe there was something in one of the coffees?"
"One of the-" Gatomon blinked. "How much did she drank?!"
"I lost count about after the seventh..." The feathery ball sighed.
Izzy meanwhile was typing on the computer before giving a satisfied sigh. "There. I already arranged the coordinates. Everything is set."
"Good luck out there everyone," Tai said giving them a thumbs up. "I'm sure you can take out that brat once and for all."
"You can count on us," Kari beamed at her brother, while the others nodded.
"And don't worry about this place," Matt reassured. "We got it covered!"
"Thanks," T.K nodded and turned to Yolei. "I guess it's time to say your thing?"
Killua merely sighed, resigned that he will always hear the silly 'magic words' for each mission.
"Digiport Open! Let's go Digidestined!" Yolei declare, louder than usual.
And with a flash of light, the only ones standing in the room were the older kids.
The remaining teens left the building and walked to the van where Hiroaki was waiting for them. "Okay guys, you ready to go?"
"Yup, thanks again for taking us, sir," Tai said.
"The others took the bus to meet us there," Izzy added as a cover for their friends.
"I see..." Hiroaki said with a nod. "Then let's get going to catch up to them."
Matt was about to enter the car, when he suddenly felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing up. And before he could even turn, he heard an all too familiar voice. "Hey Maaaatt~"
The blonde looked up to see none other than Jun Motomiya standing there in a camping gear and waving at him.
'Oh god why?!' The teen bemoans in his head. "J-Jun, what are you doing here?"
"Weeeell I might or might have not eavesdropped my brother about something about a camp," She said swaying back and forth on her feet. "So I decided to join! Isn't that great?!"
"Errrr..." Matt, for the life of him, couldn't find the right words to that.
"Pssst, Matt!" Tai called. Making the blonde turn to look at him. "What is she doing here?"
"She heard of the trip!" Matt hissed back. "What do we do?!"
"Thing of something, shoo her away, I don't know! Use your rock-star charms!" Tai said desperately, if the girl came with them and noticed her brother was missing then the questions will start and that was never good!
"I can try..." He said and walked to the female Motomiya.
The girl in question looked at the car with a raised eyebrow. "Hey where are Daisuke and his friends?"
"Well... They took the bus to meet us there... Because they were too eager to wait?" He asked, though in the way he phrased it he didn't even sound sure about it.
Tai and Izzy snickered at the expression on his face.
Matt turned away from the girl as an idea formed on his head. "Hey, Jun? Can I ask you a favor?"
"Yes, Matt?" The girl asked, with a love-sick smile.
"Can you... Cover your eyes, turn around and count to ten?" The boy askes. "I ummm... Have a surprise for you?" Again, he sounded so unsure.
But love is blind and deaf, so the girl obeyed. "Okay! One... Two... Three... Four..."
Matt climbed in the car rapidly. "Go, go, go!"
"And what about the girl?" Hiroaki asked, a bit amused at his son's antics.
"She can wait! Go, please!" He basically pleaded.
With a shrugg, the man closed the windows and started the car, taking off the road towards the campsite.
"Ten!" The girl finished counting and looked around, only to find the boys had already left. "MAAAAAAAAATT!"
Once the group arrived, they were all guided by Cody to what has been named as the Trolley Hill, the place where the Emperor's base has been hiding all this time.
"Okay guys, be careful to not slip. This might be a bit diffi-" Cody was trying to warn the others so they wouldn't slip like him, only for a blur to suddenly go pass him, leaving a trail of dust and sand behind. "-Cult?"
Everyone looked up to see Yolei climbing like a madwoman, all of her physical limitations seemingly broken as she put all of her soul into reaching the top of the hill, with Hawkmon flapping desperately behind her. "Yolei wait!"
The rest of the team blinked at the bespectacled girl's sudden hiking abilities. "Umm not to call out an stereotype but... Since when is she that fast?!" Killua asked.
"She's... Pretty motivated..." Cody said with a nervous smile, being the one to know the girl the longest.
From the top, the girl peered down at them. "Hey guys, we have a situation! The base has gone AWOL!"
"What's awol?" V-Mon asked.
"I have no fucking idea..." Davis sighed, shaking his head at Yolei's sudden intensity.
Killua however knew what it was, so he hurried up the pace to reach the top, followed closely by the others. Once they finally reached the top, the sight that was in front of them was not what they expect. There were dark monoliths everywhere, like Cody and Izzy informed, but instead of a structure in the middle there was a giant hole.
"Hey! Where did da base go?" Armadillomon asked.
"More importantly... Where did Yolei go?" Gatomon asked, looking at the position of where the girl once stood.
"Ya-Hoo!" The bellow of the girl made them all look down. She was sliding down the hill to reach the field of towers, with a frantic Hawkmon following her.
Killua felt his eyebrow twitch, while the others watched her actions with dumbfounded expressions. "What is she... You know what never mind. Going down everyone!"
Following the leader's order, everyone slid down to the field. Once there, they all gathered around the hole with varying degrees of confusion on their faces.
"Are you sure this is the place where the base was?" Davis asked.
"Yes, there's no doubt about it," Cody said, with Armadillomon nodding in confirmation. "How else do you explain the hole?"
"But how could a base just disappear like that?" T.K said, padding the air, just in case it wasn't invisible. In the Digital World, one can never be too sure about things.
"Then what do we do now?" Patamon asked.
Kari frowned at the hole. "Well we can't just go back now. Maybe is nearby or something..."
Davis grinned. "Okay then. Let's go look for it and then let's tear it to pieces!" He said, putting his left hand on his right bicep. "Kenny can run away from us forever!"
"Easier said than done..." Killua looked at the hole and then at their surroundings. "The hole isn't deep enough for the base to suddenly go underground. And taking in consideration that the Control Towers are all still in one piece, then that means the base didn't moved on earth, otherwise they would've gotten in the way... So that only leaves..."
"THE SKY!" Yolei's screech made everyone cringe. They looked around for the source of the screech, only for their jaws to drop.
The girl was once again breaking any kind of physical limitation and logic, as she climbed on a Control Tower of all things with her bare hands.
"I thought those things were slippery... Like The Emperor himself," V-Mon mumbled as they all watched the girl's climbing.
"Oh for heaven's sake!" Hawkmon said in exasperation as he flapped up to where the girl was.
Reaching the top, Yolei pointed her finger high in the sky. "THE SKY! KEN FOUND A WAY TO TAKE THE BASE TO THE SKY!"
Killua was rubbing his eyes together, already filling tired. "We already stablished that. Get down here before you break your neck!" He yelled to the girl.
"That's right, Killua! We do have a lead!" The girl said, sliding down the tower.
"That is not what I sai-" He was interrupted when a blur passed by him and stopped in front of Cody. "Woah, watch it!"
"Cody!" Yolei said, basically pressing her forehead against the boy's.
"E-eh?" The poor fourth-grader blinked in bewilderment and seeing his friend so close and with such an accusatory glance.
"You and Izzy were the last ones to see the base! And so you guys should have noticed something was off yet you didn't infomed it..." She twisted around and pointed at the boy. "So you ratted us out didn't you?!"
"HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" Cody, Armadillomon, Hawkmon and Killua exploded.
"Hmmm, no you guys are right... It could've been Izzy or Tentomon," The girl mumbled as she walked away.
Hawkmon immediately started bowing and apologizing. "Please excuse her, it's all on the coffee, she isn't like this I swear."
Cody huffed and took a deep breath. "I know... Anyway, I think we won't find clues here... Should we move away?"
"You're... Ken doesn't seem to have anything of value here aside from the towers. And as we know he knows has those on abundance," Killua said with a sigh. "If the base truly is flying then we have to-" He was interrupted again as he heard hammering noises.
They turned to see Yolei nailing a stake on the ground, with a rope with an end tied around it and the other around her waist. When she ended she turned around. "Troops! Private Yolei ready to dive to the depths of the earth for clues." And with that she started rappelling down the hole.
"Yolei wait!" A frantic Hawkmon called after her as he dived on the hole too.
"... You know what? I give up..." Killua said, turning around and deciding to ignore the girl for now. The group as a whole sighed too, feeling a exasperated at the girl's hyperactivity.
The girl continued her descent to the depths of the earth, with Hawkmon flapping down to her level to try to talk her out of this madness. "Yolei, go back up with the others, this is too dangerous, and there's nothing here for us to find!"
"Shut it, Hawkmon! My senses are telling me there is something here for us to investigate! It will lead us to Ken to kick his butt!" She said, reason abandoning her and leaving only a crazy determination behind.
As if the world wanted to prove her wrong, from the bottom of the hole the rocks started shifting and moving. From beneath the rumble a spider Digimon, known as Dokugamon appeared. Its six eyes locked on the girl and the bird, the Dark Spiral on one of its horns glowing and making it growl.
Yolei heard the growl and turned around to see the spider. A gasp escaped from her lips as she looked at the insect, flashes of the time they faced the Roachmon sisters coming to her mind. The possessed Digimon opened its mouth and let out a corrosive breath aimed at the girl.
"Yolei!" Hawkmon moved fast and pushed his partner out of the way, but this just caused the poor avian Digimon to receive the blast full power. His eyea widened in pain while grunting in pain. "Ghrah!"
"HAWKMON!" Yolei cried as the rope swung back to where he was. She caught him on one arm and started shaking him to try to awake him. "Hawkmon! Hawkmon!"
"Oi, what's happening down there?!" Davis asked as the whole group looked down the hole. "Oh snap, what is that thing?!"
"Whatever it is is bad!" Killua said, taking off his backpack. "Pull Yolei up, I'll handle that thing!"
Before they could say more, he jumped down the hole, his aura flaring up around him.
"You heard the boss, pull!" Davis said, grabbing the rope. Everyone followed his lead and started to pull the girl up.
Dokugamon launched a stream of silk towards the girl, catching her foot and trying to make her let go of the rope. Yolei grimaced as she felt the insect tug harder and harder and making, with only one arm she wouldn't last long.
Luckily, the Hunter passed by her side and used his nails to cut the silk. He landed in front of the spider and took out his yo-yos. "I rarely have the chance to use them. So come at me, ugly!"
The spider shot a blast of poison at the boy and he launched his yo-yos. The special alloy of the toys making them resistant against the poison, and allowing them to cut through the stream. Their ends hit the Digimon square in the mouth, causing it to be sent flying back.
Killua twisted his weapons around and make them wrap themselves around the Dokugamon's horns. He started spinning the spider around before letting go of it and launching it towards one of the walls of the crater.
Meanwhile, at the top of the hole, the rest of the group was able to get Yolei out. The girl was cradling her unconscious partner, even as the others started asking about her condition. "Hawkmon, Hawkmon! Please wake up! Hawkmon!"
Back down below. Dokugamon growled after being smashes against a wall. It glared at the boy, who was spinning his yo-yos around while looking at him with a bored look.
Killua started walking forward and his image started multiplying. Various boys if silver hair now surrounded the Digimon, who in a desperate attempt to win, started launching various blasts of poison at each of them. For each shot, one of them one of the copies disappeared. But by the time the spider was done, there was no boy in front of it.
Suddenly, the same yo-yos wrapped themselves on its horns, the Digimon looked up to see the boy in the air. He took advantage of his copies to jump over it and took Dokugamon by surprise. The boy tugged his yo-yos back and the Dokugamon was tugged with them towards his attacker.
With the momentum set, Killua unwrapped his yo-yos from the horns and when the beast was close enough he grabbed the Spiral on its horn while reeling his fist back. He smashed his knuckles against the spiders face, sending it back to the ground, while his grip on the Spiral caused it to break apart.
Killua landed and sighed. "One problem less..."
"HAWKMON!"
He looked up and a worried frown formed on his face. "And another one arises."
Killua got out of the hole and noticed the others had moved to the forest surrounding the deserted hill, all of them huddled around the downed Hawkmon. "How is he?" He asked.
"Resting," Davis said, turning around to face him. "It's a good thing Joe thought us some first aid things."
"For now he needs to rest and lay down," Gatomon said, finishing to apply bandages around the avian Digimon.
Killua nodded and then he heard the sound of sobbing. Far apart from the group, Yolei sat down with her head down, shedding tears of regret over what her actions have caused. For a moment, Killua wanted to chew her head off, but at seeing her like this... It wouldn't help anyone to kick her while she's down.
Kari was also looking at the girl with worry. She got up and hesitantly, she called out for her. "Yolei?" The girl continued to sob and Kari looked down.
To everyone's surprise Yolei got up on her own and turned around. "Guys... Go look for the Emperor's base, I'll stay here to look out for Hawkmon..." She said while looking down.
"Eh?" Davis blinkes at sat up too. "But... Are ya sure? We can take some... Time if you need..." He said, a bit unsurely. He wanted to go and find the Emperor to beat him to the ground, but right now Yolei, for all of her antics, seemed to need sometime.
"Please... I already causes enough problems," Tears fell from her eyes as she bowed her head. The regret of what she've caused still fresh.
The group exchanged looks between themselves, before finally setting on their leader. Killua gave them a nod, deciding that for now, this was the best course of action. "Okay, we'll be going then," T.K said, getting up.
"We'll text you if we find anything," Cody said.
"And you text us if Hawks gets better," Davis said with a grin.
Kari stood up too and smiled at the girl. "I'm staying. With Hawkmon down you'll need someone to cover you. Gatomon and I will be your bodyguards."
Killua crossed his arms behind his head. "I'll stay too. I have no D-3 or Terminal, so I wouldn't be able to communicate or locate you if we separate," He said. "Come back here before it gets dark, even if you don't find anything, okay?"
The three boys nodded and walkes away with their task at hand. Leaving the Hunter and two girls behind.
"Be careful out there," Kari said, as a goodbye.
"Yup!" Davis waved back. "And sparky, don't try anything funny!" He said, making an 'I'm watching you' signal.
Killua just quirked an eyebrow. 'What's with him?' He wondered. 'Or well... More importantly at the moment, what's with her?' He thought as he turned to Yolei.
"Kari, I'll go to check the area for herbs," Gatomon said, looking at Hawkmon. "And to check around the perimeter."
The girl nodded and the cat ran into the forest. Yolei sat beside Hawkmon, not having the heart at the moment to even look at him due to her shame. Kari sat next to her and gave her an encouraging smile. "He's going to be okay, don't worry."
"Uh-huh..." The girl mumbled.
Killua sighed and stood in front of the two. "Okay, spill it, what the hell was all that about?" Both girls look at him in confusion. "You are normally pretty enthusiastic, we all know that. But today you really push it. So, you have to tell what's the problem... Or we'll send you back home, packing."
Kari gasped and Yolei tensed at the threat. The Child of Light got up and scowled at her teacher. "Isn't that going too far?!"
"Too far would be her walking into a trap for being all gung ho," Killua said, his face calm, not even accusatory. "So I want to hear her reason and make sure she won't make the same mistake."
Kari tried to say something, but not even she could deny the fact that Yolei's actions were too reckless and savage. The purple haired girl bit her lip and took a shaky breath before answering. "I'm scared..."
The two kids' eyes widened and looked at her. She started elaborating.
"It... It isn't the first time I've felt like this... The first time I came here, SkullGreymon, and now this... Each time we face a big threat I've felt scare... The first two times I've almost ditched out, so this time I wanted to try and face everything head on..." Tears gathered in her eyes again. "But I only messed up."
Kari knelt and put a hand on her shoulder. The Hunter for his part sighed and turned around. "How that's rough..." He said.
After a few moments of awkward silence, the boy spoke again. "Honestly? I'm a bit scared myself." He said, catching Yolei by surprise but Kari frowned, already knowing the reason. "I've faced a lot of crazy stuff ever since I became a Hunter back in my world, and all of them certainly gave me reasons to be scared of. And the Digital World isn't different, I was scared during some of the parts in our first adventure, and now I'm nervous of facing Blademon again."
He touched his shoulder again. Remembering the feeling of the metal digging on his skin and watching the hooded Digimon's white teeth grinning at him. "But... Someone told me that, I shouldn't worry, since I wouldn't face him alone." Kari's eyes widened as he said this. "So, if you're afraid of this whole thing, think that we're all going through the same... Together... Wow, now I'm the cheesy one." He mumbled scratching the back of his head.
Yolei and Kari giggled at the sight of their leader's embarrassed face. The purple haired girl looking better than before. "Okay then.. I promise to not act so rashly again.. And if I do, bonk me on the head, it's the only way I'll understand."
"Got it," Killua said, with his eyes closed and a thumbs up.
Kari for her part smiled at her leader and at her friend. A small part of her feeling pride that the words she said to cheer the boy up had also worked for Yolei. Who knew?
She was also feeling nervous and a bit scared of the whole mission. But hey if her leader can work through them, then so can she.
They all lay down and waited for Gatomon to come back with the herbs. The spirits higher than before.
The scout group frowned as they walked through the forest. Just like Yolei had told them yesterday, there was a tower for each tree.
"These are a lot of towers..." Cody mumbled. "They're almost everywhere."
"He must be planting them all around, those he have no hobbies?!" Armadillomon growled, mad at the sight of the towers tarnishing the world's beauty.
"Let's keep going," T.K said. "The base might be up ahead."
Cody suddenly stopped as his ears suddenly seemed to pick on someone. He turned around and behind some canyons he swore he saw a shadow.
"Cody something wrong?" Armadillomon asked.
"I think I saw," He turned to him before pointing back to the canyons, but now there was nothing, "something..."
"Stop dilly-dallying, Cody," Davis said, hands on his hips. "Let's move it!"
"Right, right..." The kid said as they continued their trek.
Still he couldn't shake the feeling that something was looming over them.
Ebidramon, Devidramon, Airdramon, even Blademon. All of this Digimon flashed on the screen before Wormmon, who was watching them with a growing sense of curiosity as well as dread. The image changed to one of Garurumon before it focused solely on his legs, the rest of the body disappearing and adding themselves to the 'KIMERAMON File.'
The Emperor entered the room and watched the screens. "I've located where I can find the last piece of my project." He walked to his control panel and the image of Kabuterimon appeared. Like with Garurumon, it focused solely on his head and the rest of his body disappeared.
"You're almos there I guess..." Wormmon mumbled, only to be ignored.
The Emperor smiled. He had almost all the components. Soon everyone in this world will kneel to him. The Digimon, The Digidestined, Zoldyck, and that treacherous Blademon. "One more piece..."
Wormmon frowned. Ken has been working non-stop on this, and he was really starting to get worried for his health. "Ken..."
Gatomon walked around a field full of all kinds of plants. Looking for one that could help her heal Hawkmon's injuries.
As she looked around a male voice that didn't belong to anyone she knows called out to her. "Looking for something?"
She immediately went to high alert and turned back. Her ring shining and her claws brandished. From behind a tree the figure make itself note. He was a big Digimon, around a head taller than a full grown adult. Covered in armor over a red suit, a purple cape on his back and a purple hat on his head. He had a pretty human face.
"Who are you?" She hissed, eyes narrowed.
"First off, I'm not with the Emperor," The Digimon said. "Second, I'm Mystimon... And third... Is that a way to greet an old friend?"
Gatomon raised an eyebrow. "Old friend?" She asked, wondering what the Digimon was talking about.
The Digimon took a step forward. "I can see in your eyes that your heart isn't hardened anymore. Your loneliness has vanished away," He gave her a tender smile. "I'm glad, Gatomon."
Those words stirred memories in her. A campfire where she met the best friend she ever had, second only to Kari. And that smile... It reminded her so much off... "Wizardmon?"
Mystimon knelt and bowed. "At your service, M'lady."
The cat jumped and wrapped her arms around the magic knight. Tears on her eyes after being reunited with her friend after so long. "Where've you been?!" She demanded.
"Hidden," Mystimon answered. "I'm so sorry I couldn't contact you before, I couldn't risk the Emperor capturing me."
"I... I understand," She sniffled. "But... Can you tell us what the Emperor is planning now?"
Mystimon observed her for a moment and got back up. "Take me with your friends, I will inform you all in one go of this."
Gatomon nodded. "Alright, follow me."
"Wait!" Mystimon said. "You... Were looking for something, weren't you?"
"Oh right... Herbs... A friend of mine got hurt..."
Mystimon hummed and opened his palm. A soft blue glow coming from it. "I think I can help with that."
The moment Hawkmon opened his eyes and regained awareness of his surroundings, Yolei started spouting various apologies. And so, the two veterans accompanying them decided to move away for privacy.
"Seems like she's more calm now," Killua said, observing the scene from behind the tree.
"... Would you have following with your threat?" Kari asked, frowning a bit. "If Yolei acted... Rashly again?"
"Yes," He replied bluntly. "For her own sake and ours. It wouldn't do good for anyone for her to jump into danger just because she wants to 'kick-ass and be brave,'" He explained. "But I think she won't be doing that anymore... And if she does, we have permission to bonk her."
Kari let out a small chuckled at that. They both heard rustling from the leaves and turned to see Gatomon accompanied by a tall Digimon. "Gatomon? Who's this?"
Killua was already preparing his hands to turn to claws. But Gatomon held her paw up and smiled. "Guys, he's our friend... He's Wizardmon."
"Actually it's Mystimon now," The tall Digimon answered. "It's good to see you again Killua and... Kari I suppose, wow you've really grown!" He chuckled.
Both veterans blinked at the tall Digimon, with Kari giving a step forward. "It... Really is you Wizardmon?"
"I am, evolved, but still me," Mystimon said with a nod and received a hug on his mid-section.
"It good to see you again," The girl said with a smile, causing Mystimon to chuckle.
Killua for his part still looked suspicious and at the ready to attack. Mystimon smiled at him. "Can you give the Emperor the same treatment you gave Myotismon?"
Killua's eyebrow raised and he relaxed. There was only one other person who knew what he did to Myotismon in the human world, who wasn't a Digidestined. "Hmph, you lost your chances at seeing me doing it already."
Mystimon chuckled and walked. "Well then... Gatomon tells me you have a friend injured?"
They nodded and guide him to where their friends were.
Yolei looked up to see the two veterans emerging from the foliage, with Gatomon and a new Digimon. Before she could say anything, Kari raised a hand. "It's okay. He's a friend, our friend. He can help Hawkmon."
"Okaaaay..." She trailed off as she cradled her partner.
Mystimon walked to her and knelt. "Would you allow me?" He asked gently.
Yolei, reluctantly, let go of Hawkmon and Mystimon extended his hands. A blue glow came from his hands and covered the Digimon. Hawkmon gaped at the sight for a moment before getting up and twisting his body around. "Hey! No pain! I'm good as new!"
"I-It's amazing," Yolei said while getting up and bowing to Mystimon. "Thank you for your help."
"Not a problem. A friend of Gatomon is a friend of mine," He said.
Before further conversation could be done, the sound of engines could be heard above them. "What's that?" Kari asked.
"Better go to elevate ground to investigate," Killua said, having a good guess what it was.
They all went to the Trolley Hill and stepped on one of the vehicle's roof. They observed as an structure floated in the sky, without apparent course, many lights glowing inside of it.
"Is that..." Killua started.
Mystimon nodded with a glare. "The base of the Digimon Emperor."
"So it was truly in the sky..." Yolei mumbled. For a moment she thought it wasn't the case because o all the stupid things she did that day, but now it all turned out to be true.
"Yup," Hawkmon said. "Bingo." He repeated his partner's catchphrase.
The Emperor entered the chamber where all the data from his new project was gathering. He walked forward to the middle of it, where a capsule with a giant creature in it was levitating. Various tubes connected at it.
"Soon my pet," He promised. "We just need one... More... Part."
From inside of the capsule. Three pair of eyes opened, glowing red and glaring at the world outside of it's container.