Episode 8

Prisoners in Paradise

The Digital World, A Day Earlier

The doors to the main chamber of Darknessmon's castle burst open, the doors hitting the wall and sending cracks along the stone wall along with an echo that made a sound similar to a rusty gong. Darknessmon looked up from the scroll that lay on his lap, a fairly annoyed expression on his face, he had been enjoying the account written on the scroll. Darkdramon stormed towards him and Darknessmon couldn't help but show his annoyance by sighing.

Wingdramon and Goldramon shared an annoyed glare, knowing that Darkdramon had no right to burst into Lord Darknessmon's castle, especially with a look like that on his face. Darknessmon decided to humour Darkdramon, he would hear his concerns and then easily deal with them. The others viewed Darkdramon as a bit of a drama queen, he could always make a small problem a big one.

"How did your mission go, Darkdramon?" he asked.

Darkdramon suddenly grinned madly, "Excellent, the targets are eliminated," the grin left his face and a dark, psychotic shadow replaced it. "But what I'm annoyed about is that there was another Dragon in the Human World!"

Chaosdramon frowned, his eyes squinting as he turned to look at Darknessmon. Surprisingly, the leader seemed unconcerned with the fact there was another Dragon in the Human World, he seemed angry with something else the insane Digimon had said.

"What do you mean, the targets have been eliminated?" Darknessmon hissed. "I didn't order for you to kill them!"

Darknessmon jumped off his throne and gripped Darkdramon by the neck, wrapping his claws around Darkdramon's throat, the claws digging into the hard flesh and Darkdramon gasped as the air was choked out of him. The other Dragon's stared at they're leader with fear in they're eyes, they had never seen they're leader use physical combat before and now that he was he was making a mega like Darkdramon regret what he had done.

"I never told you kill them!" he screamed. "I need Serena alive! She has to be alive, I need her! You idiot!"

Darknessmon threw Darkdramon; he crashed against the wall and smashed his head against the cold floor. Chaosdramon looked at the cracks on the wall that had been created when Darkdramon hit the wall, they spread across the wall like a spider's web and he wondered what kind of power Darknessmon was actually capable of. He had never fought, he had never needed too, so what exactly was the enigma capable of?

"Idiot! Moron! Imbecile!" Darknessmon spat. "I told you I needed her!"

"It was... for the best," Darkdramon croaked. "I..." he coughed and rubbed his throat. "If they were gone, then we... have fewer opponents."

Darknessmon charged towards Darkdramon, kicking him across the face, the force of the blow sent Darkdramon crashing into a pillar. Darknessmon breathed heavily, his body seething with rage as he raised his fist. Darknessmon suddenly swore, he lowered his fist and took several deep breaths.

"Idiot," he whispered.

Darknessmon returned to his throne, he fell lazily into his seat and picked up his scroll, returning his attention to what was written. Darkdramon got to his feet, still rubbing his neck and the others saw he was beginning to push his luck.

"Why was there another Dragon in the Human World?" he asked.

Darknessmon looked at him, he smiled oddly. Darkdramon removed his hand from his throat just as Strikedramon entered the chamber, she noticed the cracks along the wall and the scratches on Darkdramon's body and it didn't take her long to realize what had happened.

"What did I miss?" she laughed.

"Strikedramon," Darknessmon welcomed her with open arms and got to his feet. "I trust your trip was successful."

"Trip?" Darkdramon repeated. "Wait... she was the Dragon in the Human World?"

"Yes," Darknessmon nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Darkdramon screeched.

"Dear Strikedramon gather's intelligence," Darknessmon explained. "I rarely draft her into battle and you don't have to worry about her interfering with any of your battles, she's not the type to be where she's not needed."

Strikedramon bowed before Darknessmon, on her one knee as she handed him a folded up map. The other Dragon's eyed the map, Darknessmon smiled with glee at the sight of the old, yellowed item in her hand and quickly took it off her, unfurling it and his eyes lit up like a child in a candy store.

"What is that, my Lord?" Goldramon asked.

"A special map once possessed by the Demon Lord's," Darknessmon asked. "I heard tales of this when I was younger, but I never thought for a second that it existed and that it had been given to Serena of all people!"

"What does it do?" Wingdramon asked.

"It once served as the means for the Demon Lord's to keep track of the Royal Knight's," Darknessmon explained. "Now I can see that the map has been added to keep a track of us and Serena, Dorumon and Yamaki."

"Now that we have it we can trace they're movements," Goldramon smiled.

"Exactly," Darknessmon smiled.

"Not that we need too," Darkdramon muttered.

"What was that?" Darknessmon said through gritted teeth.

"What I mean is there aren't a lot of battles left for us to play," Darkdramon explained. "The numbers of our opponents have been cut... thanks to me."

"Are you so sure?" Strikedramon chuckled.

Darknessmon looked away from the map, starring at Strikedramon with confusion on his face. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Whether in the Human or Digital World, a Digimon becomes data once they are defeated," she explained. "I saw Magnamon with my own two eyes, Magnamon, Serena and Dorumon are alive. Check the map if you don't believe me."

Darknessmon let out a sigh of relief, slumping in his throne. "Excellent," he said. "This is great news for you Darkdramon, I won't have to punish you for your idiotic mistake."

Darkdramon frowned slightly, wondering what Darknessmon considered a punishment.

...

The Human World, Now

Yamaki stared out of the apartment's window, waiting for Serena to return. She had left to see Paul roughly half an hour ago, he didn't trust boys at that age, they were too unpredictable and too quick to react to the most little things. He just hoped that she was alright, he didn't doubt she could fend off a hormonal teen, but the thought of him even trying anything made him angry.

"Serena will be fine," Magnamon assured him. "She's probably just enjoying some time with the friend she hasn't seen in two years."

"Your probably right," Yamaki turned to face the golden Digimon sat on the sofa with Dorumon besides him. "I just can't help but worry."

Yamaki went to the kitchen, "Anyone want something to drink?"

"A cup of tea would be nice," Magnamon replied.

"Nothing for me, thanks," Dorumon answered.

Yamaki retreated into the kitchen, doing two cups of tea before returning to the living room with a bowl of mixed fruit he knew Dorumon couldn't resist to eat. As he set the bowl down and the cups of tea, Magnamon noticed a strange look on Yamaki's face and it was not the look of a worried father.

"Something wrong, Yamaki?" Magnamon asked.

"I've been wondering," Yamaki picked up his cup of tea. "When Serena left, how did you all take it? Serena's been meaning to ask you, but she won't, she's afraid to bring up bad memories."

Magnamon picked up his own cup of tea and blew on the hot liquid surface, "She could have asked," he said. "I'm more than happy to discuss it." Magnamon had a sip of his tea and took a deep breath, "Well, let's start with the moment we thought she was dead..."

...

The Digital World, Six Months Earlier

The group watched up in horror as energy sparked along the outside of the huge sphere, multiply explosions could be heard and seen, the flames travelling upwards and the ashes falling downwards. Something came out of the flames and ash, shooting downwards like a shooting star and hitting the ground inches in front of them. The group covered they're faces as dust was brought up to the air, the sound of steam escaping to the atmosphere was heard.

They waited for the dust to clear and they found the steaming object, Serena's mask dug deeply into the desert, covered in black soot and red blood. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened, Beelzemon fell to his knees and slammed the ground with his fists, screaming as tears ran down his face. Magnamon picked up the mask and looked upwards at the sphere, feeling tears form in his eyes as Dorugoramon and BlackDuftmon broke down.

"Goodbye, Serena," he repeated.

Magnamon couldn't believe it, Yamaki was right, Serena was gone. He couldn't believe he was crying, he had never cried before, he wasn't aware of the fact that he could cry. He didn't know Demon Lords could cry, then again, until Serena came onto the scene he wasn't aware Demon Lords had feelings.

"She..." Magnamon swallowed the hard lump in his throat. "Serena might not be dead, she might be alive."

Beelzemon turned to him, the tears thick on his face, but the unbearable feeling of loss was gone from his face. He got to his feet, his knees seemed weak but he forced himself to move forwards and with shaking hands he took the mask from Magnamon.

"Yer mehbeh beh right..." Beelzemon said. "Ah mean, 'tis doesn't mehn thaht she's gone."

The tears slowly stopped, a fresh sense of hope blossoming inside of each of them. Magnamon was right, the helmet didn't mean Serena was dead, it just meant that she was badly injured and was in the Human World. All that was left was for them to find her, all they had to do was get to the Human World.

They left soon after, Beelzemon clutching Serena's helmet as they trudged through the sand. Magnamon's thoughts wondered to Yamaki as they walked in silence, he knew why Yamaki had gone to see Zhuqiaomon and he began to wonder if he should have done the same thing.

Yamaki would stay with Serena in the Human World, trying to create a way for both of them to return home. He just hoped Yamaki was to succeed, he didn't know how long the others could cope without Serena or the idea of having lost her to a psychotic hybrid.

Magnamon knew Beelzemon certainly wouldn't be able to cope, he would wait for the days to pass then he would grow impatient and worry. Magnamon knew Beelzemon well enough to know that he would blame himself for loosing Serena, he would think that if he had arrived sooner then maybe he could have defeated Yumiko himself and prevented the explosion.

And when he did suddenly decide to go in search of Serena and find a way to the Human World he would do it without the help of the Digi-Gnomes, the Sovereigns, his fellow Demon Lord's or his friends in the Royal Knight's. Magnamon knew Beelzemon too well, it would seem, but he saw by the worried look on Dorumon's face that she was thinking the same thing.

The only question left was what if Serena was dead? What did they do then? What would Beelzemon do? It was a worrying thought, Magnamon realized that the thought of Serena dead made him so much more uncomfortable than the thought of her fighting to the death.

If it made him uncomfortable and grief stricken, then how was it going to make Beelzemon feel?

...

Lilithmon elegantly glided into the hall of the Demon Lord's manor, Daemon and Lucemon either side of her. Lucemon had a look similar to worship in his eyes as his gaze lingered over her body, Daemon just seemed happy to be in the presence of another Demon Lord, for how often did they invite the hideous Lord out?

Lilithmon faked a laugh at one of Lucemon's poor jokes, the smile on her face forced, but Lucemon didn't seem to notice. Daemon noticed, he rolled his eyes at how oblivious Lucemon was to some of the most obvious of things. Daemon spotted a shadow on the staircase, he squinted his eyes as he thought hard and clicked his finger, summoning flames to each of the lanterns and the chandeliers.

"B-Beelzemon?" he gasped.

Lilithmon looked at the broken Demon Lord who sat hunched over the bottom of the stair case, his helmet on the floor besides him and another, scratched helmet in his hand. They had never seen Beelzemon without his mask before, it was one of the few private factors about him. They knew he only ever took his helmet off for showers or similar, what could have happened to make him remove his helmet?

"Beelzemon?" Lilithmon said warily, slowly approaching him. "What's happened?"

He looked up at her, the space around his eyes red from it appeared he had been crying. She felt something in the pit of her stomach, an uncomfortable drop that sent an uncharacteristic look of pain and grief across her face. Lucemon frowned, sharing a glance with Daemon.

"Serena's gone," Beelzemon croaked. "So is Yumiko."

"How can they both be gone?" she practically screamed. "It was either one or the other, not both!"

"One killed theh other ahn now one of 'em is ihn theh Human World," Beelzemon explained.

"Let's go then!" Lilithmon grabbed him by the forearm and dragged him to his feet. "We have to get her!"

"No," Lucemon ordered loudly.

Lilithmon shot a glare at Lucemon, he remained stone-faced and stormed towards them, pulling Lilithmon away from Beelzemon.

"Because of that girl I lost both of you to the Royal Knights and our mission is to kill the Knights!" he shouted, jabbing a finger in her direction. "You two have totally gone against everything we stand for! No more, I say. If Beelzemon wants her back, he can go, but he's not having my help or the Knight's!"

"Ih wasn't expectin' yer or anyone else's help!" Beelzemon snapped. "Ih'll get 'er back on my own!"

He stormed off up the stairs, grabbing his helmet and disappeared into the shadows of the top of the stairs. Lilithmon watched him leave, starring sadly him and fighting back her own tears. She pulled her arm from Lucemon's grasp, glaring at him as she headed up the stairs.

Daemon looked from the scowl on Lucemon's face to Lilithmon, then to where Beelzemon had disappeared to. He just couldn't understand how one, insignificant girl could cause so much trouble. Then again, Daemon had no idea what love was, how could he understand?

...

Crusadermon screamed and wailed, holding a tissue in his one hand as he cried and sobbed over the loss of Serena. He was taking it worse than Beelzemon, it would seem. In the dinner hall of the Assembly, where it was quiet and where no one could disturb them at that hour of the day, Magnamon had broken the news to Crusadermon.

BlackDuftmon was his shoulder to cry on and Dorumon played the Agony Aunt, and together the trio shared a cry over the loss of Serena. Despite the fact none of them knew if she was dead or alive, it seemed to them that if she wasn't there with them then it was the same as if she was dead.

Magnamon observed the sobbing trio from the tunnelled entrance of the hall, trying to understand what Crusadermon was saying between sobs, and heard feet approach him. He recognized the sound and pace of the feet, Duftmon placed a hand on his friend's shoulder and sighed sadly.

"You told Lilithmon?" Magnamon assumed.

"She already knew," Duftmon answered. "Beelzemon told her."

"How is he?" Magnamon asked.

"Lilithmon went to check on him, but he ran off somewhere," Duftmon answered. "Lucemon apparently was a real bastard when he heard Serena was gone, he told Lilithmon that she wasn't to help Beelzemon create a portal and that he wouldn't even help him."

"Nice guy," Magnamon said sarcastically.

"Where do you think he could have gone?" Duftmon said absently. "He said he doesn't want our help, the Demon Lord's, he doesn't want anyone's help."

Magnamon squinted his eyes slightly, thinking of all the places Beelzemon could have run off too, his eyes widened after two short seconds of thinking. He ran down the corridor, not saying a word, Duftmon watched him leave then turned towards the crying women. He spotted Crusadermon, wondering if he should refer to Crusadermon as a 'man'.

Probably not.

...

Magnamon walked through the wreckage of the Japanese house, avoiding broken debris and shattered memories. He couldn't help but remember Serena, each square inch of each room held some part of her, and each memory made the grief worse. The house used to be such a place of happiness and a place where great memories were forged, now it was an empty, hollow husk of its former self.

He found Beelzemon in the bedroom, on the dirt covered bed, hunched over once more with Serena's helmet in his hands and his on his head. He looked up when he heard Magnamon enter, a sad smile on his face. Magnamon shared the same sad look, but remained where he was. He saw that by the look on Beelzemon's face that he had been waiting for someone to come, he seemed pleased that it was Magnamon who found it.

"Beel-" he began.

"Ih need teh ask ya ah favour," Beelzemon cut him short.

"Sure, anything," Magnamon said.

"Ih've had a long time teh tink thin's through," Beelzemon began. "Ahn Ih realized that Ih can't live without Serena, so if she's... gone... Ih want yer to delete me ahn take meh data."

"What?" Magnamon gasped. "I can't do that!"

"Why not?" Beelzemon asked.

"Because your my friend!" Magnamon argued.

"Ahn as meh friend ya should do what it takes teh make meh happy," Beelzemon shot back. "Please, Ih'm sure yer'd ask theh same of meh if BlackDuftmon was gone."

Magnamon fell silently, knowing that Beelzemon was right. He sighed heavily, scratching the back of his head as his shoulders slumped.

"Fine," he said in defeat. "But only if we know for definite that Serena is gone."

"Thanks," Beelzemon smiled. "Ih owe ya."

...

Present Day, Human World

Yamaki was silent, his face a mask of shock as he tried to digest what he had heard. Despite all that had happened over the past two years he had never really warmed to Beelzemon, there was always something stopping him from fully accepting Beelzemon as part of his new family, but after hearing how much Serena meant to Beelzemon he felt acceptance.

"...Wow," was all he could say.

"Beelzemon loves Serena more than life," Magnamon said silently. "Literally."

The door to the apartment suddenly burst open, Serena stormed in and marched towards her room. Yamaki and Magnamon sensed something was wrong, Dorumon frowned slightly and jumped from her seat, walking towards Serena.

"Seren?" Yamaki called. "Is everything alright?"

"No!" she snapped, her face dark. "I... I..." she began to cry. "I just want Beelzemon back!"

Yamaki jumped to his feet and bolted towards her, pulling her into an embrace as she sobbed into his chest. Yamaki looked at Magnamon, raising both of his eyebrows sadly, hoping for some form of support. Magnamon frowned slightly, then shared a look with Dorumon.

Dorumon nodded once, knowing what Magnamon wanted and slowly crept out of the house. Serena didn't notice the exchange, too annoyed at human boys and too sad at the loss of Beelzemon to know anything else but that she was missing Beelzemon.

To Be Continued...