Author's Note
Hi again. And thank you to everyone who's been reading and reviewing this.
Wow, two updates in the same day. Well, at least I got my files back. Yay!
Got carried away with the length again. Though I did narrow it down a bit, otherwise it would have been a bit too long. Though I personally think it makes more sense this way.
Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon or any of the characters in it. All I own is my writing and my personal opinion.
Identity
I am Duskmon...or so he says. There was always doubt, but so small that it was suppressed by unconditional loyalty. Till I saw him. Koji Minamoto. His light burned through my darkness, amplified my doubts. I hated it, but perhaps Duskmon was not who I really was after all.
Kouichi K
Chapter 3
Six warriors clashed in a blaze of elements, wood easily holding back the other five. The other five, Ophanimon's Warriors, were being steadily beaten back by Petaldramon. It was rather pathetic really, I had expected more from the humans who had defeated Grumblemon.
After all, the other four warriors at least, had far more experience than these children. They wandered around half-blind, but perhaps while they lacked knowledge and experience that came from passing time, they had something more valuable which allowed them to strike fear into the stronghold of Cherubimon's warriors.
But so far, I was disappointed.
'Five legendary warriors, and that's the best they can do?'
And then, as if I had tempted fate, the tables turned on the warrior of wood. Within minutes, the attack combinations had easily diluted and conquered his own power, a particular combination of fire and strong gales of wind knocking him down and revealing his fractal code, which the warrior of Light, nimbly slide-evolving into his human spirit, scanned into the machine-like apparatus that held their spirits.
Fire and wind...an interesting combination. In the scientific sense, forces of wind serve to drive fire and cause it to spread, hence why bushfires sometimes spread rapidly over acres of land in a relatively small amount of time with fierce gales pushing the flame. It was rather elementary...but it was more than simply that. We, that is, Lord Cherubimon's warriors, worked alone. The other five worked collaboratively, combining their powers, covering their weaknesses with their strengths. And not only that, but they had something to fight for.
They had themselves, and they had a goal to attain. A meaningful goal, or at least, meaningful to them. I had neither, nor did the other four.
Perhaps that was what I found attractive about them. Take away their teamwork, and their commitment, they would not have been worth my time.
But their spirit, their conviction...they never gave up, not even when all the odds were stacked up against them. That commitment, that depth...it was something I wanted to fill the void in my heart, but sorely lacked.
'Arbomon, now will you give up attacking us?' asked the warrior of Fire, as said warrior sat up after landing in a rather undignified heap.
He would. He already had. He had nothing to fight for, save a life that held no meaning for him, and no way to fight for it, now what he had lost his power source. The human spirit alone would not stand up to five beast spirits.
I almost felt sorry for him...almost, for two reasons. First, that I was incapable of feeling any sort of emotion, and secondly, because even if I was capable, I doubt I would have cared for him.
And yet he persisted, in his, foolish, proud way.
'Well, uh-'
Perhaps he only needed someone to cut in. After all, he was useless to all else, including himself, now that he lacked the primary tool for rebuilding his past. It didn't matter that he and I were meant to be on the same side, didn't matter that I would essentially be aiding the enemy by destroying him.
He was useless, so he must go.
'Yes,' I answered for him instead, stepping out of the shadows which had shielded me from their eyes. 'He will.'
The other five warriors gasped in unison, as Arbomon picked himself up and turned to face me.
'Wha...Duskmon?'
He was surprised. None really knew me, save Lord Cherubimon. Some may go so far to say we share a conscience, and perhaps for a time we did, till they split...
...but I digress.
'Well, here comes the cavalry,' Arbomon exclaimed, though hardly sounding relieved. 'A friend in need is a friend in deed...'
A friend? I was incapable of friendship, of compassion, of loyalty. Those words meant nothing to me, despite that I was familiar with their definitions. All that existed for me was a void which longed to be fulfilled, and a purpose which eluded me. No, he was no friend of mine.
'...right?'
A hint of uncertainty entered his voice, as if it had suddenly dawned on him that my intentions may not be wholly beneficial on his part. A suspicion well founded, and proven legitimate upon my next words.
But his doubt served to further highlight his own insecurities. Had he no reason, he would have felt no fear in the face of one who he knew, or assumed to know, to be his ally. But he had, and he did, and in the face of any adversary, doubt would be one's downfall.
Little did I know, that it would be mine as well, in a sense.
But that is still a ways off.
'Wrong.' I confirmed his suspicions emotionlessly, raising my arm high, a red blade extending from it. 'Without your beast spirit, there is really no use for you now is there?' That last was said tauntingly, mockingly...emptily, still emptily.
'What are you tal-aargh!'
The sword slashed through his upper body in a vertical cut slicing through his digimon form and revealing his fractal code. I raised a dragon hand, scanning the data, and along with it, the human spirit of wood.
'Yesterday's ally is today's enemy...' was all he said, before he was gone, and a digi-egg flew off past the horizon, probably back to the Village of Beginnings where it could be reborn.
I let it go, tracing its path with my eyes, before I turned by gaze to the five Legendary Warriors that remained, meeting their shocked gazes.
'He destroyed his own friend!' The legendary beast warrior of flame.
The same reaction; everybody was so quick to judge, and that included the hot-headed flame warrior. The disbelief in his voice would have been rather amusing; I suppose the notion was unbelievable to him. So naive and reckless...as his element suggests.
'Who is this guy?'
Well, if he had listened, he would have known. Arbomon did, at least, mention my name. But these five were...something, to say the least. Something about them arouse my curiosity. It felt strange, foreign, but somehow I felt more complete.
But more desperate for answers.
I laughed hollowly, if only to arouse them as well. I needed, no wanted, them to fight and show me their power. For the first time in the life I remembered, I wanted something. For the first time, I felt something...some longing. And it was strange...and confusing, but a battlefield was no place for that. 'I am Duskmon,' I replied. 'Legendary Warrior of Darkness.'
'Well, that explains the outfit.'
Totally irrelevant, and if it was an attempt to deter or anger me, it failed.
'You have done well against by brethren,' I said instead, raising my sword parallel with my body. They were my brethren to some extent, despite the boundaries that existed between us. And despite that there was no love lost between us, I still, to some extent, accepted that, an extent that was growing smaller suddenly as I wondered why these five brought out something special that all others simply quelled.
'Let's see how strong you really are. Show me your power!' I moved my sword in a horizontal slash, darkness erupting from my strike and driving the energy into the ground. The others leaped to avoid it, but the red moon of energy still left its mark, a rather deep crater where they had just been standing.
'All he did was swing his sword!' The beast warrior of ice's incredulous words reached my ears.
'I've got a bad feeling about this,' said the beast warrior of wind. Wise girl, she at least, realised danger when she saw it.
'Come on,' the beast warrior of flame said. 'There's only one of him.'
I laughed again. Such a simple outlook. Of course there was only one of me. I worked alone, as did us other legendary warriors who followed Cherubimon. And barring that, only one human spirit of darkness existed.
'If we defeated Grumblemon and Petaldramon, then laughing boy over there should be a peice of cake. Remember, we're Legendary Warriors.'
How naive. Did he really think it was that simple. Simply charging into the face of the adversary thinking that they were invincible. It was generally the cause of much downfall.
He flew in, wind and thunder following behind him.
'Right,' affirmed the beast warrior of Thunder.
'There's no way we can lose!' Flame cried, nearing in proximity.
'Bolo thunder!' The large tank let loose a sphere of voltage, spinning in the air as it neared.
'Yes,' I whispered, tensing ever so slightly, before laughing again as the attack missed its mark. I paused briefly, wandering why I felt the need to do so, what it was that I felt, but I brushed it aside. Now was not the time to think about that.
'Laugh at this.' I looked up to find the beast warrior of flame reading himself for a physical attack. I eyed him carefully, before side stepping his punch and throwing him over my shoulder while he was still unstable from the momentum. Simple elementary; I was surprised he had fallen for it.
Four voices cried at one. 'Takuya!' So that was his name then. Takuya?
'You're weaker than I thought. I should at least give you the chance to surrender.'
'You can give it,' the human warrior of light retorted. 'But we won't take it.'
'You are proving to be very foolish creatures.'
That sentence pretty much summed up my thoughts at that point. I was surprised, but in a disappointed sense. They had something...otherwise I would not have felt compelled to battle them. But I had expected more from the humans who had defeated Grumblemon.
The warrior of light had not reacted to my last statement. It had meant nothing to him.
Interesting...in that aspect at least, he was similar to me. That much, I had to give him credit for, despite all the faults they, all of them, displayed. Including me.
'JP, Tommy,' he ordered instead. 'Switch to your human spirits.'
'Right. Slide evolution.'
Swirls of data cocooned the warriors of lightning and ice, shifting and changing them, till an insectiod human warrior stood next to a small polar bear. They hardly seemed more impressive, but perhaps there was more than I could see.
'Let's go,' someone cried. I couldn't distinguish who, my attention focused on the warrior of light as he brought his saber down.
'Lobo Kendo,' he cried, attempting to strike my head, only to be countered as I raised one sword in defence, easily holding him off with the strength of one hand.
'Each of your attacks seems to get weaker, not stronger. You must know you can't defeat me.'
I didn't mean that, not really. I wasn't so deluded to believe myself invincible. In fact, to some extent, I would welcome defeat; victory meant nothing to me after all. But I needed them to fight, for reasons I couldn't quite fathom at that moment. There was just something about these five...something that drew me to them like a magnet.
The warrior of light thought differently, though. That was to be expected; in some cases, appearance is far from reality.
'A little help here guys?' he grunted, in the way that demonstrated that it was a hard blow to his pride.
The others, save flame, moved in, responding with their own attacks.
'Plasma Pods.'
'Thunder Fist.'
'Frozen Tundra.'
The combination struck the ground where I had been standing, but I had leapt clear moments before, leaving my opponents in a confused huddle in the cloud of resulting smoke.
'Now that ought to quiet him down,' a voice came from the trees. I spared it a sidelong glance, seeing two rather small digimon, one holding an egg with Seraphimon's emblem grafted upon it.
I immediately turned back to my opponents; the other two were inconsequential, drawing darkness into my eyes and hands.
'Where did he go?' the warrior of light asked, before looking up and straight into the eyes on my knees.
'Huh?' was all he had the chance to say, before I released the energy beams.
'Deadly Gaze,' I declared in a monotone, red beams of energy blasting from the seven eyes on my body and my two dragon-like hands, striking the warriors who had been two frozen to react, and sending them slightly scattering. It was mostly superficial; I hadn't hit them hard enough to do any damage. I hadn't intended to. At this stage, I was just playing with them, driving them. I didn't want to destroy them just yet. They were something different. And I was curious to know why.
'Or make him fight harder,' the digimon carrying the egg added as an afterthought.
I landed gracefully on my feet, turning to meet my opponents as they struggled to their own feet.
'Your efforts against me are pitiful. Surely you have more power than that.' I taunted them, goaded them, all in the hope that they would show their true power.
'Hey...' The eyeballs on by shoulders swivelled to gaze at the beast warrior of flame pushing himself to his feet. 'We're just getting warmed up.'
'What?' I asked, amusement for the first time entering my voice.
'Don't take us too lightly you big eyeball!' Apparently, he found my amusement insulting. Of course, my display had once again been mistranslated. 'You want power. I'll show you power! Wildfire Tsunami!'
Flames erupted suddenly, enclosing me. I smiled, unseen. This was marginally better in any case. Although the flames did nothing in terms of injury, it had temporary blinded by sight and inhibited my actions.
Though it would only be a moment before those restraints faded away.
'Now that's what I'm talking about.' Flame whooped, evidently pleased with his small victory.
'Takuya, get out of there.' That was the voice of the warrior of light. I wondered again. There was something about him. There was something about all of them, but there was something else about him as well. Something similar. Something familiar. Something...defining. My identity? Did he have something to do with it?
He did, but I wasn't to know it then.
'Why? I just defeated him.'
'All of us combined weren't able to defeat him, and you think you did it by yourself?'
'Well...yeah.'
'Just come on.'
'I mean, I hit him pretty good...guys..?'
Their voices faded into the distance, as I extended my forearm, slashing through the fire cocoon.
'We are not finished yet,' I whispered to myself, my eyes following the direction they had taken. Normally, I would have left such work to Ranamon and Mercurymon; they were, after all, more than capable of handling it. But this was something I felt I had to do on my own. They had aroused my curiosity...I had to find them again and sate it.
But I still could help but wonder why the warrior of light felt so familiar. He was light, my adversary. Then why, from a heart I only now recognized the existence and functionality of, could I feel he was somehow connected to me?
And at that point, the doubts that had risen refused to be squashed, as they had always previously.
For people who didn't want to be found, they didn't do a very good job of hiding their tracks, especially after lighting a fire in a place where the sun's light never reaches. Within a few hours, I had tracked them to their campsite; on the way, I had wondered more, but had gotten nowhere, and I was fast reaching the end of my patience. I wanted answers. I wanted to know. I wanted to understand.
I held my sword at vertical, a burst of darkness bursting from its tip and alerting the three around the fire of my presence. The two smaller digimon were most likely hiding; that didn't matter, but two were still missing.
Three cries of 'Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution!' sounded immediately following, cocoons of data swirling around the three warriors, before fading away to reveal the beast warriors of wind, thunder and ice.
So it was light and flame who were absent.
The three stood at ready position, as did I, though none made a move to attack.
'How'd he find us so quickly?' the beast warrior of thunder asked, glancing at his teammates in confusion, and a hint of fear.
'Never mind,' I replied, though the question had not been directed at me. 'You won't have long to worry about it.'
'Why don't I find that reassuring?' the warrior of wind muttered, a bit sarcastically.
'It'll be okay,' the warrior of ice attempted to reassure her, although his own voice betrayed some of his fear. 'Just stick to the plan.'
'What good is a plan for all of us to attack if we're not all here? Guys, where are you?'
They were distracted, but I made no move to utilise that to my advantage, despite my increasing impatience. That would not have helped anything, though the tense looks they exchanged told me that this was not apparent to them.
The two absentees came running up, cocoons of data unravelling around them as they shouted out their evolutions.
'Execute, Beast Spirit Evolution. KendoGarurumon.'
'Execute, Spirit Evolution, Agunimon.'
The five warriors stood in formation, the flame warrior in the centre.
'This is it guys,' he cried. 'Attack!' before rushing in.
'Wait...' the wolf-like beast called, but of course, the hot-headed flame warrior payed him no heed.
Reckness...just as his element betrayed him as.
'I guess we have to follow Takuya's plan now,' the warrior of thunder muttered, which prompted a growl from the warrior of light.
'Hey, don't worry,' the ice warrior reassured again. 'It's a good plan.'
Naive...even these humans were mirroring the faults of their elements.
'Let's hope so,' the warrior of thunder growled.
'You're nothing against all of us together Duskmon.' I turned my attention back to the advancing human warrior, meeting his gaze calmly as he jumped into the air.
'Ha,' he cried. 'You want to fight. Here comes the worst you've ever seen!'
Flames emerged from his gauntlet, wrapping around his hands, before he punches the air and releases the flame balls. I easily side-stepped them, the fire smouldering in the dirt behind me.
'All right speedy, dodge this. Pyro Tornado!'
Longer tongues of flame emerged from his gauntlets this time, enveloping his body before concentrating at his feet as he launched a flying kick. I let it hit, my head turning slightly at the applied force.
I laughed, having felt nothing from that attack. He might as well have struck at air for all the damage he had done.
'You fool,' I taunted him, in the hopes that something could be achieved. 'Did you learn nothing from our last meeting?'
'No,' he gasped, both in answer to my question and voicing his own disbelief, and fear. 'I can't lose.' And although he didn't say it out loud, I could see the doubt etched in his face. But how can I win?, his expression said.
He lunged suddenly, throwing punch after punch at me, to no effect. I couldn't feel it...why, I didn't know. Perhaps the darkness had something to do with it. It absorbed, after all. Like a black hole, sucking in all energy that nears, letting nothing escape
'Well, Takuya's finally lost it.' The small, white digimon's voice reached my ears, as did the fear that littered it. I frowned...this was pointless. These humans were too wrapped up in their fear...and despite its irony, I was too in the dark to know the answers to my questions? Or what it was I wanted to know to begin with?
And my impatience was growing with my disappointment. Perhaps I should just dispatch them and move on. It was becoming as superficial as all else.
The warrior of flame backed away eventually, panting at the physical exertion. I turned back to him, coolly locking gazes with him.
'Finished?' I asked calmly.
The warrior of flame muttered something under his breath, frustrated at his own inability, before suddenly darting behind me. Mildly interested to know what he had planned, I let him.
'Attack now,' he cried, grabbing my upper arms.
'That's our queue,' the only female group called, before they were moving as well, wind and light coming up behind me while thunder and ice got into position in front.
So, they believed that 'attacking as one' was the answer. Interesting...but not necessarily beneficial. And it seems that they had forgotten that I was the warrior of darkness. Like how the darkness of a black hole absorbs all else into its void, I could absorb their power to some extent as well.
'It's over Duskmon,' the warrior of flame declared, leaping clear. 'You're finished. Let him have it!'
'Hurricane Gale!'
'Lupine Laser!'
'Bolo Thunder!'
'Avalance Axes!'
The attacks melded, becoming a large sphere of energy. I was somewhat disappointed, though what else was new? It was a rather...enlightening display, but light had no place here, in the realm of darkness. And so I simply sucked it all in, letting the power meld with the darkness that flowed through my veins, a slight cry escaping its confines at the intensity before it spread and wavered, dispiriting harmlessly into the air now growing thicker with terror.
'All right.' The warrior of flame cried, not seeing past the cloud of dust that had been kicked up. He was rectified soon enough, as were the others, simply gaping in shock for their inability to form any coherent words.
'He absorbed all of their attacks,' someone said finally, their voice trembling.
I turned, eyes sweeping past the others before turning to the flame warrior
'It's not possible,' he gasped, before I suddenly appeared in front of him. He stepped back; I compensated the distance. I was done with this game of cat and mouse. Better to finish it, as I always had, and return to my own futile wonderings. This was getting me no-where.
'You shall be first,' I said, extending a sword from my dragon-like arm. They had retracted after their use had been outlived, appearing after they were once again necessary.
'No!' someone cried, though I wasn't sure who, but regardless, I payed them little heed, raising the sword as the warrior of flame squeezed his eyes shut like a scared little child in the face of death.
In reality, that was all he was. I almost hesitated, for what reason, then I could not fathom, but I quickly pushed the doubt that suddenly overcome aside...this was no time for it. The sword came down, hitting skin and slicing through, but the outcry that followed was not the name that I had come to associate with the warrior of Fire, but rather...
'Koji,' I whispered, backing away. That name...that feeling...what was it?
'Koji!' The warrior of fire screamed, gathering the prone form into his arms, the name echoing in my ears. 'Koji...Koji...Koji...' I stared into his face. It seemed even more familiar know...in a rather painful sense. I stumbled back suddenly and screamed as pain racked my form, prominently where the sword had cut the other, backing up and clutching my head with my hands to blot out the pressure amounting in my skull. What was this? Why? Why did I feel this? Why was I feeling his pain...and my own?
I didn't know what exactly I felt; all I knew was the pain I felt. And with it, my confusion grew, as did my doubt. Something sparked, somewhere in the deep echoes of my mind...guilt...grief...sadness...anger...what were these human emotions? Why did I feel them? Why was I feeling this way?
I screamed again, hearing senseless words around me, as the darkness exploded. I surrendered myself to its embrace; I didn't want to feel. I had tasted it, the bitterness of human emotion, and it hurt. So instead, I allowed the darkness to carry me away, somewhere far, to soothe my anguish, choosing to sink into its black depths and simply let go.
But I couldn't, because I had felt these emotions, and I could not forget. The warrior of light...Koji...he meant something to me. Why else would I feel grief for a human, or guilt? And why did I feel this overwhelming sadness, threatening to envelop me, or the anger, threatening to explode and cause irreversible damage?
What was our connection?
I needed to know. For a moment, light shone in my eyes...painful...burning...but in an instant, it was gone, and I was alone in the void of darkness once more.
Author's Notes
Only one major thing this time. Everything else is pretty much self-explanatory. Just the light at the end, that was both literal and figurative. Literal in that it was DarkTrailmon, figurative in that was in a sense, the beginning of his 'enlightenment' and the beginning of him actually defining himself and the identity he longs for. The void represents how far he still has to go.
And if anyone's wondering at my take for Duskmon's behaviour, he's curious, confused and getting rather irritated with the whole situation and confusion with the sudden emotions, like the doubt that suddenly surfaced. So naturally, his actions too are a bit rash (like deciding to kill Takuya and spiriting away in the darkness), and his thought processes lessen in length.
And that brings us to the end of chapter 3 and the end of episode 21 as well. See you all next chapter.
