A/N: Second update in a week! I'm on a roll here.

Anyway, I know I took such a long time to update my last chapter that many of my old readers have probably left or whatever. But still, 3 reviews was enough to keep me going fast. Hopefully, I will give you guys chapter 15 soon.

Chapter 14

The door to the Kaiser's control room slid open, and in he shuffled, aching all over his body. As soon as he sat down in his chair, Ken felt the strength surge back into his arms. He had regained control of his body. Unfortunately, that meant the pain had tripled in intensity. He touched his shoulder gingerly and winced. That one was going to last a few days.

Ken then remembered why he was so angry. Slamming his fist on the metal arm rest, he shouted. "Come out, Nauticus. I know you are there."

The dark figure materialised to his right. His arms were folded and his back was hunched. He appeared to be thinking hard. He ignored the tirade Ichijouji was throwing at him and continued to ponder whatever it was.

"What were you thinking?! I said I wanted a plan to give Davis a power boost, not tear down his confidence completely! Look what you have done. I lost a Deltamon, plus Davis now thinks I am evil!"

Nauticus shushed him. 'Yeah, yeah. You lost a Deltamon, big deal. There are more urgent concerns, like did you feel that power surge? That kid holds the Darkness in him." He paced the room.

"How could I not have sensed it in the first place?" Nauticus muttered. "I should have felt it the moment I awakened but no, this is fascinating. But the Darkness shouldn't be dominant in that universe, nor in this. What the eff—"

"Hello, are you listening to me?"

"Fladramon's strength levels shot through the roof. An Armour Digimon trashing, no, killing an Adult level Digimon… Not just that, but-

"Nauticus! What is going on?!"

"Zip it, Ichijouji," the masked man snapped. "This is something new and I'm processing it. I can't do it without you yammering on about little insignificant details."

Ken was persistent. "Can you do that after you tell me why you went and drove Davis over the deep end?"

Nauticus made an annoyed tsk before starting, "The plan was simple. Hold the Chosen Children hostage, and test Kamiya's choice. I half expected him to offer himself instead, or use his emotions to give Fladramon a speed boost. Or muscles. Or an extra tail. Just something. It worked, technically, but the massive power up and rage was a bit unexpected."

Ken sighed exasperatedly. "You don't know Davis too well, do you? He has always been… sensitive. That dark fury though, it's the first time I've seen him break down like that."

"I don't blame him. The same technique has caused others to go insane too. That one time with that guy from a desert, he went so mad he started going on about newspapers from god. Man, the explosions were magnificent."

That only infuriated Ken even further. "You knew something and still went through with it? How could you!"

Nauticus shrugged. "Hey, you wanted a plan. I gave you one that worked. Quit complaining."

"You gave me a plan? You took over my body! I could see and hear everything but not move. It was like watching a movie about what you are about to do, but not being able to stop yourself."

"I know right! Fun, isn't it?"

Something in Ken snapped. "That's it, you—"

He threw a punch at Nauticus, but it went right through. Ken stumbled forward and regained his balance. The man rolled his dichromatic eyes.

"Did you forget that I am not actually here? I am inside your head, dummy. I am a consciousness."

Ken imagined killing Nauticus in as many violent ways as possible. The latter rolled his eyes again.

"Not going to work on me. Nice try though. A+ for effort."

"How do you plan to fix this? Your mess is going to ruin all my plans," Ken demanded.

"Nothing at all. I did you a favour. Davis' outburst is a good thing, actually."

The boy looked at his supposedly imaginary companion incredulously. "A good thing?"

Nauticus nodded. "Yes, because Fladramon was only Armor level. Imagine what damage he could have done with a Perfect level, or worse Ultimate level Digimon. The amount of devastation…" He trailed off, but the implication lay hanging in the air.

Ken swallowed. "Good point. Still, how am I going to fix this? Should I talk to Davis, tell him the truth?"

"Well, if you think he would believe someone that only you can communicate with took over your body and gave him living hell, by all means go ahead."

The Kaiser frowned. That would make a pretty pathetic excuse, he agreed.

"What am I going to do, then? Carry on with the image of the Kaiser that you created?" He moaned.

Nauticus waved dismissively. "The Kaiser's image has already been establish. You're the bad guy who wants to take over the Digital World. You enslave Digimon and try to keep the Chosen Children from foiling your plans. You're evil," he drawled, making a spooky hand motion.

"But… I am not! I am only pretending to evil so that they can grow stronger," Ken protested.

"All the better if you make it convincing, right? I am pretty sure the Chosen Children hate you more than they're supposed to at this point in time."

"Huh?"

"Nothing, forget I said anything," Nauticus said hurriedly. "My point is, you have a job. Be good at it."

Ken said nothing. The words made sense, yet he felt deeply insulted. He didn't have time to dwell on his hurt feelings, for Nauticus interrupted his thoughts with another ominous statement.

"Oh, and one more thing's for sure: I'm not sure if bringing Davis to this world was a good idea."

That startled Ken. He was not expected such a statement. His invisible companion had said it so calmly and it troubled him. He asked cautiously, "What do you mean?"

"The original Davis, Daisuke I mean, from this world was a substitute for Davis in your home world," Nauticus explained, "The reason was because Davis was destined to destroy it, so what if Davis' destiny changes and he becomes the bane of this world instead?

"This is fascinating as hell." He grinned madly behind his mask. Ken trembled, then screamed bloody murder at thin air. Nauticus was grating on his nerves a lot.

Outside, two Bakemon guards backtracked before they passed by the door. They knew better than to go near the Kaiser when he was in a bad mood, whatever the reason may be. Perhaps patrolling the other side of the base again was a good idea.

The chosen children returned to the computer room. The evening sun shone through the windows, turning the floor and walls a dark shade of orange.

"See you guys tomorrow," Davis muttered and he grabbed his belongings, careful not to wake Chibomon. He didn't turn to look anyone in the eye. Head hung low, he trudged out of the room silently. The others watched him go.

"Daisuke-kun…" Hikari reached out, wanting to follow her friend. Takeru stopped her, shaking his head.

"Daisuke-kun needs some time. It's better to ask Taichi-san for advice. Talk to your brother later."

Hikari nodded unhappily and bit her lip.

Iori and Miyako looked at each other worriedly, shocked by the events that had transpired earlier during the day. "Is Daisuke going to be okay?" The girl asked.

Takeru answered. "I am not sure, but I hope he will be. Let's go home and get some rest first. We'll talk about this tomorrow."

"Hey Poromon, what happens when Digimon die?"

The pink ball of feathers looked up from his pillow. His partner lay on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. "Why ask this suddenly?"

"Well… Fladramon almost killed Deltamon when he went crazy. I wondered what would have happened if he had actually succeeded."

"I'm not too sure," he said hesitantly. "No one really knows, but it is said we get reborn as an egg somewhere in the Digital World. Patamon and Tailmon mentioned that the eggs appear in the Village of Beginnings, wherever that is."

"So you're saying that Digimon can't die?"

"We can, I think. I am not sure about it. Maybe we can ask Takeru and Hikari."

Miyako hummed thoughtfully. "If Fladramon killed Deltamon, could she come back?"

"Maybe, or she could come back as a different Digimon. It's not really clear how the Digital World works." Poromon joined his partner in her quiet study of the room ceiling. Outside the door, they could hear muffled voices talking. There was an occasional spurt of laughter, and then cheering. The Inoue siblings must have been watching the baseball game. Both of them felt the lull of sleep as the comfort of the pillow and mattress slowly crept up to them. There was a long silence before Miyako broke it.

"Daisuke-kun must feel really bad, because he doesn't know this… I wonder what happened to him, making Fladramon go berserk like that."

"I don't know either, but I hope it doesn't happen again."

Iori drew breath as he sat in his cross-legged position. His Grandfather had taught him meditation, though he never really could get hang of it.

"Pay no attention to your surroundings. Don't try to control your breathing. Just let it flow and focus on how it flows through your body," Grandfather had said. "Feel how your body moves when you breathe in and out."

His mind constantly wandered. The sounds of Upamon bouncing on his bed. The flapping of the curtains as the wind blew against them. The horns from the traffic below. They were all distracting to him, no matter how hard he tried to ignore them.

His thoughts were just as troubled. The events that transpired earlier played over and over in his mind.

Stop thinking about it. Breathe in. Breathe out.

After several minutes that seemed like ages, he gave up. He sighed disappointedly, then picked up a kid-friendly encyclopaedia. He sat down at his desk and opened it. He flipped through the pages, mainly seeing the pictures of marvels and fascinating sights across the world. Upamon came over to join him shortly after.

"Hey, Iori. Are you still thinking about today dagyaa?"

Iori nodded. "I still can't get over Fladramon's actions. It was scary. Daisuke-kun was scary. I am worried, but mostly, I am angry at the Digimon Kaiser."

He clenched his fists. "None of this would have happened if the Kaiser didn't cause so much trouble."

Upamon looked at him sadly. "Don't be so angry gyaa. Takeru said Fladramon went berserk because the Kaiser made him really angry gyaa. You don't want the same thing to happen to me, do you gyaa?"

Iori looked at him. He embraced Upamon warmly. "Never, Upamon. I will never let that happen to you. I will learn to control my emotions well."

"Berserk?!"

Takeru shirked, holding the phone receiver away from this ear. "Yeah, brother. Fladramon went berserk. No need to yell it back into my ear."

"Are you guys okay?" There was concern in Yamato's voice.

"Yeah, thankfully. It was a bit like that time when Taichi made Agumon evolve into Skullgreymon,, except not as terrible."

"You're saying Daisuke made V-Mon evolve into a monster?"

"Not really… more like Fladramon went on a brutal rampage and almost killed one the Digimon Kaiser's captured Deltamon."

"Seriously? What happened?"

Takeru pursed his lips. "I don't know, I was out cold at the moment," he spoke into the mouthpiece. "When I woke up, I saw Fladramon recklessly attacking the Digimon Kaiser's Deltamon. He looked… different."

"Huh? How so?"

Thinking back to earlier that day, he described Fladramon's unusual appearance. "He was blue and purple, and his armour was black. Brother, do you think this is a Dark Evolution?"

"I don't know… It could be. How could this have happened?"

"I'm not sure either, but I think something happened between him and the Digimon Kaiser."

"That bastard… Someone really has to sock him in the face one day, and it had very well be you."

Takeru chuckled, savouring the image of landing a blow on the Kaiser's smug face. His knuckles tingled as he felt he imaginary impact of his knuckles against skin and cheekbone. "Brother, you're sounding a lot like Taichi-san right now."

There was an incredulous noise and Yamato protested. "What? No, I do not!"

"Oh yes, you are. Has Taichi-san's violent tendencies rubbed off you?"

"No they haven't. I don't sound the least bit like idiot Taichi."

Takaishi snorted derisively. "Anyhow, I think we need to talk to Daisuke-kun tomorrow. He needs someone who experienced this before to talk to him. You and Taichi-san could give him a pep talk."

A pause came from the other end. "I see. I believe Hikari would have told him about what happened. I will see you after class tomorrow then. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

The call ended and they hung up. Takeru placed the phone on its base, concerned about his teammate. He strode back to his room and sat on the edge of his bed. Patamon plopped onto his lap.

"What are you thinking about, Takeru?"

"Nothing much," he lied. "Hey Patamon, do you think Daisuke-kun will be alright?"

Patamon studied his partner's face. "If he's anything like you, he definitely will be. You're very strong, Takeru."

Takeru grinned. His partner was the sweetest thing he ever had in the whole world. "Only because I have you. Come here!" He embraced Patamon and they laughed heartily. Outside, Natsuko Takaishi felt the edges of her mouth creep into a warm smile.

Knowing her son was so happy made her feel satisfied inside. She couldn't help but wonder how her other son was doing as well. Hopefully even better.

"Has Hikari told you about it yet?"

Taichi raised an eyebrow as he glanced at his sister. Hikari hugged herself, leaning against the door frame of their shared room. "Not yet." She mouthed, "I was going to do so in a while."

"Nope, I haven't heard anything," he replied.

"Hmm, get her to tell you the details. Anyway, you and I are going to find Daisuke tomorrow after school."

"Um, okay. I think he has soccer practise though."

"Perfect. Goodnight." The line went dead, leaving Taichi to scowl at his telephone receiver.

"That guy… What was all that about?" he grumbled.

"Was that Yamato-kun?" Hikari asked.

"Yeah, he said we should go talk to Daisuke after school. Something happened to him. Is there anything you wanted to tell me?"

Hikari hung her head. Taichi placed a hand on her shoulder and led her into the room. He beckoned for her to sit down on his lower bunk. Tailmon scampered into the room and leapt onto her laps, where she purred contentedly. Taichi himself took a seat next to his sister as she scratched the back of Tailmon's ears.

"Okay, start from the beginning."

Hikari recounted the tale of how a normal day of checking out the Digital World turned into a hostage situation and Fladramon's rampage. Taichi listened attentively, showing signs of understanding by the slight nods and changes in facial expressions. When she finished, Taichi rubbed his chin.

"Sounds like Daisuke messed up big time. I know how that feels."

"It wasn't really Daisuke-kun's fault. The Digimon Kaiser made him very angry and it triggered something in him," she defended.

Taichi sighed and tousled his messy mop of hair. The news weighed quite heavily on his shoulders. In his mind's eye, he revisited a particularly unpleasant memory. He frowned, thinking of the turmoil Daisuke must be going through. "Perhaps not, but Daisuke can't allow himself to act so emotionally. If getting him angry can cause such an effect then…"

Tailmon finished for him. "It could be dangerous for everyone around him."

"Are you going to talk to him tomorrow?" Hikari asked.

"Yes, Yamato and I will be dropping by after school tomorrow. How is he holding up?"

His sister frowned. "He just replied my email with a simple 'I will be fine, see you tomorrow'. It doesn't really say much. I am worried about him, brother."

Taichi glanced solemnly out of the window. He pursed his lips for a while before answering. "He will be fine," he assured her. "I'll give him the pep talk tomorrow. He'll be up and running again in no time."

"I am home."

"Welcome back," Mrs. Motomiya replied, not even looking up from her cooking. "Dinner is almost ready, so go take a shower and we can eat when Dad gets home."

Jun Motomiya peeped out from her room. She was just playing around with her new friend Metalkoromon. The mouse-like creature nestled comfortably in her short, spiky hair. It tickled a lot.

"Hey bro," she greeted. Then she noticed Davis' puffy eyes and mild sniffle. Chibimon was nowhere to be seen, though Davis held a blue blob in his arms. She approached her brother.

"What's wrong? What happened?" she asked concernedly.

Davis shook his head, avoiding his sister's eyes. He shuffled past her and went straight to his room, shutting the door quietly as he did so. Jun watched him go, feeling confused and sad.

Inside, he lay Chibomon gently on his pillow, careful not to wake him. He took the small towel that Chibimon used as his blanket and covered him. Chibomon shifted, but did not wake.

Davis put his bag down and changed. He leaned against his door and slowly slid down into a sitting position. He felt terrified just not long ago, but that feeling had been replaced with bitter anger and guilt. Anger at the Digimon Kaiser for his betrayal; guilt for causing his friends such grief, at the expense of his partner's wellbeing too.

He placed his head on his knees, trembling from the cocktail of emotions that were coursing through him. A quiet sequence of taps alerted him, followed by Jun's voice. "Hey, Daisuke. Can I come in?"

Chibomon stirred and Davis rushed to stroke him back to sleep. He then opened his door and glared at his sister. "What do you want?" he asked.

Jun scowled at him. "To talk about you, of course. You need a big sister right now and that's what I am here for." She glanced at Chibomon and raised an eyebrow at Davis pointedly.

Davis held his glare for a few moments more before he reluctantly let her in. The room was dark, lit only by the study lamp on his desk. Jun observed Chibomon's slow breathing in his slumber, curious about the new addition to their household.

"Who's this and what happened to Chibimon?"

Davis closed the door. "That is Chibimon. Lower your voice, or you'll wake him."

"What happened to him, dude? He looks so… squishy."

"I believe that is Chibomon, the Baby form of Chibimon." Metalkoromon's voiced, poking his snout out of Jun's hair to take a closer look.

"I thought Chibimon was the Baby form of V-mon." Davis said.

"That is correct, but there are two levels of Baby Digimon: Baby I and Baby II. Chibomon is the Baby I form of V-mon while Chibimon is Baby II."

Jun beamed at Davis. "Isn't he knowledgeable?" she reached up to stroke Metalkoromon. "He plugged in to the computer and started reading articles too."

"I am pretty fast in gaining information." He sounded pretty pleased as well. The two of them laughed softly.

Davis scowled. "I thought you were here to talk to me, not brag about Metalkoromon."

Jun sobered up a bit. "Well, I am. First, you have to tell me what's happened today."

"Nothing, I just had an argument."

"Don't give me that crap, Daisuke." The boy in question flinched at the sternness. "You don't cry when you get into arguments. You would probably start a fight and get called to the Principal's office but crying? Never."

"You don't know me that well." It wasn't a lie, but it would a long time before Jun would understand what he really meant.

"Are you kidding? I am your sister. I have looked after you for more than a decade, eleven if you count this year. I know you better than you know yourself."

How ironic that this is probably true, Davis thought sarcastically.

"Alright, I got scolded by my teacher for acting up in class today. Happy?"

Jun snorted. "Nice try, but everyone knows you have such a thick skull that no amount of scolding would get to you." She squinted at the boy for a moment and her face lit up.

"Is this about Hikari?"

Davis was taken aback by the guess. It was so random and out of place. Jun couldn't have missed the mark further. If this was an archery match, she would have been disqualified immediately. "Come again?"

Jun took it as a positive sign and pressed on. "Everyone knows that you have a crush on her. I mean, you don't exactly try to not make it obvious. It was always Hikari-chan this, Hikari-chan that until recently. Did she reject you?"

He felt exasperation building up in his chest. His eyes welled up, but not because of sadness. They were tears of laughter. He must have looked like he was about to cry because Jun quickly calmed him down.

"There, there… Don't go bawling your eyes out again. I think Hikari is a nice girl and all but maybe you're just not her type. You're still eleven, Daisuke. There's no rush for you to find a girlfriend yet. Look at me, I am single and happy."

Davis sniffled. "Isn't that because you want to date Yamato-san?"

Jun had hearts in her eyes. "Yeah, because he is so cool. He is the coolest guy I have ever met in my entire life! I really want to go out on a date with him. He is so cool with his guitar and he sings so well… Oh, those blue eyes and blonde hair." She cooed dreamily.

She is going to be so disappointed when she finds out about Yamato-san and Sora-san. "Uhh…"

"Anyway," she snapped out of it and spoke, "don't be so sad. You'll find someone even better one day." With that, she patted Davis on the head and got up.

"I am curious about human mating rituals. I will look up online later."

"Umm, I don't think that is such a good idea, Metalkoromon…"

The faint smell of food wafted into his room as Jun opened and closed the door. Chibomon's nostrils wriggled and he woke.

"Daisuke, is there food?" he asked weakly.

Davis walked over to his partner and scratched his cheek. "Mom made dinner. I'll bring you some food in a while okay? Get some more sleep for now."

"Sure, Daisuke." Chibomon yawned and dozed off almost instantly.

The boy sighed. He felt better now, knowing that his partner would most likely be fine. Some food and a lot of rest would get him back into shape. Soon, he hoped. But it seemed like they wouldn't be going to the Digital World anytime now.

He was then reminded of his injuries when he accidentally poked a bruise on his side. He winced, and dug out some analgesic cream to counter the pain. He would apply it after his bath.

Davis was somewhat grateful that his sister had unintentionally cheered him up. He also felt relieved, having just dodge a bullet there. He couldn't explain what happened earlier that day without giving away his adventures in the Digital World. Thankfully, Jun's triumph assumption had saved him the trouble. Heck, she didn't even ask how Chibimon regressed into Chibomon. He couldn't help but chuckle at Jun's suggestion.

His D-terminal blipped. He checked his inbox, and saw that Hikari had sent him a message.

He read, 'Daisuke-kun, are you okay? Call me if you want to talk.'

Feeling warm inside, he let his mouth morph into a genuine smile. Thinking for a while, he typed out a reply. "Dear Hikari, I will be fine. See you tomorrow." He paused, then added a 'chan' honorific to Hikari's name. He put his D-terminal away and thought.

Hikari and I, a couple? I wonder how that'd work out. I am pretty sure I was discrete about my old crush though.

His memories of Daisuke's life showed him the intense attraction he had towards the girl, but his true memories felt less strong. They were suddenly cut off by a rage directed towards the Digimon Kaiser. He took a sharp breath and vowed.

He would defeat the Kaiser and tear his empire down. Then he would force Ken Ichijouji to tell him everything.

A/N: This chapter was a lot more angst-y when I planned it, and so was the next chapter. Well the next chapter and this was supposed to be combined but inspiration hit and I ended up writing more than I planned. As a result, the second half was pushed back into chapter 15.

I know, this is a lot shorter than the previous, but hey, two updates in a week so that has to count for something. A shorter breather with character moments before I hit the gas pedal again. Please leave a review to tell me what you think!