Chapter 7

(Rune/ken pov)

The next morning, or had it been a few days? He didn't know. But it was early morning, for he heard Amissa's soft snoring nearby. He slowly got up and winced. This wasn't going to be easy… he put on his robes and tiptoed out of the room. He grabbed a fruit out of a bowl in the kitchen. He then left the small hut.

He walked along the path he thought they had always gone down. He quickly noticed a problem. The gate out wasn't open. 'To keep crazy slaves like me in…' Rune thought wryly. He looked at the guard. Trying to decide if he wanted to talk him into letting him out early or just trying to get out unnoticed.

He walked casually out to the guards, trying to have a certain confidence to his stature, harder to do than you might think…seeing as how his body wanted to shut down right then and there.

"Stop!" the fat guard shouted. "What's your business?" he asked pointing a spear at Rune's neck.

Rune held up his hands. "Just going out to the gardens a little early."

"No one's let out before the gate is officially open. And it's not, so you can't go." The tall skinny one said.

"well, you see in need to get favor with s-I mean master so I need to bring home lots of his favorite fruits, but all of the good ones are gone by the time we get there and that makes master angry, I wouldn't want to be you when I tell him I couldn't bring home any fruit because some dumb guards wouldn't let me out before the gate opened." During his little speech he backed away from the offending spear. "So you may as well let me through, ill put in a good word for you and maybe you'll get promoted for your apparent genius." He finished now I good distance from the spear.

"The answers NO!" the fat one said emphasizing the 'no' part.

"Right…well, then ill um, be going now" Rune smiled nervously and walked out of sight. 'Well, plan B then…ugh, this'll do wonders for my injuries..' He mused. He walked to where he thought the wall surrounding the mansion would he shortest and therefore easiest to get over. 'crap, still in view of the guards, and the other slaves are wakening up… it wont take Amissa long to figure out that Im gone, most likely he already knows…'

Rune took off at the fastest speed he could muster and ran to the wall and jumped up. He found hand and foot holes and started to climb. He looked over at the guards they hadn't noticed him yet, a good sign, now he just had to keep it up. He had almost made it to the top when he knocked over a flower pot. It hit the ground and shattered. He shut his eyes tight before realizing that could cost him his escape. Him suspicions were confirmed. Both the fat and Skinny guards were running in his direction. He stepped up his pace quite a bit. Then he heard more guards coming, they were opening the gate. He got to the top and jumped over; he landed and twisted his ankle. He ran despite the pain that it inflicted. He felt something graze his shoulder. An arrow. They were shooting at him. He ran harder trying to get out of range. Funny how much shorter of a trek this was when he was walking leisurely with Amissa. Amissa, what was he doing now? Would they hurt him because of this? Yes, almost no doubt. He would have to come back and save Amissa.

After what felt like an eternity he reached the gate. This one was open. Thankfully. He ran through it. He felt a certain sense of safety. Until he heard a familiar voice.

"What do you think you're doing?" It was Amissa.

"How…" Rune looked flabbergasted. There was no human way Amissa could have made it before Rune did.

"I repeat, what do you think you're doing?" Amissa crossed his arms impatiently. "Well?"

"I have to find the owner of the voice." Rune said, giving his friend the truth (no matter how strange.)

It was now Amissa's turn to look confused. "What?" he raised and eyebrow.

"I need to find the owner of the voice that was in my dream last night. I know ill find him in these gardens. He has something important to tell me!"

"You've gone insane."

"No! Really! Come with me further in! You can meet him too!" Rune grabbed Amissa's hand and pulled. But the other slave stubbornly stayed put.

"Fine stay and rot." Rune spat, he didn't have time to argue.

"Wait, I have to bring you back, Rune…I don't want to hurt you." He sounded like he really didn't.

"Then don't. You're safe in here to! They can't get you!" Rune tried to speak sense into his friend.

"Come with me." He said quietly.

"To what Amissa! To die at Sayyid's hands?! Or just to be beaten 'till Im begging for him to kill me? Or better yet ill let him totally break me! Then you'll be satisfied right Amissa!? Well sorry, Im leaving." Rune walked away and was almost shocked to hear silent crying behind him. He clenched his jaw and kept going forward trying to ignore the sobs behind him even though each one cut into him deeper than all of Sayyid's beatings ever had.

Ha ran until he couldn't hear the sad sobs anymore, only then did he realize that he was crying too.

He walked on the now familiar grey-purple glass walk way, a boulevard of death it seemed. After walking for a good while he saw one of his foot prints. He turned off the path and followed them into the desert like place.

The hot sun was burning his light skin and his throat was parched. He felt like he was going to die from the heat and he dropped his robe and kept walking. Maybe this was why Amissa was crying, he knew he would die in this desert. Fall asleep and never wake up. And right about now, it didn't sound that bad; he may not have ever even heard a voice. That was his last thought, and he passed out.

There was a laughing voice. A young one. The voice! Rune sat up and looked around. He was no longer in the desert, he was in soft grass, surrounding in a ring of pine trees, there was some snow on the ground, and yet the grass was green and he was not cold, it was like spring time, his favorite time, Sam's favorite.

"Secret seeker!"

A young voice giggled, it was a boys voice, a little younger than Ken, or was it Rune now…? He felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned. A boy with long blue hair, spiked in some areas and shining blue eyes was in front of him. Wearing a robe of pure white with blue tallsels and he had blue wings behind him. The boy's skin seemed to glow.

"What are you?" Rune asked.

"shouldn't the question be'who am I?'"

Rune nodded. Dumbfounded at the incredible being in front of him.

The boy grinned. "My name's Umaso. And you are both Ken Ichijoji, and Rune Kaimi, is this correct little one?"

Rune Nodded dumbly. Umaso smiled again. The smile was familiar, but Rune couldn't place it, could Ken? Maybe.

"Do you know where you are little one? Little secret seeker?"

"No" Rune answered "why do you keep calling me secret seeker? Even in my dreams you call me this."

"Have I?" the boy was almost taunting in the way he answered Rune's questions with more questions.

"Yes" Rune said firmly

Umaso's smile brightened. "So I have, do you know why I call you this?"

"No, that's why I asked…" this boy was pushing his patience.

"Calm yourself, and listen to me. Do you know who you are, what your purpose is when your ken?"

Rune thought for a minute. "I am, a digidestined, i've saved the world on more than one occasion. My best friends are wormon and Davis. I was once the digimon emperor, taken by darkness. My brother was Osamu. He died, a long time ago…"

Umaso nodded grimly. "Yes, your brother." He was silent for a moment. "Do you feel fulfilled young digidestined? Have you completed your purpose?"

Rune's head jerked to look at Umaso. If his purpose was fulfilled, then why should he live? The others were happy with how things turned out, but he, he felt like a soldier without a war. Always restless, was it because he wasn't yet done? Was there more for him? There had to be...

"You are thinking correctly, this destiny belonged to your brother, but at his death, it now belongs to you, you have a great destiny, one that he could never fulfill, and you will do so as Rune."

Rune glared. "Oh, so am I to fall under his shadow again?!" Rune bit.

Umaso looked taken aback and then sorrowful. "You will not take his burden?"

Rune now felt guilty, how could the boy before him understand? It wasn't his fault, it wasn't Sam's fault. "Im sorry"

Umaso's face only lightened a shade. He smiled as best he could. "Then you will? Countless worlds depend on you doing this"

"Wait!" Rune held up his hands. "I don't even know what his 'burden' is…"

"His burden, your burden, is that of a gate keeper, since his death, evil has entered the gate world, you have visited it, the "dark ocean"?"

Rune stepped back, that place was his new destiny?

"You have to find the keys that will re-open the gates to the other worlds; you will have to purge the evil from the dark ocean. And after all this is done, you will be charged with the upkeep of these gates, and you will help all the digidestined of these different universes. Will you take this burden?" Umaso looked at him expectantly.

"Let me thi-"he was cut off as a sharp pain tore through his middle. "Aughhh!" he screamed and doubled over. He looked at his hands there was blood on them.

"Choose quickly little secret seeker, before the state of the worlds kills you, little core"

"Wha-" "choose!" Umaso yelled sharply.

Another wave of pain hit him. "YES! I WILL I WILL!" Rune shouted through the pain.

Umaso looked at the withering figure with Pity. "good." He said simply and waved his hand.

Rune screamed and passed out from pain.

When he awoke he found himself in a cage being led back to Sayyid's mansion. Amissa was next to the cage. Amissa had gotten him while he was talking to Umaso! Rune cursed softly. Amissa looked at him.

"I am so sorry Rune, I would have given' my life for your escape, but I could not sacrifice Ina. Please forgive me."

Oh, that was why. Ken thought. He sighed as submitted himself to be carried back to what was sure to be his end. Maybe it won't be so bad, Rune thought as he felt the pain in his middle return to him as his body came to full consciousness. He whimpered at the Mansion looming in the not so distant plains.

A/N well this took a million years sry! I don't have writers block! I have whole story outlined but I just need the inspiration to type and edit it. That's where your reviews come in! Please it isn't hard! Just an "I like it!" or "please Update!" are enough for me to know people are reading and enjoying. And as always flames are ok as long as you tell me how to improve ok? Nothing pointless like "that suck big time!" give me a reason at the very least and I will respect the flame. Thank you.

-Rumor