Welcome, one and all.

For those of you who have come over from my last two stories, welcome back. For you new people, welcome to the third story of the Destined Jedi series: Revenge of the Infected, or my version of what Digimon Adventure tri. should have been. What can you all expect? Well, there are a lot of elements of tri. that I liked, but also a lot that I did not like. In my case, the good elements will largely stay the same, but with some of my own personal spin on it, and the bad elements will be radically changed.

I'm not going to waste a lot of time talking here because I'd rather let the writing do the talking, so I hope you guys all enjoy the story. I'm sure you all are going to be blown away by it by the end.

Welcome once again to Revenge of the Infected. Enjoy the prologue we should have gotten in Reunion.

(Star Wars theme)

Digimon Adventure

Episode III

Revenge of the Infected

Three years have passed since the Chosen One brought peace to the Digital World. During those three years, darkness has returned in the form of an unexplained infection. All Digimon now cower in fear.

Immense power has been resurrected in the form of an alternate Chosen One. This one promises to bring great sorrow to all it comes in contact with. One that has no control over itself.

With nowhere else to turn, the Destined Jedi remain the last great hope for Digimon everywhere. The true Chosen One has felt a disturbance in the desert and has gone to investigate it with three other Jedi…

The desert sands swirled in the wind, forming into little sand tornadoes that flew across the desolate wasteland. Tumbleweeds blew across the sand like fairies being guided on the wind. The sun mercilessly shot heat on the land below. It was angry that everything below was happy on land while it was kept up in the sky like a prisoner. To show its anger, it boiled the land with blazing hot temperatures that wreaked havoc on the body.

Mid-day had come and gone. During that time, the heat became all the more punishing and unbearable. Large buttes hovered over the landscape like majestic towers of graceful red beauty. They looked like the ones at Monument Valley in Utah. But while they were beautiful to look at, they were not much help in dealing with the heat.

Such was life in the desert.

Davis Motomiya sighed as the last droplets of water from his canteen filled his parched throat, providing sweet relief from the sweltering desert heat. He and his friends had stopped to rest in a small cave under a rock formation. A beat-up, scratched pair of aviation goggles rested on top of his burgundy hair. Sweat under his armpits and around the base of his neck stained the material of his navy blue tunic. His whole body felt drenched in the salty water; no wonder dark colors didn't reflect the sun that well. Sky blue pants peeked out under the tunic from his thighs to just past his knees before ending in dark blue boots.

Davis' personality was no different at fourteen than it was at eleven, when he became a Destined Jedi. He was still the goofy, obnoxious kid he had always been, but he had also become a more responsible, dependable leader to his friends. His tan skin glowed in the desert sun like a handsome surfer on a beach. His dark brown eyes reflected the fire that still burned inside of him along with his boyish charms. He had grown more rugged and powerful since he began as a Destined Jedi.

"Well, that's it," he mumbled sadly. "That's all my water, guys."

A boy with medium length black hair stuck out his canteen. His indigo blue eyes shined with warm kindness. Not one bead of sweat dotted his pale skin or plain black tunic. Davis could swear that he was a desert snake in a previous life.

"Here, Davis. Take some of mine," he said. "There's still a little bit left."

Davis shook his head. "No, Ken. I can't do that," he refused, pushing the canteen away. "You have it."

"Go ahead. I don't mind."

The burgundy-haired boy looked from the canteen to its owner, unsure of what to do. His eyes gazed at the pale red line that went from Ken's right jaw up over his cheek and eye to his forehead. It had gotten better with time, but the mark refused to go away. Ken would carry it for the rest of his life. The black-haired boy stayed completely still, silently urging him to take the canteen. Davis finally relented and took it to sip on some water. He stopped after a few droplets slid down his throat in order to save the rest for Ken.

If Davis was the goofy, obnoxious, charge-into-a-spray-of-bullets-without-a-second-thought type, then Ken Ichijouji was the quiet, steady hand that kept things moving peacefully. He was a quiet, well-spoken young man of fourteen; Davis was two months older than him. When Ken spoke, it was in a soft, almost ghost-like tone that sometimes made people think he was talking to himself. Unlike his burgundy-haired counterpart, he had the patience and demeanor of a saint.

Despite their contrasts in manner and behavioral fuses, Davis and Ken were the best of friends and complimented each other nicely with their conflicting styles. It was what made them a remarkable team.

"Three days, and we still have not found a trace of this disturbance," Davis said, handing the canteen back to its owner. "Are you sure about this, Ken?"

The dark-haired Jedi nodded. "Positive. I never said that I knew exactly where in the desert it was. I only said that I felt something in this general area. All I know is that we have to find it."

The other two members of their party, a boy with a bowl cut of brown hair and a teenage girl with lavender hair, dug through their packs. Their faces fell when they felt nothing in them and sagged with their hands resting under their chins.

"What food do we have left, guys?" Davis asked them.

"None," said the girl. "We ate the last of it a little while ago."

The other boy's stomach rumbled. He grimaced and rested a hand on the spot of his dark purple tunic where his stomach was. Cody Hida, twelve years old, gazed at the leader of their team with a tired look in his sharp green eyes. He was at the end of his rope.

"Davis, let's just go home," he said. "Three days we have been wandering here, and have not found a single thing. We're out of food, and we have hardly any water. I think we should leave, restock, and come back later."

"Right, Cody. Maybe TK and Kari could join us next time too," added the girl. She frowned. "I don't understand why TK had to go to Osaka with his mother this weekend. This was important."

Ken smiled at her. "Was Kari's parents' anniversary dinner not important either, Yolei?" he rhetorically replied. "Life always comes first."

Yolei Inoue, the oldest of the group at fifteen years old and wearing a watermelon colored yukata, huffed at her boyfriend. "I'm just saying," she shot back. "We could sure use the extra help right now. Let's go home."

"No!" Davis refused. "We have to keep going. If we don't find this disturbance today, then we can go home. For now, let's press on."

"Davis, be reasonable!" Cody shouted. "We have no food, and are on the last ounces of water we have. Last I checked, there's not an oasis anywhere near here. We'd be asking for trouble if we kept going. This doesn't feel right."

"You worry too much, kid!"

"I'm not the nine-year-old boy you could just browbeat into going along with things anymore! I'm not going another mile, Davis."

"QUIET!" Ken shouted, the sound echoing throughout the desert. The wind stopped blowing, making the scene feel very ominous and tense.

Davis and Cody instantly shut up, looking at the raven-haired teen in shock. Ever since Ken had stopped being the tyrannical Digimon Emperor a few years ago, he rarely spoke above a hush. The heat was probably getting to him, as it was to everyone else. Ken took a deep breath to get his control back before speaking.

"Let's stop fighting," the Jedi of Kindness said. "We're all tired and strung out. I think Davis is right. Let's just keep going a little while longer. If we don't find out what this disturbance is today, we'll leave and go home. Sound good?"

The three bickering Jedi looked from one to the other in silent contemplation. The wind blew ominously over the dull red rocks of the shelter they were under.

Yolei hugged Ken. "Okay," she smiled. "If you want to do it, Ken, I'll do it too. That's why you're the Great Compromiser of our team."

Ken blushed at the praise. "I don't know about that," he replied bashfully. "I just have a good knack for reading the situation."

The leader turned his gaze on the youngest member of the group. "Cody, what are your thoughts?"

The pre-teen cupped his chin with his thumb and forefinger. Knowing he was outvoted didn't present him with much of a choice. Besides, whatever this disturbance was, it had to be a big deal for Davis and Ken to want to keep going.

He shrugged. "Okay. I'll follow you guys."

Davis patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, Cody. We'll find out what this disturbance is and then go home for some ramen and karaoke."

"Yay!" Yolei shrieked in celebration.

The Destined Jedi picked up their packs with new energy and carried on through the desert. A sandstorm soon came through, blowing sand against their faces. They shielded their eyes with their arms to keep the particles from blinding them. Davis pulled his goggles down over his eyes. The mixture of wind and sand bounced off the lenses determinedly but could not break through. The goggles were starting to show their age, but they were still dependable just like the former leader of the Destined Jedi, Tai Kamiya. He had given them to Davis as a sign of him being the leader almost three years ago.

Over rocky hills and through blistering heat, the younger Destined Jedi continued their trek through the desert. Each step they took felt like a step to nowhere because everywhere they looked was the same. Now, they found themselves staring down at the valley below. The disturbance they felt was getting stronger. Maybe they had found it after all. Cody pulled rope out of his pack and tied it to a rock near the edge of the cliff.

Davis smiled as he repelled down the mesa. The decision to keep going was the right one after all, he thought as his feet touched the bottom. Ken soon followed, and Yolei reached the bottom too.

Cody was still repelling his way down when something in the distance caught Davis' attention.

"What's that?" he asked.

"What?" Ken replied. He was quickly pulled down behind a boulder. Yolei followed right behind them.

"Shh!" Davis shushed him, looking around the corner.

A figure in a dark hood walked through the shadows of the cliffs almost a hundred feet away. He couldn't see their face because the hood was long enough that it completely covered the figure from his vantage point.

Cody finally reached the ground, unaware of what was going on. He took off his harness and pulled the rope down before gathering it. He turned to see his teammates hiding behind a boulder and watching something.

"What's going on?" he asked.

Davis quickly pulled him out of sight.

"Cody, be quiet," the leader said in a hushed voice.

Yolei peeked out from behind the rock to get a glance at the figure ahead. She frowned. It was just walking along in the shade like someone trying to stay out of the heat.

"That's not creepy," she whispered.

But Davis was not entirely convinced. The longer he watched, he realized the figure was walking towards an opening in the side of a rock formation. His blood went cold. Something about that cave did not feel right. He had to get closer.

"Come on," he said, propelling himself from behind the boulder. "Let's follow them. Stay out of sight."

"Davis, wait!" Cody hissed, but the leader already was gone. Ken and Yolei followed right behind. The Jedi of Knowledge and Reliability slammed his fist on his knee and grumbled, "I hate it when he does that."

The Destined Jedi quietly followed from afar as the figure waltzed inside the cave. Its black cloak allowed it to disappear into the darkness like a ghost. A chill shot through all of them.

"I think we found what the disturbance was," Yolei said with a nervous chuckle. "Now, let's go home and come back tomorrow."

"I don't know. Let's go see what we're dealing with," replied Davis. "Come on."

Ken, Yolei, and Cody followed Davis into the cave. As the light turned to darkness, that dark, sinking feeling inside of them grew stronger. The haunting echo of water dripping off the stalactites only added to their anxiety. Refreshing, cool air blew in the cave, a stark change to the heat outside. Looking around, the Jedi noticed that the figure was nowhere to be found.

"Where did he go?" Yolei whispered. The cave walls magnified the sound so it was like she had spoken at a normal volume. Her male friends shushed her. "I am being quiet!"

Ken turned to his right. The figure's presence was coming from that direction. "That way," he said.

Davis gaze down that way and saw the darkness in the cave get thicker. He patted Ken on the shoulder when he passed him then waved for the others to follow him. He stepped trepidly across the cave floor, not sure what he was walking towards. Better to be safe than rushing into something unknown.

His foot slipped through the air. Before he could get his footing back, Davis tumbled to the ground with a yelp and slipped down an inverted slide. His screams filled the cave as he disappeared into the darkness.

"Davis!" Ken cried. He ran over to help, but ended up slipping and falling too.

"Ken!" shouted Yolei. She and Cody met the same fate and slid down into the darkness.

The four Destined Jedi yelled in terror as they twisted and turned as the slide took them in a series of twists and turns, plunging them deeper into the heart of the mountain. Davis screamed the whole way down before the slide finally came to a screeching halt. He let out an OOF! as his front side hit the ground hard.

Everything hurt. Davis groaned to try and force himself up through the pain. Before he could get his bearings, Ken reached the end of the slide and landed on him. Yolei fell on top of Ken, and then Cody fell on top of Yolei a second later. The four looked like a mound of twisted limbs.

Davis had the misfortune of being on the bottom of the pile. His face scrunched in pain as his insides were crushed under the weight of his three friends.

"Caution: Wet floor," he coughed. Pain shot through his lower back. "Get off! I think you guys snapped my spine."

"My spleen!" Ken groaned underneath Yolei and Cody.

Cody got off first and pulled Yolei off with him. He looked back up the slide curiously. The shaft was completely shrouded in darkness. He could not see even a small glimmer of light above.

"That was weird," he remarked. "What was that?"

"Of course there would be a slide for no reason!" Yolei grumbled. "What do they think this is? A funhouse?"

"I think the better question," Ken said, "is where are we?"

They all looked around, hoping they could answer that question. Darkness was everywhere they looked. It was hard to tell where they were. A reflection came off the cold, metal floor below them.

"Looks like a lower level of the cave," Davis said as he finally stood up. He dusted his tunic and pants free of any dirt or grime that stuck to them. "I can't see a damn thing in here."

Then, a slim glimmer of light appeared in the corridor ahead of them. Voices speaking in soft tones accompanied the light. It was so far off that the Jedi could not hear what they were saying.

Cody whispered so low that his friends barely heard him. "I think they're this way."

"Be quiet," added Davis.

The group stepped lightly down the passage. The voices grew louder with each step that they took until the darkness finally came to an abrupt end. Their jaws fell to the ground at what they saw.

They found themselves at the entrance to a control room of some kind. Past a sheet of glass serving as a window was a collection of pods in the room across from it. None knew what they were used for. Screens shined brightly on the control panel and buttons flashed an array of different colors, providing light to a room that was still mostly dark. Yolei and Ken struggled to contain their excitement. This was the mother load for two computer fanatics like them.

Their excitement was short-lived as the four Jedi saw the hooded figure with its back to them. They stayed in the shadows to avoid being noticed. To help that even more, Ken masked their presence with the Force.

"Are preparations still on schedule?" A garbled female voice said in a low, husky tone.

"Yes, they are," the hooded figure replied to the transmission. "Everything is proceeding as planned. It will not be long before we are ready to start phase one."

The woman in the transmission glowed a royal, luminescent blue, staying perfectly in focus. She too wore a hood over her head and face to conceal her identity. Even so, the Jedi saw her smile from their vantage point.

"Very good. Everything here is in place. I look forward to hearing the command to start phase one."

Under his hood, the figure smiled with a dark glint in his eye.

"It will not be long, Libra. Soon, King Drasil will finally unite both worlds at last," he said. There was just one problem. "What about the Jedi? What shall we do in regards to them?"

The transmission's smile widened. "Don't worry. My apprentice will take care of them. I have groomed her well. She'll do her job."

"Good. The Jedi are naïve and trusting. You'll find controlling them will be all too easy. Once the Digital World is rebooted, stage two begins. If any of the Jedi remain, I will take care of them. No one will stand in our way of finally ridding the Digital World of humans; the Destined Jedi above all."

Ken's eyes widened. He almost gasped, but managed to cut off the sound before it left his mouth. Looking around, he saw that his teammates were just as horrified and shocked by this news as he was.

"Apprentice?" he said telepathically. "This isn't good."

"No kidding," Yolei replied in the same fashion. Then she remembered something. "Reboot? Davis!"

Davis raised a finger to his lips to silence them as they continued to listen to the conversation. The woman was speaking this time.

"We have been planning this a long time, Aquarius. This infection will allow us to realize King Drasil's dream of cleansing the Digital World of humans. Soon, the plague of the Destined Jedi will no longer infect the Digital World," she said.

The figure bowed before the transmission. "And what a day it will be when it happens."

Cody could not help himself as he used his voice to whisper, "This is not good," to his teammates. "Let's leave now. We have to warn everyone."

"Shh!" Davis shushed. Then he realized how loud he said it.

The hooded figure turned his head briefly at the sound. The Jedi pressed themselves against the walls and stayed perfectly still. They clasped their hands over their mouths and noses to stop any breaths from escaping. Their hearts thumped in their chests like four bass drums in a marching band.

"What is it?" the woman in the transmission asked.

The hooded figure shrugged and turned back around to face her. "Nothing, I guess. I thought I heard something," he said.

Davis pointed his thumb in the direction the Jedi had come, signaling that it was time for them to leave. They all followed without question, quietly sneaking back down the corridor without revealing any trace of their presence.

"The Jedi have stood in our way for the last time, Libra. Soon, we will have our revenge. And you will finally get back that which you've lost."

The woman bowed. "I await your word. Hail King Drasil."

"Hail King Drasil," the hooded figure repeated and bowed back as the transmission ended. The blue light that had filled the control room disappeared with her.

He then turned to look back at the entrance to the room. It was not his ears playing tricks on him a few moments ago. He had actually heard something. A small smirk played on his lips. He reached out to someone with the Force and gave only one order.

"Don't let them escape."

As the Jedi escaped the cave, they literally ran for the hills. A valley surrounded by towering cliffs was not far away from their position. What they had seen and heard was so frightening that running seemed to be the only good option.

The Jedi stopped to catch their breath as they entered the valley, trying to wrap their heads around what they just witnessed.

"What was that back there?" Cody gasped, bending over on his knees.

Yolei was even more frazzled than the youngest Destined Jedi. "An apprentice?" she choked, unsure of what to say. "Infection? Reboot? This is crazy! We have to leave. Now! That apprentice could be the alternate Chosen One! The others need to know."

"A reboot?" Something about that didn't settle right with Ken. "That part in the prophecy where it says about purifying both ends." Ken's breathing quickened in fear, realizing the possible connection. "Davis, let's get out of here. I'll open a portal for us."

Davis shook his head. "There's no time. The Force is telling me evil is heading this way and we need to take care of it," he said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out his D-Terminal. The device looked like a Game Boy console. "I'll record a message and send it to everyone else. They need to know what we're dealing with here."

He flipped the screen cover off and began recording a message.

"Guys, it's Davis. The four of us are here in the desert and we need your help. We found something very disturbing," he said, pausing to take a breath. "There is a plot to destroy the Destined Jedi. We stumbled upon a conversation between two people who say they are working with a guy called King Drasil. He has plans to 'restart' the Digital World and get rid of us as well. We think it may be the answer to the part of the prophecy pertaining to the purification of both light and darkness. He has a source in the human world that is tasked with finding all of you. She has an 'apprentice' that will try to tear you apart. We have reason to believe…"

Davis stopped as a chill ran down his spine. That same evil he felt earlier was nearby. But he couldn't see it. He looked to his right.

"Hold on."

He grabbed his lightsaber and unleashed the bright blue blade within it. Whatever this presence was, it was coming right for them. The other Jedi felt it too and activated their lightsabers too. Cody's and Yolei's were green; Ken's was purple.

"Hold on," he repeated.

The attack came without warning. Before any of the Jedi could anticipate it, a red lightsaber swung through the air and slashed across Cody's chest. The young Jedi cried out as he fell to the ground. His lightsaber tumbled out of his hand.

"CODY!" Davis, Ken, and Yolei screamed.

Cody didn't move. Smoke rose from the slash on his chest. It was so deep that they could almost see his sternum under the skin. Embers still burned from where the lightsaber cut across flesh. Before Yolei could run over to heal him, green cannon fire landed near, barely missing the three remaining Jedi. Cody's body was nowhere to be seen after that.

Panic and helplessness overwhelmed them as they struggled to figure out what to do next. A black shadow cast itself over them. Davis shouted the first thing that came to his mind.

"RUN, GUYS! RUN!"

The three Jedi took off running, barely managing to keep their sobs at bay. They were quickly cut off by the hulking presence. Green cannon fire hit the ground, sending a giant blast wave to blow the Jedi back. Yolei took the brunt of it as her lightsaber and glasses flew further than her body. She hit her head on a large rock and fell to the ground in an unconscious heap.

"YOLEI! NO!" Ken roared, tears trickling down his cheeks. He ran over to collect her body, but Davis stopped him before he got far.

"Ken, no! Let's bug out of here!" he ordered, wanting to ignore the Force as it kept telling him to fight. "Open the portal! We'll come back for them later."

But Ken thrashed against Davis' grip "Not without my girlfriend! Send the message!" he cried. "No one is going to be left behind!"

"We have to leave!"

"Let me go, Davis."

The two stared at each other in a tense standoff. Neither one was willing to budge on his position. Davis exhaled sharply and slammed the D-Terminal into Ken's hand.

"Then you finish the message," he growled. "I'll take care of this. You grab Cody and Yolei then get out. I'll be right behind you."

Ken nodded and ran to where his girlfriend had fallen. The lenses of her big round glasses were cracked. Small bits of glass fell off when he picked them up.

Davis swallowed his fear and stepped forward to engage their mysterious attacker. He was going to buy Ken as much time as he could. Sparks flew as their sabers clashed together.

Ken picked Yolei up over his shoulder and glanced back to where Cody's body was. He had a sick feeling in his heart that the youngest Destined Jedi was dead but refused to believe it. He then spotted Cody's body near a group of rocks. The first explosion must have moved the body, which was now in a tangled heap. He had blast burns on his cheek and blood dripping down from the side of his head.

The Jedi of Kindness nevertheless pressed on to grab Cody, but a large explosion ahead stopped him from reaching the boy. His ears rang as if twenty sticks of dynamite had blown up in front of him.

"We need help now!" he shouted into the D-Terminal. "Cody and Yolei are down! And…"

"AAAAHHHHHH!" Davis cried as the red lightsaber slashed through his sternum and abdomen. His body fell to the ground with a thud, along with his lightsaber.

"DAVIS!" Ken screamed, his voice growing hoarse from all the screaming he had done in the last two minutes. Never had he felt so helpless and alone before. All his friends had fallen.

And he was next.

His blood went cold as the large figure's red eyes stared at him like it knew he was scared to fight. Green energy built up in its arm cannon as it pointed at him. Ken knew this was the end, but he was going to give as much information as he could before the cannon fired.

"One of the two hooded figures we found is called Libra," he said in a flat, emotionless voice, waiting in anticipation for the blast to hit him. "Find Libra and–"

Green light. Then an explosion.

Ken's world went black.

Yolei's broken glasses tumbled out of his tunic and rested on the ground as the shadow covered them.

What...the heck...just happened? Find out next time on Revenge of the Infected.

Hope you guys enjoyed the prologue. If they intended for the 02 kids to play any role at all, they should have given us a scene like this. Simple flashes of them being defeated in what could arguably be Tai dreaming about it just didn't cut it. Oh well, that's why they left it to me to do I guess.

As always, I will update every Saturday to the best of my ability. If I cannot update one weekend, I will make sure to let you guys know.

If you liked the prologue, make sure to leave a review and subscribe to the story. This is one you are not going to want to miss out on.

See you all next week for the official chapter one ;-)