Memory Lapse
A flash of blue and burgundy flew over the cliff, falling with a loud thud to a ledge below.
Blue was on top. "I've got you now, Chosen! Prepare to die!"
Burgundy, though looking a little worse for wear, used his larger body mass to flip the caped assailant away. "Shut up, Ken! This is fighting dirty!"
"It's all a game to me." The Kaiser sneered. "And you, my friend, are breaking the rules!" With a grunt he tackled Daisuke to the ground once again, screaming for one of his ringed Digimon to aid him. "Face it, Chosen, you're beaten!"
Daisuke thrashed under the genius' light weight. "V-mon! Miyako! Taichi!"
"No one can help you now, little one." The Kaiser smiled. "What were you thinking, coming into my domain alone? One would think you had a death wish. Your Digimon has been captured. Your 'friends' don't know that you're here, or don't care. As much as I like a good fight, my suggestion is that you come quietly. I might spare your life."
Daisuke scowled. "I don't think so, Ken!"
"Don't call me that!"
"I'll say whatever I like, Ken!" The bigger boy flung the Kaiser away from him once again, this time scrambling to his feet and tackling the indigo-haired dictator. They tussled briefly on the dirt before the ledge they had landed on gave way completely, and both children fell screaming once again.
Daisuke clutched at the struggling Kaiser, squeezing his eyes shut. So this is how it ends. Hikari...Takeru...Taichi...it's all over...
He looked, for a split second, and wished he hadn't.
The ground rushed up to meet him.
@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@
Daisuke groaned loudly, watching the purplish blue sky of the digital world beginning to focus on his eyes. "M'...alive..." He noted the cliff from which he had fallen--at least 30 feet above--and thanked God.
The cinnimon-eyed child gingerly sat up and checked himself for broken bones, immediately discovering the reason for his soft landing. He lay partially on top of the Digital Kaiser, who was out cold. "Shimatta." The Kaiser might have been a--figuratively speaking--royal pain in the backside, but Daisuke didn't want to see him dead.
"I can see the headlines," Daisuke said out loud. "'Young Genius Murdered by Goggle Boy.' Ken? Ken, wake up!"
Daisuke checked the tyrant's neck, sighing in relief when his fingers found a weak pulse. "Ken!" He shook the other boy gently. "Wake up!"
Still the young emperor failed to stir. "He must have gotten hit pretty hard. And where the hell are we?"
Far away, that's for sure. He had been ambushed by the Kaiser when he and V-mon had come to the Digital World that afternoon. Only recently had the Chosen Children discovered that the Digimon Kaiser was none other than Ichijouji Ken, the famous boy genius of Tamachi. Still upset by the loss of his team's soccer game against Ken's, and mourning the loss of his idolism of Ken, Daisuke had come to confront the Kaiser one-on-one. Fladramon had been captured almost immediately and sent back to the base with Ken's ringed troops, at which point Daisuke had attacked the Kaiser himself and sent both of them flying off his Airdramon and down a steep hill. The Airdramon hadn't reappeared at Ken's calling, however, and the tussling boys had ended up falling off the ledge completely.
There's no way I'm gonna be able to climb back up there, Daisuke thought in dismay. And what if this idiot wakes up?
He checked his D-3. They'll come to look for me eventually...I've just gotta wait it out. I'll start walking. Unfortunately, the unconscious boy at his feet still presented a huge problem. "I can't leave him here. Ken? Keeee~n! Shit." Daisuke at this point noticed the blood staining Ken's indigo hair and dropped to his knees to inspect it. There was a sizeable cut on the Kaiser's forehead that was pouring out blood. "Damn!" He stripped off his jacket and tore off a bit of the shirt underneath, hoping vainly that the Digital World would replace it with a fresh one when next he came. He wound the strip of cloth around the Kaiser's head and fastened it with his goggles, tightening them to apply pressure to the wound. "Pretty good, if I do say so myself."
He removed the Kaiser's torn cape and tucked it under his arm, hoisting the unconscious dictator onto his shoulder in a fireman's carry. "Let's find some shelter, buddy...we might be waiting a while."
@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@
It was but a few minutes before Daisuke ran across a shallow cave, a numerous feature in the mountainus region of the Digital World. "Good thing, too; you're getting kind of heavy. I wish V-mon were here." V-mon. He wondered if his Digimon would be all right. Then again, without the Kaiser, the base's occupants might leave him alone. Maybe.
He deposited the fallen emperor on the cave floor after checking it for Numemon and god-knew-what-else. Ken hadn't come to, hadn't spoken, had barely been breathing since Daisuke awoke. What if he's in a coma? I don't have any medical supplies! Where's Jyou when you need him!? Feeling suddenly sorry for the other boy, Daisuke placed his jacket over the Kaiser's body, hoping it would offer him more warmth than the tight jumpsuit did.
"I hope the others come for me." Daisuke pondered a moment before realizing he had forgotten something critical. "Of course! My D-Terminal!"
The tiny computer looked a little beaten from the fall, and when Daisuke opened it the screen was black. It had been damaged beyond Daisuke's ability to repair. I guess I can't count on anything happening until somebody notices that I'm gone.
It was getting dark outside, the Child of Courage noted. Fire. I need a fire. He ran outside and gathered some twigs and a few peices of dry wood, heaping them a few feet away from the sleeping tyrant. "Now how do I light the damn thing?" Wishing once again for V-mon--in this case Fladramon--'s assistance, he began to rub two sticks together, giving up after a few moments of failure.
Can't get that cold out here, can it?
@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@~*~@
It was freezing.
Seven hours later and feeling quite like a human Popsicle, Daisuke jolted awake to the sound of soft moaning. Ken had begun to stir beside him.
Damn. Maybe I should have tied him up. What if he... The boy shook his head. The Kaiser was in no shape to attack him, much less kill. "Ken? Ken, can you hear me?"
The indigo eyes struggled open and slowly focused on Daisuke. "Wha...?"
Daisuke stared at the Kaiser uncertainly. He had only glimpsed those violet eyes a few times, and never when they were so filled with pain and confusion. "Ken...?"
"I...I hear you..."
"Uh...how are you feeling?"
The Kaiser stared at him blankly. "My head hurts...but..."
"Oh. Well, that's to be expected. I guess."
Daisuke laughed uncertainly, and Ken bit his lip and squinted at the younger boy.
"Who...who are you?"
~to be continued...
author's note: I'm trying to decide whether this will be Kensuke, or will just be friendship. please offer your thoughts in a review. thanks!