Darkness.
Darkness was all he could see, all he could feel around him as the sound of battle echoed all around him. As far as he could remember, darkness had always been a source of comfort, of welcoming peace as his tight relationship with his older brother slowly crumbled in front of his eyes.
Osamu was under an enormous amount of pressure from both the public and their parents. Being a gifted child, a boy prodigy, a celebrity was slowly sucking the life out of him. Ken hadn't seen his brother smile in a very long time, nor had they had quality time together. Osamu never had time to play with him anymore, nor to simply put down his pencil and textbook just to talk about his day.
Ken barely recognized his brother nowadays. It was like he was living with a complete stranger.
Osamu… He had almost given up on his brother. He had almost allowed this unfamiliar, frightening darkness to shatter what little hope he still desperately clung to.
Ryo placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it gently. His Digivice glowed brightly, seemingly chasing away some of the darkness that surrounded this barren wasteland. Millenniummon's laugh echoed around them as he attacked, calculatingly at their partners. Stingmon and XV-mon dodged the vicious strike.
He was so scary. Could they really win against him?
"We got this." Ryo breathed to him, trying his best to chase the fears that were starting to weigh heavily on Ken's mind. "He won't win this fight. We will stop him."
If there was one thing he learned from his friends, it was that love and friendship would always overcome the forces of evil. He must never lose hope, never lose sight of what's truly important. He must not abandon his brother when it was obvious all he wanted was some light, some kindness, in his suffocating darkness.
Ken smiled, his hand clenching his own glowing Digivice as he looked on ahead. For Ryo, for V-mon, for Wormmon, for the Digimon, for his brother, he would hold his head high and fight head-on. He would not allow this darkness, this fear, to stop him anymore.
"X-Laser!"
"Moon Moon Shooter!"
"Let's finish this, Ryo." If Osamu were here, he wondered if the other would be angry at him for taking this long to grow up? Or would he be angry at the elder Chosen for allowing his little brother to be dragged into this mess, assuming that he actually took the time to notice he was gone?
Before another thought could arise, light exploded from their Digivices, engulfing their partners in a blinding light.
"What's happening, Ryo?" Fear momentarily gripped his heart as their partners' bodies dissolved into what looked like yellow and pink particle-like data.
Ryo looked on in bafflement. He had no idea what was going on. "I'm… not sure." That was not very comforting. "It looks like they are evolving."
"Evolving?"
"XV-mon!"
"Stingmon!"
"Jogress Evolution!"
Ken shielded his eyes as their partners merged together, creating a new Digimon. "Paildramon!"
The resulting Digimon looked like quite the fighter, appearance wise. Ken wondered if the new Digimon would be able to weaken Millenniummon enough. The younger Ichijouji had to believe they would win. As Paildramon went in for the attack on their enemy, Ken's grip on his Digivice tightened a little. We have to win! He thought.
As Paildramon fought against Millenniummon, it seemed like the Jogress Digimon was gaining the upperhand, striking critical hits. But then, the evil Digimon laughed in their faces and swiped once.
Paildramon leapt back, narrowly avoiding the swipe from Millenniummon's claws as he heard the other's laughter. He glanced back at Ryo and Ken, worried for them, before he focused on his foe again.
The laughter continued, before Millenniummon called them out by their title. "Chosen Children, your time is limited."
The recoil from the attack pushed Millenniummon back a tiny bit, but he mostly stayed in place. His eyes shone wildly as he watched with triumph, his technique looming towards the Chosen and their partners. They won't be able to recover from this. No chance at all. The Digimon thought.
Ryo and Ken's eyes widened in horror and Ken took a step back, dreading what would happen. Paildramon was in front of the two boys in an instant, taking the brunt of the strike. The Jogress Digimon devolved and split back into Wormmon and V-mon. A few Child levels approached.
Wormmon had passed out, but V-mon was hanging onto consciousness by a little bit. Feeling like he was being torn apart, the little blue dragon struck out at a random Wormmon's DigiCore, shattering it. The Virus attribute barely had time to scream before its body disintegrated and was absorbed into V-mon's. At the same time, one of the other Chosen's Ultimate's made the final blow on Millenniummon.
Before he burst into data, Millenniummon fired a Dark Seed at V-mon while he was stabilizing himself. Ryo got Wormmon out of harm's way, unaware that Ken had fallen and hit his head.
No. Nononono. This can't be right. This can't be happen! Evil was not supposed win. That monster shouldn't be able to defeat their light that easily.
So, how? Why would they suddenly separate like that when it was clear they had the upper hand?
Ryo frowned as he held the small Digimon tightly against his chest, trying to protect him from the strange black orbs that surround them. The little bug meant so much to the younger Ichijouji. He would be damned if he allowed his dear friend to be driven mad with grief. He had lost so many due to that strong emotional pain; he would not lose another, especially someone so young and so full of life and hope.
Something's not right here. Their partners were not pushovers. They were holding themselves fine against Millenniumon. Paildramon should not have separated like that so soon. Besides, they had dodged Millenniumon's attack with no problem, hadn't they? They hadn't even been close to him… Could something else be at play here?