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The Four Seasons: Chapter 24
Third Arc: 02
Armor Up: Part 4
Caramon tore at the webbing with his fangs, but his attempts proved futile, and the only result that he got were strands of the sticky threads stuck between his teeth. Spitting, the little lizard looked up at Chris with an apologetic look.
"Sorry," he said. "This stuff's pretty tough."
"Don't worry about it," said Chris. "Even though we're being taken to Ken's base, we might be able to work something out with him. In fact, if he can just cooperate, or at least listen to us, we might be able to use this to our advantage."
"That's if he listens to us, Chris. Or rather you," Caramon looked down sadly. "Chances are he'll just slap on another Dark Ring on me. Why don't you try digivolving me again?"
"I wish it were that simple bud," said Chris. "But you've already used up a lot of energy today, and after tangling with a Dark Ring and three digimon at once, I don't think that you're up to it."
"We could at least try…"
Chris nodded slowly as he brought out his digivice. We might as well. After all, Ken will probably just enslave Caramon again. Besides, it's not like we have anything to lose… "AAAAH!"
Chris suddenly screamed in pain and surprise as Dokugumon accidentally bashed his web net against a rock as he climbed upwards, causing Chris to lose his grip on his digivice. Shock filled his system as it tumbled out of the netting and landed on the ground. He grabbed for it futilely, only to have his hand get scraped on a jagged piece of stone that protruded from out of the ground. Chris pulled his hand back with a hiss.
Crap, he thought as he bit down on his tongue.
"Chris? You all right?"
Chris looked over at Caramon, and then at his hand. There was some blood, as well as the faint beginnings of a bruise swelling up, but other than that…
"I'm fine," he said finally. "But I lost my digivice. Looks like we've got no other option but to wait until we're at the Emperor's home base and hope that he'll listen to reason. Either that or we could keep trying to escape from the webs…"
Caramon nodded and went back to chewing and clawing at Dokugumon's webs, knowing that odds were he was just wasting his time. Chris soon joined him, for lack of anything better to do.
On the bright side, at least the Digimon Emperor won't be able to use my digivice against the others.
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Harinmon struggled up the mountainside, guided by Kaio's directions as she followed the signal of Chris's digivice, the only slim hope that they had of finding her two friends right now, though she was worried. Worried because for some reason, Chris's signal had stopped moving. Of course, that didn't necessarily mean anything bad had happened to them; after all, Chris could have digivolved Caramon and let Dokugumon have it, and now they were just hanging off a cliff or a boulder or something.
Yeah, that's it. No big deal.
Right?
So why couldn't she shake the feeling that there was something wrong here?
Shaking her head, Kaio looked back towards the signal. They were getting closer now. Within a few minutes they would be practically on top of them. Heck, they should be able to see them by now…
Kaio looked up and frowned. She saw… nothing.
Where are they? Where's that signal coming from?
Kaio got no answers as Harinmon continued to climb up the mountainside a few minutes longer until Kaio finally told her to halt as her D-Arc read that they were now right where the signal was being emitted. Kaio looked around with a frown, not knowing why the signal had led her here if there was nothing to see.
Maybe there's something like a digital barrier here, like what Piximon used during the first season… hold on. What's that?
Catching the glint of sunlight off of something reflective, Kaio urged her partner to towards it so she could get a closer look. As Harinmon moved in, Kaio drew in a breath. What she saw, caught on a chunk of granite, was Chris's digivice.
Kaio let out a scream of frustration and anger that reverberated across the land for miles around.
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Ken smiled evilly as the Dokugumon arrived at his headquarters with its prize intact. There was still the matter of the other children to deal with though, but he had the perfect solution for that. Somewhat standard and predictable, but they certainly didn't appear to be a threat right now. Especially when the only two digimon with any real power and digivolving capability were no longer near them.
Hmmm… Who'll destroy you? Eenie, meanie, miney… Mon!
Ken pressed a button on his control panel, releasing a beast from one of his many prisons and sending it out into the wild to do his bidding.
"Attack… Devidramon!"
With one mighty leap, the dark, demonic digimon took to the air, heading in the direction of the Digidestined.
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"Kaio," said Harinmon. "Are you all right?"
Kaio shook her head angrily. "No. The Digimon Emperor's got Chris, and with the knowledge that he has about the TV show Ken might be able to find a way to prevent his defeats by the Digidestined… he might even get the Dark Spirals out there sooner than he normally would."
"Doesn't he normally get them by episode nine?"
"Normally being the key word in that sentence," said Kaio as she reached down and picked up Chris's digivice and pocketed it. "Things are different now. Like I said earlier, we can't depend on the original script taking place anymore…"
"Uh… Kaio?"
"Yes?"
"Is it just me, or do I see a Devidramon heading towards where Taichi and the others are?"
"WHAT?!"
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Chris and Caramon landed on the ground hard as Dokugumon tore open his web net and dumped them on the ground. With a groan, Chris got up on his hands and knees and looked up, only to find that the Digimon Emperor was standing right before him with a cruel smile on his face. Wormmon stood behind him, a worried look on his face.
Oh, that's cliché, he thought. Sure. Dump me on the ground so that it'll look like I'm in a submissive or weak position. Man, did Ken have ego trips or what when he was a bad guy?
Chris and Caramon started to get up on their feet when a strong pair of hands gripped them and forced them back down. Chris wasn't at all surprised that they belonged to Bakemon.
"Well, well, well," began the Digimon Emperor. "Look who's trespassed in my garden. I should have you destroyed for that, but lucky for you, I find you interesting enough to allow to you to live. However, I'm afraid that I can't have you roaming around either, and I'm sure that you have lots of tales to tell me…"
Chris rolled his eyes. "Oh yeah. Lots of tales; stories that will leave you amazed and wordless…
"BE SILENT!" Ken shouted as he brought out his whip. "YOU WILL SPEAK WHEN SPOKEN TO!"
"That's funny," Caramon said. "I thought that you were speaking to him. Does that mean that you were talking to me?"
Ken growled like a vicious animal as he uncoiled the whipcord and let fly.
CRACK!
"NO!" Shouted Chris as he struggled to get to his feet. It was no good. The Bakemon's grip was just too strong for him. Next to him, Caramon groaned as he slumped to the ground.
"Just for that," said the Digimon Emperor. "You will get the honor of becoming one of my slaves." Snapping his fingers a dark ring appeared from out of the shadows and began to float towards the little lizard. Caramon felt tears brimming in his eyes.
Not again…
"NO! DON'T DO IT, KEN!"
What?
Ken, the Digimon Emperor turned towards the blonde haired boy, a thoughtful expression on his face, though it belied the surprise that he felt.
"How do you know my name, boy?" He asked as his curiosity was now finally peaked. With a motion of his hand Ken made the Dark Ring pause in its journey, a silent term in negotiation. Talk, or Caramon becomes a slave.
Chris now looked uncertain. He wasn't sure what he should say, or how much he should tell. It was obvious that he couldn't very well say that he and Caramon were from the future, like they had told Taichi, as Ken either wouldn't believe them or would find a way to use this to his advantage to rule the digital world. On the other hand, Chris felt fairly certain that if he told Ken the truth, or even the lie, Ken would just enslave Caramon anyway. Looking over at his partner, he saw Caramon shaking his head.
No.
But… if I don't tell him something… wait. That's it. I've got an idea.
Trying to hold back a grin, Chris looked up at Ken Ichijouji, his face full of confidence as he prepared to give one of his best act of his character career.
"You're a fool Ken," Chris said, and the Digimon Emperor's face went white with surprise. "You're playing with forces that you can't even begin to imagine or even understand. You think that you're using them, but it's really the other way around. Those forces that are only using you to achieve their own ends. The Dark Rings, the Control Spires… you may think of them as the products of your own brilliant mind Ichijouji, but let's hear the truth shall we? Where did they really come from? I happen to know that those Control Spires aren't what you think they are. They're not some symbol of your authority, and they sure aren't just a power source for your Dark Rings either. They're really meant to shift the borders of the Digital World and you don't even realize it. Tell me, boy genius, why is that? Why do you know so little about your own creati…?"
"ENOUGH!"
Chris shut up, but a rebellious grin graced his features. Ken Ichijouji looked angry now, and that might keep him from thinking clearly about his next move. If so, more power to him.
My creator so owes me a raise for this, Chris thought.
Ken eyed Chris carefully as he felt his rage starting to simmer down. What this boy had just said was… interesting. Ken wasn't one to be introspective, but for some reason what this child had just said about his Control Spires had caught his attention. Though why he felt that this was important was beyond him at the moment. Smiling now Ken had the Bakemon frisk him for his digivice, only to come up empty.
"No digivice, huh?" He said aloud. "I'm surprised that you were able to get your runt of a partner to digivolve at all. Not that it matters now. Pretty soon he'll be digivolving again… for me!"
Snapping his fingers once again, the ring flew towards Caramon and snapped around his neck once more. Chris winced and closed his eyes, not wanting to see what happened to his friend.
In all honesty, I am not surprised…
"You will tell me all you know," said Ken quietly. "Or else. Bakemon, take him down to the dungeons and lock him up! Wormmon, escort our new guest to his new home. I have a few tests that I'd like to run on him."
As the Bakemon dragged Chris away, the blond haired OC found the strength of will to struggle against them and shout out a warning to the Digimon Emperor.
"KEN! DON'T DO THIS! IF YOU KEEP GOING DOWN THIS PATH YOU'LL BE PLAYING INTO THE HANDS OF YOUR REAL ENEMIES! BEWARE THE DARK POOL KEN! BEWARE THE DARK POOL!"
But Ken either didn't hear, or didn't care, and soon he disappeared into the shadows of his base as Chris continued to futilely struggle against the grip of his captors.
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The next couple of days passed by slowly. The Digimon Emperor interrogated his prisoner during that time, trying to get answers from him while at the same time sicking his partner on defenseless towns in the digital world. He had yet figured out a way to control his Ultimate form, but he was closing in on one, he was sure of it. He had recently redesigned a new appearance for the Dark Ring that would increase its power ten fold. Dark Ring? More like… a Dark Spiral. All he needed to do now was test it, but that could wait. Ken grimaced as he thought of the Digidestined that had escaped his clutches during that time, and especially of that girl who was the first to Armor Digivolve. She seemed to have taken a special dislike towards him, constantly harassing his troops and demanding to know where her friend, Chris was.
Not that the Digimon Emperor paid attention to her demands of course.
Today, whatever it takes… I will get answers out of you!
As the Digimon Emperor rounded the corner and approached the cellblock that had now become familiar to him his mouth gaped in shock!
In the prison where he had kept his first human prisoner… was no one!
"But… but how?!"
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Chris looked down and smiled at Wormmon as they made their way through the tunnels, heading towards a secret exit. He knew that the insect digimon would come through for him sooner or later. He wasn't able to do anything for Dracaramon since he was currently out in the field, raising another village in the Emperor's name, but that was a bridge that he'd cross once he got there. No need to count his chickens before they hatched, or something to that extent. I'd go on, but the clichés only distract from the storyline.
As they neared the exit, Chris stopped.
"Thanks for your help Wormmon. I owe ya one."
"Just do what you can to restore my master to his true self," said Wormmon. "If you really know how to reach him than promise me that you'll do that. That's all I ask."
"No problem, Wormmon. I'll see what I can do for him."
"He wasn't always like this you know," said Wormmon. "He used to be a kind, gentle boy…"
"I know," said Chris nodding. "That's why it's important that I try to hook up with the others. And by the way, if you hear anything about a Kimera project, do what you can to stop that, okay? Trust me, if that falls through he'll be making a huge mistake."
Of course, that mistake was what reformed him in the first place, but seeing as how Ken has accelerated his Dark Spiral agenda, I can only imagine what might happen with Kimeramon. At this stage of the show, I doubt that the others are going to be ready to tangle with him.
"I will," said Wormmon, though he knew that it was already a little late for that. Oh well. He'd make do with what little time he had left.
"Thanks, Wormmo… AAAGH!" Suddenly, without warning, Chris's body broke into static, and with another scream he vanished into the ether.
Wormmon looked at this sudden occurrence with shock and uncertainty.
This didn't look good, he thought miserably.
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Kaio and Harinmon ran through the plains of the digital world, looking for any sign of the Digimon Emperors base. The others weren't too happy with her going off alone as she now almost always did during the last couple of missions that they've had since Davis got his Digi-Egg, but Kaio didn't care. She had already seen this episode before, and had even pointed them in the direction of the temple where Takeru and Hikari could find their own Digi-Eggs. After that, she had left them to it, and proceeded on her own mission. She was more than grateful for the distraction, as it served as a way to get her away from the others. They were a little bit different from what she remembered, and it was more than a little disconcerting. Takeru seemed a little bit bitter (in addition, it turned out that he was dating Yolie, who was also sort-of flirting with Cody for some reason, despite the obvious age difference), and Hikari and Davis were so lovey-dovey that it made her want to tear her eyes out. Heck, they were practically kissing every five seconds. It was almost like watching a bad soap opera.
Why couldn't it have been a good Daikari writer who kidnapped them? At least then I'd be able to tolerate the overabundance of emotional soppiness that they have going on. Ugh… I still can't believe that he or she had Takeru paired up with Yolie. And what's with the combining of subbed and dubbed character names? Well, I don't know why I even ask… Most of the subs didn't come along when the vacation trip was called for… Rrrrgh… This is so frustrati… AARRRRGH!
Without warning Kaio began screaming in pain. Harinmon was about to ask her what was up when she felt agony tear through her body. Crashing into the ground, their forms phased into TV static before disappearing altogether, the last of their screams echoed upon the wind.
After a moment the air was once again still with silence.
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