Chapter 3

"Ash, Pikachu welcome to the Digital world." Kari said as she welcomed them to the new world.

"Wow, this place is amazing." Ash said as he realized that he was wearing new clothes. He now sported a black long sleeved shirt underneath a red denim jacket, black finger-less gloves, blue jeans and blue and white shoes. "Woah, check out the new wardrobe." He said as Kari was amazed by Ash's new look.

'Wow, he really looks handsome.' Kari thought to herself while blushing. Soon, she shook the feeling off. "Come on. We need to look for Tai." Kari said as Ash nodded. But, before they could start their search, T.K and Davis came running to them. Davis also had a new wardrobe which was a blue jacket with flame decals on it over a cream colored shirt, yellow gloves, army green shorts and orange and white shoes.

"Alright Dash, no one talks to Kari but me, got it?" Davis said as Kari walked towards Davis.

"There's two thing you need to know Davis. One, his name is Ash, get it straight. Finally, nobody talks to my best friend that way." She said in an annoyed tone of voice. Afterwards, they continued their search, until something caught Ash's attention.

"Okay, why is there a vending machine in the Digital World? I am a little parched." He said as he quickly remembered what Kari said. "On second thought, let's not say we tried." He continued as Pikachu nodded.

"Ash, my digivice says this way." Kari said as Ash and Pikachu continued with her. Ash couldn't help but notice that Kari was a little worried.

"No need to worry Kari, we'll find Tai." Ash said, reassuring Kari.

"I know Ash, thanks for the reassurance." Kari said to Ash with a smile on her face.

"This place isn't so bad, the way Tai put there were monsters everywhere, huh?" Davis said as he saw the vending machine that Ash passed on. "Hey guys check it out, there's a vending machine. I am a little thirsty." He said, but just before he could insert a coin, multiple green slug-like creatures came out of it, passing Davis. Everyone turned to see the event, T.K was laughing, chuckling and Ash holding in the laughter, but not very well. "Haha, very funny." He said as he wasn't having fun.

"C'mon Davis, it was a little funny." Ash said was he helped Davis up. "So Kari, were those creatures Digimon?" He asked his best friend.

"Yep, there are more around in this world, a lot cuter than those ones." She said as Ash learned that there were more than just those slugs.

"And a lot scarier ones too." T.K added as Ash now knew about more dangerous Digimon.

"Do they all come out of vending machines?" Davis asked one of the stupidest questions ever.

"Man, we have a lot to tell our friends. Right, Pikachu?" Ash said, asking his partner.

"That's right Ash." Pikachu said as he covers his mouth, shocking everyone, including himself. "Oh my Arceus, I CAN TALK! Kari, how is this possible?" The mouse asked the stunned Kari.

"I don't know. Maybe it's the Digital World. When you entered, it could've given you the ability to talk." Kari said to the surprised Pokémon.

"Maybe, but at least you guys can understand me." Pikachu said they continue after that revelation.

**Location Change: With Tai's Group**

Tai, Agumon, Gatomon and the hamster were looking for Kari's group.

We're getting close." Tai said as he looked at his digivice, tracking their signal. "There." He said as the hamster flew away.

"T.K!" The hamster said as he flew towards T.K.

"Patamon! Boy, am I glad to see you." T.K said as Ash saw Patamon, he learned about T.K's partner.

"Hey guys, glad you made it." Tai said as he arrived to the others, soon he saw Ash and was surprised. "Ash, it's great to see you again." He said as he stuck his hand towards Ash and Ash grabbed the hand and shook it.

"It really is good to see you again Tai." Ash said as Davis came up to them.

"Tai, I told those guys you'd be alright." Davis said as Tai was surprised to see him in the Digital World.

"Uh, Davis what are you doing here?" Tai asked as he was confused

"Kari." Gatomon said as she jumped into Kari's arms for a bear hug.

"Haha, Gatomon." Kari said as Ash finally saw Kari's partner.

"So, that's Kari's partner." Ash said as Gatomon had her gaze at Pikachu.

"Well, hello. My name is Gatomon." She said as Pikachu started to slowly turn reddish.

"Uh… hi, I'm Pikachu." He said so shy-like.

"Pikachu, what a wonderful name for a cutie." Gatomon said as Pikachu was completely red and had his face buried in Ash's jacket.

"So, Gatomon is your Digimon?" Ash said, asking Kari.

"Yep, we found out we were a team since Tai found my digivice in our world." Kari said as she explained how she became a digidestined. She quickly looked at her tail.

"Your tail ring. Tell me, what happened?" She asked her feline partner. Gatomon explained how she lost her tail ring somewhere else in the Digital World.

**Location Change: The Cave**

When they entered, Gatomon explained the new threat to the Digital World.

"One day, this big, bossy human arrived and started to capture all the Digimon. He said 'I am the Digimon Emperor.' I hear we're gonna have to punch a time clock too." Gatomon said as the others (excluding the Digimon) were in shock.

"Another human, you mean someone other than us comes here? Well, there goes the neighborhood." T.K said as Ash wasn't as surprised.

"Another masterminded trying to take over the world. Why am I not surprised." Ash said as Pikachu was also annoyed by this revelation.

"Yeah, we seen this before." Pikachu said as Gatomon continued.

"Yeah, and he has this strange new black digivice that makes us unable to digivolve." Gatomon said in her discomfort, then T.K had an idea.

"Show her yours you two." T.K said to Ash and Davis, as Davis went first.

"Like this one?" Davis said as he held his digivice towards Gatomon and she started to get tense.

"That's it. You work for the Digimon Emperor." She said as Davis was in denial.

"What, no way. I don't work for anybody, besides mine's not black." Davis said as Gatomon now stared at Ash.

"Was yours like his?" She said as Ash shook his head 'no.'

"No, mine's different." He said as he showed her his digivice and then her intensity diminished.

"The Master digivice has chosen you." Gatomon said in shock while everyone else (excluding the other Digimon and Tai) were confused.

"The Master digivice, what is that Gatomon?" Kari said as Gatomon explained how the digivice was created. After a few seconds of explaining, Gatomon returned her gaze to Ash

"And now, the Master digivice has chosen you as the Digi-Master." Gatomon said as Ash was in shock.

"What? That must be some mistake." Ash said as T.K had his hand on his shoulder.

"There's no mistake. The Digital World chose you for a reason." T.K said as Ash returned his gaze to Gatomon.

"Alright, tell us about the dark digivice." Ash said as Gatomon had a serious face again.

"The dark digivice is draining our power and making us as mad as newborn kittens." Gatomon said as Tai then looked at Agumon.

That's why you couldn't digivolve." Tai said as Agumon was getting mad.

"Yeah, if I could digivolve, he wouldn't stand a chance." Agumon said as Patamon continued where Gatomon left off.

"The Digimon Emperor uses these dark rings to control the Digimon and once the ring captures you, you're a slave for life."

"I hear they do everything but get rid of fleas." Gatomon said as Kari and Ash were mad.

"I'm gonna slap a dark ring on him and see how he likes it." Kari said in fury.

"When I get my hands on him, I'll let Pikachu thunderbolt him then a thousand times." Ash said as Pikachu's cheeks started to spark.

"Like the plan Ash." Pikachu said as he was ready to fight. But, unnoticed by everyone, a dark ring was spying on all of them.

**Location Change: The Emperor's Base**

Thanks to the dark ring, the Emperor was able to hear everything they said.

"Hahaha, oh, you two think so, do you? Well this just a game to me, and I'm afraid that if you can't play by my rules, I'm just going to have to disqualify you. Hmm, who will I send to destroy you? Eenie, meenie, Minie, MON!" The Emperor said as he selected one of the buttons. A silhouette was shown on a screen of a triceratops.

**Location Change: Prison Cell #7**

The cell that the Emperor selected held a Digimon that looked like a dinosaur. One with a gray shell over it's very light blue skin with gray on its legs and toes. It awakened from its slumber, lifted out of its cage, roared and ran towards the heroes.

**Location Change: The Cave**

After the heroes learned about their enemy and the Master digivice, they turned their attention towards the egg.

"That egg is heavier than my mother's meatloaf." Tai said as he reminded Ash about her cooking from the past.

"It looks like a deflated beach ball, no wonder, it's got a spike through it." T.K said as he tried to lift the egg, but to no luck."No luck, it won't budge." Kari then walked towards the egg.

"Move aside, this is a woman's job." She said as had the same luck as T.K.

"Too bad we don't have a woman here." T.K said as he got elbowed by Ash.

"Dude, not in front of Kari." Ash said as Kari blushed a little bit.

"Guys, I pump iron all the time, let me do it." Davis said as he went up to the egg, grabbed it and pulled it out of the ground like it was cork of a wine bottle. "What I tell ya, light as a feather."

"There's a problem." Tai said as an orange light came from where the egg, then from the light, a blue creature with some little parts of yellow and red eyes emerged.

"Yahoo! Free at last, free at last. You moved the digiegg. My name's Veemon, but you can call me Veemon." The creature known as Veemon said as it jumped around Davis.

"Hi, I'm Davis." Davis said in complete shock.

"I've heard of Veemon, supposedly he's a happy, thrill seeking Digimon that brings you good luck. But I thought he was just a legend." Agumon said in absolute disbelief.

"Nope, I'm real alright and I've been waiting a long time to meet you Davis." Veemon said to the still surprised Davis.

"Huh, I think you got the wrong guy." Davis said in complete denial.

"Nope you're the one, because you're the only one able to move the digiegg of courage." Veemon said as Ash found an opening in the cave that no one else found.

"Hey guys, come over here quick." Ash said, calling the others over to the opening to see another egg, but this time it look like a knight's helmet with wings on the back. It had a crest that looked like Ash's necklace, but instead of a silver color, it was violet and it had a star on the shield.

"Another one, well who is this one for?" T.K asked as he wondered who it could belong to. First, T.K tried, but failed. Tai was next, but no such luck. Kari was next, but not even she could move it. That left Davis and Ash.

"Maybe I own both of these eggs." Davis said as he walked to the egg, pulled it, but this time it didn't budge.

"May I try Davis?" Ash said with a sly smirk on his face. Davis, whom was a little mad, backed away from the egg.

"Yeah, knock yourself out." Davis said as Ash bent down, grabbed the egg and pulled it off the ground, symbolizing that it was his egg.

'Wow, so Ash is a digidestined.' Kari thought with blush and a smile on my face. After a few seconds, that same Digimon who was sent by the Emperor crashed through the ceiling of the cave.

"It's a monster!" Davis yelled as Ash looked at Kari.

"Let me guess, a Digimon Kari?" Ash asked as Kari nodded.

"Yeah, it's a Monochromon." Kari said as T.K explains the details of Monochromon.

"Monochromon's shell is as hard a diamond's, it's attack, Volcanic Strike sends out millions of fireballs." T.K said as the other Digimon were ready to fight.

"Boom Bubble! PAH!" Patamon shouted as he inhaled and exhaled a compressed sphere of air, sending it out like a projectile towards Monochromon.

"Pepper Breath!" Agumon said as he sensed out his own fireball at Monochromon, but both attacks didn't even make him flinch.

"Volcanic Strike!" Monochromon yelled as Lavrov came out of his mouth.

"Guys, run!" T.K said as everyone ran out of the cave. Davis and Veemon were the last ones out, Veemon pushed Davis out of the way of the lava ball, while Kari and Gatomon were about to get hit, until…

"Look out!" Ash said he saved Kari from the lava, while Pikachu saved Gatomon. "Are you okay?" Ash asked as Kari stared at him with blush on her face.

"Y-yeah, thanks." Kari said so shy-like.

"How about you Gatomon? You okay?" Pikachu asked Gatomon who had a red streak across her face.

"Y-yep, I'm good, thanks." Gatomon said so shy-like too. Quickly, Monochromon moved like a train, until…

"Pikachu, Iron Tail, let's go!" Ash said as Pikachu's tail turned metal, ran towards him and smacked Monochromon.

"Keep away from Gatomon you overgrown fossil." Pikachu said to Monochromon as he protected Gatomon, whom had blush on her face.

"Ash, we need to run." Kari said with pleading eyes, while Ash was staring at Monochromon.

"No way, my days of running are over. I'm willing to even give my life to save my best friend. Digi-Armor Energize!" Ash said as he held his egg to the sky and it glowed a violet light.

"Pikachu Armor Digivolve to…" Pikachu said as he turned into a humanoid knight with Pikachu ears coming out of his helmet, armor made of yellow steel, a sword in the shape of a lightning bolt and a shield with a color palette of yellow and silver. "Achillechu, the knight of will!" He said as he stroked the ground with his sword.

"Armor Digivolve?" Tai said in utter shock. Kari and Gatomon were flabbergasted at his new form. (Gatomon was blushing like crazy) and Davis was also in shock.

"I am Achillichu, as Pikachu I use the Digi-egg of Will to armor digivolve, my Storm Splitter attack will keep my enemies at bay." Achillichu said as he described himself.

**Location Change: The Emperor's Base**

The Emperor was still watching and he was a little impressed with what just happened.

" Armor Digivolve huh? Against the power of my Dark Digivice, they shouldn't be able to Digivolve at all. Hmm, they're more resourceful than I originally thought." The Emperor said as the battle continued.

**Location Change: Outside The Cave**

"Whoa, Achillichu, you look awesome." Ash said as he was impressed by the appearance of Achillichu.

"If Ash is brave enough to fight, than I will too. Digi-Armor Energize! Davis said as he held his egg to the sky and it glowed an orange light.

"Veemon Armor Digivolve to…" He said as he turned into a taller version of himself, but he had armor on his head with a spike on top, arms and legs. "Flamedramon, The Fire of Courage!" He said as pillars of fire appeared behind him. "I am Flamedramon, as Veem I use the Digi-Egg of Courage to armor digivolve. My Fire Rocket attack will charbroil the enemy like a well-done steak." He said, introducing himself.

"Ash, work together." Davis yelled as Ash nodded.

"Go get em boys." Ash said as he carried Kari bridal style away from the fight. Tai and Davis saw this and were shocked, while Davis was also jealous. Kari was blushing with a smile on her face, but she had her head resting on Ash's chest, next to his heart. Gatomon quickly followed.

Monochromon charged at the two armor Digimon, but Flamedramon caught him and flipped it like it was a pancake. It got back up and was ready to attack with Volcanic Strike, but Achillichu used its Voltage Shield to defend from the attack. Both of them jumped to the sky and were ready to end this.

"Fire Rocket!" Flamedramon shouted as he was covered in an aura of fire and was diving towards Monochromon. He collided with where the dark ring was, it started to crack, but still had him under the control of the Emperor.

"Storm Splitter!" Achillichu yelled as he raised his sword to the sky and lightning struck it and he held the blade downwards and was aiming for the ring.

"Break that ring apart Achillichu!" Gatomon shouted as Achillichu's sword struck the ring, destroying it and freeing Monochromon. Both armor Digimon changed back to Veemon and Pikachu, the eggs went to their digivices and another light went to their pockets, showing a little handheld laptop. On the screen, both showed one egg.

"That's a good Monochromon." Kari said as she was rubbing her hands on its stomach. Then, she walked towards Ash and hugged him. "Thanks for saving me Ash." Kari said as Ash started to blush like a mad man, but he hugged Kari back.

"Thanks for the save Pikachu." Gatomon said as she hugged Pikachu, he was blushing just as madly as Ash, but he returned the hug.

**Location Change: The Emperor's Base**

"You summoned me, master?" A green caterpillar with purple on its feet, stinger and forehead, a black circle on its tail and blue eyes.

"It seems like we found some worthy foes at last Wormmon." The Emperor said as he was looking at the screen, which showed Ash, Achillichu, Davis and Flamedramon.

"Great, just one question… What's a foe?" Wormmon said as he didn't understand the word, foe.

**Location Change: Outside The Cave**

After recuperating, the Monochromon began to walk away.

"Goodbye Monochromon, don't forget to write." Kari said as Monochromon walked away.

"I can't believe that the Digimon Emperor can turn such a gentle creature into such a nasty beast." T.K said as he was not liking the Emperor one bit.

"And I thought Team Rocket was bad, The Digimon Emperor is way worse." Ash said as was getting mad.

"I'm ready to smash that guy into the ground." Pikachu stated as he was mad at the Emperor as well.

"Nice working with you, Davis. Let's do it again sometime." Veemon said, shaking Davis' hand.

"Yeah, definitely." Davis said as Tai and Agumon came up to them.

"Hey guys, that armor digivolve is amazing." Tai said as he was impressed.

"Even though we can't fight, we know you new guys can defeat the Emperor no problem." Agumon said as Tai looked towards Davis.

"Davis, I can't help but notice that you broke your goggles in that fight, and as the leader of the digidestined it just wouldn't be right without them." Tai said as he took of his goggles. "So here, I want you to have mine." He said as he passed the metaphorical torch/goggles to Davis.

"Not bad of a look Davis." Ash said as he complimented his new goggles.

"Thanks Slash." Davis said, getting his name wrong again. Due to that, Kari was annoyed again, but Ash wasn't.

"Eh, close enough." Ash said as everyone looked towards the sunset. Ash saw Kari and he was blushing again. 'Wow, thanks to the sunset, Kari is the most gorgeous woman I've ever seen.' He thought as he had fallen in love with her.

"Ash, you okay?" T.K asked as Ash snapped out of daydream.

"Yeah, but it looks like my vacation has been cut short." Ash said as Kari was worried about Ash.

"Good, the sun's going down. Now, we can relax." Patamon said with a sigh of relief.

"Why is that?" T.K asked as Gatomon turned to face him.

"It's because The Digimon Emperor never comes out at night." She said as Tai realized someone important.

"It's never safe to stay here too long. Always keep your guard up." Tai said as they all walk back to where they entered. Quickly after arriving, they heard Yolei.

"Mmm, these brownies are delicious. So Izzy, can we go to the Digital World?" Yolei said as Izzy was also eating a brownie.

"The gate might close, it's not safe." Izzy said, biting into his brownie. "These are the best brownies I've ever eaten." He said, enjoying the flavor. Yolei then turned towards the screen and saw Tai, Ash and the others.

"Ahhh!" She screamed as she was surprised to see them on the computer screen.

"Hey guys, it's me. Let me in!" Davis said as he and the others were sucked into the TV back to the real world.

"You don't see that everyday." Agumon said as he saw his friends return to their world.

**Location Change: Kamiya Apartment**

After they returned to the real world, Kari told Tai that Ash should stay with them, until the Emperor is defeated.

Tai and Kari were the first ones to enter the apartment. "Hi mom. We're home." He said as their mother walked towards them.

"Hello kids, how was school?" Yuuko said as Kari spoke next.

"It was great, not just because it was the first day, but because an old friend came back." Kari said as Ash walked in. Yuuko was surprised and happy and the same time.

"Ash, what a pleasant surprise." Yuuko said as Ash was happy to see that she hasn't changed either.

"Nice to see you too Mrs. Kamiya." Ash said as Kari walked beside him.

"You see mom, Ash is on vacation, but something came up and he needs a place to stay." Kari said as she really wanted Ash to stay with her and her family.

"Say no more, how can I say no to your best friend. He is more than welcome to stay in the spare bedroom." Yuuko said as Kari and Ash were happy on the inside. Soon after, Kari's father made his appearance.

"Ash, great to see you back in Odaiba." Susumu said as he was happy to Ash return.

"Same to you Mr. Kamiya, hope I'm not an inconvenience." Ash said as Susumu shook his head 'no.'

"Nonsense, you're my daughter's greatest friend. You're always welcome here." He said as Ash and Kari blushed simultaneously.

"Dinner time. I made liver sticks." Yuuko said as Ash's mouth started to water.

"If there's one thing I missed other than you guys, it's your cooking Mrs. Kamiya." Ash said as Yuuko smiled.

"You were one of the only people to actually enjoy my cooking, and just for that, I'll give you an extra liver stick." Yuuko said as everyone got together to eat at the table. After Ash washed the dishes, he joined the others at the living room, until Ash saw an acoustic guitar near the patio door.

"Hey, who's guitar is that?" Ash said as Susumu was the one to speak.

"It was mine, I bought it at a yard sale last week. Though, I never got around to learn how to play it." Susumu said as Ash's eyes started to light up.

"Mind I play a song?" Ash said as Susumu was a little taken back by Ash's request. But, quickly had a smile on his face.

"Not at all, Kari would you mind turning the TV off?" Susumu said as Kari turned the TV off, everyone gathered around Ash, who was on a stool. Pikachu was on Kari's lap who was getting scratched behind the ear.

"Pika pika. (*Are you going to play what I think you're about to play?*) He squeaked as Ash nodded.

"This song is called Lifelight. And I wrote it myself." Ash said as he began to pull the strings.

***Playing Lifelight (Super Smash Bros Ultimate Theme) Acoustic Version***

*Colors weave into a spire of flame, distance sparks call to a past still-unnamed, bear this torch against the cold of the night, search your soul and reawaken the undying light.*

*On that day when the sky fell away, our world came to an end, in our eyes to the fading sun rise in the dark glimmering shadows.*

*Silence grows in the spaces between stretching out beyond time, rising up as a chorus of souls find a voice flickering through the void.*

*These little sparks cling onto life, everyone caught in the struggle, and then the storms of change they fan the flames bring ashes to the wind.*

***(Chorus)***

*Every soul contains a whisper of life, gleaming faintly as it dwindles from site. No escape no greater faith to be made in the end the change of time will not break.*

*Colors weave into a spire of flame, distant sparks call to up past still-unnamed, bear this torch against the cold of the night, search your soul and reawaken the undying light!*

*As fate spins, a threat without end, new life draws its first breath, blossoming in a soil reclaim from the past where Destiny holds fast.*

*Here where we stand, hand clenched in hand everyone caught in a struggle, this is the day we finally find a way stepping into our tomorrow.*

***Pause Lifelight (Super Smash Bros Ultimate Theme) Acoustic Version***

As the song went on, Kari was tearing up with tears of joy every time he sang a note. 'Oh Ash, this is so beautiful.' She thought as she finally figured out that she was in love with him.

***Resume Lifelight (Super Smash Bros Ultimate Theme) Acoustic Version***

***(Chorus)***

*Every soul contains a whisper of light, growing louder as it calls to ignite, from the distance sings a chorus of souls, rising slowly stirring heat from the coals.*

*Colors weave into a spire of flame, distant sparks call to a past still-unnamed, bear this torch against the cold of the night, light will guide you on your way to the ultimate fight*

***(Acoustic Solo)***

***(Final Chorus)***

*Every soul contains a whisper of light, growing louder as it calls to ignite, from the distance sings the chorus of souls, rising slowly stirring heat from the coals.*

*Colors weave into a spire of flame, distant sparks cal to a past still-unnamed, bear this torch against the cold of the night, light will guide you on your way to the ultimate fight.*

***Stop Lifelight (Super Smash Bros Ultimate Theme) Acoustic Version***

As Ash was done, the Kamiya's were clapping, applauding his performance. Not too long, Kari walked up to him.

"Ash, that was amazing. Where did you learn how to play?" Kari asked as she was impressed by his performance.

"I learned on my journey through the Johto region. That song was a side project I was working on." Ash said as Tai was also impressed.

"That was awesome Ash. Mom, I'm heading out to meet some friends, I'll be back." Tai said as he went out the door.

"Hey, wanna play Kingdom Hearts II?" Kari asked as Ash nodded.

"I'd love to." Ash said as they headed to the spare room where the console was. After an hour, Tai returned to tell them that he, Izzy, T.K and girl named Sora would be heading back to the Digital World. Kari and Ash said a that they would too, quickly afterwards all three of them went to their separate rooms to sleep, ready for what the next day would hold.