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"I sent an e-mail to Matt," T.K. said. "He said he and the other DigiDestined will try to keep Digimon out of the area, but we have to be the ones who face Ken. Only our Digimon can Armor Digivolve. He also said he'd call our parents and the Ichijoujis and tell them weĠre camping in the Digital World for a few days."
"He's not going to tell them the truth?" Kari asked.
"What's he supposed to tell them?" Yolei demanded. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji, your son was brainwashed to think he's evil, and now he wants to conquer the Digital World, so he probably won't be home for dinner!"
"Now, Yolei, calm down," Hawkmon tried to comfort her.
Davis stopped pacing. "Hey, Sailor Charon..."
Sailor Charon looked up. "This is all my fault," she said miserably. "If I hadn't totally botched my attack on Jedite..."
"Oh, shut up!" Kuiper's voice sounded miffed. Sailor Charon detached his disk and set it down. "Stop wallowing in your own self-pity. That goes for all of you as well. What counts now isn't what has happened, but what will. Now, Cryolite said that these memories are Ken's own. How did you snap him out of it last time?"
"He didn't realize that Digimon were real," Cody explained. "he thought it was only a computer game. When we told him, and he realized he had seen our Digimon in the Real World..."
"Well, that and the fact Wormmon gave up his life to save Ken..." Yolei added darkly.
"Wait," Sailor Charon said. "I'm confused. Wormmon's the little bug, right? I saw him today. He's awful lively for someone who's dead."
"Digimon never really die," Patamon explained. "they just are reconfigured."
"We're not killing Wormmon, okay," Davis said. "That is not an option."
"I wasn't planning on it," Sailor Charon said.
"Okay, how else can we get the old Ken back?" Davis faced Kuiper and Sailor Charon.
"All of the relevant memories are still in Ken's head," Kuiper explained. "he just can't access them."
"I get it," Yolei said. "It's like computers: if you delete a file, the computer just erases the icon. The file's still there until the computer writes over it."
"Exactly!" Kuiper exclaimed. "Strong emotions may be able to breach the block Jedite put on Ken's memories. Try reminding him of all the good times you've had together."
"The Sailor Scouts might help us, too," Sailor Charon said. "What, you thought I was the only weirdo from my universe who ran around in a funny costume? Five Sailor Scouts originally defeated Jedite's leader, queen Beryl. they should help us."
"Can you get them?" Davis asked.
"Just need to hop back to my home universe. Some of you should come with me, though. To answer questions and all."
"I'm staying here," Davis said. "Ken's one of my best friends. Human friends," he corrected, after a glance at Veemon.
"Thank you," Veemon told him.
"I should stay here, too," Cody added. "After Ken came over to our side, he and I didn't get along at first. I didn't trust him yet. I think it would mean more if I helped to remind him of who he is."
"I'm staying too" Yolei said, crossing her arms. "Just because," she added when Kari looked at her inquiringly.
"I'll go with you, Sailor Charon," Kari said. Gatomon nodded.
"I'll come too," T.K. said.
"Great!" Sailor Charon took out her dagger.
"Hold it!" Kuiper lifted off the ground. "Before anyone does anything, I want to remind you that you've all been through the proverbial wringer and are currently running on adrenaline or the Digital equivalent. Now, we all are going to get a full night's sleep, have a good breakfast, and then go do what we must. Okay?"
"Yes, Mom," Sailor Charon did lie down, though.
"He's right, Cody." Armadillomon added. "Let's all get some shut-eye."
"I don't know if I can sleep, Armadillomon," Cody yawned."I'll keep watch," Kuiper said. "I can see in the infrared, and it's not like I need sleep. Good night, all."
We got an early start the next day. After breakfast, Kari, Gatomon, T.K., Patamon and I left for my home universe.
We appeared in the suburbs. Thankfully, no one noticed us.
T.K. looked around. "This looks like our world."
"I know. There's not much difference. The time's a bit off and there are Sailor Scouts, not Digimon," I paused. "Speaking of which, how are you going to disguise your Digimon."
"That's no problem," Gatomon said.
"We can pretend to be stuffed animals," Patamon explained. "We've done it before."
"We'll be as quiet at a cat."
"What cat?" I asked.
"The cat that ate the mouse." I rolled my eyes at Gatomon's remark.
"What about you?" Kari asked me. "You don't exactly blend in, either."
I looked down, over my Sailor costume. Oops. Better do something about this. i took a deep breath, and relaxed. I felt my costume return to my 'street clothes'. it's been a long time since I've been in my mundane form; I miss it.
"That'll work." Kari grinned. "You blend right in, Sailor Charon."
"Charlotte," I corrected. "Sailor Charon is just a... a job title, I guess." I picked up Kari's backpack. "Here, I'll carry this, and you carry Gatomon, and T.K. can carry Patamon. If anyone asks, we're tourists."
"Where are these Sailor Scouts, anyway?" T.K. asked as we walked down the street.
"Um... Well, I've never actually met them," I stammered, "and I don't know their real names, but we can find them."
All four of them stared at em. "I've never worked with them before," I protested.
"Great," Gatomon said. "We have to look for five girls in a city of millions."
"Wait a minute..." I said. "The Guardian Cats -- the Scouts have talking cats!"
"Talking cats?" T.K. asked.
"You got a problem with that?" Gatomon glanced at him.
"Sure!" I grinned. "Luna and Artemis. Both have crescent moons on their foreheads. That's why Kuiper's image is of a cat -- he has precedent."
"Great," T.K. said. "Now we just have to find two cats in a city of millions."
"Cheer up! We can split up -- there's a bus station just around the corner." I turned the corner and nearly ran over a girl. Both of us dropped our backpack.
"Oh, dear!" I said. "I am so sorry!"
"It's okay, " She replied. "I was distracted; I wasn't looking where I was going." She handed a backpack to me.
"Thanks," I said.
"No problem, but I've got to be going." She walked off.
"Sorry," I told T.K. and Kari as we sat to wait for a bus. "I'm a bit of a klutz."
"No problem," T.K. told me.
"If we're going to split up," Kari said, "we should look at a map. I think I've got one in my backpack." I passed her her bag and she opened it. "wait a minute, this isn't my bag!"
"That girl must have given you the wrong backpack," T.K. told me.
I nodded. "Look for an ID or something. An address we can return it to," I told Kari.
Kari started removing things from the backpack, books and notebooks, mostly. "hey, I found an address. it says this bag belongs to Raye Hino -- I think she lives nearby."
"Good," I said, "we can return the bag, then find the Sailor Scouts."
"There's something else in here, too," T.K. was also digging through the bag. "Looks like one of those designer ball-point pens, except I can't find the pen part."
"Looks sort of like a wand," Patamon said.
"Wand? Hold it up -- let me see," I looked up as T.K. took the item out of the backpack.
T.K. was partially right -- it did look like a red and gold ball-point pen, the type that get given away with desk sets. Well, sort of. If you didn't look very closely. But Patamon was more right. "Congratulations, T.K.," I said, shocked. "You've just found the Transformation Wand of a Sailor Scout."
Raye was late for their study session -- unusual, because it was in her room.
"I'm never going to get this in time!" Serena wailed. "Why does all the Sailor Scout business always come right before tests!"
"Now calm down," Amy said. "You can do this, Serena."
"I swear," Luna commented from under the table, "she always goes back to the bad old ways after a big victory."
"It's probably stress relief," Artemis told her.
"Where is Raye?" Luna asked the girls. "Normally, Serena's the one who arrives late."
"Luna!" Serena objected. "Just because it's true doesn't mean you have to be so mean about it!"
The girls heard footsteps in the hall and Raye entered.
"Wow, Raye, you look tired," Lita said. "Are you okay?"
"It's nothing," Raye sat down. "I just had a weird dream last night and I can't seem to stop thinking about it."
"What kind of dream?" Serena asked.
"You are aware this is supposed to be a study session?" Luna asked.
"we can study later, Luna."
"This from the girl worried she'd fail all her tests..." Luna sighed. "Go ahead, Raye."
"Well, I dreamed I was in a forest. It was sort of dark and a boy-"
"A boy!" Serena said. "You didn't tell us it was that kind of dream. Was he cute?"
"Oh, stop it, Serena," Raye said. "He looked younger than me, but not by much -- maybe 12 years old. Sort of long hair. I suppose he was kind of cute. He was running, fast, away from where I was standing. He looked over his shoulder. He was scared... terrified... of what was behind me. Then something -- it looked like a beam of dark energy -- hit him and knocked him down."
"Then what happened?" Mina asked.
"Well, a shadow passed over my head and formed into three figures behind the boy as he got up. One of the figures seemed... sort of familiar, I don't know." Raye shook her head. "When the boy got up, he was different -- he was wearing some sort of costume and mask. He looked sort of sinister. he was looking at something behind me, so I turned around."
"What was there, Raye?" Even Amy was interested in Raye's dream.
"It was a bug-"
"Ew!" Serena made a face.
"Let me finish, Serena! It was a bug, or a caterpillar, or something like that -- it was pretty big for a bug. It looked at me ad it said, 'Help him'"
"Then what?" All four girls were on the edge of their seats.
"Then my grandfather told me I had to run some errands before you guys came over."
There was a shocked silence. Raye continued, "Anyway, shouldn't we be studying?" She took out her backpack and opened it. "This isn't mine. I must have taken the wrong one."
"That isn't like you, Raye," Luna said.
"I bumped into some people on the way over here -- literally. I must have taken their bag by mistake."
serena took the backpack from raye and started going though it. "Serena, that's rude!" Raye told her.
"Maybe I can find a name in here -- hey, a photo album!" Serena held it up. "Says here it belongs to Kari Kamiya." Serena flipped though it. "Either this Kari has a really big stuffed animal collection or something very weird is going on." Serena held up a page of the album. Six kids were posed for a picture. Six small animals of some sort were also in the picture.
"That's the boy from my dream..." raye said softly. "the one on the far right -- and he's holding the bug."
"Really?" Lita asked. Raye nodded.
"So, maybe your dream wasn't just a dream?" Artemis wondered aloud.
The silence that followed was interrupted by Raye's grandfather's voice. "Raye! Some people are here to see you!"
"Just a sec," Raye ran to the front door. Her grandfather was standing there, along with the three people from the bus stop: the college aged girl who had practically run her over, and a girl and boy about her age. The young woman was holding her backpack, and the other two were holding what must be stuffed animals of some sort. Raye took another look -- she had seen these two before... in the photograph Serena had found in the backpack. "Um... hi," Raye said.
"Hello," the young woman said. "We... well, actually it was just me... ran into each other at the bus stop. We found your address in your bag, so we thought we'd return it."
"Okay," Raye said. "your backpack's in my room. I'll go get it."
"If you don't mind, we'll come too." The three followed Raye.
"While we were looking for an address in your bag, we found this." The young woman took something out of her pocket. Raye tried to conceal her shock -- it was her transformation Wand. She hadn't realized she had left in her backpack. "This is the Transformation Wand of... Sailor Mars, I believe?"
"This?" Raye grabbed it out of her hand. "It's just-"
"Relax." The young woman removed something else from her pocket and presented it to Raye. It was another Transformation Wand -- in silver and with an unfamiliar symbol on it. "This one's mine. I'm Sailor Charon -- you probably haven't heard of me; I don't get out much. Luna and Artemis could confirm my identity."
"What about them?" Raye gestured to the two kids, who were behind her.
"Kari and T.K.? They're not into this Sailor Scout stuff, but they can keep a secret. That was Kari's backpack, by the way, not mine."
The girl, Kari, added, "It's a good thing we ran into you. We need your help."
"Oh, yeah," the young woman added. "How quickly can you assemble the rest of the Sailor Scouts?"
"well, actually, just a second." Raye ducked back into her room. "Did you guys hear that?" she asked her friends. They nodded.
"Luna?" Amy asked. "What do you know about Sailor Charon?"
Luna jumped on top of the table. "She guards the Gates of the Universe, much as Sailor Pluto guards the Gates of Time."
"I've never heard of her leaving her post, though," Artemis added.
Raye shook her head. "This is all connected. You know, the two people she has with her -- they're in the photo album. They even have those stuffed animals with them. The album... Sailor Charon's appearance... my dream."
"We should find out what they're hear for," Serena set her books down and walked over to the door. "You can come in," she told the three people standing outside. They stepped into Raye's room.
The young woman walked over to Luna and nodded. "You're Luna? And these are the Sailor Scouts?"
"Correct on both counts," Luna replied. "And you are?"
"Charlotte Nijino, currently Sailor Charon. With me are Kari Kamiya and T.K. Takaishi. Oh, and allow me to introduce Gatomon and Patamon, friends of Kari and T.K."
What Raye had thought were a stuffed cat and a stuffed flying hamster turned towards the group. "Hi!" the hamster-ish thing, Patamon, said.
"Nice to meet you," the cat, Gatomon, added.
"What exactly are you?" Mina asked.
"It's a bit of a story..." Charlotte answered. "First, do you mind introducing yourselves?"
"well, I'm Mina, that's Raye, that's Serena, to my left is Amy and Lita's next to her. You know who Luna and Artemis are."
Charlotte nodded. "This will be easier with pictures." She held out her Transformation Wand. "May I?"
"Um... okay," Serena said.
"Charon Star Power!" After the lights faded, Sailor Charon carefully removed a metallic disk from the front of her costume, and set it down on the table. "this is the second time I've had to say this in as many days, but... this is Kuiper, he's an artificially intelligent pain in the butt that I work with, and he's going to do visual aids while we five explain to you our problem."
"I did hear that." The image of a Siamese cat appeared above the disk and gave Sailor Charon a look.
"I know," Sailor Charon grinned. "Normally, I just sit in my office outside the Gates of the Universe and watch for trouble with Kuiper. well, I found some."
"Someone's come in to our universe?" Amy asked.
"Not again!" Serena added.
Sailor Charon shook her head. "No. In fact, this universe wasn't involved at all. The disturbance was in the Negaverse." After noting the shocked stares, she continued. "You five defeated Queen Beryl, and caused her subjects to disperse, but the infrastructure was still intact. And, apparently, one person was still around. One of her generals, by the name of Jedite, was in some sort of stasis -- 'Eternal Sleep', if you will. Emphasis on was -- two universe hopping miscreants named Pyrite and Cryolite woke him up." Kuiper's picture shifted to show the three.
"But if he's back in action, how come he hasn't come after us?" Serena asked.
"Good question. Jedite's not stupid -- even with his two new friends, he knows he's likely to get his butt kicked by you. So he tries to build his strength. i'm not sure if you knew that Queen Beryl had a very powerful mind control device."
Serena nodded. "That's what she used on Darien."
"Um... okay." Sailor Charon nodded. "Jedite made of with it. He and his friends teleported out to Gatomon and Patamon's universe -- the Digital World. They left some equipment, including the device, there, then went to Kari and T.K.'s universe. Kuiper -- play your log."
"Charon, are you sure-"
"Just do it, Kuiper. The Scouts need to see Cryolite and Pyrite in action."
"Very well," Kuiper's image changed to a park and panned over to show Sailor Charon and Jedite. The image zoomed out to show two figures -- Pyrite and Cryolite -- standing on a tree limb behind and above Sailor Charon. "So that's where they were," Sailor Charon commented.
The playback started, showed a very pathetic battle that ended with Sailor Charon unconscious. "Tell me, Sailor Charon," Luna asked, "are you normally that..."
"Artless?" Sailor Charon supplied. "It was my first fight, okay? I'm not exactly in a combat intensive job here. Kuiper -- pause playback."
"Gatomon and Patamon are Digimon," Sailor Charon explained. "I don't know that much about them, but this is what i've observed: Digimon are from the universe called the Digital World; some have bonds with humans; they can do this thing where they get bigger and more powerful -- it's called 'Digivolving'. Kuiper -- continue playback."
"I feel like a VCR," Kuiper said. "You know, charon, most people have laptops that do this."
"I'm a girl whose job involves her talking to cats and running around in a cheerleader's costume. Do I look like most people?"
"Point taken." The playback continued, showing the six kids and Digimon from Kari's photo. The Digimon easily handled the yoma Pyrite and Cryolite summoned. However, Pyrite and Cryolite pulled off an energy draining attack that brought the kids and their Digimon down.
"Turn up the volume here, Kuiper," Sailor Charon instructed.
"What do I look like, your personal secretary? I'm a computer, not a remote control." Kuiper adjusted the volume so Jedite could be heard.
"Why didn't you do that first instead of wasting ouronly two yoma?"
Cryolite shrugged. Pyrite said, "They're out, aren't they?"
"Fine," Jedite made a dismissive gesture. "Take one of them for the mind control device."
"Which one?" Pyrite asked.
'The strongest! The one to succumb last!"
"It was pretty even between these two," Cryolite pointed to two of the kids. "Which one?"
"Do I have to do everything around here?" Jedite took out a coin. "heads, it's that one; tails, it's this one." He flipped the coin. "Tails. Let's go." Pyrite picked up the kid Jedite had selected, and Cryolite picked up his Digimon.
"It's the boy from my dream..." Raye said.
"What? Kuiper, pause!" Sailor Charon said.
Raye explained her dream again. T.K. looked at Sailor Charon. "We'd better finish explaining this," he said. She nodded.
"Anyway, when I came to, I found the kids and helped them up. We set off in pursuit. Meanwhile, Kuiper got into Jedite's base in the Digital World to try to rescue Ken and Wormmon -- the boy and Digimon you saw, Raye -- but only managed to warn them and get himself out."
"It's hard to do much when you're the size of a Frisbee and lack opposable thumbs!" Kuiper objected.
"Anyway, we found out where Jedite had taken Ken, but, by the time we got there, it was too late. Ken's been brainwashed to want to take over the Digital World, and he thinks Jedite's his right hand man."
"That's awful," Amy said.
"You're telling us," Gatomon replied.
"It's our duty as Sailor Scouts to stop this!" Serena stood up.
"Right!" the other four added.
"Great. We'll be gone for a day or two, maybe more, so make arrangements and meet back here at one o'clock, transformed." Sailor Charon motioned for kari and T.K. "Let's go."
"Where are you going?" Lita asked.
"Lunch," Sailor Charon picked up Kuiper and re-attached him to her costume. "Kuiper always tells me you should never face battle or math tests on an empty stomach."
T.K. and Kari enjoyed lunch. Sailor Charon, or rather Charlotte, as she insisted being called when not in uniform, had good taste in restaurants and insisted on paying for the meal. "People might notice that the dates on your money haven't happened yet."
On their return, they saw seven people waiting outside. "Sailor Moon, I presume?" Charlotte asked. "And Sailors Mercury, Venus, Mars and Jupiter. But who are you two?" She gestured to a young girl in a Sailor costume and a guy in a tuxedo and cloak.
"I'm Tuxedo Mask, protector of the Sailor Scouts," the guy explained, "and this Sailor Mini Moon, a Sailor Scout trainee."
"Hi!" Sailor Mini Moon smiled.
"Um... okay," Charlotte said. "If Sailor Moon filled you two in, then I just have to transform and we can get going. Is the coast clear?"
"I don't see anyone," Gatomon said.
"Okay. Charon Star Power!"
"Are Luna and Artemis here?" Kari asked.
"Wouldn't miss it for the world," Luna said.
"Okay! Everyone scrunch together now," Sailor Charon drew a circle around the group, then recited an incantation: "I call upon the power of Charon: Take us to the Digital World!"
The scenery around the group shifted to a forest. "We're in another world now?" Sailor Moon asked.
"Yep," T.K. said. "We'd better find Davis and the others."
"Ken, we're your friends!" Davis yelled. "You've gotta remember."
"Hmph," Ken made a dismissive gesture. "My name is the Digimon Emperor. And my memory is just fine."
"But Jedite just made you think that!" Cody objected.
"They're obviously lying, your Highness," Jedite said smoothly. "They want to trick you."
"Darn it, Ken, listen to us!" Yolei yelled. "We're telling the truth."
The DigiDestined had come to the area after hearing rumors of a Control Spire under construction. They had found not only that it was true, but that Ken and jedite were overseeing construction.
"This isn't working," Flamedramon said.
"It'll just take some time!" Yolei told him.
"Yeah, well, in the meantime, let's destroy the Control Spire before it's finished!" Davis said, a bit too loudly.
"Well, well, well. Resorting to brute force when your pathetic plan fails -- how typical." Ken stuck two fingers in his mouth and whistled. A very large dragon like Digimon flew up. "Airdramon, take care of those kids!"
"Flamedramon -- try to destroy the Dark Ring!" Davis yelled.
"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon's attack missed the Dark Ring on Airdramon's tail.
"Airdramon, attack!" Ken commanded.
"Spinning Needle!" A black energy bolt shot out, nearly hitting Flamedramon.
"Stop right there!" Ken, Wormmon, Jedite, the DigiDestined and their Digimon turned towards the voice.
"My name is Sailor Moon, champion of justice," a blonde girl in a costume similar to Sailor Charon's, except in blue and red, said. "On behalf of the Moon, I'll right wrongs and triumph over evil. That means you!"
Another girl appeared to Sailor Moon's right, with blue black hair and a blue costume. "I am Sailor Mercury. On behalf of Mercury, I'll punish this misuse of genius."
A third girl stepped up to Sailor Moon's left. She had long black hair and a red and purple costume. "I am Sailor Mars. On behalf of Mars, I'll prevent that Negasleaze Jedite from causing trouble in this universe."
Girl number four appeared next to Sailor Mercury. She had brown hair, in a ponytail and a green and pink costume. "I am Sailor Jupiter. On behalf of Jupiter, I'll kick your butt into next Wednesday."
The fifth girl, a blonde in an orange and blue costume, appeared next to Sailor Mars. "I am Sailor Venus. On behalf of Venus, I'll restore the friendships you shattered with your mind control device, Jedite."
A sixth girl steeped up to the right of Sailor Jupiter. She was younger, with pink hair and a matching pink and red costume. "I am Sailor Mini Moon. On behalf of the future Moon, I'll protect all the cute little Digimon. And the big scary ones, too."
A seventh person, a very formally dressed young man, stepped to the other side of Sailor Venus. "I am Tuxedo Mask. Abducting and brainwashing an innocent child to help you get your revenge. That's a new low, Jedite."
Sailor Charon stepped up beside him. "Miss me?" she asked. "Listen Jedite, I can understand you running around causing all sorts of trouble. You're evil and it's my job to stop you. But couldn't you leave the kid out of it? He's barely as old as my kid sister -- he shouldn't have to deal with this."
"I'm in charge here!" Ken yelled. "Not him! And I'm doing this because I want to!"
"Yeah, sure, kid," Sailor Charon said. "And I'm an Olympic discus thrower."
"Master, remember, take deep, soothing breaths," Wormmon tried to approach Ken, but stopped when Ken glared at him.
"Those Sailor Scouts certainly like to make an entrance," Cody said.
"I'll say," T.K. and Kari had walked up while the Sailor Scouts had been talking. "Hey," T.K. yelled to the Scouts, "You take care of the Dark ring, we'll handle the Control Spire."
"Sailor Moon nodded. "Right."
"Oh no, you don't!" Ken whistled again. Nothing appeared this time.
Wormmon looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, Master, but we're short on Digimon."
"You're useless! Jedite, send your lieutenants out to capture more Digimon."
"Yes, sir."
"Hey, don't beat up on Wormmon," Sailor Mars said. "It's not his fault."
"He's my Digimon. I'll treat him as I wish."
"I'd forgotten how much of a jerk Ken was when he was the Digimon Emperor," Davis said to the other DigiDestined. Louder, he added. "Now!"
"Moon Spiral Heart Attack!"
"Shine Aqua Illusion!"
"Venus Love Chain Encircle!"
"Mars Celestial Fire Surround!"
"Sparkling White Crasher!"
"Pink Sugar Heart Attack!"
Tuxedo mask pulled a red rose from his cloak and threw it at Airdramon's Dark Ring. Under all that strain, the Dark Ring shattered and Airdramon flew off.
Meanwhile, the Digimon assaulted the half finished Control Spire:
"Fire Rocket!"
"Double Star!"
"Star Shower!"
"Rosetta Stone!"
"Rock Cracking!"
With Pegasusmon and Nefertimon hitting high, Flamedramon and Shurimon attacking the middle, and Digmon cracking the foundation, the Control Spire was quickly reduced to rubble.
"Yeah!" Davis yelled.
"No!" Ken turned to Jedite "It was your job to secure the construction. Why'd you let those kids destroy my Control Spire!"
Jedite looked like he was about to retort, then stopped himself. "I'll take Cryolite and Pyrite and catch some more Digimon tomorrow. Then we can try this again, your Highness."
"You'd better." Ken looked in the direction of the base. "Airdramon was our ride back: you nosy Sailor Scouts will pay for this!" he motioned for Jedite and Wormmon to join him, then turned to walk back.
"You think you're such a genius, Ken!" Yolei yelled after him.
"I am a genius!" Ken turned back towards the DigiDestined.
"If you're such a genius why haven't you figured out how long it would have taken us to destroy all those Control Spires you built and free all those Digimon you enslaved? Can you account for that time?" Yolei asked pointedly.
"She is trying to confuse you, your Highness," Jedite said quickly.
"Don't let Jedite do your thinking for you, Ken. You're smarter than that."
"I..." Ken paused, then shook his head. "You're trying to confuse me. It's all a trick." he motioned again to Jedite and Wormmon. "Let's go."
"Darn it! I was hoping I had gotten through to him," Yolei said as Ken walked away.
"You were really close," Sailor Mars told her. "We all saw him hesitate."
"Great!" Sailor Charon said. "Now that we're up to full strength, let's discuss our plans."
"Forget that!" Sailor Moon said. "Let's eat! It's almost dinner time and I'm starved."
"You're always starved, meatball head," Sailor Mini Moon retorted.
"I'm starved, too," Davis said.
"Fine, we can do both at the same time," Sailor Charon sighed.
Dinner was excellent. Sailor Jupiter managed to turn the camp supplies into something not only edible, but delicious. The strategy part of the evening didn't go as well, however.
"We can always use the Imperium Silver Crystal," Sailor Moon suggested.
"That will still leave jedite in possession of the mind control device. He could just use it on another person, or recapture Ken," Tuxedo Mask countered.
"We need to get inside, somehow," Sailor Jupiter said.
"There's only one entrance," T.K. said. "We can't exactly rely on the element of surprise."
"Hang on," Davis said. "I think we were really getting through to Ken back there."
"Was that before or after he sicced that giant dragon on you?" Sailor Mars retorted.
the discussion quickly degenerated into an argument. No one saw Yolei leave, not even Hawkmon.
"Stupid Ken," she muttered to herself as she walked just outside the campsite. She sat down on a rock and watched the setting sun for a while. "Stupid Ken," she repeated. "Why can't he just listen to me? I know I was getting though to him. If only..." She brought her hand up to her face, then pulled it away. She stared at damp spots on her gloves. "i'm crying? Could it be..."
"Could it be what?"
Yolei jerked up. "Oh, Kari. And Gatomon and Hawkmon. You startled me."
"You shouldn't be out alone, Yolei," hawkmon said. "The Digital World can be a dangerous place."
Kari took a close look at Yolei's face. "Have you been crying?" she asked.
"No!"
"Come on, Yolei, we're best friends," Kari said. "If you can't tell me or Hawkmon, who can you tell?"
Yolei sighed. "Okay, suppose I like this guy, but he doesn't realize it?"
"Like like Davis likes me?"
"Yeah."
"i think you should tell Ken how you feel. After we get him back to normal, of course."
"What? It's not Ken! What makes you think it's Ken, anyway?"
"Why else would you be sitting in the woods, alone, crying?" Kari asked. "besides, it's not like you'd fall for Davis, is it?"
"I wasn't crying! I had something in my eye! And I don't like Ken!" Yolei paused. "Well, I like him, but I don't like like him."
"Yeah, and Hawkmon's a canary."
"i do wish you two would leave me out of your girl talk," Hawkmon said.
Gatomon's ears twitched. "I hate to interrupt, but there's something in the bushes coming this way."
Yolei and Kari stood up. "You'd better come out!" Yolei said to the general vicinity.
The bushes to one side parted, and Wormmon cautiously stepped out. "I had to know if what you said was true," he said hesitantly. "I'm worried about Ken."
"How'd you get out without him knowing?" Yolei asked.
"The ventilation system. There's an opening to outside. It was a squeeze, but I made it."
"We'd better take him to the others," Kari said.
"What if it's a trap?" Gatomon asked. Yolei shook her head.
"That's not Ken's style," she said. "Come on, Wormmon."
The others were still discussing strategy. "It's no good, Sailor Moon," Tuxedo Mask said. "The Imperium Silver Crystal is powerful, but using it to break Jedite's mind control will take time, unless the subject is willing. Time Jedite won't let us have."
"You need a willing subject?" Yolei asked. Everybody looked up. "We got one." She gestured to Wormmon.
'What? What is Wormmon doing here?!" Davis said.
"I wanted to know the truth," Wormmon said quietly, "And I want Ken back to his kind self."
"Well, so do we," T.K. said. "But, we need to get inside his base."
"If... if you are telling the truth, I'll try to help you."
"Okay! Let's shake on it!" Davis extended his hand. Wormmon took it.
"Do your thing, Sailor Moon," Sailor Charon said. Sailor Moon nodded.
"Moon Crystal Healing Activation!" The crystal in Sailor Moon's brooch bathed Wormmon in a soft white light. Wormmon gasped.
"I remember now," he said. "Thank you."
"No problem," Sailor Moon said.
"i'd better be going," Wormmon said. 'Ken will probably miss me, sooner or later. I'll get a message to you, somehow." Wormmon walked off.
"One down, one to go," Sailor Charon said. "Let's get some sleep, and hope Wormmon can help us."
Ken paced restlessly in his chambers. Jedite, Pyrite, and Cryolite were preparing things for tomorrow, and Wormmon was off doing whatever inane errands he normally did. That left Ken alone with his thoughts.
"Those kids were right," Ken said to himself. "There's no way they could have knocked down all of my Control Spires in the time I was out."
Ken remembered the time just before his accident. He had been working on his secret project, a Digimon truly worthy of him, and Wormmon had been pestering him about something or other, when there had been an explosion. The next memory he had was of waking up, in a bed, with three people -- Jedite, Cryolite and Pyrite, he learned later -- standing over him.
"What happened? Where am I? And who are you?" he had demanded.
Jedite bowed. "You were in an accident when we found you. You were badly injured. you've been unconscious for quite some time."
"That still doesn't tell me who you are. You're not Digimon. What are you doing in my Empire?"
"We are... travelers. From another world. We were looking for a job and were seeking you out."
"A job?"
"In my world, I was a general to a Queen Beryl," Jedite explained. "She didn't take my advice, and was defeated. So I and two... friends... came looking here for a similar position."
"Fine. If you're half as good as you say you are, you've got a job. You!" Ken pointed to Pyrite. "What's the state of my Empire? How much damage ddid those kids do while I was recovering?"
"Lots," Pyrite said simply.
"You don't know the half of it," Cryolite had added. "I'd be hard pressed to find a trace of your Empire now."
"What!" Ken had practically jumped out of bed. "What are we standing around here for?" He saw Wormmon lying, asleep, on a nearby table. "Wormmon! Quit lying around! We've got work to do!"
Wormmon jumped about a foot into the air. "Yes, Master!"
Cryolite glanced at a monitor. "Hmm... there's a group of kids outside. Shall Pyrite and I announce your triumphant return, your Highness."
"Yes," Ken smiled slowly,"you do that. But I want to see them personally."
That was only yesterday, but it seemed so long ago. Jedite had seemed so trustworthy, so much more competent that Wormmon, and respectful to boot. However, the kids had a point. Jedite had lied to him, or at least, had misled him.
"I need to talk to those kids..." Ken said to himself. "I don't believe that stupid memory story, but I can find the truth from their lies."
He tuned to leave, but stopped to check what jedite was doing. He punched up the camera in Jedite's strategy room.
"What are you two working on?" he heard Jedite ask Cryolite and Pyrite.
"You remember our energy draining attack?" Cryolite asked. "Powerful, but unreliable and very limited. This will be our solution to that." She held up a net made of some time of metallic fibers. "It's design lets it drain the energy from victims and use that energy to teleport them into our cells."
"Very clever."
"Thank you. Unlike the Emperor's Dark Rings, these will work on both human and Digimon. Perhaps, then, we will no longer need him."
"Appealing. If I have to listen to him rant at me, or say, 'yes, your Highness' one more time, I don't know what I'll do."
Ken switched off the monitor. So, Jedite was plotting against him. How could he turn this to his advantage? The DigiDestined and their new friends, the Sailor Scouts, of course! They were against jedite... if he could trick them into fighting Jedite and not him, he could take the time to rebuild his forces, then attack the weakened victor. "Ken Ichijouji, you're a genius!" he said to himself.
Now, first he had to find the DigiDestined. That shouldn't be too hard. They had to be close by, given that they interfered with all his plans. he remembered the direction they had walked off in. He could find them.
Ken thought he left the base unobserved, but, in Jedite's strategy room, Cryolite raised her head at his departure. "Our boy emperor has left the building," she commented.
"Oh, really?" Jedite said. "Let's follow him. It might prove... useful. And take those energy nets."
Sailor Charon and Kuiper patrolled around the campsite. "I'm tired," Sailor Charon said. "Can't you do this by yourself."
"Do you want me to drain my batteries half way through the night?" Kuiper asked. "Hold on. Someone's coming on your right. A human someone."
"That's the opposite direction from camp. Who could it be?" Sailor Charon tried to run in the right direction, but she tripped over a tree root. "Kuiper, a little light, please?"
"I'm a computer, not a flashlight!" Kuiper sighed. "But, since you seem incapable of not tripping over your own two feet, fine. I'll use my sophisticated holographic projectors to make a simple white light beam."
"Thank you," Sailor Charon detached his disk and used the light to sweep the forest. She spotted a figure, who quickly moved behind a tree, and she moved, with surprising grace, to shine Kuiper's light in his face.
"Hey, you're that Ken kid. The one in the funky costume who acts like he owns the place. What are you doing here?"
Ken looked like he was about to retort, then said simply, "I don't believe your story. But I don't trust Jedite either."
"Really? Well, one out of two ain't bad. Come on, the campsite is over here," she motioned for him to follow her.
"Umm..." Kuiper said.
"What is it, Kuiper?""Duck!""What?" Sailor Charon looked around and was knocked down by a well thrown energy net from Pyrite.
"Jedite!" Ken drew himself up to his full height. "I order you to go back to the base!"
"I don't think so," Jedite said.
"It's pointless for us to continue this act when you know we are not what we seem," Cryolite added.
Pyrite nodded. He readied another energy net. "Now?"
"Not yet," Cryolite told him.
"you were useful in getting the knowledge of Control Spires and Dark Rings," Jedite said. "Now, you're just an annoying kid who thinks he's Emperor."
"I am Emperor! How dare you talk to me like that!"
Sailor Charon had lost consciousness. Jedite removed her dagger before she was teleported away. He waved it threateningly at Ken.
"A hostage may be useful." He turned towards Cryolite. "Can you set the energy nets not to teleport?"
"I can." Cryolite took out a small device and tapped a few commands into it. She handed a net to Jedite.
Jedite advanced on Ken, the knife in one hand, the net in another. "Don't worry. This won't hurt me a bit." He tossed the net over Ken.
Ken screamed as the energy was drawn out of his body. Eventually, he lost consciousness.
Pyrite picked up Ken and slung him over a shoulder.
"that fool Charon said the DigiDestined's camp was this way," Cryolite gestured.
"Good," Jedite said. "Perhaps my revenge will be simpler than I thought."
Kari woke up at the sound of a scream. "Yolei, did you hear that?" she asked.
"Mmph," Yolei mumbled, still mostly asleep.
"I think it was Ken."
Yolei raised a bleary-eyed head. "Honestly, Kari, it's too late at night ot give me a hard time about that." She buried her head under her pillow.
"I'm serious, Yolei."
"I heard it, too," Gatomon said.
"Okay, fine, I'll get up. But if this is some sort of trick..." Yolei, kari and their Digimon stepped out of their tent.
Everyone else was standing around their campsite. "Hey, don't you guys sleep?" Yolei asked the fully dressed Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask.
"Sure," Sailor Mars said. "Sailor Moon does that all the time."
"Thanks a lot," Sailor Moon said under her breath.
"The scream came from that direction," Kari pointed. "Come on!"
Two nets came sailing out of the darkness, trapping Kari and Tuxedo Mask.
"Kari!" Davis, T.K. and Gatomon yelled at the same time. All three ran to the struggling Kari, followed by Veemon and Patamon. Much the same thing was happening with Sailor Moon and Sailor Mini Moon trying to free Tuxedo Mask.
"Miss us?"Jedite stepped into the glow provided by the camp lantern. He was holding another net. "Now!"
Cryolite and Pyrite stepped forward. Like Jedite, Cryolite was holding a net. Pyrite was holding a very still Ken Ichijouji. Cryolite and Jedite threw their nets over the groups trying to free a weakening Kari and Tuxedo Mask. Jedite took out a small dagger -- Sailor Charon's dagger -- and walked over to Pyrite. He held the dagger to Ken's throat. "We may be out of energy nets, but don't think we're defenseless. The boy was useful, but now he's expendable. Don't try anything for about 15 seconds."
"What happens in 15 seconds?" Cody asked.
Sailor Mercury took out her mini-computer and VR goggles. "Those nets draw off the victim's energy. There doesn't seem to be any long-term storage device or transmitter, though. The energy's building up, though."
"Any second now," Jedite said. The Sailor Scouts and DigiDestined watched as their now-unconscious friends disappeared.
"What did you do to them!" Yolei demanded.
"We just... borrowed... their energy to put them somewhere more convenient," Cryolite said.
"Like the inside of a cell," Pyrite added.
"Don't worry," Jedite said. "You'll be joining them shortly, once we get more of those energy nets. Until then." He, Pyrite, and Cryolite teleported off.
"Now what?" Cody asked.
"We go in there and rescue them!" Yolei said.
"How? We couldn't get inside with all of us?" Sailor Venus asked. "What makes you think that half of us can do it?"
"Well... I don't know," Yolei admitted.
"You should look on the bright side," Armadillomon said. "We've got half of our group inside the base."
"You're right," Luna said. "Remember, it's always darkest before dawn."
"We'll think of something," Yolei said. "I just wish I knew what."
Things don't look good for our heroes. Will they rescue their friends and defeat Jedite? Only one part left! Stay tuned for the thrilling conclusion, Part III: Kindness's Dawn.
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