Left Behind: Chapter 7

Episode 35

Natsuko opened her eyes. She could feel moist earth beneath her nails. Slowly, she sat up. The sun filtered through a canopy of branches above. There was a bird somewhere, cawing. "Where... am I?" She looked around. She was completely alone. "Hello?"

"Well, well, what are you doing in MY forest?"

She turned. A strange puppet thing was standing before her. She backed away and screamed at first, but it just laughed at her. "W-What are you?"

"I'm King of this forest, Pinocchiomon. You're a strange human, for sure. I've never seen one as big as you before," it said.

"I'm here to find my son. Have you seen him?"

"Maybe, maybe not."

"Please, tell me."

"What's the brats name?"

"Yamato."

Pinocchiomon grew angry and he slammed his hammer down, blowing up a nearby tree. Natsuko shook with fear, which cheered him up for the moment. "Yamato is the name of the Daemon Corps. General and he's been screwing with our plans a long time!"

"You've seen my son then?!" she cried, "Please, I have to tell him I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Pinocchiomon laughed. Now Natsuko was the one bewildered. "Sorry's for losers. You should just forget him and be my friend instead."

"Friend?"

"Sure, why not?"

"But my son is fighting you..." Natsuko reminded.

"So?! I bet he doesn't like you, does he?" Pinocchiomon smiled. "Otherwise why would he willingly stay here?"

"He just needs to know what I have to say."

"I don't know... he's not good at listening to others...and he doesn't play fair!" Pinocchiomon returned his hammer to the holster on his back and walked over to Natsuko. He spun his nose a second and finally spoke up again, "Well, side with me or be destroyed!"

"I just want my son. Help me find him and I'll do anything," Natsuko replied, standing to her feet. She was probably twice his size, but the puppet was still menacing.

He smiled, "Okay, but I make the rules. Got it?"

She nodded. She followed the strange Digimon to his home. The house was strange and almost had a face to it. She saw canons lined up, too. Inside, she was stepping over toys and games, much like Takeru's room. The Digimon just happily walked in front of her until they came to a room with many cameras.

"Welcome, welcome," he smiled. "This is my security base. Oh, and that's my buddy Kiwimon. He helps me with stuff."

"Please to meet you, madam," it said.

Natsuko wasn't sure what to think. "You'll find my son with these?" she wondered, looking at the cameras.

"If he's in my woods, I will... and the pesky brat has been living in them with his horrible army for weeks!" Pinocchiomon barked, shaking his fist at the TVs. "Now, let's find you..."

Natsuko watched the screens change over as the puppet Digimon messed wth a remote with cute little shapes. Soon, there was a somewhat blurry image of a young male. His hair was blonde, like hers. His eyes, blue, like hers. But it wasn't the son she remembered. He was much taller, older, and his hair was longer. He was wearing a white cape with black stripes and there was a scar on his shoulder. He was wearing a black tank top and white pants. He was also wearing boots. There was a large wolf like Digimon under him with the same color scheme as his cape. The wind tossed his hair as he yelled out to an army of Digimon behind him. Natsuko didn't recognize them, but there were large devils, t-rexes, beetles, ogres, and more. All menacing.

Natsuko noted her son's hands. She hadn't seen him go without gloves for years, since he hid the scars underneath them. "That's... Yamato..." she whispered.

"I told you!" Pinocchiomon rolled his eyes. "See? He's a brat! Look at all those stupid Digimon with him... they're trampling my rose bushes!"

"Mr. Pinocchiomon," Natsuko started. He looked at her wide eyed and she realized that was a strange thing to say to him. "Let me talk to him."

"Sure... but only if you can make it to him."

"Don't you have an army to stand up to him?" she wondered.

"I've got plenty of Digimon willing to help ME!" he remarked, rushing off the other direction. Natsuko took a seat on a small, colorful cube. Kiwimon watched her as if he were more hawk than kiwi, and eventually spoke: "Lord Pinocchiomon doesn't like being accused of having no friends. He won't hesitate to kill those that cross him, even once."

"What do I do?"

"You agreed to play with Lord Pinocchiomon, so you will do as he says or suffer the consequences..." Kiwimon explained this as if it were common knowledge. Natsuko was sure it was, to any Digimon. Still, when she turned back to her son on the screen, the look in his eyes scared her. She knew she was partially responsible for what had become of him and would do anything to take it back...

"Hey, look, there's an injured Digimon," Gomamon piped.

"Are you sure it's not another dead one?" I wondered.

"No, look, he's breathing. Come on, help me!"

"What if he's a bad Digimon?"

"Jyou, this is a Gabumon we're talking about..."

"Gabumon?" I wondered, finally paying attention. We had spent the entire hour traversing this road of massacred Digimon and I wasn't taking him seriously until I heard those words. I rushed over to the frail thing and gave it a once-over. I lifted him up and held him in my arms, letting him drink some bottled water. "It's gonna be okay, we'll return you to Yamato soon."

"Uh, Jyou-" Gomamon began.

Then the Gabumon tossed violently and started to wriggle out of my arms, "No, no!" it cried.

"That's not OUR Gabumon," Gomamon said.

"Oh, I'm sorry," I replied, setting the Digimon down. He ran a few feet and turned back to look at us. "I didn't mean to scare you."

"You're taking me to General Yamato, what should I think?" it shivered.

"General?" I wondered. "What are you talking about?"

"...you must have come from the real world to save us!" the Gabumon cried, noting my digivice.

"Well, sort of. We're here to get Yamato and bring him home, so we can all save both worlds together," I explained.

The Gabumon shook it's head. "Look, if you know what's good for you, you won't get in his way."

"What?" Gomamon questioned. "Can you fill us in? We've been gone awhile."

"But first, what's your name?" I asked, then took a seat on the ground. He hesitated, so I looked in my bag for some crackers and handed him one. He desperately ate it and finally agreed to sit with us.

"My name is Gabo," it said. "I used to live in Star City. It was a peaceful area of Folder... Then, Vamdemon came... and he built that castle you walked out of. One day, just as quickly, he left, leaving only his evil Digimon behind. I don't know what happened, but while Vamdemon was gone, some dark force took over the place... I heard whispers of Lord Dragomon, or even the source of evil in the Digital World: Daemon... Whoever it is, they corrupted this continent, making it their own. One day, a human wandered in. He agreed to fight for Lord Dragomon. That human is now a ruthless general named General Yamato, and he leads the Daemon Corps. in the fight against the Dark Masters."

I had to blink and take all this in. "So, some evil guy took over this place when Vamdemon left and now Yamato is working for him to fight some other evil guys?"

"You got that right," Gabo explained.

"There's no end to evil Digimon, is there?" Gomamon sighed.

"Did you see a Gabumon with him?" I pleaded.

"Like me? No... Yamato has a BlackGabumon, a Gabumon infected with a virus. I assume that's Daemon's doing."

"Dragomon... Daemon...?" I pondered. Why the Hell had we never heard of these Digimon?

"Dragomon is an ancient Digimon from another dimension. One of complete darkness! But Daemon... no idea... merely that he is working for Dragomon, too. I'm surprised really..."

"Why?" Gomamon asked.

"I think Daemon would've killed the human by now... he was once commander of the Daemon Corps., hence the name."

"Yamato's in big trouble," I mused.

"But Jyou... Yamato... he... he's changed."

"I don't care," I said, standing, slinging the medical bag over my shoulder. "I know Yamato and he's still in there somewhere. Hiroaki warned me that Yamato can get lost inside his own head... and frankly, I do, too, so I know what's on his mind. He doesn't understand anything, so he's scared and he wants to be strong, but he's doing it the wrong way. You can only bottle things up for a little time before you shatter... So I know that I can bring him around. We're gonna find his crest and get our friend back."

Gomamon smiled, "Yeah, let's go kick some butt!"

"Wait," Gabo whispered. "Let me go with you... you'll need my knowledge if you're as dumb as you sound."

"Hey," Gomamon remarked.

"We don't mind," I replied. "But just one question: who are the Dark Masters?"

I still hadn't met Lord Dragomon, but I got almost all my orders through someone else: Daemon. He always wore a robe, so I couldn't see his face. I didn't trust him at all, because he never spoke to me about anything that wasn't an order. Sometimes I heard him muttering things, in particular, about Milleniummon and Dark Spores, some brat named Ryo, but I didn't bother inquiring. I was beginning to see how things truly worked in this world and if it was anything to compare our own world, then all my feelings were right. I belonged here.

I would be helping my friends, too, not that they mattered anymore. I alone would take down the Dark Masters and stay in the Digital World with Gabumon forever. Sure, he had grown up a little different, but essentially he was the same old Mon.

"Yamato, they are making you the General of Daemon's army. Don't you think Daemon won't appreciate that?" asked a hungry BlackGarurumon.

I smiled, "Lord Dragomon made me the leader because he knows I can do it. I have the power of the Chosen on my side. I'm the obvious choice."

"What is your plan?" he said inbetween bites of meat.

"Let's take out Pinocchiomon first. He's closest. Besides... ever since that day I saw him when we left Gennai's, I've had a weird feeling about him. Kind of like Ogremon and Leomon. Like I need to face him."

BlackGarurumon agreed. We finished the rest of the meal in silence. The next day, we moved out. We took out anything in the vacinity of the castle. I watched as a Tentomon struggled underneath BlackGarurumon's paw, eventually giving out and fading into something not of this world or beyond it. A digital ghost.

Over the next months I crossed the land that the Dark Masters had warped and made their own. I spread the story that I was the true hero, come to save them through Lord Dragomon. We would free them of the Dark Masters. More and more of them joined our cause as we grew closer to the first of the four evils.

Daemon said he had business to take care of and that he was glad I had gotten his old title. I didn't care. He even told me once he was created as a background process: something to run behind the scenes. He was only a back up plan to me, not that I would need it. But he had one last message to give me: Meet Lord Dragomon at the Lake. Gennai's lake. So I did.

When I arrived, the water was calm, and when I saw the familiar tentacle that had saved Punimon's life, I was relieved. This time, it held something better for me: my crest: and a new tag with it.

"This," came Dragomon's voice. "Is the Crest of Wrath. Daemon crafted it himself."

He set the tag/crest down gently in my palm and I looked at it. The remnant of my crest from a year ago was barely visible beneath the deep orange tint and the new design that looked similar to a sideways L with a mix of prongs extending out heading upwards. I slipped it on, not minding what it meant. At the time, I admit, I felt a tinge of uneasiness. For a second, part of me was missing the kid that just had adventures with the others and was always there to help. I grasped my chest as it burned.

"There is something you need to know," Dragomon's voice garbled from the sea.

"What? Tell me," I demanded.

"The source of your hate is here in this world," he warned.

"And?" I muttered, not giving a damn as to what he was referring to.

He laughed, "Do as you please. I will be free from my prison and require no use for you. Go home. In the end it won't matter for you."

"You'll kill me either way?" I smiled. "The others will never let that happen. They don't need me, so... In the end it won't matter for you, either, Lord Dragomon."

"You're a haughty human. Worthy of that tainted crest. Farewell, human. This is the last time I help you. The next time you see me, I will be descending upon your world. Maybe, I will show you some mercy for having helped me."

I shrugged him off and the tentacle receeded into the lake. He wasn't coming back here, anymore. Unless he was lying, which was a distinct possibility. Having realized such a thing, I knew he would be back for me. He had made me too strong and once I did his dirty work I was expendable. He had even admitted so himself... but that didn't matter. As I admitted: I had no friends, no family, nothing to live for.

"Are you just going to let him destroy both worlds?" BlackGarurumon questioned.

"No," I said. "The others will take care of him."

"The others..."

"...what else do you want me to call those losers?" I replied, tucking the crest under my collar. "Now, come on," I ordered, hopping onto BlackGarurumon. "Let's go already. My army is waiting at the edge of the forest."

When Pinocchiomon returned, he was smiling. Natsuko watched as he crossed his arms and walked over to her. "See my army?"

She looked out at the screen. There were Floramon, Cherrymon, Woodmon, Deramon, Mushroommon, Garbagemon... the whole entire forest! "You can't hurt my son!" she cried.

"Okay, I can play a game," he laughed. "You have sixty seconds to get to him... and if you don't, you'll be just another victim. Ha, ha, ha!"

Natsuko frowned and stormed out of the house. She went outside into the field. Yamato and his army were up on the hill. Suddenly, the sound of a harmonica was carried on the wind. Natsuko knew it well- Yamato's grandfather had been the one to give it to him as a present for his fifth birthday.

"Yamato!" Natsuko called, the jacket about her waist flapping in the wind behind her.

Then those cold eyes locked onto hers as he stopped playing. She watched his mouth form the words, "Kill her." She could hear them alongside the remnants of the harmonica and took another step forward.

"Yamato, I'm sorry! I wasn't myself. I was very sick. Please, listen to me!" she called.

The blonde just raised a hand and mushed his army forward. She gasped as a horde of monsters headed her way. She tried to brush through them, but ended up tripping over either her own feet or the feet of a monster. She looked up at Yamato, who watched from afar, waiting for her impending death.

She called out to him again, but as he watched he could only hear his own nightmares driving him forward as he ordered BlackMetalGarurumon onward into the battlefield.

A/N: I'm going to be the first to admit, this fic hasn't been my best work, but it's an idea I wanted to tinker with. I want to thank all who have read/reviewed and stuck with this fic because the next chapter is much better and I think you'll all enjoy it! (I promise, Yama won't be a generic a-hole forever. After all, Jyou is coming to the rescue!)