Chapter 3: DIGIVOLUTION.EXE ACTIVATION IMMINENT
(A retcon has been implemented, The Outsiders are no longer a thing and Taikei was recruited as a regular DATS Agent)
Taikei felt Akira glaring at him on the way back to base which made for a long and awkward ride. Keiko looked out the window of the aircraft to see the base "I've been gone for a long time haven't I?" Her question was filled with listlessness and Taikei could hear the unease in her voice. The aircraft touched down in the hangar and armed guards were standing at attention in organized lines and at the front was Moriymoto who had his hands behind his back, Aiko sighed "he looks angry" Akira finally snapped at Taikei "Yeah because of this traitor! You had the simplest orders and you blew if for what?" Veemon stood up ready to confront Akira but Keiko cut her off first "to save our World and the Digital one, learn to be observant little girl and stop jumping to conclusions" Akira clenched her teeth "you shouldn't even be talking to us! You're just a civilian!" Keiko was visibly annoyed "This is why you're a C-Class Agent, that fiery temper makes you jump to conclusions, makes you frazzled and it compromises your team" Akira felt as if Keiko could see right through her "how did you?-" Aiko stopped her "Aki, just simmer down and maybe the Director will explain all of this".
Taikei and the others stepped off the aircraft and are greeted my Moriymoto who approached Keiko "Agent Keiko, its been...too long, you haven't aged a day" Keiko smiled "Little Pidge, last time I saw you, you had just upgraded from a recruit to D-Class" Moriymoto the became slightly flustered which caused many Agents to begin whispering and Aiko confirmed the oddity "Stone Man Moriymoto isn't so stone in the presence of a beauty huh?" Akira scowled while watching this. Moriymoto adjusted his glasses and gestured "Agents Keiko, Taikei, Aiko, and Akira, meet me in my personal study".
Akira's mood made a conplete turn around "I can't believe we get to see the inside of Director Moriymoto's study! Only the best of the best Agents are briefed there!" Aiko nodded "this may be an exception though and this might be bigger than any of us". The inside of Moriymoto's office was unsurpisingly simple, the walls were painted white with a red flag draped onto the Western wall, a globe sat on his desk aswell as a framed photograph, a small stack of papers, a small lamp, and peculiarly, a metronome used for instrument playing. Moriymoto sat behind his desk and said "Agents, this is not easy for me to ask but, I want you all to turn in your Badges and Identification Tags, you have all been unofficially resigned from DATS" Akira and Aiko went white faced, Taikei and Veemon stood there in shock and Keiko picked her ear in apathy "this does not mean you are no longer employed, no, this just means that you no longer work within the parameters of DATA Protocol, in a sense, you are outsiders to the DATS team". Akira and Aiko breathed a sigh of relief and Taikei had Veemon feel his chest for a pulse, Keiko was still barely paying attention, Moriymoto continued "now, you won't be alone in this venture, we have also assigned two D-Class Agents to join you on this team, Agents Daichi and Mamoru".
Akira made a grimace "those two sir?" Aiko gave Akira a safety net "with all due respect Director, those two don't have the best track record when it comes to missions, sure they complete them but the way they complete them" Moriymoto nodded "true, but all the more reason to get them out of the system, there's reason to resign then and as you said, they get missions done". Aiko deflated in defeat as Aizawa opened the door and let the two Agents in, both of them were male, one was fairly tall and skinny with messy black hair, his partner was a floating evil looking Digimon with large hands and a haunting smile. The other Agent was short and had blond hair cut short, his partner was a green fish-like creature with a large fin on top of its head. Both Agents spoke "Agent Daichi Kamui reporting Sir!" The blond one stated "Agent Mamoru Saito reporting Sir!" The Director nodded "good, now turn in your Badges and Indentification" both Agents shrugged "this might aswell have happened, considering we blew up that building last mission" Mamoru stated with Daichi nodding in agreement quickly turning in their stuff. Moriymoto then cleared things up for them "so what you're saying is that we were chosen to become a part of a team that doesn't abide by the DATS Protocol because we're rejects that no one will miss?" Asked Mamoru in which Moriymoto confirmed "Hey! That's what we should call ourselves, The Rejects!" Exclaimed Daichi which was met with a resounding "No" from everyone in the room including Taikei's add on "Call us that and I'm decking you". Taikei suddenly snapped his fingers "Yo Director, you called us Outsiders didn't you? Well maybe that's a good option, The Outsiders, working outside the line" everyone began nodding except Aiko who was still awestruck "wait, Director, you can't be serious about this? This situation. it just doesn't make sense, we find a person in a box, she knew you when you were a cadet but she isn't much older than us, and now you unofficially fire us and then bring in two D-Class Operatives to join us, forgive me but this entire situation is complete nonsense!".
The whole room fell silent and Moriymoto leaned forward "there is no reason to apologize Agent Aiko, your apprehensions are justified, your ability to assess the situations and create solutions is why you're not officially resigned and here right now, all of you bring something to this team that will make it great, you and Agent Akira already have the chemistry to practically read eachother's minds, speaking of, Agent Akira's temperment makes her efficient in combat, Mamoru and Daichi are efficient in their own ways, Keiko has experience and is one of the strongest Brights this Organization has ever known, and Taikei has demonstrated that he is a natural born fighter that can think on his feet. This team has the potential to become the greatest in DATS history".
Aiko calmed down as she began to feel optimistic and Keiko crossed her arms and smirked "you've come a long way Pidge, from bimbling around the barracks in your underwear because you lost your way from the showers to leadjng DATS effectively" Moriymoto's face went red and he tugged on his coat "ahem, well, you are all dismissed, Agents Mamoru, Aiko, Daichi, and Akira, clean out your lockers, you're being relocated to your parents' homes, Agent Taikei you will go home and you will take Agent Keiko with you under the guise of her being your foreign fiancee" Taikei's knees buckled when he heard that "E-excuse me Director?! This us goi g a bit far isn't it?" Keiko responded "no, it makes perfect sense, I can't remain at this HQ and you were the first person who I trusted to free me so it would make sense that I stayed with you and the guise of me being your lover will be a sufficient excuse for me to stay with you" Taikei began stuttering but was defeated by that logic as the others stood there awkwardly "fine..." he said in a defeated tone.
Moriymoto got up from his chair "now, you will be moved to a new base of operations, the original DATS Center, it may be small by current standards but for a team this size, it should be enough". Akira finally spoke up "looks like we're a team!" She exclaimed with the others cheering except for Taikei and Keiko, Taikei being shocked and Keiko being nonchalant about the whole thing. Back at Taikei's house, Taikei witnessed his entire family in shock about the situation "You got a job?!" His dad exclaimed "You get lodging?!" His mother questioned "You got engaged?!" uttered in disbelief. Taikei sat there with a face the shade of a tomato as Keiko sipped her tea "all of this is true, your apprehensions are justified and I will accept your unwillingness to bless our union" inside of Taikei's mind he was screaming the entire time as his life unraveled before him. Taikei's father laughed "are you kidding? My son comes home with a job, an official uniform, and a fiancee! This might be the happiest day of my life!" His mother added "and such a pretty one too, foreign, educated, comes from money, the whole package!" Taikei's sister didn't say anything and just sat there with a jealous energy around her which Keiko could clearly see.
Taikei guided Keiko around the house and finally showed her his room "fairly plain isn't it? Not even a poster, just a bed, desk, closet, and dresser, how basic can you get?" Taikei felt hid anger rise "look, we aren't here so you can make fun of me or my room!" Keiko smirked at him "I know, but it's fun!" She winked at him and started walking around inspecting Taikei's various things and finally sitting on his bed "comfy, this'll do" she stated with Taikei responding "wait, you're taking my bed? So I'm supposed to sleep on the floor?!" From inside his Digivice Veemon spoke "and I'm supposed to sleep in here?! No way!" Keiko moved quickly and was right in Taikei's face "I wanna go shopping" Taikei leaned back and said "what?" Keiko repeated herself "I want to shop for clothes, my home is gone so I can't go back there for clothes, so I need new ones and you're gonna take me, but first I need to change, I'll find something in here for now" Taikei made a frustrated groan and agreed, Keiko looked in his closet and pulled out his running uniform "a track outfit?" Taikei answered her questioning tone "I'm a part of my school's track team, I'm one of the better runners on my team" Keiko smiled and said "this'll do, you can stay and watch if you want" Taikei practically dove out of the room to let her get changed, after five minutes Keiko stepped out wearing a large coat over herself with ripped jean shorts above his track ones, and Taikei's running shoes "let's go" she stated as Taikei looked at his room to see the legs of one of his pairs of jeans on the floor having been freshly cut.
Taikei took her to the local shopping mall where she began scouting out different stores "thank goodness I kept my wallet with me before that whole time thing happened or else I wouldn/ be able to pay for any of this and rely on a kid to do it for me" she said in clear earshot of Taikei, Taikei moped and put his hands in his pockets when he saw someone and it made him panic "oh no, it's Shun" he whispered and Keiko asked "who's Shuji?" Taikei answered while trying to make himself scarce "he's my best friend" Keiko looked at him perplexed "then why are you hiding from him?" Taikei responded "you wouldn't understand, it's a friend thing" suddenly Shuji spotted Taikei and waved "oh great" Taikei groaned as Shuji approached "sup man, didn't expect to see you here" Shuji said as he high fived Taikei "yeah, just out here shopping, got a new job so my pockets are lined a bit" Keiko cleared her throat to get both of their attentions "who's this?" Shuji asked. With a sigh Taikei answered "this is Keiko...my fiancee" Shuji nearly fell over but quickly gained his composure, he then placed his hand on Taikei's shoulder which quickly transitioned to a headlock "didn't we promise to tell the other if they got a girlfriend? Now you're engaged to a full figured knockout and just shut me out?!" Taikei pushed him off "look, I didn't expect this stuff to happen but trust me, you don't wanna know the circumstances" Shuji looked at Keiko and then back to Taikei "is she your sugar mama or something?" Taikei turned Shuji around and pushed him "just go back to what you were doing, please, before you say something else" Shuji stuttered an agreement and walked off. Keiko began laughing and Taikei felt his blood pressure rise "he called me a knockout" she then grabbed Taikei's arm and rested her head on his shoulder "why can't you be sweet like that? Like when we first met?" Taikei scoffed "you were in trouble back then, now you're just trouble" Keiko snickered "hope you can handle this trouble big boy".
Taikei's Digivice suddenly began ringing and he pulled it out to see a hazard symbol "what's this?" Keiko's eyes widened "a Digimon is about to phase through!" Taikei looked at her "where?" As he said that the ground infront of them began to open up into a sink hole and a large clawed hand emerged from the hole, the claw pulled up a large dinosaur-like Digimon, it had a skull-like helmet and had orange skin with blue stripes all across its back and tail.
Taikei typed on his Digivice to scan it "Greymon, Champion Level Dinosaur Digimon, has a fireball attack called Nova Blast". Taikei then pointed his Digivice forward "Veemon Realize!" Veemon then popped out of the Digivice "hey Taikei, what's u-ho, that's what's up" Taikei widened his stance as did Veemon "go get em buddy!" Taikei shouted with Veemon jumping forward and headbutting Greymon in the stomach, Greymon barely budged and swatted at Veemon but Veemon flipped off Greymon to escape "this guy is bulky" Taikei stated with Veemon retorting "that won't stop me!" Veemon then leaped up into the air and spun his fist around to the point of it catching fire and struck Greymon in the side of its face taking it off its feet and making it crash down onto the ground. Veemon landed and dusted off its shoulder and flicked its thumb underneath its nose horn, Greymon staggered up and whipped its tail but Veemon front flip over the tail and landed on Greymon's head where he repeatedly stomped on its head. Greymon reered up quickly and threw Veemon off where it whipped its tail again and launched Veemon into a gazebo.
Veemon threw the debris off himself and asked "is that all you got?" Greymon responded by opening its mouth, a fireball began forming inside its mouth "why'd I have to say anything?" Asked Veemon before Greymon launched the fireball hitting Veemon and causing a large explosion "VEEMON!!" Shouted Taikei as he made it over to the smoking area, from inside the smoke Veemon emerged and quickly fell to his knees "he's too strong, I can't beat him" Taikei looked at Veemon then to his Digivice "maybe we could try Digivolution" Taikei began pressing on his Digivice with his hand repeatedly "it won't work!" Keiko then interjected "you have to channel your DNA Charge! Think of something you desire!" Taikei looked at Greymon who was charging another Nova Blast, he thought hard when the thought of losing Veemon popped into his head and his desire to protect him, Taikei's right hand began swirling with blue data.
Taikei looked at his hand and said "here goes nothing, DNA Charge!" he slammed his hand onto his Digivice and it began to glow as did Veemon. Greymon launched the fireball but it was stopped by Veemon's Digivolution "Veemon Digivolve to...Veedramon!" Veemon had transformed into a large blue and white Dinosaur with scars and three large horns on its nose and the back of his head. Veedramon put its leg back and rushed locking claws with Greymon, Greymon was quickly overpowered and Veedramon lifted it up and slammed it onto the ground. Before Greymon could recover Veedramon grabbed its center horn and lifted it, with one fash motion Veedramon snapped off Greymon's horn and delivered a hard gut punch that caused a cracking sound to utter from Greymon's body. The blow lifted Greymon into the air and Veedramon took advantage of this by grabbing Greymon's side horns and slamming it jaw first into the ground. While Greymon was down, Veedramon reeled back his leg and kicked Greymon causing it to tumble some distance before sprawling out on the floor.
Greymon recovered and stumbled to its feet, it then opened its mouth and charge a fireball, Taikei then saw blue flames erupting from Veedramon's mouth growing progressively, Greymon put its all into this Nova Blast reeling back its head and firing, Veedramon opened his mouth and unleashed a beam of blue plasma that collides with the Nova Blast and quickly pierced and dispersed the ball of fire. The beam traveled faster than anyone could follow and before Greymon could react, there was a clean hole in its midsection. Greymon held its wound before exploding into data which reformed into an orange and blue striped egg, Veedramon degenerates into Veemon and breathed heavily while Taikei looked at the egg, he moved his hand slowly towards the egg when a hole in the floor opened up and black and red chains shot out and grabbed the egg, Keiko moved quickly and grabbed Taikei pulling him away from the egg as it was dragged down into the hole.
Taikei and Keiko breathed heavily "what the hell was that?" Taikei questioned with Keiko answering "The X-Virus..." Taikei looked back at the now closing hole where he saw a symbol appear, it was a deformed red X.