Chapter 17 - The Emperor's New Home (Pt.1)

"Uh-Oh, the Emperor's not in a good mood today," Wormon said to himself as the Digimon Emperor prowled down the darkened hallway towards him, "Which is like every other day. I wonder if I can cheer him up." He scuttled up and placed one pincer on his shoe, "Ken, did you hear the one about the-" The Digimon Emperor kicked him off and kept moving.
After awhile, he made it to his usual chair in the center of the survalence videos. Wormon scuttled up behind him.
"Master, what are you watching?" The Digimon Emperor didn't answer, but continued watching the screen. A young female new-reporter was on it.
"Join us as we talk to young genius, Ken Ichijouji!" She said as the news music played behind her. The camera switched and showed her from above, in the middle of two men, one holding a microphone and the other the camera. In front of them was the normal Ken, the real world Ken.
"I'm just your average boy genius," The Ken on the screen said.
"You're so modest." The reporter said, "Do you spend a lot of time studying?"
"Some geniuses do, but I'd rather play soccor."
"Oh, and funny, too!" She laughed. The Ken watching looked down at his knees, "They say genius is 1% brains and 99% hard work. Do you think that's true?"
"Mine's two percent." The Ken on screen said with a flash of a smile.
"You are funny. And to think you're from such humble beginnings in a humble aparement building! Are you glad you're just a normal, average kid?"
"Yeah, there's absolutely nothing I love more than being average."
"So, you've mastered chess, 3-D chess, and the Donkey Madness video game. Is there anything you can't handle?" The boy chuckled.
"Reporters."
"The big question on everyone's mind is what does a genius do for fun when he's not solving complex math problems? Though I already know that math is more fun that most people can handle."
"Well I'm always busy writing one of my computer programs, but like I said earlier, my favorite thing to do is play soccor."
"I'm sure you'll be a big success at that, too, Ken. I don't see how anything could possibly get in your way."

"Well," The News lady said as their interview came to a close, "That about wraps it up. Thanks for your time, Ken. Best of luck." She placed a hand on his shoulder and headed off.
"You're welcome." He said as they walked away.
"That went well, don'tcha think Ken?" asked the older gentleman behind him.
"Of course," Ken said, brushing his shoulder where the woman had touched him, "I always look good to the press."
"That 1% 2% stuff was brilliant, although I'm not really sure I understand it."
"I'll explain it to you later."
"There's something else you can help me with, too." The man said, leaning in so he could whisper something into Ken's ear, "How do you get past level 4 on Donkey Madness? I just can't get the scepter." Ken's face darkened as the man pulled away, "Of coures, you know I wouldn't tell anyone else your gaming secrets."
"I'd be glad to tell you everything I know," Ken told him, replacing the scowl on his face with a smile, "I'll even come over and help you play the game. That is, of course, if you don't think you're too old to be playing video games."
"Hm? Oh yeah, too old!" The man said, taken aback, "I always forget that I'm an adult. Oh! Look at the time! I've got to get to my advance joystick class." He puttered off, "Oh, could you do just one last thing for me, Ken?"
"What is it?" Ken asked, not able to keep the note of annoyance from his voice.
"Um, autograph?" The man held out his breifcase and a pen. He took it and signed it, "Here you go," He said, as if he were talking to a baby.
"Thanks Ken, you are the best! Even better than a graphics accelerator card. Woo! The guy's will be jealous!" He walked off, admiring the signature.
"Fool." Ken spat after he had left.

"Cheer up," Wormon said to the boy in the chair, "You can always destroy somebody tomorrow."

Ken slowly opened the door of his bedroom, only to hear his mother's voice the minute it had an inch and a half gap between it and the doorframe.
"Oh Ken, honey. You're dinner is ready, dear." He sighed and walked to the dinner table, "Ken, it's getting cold! It's your favorite, dear, liver, squash, and lumpy mashed potatos." They sat downto eat.
"Saw you on the TV today, tiger," His father said, "Soon you're going to need a stick to keep all of the ladies away. Just like your old, dad." Ken sighed again and put his chopsticks down.
"I've lost my appetite." He stood up from the table and his parents gasped.
"Well, what the matter?" His mom asked.
"Nothing." He walked away, leaving his parents staring after him.

"Look at all of those fools out there," He said as he watched the sun set from the top of the apartmen complex, "Dreaming away thier meaningless lives. Running around like rats in a maze. Not one of them is worth HALF of what I'm worth." He grabbed the bars, one in each hand, and growled, "Nothing but fools!"

"Master? Master?" Wormon asked. The Digimon Emperor had not said anything for several minutes, not even the usual angry outburst at him for talking, "Master, I-" The Digimon Emperor suddenly got up. Wormon backpedaled to get out of the way quick enough. He walked to another side of the room and began typing into one of the screens, "Master, don't be depressed. I've got an idea. Let's grab some dark rings, we'll capture a couple of innocent digimon, and make thier lives absolutely miserable. That should make you happy."
The Digimon Emperor wasn't paying attention. His dark digivice was displayed on every screen in the room, titled at different angles on certain screens.

The school bell rang again. The Digi-Destined gathered in the computer room, where Izzy and Azukia were already waiting for them.
"You mean Ken's the Digimon Emperor?" Izzy asked after they had explained.
"I already told you that." Azukia pointed out.
"Yes, well, based on previous scientific proof, Azukia, I don't normally listen to you."
"That's right." Davis said, "And as Emperor, he's not just a genius, he's an evil genius."
"Duh." Tara said, smacking her face with her palm, "Did you really have to point out that he's evil?"
"And he's a super evil genius at that!" Demiveemon cried.
"No, really?" Nyamon asked in a sarcastic tone, "We hadn't noticed."
"I just don't understand why such a talented and smart person would want to use their gifts to hurt others." said Cody.
"He seemd so nice." Kari agreed.
"Yeah, when Davis and I met him the other day, he was nothing but polite." Emi said.
"You know, there was a report on him on TV yesterday." TK said, "I saw it on that show 'The Genius Parade."
"There's a show call 'The Genius Parade'"? Ashley asked, "That can't be a very long running-program."
"I can't believe the Digimon Emperor is a kid like us." Kari said. Izzy had remained deep in thought while the conversation had been going on.
"Let's find him." He told the group.
"What? Find him?" TK asked increduously.
"Yeah, we'll track him down and confront him in the real world." Izzy said.
"Does this plan include a part where we get to eat?" Oompamon asked excitedly.
"For you, anything." Izzy said with a smile, "Hey, I wonder where Yolei could be." At that precise moment, she walked through the door.
"Hey everybody, look what I've got!" She held up a plastic bag from her store.
"CHOCOLATE!"
"COOKIES!"
"FISH!"
"ICECREAMICECREAMICECREAM!" Yolei was stampeded by the digimon that had come with them to the real world.
"You're the best Yolei," Demiveemon told her, "You could be head-chef in the cafeteria one day." Poromon was bouncing a bit behind the group, watching them gorge themselves.
"So," Yolei said slyly, "You're not hungry?"
"What?!" Poromon squeeled, and flapped as fast as his tiny wings could carry him to the bag of goodies. In a matter of seconds, every digimon in the room was contendedly eating something.
"I'm surprised they didn't eat my arm right off." Yolei said as everyone stared at the group of voracious digimon. She grabbed something out of her bag, "Oh, I found this! There's an article in it about Ken."
"I'll take that." Davis said, snatching it from her hands. He began to flip through the magazine, searching for the article Yolei had spoken of.
"Hey, you gave me a papercut!" Yolei complained.
"Yeah, that's him, the evil kid." Davis said as he found the page. The rest of the group crowded around to look.
"Who would think that such a normal looking boy could be the Digimon Emperor." Cody said.
"His smile makes him look so gentle." Kari said sadly.
"Uh, yeah, but his hair kinda makes him look like you, Kari." TK said. Izzy walked up to Davis, who started.
"Let me see it." Izzy took the paper from him, "Oh, this kid. I've seen him on the news before."
"Look at his IQ!" Yolei gushed, "He could program my computer any day." Tara and Emi sweat-dropped.
"Are you crazy?!" Davis demanded, "He may be smart, but that guy is completely rotten to the core."
"Well, he's not just smart. He's got dashing good looks, too." Yolei said smugly.
"Yolei, you aren't dating him." Ashi said.
"Yet."
"And he's also really atheletic." Cody added.
"Hey!" Davis shouted, "I'm just as good at sports as that guy is!" The room was silent.
"Okay, okay," Izzy said, breaking the awkward silence, "Don't get your knickers in a twist, Davis. Let's just find him."
"What are knickers?"
"Nevermind." Izzy slipped a CD into the computer and started typing away, "I'll use my map program to locate the aparment building behind Ken in his picture."
"Looks like a nice place to live," Yolei mused.
"Yeah, living next to a heartless kid who wants to rule the world is nice." Davis snapped.
"If my calculations are correct-"
"Which they rarely are."
"Oo, nobody asked you, Azukia! Anyway, if my calculations are correct, he should live right around here."
"Yeah, I know that area." Kari said, pointing to where the mouse was hovering.
"You smudged my screen." Izzy said.
"I think there's a building right there, underneath Kari's fingerprint." Davis said.

"Ken?" His mother called, walking softly up the stairs to his room, "Ken?"
"What's up?" His father asked from the table where he was reading the newspaper.
"Well...Usually I hear the furiously scribbled of him doing math problems, but today...nothing."
"Hn, he's been awfully quiet since that soccor game."
"I don't want to barge in. I might set off one of his booby-traps."
"When you met with his teacher, did he say anything at all to you?"
"No, all his teacher could talk about was something called 'Donkey Madness'."
"Donkey Madness?"
"I know, it's strange. I mean, we don't even own a donkey!"
"Let's go in there." His father said decisevly.
"Oh, should we do that?" His mom asked worriedly.
"I say we break down the door!"
"What?! No, don't break it down!"
"Well, I'm gonna break something." He ran full pelt at the door and it opened. He fell into the room and ran the something a few steps away from the room's entrance. He took a few steps back, looking around, "Ken?" Nothing was in the room but a flashing computer monitor. Ken's father opened the door to the balconey, looking around.
His mother, meanwhile, walked quietly in and went over to the computer, "Oh! Look at this!" she pointed to the screen.

"What's this?" His father asked angrily, closing in for a closer look. He read the letter aloud while Ken's mother's eyes filled with tears, "No! He's run away!" Ken's mother began to sob uncontrollably.

Police sirens were going off, red lights flashing everywhere as the group of kids, minus Izzy who had gotten fed up with Azukia and left, made it to the apartment complex.
"Here it is." Davis announced,"This is the place we stop Ken, once and for all!"
"Okay, I wrote down a battle plan. Ashi helped me think of it." Cody said to them, clutching a folded piece of paper in his hands while Ashi clutched a pen.
"Uh...does it include the police?" Yolei asked.
"Police?" Ashley cried, "Oh no! He told them some lie and now the police are after us!"
"Calm down, Ashley." Azukia said, "He has no grounds to charge us. Something else is up."
"Man, that kid is trouble." Davis said.
"I agree." Tara said with a sigh. The line of kids took off, racing towards the parked cards. As they passed a group of women, they caught snippets of their conversation.
"Yes, Ken Ichijouji is missing."
"No one has any idea where he is." They stopped as they saw the police interrogating his parents.
"I think...he's run away from home." His father was telling the captain sadly. The group of Digi-Destineds looked at each other worriedly.
"Run away from home?" Cody repeated.
"I bet I know where he's gone." Davis said.
"To the Digital World!" Emi shouted.
"Away!" Ashi added with a smile.

"Speak to me," Wormon implored of the Digimon Emperor's back, "Just two words? one?"

"I think you're right." Izzy told the group the next day after they had caught him up on what had happened the night before, "Ken is probably in the Digital World, but it would be dangerous to just rush in there."
"But the longer we wait, the more time he has to plot against us." Kari pointed out.
"We need to make a new plan."
"And this one shouldn't involve the police." Ashley piped up. Izzy looked up thoughtfully.
"I need to know what Ken is doing. Let's check the computer." He pressed a button and the screen lit up.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" TK asked. Nearly the entire map of the Digital World was made up of black squares.
"That jerk got ahead of us over night!" Tara spat.
"He's taking over the Digital World faster than ever before." Izzy agreed.
"Well then let's go." Davis said matter-of-factly.
"We can't afford to be wreckless." Izzy warned, "Remember the expression 'Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.'"
"So what do you think we should do?" Emi asked.
"You know, being a fool is really low on my priority list, but we can't just sit here and do nothing." TK said.
"Why we're all listening to Izzy anyway, I don't know." Azukia muttered under her breath. Cody picked up the magazine Yolei had brought that was still sitting next to the computer.
"Why do evil geniuses have to be so evil?" He asked.
"Oh, he doesn't look capable of causing such trouble." Yolei sighed, "You know?"
"Well, he is." Izzy said,"And don't you forget it. You either, Emi."
"Dude, I was over that guy the second Azukia figured out he was the Emperor." Emi said, "You don't have to tell me twice."
"Well, I've had enough talk!" Davis said,"The clock keeps ticking away and I keep getting ticked off! I want some action!"
"I second the motion!" Tara said.
"Me, too. Let's get it into gear." Kari said.
"Yeah!" TK and Emi chorused.
"I'm with you." Yolei said, "I want to fight."
"M-hm." Ashi said with a nod. Izzy stood up.
"You've convinced me. No more hesitation."
"Excellent! Digi-Port, open!"
"Let's go get that evil cute guy!"
"I'll be watching over you. Good luck guys." Izzy said.
"And that's supposed to make me feel better?" Azukia asked. Before Izzy could retort, she and the others were gone.

"Why don't you have me fight instead of capture Greymon and Coronamon?" Wormon asked. Different shots of Greymon and Coronamon filled every screen in the dark room.
"You? Fight?" The Digimon Emperor stood up and laughed. Wormon hugged his leg and rubbed his face onto the edge of the Emperor's pants. With one swift movement, he was kicked off.
"I guess I'll take that as no." Wormon said dejectedly. The Digimon Emperor walked up to one of the screens. Wormon had been knocked onto his side and was unable to get up, "Um, Master, a little help here? I'm having some trouble standing." He finally flipped over, "I'm okay."
The Digimon Emperor did not even acknowledge his presence. He simply grinned and began laughing, "That Control Spire will be their doom."

The area they had landed in was volcanic. Brown rocks mixed with the red and orange of the magma.
"Keep your eyes open," Davis told the group, "Trouble could be anywhere." At that exact moment, a group of flame-covered digimon leapt from one of the magma pits.
"Meramon." Kari said.
"Let's show them who's boss!" Davis cried.
"MY TURN MY TURN!"
"Huh?" Everyone turned to look down at Puppymon, who was glaring at the group.
"Ashley's had her egg for days now and I still haven't got to Digivolve. The rest of you got to Armor-Digivolve the day you met your partners, but me? NADA! It's my turn."
"See, I told you dogs were nothing but trouble." Nekomon muttered.
"Digi-Armor Energize!" Ashley and Davis shouted.
"Veemon Armor Digivolve to...Flamedramon, the Fire of Courage."
"Puppymon Armor Digivolve to...Goldenwolfmon, the Wings of Integrity!"
Veemon transformed into his usual form. Puppymon had been metamorphased, however, into a silver wolf with golden armor all over it. The armor had the Crest of Integrity carved into it and two golden wings sprouted out of her back.
"Woooow!" Ashley said.
"Finally!" Goldenwolfmon said, "Too cool."
"Hate to break it to you, doggy, but we need to get a move on!" Nekomon called. The Meramon were headed there way. The group started running off, looking back every few seconds to be sure of their progress. Flamedramon and Goldenwolfmon stayed back to defend them.
"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon called.
"Golden Thunder Slash!" Goldenwolfmon as her claws began to glow gold. Lightening began to crackle all around them and she lashed out at the air. A rip appeared out of no where and lightening began to shoot out of it in all directions.

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