Disclaimer: I do not own digimon in any way.

This is a little oneshot chapter I wrote as part of a fun game being played on the Forum "Digimon Digital Monsters NOT Love trianglesHigh school drama". The game is called Emotional Toll and its to help improve our ability to write hard hitting emotional scenes. I was given a theme and a tone with which to work in and this is what I came up with.
Any constructive criticism would be much appreciated! Thanks :}
Theme: Running late
Tone:Dark

Wormmon dashed through the damp, murky tunnels with such single minded focus that he no longer even tried to avoid the muck and grime which coated the walls and floors around him. There was not a moment to waste on such trivial thoughts, speed was of the essence. He was behind schedule.

"Get me the specs for the improved digi-analyser machine-"

"Order the procedures to begin-"

"Fetch me-"

"Why haven't you-?"

"Where is my-?"

"You useless piece of-!"

"WORMMON!"

Fire dancing across his back, pain surging through his brain. The thinly disguised revulsion in his Master's eyes tearing him up on the inside.

I'll make you proud Ken, I promise.

The insect digimon rushed around frantically in an attempt to fulfil the wishes of his Master, the Digimon Kaiser. The sting of the whip still burned his tender flesh around the welts as a reminder to him that running late was not acceptable. Not today. Not ever.

On his way he passed Lopmon, barely even sparing a glace in her direction.

"Hey," Lopmon tried to greet him but Wormmon refused to be distracted by trivial things right now. He had to hurry. His friend could wait.

The chocolate coloured digimon watched him go sadly. He never had any time for her these days, she sighed. She missed him.

A menacing looking Mushroomon directed her on her way, she had been summoned to the Digimon Kaiser himself and secretly she wished Wormmon had been the one to escort her instead. She would feel safe with him. As she watched him hurry through the tunnels, abandoning her, a chill crept up her spine.

She was swiftly ushered on and Wormmon barely even registered the echoes of her footsteps as she retreated down the corridor.

He had to—He must- Where had he put the Master's-? Wormmon's brain ran on overdrive as he desperately tried to make up for lost time. As his mind whirred he slowly began to piece together fragmented pieces of conversations he had heard over the past few days: procedures, experiments, victims. All the hushed, nervous whispers of the digimon around him and the frantic desire of the Digimon Kaiser as he strove towards his goals. All the pieces of a puzzle which his brain was only now starting to fit together.

He was not usually left in the dark about his Master's plans, what was different about today?

As his claws worked swiftly on his current task, his brain waded through bits and pieces of information. Bit by bit. Piece by piece.

Where had Lopmon been going? Had he imaged the look of barely concealed fear in her eyes as he glanced briefly in her direction? Was there a connection between her and these dark, mysterious experiments?

No, stop being paranoid. No time.

"I have just the digimon for the job," the Digimon Kaiser smirked. Was it Wormmon's imagination or did he stare meaningfully in his direction as he said that? The expression on his face had succeeded in churning Wormmon's stomach.

The memory assaulted him and he stopped abruptly, dropping the circuitry he was carrying and finally putting all the pieces together.

"No," he gasped feebly as understanding dawned. Ken wouldn't. Not his Lopmon. He staggered under the weight of the panic which gripped him. No. No, no no! Please, no…

He immediately took off towards the experimental chamber, hoping and praying he was wrong. He did not care about the consequences for letting down his Master any longer, the only thing he could think of was getting there in time to save Lopmon.

He saw her face in his mind's eye as he panted, his vision clouding as he pushed his body further and further, desperate for oxygen yet unable to focus on anything past his need to reach her.

Just hang in there.

He pushed himself further and further, moving as fast as his own body could take him but he knew it may not be enough. What if it wasn't enough? He gasped and spluttered, his lungs heavy and burning, but he did not stop. Corridor after corridor he passed in a whirl of panic, his vision becoming more faded and dark with each passing second. He could feel the limits of his body approaching but fought them back as he pushed on.

Sparks were dancing behind his eyes and he could see her, smiling at him from behind his eyelids. He felt he could almost reach out and touch her, stroke her silky fur and see her beautiful eyes illuminated with joy. Smiling at him.

So close…

Wormmon barged through the doors and all eyes in the Experimental Chamber turned to him as he collapsed at the entrance, gasping for breath and battling to stay conscious.

"Lopmon?" He wheezed, so faintly that he could not even hear his own words above the pounding in his ears.

The other digimon looked nervously at the Digimon Kaiser who merely raised an eyebrow in contempt at the pathetic specimen who called himself his digimon and waltzed out of the room without a backwards glance.

Lopmon lay limp in the arms of the Mushroomon who had escorted her earlier. Her eyes stared unblinkingly up at the ceiling above her and she did not have the energy to turn her head to see Wormmon, but she had heard him there and that was enough. He had come for her. She smiled slightly and sighed before her body was broken up into millions of specks of data.

"Another one didn't make it," noted the Mushroomon with disinterest as his arms were relieved of their burden.

Wormmon watched as her data scattered around him, sparkling and beautiful, before the black spots in his vision grew and the darkness engulfed him.

As he lay unconscious on the ground a single tear trickled down his cheek.

I'm so sorry, my love. I was too late.