Disclaimer - don't own, wish I did.
It was a normal day for the new digidestined (or as Taichi and Yamato had started calling them : The-Next-Generation-of-Digidestined-with-two-of-the-Original-Digidestined-thrown-in-to-spice-things-up … this was generally shortened to TNG Digidestined), well normal as in they were in a 'normal' fight with the Digimon Kaiser, preceded by Daisuke having his 'normal' spazz at the teen genius about … well, anything that came to mind and as 'normal' their digimon had digivolved getting ready to fight. What was not 'normal' was the Kaiser's reaction to Daisuke's rallying war cry.
"Wait!! Hold it!" The Kaiser was pointing at Daisuke.
"Huh? " Daisuke looked bewildered. This was the first time the 'normal' routine had been changed. He pointed at himself. "You mean me?"
"No I mean the shrub behind you."
"Oh. Okay." Everyone present face faulted at Dai's inability to grasp the Kaiser's sarcasm.
Hikari kindly pointed out to the goggle headed boy that the Kaiser had in fact meant him. This made Daisuke even more confused. "Huh? Why?"
"That is not concern of yours. Now please resume the position you were in before I yelled." The Kaiser waved an impatient hand.
"Uh, sure." Daisuke resumed the dramatic stance he'd been in.
The Kaiser looked at the other four Digidestined and the five Digimon. "You too, please."
The group looked at each other and shrugged before doing as they were told. The Kaiser nodded. "Good. Now freeze." They complied. The Kaiser snapped his fingers and up to his side flew three round devices. He directed one to either side of the Digidestined and one to their front. He snapped his fingers again. The devices started making an odd whirling noise. After a couple seconds the Kaiser snapped his fingers for a third and final time, and the devices disappeared into the trees.
The Kaiser nodded. "Thank-you very much for your cooperation. Let us resume this fight."
That's just what they did. The incident was soon forgotten. Until Hikari went missing the day they planned to enter the Digital world to defeat the Digimon Kaiser.
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"Guys have you seen Hikari?!" Taichi raced into the computer lab with Miyako hot on his heels. "She promised to come home right after school yesterday, and didn't show!"
"WHAT?!" Takeru and Daisuke seemed to be on the same wavelength. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN?! DIDN'T YOU TRY CONTACTING HER?!"
Taichi shook his head. "I assumed she had decided to stay with Miyako and had called mom before I got home. But Miyako say's she hasn't seem my sister since physics yesterday."
The older Digidestined exchanged worried looks. Yagmai Hikari was the most responsible of them next to Jyou, and she never just disappeared. After a moment Sora spoke up. "Has anyone seen Tailmon?"
Everyone shook their head negative. Just then the computer in front of Koushirou beeped. Everyone's attention turned to the small screen that popped up. Koushirou let out a surprised exclamation. "It's Mimi!"
Indeed it was Mimi, pink hair and all, kneeling in front of whatever it was she was using in the Digital World to contact them. "Hey, guys! Has anyone seen Hikari?"
Taichi pushed to the front of the group. "No. We haven't seen her since yesterday. Have you seen her?"
Mimi shook her head. "Nope, but Tailmon is here with me."
Everyone froze. Those close to Taichi glanced at him. Yamato leaned foreword. "Hey Mimi, step back. We're coming in."
Mimi's voice chirped 'Okay!' into the silent room before Yamato closed the window. Looking at everyone else he held up his Digivice. "Looks like the older kids will be joining you today."
Everyone nodded. Takeru stepped foreword with his D-3in hand. "The longer we wait the longer we leave Hikari alone somewhere." His hand turned to face the computer and the waiting gate. "DIGIPORT OPEN!"
Soon all had entered the digital world save Yamato and Taichi. The two boys stood in the now nearly empty room, Taichi not moving or looking up from the floor and Yamato standing across gazing at him. He spoke up softly. "Tai, it's time to go."
Taichi still didn't look up. "I can't."
"Why?"
Finally Taichi did look up. "If I enter the digital world and find that Hikari is lost … or worse …." He trailed off. "I can't do that."
"Tai, don't you think I of all people know that?" Yamato looked out the window. "I'm just as terrified of losing Takeru as you are of Hikari, but …" Yamato looked back at Taichi. "They're growing up. They don't need us like they did when they were younger. It's hard to face." He smirked. "That doesn't mean we're not still the hard-headed protective big brothers that we were the first time we went to the digital world. Besides Tai, you're making a mountain out of a mole hill. Hikari is probably just fine. She can be scarier then Devimon in a pink tutu when she wants to be."
Taichi blinked at his best friend for a good five seconds. "You know Yamato? I think that's the most I've ever heard you say at one time."
Yamato snorted. "Well don't get used to it."
Taichi nodded. Then paused. "Devimon in a pink tutu?"
Yamato shrugged. "It was the only thing I could think of."
"Thanks for the mental image. I think I'm scared for life."
"Whatever." Yamato held out a supportive hand. "Let's just go. The others are probably coming up with a list of really wrong things we were doing to make us late."
Taichi grabbed the blonde's hand. "Funny. Funny."
A minute later the computer lab was empty of everything save the many computers.
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A/N - That was a really long, really really really really REALLY unnecessary thing between Taichi and Yamato.
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Two hours after the digidestined entered the digital world the group had decided three things. One – the Digimon Kaiser had Hikari. Two – They needed to rescue her. Three – They should have brought sedatives for Daisuke. The boy was jabbering more about the need to see Hikari safe then Taichi was.
As it stood the ten young adults stood about a mile away from the Kaiser's base. Mimi and their own digimon had joined them not long after they arrived, and all had listened to Tailmon as she explained how she had been separated from her partner after they decided to take a short trip into the digital world to take a few pictures.
What they'd suspected had been confirmed when Hikari's D-3's signal had led them to the base of the Digimon Kaiser. Now they were gathered together trying to figure out what to do.
"I say we go and rescue Hikari!" Daisuke raised a fist in determination before running towards the base. Miyako grabbed the back of his jacket, stopping him short.
Takeru raised an eyebrow. "I think we need a plan first Daisuke."
Everyone else nodded both to Takeru's comment and then to Sora's. "All you goggle heads rush into things without thinking." Taichi and Daisuke sent her a withering glare for that.
Koushirou tapped the laptop he'd brought. "I've been able to get a rough model of the base's hallways, but Ichijoji Ken is a genius so this won't be easy. He's sure to have posted some of the most powerful digimon under his control to be guards. But I think I know how we can do this. Gather round."
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"Hey! I smell Hikari!" Agumon piped up. Gomomon nodded his head in agreement.
"Where's the signal coming from?" Taichi whispered to Jyou, who was walking right next to him.
"I don't know Taichi. Somewhere in this hallway." Jyou rolled his eyes when he saw that Taichi wasn't listening to him, but glancing around. Jyou sighed and tapped his friend's arm. "Taichi."
"Mm-mmm." The child of courage finally locked his gaze on the child of reliability.
"Taichi, we can't just barge into anything. Let's follow the plan and meet up with the others at this junction." Reluctantly Taichi followed the older boy to the mentioned junction, coming there at the same time as Mimi, Sora and Takeru. Koushirou and Iori were already sitting by the open laptop. Not long after Yamato appeared, leading a grumbling Daisuke and Miyako.
Taichi paced up and down impatiently, then for what seemed the twentieth time he asked, "Izzy have you found Hikari yet?"
"For the last time Taichi! I'll find her easier if you shut up for five minutes!" Koushirou all but yelled at the former goggle-head. Realizing how loud he'd just been he clamped his mouth shut quickly.
From down the hall they heard a muffled voice. "What was that?"
Another voice answered. "I don't know."
Mimi swore slightly under her breath. "Great. Now you two idiots have gotten us caught."
Iori quickly piped up. "I've got Hikari's signal! She's in the fifth room on the right."
Daisuke pumped his fist in the air. "ALRIGHT!"
Miyako shushed him. "Daisuke, you blow our cover!"
Sora shook her head. "No, he won't."
Yamato nodded. "Yeah, Izzy already did that." Koushirou colored as he glared at both Sora and Yamato.
Takeru finally spoke up. "Well if we know where Hikari is …"
Jyou took over. "Why don't we go rescue her already?"
Mimi stifled a giggle. "I think Taichi's already thought of that." She pointed down the hall to where Taichi and Agumon were getting ready to blast in a door. "Uh oh."
Agumon drew in a deep breath of air, and … blasted the door to kingdom come. Taichi ran in as soon as the door was out of the way. Then the rest heard something they did not expect: Taichi yelling "WHAT THE HECK?!"
A few seconds later the whole group stood in the door way thinking the exact same thing.
Hikari was indeed within the Kaiser's clutches. But not in the way the group had thought.
Sitting in the middle of the room's floor were the Digimon Kaiser and Hikari. On the floor around them were spread hundreds of pictures. Both teens were looking at the group with slightly shocked expressions.
Hikari was able to blink once before Daisuke voiced what was on everyone's minds. "What is going on here?!" As he said this he started to step into the room, only to be stopped by twin cries.
"No!"
Daisuke froze. "Huh?"
Hikari wrung her hands. "The picture. You're going to ruin it!"
Stepping back Daisuke realized that he'd been about to step on a small pilloried of Ken and him during their soccer game.
Silence stretched in the room. Hikari looked at her watch and gasped. "Oh." She looked at her friends. "This is the day we were going to … and I forgot all about it! But Ken and I were so involved in these pictures that we … oh, I'm sorry! I really am!"
Taichi gingerly stepped around the pictures, followed by Tailmon. "Err … that's alright." Taichi looked around and realized he'd trapped himself within the mass of pictures. "But why were you two even doing anything with pictures in the first place?"
Ken spoke up for the first time. "We literally bumped into each other at the photography store a week ago. We started talking and things went from there."
Miyako blinked, and picked up a photo of that showed Takeru and Hikari smiling at the camera, and Daisuke in the background yelling something. "Why were you in a photography store?"
Ken shrugged. "I like taking pictures. I've sold a couple prints under a false name in the past." Both photographers began putting the photos into small stacks in a plastic box.
Takeru picked up some of the photos nearest him. "Hey! This is a picture from one of our fights."
His brother looked over his shoulder. "This is a really good shot." He flipped through the next few. "These are some amazing scenic shots."
Ken and Hikari smiled shyly, a light red dusting their cheeks. "Thank-you."
Sora looked around. "Why is this room so bare?"
Ken shrugged. "I'm 'moving out' so to say. I've already disconnected most of the control spires. The ones left are ones I can't reach from here."
"Wait. So you're saying the Digimon Kaiser is retiring?" Jyou asked.
"I guess you could say that, but I never plan on taking up the occupation again."
Takeru didn't look convinced as he handed Hikari the pile of photos he'd collected. "Why so sudden?"
"Wormmon gave me a long overdue smack to the head. I'm not going to lose him like Osama."
Hikari put the last of the photos away. "He's telling the truth, guys." She said softly.
Everyone glanced at each other not really sure what to do. Daisuke solved the problem by walking up to the former Kaiser and holding out his hand. "Well … uh … good job. Not as the Kaiser or anything but for deciding to stop on your own without us having to make you or anything and … uh …"
Ken chuckled as he took the other boy's hand. "Thank-you."
It took the others another couple minutes to get over their shock and offer Ken their hand as well, abet hesitantly on the part of some, as they had their doubts about the teen's sincerity. But then Daisuke always was a little naïve and a little too trusting of anything Hikari said.
The real truth comes out ... The Digimon Kaiser retired because of PICTURES!!! MUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Reviews are greatly appreciated!