Humans are such strange creatures. He had remembered reading about the Humans a long time ago, when he was just a Child, looking to stop the war like so many others. He had actually been surprised that he remembered the stories of the Human World. It had been several centuries since he'd been a naive Child. He gazed at the Humans as they attempted to hide from the rain. They're so civilized and yet… He continued to study the Humans as they ran to find shelter from the pouring rain that descended from above. Many ran into their respective homes, while others remained in one of the many alleyways that had some cover for the rain. A frown graced his features as he saw a well-groomed man ignoring a homeless man, pushing him into a puddle in the process when he didn't get out of the way fast enough. They are not so civil as I thought. They are so self-centered creatures, so heartless, and uncaring. Just like the Holy Alliance.
His wings twitched as he sat on the rooftop of one of the many tall buildings of Tokyo. The rain felt nice against his back as the thunder clouds roared, creating a frightening sound that could startle even Beelzebumon. Truly, it was a sight to behold to see the rain pouring down on the city, the lightning flashing across the dark sky as thunder cracked and roared. Lucemon found it relaxing, after the week he had. It had been rather tiring trying to handle the remaining rebellions of the Holy Alliance that was left from the war, who still sought their destruction. He scowled at the very thought of them.
The Holy Alliance had attempted to reduce their numbers, killing them off as if they were nothing but dead weight. For centuries, they had been afraid of being labeled as a Dark or Evil Digimon, an abomination to their world, Demons, and even monsters just because they were Virus Digimon with the abilities to control darkness. He shook his head sadly. The fight to survive back then was truly terrifying. It had been kill or be killed; there was no in between. It was either abandon their morals and 'Evil allegiance' or die at the hands of the Holy Alliance. It had been a horrible, lonely existence to be a Digimon belonging to a Demon Man, Virus, Nightmare Solider, or any Digimon with an association or evolution line of darkness.
He gazed at the little Humans. They were lucky at best. Their little problems were nothing compared to theirs. They had to fight to survive. They had once tried to reason with the Holy Alliance. They were all Digimon; they could all live together in the Digital World, peacefully. But the Holy Alliance had their own ideas and values for a better world that they had so often proclaimed and Demons (as the Holy Digimon called them) had no part in their perfect little world. They wanted a world where no evil existed; where only Digimon of the good and followers of the Light flourished and thrived, while all others were condemned to their deaths and execution.
Lucemon would have laughed at that thought. It was funny how things turned out. They — the ones that had called them heartless, cruel, slaves of evil, murderers, and monsters — were the ones who took the first strike, killing an innocent Baby I; thus, starting a vicious and bloody war that lasted for five millenniums. While they — the Digimon that were supposed to be evil murderers and monsters — were the ones that never touched a Holy Digimon until the day they took one of theirs. The war had been bloody and ugly. The Holy Angels and their Alliance believed they were the superior beings. They had believed they would win the war and exterminate those that they saw would corrupt their positive image of a peaceful world. They had been so wrong.
The Holy Alliance had not taken into account the magnitude of the hidden powers and inner strength (fueled by their overwhelming hatred and anger) that would have been unleashed when they killed the innocent Baby I. The Holy Alliance had dug their own graves when they decided to rage war against them by killing his younger brother.
Thunder cracked and roared above him as his thoughts turned to one of despair. Puttimon never had a chance to live his life and now he was gone. And it would be impossible for him to be reborn. His data had been completely obliterated by the attack. He was gone, forever.
This was one of the reasons he came to the Human World. Lucemon was the leader of the Demon Lords. He could not afford to bother anyone with his problems. They were having enough trouble rebuilding their world after the war. There was a lot of work to be done and he couldn't afford to look anything but the cunning, prideful, and very resourceful Demon Lord of Pride. "Puttimon." But now, as he sat on the rooftop buildings of Tokyo, he realized that he could allow himself to feel the sadness that had been building in his heart for centuries. Lucemon sighed softly as he allowed blue eyes to hide behind eyelids that were slowly beginning to shut, blocking his view of the world. "I'm sorry I couldn't save you."
"Waaah-waaah!"
"Hmm?!" Lucemon's eyes snapped open as the sound of a little one reached his ears. He frowned. The crying of the little one sounded distressed and scared. Lucemon's frown deepened as the sound of a crying baby got louder. Lucemon turned his gaze down and saw a Human Male walking with a basket in his hand. It was hard to tell what the man looked like. All he could see was that the man was tall, yet gruff. The man also seemed to have an aura of grief around him as his posture was slouched and rigged and his movements were slow as he walked through the chilly December night with nothing but an old thin jacket on. Lucemon vaguely wondered what would cause such grief in a man and honestly felt bad for him. He must have gone through a great loss.
"Waaah-waaah!"
Lucemon's eyes widened as the wailing that he had been hearing concentrated from the basket that the Human was carrying. Whatever sympathy Lucemon had for the Human dispersed as he shook the basket violently, uncaring of the delicate cargo in his hands.
Lucemon soon felt a long forgotten urge (that felt so foreign, yet familiar) to follow as the man walked passed the building he was sitting on. It had been centuries since he felt this way. He hadn't felt this way since his brother's death. But as the distressed and frightened wails of a terrified baby drummed into his ears, Lucemon found himself listening to his long forgotten instincts — to protect.
What Lucemon did next was nearly second nature to him as he jumped off the ledge of the rooftop and melted into the shadows. Lucemon used the skills he had learned from the war to his advantage by using the very darkness of the shadows and night to conceal his presence as he followed the Human. He had to, unfortunately, restrain himself to not attack the pathetic Human Male as he continued to shake the basket in an attempt to silence the wailing baby. Lucemon gritted his teeth as he felt the urge to protect. His instincts were screaming that the little one should not be treated this way. He was far too young. Too young to understand what was happening, to know from right from wrong. This mistreatment was not acceptable at all.
Lucemon, quietly, followed the man with a heavy heart as he walked into a dark alleyway, that was a good distance away from the main city. Lucemon noticed the alleyway was dark and void of any life or the junk that the Humans seemed to litter the ground with. The place was so isolated that it could be the perfect dumping ground to kill someone. Or to abandon a helpless baby to the bitter elements of a chilly December night. Lucemon's blood ran cold as he realized that was exactly what was happening.
Cold blue eyes snapped toward the Human Male as the crying got louder and more frantic. Lucemon watched in absolute horror as his fears became a reality. As he watched the Human drop the basket that contained the innocent, defenseless baby, Lucemon, for a brief moment, felt as if he was reliving his brother's death. Lucemon had been a helpless, weak Child back then. He had not been fast enough, nor powerful enough, to protect his brother from the torture he had been forced to endure (and later execution) by the Holy Alliance when they realized they had failed to persuade Lucemon in joining their ranks for he had been the smartest and most cunning of Angel Vaccines to ever live. However, as the basket landed into a puddle, Lucemon realized that he was no longer that weak and defenseless Child anymore. He had evolved far passed that level and grew with enormous powers for that of a Perfect. He had surpassed the Ultimates that had harmed his brother and had destroyed them for their part in his death.
"Shut up!" Lucemon's cold eyes snapped to the small baby as he shivered violently in his basket. Lucemon's heart broke as he watched the innocent child cry in his basket as he clung to a tattered brown blanket. The blanket, however, had been soaked through as a result of the pouring rain from the heavens above and from the puddle that the poor baby had been dropped into.
Lucemon's face darkened as the Human Male snatched the baby's only source of protection from the bitter cold. "You don't deserve this! Not after what you've done!"
Lucemon, for once, was glad it was too dark for anyone to see him. He wasn't sure how the little one would react if he saw a frightening looking angel staring down at the Human Male with the intent to kill. However, Lucemon's rage would only grow tenfold as he took in the magnitude of neglect the poor child had been endured to in his short life. The blanket, he realized, had been the baby's only possession. The Human Male had left the little one without any clothing. No shirt. No pants. No little socks or shoes. No diaper. No nothing. The little one was completely bare. But on his bare, fair skin were huge adult size bruises.
"Waaah-waaah!"
The bruises were the shape of fingers.
"Quiet!"
Lucemon stood to his full height as he stepped out of the shadows and directly behind the Human Male. He towered over the man, glaring at him with more hatred and disgust then he had ever felt before. How dare he? His hatred only grew as the man yelled at the baby, who was shivering from the cold and crying in fear. How dare he harm an innocent child?
"It's your fault she's dead! You should have never been born!"
Lucemon could not believe his ears. This man (who he was assuming was the child's father) was blaming the innocent baby for the death of his mate. Lucemon, for a brief moment, felt an ounce of sadness for the man. The man's grief was because he lost his mate when she gave birth to their child. But that feeling disappeared as fast as it came. Harming this innocent child (who looked to be barely a day old) and condemning him to his death was not all right with him. It reminded him too much of how his younger brother's life had been cut short for similar reasons.
"I hope you enjoyed your little time in this world," Lucemon's blood boiled at the amount of hatred that was being directed at the frightened newborn, "for it will be your last."
Lucemon would have struck the man with his Dead or Alive attack right there and then, but he froze for half a second when wet, terrified eyes caught sight of him. Lucemon was in a complete awe. He had never seen such a unique shade of violet in all the centuries he'd been alive. Lucemon could tell that the little one was very special. It was all in his eyes. Despite the fear (not being directed at him, surprisingly), Lucemon could see a great amount of intelligence in those violet orbs. He could do great things in the future, Lucemon thought silently, I can see it. Lucemon smiled at the child as he saw him lifting his small arms to him, silently asking for his help, wanting to be protected from the cruelty he was being forced to endure, wanting to feel the warmth of another, to not feel the bitter cold that was licking his delicate skin, and lastly — to be loved. A love that he should have been receiving since the moment he was brought into this world.
Lucemon was more than willing to oblige to the little one's needs. He will not die. I will not allow it.
Lucemon returned his focus to the Human Male that he despised more than anything in the Digital World, as he scoffed at the newborn. The man was unaware of the enraged Perfect behind him, most likely thinking that the newborn was reaching for him for protection and love that would not be returned. Lucemon would have laughed at that thought. The baby knew who was the monster between the two of them and, ironically, it was not him this time. The baby wanted his protection. He, a Demon Lord, a Digimon, and not one of his own kind. This made him wonder if the child could sense that he would never harm an innocent, that he, Lucemon, the Demon Lord of Pride, would protect him from this cruelty. But, no one, not even the other members of his group, had ever seen Lucemon wanting to protect another that was not out of duty or pride. Lucemon hadn't shown that side of him since the death of his sweet, innocent brother.
Lucemon gazed down at the man coldly as the man took that moment to turn his back to the newborn (ignoring his terrified cries) and bumped head first into his chest.
Lucemon found it to be poetic justice when the man staggered back in shock, landing butt first into a puddle that was slightly bigger than the one he had dropped the baby into and getting drenched in the process. Yes, there was definitely poetic justice in that. Lucemon scowled menacingly at the man in front of him. Thankfully, the little one had none of the man's features. The man's face was too round and narrow, and his face was covered with hair that seemed to center solely around his cheeks, chin and upper lip. His eyes were a dull black and his nose seemed somewhat on the flat side. His hair was a short brown mess (which seemed to have not been touched in a while) and he smelled of a strange odor. It reminded him of the sake that Barbamon drinks when he gets irritated (which was almost all the time). This made Lucemon wonder how much had this man been drinking and what other injuries had he caused to the little one's frail body?
"Wh-who are you?" The fear that laced the man's words filled Lucemon with a hit of pride and satisfaction, but not by much. The amount of fear that the man was feeling by just the mere sight of him was nothing in comparison to the overwhelming fear that the little one must be feeling. Lucemon wanted the man to suffer for every bruise exposed on the newborn's fair skin, for every tear that leaked from his pretty, innocent eyes, and for every minute the newborn had to go without any warmth, love, affection, or food in his small tummy. "What the hell are you?"
Lucemon towered over the shivering man (flexing his wings as he did so) as he stared up at him with widened, frightened, brown orbs. "I am the Being that holds both the great divine of creation and the diabolic destruction of the world. I am both God and Devil, Human." Lucemon enjoyed the panic and fear in the man as his voice, filled with hate and malice, reached the man's ears. Lucemon did take note that the small child's crying had reduced to mere whimpers and soft sobs when he stepped out to confront the man. He mentally frowned as he took notice of the small movements the child was doing. The small child must be freezing, he realized, he would have to deal with the man swiftly. "I am your worst nightmare," as Lucemon spoke those words the man screamed as Lucemon grabbed him, pulling him into the shadows and towards the open sky.
Lucemon flew high above the sky with the screaming man in his hands. "Where are you taking me?" the man asked as they flew further into the abandon, rundown town of an older Japan that had been long forgotten and left to ruins. Lucemon took note that the Humans never even bothered to save this place. They just left and started anew. Despite how narrow-minded and wasteful Lucemon thought the Humans were, he found that it was the perfect place to land. Besides, there wasn't a single soul to see a frightening angel hovering over an abandoned town with a terrified human in his hands.
"Tell me, Human," Lucemon hissed as he lifted the man to his face, "what is his name?"
"Wha-what? Who?" The man was as white as his holy angel feathers.
Lucemon growled as he pulled the man closer. Their noses were mere inches away from touching each other. "The child, Human! The one you were, so obviously, going to leave out here to die!"
The man trembled in his arms. "K-Ken," the man stuttered, "his name is Ken."
"Ken." The name was simple, yet the meaning held a lot of weight. Strong. That was what the name meant if Lucemon remembered correctly. It fits him perfectly, Lucemon realized, he must be, in order to survive this long with his creature.
Lucemon hadn't noticed the soft tone in his voice or the way his features seemed to soften as he thought about the newborn. This, however, gave the Human the wrong impression to foolishly (and stupidly) act brave when he was obviously in a terrible, deadly, position. "Why do you care? He's nothing. He's not worth knowing about."
The Human had, unknowingly, said the very words that would sentence him to his own death.
Lucemon felt something snap inside of him at the lack of compassion the man had for the defenseless child. Lucemon did nothing to suppress the overwhelming rage that filled him. He hadn't felt this angry in a long, long time. "What kind of creature are you, harming an innocent child who had just been brought into this world?!"
"Innocent?! He is not an innocent," the Human Male yelled as his voice took on an angry, yet grief-stricken tone. "He shouldn't have been born!" The man blinked away tears that began filling his eyes. "Megumi…she was too sickly. Her body couldn't handle the stress of birth and she knew this and she…"
"She loved the child with all her heart," Lucemon said, feeling the truth of those words springing out, "something she must have hoped you would give to the child as well."
The man shook his head. His eyes narrowing in rage, which just made Lucemon find another reason why he loathed the Human. "You know nothing, Demon! Megumi is dead because of him! He should be dead, not Megumi!"
Lucemon narrowed his eyes at the Human Male. The rage that filled him had finally leaked over as he released the Human from the sky, realizing that the Human cared nothing for the small baby that wanted nothing more than to be loved and cared for. "I hope you enjoyed your time in this world, Human," Lucemon lifted his arms and summoned balls of holiness and evilness in each of his hands, "for it will be your last! Dead or Alive!"
Lucemon did not stay to find out the result of the Human's demise as the orbs left his hands and formed a three-dimensional magic circle around the screaming Human, trapping him inside. "Nooooo! You can't do this!" The agonizing screams of the Human, followed by an explosion (that took out half of the rundown town in the process) was all he heard as he flew away from the abandoned town. Lucemon glanced down at the structures as his thoughts swirled around what the man had told him, followed by the overwhelming rage that filled him.
Humans are truly heartless creatures. How can one blame an innocent child for just being born?! Let alone blame him for the mother's death! Lucemon let out a heavy sigh as the thunder cracked above him. I hope the woman wouldn't mind if I take care of her son. Lucemon stopped his course and hovered in the air as soon as that thought came. The rage he had been feeling drained from his body and was replaced with confusion. "To care for the child?" Lucemon allowed those words to slowly reach his ears. Was that the reason he wanted to save the child? He knew he didn't like the way the newborn was being treated. It reminded him too much of his younger brother. Oh, and, how he adored his brother. Puttimon was so energetic and so full of life. Just thinking about the good times placed a smile on his face. Puttimon had always said that Lucemon would stop the war with his intellect and would create a peaceful world for all the innocent mons that wanted nothing more than to get along. It had been a naive thought, Lucemon had almost forgotten about it, but maybe Puttimon was right.
Lucemon found himself laughing. It had been too late to create a peaceful world as they had once dreamed of. The Digital World had been through the reality of war, through hatred and anger. Lucemon had actually been thinking that there were no more innocent beings in the world or that peace was near impossible to achieve in a world where he was hated and feared. But maybe it was fate who had wanted to bring the old him back, a reminded of the mon he had once been all those centuries ago. For there was an innocent child that held no fear or hatred towards him. An innocent child who had been neglect and wronged by those who was supposed to protect and love him.
Lucemon smiled as he resumed his flying as he felt a lightness in his heart. The small child had unknowingly begun filling the gap that had been void for so long, one that had once been filled by Puttimon. Lucemon wasn't sure if he was ready to allow another into his heart, but he knew it would be what Puttimon wanted. He would not approve of an innocent child being left out in the cold to die. And frankly neither did he.
Lucemon knew what he had to do as he made his way back to the cold, dark alleyway that he had left the frightened child in. Upon his return, however, Lucemon's heart literally dropped as he took in the scene in front of him. The small baby had returned to his loud, high-pitch wailing. His small body shivered violently for he had no protection against the bitter cold, nor any protection from the rain that was pouring on top of him. Lucemon did not hesitate to rush to the child. He feared that the child must believe that he had truly been abandoned to deal with his empty tummy and the bitter cold all alone. Lucemon knew that was impossible for he was still far too young. A wave of guilt washed over him like a tidal wave as he hovered over the child, using his body and wings to shield the baby from the rain. The child had been left alone for far too long.
"Shh, it's okay, little one," Lucemon's voice was soft and gentle as he slowly bent down to pick him up, "I'm here, now. I promise everything's going to be all right." Wet, violet eyes peeked from behind half-closed eyelids to stare up at him. Lucemon's smile never wavered as the little one whimpered when thunder cracked above them. "Shhh-sh-sh-sh-sh! It's okay. It's okay." Lucemon gently held the small baby in his hand, cradling him to his chest, in hopes that it would provide some warmth and comfort to the newborn. To his relief, the newborn's wailing decreased to whimpers as he snuggled into Lucemon's warm embrace. Lucemon could tell the little one was freezing. He couldn't be sure how long he went without any clothing (or the warmth of another), but he wasn't going to take any chances. Lucemon gently rubbed the baby's back in reassurance, taking note of the patch of dark hair (that looked to be a mixture of purples and blues) adorning the top of his head and the small sucking he was doing on his little fingers.
Lucemon's lips twitched in concern as he lifted up his right hand to open up a portal back to the Digital World. He's hungry, Lucemon realized as the portal opened, revealing the huge colorful tree of the Village of Beginnings, I don't know how long he's gone without eating, but I plan on fixing that right now. Blue orbs shifted to the little shivering bundle in his arms as he entered the portal. Hopefully, Swanmon and Elecmon wouldn't mind if I take a bottle or two.