Chapter Word Count: 2,169||Story Word Count: 19,308||Chapter Count: 9/30
Challenges: February Secret Multichap Advent Exchange, prompt #1, base
Kaiser couldn't stop staring at Daisuke. Nor did he especially want to. Why should he not admire the fruits of his labor, the Spiral that tamed what was clearly a powerful Digimon – even if he looked like, even was Motomiya Daisuke? If anything, that made this a double coup. Not only was one of the strongest Digimon he'd ever encountered his personal slave, to do with as he pleased, but it was the former leader of those who dared to think they could fight him.
I can't wait to find out what he can do. I can't wait to unleash it on those idiots. If he'd been anyone else, he might well have squealed in anticipation. But he held himself erect and proud. He was the Kaiser, after all. He had an image to maintain.
He circled Daisuke, paying only minimal attention as Anbumon and Taichi left the room – or as Anbumon left the room and pulled a protesting Taichi along with him. He'd let his new second in command do as he pleased. He still didn't entirely trust Anbumon's loyalty to him, but keeping him distracted with Taichi would help matters along.
And now he had a plaything of his own to work with. Many thoughts of what he could do that weren't just crush his enemies tempted and teased in the back of his mind. He didn't have to rush into anything. He could take his time.
Licking his lips, he turned his attention to the Spiral and spoke. "Scale down to level one intensity."
The distant look in Daisuke's eyes faded away, replaced by sharp anger. Kaiser thought that suited him more and made a mental note to work on Daisuke so he'd remain angry and focused, but learn to obey his new master. That would take time, of course. But it would be worth it, as worth it as the Spiral itself had been.
"Don't even bother with the shouting about letting you, Takaishi, Yagami, or any of your partners go. Prince Anbumon is here because he chooses to be, so don't bother with that, either." Kaiser crisply denoted before Daisuke could get a word out. "I can turn the intensity of the Spiral's control back up with a word, so don't think because I allow you to move around and speak freely that you can attack me."
That also just wouldn't be allowed in the first place. He'd worked hard to make certain the Spiral had a level of control at all times, which meant that Daisuke's body wouldn't be able to attack him. Any time he made a move in that direction, he would be stopped. The Kaiser allowed no violence to his person.
Of course, Daisuke didn't know that, and Kaiser wasn't at all surprised to see him start to lunge anyway.
Only start. He took one step and then froze, eyes wide and round with shock. Kaiser smiled.
"Did you really think it would be otherwise, Motomiya Daisuke? You belong to me now. I decide what you can and can't do, and what you will or won't do. Isn't that nice?"
"I think you've lost it! If you ever had it to begin with!" Daisuke snapped.
Kaiser rested one hand for a moment against Daisuke's cheek, smiling at him. Then he roughly backhanded him, knocking him to the floor.
"Don't make me take it up to the second level, Daisuke. That's where you can only respond when I ask you questions and only in a way that I've previously approved of. I'm granting you the freedom to choose your answers to me. I suggest that you choose wisely."
He noticed with a hint of satisfaction that the red mark he left on Daisuke's cheek with that hit faded quickly. He could guess at least one of Daisuke's Digimon abilities then: quick healing. That could come in very useful in the future.
"Follow me. And pick that up." He indicated the cage V-mon was in as he turned, then turned back. "Keep the cage locked and V-mon inside of it." He didn't order Daisuke not to think about unlocking it and releasing his partner. He wasn't going to take the chance that Daisuke would just do it and not think about it.
"What are you going to do with us?" Daisuke asked, even as he picked up the cage and smiled a reassuring smile at V-mon.
"First and foremost, keep you. Second, train you to obey me the way you should, even without the Spiral." He smiled at Daisuke. "I'm going to quite enjoy that. The end goal will be to remove the Spiral and you eagerly do as you are told. And I always reach my goals, Motomiya Daisuke. Do not ever forget that."
He could hear Daisuke's teeth grinding. He wasn't done yet, though. "I'm also going to find out everything that you're capable of as a Digimon and train you to use it to the fullest extent. You'll take out the other Chosen and sit at my feet once I have established my permanent rule over this world."
From the corner of his eye, he could see Daisuke shaking his head, anger in every line of him. Kaiser turned abruptly to stare into his eyes.
"Given that I now control everything that you do, Motomiya Daisuke, and can have you absolutely obedient to my commands with a word, how do you think that you can stop me?"
"My friends will!" Daisuke shouted. "You can't stop them!
"Really?" Kaiser smirked, enjoying the sudden spark of worry in Daisuke's eyes. Time to fan that into a raging fire. "But you can. Because as much as they would try to free you from my Spiral, they won't see you again until you obey me because you want to. What will they free you from then?"
He didn't allow for an answer, but kept on walking, letting all that he'd said sink deep into Daisuke's mind to take root.
Daisuke tried his best to memorize the various twisting passages in Kaiser's base as they walked along. It wasn't easy; he didn't have the best memory for this kind of thing. But he tried anyway. He'd need to know them when he got out of there.
I'm going to get out of here. Kaiser can say what he wants. But I'm going to escape.
He'd never been brought to Kaiser's base before. Kaiser didn't exactly invite people 'home' with him. The two times that he'd been captured before – well, one, he wasn't certain if that whole mess with Deltamon counted as a capture - he'd stayed outside the whole time.
At least he thought he had. There was a lot of time there that he couldn't fully account for. He'd asked V-mon about it, but his partner didn't have any more information than he did. Right now he really didn't want to ask Kaiser about it, either.
Kaiser might actually tell him.
They finally arrived at a set of double doors that opened as soon as Kaiser stepped up to them. On the other side there was a wide room with what looked like training dummies of some kind. Daisuke could also see targets, like for archery, and a row of caged Digimon whose red eyes betrayed the Rings and Spirals that he couldn't see from this distance.
"Now, this is what is going to happen," Kaiser said, turning toward Daisuke and holding his hand out for the cage. Daisuke's muscles obeyed him without Daisuke himself having a say in it, handing it over. "This is your prize. If you succeed in what I want you to do, then you'll be allowed to spend one hour with V-mon in a place of my choosing."
"And if I don't?" Daisuke had to ask. At least he was allowed to ask.
Kaiser's smile was not a sight of pleasure. It never had been.
"Then you won't see him again until after you have succeeded in what I want of you. It's really not that hard."
Daisuke had his own doubts about that but if he got to talk to V-mon, then he'd do whatever Kaiser wanted. He wouldn't like it, but he'd do it. So he nodded, harsh and abrupt and angry.
"Good boy," Kaiser praised. A low hum of pleasure spread out through Daisuke from the Spiral on his arm. He tried to fight it off, but nothing he did could affect the Spiral in any way, let alone how he felt about how good it felt. "You'll have three tasks to accomplish today. The more you learn and the better you get, the more tasks you'll have and the harder they'll become. Do you understand that?"
Daisuke nodded again, tense and tight already.
"What we need to do first is find out what you're capable of. From my research into Digimon, their abilities tend to reveal themselves when they're in physical danger of some kind. This is different when it comes to partnered Digimon, of course. They tend to manifest new abilities or evolutions when their partner is in danger. Your case may well be different." He regarded Daisuke carefully and never in his life had Daisuke felt so much like a bug under a microscope. "All previous information was that a Digimon could only be partnered to a human. You are clearly different. How this applies to your bond to V-mon remains to be seen."
"You watch a lot of those mad science movies, don't you?" Daisuke heard the words slip out before he could stop them and froze up. He fully expected another hit from the Kaiser; that seemed his best way to communicate. But now his captor only smiled one of those terrifying smiles at him.
"If you succeed at your tasks today, you'll have half an hour with V-mon," was all that he said before he gestured toward the room. "Your first task is just to get from one side of the room to the other and back again while still being on your feet. Start now."
Daisuke expected the Spiral to lurch him into action, so didn't move for almost a minute. Kaiser's eyes darkened and he started to raise one hand. Daisuke leaped forward, realizing belatedly that he'd been expected to obey just because Kaiser gave the order.
He put every ounce of anger in his mind out of that for right now. He wouldn't have if Kaiser hadn't already cut his 'visit time' in half. But he didn't want to take any chances that Kaiser would gut it altogether.
So he ran. He ran for the far side of the room and he jumped when the floor began to open up underneath him, scrambling to land on the other side and start running again.
Long, thick columns of steel extended down from the ceiling, covered in sharp spikes, swinging back and forth. Daisuke guessed he needed to get through those in one piece and going around wasn't an option.
They didn't brush the ground, though, and there was just enough room to wiggle under there. He threw himself down and crawled forward, wincing as one of them brushed against his back. They were going up and down, he noticed, and that made this trip just a little harder. Still, he kept on going. Kaiser wouldn't have any reasons to take more of his time away.
He'll probably do it without a reason if he thinks he can.
Daisuke scrambled out from underneath the spiked lengths and looked for the next part. He hated to admit it, but this was kind of fun. He'd never had much interest in the obstacle course the school offered but those were boring.
This carried a hint of damage, even if damage didn't seem to be something that could really bother him that much. Everything they'd said about Anbumon's fire and how it should've crisped him like a Christmas fried chicken hung in the back of his mind. The way the pain from Kaiser's backhand just vanished, far faster than he would've thought it would, remained fresh in his mind.
He hadn't had time to get used to it yet. The thought of being an actual Digimon himself would need to get used to. But right now all he could focus on was doing what Kaiser wanted, to get some time with V-mon.
Wonder if I could get some with Taichi-san and Takeru if I really worked hard.
Together they could figure a way out of this. They'd have to find a way to contact the others, too. Maybe one of them still had his D-Terminal or they could find something that would allow them to send e-mail.
With all of that firmly in mind, he charged toward a spiked pit with an opening and closing cover, ready to take on whatever Kaiser shoved at him.
Kaiser smiled as Daisuke plunged his way through the obstacles. This was just the beginning and Daisuke was already taking to his training so very well.
To Be Continued
Notes: I could say so much right now but it would all be spoilers and I like to unfold things gently.
