Disclaimer: Digimon and all related properties belong to Toei Animation (and either Saban or Disney own the copyrights now here in the states)
Title: Contemplations
Summary: The Digimon Kaiser was unlike any of the other foes they had faced so far. Takeru has to realize just what exactly that entails.
AN: Takes place sometime after Takeru attacks the Kaiser but before Chimeramon is defeated
I had always known that he was unlike anything we had fought before; from the first time I heard about him until now he was always the outsider. Vamdemon, Etemon, The Dark Master, Apokarimon, Devimon; they were all Digimon. But the Kaiser was human; another Chosen Child, even. Devimon had been the first evil we, the original chosen, had fought and, even thought he had been a nobody in the grand scheme of things, he had done his share of damage- done his damage to me. But, now, he had returned. And the Digimon Kaiser was the one who brought him back. Ken Ichijouji did not know what he was getting into using the powers of darkness so lightly.
But, when it gets broken down to the fundamentals, Devimon- no, Chimeramon- was just data. And, no, I don't think of Patamon as simply coded data. I don't know how but Chimeramon will be defeated. But, after that, then what do we do? What do we do about Ken Ichijouji? He's too caught up trying to rule the Digital World to care about what we have to say. Not to mention that, unlike us, he's forsaken his family; he is willing to stay here while we have our own lives to live. He's also gotten stronger and is doing more damage than when he first just started using evil rings. If he created Chimeramon then there is nothing preventing him from trying to create other digimon. If we don't stop the Digimon Kaiser then this cycle will go on forever. And, since he isn't willing to hold anything back, chances are we will suffer the first casualty- and I'm not talking a digimon one, either.
The more I think about the more I realize that we might have to take a more unorthodox approach. I ask myself, if it comes down to it, will anyone of us be willing to give the order for Ken to be killed?
It seems strange, for some reason, that I'd have no problem ordering Patamon to kill if he was just another digimon. But Ken was human; that one simple factor was showing my ability to discriminate. Do our digimon have second thoughts when they have to kill one of their kind? And if they don't, should I? If he were just another Digimon then he would have been defeated by now. But, no, instead of doing what I'm supposed to do- making sure the Digital World is safe- my ability to discriminate is letting the Digimon Kaiser run rampant.
Once we stop Chimeramon what will we do then? Assume that Ken will just stay defeated? "We defeated your creation, customs dictate that you surrender?" If only it were that easy. But, if we have to go through with it, which one of us will have that distinction? Daisuke, Miyako, and Iori had never even had their Digimon kill another Digimon, so they were out of the question. Hikari and Tailmon did kill Vamdemon, but it took Wizarmon dying for her to do so. The obvious conclusion dictates that it should be me, right? But maybe Taichi or Yamato would be better suited? After all, they are older. Surely they would have a better mental capacity to handle killing someone, right? Because they are older?
No... This is our battle! If Yamato and the others were meant to partake in this then they'd have gotten the ability to continue fighting. It would have to be up to us. Heck, it might be up to me to kill the Digimon Kaiser. But, what if given the opportunity, what if there is a perfect chance to end this all, and I just freeze? What if more chaos occurs because one of us refuses to take the chance? At the end of the day, what separates the Digimon Kaiser- or any other human, for that matter, that would be willing to do what he has done- from the other evil digimon that we fought from our first adventure?
Devimon took control of several innocent digimon; the Digimon Kaiser practically enslaved the whole Digital World. Angemon was able to kill Devimon, but would anyone of us be able to kill Ken Ichijouji? Etemon managed to monitor all of the Server Continent to stay ahead of us and the Kaiser practically monitored the digital world. Vamdemon did not care one bit about his subordinates much like the Kaiser treats enslaved digimon as nothing. Vamdemon was willing to kill Hikari simply because she was the Chose of Light and the Digimon Kaiser was willing to kill Daisuke for something as simple and insignificant as a lucky shot in a soccer match. Thus, we ended up killing him. With all of our combined power Angewomon was able to defeat Vamdemon, and WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon were able to truly finish him off later.
Devimon, Vamdemon, Piedmon, Apokarimon: they were all Digimon created from the darkness. All their wrongdoing could be explained by their mere existence. And if they were just doing what they were created for then they probably had no choice in the matter. Even so, they had to die. But Ken was different. Not only was he human but he is- no, was- a Chosen Child as well. He was supposed to be protecting the digital world, not being a direct treat to it. But now he had revived an old enemy and created an abomination at the same time. The Digimon Kaiser was ordering Chimeramon to hurt the innocent. There is no way around it- Ken Ichijouji had to die.
But, let's say that we were able to kill him. Let's just say that one of us was willing to abandon a part of our humanity and kill the Digimon Kaiser- then what? The Digital world would be safe, sure, but would any of us? If I were to kill Ken Ichijouji would the others be able to look at me the same way? If any of the other Chosen killed him would I be able to look them in the eyes the same that I do now? Or would a part of me feel uncomfortable talking to a... to a murderer? I mean, we could all leave here right now- leave the Digital World forever- and we would never have to see him again; he has made it clear that he despises the real world. And then there is Yamato and the others; how would they look at the one who killed him? After all, back then all we had to worry about was other Digimon. When other humans came into the equation we just had to worry about protecting them. We didn't hesitate to kill another digimon because they were evil, no, but- anyway you put it- Ken Ichijouji was a human.
There is nothing that separates Ken Ichijouji- nothing that separates the Digimon Kaiser- from anybody else we have had to fight so far. The Digimon Kaiser is willing to kill us so therefore we should be able to kill him, right? Heck, if anything, I can make the argument that, unlike Devimon or the other digimon that we fought three years ago, Ken Ichijouji actually has a choice on deciding if he was going to cause harm to others. He can tell right from wrong- that is more then I can say for Devimon and the rest- so he had a choice in this. He decided that he was going to enslave Digimon. He decided he was going to try and kill Daisuke for something like a lucky shot. And Ken Ichijouji decided that he needed the Dark Towers to prevent evolution. He knew he was in for a fight and it would be up us to bring him down. All this thinking has lead me to believe that there might be only one way to deal with him- only one way to protect the Digital World.
But I- no, we have to give up this mentality that by killing him we will be just like him. We have to be willing to kill in order to protect the Digital World- to protect the digimon. That is as far away from the Digimon Kaiser that we can get. With all that he has done we won't be like him until we enslave others. We won't be killing for petty reasons; we will have to kill the Digimon Kaiser for just reasons. We will have to kill him to protect the Digital World...
AN: Well after about two years of not doing anything with this account I decided that I should at least try and finish the story I started here. Though upon stumbling through basic storytelling and understanding of characterization (then again, it could just be in my head) I decided that it would be a while before I could actually be able to write (again, maybe just in my head). As for when one should expect an update to CT... well, like always, life tends to catch up pretty quick and with trying to meet goals in life sometimes other things take priority. So, the answer is... whenever.
Also, upon further reading of this story, I realize now that there is a very thin line between writing deep and coherent while making the reader think and being pretentious while you flaunt your pseudo-intellect in other people's faces. Feel free to tell if I crossed that line. Until next time, adios!