Zero 2: A Revision Chapter 1: The Fire of Courage, a digimon fanfic

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon (even though I'm redoing the entire season of 02 and potentially making it better. :P ).

Author's Note: It's here! I am actually going to redo the other episodes ('and there was much cheering and drinking of soda')!

The number of episodes may be shorter than the original list I revealed (and it most likely will). Nevertheless, I will try my best to make sure these episodes go in cohesion with the New DigiEpisodes.

Good grief...how does George Lucas keep the Star Wars movies in proper consistency!

Note to Anthony1: Nope. I will have to say no. Reason #1: I don't have e-mail. Reason #2: I check daily (and your stories and profile are on my favorites list), so that's not an issue.

Note to Ali: Just you wait until the Crest of Light finds that out (and I'll admit I didn't know that beforehand; thanks for the Japanese vocabulary lesson. :P ).

With that said...let it begin!

Zero 2: A Revision

"This is Kari Kamiya. It's been four years since we've last been to the Digiworld. We haven't seen our Digimon either, but we've had to move on...Tai, Matt, Sora, Mimi, Joe, and Izzy have moved on into high school, but for TK, myself, and a few others, the adventure's just begun!"

Episode 1: The Fire of Courage

It was a dark and stormy day in the Digital World. A twisting tropical forest sat underneath the slow moving storm system. It looked like it would rain later on.

However, within the jungle...a chase was taking place.

"Horn Blaster!"

An energy ball that was colored turquoise exploded nearby a Digimon that was scrambling for safety. That Digimon was the prey. The one chasing her was the predator.

The cat Digimon scrambled away as fast as she could. Her white fur was ruffled and sweaty, and the purple tips of hair on her ears and tail were frayed. Her claws needed sharpening, and her blue eyes revealed fear.

The Digimon was the one known as Gatomon. She was the partner of Kari Kamiya the Child of Light, whom she had not seen in four years.

And right now, Gatomon could really use her help.

"Horn Blaster!"

Gatomon yelped as the turquoise energy ball exploded right behind her. The cat cursed her rotten luck. Her tail ring – an old item she had gotten long ago – had been lost in a confrontation with the same Digimon pursuing her. Without it, she might as well have been called a Rookie: her strength had declined as a result.

Gatomon leapt over a knobby tree branch and started to run again when she was suddenly yanked into the bushes. "HEY-"

"SHH!" Gatomon's mouth was shut by two hands. One was a large clawed hand colored orange. The other was a tiny black paw that was as big as a dime...in other words, it wasn't very big.

Gatomon's eyes widened when she saw the two who had shushed her. It was Agumon and Patamon, old friends of hers.

Agumon silently mouthed the words 'Keep quiet'. Gatomon nodded in response.

Suddenly, a large black hoof could be seen in front of the bush. If they were out in the open, they would've seen a large winged unicorn with a red facemask. It was Unimon, Gatomon's pursuer.

However, there were two new additions. The first was that his normally blue-green visor was now colored a glowing blood red. The second was that a large ring colored black encircled his neck.

Unimon sniffed the area, growled, and took off into the sky. Gatomon could not breath for a whole minute. When she finally resumed breathing Patamon asked, "What happened Gatomon? Why was Unimon chasing you?"

Gatomon shot them a look they knew all too well. Agumon gasped. "You mean?"

"Yes," replied Gatomon, a grim look on her face. "It's him."

Over the past few months, a human had appeared in the Digital World. The human had been dressed in dark blue garments and he carried a whip with him. Whoever he was, he had begun a takeover bid of the Digiworld. And he had been succeeding a lot. The human had been enslaving Digimon with black rings that acted much like the Black Gears of Devimon.

Some Digimon called him a devil. Others proclaimed him as a former Dark Master incarnated as a human. But whoever he was, he always made sure his title was spoken before he enslaved you.

For he was known as the Digimon Emperor.

"Hm hm hm hm...my conquest is going right on schedule."

The one known as the Digimon Emperor sat within a large, dark room. He surrounded himself with monitors so that he would have a constant eye over his entire domain. He sat on a chair made of stone and metal, watching the progress of his invasion.

The Emperor , whom all Digimon feared...was a boy.

He wore blue pants with white on the sides. Black stripes stretched horizontally across the white on his pants. The upper part of his consisted of a blue and white vest with gray around the abdomen. A white shirt lay under the vest. A brown belt with a circle-shaped golden buckle was fastened on his waist. He wore matching dark blue-gray gloves and boots, which were fastened onto him by thick, silver buckles. The buckle on his left hand was actually a large metal gauntlet that stretched to halfway up his forearm. The gauntlet was a piece of technology that allowed him to issue commands to his invasion force. Fastened onto his suit was a dark blue cape with yellow trimming. He also wore metallic shoulder pads that were colored yellow.

To finish the attire, he wore shades. The lenses were colored purple, and they prevented anyone from seeing his eyes. His hair was puffed out and fuzzy, colored a dark blue.

The Emperor smiled as he watched his army of controlled Tuskmon take over a village of Tsunomon. "Well, that's another area down." He spoke in a cocky and self-assured voice. All of a sudden, a holographic screen showed up to reveal Unimon.

"Ah, Unimon. I take it you've captured the Gatomon?"

Unimon gulped as he shook his head. "No, great Emperor. The Gatomon got away."

The Emperor growled in frustration. "WHAT!" His face contorted to that of a scowl, and his features indicated anger. "Listen to me Unimon, I need that Gatomon under my control! She's one of the three remaining Digimon of the Digidestined. If all of the Digidestined's Digimon are captured, then I will have no one left that can threaten my empire! Capture the Gatomon, or I'll delete you personally!"

Unimon bowed his head. "Yes, Emperor." The monitor disappeared.

The Emperor scoffed. He hated when his minions failed. When they failed, his objectives were not accomplished. And if his objectives were not accomplished, he got mad.

"Oh well." The Emperor chuckled as he pulled out a digivice. But it was not like those of the other Digidestined. Instead, it was shaped like a fist, with the screen on the top half and a large button on the bottom half. Two small arrow-shaped buttons could be seen on the right side of the screen. A miniature antenna jutted upward from the digivice. Another difference was that the digivice...was colored black and gray.

The Emperor smirked with glee. "As long as I have the Dark Digivice, none of my opponents can digivolve."

"We're almost there TK."

"I know mom."

The boy known as TK Takaishi stared out the car window as the got ever closer to Odaiba.

He had grown a lot in the four years that had passed since his adventures in the Digital World. Instead of the large green hat he had as a youth, he now wore a simple white hat with a rim as low as his forehead. He wore a simple green and yellow T-shirt with brown pants. His shoes were white with blue designs.

"Mom? Do you think any of my friends are still there?"

Ms. Takaishi nodded. "Of course TK. I'm sure they're still there."

TK hoped that his best friend was still there.

The one known as Kari Kamiya.

The next day was a Monday. It was the first day of the school week at Odaiba Middle School.

TK Takaishi smiled as he walked towards the front doors. He was now 12, and in 7th grade. Later on, after school, he would take a bus to his father's apartment...and hopefully see his big brother, Matt Ishida.

The instant he stepped inside, the chatter of students filled his ears. The first period was set to begin in fifteen minutes, and he was looking for his homeroom.

Although this was his first day there, he had already gotten his classroom information yesterday over the phone. He was looking for room 7-2.

As he walked down the hallway, his eyes caught the sight of someone. The strange thing was, at a glance, the person's hair was puffed up, and brown...and he wore goggles.

TK did a double take. He rubbed his eyes and looked again. It was no illusion. The person walking down the hall was heading for the seventh grader's section of the building.

No way...is that Tai?

The boy that TK did a double take at walked calmly into room 7-2, carrying a math book, a notebook, and some pencils.

The boy did bear a striking resemblance to Tai...except he wasn't Tai. His hair was spiked up, but it didn't go every which-way like Tai's did. Instead, his brown-maroon colored hair was puffed up in a spiky sphere. He wore a long-sleeved blue shirt with white stripes going across it. The stripes had yellow trimming, and they also adorned his sleeves. He wore a light blue vest over his shirt, and he wore dark blue shorts. His shoes were white with black streaks going along the sides. To complete the outfit, he had large goggles over his head, with a white strap and square-shaped lenses.

His name...was Davis Motomiya.

The boy's brown eyes looked around the classroom until he finally found the person he was looking for.

A girl that was about an inch shorter than he was sat near the room's windows. She wore a pink and white shirt with short sleeves. The bottom half was white, whilst the top was pink. She wore yellow shorts with a brown belt holding them to her body, and she also wore pink shoes with white shoelaces. A small digital camera hung around her neck on a string. On her hands were finger-less pink gloves that hugged her skin, stretching all the way up to just below her shoulders.

The girl had brown hair that went down to the side of her face. She had a pink headband on and her eyes were amber.

Davis grinned as he walked over to the girl and sat down in a vacant desk to her left. "Hey Kari!"

The girl – Kari Kamiya, the Child of Light – turned her head to see her best friend...well, of the male gender anyway. "Hi Davis." She grinned and poked at him teasingly. "Ready for another 'fun' day of Mrs. Hakashi's Math class?"

"Ha ha, very funny Kari." Even though Davis and Kari were best friends, they would occasionally tease each other out of good humor. For Davis, math was not his favorite subject. He either doodled or slept during Mrs. Hakashi's class.

"Attention class." Everyone turned around to face Mrs. Hakashi. She was a brown-haired woman who wore a simple dress. "We have a new student today."

A blonde-haired boy with a white hat stepped into the class. Kari looked at the boy with a strange look in her eyes. Where have I seen him before?

"Class, I'd like to introduce you to TK Takaishi."

Kari's eyes nearly popped out of her head. TK? Her old friend TK was here? That meant...that TK had moved back to Odaiba! Alright! He's moved back!

Hakashi turned to TK and calmly said, "I'm going to get some books for TK. I will be back in a minute. TK, have a seat over there by Kari Kamiya."

TK's eyes went over to where she was pointing, and gasped. The brown-haired girl that was staring at him...was Kari. Wow! It's Kari! She's grown a few feet in these last four years!

As Mrs. Hakashi left the room, the students took this opportunity to get in a few words to their fellow students. TK eagerly sat down in the desk to the right of Kari. "Kari...nice to see you again."

Kari read the shock in TK's face. "Yeah...it's good to see you here too TK."

Davis, who had no clue as to Kari and TK's past relationship, paled in the face. Here was a total stranger, and he was talking to Kari as if he'd know her for years. He nearly burst as he saw the two converse while the teacher was gone. If he had been a spectator to the event, he would've surmised that the two...were a couple.

That thought made Davis' blood boil.

He's making a move on my girl!

Now, Davis and Kari weren't an item...but he sometimes thought of themselves as girlfriend and boyfriend, considering how they were best friends. Davis narrowed his eyes as one chilling thought came to mind.

Kari was a popular girl at school, but she had always politely declined all the boys who asked her out on a date. Davis himself had never asked her out – out of shyness, if anything else – but judging from how well the two were getting along...

I've got some competition.

Suddenly, a hand waving in front of his face got his attention. It was Kari's. "Davis, you awake?"

Davis suddenly snapped to it. "Uh, yeah." Davis mentally kicked himself.

TK smiled as he leaned over to see Davis from two seats away. "So, your name's Davis Motomiya huh? Don't take this personally, but you look a lot like Kari's brother Tai."

Davis grinned. "Aw, really? You think?" Tai Kamiya was an expert at soccer. Davis was pretty good at soccer himself, but he admired Tai's skill and personality. He was his idol. That's when he suddenly realized something. "Hold on, you know Tai?"

TK nodded. "Yeah, I first met him and Kari about four years ago."

The statement brought an unsettling realization to Davis. This guy's an old friend of Kari's! He's already got an advantage!

Now, if one were to peek into Davis' mind right now, some would call him silly for thinking like this.

But Davis had his reasons.

"Class." Everyone stopped talking and turned Mrs. Hakashi, who handed a math book to TK. "Now, turn to page 37 and we'll get started on the area of a triangle."

Davis mentally groaned. Oh man...I hate geometry!

The time was 2:30 PM.

The red-haired teenager groaned as he typed away at the computer.

He wore the standard uniform –green collared jacket, gray pants, white collared shirt, and a blue tie – of a high school student, but one might mistake him for a seventh grader at first glance.

It's probably because he was about as tall as the average 7th grader...which was about 5'3.

For his lack of height, he was a genius at computers. His black eyes stared at the screen as he worked on a special project that he had been working on for over three years.

His name...was Izzy Izumi.

About three months after the Digital World was sealed off from the Real World, Izzy had been working non-stop to open a Digiport. So far, he had been able to write a program that actually showed an existing Digiport...but no matter how many times he tried, he couldn't open the gate. Every single time he felt he was getting close to a breakthrough, all of his data would disappear, and he'd have to start from scratch. Even during school hours, when he didn't have access to his old laptop (yes, the same laptop he used four years ago), he'd use the computers in the computer lab at Junction M-H (Middle School – High School; the junction connected the middle school facilities with the high school facilities).

Izzy hadn't given up yet...one way or another, he'd get into the Digital World and see Tentomon again...

"Hey Izzy!"

Izzy suddenly snapped back to reality as he turned his head to the female standing in the door to the computer lab.

The girl was about as tall as he was, but she was only a 13-year old in 8th grade. She wore a long-sleeved pink shirt and a long red skirt to match. She had a slim figure, but she wasn't skinny. She had long, lavender hair that went down to her lower back, and tied to the top of her head was a blue bandana. She also wore large eyeglasses with black rims. Her shoes were white sneakers with green designs on them. She looked at Izzy with her orange eyes and asked, "Izzy, you said you'd come to Cody's house later on and help me fix his computer!"

Izzy blinked. Yolei was a technical whiz with computers and math. If she had a problem with it...then it must be serious. "I'll be over in about an hour, okay?"

Yolei glared daggers at the redheaded teen. "You'd better!" With that, she huffed out. Izzy gulped as the girl left. Izzy was the computer class president for the entire school...and his assistant was Yolei. He had chosen her because of her knowledge with computers. Plus, she reminded him of his two old friends Sora and Mimi. Yolei showed a lot of love and care to her friends, and she didn't hesitate to speak her mind.

Unfortunately for him and many others, Yolei had something that neither Sora nor Mimi had.

Yolei's temper had a very short fuse.

As Yolei walked down the hall, she heard a stern voice. "You know, you didn't have to bite his head off."

The girl turned to see a young boy that was about half her height. He wore a long-sleeved purple shirt with no collar. He also wore green denim jeans. His shoes were white with blue designs on them, and his chocolate-brown hair was in the shape of a dome that covered his head. His green eyes were stern and focused, and they were fixed upon Yolei.

Yolei waved her hand dismissively. "Oh Cody, I'm only joking around."

The young boy – Cody Hida, a nine-year old in the 4th grade – replied, "Still, it doesn't give you the right to jump on him like that. Honestly Yolei, you're quick to jump the gun at times."

Yolei grunted in disapproval. Cody always spoke with reason and sternness...in other words, like an adult. She never understood why the little boy acted like that. Suddenly, another thought leapt to Yolei's head. "Wait a second Cody, did you remember my bag?"

Cody pulled his green backpack off and unzipped it. He pulled out a large brown bag and handed it to Yolei. The girl checked inside the bag to make sure the contents were safe. She took a whiff and nodded with content. Her fudge brownies were safe. "Thanks for hiding them in your locker for the day Cody."

"No problem. But why couldn't you just leave them in your locker?"

Yolei shifted her eyes from side to side to make sure no one was around. She then leaned over and quietly whispered into the boy's ear. "Believe it or not, there are some weird people at the Middle School facility who like to pick the locks on people's lockers and loot them. So I asked you to keep my brownies safe in your locker."

Cody blinked and nodded. He understood Yolei's plight now. People who stole stuff sickened him...it just wasn't right to steal.

The time was 2:45.

Davis followed TK and Kari down the hall of Junction M-H. Kari had told TK about Izzy Izumi the Computer Class President, and the blonde boy immediately wanted to see him.

Davis, for some reason that only he knew, was slowly starting to dislike the boy. He understood he was an old friend of Kari's, but he didn't really like Kari and TK being so 'chummy'.

Just keep your cool, man. Just because Kari's talking with an old friend doesn't mean she's gonna dump you. Davis mentally laughed to himself. What was he so worried about? Kari was only reintroducing herself to an old friend. He was still her best friend.

"Hey Kari. Hey Davis."

Davis suddenly snapped to it. They were now in the computer lab. TK smiled as he looked at Izzy. "Hey Izzy, remember me?"

Izzy looked at him for a moment, then his eyes widened. "TK? Is that you! When did you move back?" The red-haired teen quickly got out of his chair.

The blonde nodded. "Yep. I see you still have a thing for computers."

Izzy nodded. "Sure do. Man...you've grown a lot. Have you seen Matt yet?"

TK shook his head. "Not yet. But I will later on today."

Davis' nose suddenly started to twitch. With all the computers in this room, that meant there was an abundance of one thing...dust.

And the dust was getting into Davis' nose.

"A...ah...ah...ACHOO!"

The sudden sneeze caused everyone to back away in surprise. Unfortunately for Izzy, this caused him to tumble over his chair and land on his back.

This also caused something to fall out of his pocket. That something was a small square object that TK, Kari, and Izzy knew all too well.

It was Izzy's Digivice.

And Davis was the first one to pick it up.

"Sorry about that Izzy. The dust got into my nose." Davis had met Izzy before...but only because Kari introduced him to the computer whiz. Davis didn't really mix well with computers. "Hey, this looks like Tai's."

However, the instant he picked it up, a signal was activated...a signal that was picked up by only one source.

A computer monitor glowed brightly in the darkness of the room. The one sitting in the chair in front of the computer had no choice; it was nighttime in this portion of the Digital World, and the room had no light source...save for the monitor.

The shadowed figure raised an eyebrow as the computer picked up the signal. The one known as Davis Motomiya had touched the digivice.

It was time.

"Hello?" An elderly voice called out to him. The figure turned around to see a man standing in the doorway. He was an elderly man...shorter than the figure was. He wore a black and red suit with wires sticking out of his body around the shoulders. His white mustache drooped, and what little hair he had was wrapped in a ponytail. The man's eyes were narrowed. "You've been at that thing for hours. Your Digimon's already digging into dinner!"

The figure did not say anything. The light from the hallway illuminated the old man's body, but the figure's face was still obscured by the darkness. Finally, the figure spoke. Judging from the tone, pitch, and sternness in it...it was male human. "Gennai...it's time."

The old man – now identified as the old man Gennai – blinked. "You sure? It is?"

The figure nodded. "I'm certain. The signal just reached my computer. You need to send out the new digivices to the new Digidestined."

Gennai blinked rapidly and started running. "Gah! I can't believe I forgot! Gotta get to it!"

As the figure watched Gennai rush back into the hall, he laughed to himself. He wondered how Gennai would've remembered to do this. "He'd probably figure it out on accident..."

However, this meant that he was getting closer to the end of his mission.

"It's time to see if the New Digidestined can handle the Digimon Emperor."

Gennai placed the three digivices into a metal box and began pressing some buttons and keys. Finally, he entered the coordinates...and pressed the 'Enter' button.

Suddenly, the three digivices flashed. One was flashing blue, the second red, and the other yellow. After hovering in the air for a few moments, they rocketed upward. The digivices phased through the roof and the water of the lake above his house.

The digivices exited the lake, and they went for the nearest Digiport.

A sudden energy reading was detected on the Emperor's scopes. As he pulled up the map to identify it, it had already disappeared.

"Hm..."

After Davis handed the digivice back to Izzy, the computer Izzy had been working on suddenly started flashing.

The others looked at in awe. Izzy gaped at the screen and shouted, "What's happening!"

Suddenly, three colored streaks of light zoomed out of the computer. The blue streak settled in Davis' hands. The red and yellow streaks zoomed out of the room.

TK, Kari, and Izzy stared at the object that had materialized in Davis' hands. Motomiya stared at it oddly as he replied, "Uh...is this like Izzy's little digivice thing? Cause...it looks different."

Izzy noted that it DID look different from his. Davis' digivice was shaped like a fist. It had three buttons – one large on the bottom half, two arrow-shaped ones on the side of the small screen – and it had sides colored blue.

TK could tell where this was going. "Kari, go get your brother."

Kari nodded. She knew were Tai would be after school ended. TK told her to get him because they both knew something big was happening.

One thought ran through Kari's head as she ran out the door and towards the soccer fields.

The Digital World...are we actually going back?

Davis blinked as Izzy examined his blue digivice. "So you're saying that my digivice is a newer model of your own?"

Izzy nodded as he looked at the digivice with a magnifying glass. "Exactly."

TK turned his head toward Davis and tapped his shoulder. "Pardon my asking, but how do you know about the digivices?"

Davis turned towards TK, who held his own digivice in his hand. "Well, Tai showed his own to me about a year ago. Ever since then, he'd sometimes tell me about a place called the Digital World.

The blonde boy paled in the face. Tai actually told someone else about the Digidestined? Had the older Kamiya brother lost his marbles! TK looked at Izzy who simply said, "I told him not to tell Davis, but he wouldn't listen."

Motomiya huffed in response. "Hey, I can keep a secret! Besides, it's not like you can forget watching someone get sucked into the sky by a rainbow."

TK thought back to that moment. It was four years ago, and they were returning to the Digital World after VenomMyotismon was deleted. They had been returned to the Digiworld in the plain sight of everyone in the city...so there was no doubt some people saw them. "Well...that's true."

Suddenly, two voices could be heard from the junction.

"Come on Kari, what's this all about?"

"I'll tell you when we get to the computer lab."

"Is Izzy showing off some kind of gizmo again? The last one caused my hair to stand up like a cat's!" Izzy sighed as he remembered an embarrassing gadget he had tinkered at in his spare time. The gadget in question was a battery-powered toaster – why he made it, no one knew...not even Izzy himself , but when it activated, a charge of static-E caused Tai's hair to stick straight up for a week.

"No."

"Is this about how I kicked you in the face with the soccer ball?"

"No. And you should've watched where you kicked that thing! I nearly lost a tooth!"

"I said I was sorry!" That's when Kari walked in, pulling Tai in as well. He wore his soccer uniform – red shirt, white shorts – and his black cleats. His hair was still as puffed out and crazy as ever, and he had his old goggles fastened upon his head.

That's when Davis noticed a large bump on Kari's head. Judging from the conversation in the hall, Tai had accidentally kicked a soccer ball at his sister when she got to the soccer field. For some reason, Davis couldn't help but snicker.

Tai took a breath of air and asked, "So what's this all about Izzy?"

Izzy held up the blue digivice. "This digivice came out of the computer and ended up in Davis' hands."

Tai blinked and gasped. A new digivice? "Unreal...is it yours Davis?"

Davis quickly swiped it away from Izzy and casually replied, "Yeah, it is."

Before Tai could reply, the blue digivice started vibrating. Everyone looked at it to see that the digivice's screen was glowing. Davis blinked as it vibrated. "Boy...this is freaky."

Davis pointed it toward the computer Izzy had been working on...and it started vibrating even more. Deciding to see what the deal was, Davis walked closer to the computer. As he did, the blue digivice rumbled more and more. When he finally got to the computer, it was vibrating so hard that one could actually hear the buzzing sound it made. Davis' hand was beginning to numb.

Motomiya stared at the screen to see a strange black figure on the screen. It looked like a black welcome mat with bits of it going off in every direction. A red screen could be seen in the middle of the black pad, and to the left of it was a glowing red dot.

Davis held his digivice up to the screen, and the red dot...turned green. "Hm?"

Izzy gasped in shock. For some otherworldly reason, Davis had been able to open the Digiport on his own. Was it because Davis' digivice was a newer model? In any case...the Digital World was open for travel. "Unreal...Davis, do you realize what you've done!"

Davis froze. When someone said that to him, it usually meant he had goofed up. "Uh...I didn't mess up anything, did I?"

"Mess up?" Izzy grinned. "More like made our lives happier! You just reopened the gateway to the Digiworld!" Thankfully, Tai, TK, Kari, and Davis were the only ones in the computer lab that could hear that. Tai, TK, and Kari gasped in shock and surprise. The Digiworld was now open again...which meant...they could see their Digimon partners again.

Tai thrust his fist into the air and shouted, "Alright!"

Davis nervously scratched the back of his head. Although he didn't want to admit it...Davis enjoyed praise whenever he got it. "No need to thank me ladies – well, lady - and gentlemen."

TK chuckled as he sarcastically replied, "How modest of you Davis."

Davis frowned and retorted, "Oh be quiet TP."

TK blinked in confusion. "TP?"

For some reason, TK, Kari, Tai, and Izzy couldn't help but laugh at Davis' mispronouncing of TK's name. Perhaps it was because TK's name consisted of only two letters.

Davis steamed as he turned back towards the computer. He looked down at his digivice to see some words on its screen. "Hm...Digiport Open?"

The red-colored gate suddenly spewed out a bluish-white light that enveloped Davis, TK, Kari, and Tai. Izzy was out of the path of the light, so he could only watch as the four of them were sucked into the computer. When the light disappeared, the four of them were gone.

"Gack!" Izzy pulled out his digivice and pointed it at the computer. The Digiport was still open, so he could travel into it, even without the new digivice.

However, a familiar voice got his attention.

"Izzy!"

Izzy quickly stopped and pocketed his digivice as he turned towards the door. Sure enough, Yolei Inoue and Cody Hida were standing there. "Um...yes? Do you two need something?" Izzy tried his best not to sound nervous.

That's when the two of them reached into their pockets and pulled out something that made Izzy's eyes bug out of his head. They both had digivices that looked exactly like Davis', save for color changes. Yolei's was red, and Cody's was yellow. Unreal! That's what those other two streaks of light were! The other digivices!

Cody calmly asked, "These things suddenly appeared in our hands out of nowhere, and Yolei figured you might know where they're from."

Izzy sighed. This would take some explaining. However, his nose picked up something. "Um...do I smell fudge brownies?"

Yolei quickly opened her brown bag and pulled out a fudge brownie. "Want one?"

Davis had a fleeting sense of vertigo as he was pulled through the Digiport. He felt like he was going through a tunnel in zero gravity at 200 miles per hour.

Then, as soon as it started, it ended. Davis' eyes saw only the grass. He had landed face-first on the ground. He was about to get up when he felt three other bodies fall on him. Davis winced and groaned. "Ow! Get off!"

The Digiport's exit...was a small TV. Davis had tumbled out of it first, followed by Kari, TK, and Tai. Unfortunately for Davis...he was on the bottom.

Tai, TK, and Kari pulled themselves off Davis, taking a glimpse of their surroundings. They were in a lush forest with a large cliff to the west. It had apparently just rained a while ago, considering how many water droplets had collected on the foliage.

Davis looked around in shock. A moment ago, he had been at school. Now he was in what he presumed to be the Digital World. "So this is the Digital World eh? Doesn't look like what I thought it would be like..."

Tai then looked at Davis and blinked. "Wow...you've gotta a new look Davis!"

Davis suddenly looked down at himself to realize he DID have a new outfit. His school clothes were gone. Instead, he wore tan shorts with a white shirt. Over that shirt was a leather jacket with a furry collar colored white. The leather was colored blue, and fire designs adorned the bottom half of it. The flames were a mixture of red, orange, and yellow. Instead of shoes, he wore orange boots with a white stripe on them. He also wore big, yellow gloves.

However, his goggles were still there – something for which he was thankful for – and smiled. "Well look at me!" Davis then noticed that the others had the same outfits they had from the Real World. "Hey, how come you guys have the same clothes?"

The only response he elicited from them was an honest shrug.

That's when something leapt out of the bushes at him and playfully tackled him to the ground. It was...an orange dinosaur.

"Tai! You're actually back! You've actually come back!" cheered the little dinosaur.

"Gah! Wait!" Davis tried to push the creature off. "I'm not Tai! He's over there!" He frantically pointed towards his idol, who looked speechless at the sight of the dinosaur.

The Digimon paused and sniffed Davis. "You're right...you're not Tai!" Agumon quickly ran over to Tai and sniffed him. "Yeah...YOU'RE Tai!"

"Agumon!" Agumon leapt into Tai's arms, hugging him tightly. This caused the high school student to fall to his back, but he didn't care. He hadn't seen his partner in four years...FOUR YEARS! Arguably his best friend ever...and now, he was there again to see him.

That's when two new creatures came out of the bushes. One was a cat, and the other was...a flying pig.

"Kari!" The cat ran over to the girl.

"TK!" The flying pig flew over to the blonde boy.

Kari and TK couldn't believe their eyes. They hadn't seen their partners face-to-face for four years. And now they were here...Gatomon and Patamon.

"Gatomon!"

"Patamon!"

Kari and TK grasped onto their respective partners and refused to let go. Tears of joy began to stream down their face. After four years, they had reunited with their friends.

As for Davis...he was dumbfounded. He had heard Tai tell about the Digimon...but he never expected them to be like this.

So these are Digimon...cool!

"What's this?"

A new monitor sprang up, revealing Gatomon, a Patamon, an Agumon, and...four humans.

The very fact that other humans were here meant that the Digidestined had somehow been to open the Digiports again. This was an unexpected occurrence. He never thought that the Digidestined would return.

"No matter. They can't do a thing anyway." With the power of his Dark Digivice being broadcast all over the regions he had conquered, the Digidestined's Digimon couldn't digivolve.

Now only one question was left. Who would have the honor of carrying out his mission?

"I know just who to send." He opened a small compartment in his gauntlet and pressed a several numbers. The screen suddenly switched, revealing Unimon. "How may I serve you, Emperor?"

"Listen Unimon. The Digidestined have somehow gotten into the Digital World. They're at coordinates 01-001-GAMMA. I want you to capture the Digidestined's Digimon, seize their digivices, and last but not least, I want you to destroy the humans." Then his tone became hard. "If you fail me this time Unimon...I'll delete you piece by piece! Do we have an understanding?"

Unimon cringed in fear. This was his last chance at life. "Yes my Emperor." The screen turned dark, leaving the Emperor alone to his thoughts.

He chuckled as he thought of the Digidestined being destroyed. He would not stop until his iron fist gripped the entire Digital World.

"A Digimon Emperor!" gasped Tai, TK, and Kari.

The three little Digimon nodded. Agumon said, "That's right Tai. For the last few months, a humans' been coming to the Digital World and enslaving Digimon."

TK had an unpleasant flashback to Devimon. "Is it like the Black Gears?"

Patamon shook his head. "Nope. He enslaves Digimon using things called Dark Rings. One of them gets on you, and poof! You're his slave!"

Kari angrily said, "That's terrible!"

"And that's not the worst part," said Gatomon, her face grim. "We're the only ones left! Gabumon, Biyomon, Tentomon, Palmon, and Gomamon have all been enslaved by him!"

The three of them shouted, "WHAT!"

"And another thing too! The Digimon Emperor has the power to prevent Digimon from digivolving!"

Tai, TK, and Kari silently absorbed Agumon's words. For some reason, none of their Digimon could digivolve.

Now where was Davis, you might ask? Since it was now clear he was a Digidestined (being the one who received the blue digivice after all), you might think he would be just as involved in the conversation as the other three Digidestined.

Instead, Davis...was getting a soda.

For some reason that he wasn't aware of, someone had put a vending machine out in the middle of the rainforest. For that, Davis was thankful. Because he was getting thirsty.

He pulled out a quarter, slipped it into the vending machine, and selected a cherry-flavored soda.

But nothing came out.

Davis groaned in disgust as he kicked the machine and started walking away. "Stupid machine."

That's when a bunch of green slug-like creatures erupted out of the slot and began crawling away from the machine in a steady stream of green goop.

Unfortunately for Davis, that 'steady stream of green goop' crawled right over him. "Ah!" The green creatures had purple spots on them, and their eyes were situated on little stalks of green. Eventually, all of the goopy beings – the Numemon – had left the vending machine for another place to live.

This left Davis on the ground, the back of his jacket covered in goop.

"Eew...that's gross," muttered Davis as he pulled himself up. He walked back over to the vending machine to see that his drink had actually come out. "Alright!" Davis grabbed it, opened it, and started chugging down the carbonated goodness.

That's when something suddenly appeared from the forest. It looked like...a unicorn.

Davis finished drinking his soda and glanced at the Digimon. "Huh...you a Digimon?"

The unicorn growled. "Digidestined! I am Unimon, and by the order of the emperor, I must destroy you! Horn Blaster!"

Davis gulped as Unimon charged up an orb of green electricity in his mouth. "Uh oh." Davis leapt out of the way of the attack, letting the vending machine take the hit. It was destroyed by the blast, causing an eruption of soda.

"Horn Blaster!"

Unimon prepared to fire again, but some of the soda splashed on his visor. This caused his aim to veer off slightly, causing his Horn Blaster to hit the ground right behind Davis.

As a result...the young boy was sent flying...straight towards Unimon.

"Ah!" Davis grabbed Unimon's horn as he flew by, which caused him to swing around and land on the unicorn's back. Unimon neighed and started to buck around in an attempt to shake the boy off. Davis, however, held on for his life...and had fun at the same time.

"Yeehah! Yahoo! So this is what it's like to be a cowboy!" Davis smiled as he loosened his grip a bit on impulse...and that was just enough to do it. Unimon bucked with all his force, sending Davis off his back and into the air.

Unimon snorted as he gave chase.

"Ahhhh! OOF!"

Davis landed face-first against the ground, his goggles and head rubbing against the dirt and grass. Coincidentally, he landed right in behind the other Digidestined.

TK blinked as Davis pulled himself to his feet. "What happened to you?"

Davis turned around to face where he had come. Unimon came thrashing through the trees. He gulped and nervously said, "Um...any of you know how to stop a giant unicorn?"

Tai, TK, Kari, and their Digimon simultaneously shouted, "RUN!"

"Horn Blaster!"

They immediately started running westward, towards the cliff. As they neared it, they noticed that the entrance to a cave was carved out of the cliff rock. Tai quickly shouted, "Into the cave!"

"Horn Blaster!"

The green orb collided with the top of the cave mouth. The rock cracked and started to fall. The Digidestined looked on in horror. Unimon was trying to block their escape route! They poured on the speed and dove into the cave as several large boulders blocked the entrance.

They were in the cave...but they were trapped.

Gatomon scratched her ears and groaned. "Man, talk about a close call."

Davis went to move his goggles back into place on his forehead...when he noticed something horrible, even in the dim light of the cave. The lenses were shattered, and the rims were cracked. Apparently, his little fall earlier had broken his goggles.

"Oh man...my goggles are trashed!" whined Davis. Another thing that he and Tai had in common...they liked their goggles.

Tai winced. "Dang. You'll have to get some new ones."

Patamon started flying further into the cave. "Hey guys! I see a light up ahead!"

The seven of them walked further into the cave, eventually reaching a large rocky chamber with a hole in the ceiling. Sunlight came through the hole and shined upon a stone pedestal...where something stood.

The others blinked as they looked at it. TK asked, "What...is that?"

Unimon growled as he looked at the blockaded entrance. The Digidestined had escaped him.

The Emperor will not be pleased. Unimon gulped at the thought of what the Emperor would do to him. He had to find another way in.

He took to the air and started searching for another way in.

A small oval-shaped object sat on the pedestal. It looked like a digiegg with a sharp, curved knife sticking out of the top. Flame designs were embroidered all over it, and to top it all off...the Crest of Courage was pasted on it.

Tai blinked as he moved closer to it. "What is this thing?"

Agumon took a closer peek at it and crossed his arms in thought. "Well, it has the Crest of Courage on it. It looks like a Digiegg...maybe there's a special Digimon for you Tai!"

Tai thought about it. Truthfully, the thing DID look like a digiegg...and the thought of a new Digimon to help against the Digimon Emperor sounded tantalizing. "Okay, let's haul this thing out of here." Tai bent down to pick it up...and pulled.

But it didn't move. No matter how hard Tai tried, he couldn't budge it. "Gah...no use."

TK walked over and calmly said, "Let me try." Patamon set down on TK's white hat and cheered, "Come on TK!"

Same result.

"Man, that thing must be super glued to the ground!"

"Looks like this needs a woman's touch." TK moved out of Kari's way as she bent down to pick it up. Once again, it didn't budge. "On second thought, maybe it could use a weightlifter's touch."

Davis' ears perked up. "Well, I sometimes lift weights! Let me give it a shot!" Davis scrambled over towards the digiegg and grasped with both hands. Okay pal, here goes. He took a deep breath. 1...2...3!

Davis pulled back with all his might, and to everyone else's surprise...it came up without the slightest resistance. Everyone stared at Davis oddly as he grinned. "That was easy. It doesn't even weigh as much as a math book. You guys need to work out."

Tai just stared at the Digiegg oddly. What's the big deal? It has the Crest of Courage, and I'm the Child of Courage! But how come I couldn't lift it and Davis could?

His self-questioning was halted when an orange light erupted from a hole in the ground. Davis gasped as something began to materialize in the ray of orange light.

Gatomon blinked as the mass began to take shape. "What...is that?"

Finally, the light faded...and no one expected to see what they saw.

Unimon growled as he flew over the cliffs. He had searched the entire cluster of cliffs, and he hadn't found a single entry way!

"The Emperor's going to have my head..." muttered Unimon.

He suddenly noticed an orange light erupting from a hole on top of the cliff. Unimon suddenly started smiling. The hole was small...but a Horn Blaster would open it up.

Grinning, Unimon flapped his wings and made his way toward the hole.

The being that emerged from the light was a Digimon.

The Digimon was curled into a fetal position as it hovered in midair. It was a biped, and his skin was colored blue. Its underbelly and chest was covered white, as well as the skin around its mouth. It had a foot-long tail that bent upward at about halfway. Its feet were large and had three claws. Its hands had five fingers, each with a sharpened nail about a few centimeters long. The ears looked like miniature versions of the tail, and a yellow dot adorned the cheek under each eye. A small horn jutted outward from its nose, and a yellow 'V' adorned the forehead.

Finally, the Digimon opened its eyelids to reveal red eyes...that looked at Davis happily.

A smile tugged at the Digimon's lips as it cheered and leapt down, prancing around Davis. Judging from the voice, it was now clear the Digimon was a male. "Wahoo! Free at last! Free at last!" The little blue Digimon stopped in front of Davis and held out his hand. "My name's Veemon! But you can call me Veemon!"

Davis stared at Veemon with a dumbfounded look in his eyes. All he could manage to say in reply was "Um...hi."

Everyone else just stared in awe at the little Digimon. Agumon's eyes suddenly snapped open, as he had been deep in thought. "Veemon! I can't believe! Veemon is an ancient mythical Dramon-type Digimon who's supposed to bring you good luck!"

Veemon nodded and hopped into Davis' lap, sending the boy's – who was already on his butt – back to the ground. "It's been so long! I've been waiting for you!"

Davis just laid there, looking as shocked and slack-jawed as ever. "Um...you have?"

"You bet! But you were able to lift the Digiegg of Courage! You lifted it and freed me! So I'm your partner Davish!" Veemon didn't lose his grin the entire time. He had a strange lisp with the letter 's' in certain words...causing it to sound a 'sh'.

The other Digidestined just stared at Davis and Veemon in awe. Davis had received a blue digivice of a more advanced model, opened up the Digiport after it had been closed for four years, and now he had lifted a Digiegg of Courage to receive a Digimon partner...when Tai couldn't budge it all, and he was the Child of Courage.

TK thought to himself in stunned silence. Something tells me that this is going to be a long year...

"Horn Blaster!"

Everyone suddenly looked up to see the small hole in the ceiling blow open. Unimon was hovering downward as the dust cleared; he had made the hole five times wider. "It's time to finish this Digidestined!"

Everyone gasped as Unimon set down on the ground. The Digidestined were all gathered in one cave...and they had nowhere to run.

Unimon grinned. It was all in the bag. The four humans would fall, as well as the four Digimon.

Wait...four Digimon? Unimon looked at the fourth Digimon in suspicion. He was not with them when they entered the cave. Oh well. It doesn't matter! "Horn Blaster!"

"Scatter!" Everyone followed Tai's command post-haste. The green orb of electricity crashed against the ground, chucking rock and rubble into the air.

Veemon ran alongside Davis and shouted, "Davish! You need to unlock the Digiegg so I can digivolve!"

Davis blinked as he looked down at the digiegg in his hands. "One question...how do I do that!"

Veemon quickly shouted, "Use your courage!"

"Horn Blaster!"

Another green orb exploded on the rock wall above Davis and Veemon. They dove to the side as Davis shouted in exasperation, "HOW DO I DO THAT!"

Veemon innocently shrugged. "That part I don't know."

Davis groaned as Unimon fired another orb of energy. This time, it barely missed Kari and Gatomon...but some of the orb's electrical energy snagged Kari's left leg as the orb exploded on the ground. The girl immediately fell to the ground.

Gatomon stopped and gasped. "Kari! What's wrong!"

Kari tried to move her leg...but it wouldn't respond. The electrical surge had paralyzed her leg. "My leg...I can't move it!"

Unimon grinned as he stomped over towards Kari. "This is the end little girl!"

Davis' eyes suddenly hardened. Unimon was going to kill Kari! "Kari!" Davis ran over towards her...and defiantly stepped between her and Unimon. "Hey! Big, tall, and ugly!"

Unimon snorted as he leered at Davis. "Pathetic human! So you want to die first, do you!"

Kari gasped. Davis was going to get himself killed! "Davis! Don't! You're gonna get yourself killed!"

"If you want to die first then so be it!" Unimon opened up his mouth and started charging up his attack.

"Go ahead and give me your best shot!" Davis stood still as Unimon prepared to attack. One would say that he was either boldly protective...or stupidly foolish.

However, Davis was too concentrated on protecting Kari...to notice that the Digiegg of Courage was glowing orange.

"Horn Blaster!"

At that precise moment, Veemon started glowing in that orange light as well.

Veemon armor-digivolve to...Flamedramon: The Fire of Courage!

Davis blinked as the green orb – which was about to annihilate him – was kicked away by a large biped.

Veemon had become something...else. He was now ten feet tall, and it seemed as if though the Digiegg of Courage had covered his body. His feet, thighs, hands, chest, and head were covered by armor that was colored in a similar fashion to the Digiegg of Courage. Three sharp claws stretched outward from his armored feet, and three sharp talons jutted outward from the armor on his hands. Black bands made of leather wrapped around his arms. On his forehead, a giant metal spike curved upward from the yellow 'V' on his head's armor. His red eyes were now serious and determined...as if he was ready to pick a fight.

And he had kicked away the orb as if it were a soccer ball.

Everyone gasped and looked at the new Digimon in awe. Agumon gulped and managed to stutter, "B-but you digivolved! H-how did you do it!"

The new Digimon turned and spoke in a deeper and more serious voice than Veemon's. "I am Flamedramon! Davis' willingness to protect his best friend unlocked the Digiegg of Courage and allowed me to armor-digivolve! My Fire Rocket and Flaming Fist attacks will barbeque you into oblivion!"

Unimon gasped at the Digimon that stood before him. "But...how!"

"Everyone, move away from the entrance!" Everyone did what Flamedramon told them to do as he leapt over and behind Unimon. A fiery aura started to cover him as he shouted, "Fire Rocket!"

All of a sudden, Flamedramon zoomed forward like a fiery rocket, crashing into Unimon. Surprisingly, he kept on going. Flamedramon zoomed through the cave and towards the blockaded entrance.

BOOM!

The boulders exploded. Unimon was sent flying into the air before crashing on the forest floor. Flamedramon leapt out of the rubble as the Digidestined and the other Digimon ran out of the cave.

TK looked as Flamedramon dodged Unimon's charges. "Man, look at him go!"

Davis allowed a little bit of pride to beam through. "Yeah...and he's MY partner!" Davis grinned as Unimon fired another Horn Blaster, which Flamedramon easily dodged.

Flamedramon pulled back his fist as flames started to cover it. "It's time to end this! Flaming Fist!" The Armor Digimon charged forward and sent his fiery fist into Unimon's neck...hitting the Dark Ring that adorned him.

Unimon wailed in agony as the power of the Dark Ring left him. His visor turned blue-green again, and he started shaking his head. "Oh...what a horrible nightmare."

Flamedramon turned orange and shrunk. When the glow subsided, Flamedramon was Veemon again.

Davis suddenly felt something materialize in his pocket. He pulled it out to see something that looked a little like...a wider, shorter version of a PDA. It was about eight inches wide and had a black handle on the lower left side of it. Two arrow-shaped buttons were right above it, colored a crimson red. A small red button also sat further upward. Two gray buttons shaped like half-circles were even further above that. In the middle was a flip-open lid that revealed a screen inside. On that screen was a digitized version of the Digiegg of Courage.

Tai stepped over to Davis and smiled. He seemed genuinely happy. "Davis, it seems to me that you have what it takes to be a leader of the new Digidestined."

Davis blinked as he turned towards his idol. "What do you mean by leader of the new Digidestined?"

TK walked over to Davis' side and said, "Well think about it. The blue streak of light turned into your blue digivice. That meant that the red and yellow streaks we saw were also digivices. That means we'll have two new Digidestined joining us soon."

Tai continued on before Davis could interject. "And since your digivice is the only one that can open a Digiport, you'll sometimes have to take the initiative...because unlike you, the Digidestined that are in high school can't come at whenever they please."

Davis thought over the situation. The Digimon Emperor sounded like bad news...and with his blue digivice and his Digimon partner Veemon, he had no choice in the matter. Plus, since he was going to be the leader...he'd have plenty of chances to impress Kari. After all, he had competition in TK...or at least, that's what he told himself. Finally, Davis clenched his fist and eagerly shouted, "Alright, count me in!"

Tai then reached up for his head and grabbed his goggles. "However, if you're going to be the leader of the Digidestined...you'll NEED some goggles."

TK, Kari, Patamon, and Gatomon sweatdropped.

"So take mine." Davis' jaw dropped as Tai took off his goggles and placed them on his head. Unlike Davis' broken goggles, these goggles had circular lenses.

Kari looked at Davis and teasingly remarked, "They look good on you."

However, Davis just nervously laughed in response. He thought it was an actual compliment...and it was. But not the kind he was thinking about. I've still got a chance!

Tai put his hands in his pocket and started heading towards the TV they came out of. "Well, let's head back to the Digiport!"

Unimon, who had finally regained his bearings, solemnly replied, "I will accompany you to the Digiport...it's the least I can do for the wrongs I caused you."

"Hmm...this has been a very interesting day."

The Digimon Emperor watched the monitor as the now-freed Unimon accompanied the Digidestined to the Digiport. Unimon had not only failed all three of his objectives...his Dark Ring had been destroyed.

However, he was most intrigued with the new Digidestined child known as Davis. In one day, Davis had broken the seal on the Digiport, gotten a new Digimon partner, and – via the newly discovered 'Armor Digivolution' – bypassed his Dark Digivice's digivolution-dampening power.

Now he had a lost a servant in Unimon, and he had new obstacles to deal with. Fortunately, they had not discovered the amplifier for his Dark Digivice's power. It had been less than a mile away from the cliffs...but thankfully, it was situated in the middle of a canyon that obscured it from view.

"It doesn't matter." The Emperor seemed...pleased. "After all, what good is a tyrant if he doesn't have any worthwhile opponents to crush? And there's two more Digidestined yet to actually arrive here..."

The Emperor laughed as he stood up. The light of the monitors reflected off of his shades as he called out, "Wormmon!"

A few moments passed in silence. Finally, a tiny little worm-like Digimon crawled out of the darkness towards the light of the monitors. The tiny, light-green worm had seven segmented sections. The rear section had two lavender barbs on the end, with a black stripe going all around it. The next five sections each were identical in form, with two feet on each. The ends of each foot were colored violet. Finally, the last section – the head – had two long antennae that were bent twice. They hung to the side in an angular style like the '' figure. A lavender-colored 'Y' with two dots below the branches was embroidered on its head. Calm, soulful blue eyes looked at the Emperor with compassion. Finally, the purple-colored mouth opened as the Digimon spoke. "Yes, master?"

The tone indicated that the Digimon was a 'he'. His voice was deep and classy, as if he were a butler (like Alfred). The Emperor smiled as he calmly replied, "Alert our forces that we have new foes to deal with. The Digidestined have finally returned...and I want them to be on the alert."

Wormmon nodded. "Yes master, but one question...what's a foe?"

The Emperor sweatdropped. "That's what dictionaries are for Wormmon."

Izzy sighed blissfully. He was on his third brownie now. The brainy boy had to admit...Yolei's fudge brownies were good. "These are delicious!"

Yolei grinned as Cody sat beside her, eating brownies as well. "Thanks Izzy! By the way, what's with the blinking light on the computer?"

Izzy had been so put off by the brownies he had forgotten about the reopening of the Digiport. "What light?"

Yolei pointed to the computer screen and said, "That little light on the thing there." She turned her head to see the light again, but her eyes bugged out of her head. "EH!"

On the screen was a picture of Kari – a friend of hers through Izzy , her older brother Tai, and the blonde boy Izzy called TK. Then, Davis Motomiya's – another friend Kari had introduced her to – face suddenly popped out from the side of the screen.

"Hey Yolei! Open up! It's me, Davis!"

By the time they had gotten to the TV that represented the Digiport, they discovered that it was still open. And because of that, they could see right through the port to see Izzy...eating Yolei's brownies.

Tai grumbled. "Izzy...save some for me!"

That's when Davis knelt down to shout, "Hey Yolei! Open up! It's me, Davis!"

Davis' blue digivice suddenly activated...and the four of them were sucked in by the TV.

Agumon, Gatomon, Patamon, Veemon, and Unimon watched in shock as the humans disappeared in a bluish-white light. Agumon could only comment on the shocking display.

"You don't see that everyday!"

Davis felt that rushing feeling of vertigo again. He tumbled head-over-heels as he crossed the plane between the Digital World and the Real World.

When he and the other three finally emerged from the screen...they crashed onto Yolei, Cody, and Izzy in a tumble.

Thankfully, no one was using the junction at the moment. Otherwise they would've peeked in to see a hilarious-looking jumble of students.

Izzy gasped as Tai landed on his left hand...that held his third brownie. "Gah! You're crushing my brownie!"

The shadowed figure sighed as he turned off the computer. He had watched the whole trip taken by the Digidestined. And to be blunt...he was almost disappointed.

"So how do you think they did?" Gennai's elderly voice reached his ears. The figure grunted and replied, "I'm a little disappointed. But it's expected. This is their first trip to the Digital World in four years. Heck, this is Davis' first trip EVER. And they don't have data on the Digimon Emperor like we have. So if you consider those factors...I'd have to say they did satisfactorily."

Gennai sighed as he turned towards the door. "You're just overcritical. After all, what they've been through today is nothing compared to what you've been through."

Silence. "...I know." The figure sighed as he leaned back in his chair. It was getting closer and closer to the date he had been waiting for. The reason he had spent years in the Digital World...was coming soon.

But in order to face that threat...they have to get through the Emperor first and foremost.

To be continued

Next time...

Episode 2: Love and Knowledge

Author's Note: Whew. Over 10,000 words...my longest chapter yet. Was it satisfactory? Let me know! Read and review!

(UPDATE: 8/17/2004): Fixed a little inconsistency with Tai and the mention of the Internet and Diaboromon. Inconsistency was brought to light by Digikaiser3605.