Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon

A/N: What do you think?

Chapter 7

I slid the glasses on and took a good look. Something was still wrong. The Emperor wasn't Uncle Sam. His face was a little different and he was too tall and the date on the Digimon Emperor's picture took place years after Uncle Sam's death. This just doesn't make any sense. I took the glasses off.

I sighed as I found another picture of Dad and Davis together when they were teens. I looked at the old Dad, then at me, then the Emperor, then back at me.

It was obvious. Dad was the Emperor.

I gasped at the revelation. My father was evil. But why? Why did he lie this whole time? I put the glasses back on and looked at the Emperor. "What's the matter, Sam?" Minomon asked.

"Nothing. Just go to my room." I told him.

"But..."

"Go!"

Minomon gasped. "It's the glasses making you act like this."

I swallowed. "Maybe..." I took them off and saw my Digimon staring at me with soulful eyes. Then Dad came in seconds later.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" He asked.

I showed him the picture. "How come you never told me you were the Digimon Emperor?"

"What?" He questioned.

"How come you never told me you were the Digimon Emperor?" I asked again. "How come you lied."

"Sam..." He didn't say anything else, so I continued.

"You always tell us not to lie. How come you kept such a big secret from us? How come you never told me you were evil."

"Were, Sam." He said. "I was evil but that's because I didn't know any better."

"Everyone used to hate you."

Dad sighed and plopped onto his bed. "Yes."

"But why did you tell me he died? You could've gave it a happy ending." I sat next to him.

"Because he did. That day, he was gone for good and there was no going back."

"So..." I took a deep breath, trying to soak all of this in. "That dark spore you were talking to Mom about made him that way."

Dad's eyes widened. "What? When did you hear me say that?"

"Earlier today. You were talking to Mom about my..." I gulped "...condition...and that it was caused by darkness. So I'm really the Emperor's son."

Dad didn't say anything.

"So I did have a monster in me the whole time. Why didn't you tell me?"

"It's not that easy to admit, Sam." He raised his voice. "What did you want me to tell you? That I used to be this horrible little boy with serious mental issues, and torturing completely innocent creatures? Is that what you wanted to hear?"

I swallowed again, trying to fight the tears forming. I hated when Dad's mad at me. "No."

"Sam, I had no choice. I wanted to protect you and Aika and Keanu. I didn't want you guys to think any less of me or yourselves. You are not the Digimon Emperor's son. You are my son."

I sobbed when I told him "If I'm not his son, how come I'm filled with so much hurt and darkness? Am I a bad person, Dad?"

He pulled me into a huge bear hug and kissed me on the forehead. "No, Sam. You aren't bad. You are strong."

My sobs lightened up. "Really?"

"Of course. You are very strong because you are only nine and you can handle this like a pro. Look at how old Mom is and she still panics!"

I chuckled a little. "But that's how Mom always is."

"Well, not really." He let go. "When we were young, Mom was a strong girl. She knew exactly what she wanted and did everything she could to get it. She only panicked when things got really scary."

"That's pretty cool." I said.

"She only panics because she loves all three of you to death. And I do too. You three are our whole world even if you do have a little more darkness than others. In fact, I'm the darkest person in this family, but it doesn't control me."

"How?"

"I always remember that there is someone out there who accept me and love me for who I am and not what I've accomplished or what I've done wrong. I used to live in my brother's shadow during my childhood. He used to do everything right. I was just so angry how Mom and Dad will pay attention to him more than me. Then one day, a digivice came from the computer." He sighed. "He told me not to mess with it but I didn't listen. I took it and escaped to the Digital World where I met Wormmon. Sam was so mad when I came back home. He told me that he could never trust me again. This got my blood boiling and I just wished that he disappeared. Then eventually...he did."

I held Dad's hand, knowing this might be tough to admit. "I'm sure it was an accident."

He nodded. "It was. But that's besides the point. Now, I actually have a loving family and friends that I can count on if I have trouble. If you have any problems, anything at all, I want you to come to me or Mom or Aika. Heck, you can even tell Keanu!"

I giggled. "But, Dad, he can't talk."

"Yes, but he's a good listener."

I nodded with a smile, but then it faded. "Will I have this condition forever? I don't want to be a monster anymore."

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "No, Sam. I don't think so. But we need to know why they're happening in the first place. Why do you think they're happening so frequently?"

I shrugged.

"Well, there has to be a reason. You can't be happy."

I shook my head, trying to remember what those episodes were about. "I don't know yet."

Dad just looked at me. "Okay." He said and got up. "Well, if you do feel anything, come find me."

"Okay."

"Do you promise?"

"Yes."

He rubbed my back. "Good. Now go get ready for bed. It's getting late."

And after that night, I was okay. The week went by and I didn't have any episodes! That Saturday, we celebrated by going to the Digital World as a family. We met up with a bunch of kids and we got to see our parents' friends. It was so much fun!

"Now, whatever happens, don't get all panicky, okay?" Mom told us.

"But, Mom, that's what you always do." I said. Everyone laughed. I realized that comment was more towards me. She wanted to make sure I didn't have an episode, but I had to crack the joke!

Luckily, I didn't have one until everyone was gone. We were the last to leave because we were changing Keanu's diaper. Well, Mom was. Dad and I, on the other hand, were watching the clouds roll by. That's when I felt tired. I sat on the grass and still felt winded and out of breath.

"Are you okay?" Dad asked me.

I didn't answer as I plopped onto my back. I was huffing and puffing like I ran the whole DigiWorld. "I don't...feel well." I said.

"Something's coming." Minomon warned.

"Ken, we should get out of here." Wormmon said.

"Where are the girls?" Dad asked as he stood me up. "Take deep breaths, Sam." He raised my arms. "Keep your lungs open and take deeper breaths."

"I don't know." Wormmon confirmed. "They've vanished."

"Just great." Dad said.

"Look in the sky!" Minomon nearly shouted.

The clouds started getting dark and next thing we knew, we were standing in sand. I held my breath when I noticed this particular sand. Dad and I turned around and came face to face with the Dark Ocean. Much to my surprise, Dad gasped loudly. I, on the other hand, screamed my head off.

"This is it!" I yelled. "It's the Dark Ocean!"

Dad held onto me so that I would stop hollering. "Sam, stay strong." He said. "There has to be a reasonable explanation for why we're here."

"No, they want me!" I cried.

"Well, they won't get you." He said. "Not without a fight."

"But, Ken, how can we fight an ocean?" Wormmon asked.

"It's not a battle against the ocean." Dad knelt down beside me. "It's a battle against yourself."

"What do you mean, Dad?"

"Sam, I don't know exactly what goes on in your mind. But I know you have darkness bottled up inside you. Just let it out and I'll help you. I'll always be there to help you. But I can't do that if you don't tell me what the problem is."

I looked at him and back at the ocean. "I'm afraid."

"It's okay. I'll tell you why I come here if you tell me first."

I nodded before biting my lip. The ocean waves started to roar and hit my ankles. "I... I'm afraid..." I looked up at Dad again who had a pleading face. I can't let him down. "I feel like I'm left out!" I yelled over the roaring. "Aika and Keanu get all of the attention so I'm left with nothing because I'm the middle child! Mom told me that I should feel lucky but I don't! I'm not! I get all the bad stuff!"

"Sam..." Dad started but I didn't stop.

"And I know you and Mom have a favorite! I'm not Mom's favorite because I'm a monster! She's afraid of me whenever I come here! And I don't have any real friends because I'm too busy studying! I just want to be a normal kid!" As soon as I finished, I pounded my fists onto the sand and started bawling. "But I don't want anyone to worry about me so I keep to myself."

Dad squatted next to me and rested a hand on my back. He started making large circles. "Sam, you did a very good thing. You admitted your pain. But it's okay now."

I stood up and wiped my tears. "It is?"

He nodded. "Because I went through almost the same. I felt left out because my parents picked my brother over me. I never had friends because I was to smart and distrustful. I was the monster, the Digimon Emperor. I kept the dark feelings to myself and that's why I'm here. But it doesn't have to be that way anymore."

"It doesn't?"

He shook his head with a smile. "No. Because we have each other. You might have not believed me before, but I mean it even more now. Have you ever heard me laugh? Like really throw back my head with my mouth wide open and just laugh?"

I thought about it. "No, I don't think so."

"It's because I started bottling up my feelings again. I didn't want you kids to see me sad or angry. But because of that, you've never seen me truly happy. I worry a lot like Mom."

I looked up at him.

"But that ends now. If I want you to open up to me, I have to open up to you."

"Okay. And I'll stop thinking dark thoughts." I gave him a huge hug as he did the same.

"I love you so much." He told me.

"I love you too, Dad."

"What a touching moment." Wormmon said.

"Hey look!" Minomon said. "The place is changing!"

I didn't look. I had my face sort of buried in Dad's chest. "You are such a kind boy, Sam." Dad told me. I could feel the vibrations. "You kept to yourself so no one would worry. That's really nice."

"Like father like son." Mom said.

I looked up and saw Mom, Keanu, and Aika standing by us. "Mom!" I ran to hug her.

"Where did you guys go?" Aika asked. "We're ready to go."

"We went to the Dark Ocean." Minomon told them.

"What a trip." Poromon said. "There's no ocean around."

"Let's just go home first before something comes out." Mom said. "I have to get Keanu to take a nap."

"Right." The rest of us said.

()()

"Sam, get the door!" Aika called when someone was knocking.

A month has passed and I haven't had a single episode. Not one! It was safe to assume that they're over so I got the privilege of inviting friends over. I opened the door and there stood Daisuke Motomiya, Davis's son. "Hi, Sam."

"Hi, Daisuke. Come in." Then I shouted "Aika, it's Daisuke!" As you probably guessed, it wasn't for me. Before I closed the door, Connor headed up the steps. "Hi, Connor!"

"Hi, Sam." He greeted back as he got to the doorway. I let him inside. "How are you feeling?"

"Awesome!"

"Any episodes?"

"None at all. Mom and Dad are so happy that they bought a cake!"

Connor gave me a pat on the back. "Way to go!"

"Come on. Let me show you my room." I took him by the hand and guided him deeper into the house. For the first time, I felt normal. I felt safe with myself around others. I'm finally free from the hurt and darkness.