Of Strength and Loyalty

By dragon paradise

AN: I do not own Digimon or any of it's characters. The original characters however are in fact my own creations. This fanfiction is the sister, and original Story for my Forgotten crests fanfiction.

Chapter 1: The best companion.

he digital world is a mystery to all who have ventured there. No one really knows how or when it was created, only that it coexists with the human world on a parallel plain. The chosen children, being able to be summoned across that divide and between the two worlds. For Taichi Yamagi and his friends, the digital world was the source of an amazing summer and an adventure that would forever stay with them inside their hearts. Although, like there is dark and light, the digital world was not a place of great memories for some.

The clock showed 1 am illuminating the face of one Niki Yigarui. Sweat slicked her pale forehead and caused her blonde bangs to stick there. Pools of red rimmed amber stared dully at those hated, glowing numbers begrudgingly. To think it had only been eleven thirty when she had closed her eyes and already she was awakened from her sleep. Lying back down Niki tried restlessly to find a position on the bed that she could curl up and go to sleep again.

Sighing in defeat the blonde pulled herself from the bedding, taking the time to unwind the sheets from around her legs. Grabbing her fluffy black robe from the back of her computer chair she slipped it onto her shoulders and tied it snuggly shut around her. Niki sighed gently as she ran her fingers lightly over the soft material of the robe as she looked around her dark room barely able to make out the shapes of her desk and vanity on one side of the room while she could vaguely see the outline of her closet which opened in the other wall to her clothes across from the curtains that led to her balcony.

Stepping forward she had plunged her room into the sliver radiance of the moon with a flick of her wrist as she gripped the curtain in one hand. Prying her window open to let the chilled air fill the room and cool her heated flesh she let out a relieved sigh. It was a small thing to pull the door open enough to step through and escape the darkness of her room for the bright balcony in front of her. Pulling the low oval bean chair that had been her present from her next door neighbors last Christmas she settled into the comfortable seat and pulled her knees to her chest to rest her chin on top. It felt good to bask in the moonlight that was unbarred by the unusually clear Autumn sky.

Relaxing here in the silence gave the blonde time to reflect on her thoughts. The million things racing through her mind at any given time. Which of course led to the reasons for her panicked state in the first place. It was a long time until Niki was able to let out a small sigh as her mind was finally able to empty itself momentarily as she stared at the starry sky. Her hand grasping a tag around her neck while she rested there before at long last drifting off to sleep.

"Sarah"

To Ken everything came easy; school, sports all of it. He was a boy genius after all. In fact it had all become son incredibly dull over time. So when the email came which led him into the dark ocean he was thrilled. Finally he had a way out of the dull life of pleasing his parents, his teachers, his "Friends" finally he had a challenge worthy of him. He would become the game master, the master of the entire digital world.

There was little else that could distract Ken from his goals, not even the every day things of the real world. All Ken could think about were his plans and goals for the digital world. The control spires had been his first stroke of genius. By controlling more and more areas through the spires his reach grew more vast.

However looking over the few sections he had taken control of left Ken feeling unsatisfied. It was to small. The problem? His chosen digimon. Ken had found Wormmon waiting for him when he'd first come to the digital world. Claiming that he was to be Ken's digimon. To say that Ken had been thoroughly disappointed was an understatement. How could this lowly insect be worthy of him? Ken Ichijouji, the child prodigy destined to become the emperor of the entire digital world? How could wormmon help him concur anything.

So with this in mind he began his plans for the dark rings. His pride when that first digimon's eyes glowed red and it turned to do his will was incalculably. It had worked. He would amass a digimon army of willing slaves. This became Ken's obsession quite quickly. Ken would spend hours pouring over his rapidly growing army. As his territories grew so did his desire for more power. Even as this desire grew him he knew something was missing...something he desperately wanted was missing.

Ken sat watching the screen flip through the data of the newly captured digimon for the day. He'd decided early on that he wanted to make a record of which digimon populated which regions. He had probably checked off the hundredth digimon when it occurred to him to ask the green shadow hovering him what had been bothering him for a few weeks now.

" Wormmon. I've been at this for several months now, and yet I haven't come across any of a particular digimon. Are there some that there are only a few of?" His tone was cold, bored almost as he kept his eyes on the quickly flipping screen.

Wormmon's pincers warbled ever so slightly as he hesitated in answering that. He knew it was so rare that ken ever asked him anything, so he was eager to please him...however he also knew the blue haired boy's dislike for him acknowledging when he didn't know something. Finally he stepped forward into the light of the monitors as he answered, although rather shakily to start.

"O...of co..course Ken. It depends...on the digimon you're searching for. If you are looking for a high leveled digimon they do tend to become rarer. You see wild digimon have a harder time digivolving even to the champion level without a chosen child." he hesitated only a moment always wanting to please his chosen boy. " which digimon were you searching for ken?"

the silence that followed was broken by the sound of a whip cracking and wormmon's pained whimper.

"That's master to you Insect" Ken snarled before continuing. " I'm not quite sure. I heard their names a long time ago... Cu-mon...Cubarimon and Cubiramon. They're supposed to be twin digimon, a feline and a wolf hound like beast... I think...that's what she said."

Wormmon dragged him self up and bobbed his head as he waited his pincers clicking anxiously before he shook his head sadly. " I'm sorry K...Master" he corrected seeing Ken's hand tighten on his whip. " I don't know of those digimon. You could order your army to search them out if you'd like" he suggested to sooth his boy's angry disappointment.

Ken smirked at that idea. Of course, why had he waisted his time with the worm when he could just issue orders to have the digimon he wanted brought to him instead? Checking the time he sighed, he had better be getting back. Punching in his new orders before opening the gate to get home he spared a glance back at Wormmon.

"You have your orders wormmon." with that said ken left the digital world just in time to hear the annoying sound of his mothers voice from the hall.

"Ken dear, Niki's her to walk to school with you." There was a pause as if she was weighing the decision to continue in her mind. Finally though he heard her turn and then the sounds of her foot steps as she left. With that annoyance gone Ken grabbed his school bag and pulled the door open to see the one person that he allowed close to him waiting patiently on the other side of it. Niki Yigarui, Ken's next door neighbor and long time friend. Niki was also the only person that could truly understand Ken.

" Morning Ken" The pale blonde greeted, smiling in that brilliant way that spoke of something hidden inside that was pure Niki. Ken noted that the black rings under those amber eyes were darker than the day before. 'She must be having trouble sleeping again.' Ken pondered briefly before nodding his head in greeting.

"Niki" Ken drawled as he led the slightly taller girl to where their shoes waited by the front door. The trip to school- consisting of a small walk to the train, a few stops and then another few blocks to school was filled with the usual banter. Discussing Ken's newest entry to the soccer team's play book, the upcoming interviews that ken would be featured in and each other's homework. Ken didn't mind discussing Niki's homework with her since she was several classes above him and so her work was far more interesting to him than his own.

To ken Niki wasn't a bother, nor a burden like any of the others that tried on a regular basis to worm their way into his life. For one thing Niki was as strong as him if not more so, and she was just as bright. They'd discovered a few years ago, when she had first started school again that she had an elevated IQ that allowed her to join her age group despite having been far behind them academically. Sure Niki kept to herself about her smarts and wasn't all over the news with her brilliant formulas but she was the chair member of the girls soccer club for the city since most schools didn't have a soccer team. And she did volunteer for a bunch of small volunteer groups. In Ken's eyes she was the perfect companion, as bright and strong as he saw himself, so as it was it was only a matter of time.

When they got to school the two separated, Niki waving as she moved to the upper class side of the school while ken made his way to his own class begrudgingly. Now though that Niki was gone Ken turned inwards. To his plans and designs for the digital world. Nothing could stand in his way.