A/N: A question I should have answered before, but...the context of this fic. This is only loosely following wonderswan. So things like Milleniummon's fascination with Ryo are still there, but the bit where they were separated almost immediately and communicated through the transporter thing is not. Details of what happened during Ryo's and Ken's first trip to the digital world will be slowly revealled, most of it in the sequal (yep, there's a sequel :D). 01 events happened as per canon, and this is pre-02 so 02 stuff is yet to happen. I hope that clears up a couple of questions? And I'm sorry for not answering earlier; I totally forgot! *bad Remi*
The Bee and its Stinger
Chapter 11 – The Hunting
They never made it to Gennai's place, though they did meet V-mon along the way, in his little hut on the mountain slope where he'd lived since Milleniummon's defeat. It was a good place to wait for news, he explained, since he couldn't digivolve anymore without Ryo there. A good place to wait for hope.
But what Wormmon and Ken had for him wasn't really hope. It was, partially, because if Ryo had been sighted it might mean that Ryo was alive, in their world again. But Ryo sighted would also point the finger of blame at him – and V-mon, from his home, could see the path of destruction carved into File Island.
'I'll come with you,' he said, looking at the harbingers of the news. 'We'll look for the guys who did that – ' He gestures at the smoke and decimation. 'And for Ryo together, right?'
He says them so distinctly, so faithfully, that Ken and Wormmon can't help but nod and agree. Because they want to believe that: that Ryo was somehow framed…because they want him to be somewhere nearby as well.
And it turned out he was nearby. They were almost at the cave they'd used to warp between the island and the mainland when they found him.
But, at first, they hadn't known it was him. There was a dragon: grey and black and scraping at the mountain rock, kicking up cloud of dust. When he saw them, he snarled and bared his fangs – and the two Child digimon immediately jumped in front of Ken, the latter whom stumbled back in fear. But then a voice snapped out, with a noose glowing a soft blue, to ensnare the dragon's neck.
And that voice was Ryo. None of them could mistake it.
V-mon was the first to jump forth, Ken and Wormmon on his heels. But Ryo – looking rather dusty and a little scratched up himself – did not smile on seeing them. He looked surprised, yes, but more a regretful and upset sort of surprised. Like he didn't want them to see him there. But there was no guilt in his expression: the sort that one would have if they'd been caught doing something they shouldn't have been, like stealing in cookies before dinnertime.
But no-one was accusing Ryo of stealing cookies. The crime they put to his name was far more serious.
Ryo knew he'd see Ken eventually, but he'd hoped that would be after he'd found what he was looking for. Except that egg had proved to be too elusive. And so many other eggs and baby digimon had to pay the price for it. And Ken was there: in front of him, looking paler and a little sweatier than he should have been after the hike, but otherwise fine at first glance.
But he knew not to trust his first glance. He knew what plagued the friend that was almost a little brother to him was a greater demon than that. And looking closer could see more signs. The dark bags under his eyes indicating the sleep that had been eaten away. The very fine tremors that betrayed the effort for Ken to stand like that – whether Ken realised it or not. And then, the thing that only appeared in the Digital World: the thin line of code barely visible at the back of his neck. That thing that was the base of the problem. The problem he was trying to fix. As fast as he could, before –
But that didn't matter right then. What mattered was Ken being there, at that moment. 'Go home, Ken,' he said, steadily, not coming out of the dust that shielded him a little from view, and not letting go of his death grip on the digivice, and the blue light that snaked from it. 'It's not safe for you right now.'
Ken looked surprised at that – and, if Ryo wasn't mistaken, a little hurt as well.
He winced at that. Sorry Ken. Not that unsaid words mattered.
'I'm a Chosen too!' Ken cried. 'When this world's in trouble, it's my duty to protect it!' He took a step closer, and Cyberdramon growled, freezing the boy in his tracks again. 'But – Ryo – where -?'
The fated question: where have you been. Which lead to other questions: what have you been doing all this time? How did you come back? Why didn't you come back sooner? What…what is Cyberdramon, and why do you have a lasso around his neck?
'I can't answer that yet,' Ryo said, finally. 'I'm sorry Ken, but…can you just trust me?' But he didn't move. He didn't do anything to coax the younger boy into trusting him. Not like when they'd first met, when Ken had managed to lose his brother in the park and had been scared and lonely. Ryo had offered a hand then. Ruffled that hair. Lead him back to his parents, and safety. But Ryo couldn't do that right then. He couldn't bring Ken and Cyberdramon too close – and it was lucky Milleniummon's dislike for Ken surpassed his rebirth. One good thing about the whole affair anyway.
Ryo's lips twisted at that thought. One of two good things about the affair anyway. But neither of them was worth all the trouble it was causing. Not that it could be fixed just by thinking that.
'Ken, please.' It almost sounded like an order. It was an order. Ken had to get away, before Cyberdramon recognised Ken – or rather, what Ken carried. Ryo tugged at Cyberdramon, trying to make him come closer. When the dragon turned to snarl and scrape at the noose, Ryo let up. It wouldn't do any good if that line broke.
'Ryo, what in Huanglongmon's name is going on?!' V-mon…and Ryo didn't know how he'd managed to keep his silence all that time.
No, that was a lie. He did know. The consequences of having a partner like Cyberdramon. The consequences of seeking something with such a menace by his side. Was it the eggs at Primary Village? The lives lost because Cyberdramon couldn't control his blood thirst and Ryo couldn't do anything to sate it except sacrifice that very thing he was trying to save?
Cyberdramon turned his head one side, then another, all the time pulling at the noose that held on his neck. Ryo gripped his digivice tightly but loosened the digital rope a little more. Cam down, Cyberdramon, he said mentally, hoping his thoughts would reach the other. Don't lose it, please.
'Ryo!' V-mon cried, sounding annoyed at the lack of response towards him. 'Who is this –' The tone of his voice made Ryo take a closer look at V-mon, at the way he was tensed and angry and ready to lash out.
'Don't –'
The warning had barely burst from his lips – and Ken's, who'd always hated seeing fighting no matter who it was against, or for – before Cyberdramon whipped his tail around and knocked the Child digimon to the ground.
'V-mon!' Ken knelt down beside the little blue lizard. Wormmon stood in front of the pair of them: a little worm trying to be a shield against a dragon that would splatter its data on the rocks behind them. But Wormmon had never cared about differences in size and power. What mattered was Ken. And friends.
The unfortunate thing was, Ken mattered to Ryo as well. As did V-mon. But Cyberdramon was – something he didn't want to explain. Circumstances were something he didn't want to go in to.
Or maybe they were all just things he didn't want to admit.
It was also something he couldn't control. The rope of data wouldn't last. If only he was strong enough to just drag Cyberdramon away – because Cyberdramon wasn't moving, and neither was anyone else.
Leave. Guys. Please. Before something happens.
Ken was confused. That was the simplest, and perhaps kindest, way to explain it. He didn't understand why Ryo stayed back, in the dust the dragon-like digimon kept on stirring up with that whipping tail and scraping legs –
The tail that had lashed out for no good reason and hit V-mon. Luckily, it looked like only V-mon's pride was bruised, and Ken had to pull his attention away from Ryo for a moment to have a whispered argument with V-mon. Because while Ryo was V-mon's partner, Ken didn't want to see V-mon turn into a pancake by taking on a digimon far stronger than him when it wasn't necessary – and who knew if V-mon still qualified as Ryo's partner, or if the dragon-like creature was instead…
Ken remembered Ryo saying something about that, once upon a time. Or maybe it had been Gennai. He couldn't remember too well. He did remember V-mon had just been temporary as a partner, despite how lasting the bonds of friendship they'd forge would become. If the dragon-like digimon was Ryo's partner now, then V-mon wouldn't be able to evolve.
And if the dragon-digimon was Ryo's partner, then there was no reason to fight him in the first place.
But V-mon was insulted, and wanted to attack. Ken pleaded with him. He didn't mention his hypothesis; V-mon would only be more hurt, though he knew the possibility. Instead he pleaded like he'd done during their old journeys, when V-mon would want to attack a jeering passer-by and Ken would rather send them off with a smile of forgiveness.
V-mon gave a shout and shoved Ken suddenly, and Ken felt himself tumble over Wormmon with a wince. 'V-mon!' he cried, before he was shoved again – this time by Ryo because there was no-one else nearby who was shaped and sized like a human and Wormmon's cry seemed suddenly far away.
He curled a little on the ground and coughed, and Ryo cursed somewhere above him, before shouting: 'Cybedramon, st – STOP!' The last word was a desperate, anguished scream. And Ken thought he heard V-mon somewhere in there as well. 'V-mon! Stop! Stop!'
Ken lifted his face, smeared with soil. By some miracle, it had avoided his eyes…but maybe that would have been the kinder situation. From there, he could see the dragon lifting his claws, scraping down trees and rocks like they were nothing at all. There could have been other digimon in there. The dragon looked like he didn't care at all.
And where were V-mon and Wormmon? He couldn't see either of them.
'Come on.' Ryo was behind him, taking his wrist and dragging hi roughly, quickly. But his voice held none of the anguish it had before. It was flat. Even. Like after all those battles, all those encounters with Milleniummon. Like something inevitable had happened again. Like something unavoidable.
'But Wormmon – ' Ken tugged back, hardly thinking about what he was doing. The cloud of dust had risen in the dragon's frenzy, thicker than before, making it hard to see. But something green –
'We can't do anything about that.' Like when they'd thought they'd beaten Milleniummon. Except Ryo. Ryo had said Milleniummon would only come back. In that same tone. Defeated. Just waiting for the inevitable.
Ken turned around. 'What…do you mean?' His voice shook – and, unknown to him, his body shook as well, strained too far. But adrenaline was running through his veins now, keeping his eyes sharp and his thumping heart deaf to his ears. 'Ryo, what's going –' He cut himself off when the dragon roared: a terrifying roar that just made him want to curl up into a ball and disappear. He couldn't do that though. He was a Chosen, and that dragon was destroying everything.
Did he destroy Primary Village too?
'Ryo…' It was almost a whimper, from his lips, but he forced the words out anyway. 'Did he…that…the village…'
Ryo pulled him back a bit, until there were three thick boulders between them and the dragon. That wouldn't help much, with the way the dragon was cutting through them, but Ken allowed himself to be pulled. Ryo had been with that dragon before. Ryo might know something.
But that dragon had attacked V-mon and Wormmon. And Ryo had had some sort of noose around its neck. Was he a prisoner, then? That they'd managed to enrage somehow.
Ken's head was starting to hurt.
And Ryo wasn't looking at him now. Just talking, voice low, like a sigh. 'Cyberdramon is…my true partner.'
'That – ' Now Ken could feel himself shaking, in Ryo's arms. 'But why is he attacking everything!'
'But why is he attacking everything!'
Ryo did not want to answer that question. That meant destroying all they'd accomplished together. All Ken thought they'd accomplished together – because Ryo knew the truth. They'd never accomplished anything, except get a kind little boy involved in something he shouldn't have been. And he couldn't even fix it.
Ken had that thing buried in his body because of him, because Milleniummon had wanted Ryo and Ken had just happened to be there, in the way. And he couldn't even find that one egg that would help him, out of all of those.
'Look, Ken,' he said finally, taking the boy by the shoulders. 'You have to go back to the real world. And don't come back here. Ever. I'll come and see you again, and this time I'll save –'
Ken's scream interrupted him. A long, drawn out scream that sounded just like the one Ken had let loose in the desert, when Milleniummon's final blow had struck him as he shoved away Ryo. And he jerked, that same way, even as Ryo spun around and tried to support him.
They sunk to the ground together, Ken's eyes screwed tightly shut and his body trying to curl into a soft ball. Ryo looked around frantically – but that was pointless, he knew. The right digi-egg wasn't going to just pop out of the ground now, when it hadn't before.
Where the hell is that egg?!
'Ken…' The whisper was weak, hesitant. 'Come on, Ken.'
Ken held his breath for a moment, then let it out, muscles relaxing. 'My head hurt suddenly,' he said, voice tired and scared and shaking. 'And it got dark suddenly.'
'Don't worry about it.' Ryo sat back on his heels. It was a small relief, but he knew it would only get worse without that egg. Was Cyberdramon making it worse as well? He didn't know.
Ken opened his eyes slowly, as though being roused from a nightmare. The sound of Cyberdramon's snarls filled the silence. 'I always thought…' His brow furrowed. '…your partner would be kind. Like you, Ryo-san.'
But I'm not kind, Ken. Ryo thought. I'm willing to sacrifice this world for you.
He didn't say that out loud though. 'Cyberdramon is…hard to control sometimes,' was all he said. 'He destroys everything he sees. That's why you have to leave. You're only in danger if you stay.'
Ken sat up, shaking his head lightly. 'I can't leave,' he said. 'I came here with Wormmon, looking for Ryo-san…'
The way it was phrased implied he hadn't found him, though Ryo wondered if Ken was aware of that fact. If Ken stood, Ryo was sure he'd need some support to stay standing. If he tried walking, he'd need help, or he'd fall after a few steps. But Ken didn't seem to notice those limitations. He just tried to pull himself up, reaching out and placing a hand on the nearest rock for support.
Not that it helped. The rock was suddenly gone, slashed away by Cyberdramon, and Ryo was shouting something and aiming his digivice, a new digital rope shooting out to wrap around the other. And Cyberdramon roared, a roar that made Ryo wince and Ken, back as a heap on the ground, to cover his ears. He roared in frustration and hunger and maybe even pain, thrashing against the binds. But he'd tired himself a little. Ryo was stronger now. He could restrain him.
'Stop!' Ken screamed, and Ryo's grip on the rope slackened a little. Not enough to let Cyberdramon loose though. Not enough to quieten that roar. Ken's voice fell a little after that, but his eyes were wide open now. Confused and afraid: just as Ryo knew Ken would be, if they ever found themselves in this situation. And there was pain and shadows as well, but Ken was oblivious to those. Ken was always oblivious to those, otherwise he wouldn't have even come. 'If he's your partner, then why..?'
Ryo turned away from Ken, from that face that made him want to toss the digivice down and sweep Ken up and go somewhere where nothing would touch the two of them – if he could. But that was impossible. That had always been impossible. He couldn't leave Cyberdramon anyway. Just like Ken wasn't leaving Wormmon.
'Ken… Wormmon's gone.'
It might be a bit of a white lie. It might not be. It wasn't impossible for a swipe from Cyberdramon to kill a Child stage digimon. It was the only way Ken would…might…leave.
Or Ken might become filled with vengeance and change. But that would save him too. Either way… Though leaving wouldn't save him. Leaving would just give time. Time Ryo could use to find that egg without the digital world accelerating the growth of that thing buried inside Ken's body…
But before that would come the tears. And he heard rather than saw the first one fall: a soft splash between Cyberdramon's roars and struggles. Ryo closed his eyes – then opened them again as Cyberdramon fell quiet and a bright light suddenly appeared.
Can it be..?
Ryo opened his eyes hesitantly. It was there. A glowing digiegg rising out of the rubble of rock Cyberdramon had just destroyed. Like a flower, with the symbol of kindness carved upon its face. 'The digimental…' he breathed, and nothing else moved. Not Cyberdarmon, caught in the spell same as he. Not Ken, yet to pull himself off the ground again.
Ryo grabbed it, gritting his teeth as he felt its scorching heat through his gloves. It didn't like him. That much was obvious…but it had the symbol of kindness on it, and he was anything but kind. He knew that. And it didn't have to like him. It just had to accept Ken.
'Ken.' His voice shook as he knelt down beside the other: the boy who was like a little brother to him, the little brother he'd never had by blood. 'Here; take this. It'll make you better, I promise. It'll make everything better.'
Ken stared blankly at him. 'Wormmon?' he asked.
He wasn't fully aware. He didn't sound fully aware, and his eyes were slightly glazed, now that the adrenaline had seeped away and everything had caught up. He was caught in another bout of sickness, but this one faster, more brutal – and the digital world would only continue to make it worse.
But now the digimental he'd been looking for was in his hands. He just had to get Ken to take it. But he needed both hands. It was heavier than it looked, and burning so he had to juggle it a little: more on one hand, then more on the other. Otherwise he'd drop it and it'd shatter and so would the only hope he had.
'Wormmon will be fine with this too,' he said. Another white lie, possibly. Or maybe Wormmon would be fine with that. Or without that. Lies taking the place of doubt. That's what he was doing. All to convince Ken to take the digimental that would save his life.
Ken looked at the digimental a moment, then lifted a shaky hand up. Ryo thrust the digimental under the fingers, and the tips curled around it. Ryo let go, and there Ken was, holding the thing that would set everything right again.
