Revenge of the Kaiser

Chapter Ten: Salvation

Tiny legs weren't meant for traveling far distances, but Blackwormmon was on a mission to reach the Digidestined and help save Kari. He scurried around for hours, diligently following the blinking light on Kari's D-3, praying that he would find her human friends.

Finally the sound of voices carried to his ears. Moving as fast as he could, Blackwormmon followed the sound right into the camp they were setting up.

Sora was the first to notice his presence; her eyes passed over him, and then quickly back to focus on him. She glared down at him for a moment, confused, before averting her gaze to Ken. Realizing that he might be a threat, Sora yelped and grabbed onto Tai's arm.

Suddenly they were all staring at Blackwormmon, making him wonder if they were going to attack him before he could explain.

"You're his digimon, aren't you?" Ken asked, breaking the silence.

Gulping, Blackwormmon nodded. He saw Tai clench his fists. "Kari sent me here," he blurted out to keep from being beaten.

"What? She's alright then?" TK asked, hopeful.

"I, I don't know," Blackwormmon answered, ashamed for leaving her to deal with Kaiser's rage. "I tried to help her escape, but Kaiser caught us. My web couldn't support her so she sent me to you guys so I could bring you Gatomon's egg and give Cody her D-3. I don't know what for, but she said so."

The Digidestined stood for a moment, not knowing what to think of the little worm's comment. With some hesitation, Ken went and picked Blackwormmon up, driven by the memory of how he used to treat Wormmon. He helped get Gatomon's egg off his back before speaking. "What do you think he's going to do?"

"I don't know. Kaiser is undoubtedly furious. The spore failed in its duty and Kari tried to escape, but I don't think he'll take his anger out on her…much."

Ken nodded, not satisfied, but, being unable to get any more information, said nothing else. He took Kari's D-3, and rubbed his thumb against it as it rested in his palm. "Why Cody?" he wondered, extending his hand out to give it to him.

Cody snatched the D-3 from Ken's hand. He laughed manically, holding it above his head and waving his fist violently. Armadillomon's egg rested in Joe's bag; Sora would not let him covet it any longer.

"Ha Ha!" he screamed, taking off in a run.

"Cody!" Joe yelled.

The group pursued the youngest member of their group as he ran to the nearby river. They watched in horror as Cody chucked the D-3 into the water.

"Why the hell did you do that?" Tai demanded, grabbing onto Cody's shoulders and shaking him.

"Let go, Tai, you know he's not himself,"TK said.

"Shh, do you hear that?" Yolei interrupted. "It sounds like footsteps. Big footsteps."

Kaiser was smug, determined, and ecstatic. He'd done it, found a way to keep Kari under his control.

He spent a moment just staring at her. She was laid out on a table in the lab, unconscious. Her face looked troubled, like she was having a bad dream but couldn't wake up. She'd put up quite an admirable fight when Kaiser came in the pitch black room to get her, rushing at him with a sort of desperation that made her unable to stop.

Kaiser had to be harsh with her. He held her tight as she kicked and screamed and struggled, especially when he took out a needle. He knew she hated needles. But he needed her to go to sleep; when she woke up she would be his again.

Kaiser was a genius, after all.

"Oh yeah, this is exactly what we need right now," Davis muttered sarcastically, pulling Veemon's egg a little closer to him. "Anyone want to guess what's going to eat us?"

"Monochromon," Sora breathed, seeing the dinosaur digimon breaking through the trees as he ran towards them. She glanced around; everyone was frozen.

"We need to run!" Joe shouted.

"No," Tai answered, fists clenched. "We need to fight."

"How do you suggest we do that?" Joe shouted, flailing his arms, knocking his bag backwards with his elbow. He didn't notice Armadillomon's egg falling until it had already hit the water.

Everyone stared wide-eyed as the water pushed it out of reach.

Cody tried to run after it, but TK grabbed onto him. "Look at that current," he warned. "You can't get to him."

"NO!" Cody shouted, falling to the ground pounding his fists in the dirt. "I have to protect him! It's my turn to protect him!"

Monochromon made his presence known.

Sora had to dive out of the way to avoid being pierced by his horn. She groaned in pain. Cradling her right wrist, she scrambled up and away from the digimon. "I think running is a good idea," she shouted.

Monochromon had been instructed to kill only one of the humans, and it seemed that Sora had been chosen. He roared at her, scuffed his foot against the dirt, and lowered his horn at her.

A blinding light shot out of the water. Everyone, including Monochromon, looked at the water. The waves swirled, forming a whirlpool where the light was coming from. The water reversed itself, drawing up and around the light, like a tornado.

Faster than they could follow, something shot out of the swirling water. A rainbow prism was knocking Monochromon off his feet, throwing him back into the trees, before anyone saw it.

"Who is that?" Ken asked, awed by the digimon. It was a giant seahorse with a metal face and tail and a royal purple body. "And whose side is he on?"

"Seahomon?" Izzy said, unsure. "I have no data about him, though."

"Dragon Noise!" shouted the digimon that had emerged from the water.

Monochromon howled in pain, assaulted by a sound wave. "I surrender," he whimpered before turning and running away.

With the immediate threat running off with his tail between his legs, the Digidestined turned their attention to Seahomon.

"Who are you?" Cody piped up, wiping tears from his face?"

"Don't you recognize me?" asked the seahorse. "Maybe I should make it a little clearer." Light surrounded the digimon as he de-digivolved. "It's me, Armadillomon."

"I don't believe it," TK said, watching Cody and his digimon partner run into each other's arms. "How is that possible?"

"I thought he couldn't come back after the egg broke," Davis agreed.

"I don't know," Armadillomon admitted, "but I woke up as Seahomon and had this with me." He pulled a pink device from inside his shell.

"Kari's D-3," Ken said.

"That's why she wanted Cody to have it," Blackwormmon added.

Cody stood up. "I feel like I've been dreaming, too; some long, horrible nightmare where I had no control over myself."

"Well, it's good to have you back," Sora said, messing his hair.

"Thanks."

Izzy frowned. "I still don't get how it happened."

"Seahomon would be Armadillomon's form if he were to use the Digiegg of Light," Ken said. "I researched it when I was…the Kaiser."

"But we don't have the Digiegg of Light," Tai replied, ignoring Ken's comment, and giving TK a warning glance to do the same.

"Something happened when she gave me the D-3," Blackwormmon offered. "Pink light went from her hand into the device."

"Hmm," Izzy pondered, "I guess that because Kari is the bearer of Light, she can pass on its attributes, even without the actual digiegg to release its power. That's intense."

"Do you think her D-3 can hatch our eggs?" Davis asked.

"It's worth a try," Tai answered, hopeful.

They gathered the eggs together and Tai held the D-3 out facing the pile. "Is there a certain way to do it?" he asked when nothing happened.

"She specifically said Cody," Blackwormmon said. "I think that it was meant to bring Armadillomon back."

"At least we have someone to protect us now," Joe said. "I don't much feel like experiencing that again."

"You're telling me," Sora agreed.

"Blackwormmon, lead the way," said Tai.

"What?"

"Lead the way. You're the only one who knows where Kaiser is keeping Kari and Matt."

"Do you want to just walk into a trap? He's been prepared for if you found out where he was, and know that I'm here he's probably going to double the defense."

"It doesn't matter. We're going."

Blackwormmon sighed. "Alright, to the base then."

Ken blanched. "Where is he?"

"At the base."

"My base?" he questioned.

"Well of course, he's not going to find a new location until he's ready to rebuild his empire."

Tai began shouting all of the obscenities that were in his vocabulary. "How could we be so stupid to believe that he would be gone just because he said so?"

"It doesn't matter, let's get moving. We have no idea what he's doing to Kari or Matt." TK pursed his lips, feeling guilty. He knew it was a bad idea to let Matt go with them.

"Oh my God! Matt! Open this door!"

"No funny business," Vegimon warned.

Matt was more than surprised when Kari rushed through the door. He never thought Kaiser would let her anywhere near him. And yet, here she was. He pulled himself onto his feet and moved as much as the chain around his ankle would allow, bracing himself when Kari threw herself into his arms, hugging him.

"Are you okay?" she whispered, voice thick with emotion.

"I've been better," he admitted, "but I'm alright."

"This is all my fault," she sobbed, sinking down to the ground with him. "Are Joe and Izzy here too?"

"Not as far as I know, I think they got sent back to the group."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him again. "Oh Matt, I'm so sorry."

"This isn't your fault," he told her, looking back at her while she stared so intensely into his eyes. He put his arms around her again, trying to comfort her.

"Yes, it is," she argued, putting her hand against his cheek.

Matt began to feel a sort of tension building that he didn't quite understand. "Kari—."

No other words were allowed to escape. Kari had pressed her lips against his, in a timid way that he thought she might kiss.

When had he considered how she might kiss? Well, he was a guy, he told himself, and that sort of things goes through a guy's head.

Kari pulled away, looking at him. Looking for what his reaction was going to be. Matt considered stepping back, she was scared, she was vulnerable, she was kissing him again.

The second kiss was deeper, rougher. Kari pulled him closer. Matt's hands moved up Kari's back to cup her cheeks without him telling them to do so. He was lost in the intensity, nothing else existed right then.

Kari placed her palm against his chest, prompting him to lay back. She climbed onto of him, kissing him passionately. Her lips felt like fire against his skin. Moving slowly down his jawbone, Kari began kissing his neck.

"You're pathetic."

"What?" Matt whispered, nearly out of breath.

"You're pathetic," she repeated, bringing her body up, still straddling him.

"I…I don't understand."

"Look at you. You're willing to betray your own brother for some happy feeling in your pants."

"What? No. It's not like that at all—."

"Isn't it? You and I both know that TK is still in love with me, and yet…look at where we are."

"Why are you doing this?" Matt demanded, sitting up and forcing Kari off of him.

"Because you let me," she replied laughing a little.

"I'd never betray TK," Matt argued, embarrassed and ashamed.

"Of course not," Kari answered, standing and turning away from him. She paused as the Vegimon opened the door for her. "I like you Matt; you and I aren't so different." She smiled sweetly and let the door slam behind her. "See you around," she called over her shoulder.

Matt, smacked his hands against his face, rubbing his cheeks violently. "I didn't betray TK," he defended, though only to himself. "I would never."

Guilt overwhelmed him and for the first time since being put in the dungeon, Matt felt scared.

"You and I aren't so different."

What the hell did that mean?

… … … … … … … … …

For all of us Yakari fans, there's your moment. I'm going to finish this fic before the end of February, damn it. Then it's off to work more on Innocence Lost and writing out what I want to do with Adeliea. Get excited!