Ken hadn't been talking much since the group stopped to rest, and Daisuke was worried.
That was the simple way of putting it, at the very least. Daisuke hadn't been able to get rid of the awful feeling that had manifested in his stomach ever since Ken fell completely quiet, and the mere idea of Ken bottling so much inside was starting to make him feel sick. He could tell that Ken wasn't thinking of anything positive based on the stony look that had manifested on his face. Daisuke knew that he had to do something, but he had no idea what he was supposed to say. Then again, when had understanding a situation ever come close to stopping him before? The answer to that question was 'never,' and Daisuke wasn't about to start letting that become an issue.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" Daisuke questioned as he scooted a bit closer to his Jogress partner. He started to pull his knees up to his chest at first, but when a phantom pain spread across his stomach, he stopped in his tracks. Daisuke's injury was healing quite well, but it seemed as if he couldn't escape the lingering traces of the sensation that had been left behind by Daemon's attack. He did his best to not let it show on his face though, knowing that it would only dissuade Ken from opening up.
Ken looked over at him with eyes that were so vulnerable and torn apart that it was terrifying. He stared at Daisuke for a long moment before he shifted his gaze back down to the ground, and from there, he spoke softly and solemnly. "You shouldn't even bother with trying to help me," Ken murmured. "I'm not worth the trouble in the first place."
Daisuke felt as if he had been punched in the stomach when he heard those words. "What are you talking about?" he asked weakly. His mind took him back to the events that had taken place in a sandy reason of the Digital World three years prior. Ken felt as if he was being torn apart when Daisuke begged of him to live and make a difference. It was those very words that had sparked their initial Jogress that formed Paildramon, and Daisuke couldn't help but feel awful at the idea that he might have to repeat something so important to keep Ken from tipping over the edge.
"That isn't true," Taichi suddenly cut in, his voice so full of force that it caught even Daisuke by surprise. The group fell silent immediately, and the rustling of food wrappers seemed to draw to a close as soon as everyone registered just how intense Taichi was on this subject. "What are you talking about?"
"It's my fault that Daisuke got hurt to begin with," Ken whispered, though he seemed to have realized that he had made a mistake by speaking his initial words to begin with. The entire group was staring at him with appalled sympathy, a dose of attention that Ken hardly wished for. Daisuke could see it in his eyes.
"No one person is responsible for what Daemon did," Taichi told him, his eyes narrowing as he stared at Ken. "We all look after one another here. That's part of what it means to be part of this team. You aren't the one who hurt Daisuke. Daemon was the one who caused all of this. It isn't your cross to bear."
"Ken, you don't need to be thinking like that," Daisuke agreed with a nod. He hated hearing Ken blame himself for something of this nature. Daisuke had made the decision to intervene and save Ken of his own free will. He had made that decision to make sure that his team was cared for, and he would have done it again in a heartbeat. He knew that Ken wouldn't be able to take a hit like that again after what had already happened over the course of the fight, and so, he had intervened. Ken had no fault in it at all, though he somehow doubted that Ken was going to be accepting such a fact quite so easily. Ken was clearly struggling through an emotional spiral, and Daisuke didn't think that he alone would be able to fix this. It had taken the combined efforts of every member of his team to pull Ken free of his doubts the last time, and Daisuke suspected that all of that and more would be needed this time around as well.
"We need to talk," came the voice of Miyako all of a sudden. She moved Hawkmon over by a few inches so that she would be able to rise to her feet without disturbing him, and she walked over to Ken with footsteps so firm and determined that it caught Daisuke by surprise. He had seen Miyako in one of her bolder moments in the past, and he didn't think that he had the heart to intervene. Then again, why would he even want to? She knew what she was doing, and he agreed with it completely.
Miyako's fingers closed around Ken's upper arm, and she pulled him along as she started to leave the area behind. The rest of the Chosen Children could do little more than just stare as Miyako and Ken started to move between the trees. Daisuke watched with a small frown, taking note when they stopped just out of earshot of the rest of the group. Daisuke wanted to follow after them, to do what he could, but he trusted that Miyako would be able to handle this. He was the source of Ken's stress at that moment, and as much as he hated to admit it, Daisuke knew that Ken needed somebody else in that moment. He just hoped that Miyako would be able to provide the support that Ken needed. Daisuke had full confidence in her, but even so, he found himself wondering what she was saying.
"I have a feeling that this is about more than just feeling bad over what happened to Daisuke," Miyako began as soon as she had the chance. Ken was left looking at her with wide eyes, knowing that he wouldn't be able to escape her pressing questions no matter how much he yearned to run back to the rest of the team. At least none of them were pushing quite as hard as he knew Miyako had the power to in private quarters.
"Miyako, I-" Ken tried to begin, though he didn't even fully know where he was going to be going on the matter of his own defense. There weren't any words that would easily be able to save him from Miyako's questioning, and he was fully aware of such a truth. She had set her sights on trying to help him, and one way or another, she was going to accomplish it.
"Talk to me. Please," Miyako said next, her voice edging on pleading with him. "You're clearly struggling with something, and I'm tired of just standing here and watching everybody fall apart. Tell somebody what's going on. We can't just understand what's happening inside your head if you don't talk to us. We're all here for you, but you have to let us in so that we can do something to help you fix it."
Ken stared at her for a long moment, trying to process the words in full. He had known all of these words to be truth for quite some time, but hearing them from Miyako in the height of such a tense and emotional moment gave them a new sense of depth. He did his best to internalize them, though he knew that it would be hard for him to do in full. He had to recognize that the rest of the team was there for him, but at the same time, it was so much harder than it had any right to be. Ken didn't want to have to constantly be at war with what he knew and what he was afraid of, but he didn't think that there was an easy way for him to escape the battle that endlessly raged at the back of his mind.
"It's almost that time of year," Ken finally pushed out before he could stop himself. His eyes went wide as soon as he realized that he had spoken in the first place. Miyako's head tilted to one side, and Ken went on with a small sigh, knowing that there was no way for him to stop until he was finished. Miyako, as determined and bold as she was, wouldn't let him slip out of his grasp no matter what he tried. If there was one thing that Ken could vouch for when it came to Miyako, it was her passion. There was a reason that the trait embodied her as a Crest. "It's... It's coming up on the anniversary of my older brother's death."
That was enough to give Miyako pause. She didn't know if there was an easy way to help him resolve something like that. The anniversary of anything bad happening could be awful to deal with, and this was something that Miyako was unable to deny. This situation was undoubtedly only making Ken's issues with grief worse, and for all of her powerful emotions, she didn't know how she was meant to help him through that. In all fairness, Ken couldn't judge her for that; he didn't know how he was supposed to even help himself, and he was the one going through it. He knew that there had to be light at the end of the tunnel, but he didn't know how he was supposed to find it.
"I'm sorry," was all Miyako could bring herself to say. In part, this was because she didn't want to slip up and say the wrong thing when Ken was already struggling so much, and he could see it in her eyes. "Is Daemon making that harder somehow...?" She posed the question carefully, though as soon as she phrased it, she knew that she had made a mistake.
Much to Miyako's surprise though, Ken didn't even seem to mind. "He is," he admitted quietly. "I... I can hear his voice in my dreams about Osamu. I don't know how, but it seems like Daemon has tainted all of my thoughts. It must have something to do with the Dark Seed, but I don't know what to do about it."
Miyako was quiet and contemplative before she smiled gently to him. "Well... The Dark Seed is going to stay dormant unless something happens for you to activate it. That means that if you count on the rest of us, then we're going to be able to do what we can so that something like that doesn't happen," she said.
Deep down, Ken knew that Miyako was right. He had learned that keeping the Dark Seed dormant was not only possible, but easily achievable three years prior, and ever since then, it hadn't caused him any other issues. However, with Daemon finding the power to reach through the awful spore thanks to his time in the Dark Ocean, Ken found himself struggling to stay away from the idea that everything was going to fall apart. It seemed as if the world was going to crumble with him at the center, and he wasn't going to be able to fight against something like that.
"Yeah... You're right," Ken said instead of voicing any of this. He knew that he had to at least try to talk to Miyako, but at the same time, he could barely bring himself to entertain the idea. Miyako was just trying to help him, after all. Everyone in the group was trying to pull him out of this dark spiral that he had slipped into. However, he couldn't help but go back to the thought process that had infiltrated his head as soon as Daisuke first got hurt. All of that had been his fault no matter how much anyone else tried to deny it. Taichi and Daisuke were saying what they found to be truth, but Ken was much more aware of what was honest than either of them could ever understand. That was what he thought, at the very least. All of this was his fault. Once again, he was responsible for others getting hurt and suffering, the very thing that he had vowed never again to do once Wormmon faded to dust in his arms three years prior. He couldn't burden the others by letting them know of the darkness that lived inside of him. That was the unforgivable in his eyes. He had done enough harm, and in order to make up for it, he had to do it on his own without bothering any of the others.
Before Ken could register what was happening, Miyako's arms were around him, and she had pulled him in close against her torso. "We're here for you," she murmured into his shoulder, and Ken heard the words but knew that he was never going to be able to listen to them in full as long as his guilt still existed. He wished that he could believe her, but there was something deep down that was pulling him away from it.
"Thank you," Ken whispered. He wanted so desperately to be able to hear what Miyako was saying and understand that he was deserving of her care. He wanted to comprehend that the rest of the group cared about him too, but at the same time, he knew that all of this was his fault. He had to pay recompense for his sins even if the rest of the group refused to acknowledge that he had to pay back the world for it to begin with.
Miyako pulled back from their hug and braced her palms against his shoulders as she gave him one final glance from head to toe. "Let's go back to the others, okay?" she asked, though Ken could tell that Miyako was able to see right through him. If Ken wasn't going to understand what it was that she was trying to say, then she was going to force him to see that everyone loved him by pressing him to spend time with the rest of the team.
Ken simply nodded along with her question and followed Miyako back in the direction of the rest of the team. Off in the distance, he heard the clap of waves against the shore, and Ken did his best to not show that there were tears starting to well up in his eyes. He didn't want to be in the Dark Ocean. He didn't want to bear the guilt of Daisuke's injury and pain. He didn't want any of this to happen.
But life had other plans, and all Ken could do was try his best to survive whether he deserved to or not.
The silent consensus that was reached after Miyako and Ken returned to the rest of the group left behind the implication that they were going to be staying where they were for a short while longer. Ken was still a bit pale, and the Digimon had to finish off the rest of their food before they would be ready to get up and continue with their journey. Yamato, personally, was fine with that. After all, it gave him the perfect chance to pose a question that had been nagging at the back of his mind for quite a while.
Yamato nudged Sora gently in the side. She had previously been stroking absentmindedly at the top of Piyomon's head, but when she noticed that Yamato was trying to get her attention, she frowned and glanced over in his direction. "Is something wrong?" she asked, her voice in a whisper to ensure that no other member of the group overheard her.
Yamato hesitated, unsure as to how he was meant to respond to that. He had no direct evidence that there was something precisely wrong, but he could feel that something was off even if he had no solid basis. "Do you think that something is... Off about Taichi?" he questioned, choosing directly not to answer her inquiry.
Sora paused and glanced off in the direction of Taichi. After a long moment of simply staring at him, she nodded. "I think so," she admitted softly. "I don't know how to describe it. He just isn't acting like himself."
Yamato nodded. Describing Taichi's odd behavior was difficult for him as well, but he was confident that there was something off. Taichi had been much more aggressive than usual when speaking with Ken before, and his words about the group's members needing to look after each other had been laced with a poison that was obviously intended to cause a self-inflicted injury. Yamato glanced in the direction of Taichi, seeing that the brown-haired boy's gaze was stony as it locked solely on the ground in front of him. Agumon was concentrated on talking away with Palmon, Tentomon, and Gomamon, leaving him too occupied to respond to what was going on in Taichi's head.
"He's still wearing the goggles," Sora said next, choosing each syllable with all the care in the world. Yamato nodded vacantly. Taichi had been wearing the goggles ever since Daisuke got hurt. Apparently, Daisuke had been all too eager to deflect the subject away from himself when Taichi offered to give them back. Yamato hadn't seen it himself, but he knew that it was a sign something was wrong. Taichi giving up the goggles had been a big deal back when it first happened, and it remained a firm issue even all these years later.
"Yeah," Yamato murmured, unsure as to what else he could even say on the matter. He didn't like that Taichi was hiding so much, but he couldn't think of anything that would even come close to fixing the issue. Was there even a way to resolve this? He had no idea.
"I think that there's something on your mind too," Sora told him next, her voice softening ever so slightly while still maintaining its eternal quality of care. "Do you want to talk about it, Yamato?"
If he was being honest, Yamato didn't have an answer to that. How was he supposed to respond in the first place? He had no idea, but he was sure that Sora had at least something of a point. He had always been sensitive when it came to the emotions of others. When he was around people who were struggling, he would internalize it. He had once done his best to repress what was going on inside, but that had ultimately been unsuccessful because of the fact that he was so predominantly ruled by his emotions.
Yamto's gaze found Daisuke, and he swallowed dryly. He would have been lying if he said that Daisuke's injury had nothing to do with it. In fact, he would argue that Daisuke's wound had been the final straw that snapped something deep inside of him. The matter at hand-the invasion of the Dark Ocean-remained the most important fact of all their lives, and he could not ignore that no matter how desperately he wanted to.
The previous attacks on Earth had caused massive damage, and Yamato didn't think that he would be able to take seeing much more sheer destruction. He should have been used to it, but at the same time, the idea of seeing others in pain made him want to be sick to his stomach. Daisuke had been the straw to break the camel's back, but the issue had existed for much longer than Yamato would care to admit. He had been aware of these issues from afar, but having to deal with them intimately without the possibility of escape was what ultimately tipped him over the edge into something twisted.
But he didn't know how to phrase any of this. No, that wasn't true. He did know what he had to say when push came to shove, but he knew that this wasn't the time for him to let his walls fall to the wayside. They were in the Dark Ocean, a place known for feeding off negative emotions. Everyone was struggling, and he had to be there for them. Stopping to discuss such dark subjects would only lead to issues of the Dark Ocean trying to corrupt them. Some might have claimed that Yamato was overreacting, but in his mind, he wasn't reacting enough. Knowing that the Dark Ocean had leaked into the Digital World made him all too aware of what the Dark Ocean was capable of, and he refused to give it any chance to get a hold on him again.
Instead, Yamato simply glanced over at Sora with the same worry in his eyes. "What about you?" he asked. He was fully aware that he was deflecting, but in his eyes, deflection was easier to handle than actually handling the issue in that moment. It wasn't wise, and he was fully aware of such a fact, but it was all that he could think of doing.
Sora hesitated for a long moment, her eyes slipping into something anxious. "I can tell that something's wrong, you know," Yamato continued. He could see that there was something else on Sora's mind that she wasn't openly discussing. He was no better given the awful circumstances, but he wanted to at least do something to help her.
Sora didn't respond for a long time. Yamato could tell that it was because she, much like him, was struggling to figure out a way to say it in the first place. That seemed to have become a problem with all of them lately. The Dark Ocean's return was a signal of the past coming back to haunt them, and it seemed all too close for each of them. Even those that lacked experience with the Dark Ocean had to see their friends struggle because of what was taking place. Everyone was having a rough time for some reason or another, and Sora was hardly the exception to such a rule.
Yamato was careful when he reached his hand out to grasp at her fingers. They were hardly the most affectionate couple in the world, often keeping their relationship quiet due to preferring other subjects at the end of the day. However, Yamato could tell that they both needed this. She squeezed at his hand gently, and he smiled down at the ground.
In the back of his mind, Yamato knew that this would hardly be the last that he heard of this subject. Everyone was going to have to deal with this at one point or another whether he wanted to admit it or not. They were all falling apart for some reason, and if they weren't careful, it was only a matter of time before the past became the future and the Dark Ocean had its way.
Jou was ultimately the one who signaled for the group to keep moving a while later. Everyone agreed with him quietly, and they started to carefully make their way through the trees once again. The forest offered better cover than the cliffside that they had been on previously, and Daisuke was beyond glad for such a fact. Moving meant that they were closer to getting rid of Daemon. Moving meant that they were closer to getting back home.
Daisuke didn't think that he had ever felt quite this way before. In fact, he was confident that this sort of sensation had eluded him in the past. These were tense times, though his past had been much the same way. However, Daisuke was confident that he had never been this scared, plain and simple. The word seemed to define every waking moment for him all of a sudden, like there was constantly a shiver rising in his spine that he couldn't outrun. It was sickening to him, and he knew that this was a paranoia that he never wanted to comprehend again.
The fact of the matter was that he was terrified. His raw determination had pushed him through all of his past ordeals, but this was something different to him. He had known what Daemon was capable of during the attack on Earth three years prior, but that somehow felt like nothing compared to his newfound intimacy with the truth. It was like a parasite, constantly there and waiting for him to slip up so that it could take over.
Daisuke could sense the tension in the air. In the Digital World, everyone would have likely spent a walk through a forested area like this chatting with one another to try and pass the time. There would be a constant buzz of happiness in the air simply because they were there together. In the Dark Ocean, everyone was too paranoid about accidentally setting off a Digimon attack. Well, Daisuke supposed that they weren't Digimon attacks at all, and that was what made the Dark Ocean so dreadful. Their foes were Deep Ones, and while these were new enemies that had not yet been dealt with before, that didn't change the fact that they were dangerous. If the group wasn't careful, they were going to wind up finding themselves at the center of something much greater and darker than they would have been able to control. One could argue that this was already the case.
Daisuke's gaze drifted up to where Taichi was walking at the front of the group. The classic goggles were still pressed atop his forehead, their lenses glinting in the minimal light of the area. Daisuke swallowed dryly at the sight of them. He knew that he was going to have to take the goggles back sooner or later, but he didn't know where he was even going to start in doing such a thing. Daisuke had been the owner of the goggles for a few years, but they didn't feel right to him all of a sudden.
Daisuke knew why this was. His emotions had grown so complex and frustrating ever since he was attacked by Daemon, and the goggles were just an easy target for him to take everything out on. Daisuke knew that he had made the right decision, and if he was given another chance, he would do it again. But at the same time, Daisuke couldn't help but feel as if perhaps it was simply a failure on his part. The group was struggling and falling apart at the seams because he had gotten hurt. He could see it in their eyes no matter how much they tried to hide it.
Daisuke didn't feel like much of a leader, if he was being honest. He had been named the unofficial spearhead of the second team of Chosen Children, but he didn't feel as if the title was at all applicable to him anymore. It didn't fit well, like a glove that was too large in some spots and too small in other places.
Taichi was the one who had taken over leading the Chosen Children as a whole. Daisuke would have deferred leadership to him in the first place when it came to the full group of twelve-or thirteen, he supposed-but this was a perfect excuse for him to pass everything off. He wasn't even the one at the front and center of the situation, but he still felt so suddenly and painfully inadequate that it made him want to scream.
Daisuke knew that it was illogical. He had hardly been one confined by the boundaries of sensibility in the first place, but this seemed like an important note of it for him to keep in mind. He knew that nobody thought any less of him because of his actions, but that did little to convince the overwhelming sensation of something raw and ugly that lived in the back of his mind and thrived off the shadows that looked like claws if he wasn't paying attention. It was ridiculous, but then again, Ken had felt the same way about his own thoughts of inadequacy, hadn't he? Daisuke had only been viewing it from the outside in the past, and he had to say that seeing it from the inside only made the situation even more disgusting to him.
Daisuke stopped suddenly when he heard something rustling overhead. A shudder sprinted up his spine. He knew realistically that there was no way Daemon would put himself at a disadvantage by fighting in a place like this full of trees that could be used as cover, but something in the back of his mind still feared. It was a primal sense of terror that refused to let him go once it had taken hold, something that thrashed and stuck against his wishes.
Daisuke hesitated as he turned his face toward the sky, wishing that he could banish this damn doubt from his mind once and for all. There was a shadow streaking over the nearby trees, something even darker than the gray clouds that blocked out everything resembling sunshine coming from overhead. The shadow seemed too large to be Daemon, and for a brief moment, Daisuke was relieved. After that, he realized that this meant there was something else going on, and he was going to have to be prepared for it.
The other Chosen Children had also recognized that there was something amiss, and all eyes were locked on the nearby sky in an attempt to determine just what was going on. Daisuke saw the streak over the horizon once again, and he immediately found himself reaching for his Digivice. He could start the chain of evolutions to Perfect and Ultimate. Their foes were likely Deep Ones, and even if the creatures had figured out how to use to become stronger, the Chosen Children were going to come out on top one way or another. They just had to.
The Digimon that came into view in the moments that followed sent a shiver sprinting up Daisuke's spine. He felt as if his entire body rejected the very notion of this creature existing in his presence. It was a ridiculous thing for him to imagine, but at the same time, he couldn't help but want to get out of there as soon as possible. The beast was red in color with twin tails that followed behind it as it streaked through the heavens.
"It seems as if we've found ourselves face to face with another set of Deep Ones intent on wreaking havoc," came an upset mutter from Yamato's direction. "I was hoping that we would have a little while longer to rest before we ran into trouble, but I suppose that was a bit too much to ask for."
Yamato's gaze shifted down to Gabumon, a silent prompt for more information on the Digimon at hand. "That would be Leviamon," Gabumon replied, his voice soft. "He's a very powerful beast Digimon, so we're going to have to be careful as we get ready for this battle."
"There's no way that there would be a normal Digimon around here in the Dark Ocean, so it must be the Deep Ones again," Mimi frowned with a shake of her head. She reached for her Digivice, something exhausting manifesting itself in her eyes. Daisuke recognized the sheen of her gaze at least loosely, though he decided to not mention it out of a silent wish to not upset her or any other members of the group.
Instead, he simply reached for his Digivice as well, knowing what was to come. The group had a lot to take care of in the Dark Ocean, and it was clear that Leviamon had already seen them. In other words, it was time for them to defeat this current foe as quickly as possible so that they would be able to press on and rout Daemon sooner rather than later.
The Digimon all hit their highest levels in the moments that followed, and Daisuke watched with a light frown as Paildramon flew off in the direction of the sky. He had an awful feeling about this, though he supposed that there was no other way that he could feel on the matter. This was a dreadful position to be in, not that he expected much of anything. The Dark Ocean itself was an awful place for him to find himself in, especially given that he knew there was more out there that was searching for both him and the rest of the group. He shoved all of that out of his head with a haphazard thought that they were going to be fine even though he knew that there was no way to prove that with certainty. Nothing could be proven in a place that seemed so much like a watery hellhole.
Leviamon swept around for another strike, and when he exhaled a blast of energy, it nearly decimated the entire area. Countless trees were bent at the halfway mark as they were sent splintering to the ground. Daisuke winced at the cracking sound, hating how much the noise reminded him of what he assumed the snapping of bones would sound like. He did his best to focus on the situation at hand, a frown appearing on his face.
The first Digimon to lash out with an attack was Meicrackmon, and she leapt in the direction of the large beast before swinging her trails in his direction. As soon as she hit his body, Leviamon's course began to tremble slightly. Daisuke knew that this was Meicrackmon's attempt at paralysis given that was one of her prominent abilities, but it seemed as if Leviamon was a bit too large to be fully impacted. One of Leviamon's tails came around to slam into Meicrackmon's side, and the cat Digimon was sent spiraling to the ground. She made contact with a few trees on the grass before coming to a sliding stop. Dirt could be found knotted into her orange hair already, and Daisuke cringed at the sight. He was glad that she wouldn't have to deal with that in the long term, because that was one mess that he wouldn't want to wish on anyone.
Paildramon's guns clicked into place before he unleashed a barrage of bullets in Leviamon's direction. Daisuke could tell even before the bullets made contact that they weren't going to be doing much of anything in terms of damage. Leviamon's body was simply too strong to be influenced by something so small. Unlike with Meicrackmon though, Paildramon was lucky enough to not be slapped out of the sky. He dodged by swerving downward when Leviamon attempted to take a swipe at him, and Daisuke sighed with relief inwardly at his partner's swiftness.
WarGreymon took to the stage next, but he only did so after Rosemon threw her whip out in the direction of her foe. Her whip wrapped itself around Leviamon's body, and the large Digimon was left thrashing and struggling in an attempt to escape. However, he was hardly able to do much of anything to get away thanks to Rosemon's sheer strength. She was much more powerful than she looked, and she took advantage of this to keep Leviamon where he was long enough for WarGreymon to throw his hands over his head and throw them downward after a large blast of energy had been created.
The strike slammed into Leviamon's body, and Rosemon's whip retracted back to her hand just as the attack made contact. Leviamon couldn't stay in the air after that despite his sheer mass. WarGreymon's Gaia Force had knocked him off balance to the point where he wasn't able to recover, and as such, Leviamon was sent spiraling down to the ground the same way that Meicrackmon had been just a few short moments prior.
Daisuke only seemed to realize how bad this was after Leviamon's course had shifted to the ground. Before he knew it, he was whistling to get everyone's attention. He had never been particularly strong at whistling, but he knew that it was the best way to get the rest of the group to listen. As soon as their eyes were on him, Daisuke gestured for everyone to move away from the point where Leviamon was going to hit the ground.
Despite his quick thinking, Daisuke was unable to stop the group from being impacted by the shockwave that spread through the ground when Leviamon touched the grass. Daisuke threw out one arm to grab tightly to a nearby tree trunk as his eyes clamped shut when the wind began to whip. It was his last ditch effort at staying on his feet, in other words. He was able to remain upright by a streak of luck, though he knew that the rest of the group would not be quite so fortunate even before he opened his eyes.
When Daisuke did give himself the chance in to take in the world around him once more, the first thing he saw was that nearly everyone had fallen to the ground because of the earthquake that Leviamon's impact with the ground had caused. Taichi and Sora were the only ones fortunate enough to not wind up a pile of limbs on the ground. In some cases, the Chosen Children wound up intertwined with one another thanks to the fall, though separating themselves was hardly a priority as they turned their eyes in the direction of where Leviamon had fallen.
Even though Leviamon was somewhat far away, it was still easy to see his large figure between the trees. In fact, it would have been almost impossible to not notice him as far as Daisuke was concerned. MetalGarurumon had landed nearby and was releasing numerous smaller bullets from his body in the direction of Leviamon. Thanks to his boost of strength in comparison to Paildramon, these strikes were more than capable of dealing damage. Leviamon was already starting to struggle under the weight of the countless Digimon that had set their sights on him.
But Daisuke knew better than to drop his guard prematurely. Awful things could happen if he wasn't careful, and the same applied to the other members of the group. For the time being though, he chose to focus his attention by grounding himself and approaching his teammates. Ken was on the ground close by, and Daisuke crouched down despite the phantom sensation that spread like wildfire across his stomach. He knew that nothing was there, but he couldn't seem to shake the memory regardless. "Are you alright?" Daisuke asked. He already knew what answer Ken was going to offer in response the same way that he knew what answer was truth behind the facade that Ken was attempting to put up for the sake of the team.
Ken never got the chance to respond. Leviamon let out an unholy screech that pierced the air, and it sounded like a thousand smaller voices coming together to cry out for a common cause. In other words, it was further confirmation of the fact that they were Deep Ones. The noise echoed endlessly in the sky, and Daisuke clapped his hands over his ears in desperation to block it out. The rest of the Chosen Children did as well, and Daisuke shut his eyes even though he knew that was likely the worst thing he could have done in that moment.
The moments that followed were accompanied by a rush of air that nearly knocked Daisuke backward into Ken's legs. He opened his eyes carefully and realized that Leviamon had returned to the sky, and his tail had come dangerously close to hitting the Chosen Children. It had graced a few nearby trees, sending branches crashing to the ground in a cacophonous choir that Daisuke desperately wished he could silence. Leaves rustled on the breeze, though they seemed so much more ominous than Daisuke would have ever liked to be forced to encounter.
Leviamon's circling through the sky was cut off by a series of attacks from Hououmon, and Angewomon was quick to follow with a single arrow attack that struck him in the center of his lengthy snout. It seemed as if she had hit a sensitive point with her intense attack, and Leviamon let out another nauseating cry. Daisuke could have sworn that the ground began to shake once again, but he wasn't entirely sure if that was the case. Either way, it wouldn't have mattered, because he felt rattled to his very core regardless. He was sure that everyone else agreed with him too; not even the Digimon were equipped to deal with something so loud and terrifying.
Leviamon shifted his attention in Angewomon's direction, seemingly not recognizing the fact that his body was too large to maneuver through the sky in this way. Every motion of his from then on was jerky and disjointed, lacking any sense of stability. This was hardly a problem for him, but the Chosen Children were a different story. Even if the heavens were completely unoccupied, the grounds below were most certainly filled with people. Leviamon had no reason to care regardless, but his clumsy actions caused issues for those on the ground below.
One of his tails came lashing out in much the same way that they had previously. Rather than only striking trees though, the tails chopped straight through the trunks that got in their way. They were like giant whips smashing through anything that dared to come too close. Daisuke could feel the whisper of the wind from them against his cheek, and he knew already that they were in the danger zone of getting hit if they didn't do anything soon.
Confirmation for his suspicions came only a handful of seconds later. Daisuke didn't have the chance to respond before one of the tails came rushing in his direction. The rest of the group seemed to have noticed it as well, and evidence for this came in the form of a shout from Taichi. "Get down!" he cried out, using the same voice of a commanding leader that Daisuke had heard from him so many times.
Who was Daisuke to object to something like that? Daisuke went to flatten his body against the ground when he realized that Ken, halfway leaned against a nearby tree as he was, wouldn't be having the same luck or ease in the situation as Daisuke. He didn't give his body the command to do so, but Daisuke found himself pressing Ken against the grass defensively a beat later. Something in his torso raged with searing pain, but he did his best to ignore it until he was sure that Leviamon's trail had returned to wherever it had come from in the skies above.
"Are you alright?" Daisuke questioned as he started to sit up. Had he ever shaken this badly during a past fight? His adrenaline was certainly having its way with him all of a sudden, and while he was relieved for its presence and actions, he found himself halfway on the edge of throwing up if anyone did anything to poke him in the wrong way.
Ken hesitated before nodding, his eyes still haunted by the memory of the shadow streaking toward them. "Why?" was all Ken could bring himself to say in the moments that followed, though Daisuke could complete the question internally for him. Ken had been struggling quite a bit recently, and Daisuke was hardly unfamiliar with the fearful questions that Ken whispered into the darkness of night when he suffered the most.
Why did you do that? Why do you keep saving me? Why are you helping me when I got you hurt before? Why are you doing all of this for my sake? Why are you so damn nice?
"Because I'm here for you no matter what. We all are," Daisuke replied simply, not at all answering the individual questions. After all, each of the inquiries had the same response, and he had already given voice to the words. There was nothing more for him to say as far as Daisuke could say. He knew the truth, and he wanted Ken to know it as well.
Ken's eyes slipped down to the grass, a sign that he wasn't entirely sure as to if he should believe in this or not. Daisuke frowned and grabbed at Ken's hand himself before offering a gentle squeeze with his fingers. "That's not going to change anytime soon. You know what we do around here. We help each other, and I would do anything for all of you. We're all here for each other. That's part of what it means to be part of our group. You're not an exception, Ken, and you never will be," Daisuke told him, speaking the words with all the care that he could manage in his adrenaline-filled world.
Daisuke realized belatedly that his Digivice was still pressed between his fingers, so he glanced down in the direction of the D-3 that he was holding with everything he had. The device was starting to vibrate with even more energy than before, and he let out a gasp. Light was starting to infect the screen before spreading outward, and before Daisuke knew it, illumination burst forth and streaked over in the direction of Paildramon. His eyes went wide, and internally, he wondered if what he was seeing truly was real even though he already knew the answer.
Paildramon's shape began to change, and Daisuke was admittedly caught by surprise when he realized that he recognized the outline that his partner had started to take on. He glanced down to his Digivice once again as he pushed himself to his feet carefully. He reached out his other hand to help Ken rise as well. The other Chosen Children all stood as well from their places on the grass nearby, eyes locked solely on Paildramon's shifting body.
"Paildramon, evolve to... Magnamon!"
When the glow faded, none other than Magnamon was floating in the very spot where Paildramon had been a moment prior, though Daisuke could tell that he was different from the version of Magnamon that had appeared thanks to the Digimental of gold from three years prior. He could simply feel that this Magnamon was much stronger, and luckily for him, that was exactly what they all needed. He grinned as he looked to his partner. It seemed as if the Crest of Loyalty had brought itself to the forefront when it was needed most, and Daisuke was beyond thankful for such a fact.
"Wow..." Ken whispered from his place nearby, and Daisuke turned to look at his friend in full a moment later. Ken didn't seem to be able to say much more than that, so Daisuke just shot him a grin for the time being. Ken's tension seemed to dissipate at least slightly when they made eye contact, though it was clear as could be that there was still more on his mind. Daisuke decided internally to resolve it after the fight against Leviamon had been taken care of and could no longer be an issue for them.
Magnamon streaked through the sky in the direction of his foe, and he released a firm energy blast of golden power toward Leviamon. At first, Leviamon was able to swerve out of the way, but his movements put him closer to the ground. That left him with the perfect weak point in his defenses for Vikemon to take advantage of, and a moment later, Vikemon's weapon slammed straight into Leviamon's back. The Digimon crashed to the ground once again where an attack from Valkyrimon was waiting. Leviamon was then left unable to move, and the only thing that he could do as a sign of aggression was exhale angrily with his nostrils.
Magnamon pulled together his strength before he shot down through the sky toward Leviamon's back. The attack that he unleashed was so powerful that the air itself seemed to tremble in response. It was followed up by another few blasts from SlashAngemon, HeraklesKabuterimon, and Meicrackmon before Magnamon had pulled himself together enough to release one final attack.
This was the strike that sealed the deal, and Leviamon's screech pierced the air one final time before his body began to turn to dust on the wind. The Digimon all began to shrink down to their smaller forms as soon as the fight was over, and Daisuke clapped his hands together before letting out a cry of joy and punching the air overhead. In the back of his mind, he knew that he had to do what he could to keep from being spotted, but at the same time, he couldn't seem to hold his joy back once it had hold of him.
"It looks like we've gotten pretty lucky, huh?" Yamato muttered as he walked toward Tsunomon. He picked up his partner with a light smile on his face, and Tsunomon nuzzled his body up against the torso of his partner.
"We were able to get out of that fight well enough, but we don't know if there are any other Deep Ones in the area. Leviamon was being so loud that it must have caught the attention of any creatures that were waiting nearby," Koushiro told him.
"In other words, it would be in our best interests to keep moving before we stop to let the Digimon rest," Miyako finished. When she was met with a nod from Koushiro, she let out a heavy sigh. "I hate having to do all this walking, but I guess that we don't have much of a choice, do we?"
"There wouldn't be enough Digimon for us to travel on the ground without attracting attention. We're trying to be as subtle as possible when we have the chance, and we can't give our enemies the chance to track us," Jou pointed out. "We can talk about this while we're moving though. We have to get out of here before anyone else realizes that this is where we've been hiding out."
Nobody could bring themselves to object with Jou on that subject, and the group started moving as soon as their partners had all been reclaimed. Daisuke swept Chibimon into his grasp and grinned down at his partner. "Looks like you've had a lot more in you than we thought," he smiled to himself. He rubbed one hand affectionately atop Chibimon's head.
Chibimon let out a laugh at the sudden contact. "I'm glad that I was able to help out!" he proclaimed proudly. "That means that we've got one more Ultimate Digimon with us now too!"
Daisuke nodded. If he recalled correctly, that meant that only JewelBeemon, Angewomon, HolyAngemon, and Meicrackmon had yet to see their highest forms of evolution. Daemon's attempts to stifle the group's progress had only allowed for more evolutions to take root, and that meant that it would be even easier than expected to take him down when the time finally arrived. That was certainly a note of relief for Daisuke; he didn't want to have to stress about this more than was necessary if it was at all possible.
But he knew that not everyone was quite as optimistic as him on this subject. He glanced nearby to where Ken was before he slowed down to fall into pace with his companion. Ken's face was stony and shaded as he stared at the ground, concentrated only on putting one foot in front of the other. "You're still worried about all of this, aren't you?" Daisuke asked.
Ken's eyes fell shut. "I feel like I haven't made any progress," he muttered under his breath.
Daisuke opened his mouth to object before his lips pressed shut again a moment later. He didn't know how to respond to that, if he was being completely honest. He knew that Ken had changed and would never be returning to the person he once had been. Daisuke had full confidence in Ken and all that he had done over the course of the past few years, but it seemed as if Ken himself was going to need some extra time to be convinced of his own evolution. The recent trail of events with Daemon had only left Ken to backslide back into his old habits of self-deprecation and hatred, and Daisuke didn't know how he was going to break through to him. It seemed so much worse than it had been previously. Daisuke had to wonder if that was because he felt so much worse than the last time this had happened even if he had no concrete evidence to back up such an assumption.
"We're all here for you no matter what," Daisuke chose to say instead. "Even if you think that we're making a mistake by supporting you, we're going to be here. All you have to do is say so if you want to talk to us, and we'll be there as soon as we can. Daemon is going to be toast soon enough, and we're going to be alright. Just... Trust us for a little bit longer, okay?"
Ken was quiet for a long moment before he nodded. "Alright," he murmured, though Daisuke somehow doubted that his words were all it took to break through Ken's barrier. For the time being though, he decided to leave Ken alone with his thoughts. Ken had to process the truth for a moment longer if he was going to fully comprehend what was happening, and Daisuke was fully aware of that. As long as Ken understood that he was never alone, then Daisuke was more than willing to give him what he required.
The next time that Maki set foot in the Digital World, she was alone.
She had chosen to come without the rest of the group while they were occupied with other matters. It didn't feel necessary to bother them with her struggles when they all had other more important things to take care of. She wasn't about to pull Daigo or Hiraku away from their work just because she was in desperate need of some air. Atsuo had taken to spending more time rehearsing with his band again after his abrupt disappearance from their practices a few weeks prior, and Maki wasn't going to pester him over it either. After all, the thing she sought was heavily personal.
Maki approached Huanglongmon near the Wall of Fire where he always had been the past fifteen years. She hadn't been able to easily contact him until the past few months, but she was going to take advantage of it while she had the ability to do so. She waved gently in his direction as soon as he noticed her. "Hey," she greeted simply.
Huanglongmon seemed surprised to see her at first, his eyes narrowing on instinct. "What are you doing here?" he questioned. Maki almost felt as if he had cut deep with his words immediately, and she resisted the urge to let out a small hiss from between her teeth. He knew that there was something wrong, and she wasn't going to be able to worm her way out from beneath his piercing gaze quite so easily.
"I wanted to see you," Maki finally replied. It was the truth. She had been thinking too much about the Dark Ocean as of late, and she needed a break from it all immediately. She wanted to take a break from all that was taking place to think about herself for once. It seemed as if she was never given the chance to do that anymore.
Huanglongmon nodded carefully, and he lowered himself down to the ground to allow himself to be as close to Maki as possible. He didn't say anything for a long time, simply allowing Maki to seat herself on the grass and then lean her head against the side of his head. Her eyes fell shut, and she let out a small sigh. She had missed peaceful moments like this. She wondered distantly if it was possible to miss something that she had never been able to experience in the first place. Her first adventure in the Digital World certainly hadn't given her the chance to relax this way.
"What's plaguing you?" Huanglongmon finally questioned when the silence grew to be too stifling for him to bear. "I can tell that something is on your mind."
Maki was quiet for a long time before she let out another sigh. "The Dark Ocean is a lot to think about," was all she could bring herself to say in response. Her eyes fell shut, and she did her best to take in all of the smaller details about this moment so that she could commit it to memory forever. She wanted to be able to remember eternally that this was what she had fought for all those years ago. She desperately wanted to see others protected and safe, and this moment seemed to symbolize everything that she had ever wanted to defend.
"I know," Huanglongmon told her softly. He didn't say anything after that for a long time, and when he did speak, he chose each word carefully. "You're afraid that something will happen with the Dark Ocean again, aren't you?"
Maki didn't answer him for a long time. "I've always been scared of the Dark Ocean," she finally replied. "Then again, I suppose that you've always known that much. There's not an easy way for me to get away from the Dark Ocean no matter how fast I run or how desperate I get. It's been the cause of so many problems for us over the years, and I'm not about to pretend like I've never been afraid of it. If anything, I'm more terrified than I ever have been."
"You haven't slept much lately. I can see it in your eyes," Huanglongmon frowned. "Stay here for as long as you need to." Maki was on the verge of saying something about how he had duties to take care of as one of the defenders of the Digital World, but she bit back the words when she realized that she was only going to go against him in the process. Of course Huanglongmon knew the truth of his position. It was impossible for him to be ignorant to the facts. He was willing to set them aside for a few minutes though as long as it would bring joy and relief to the heart of his partner.
As such, Maki allowed herself to move as close to him as she could manage, and she did her best to ignore the flames raging behind Huanglongmon. The barrier had remained intact even after the defeat of Apocalymon since it had existed long before he came into existence. Most others would have found it to be a mark of discomfort, but for Maki, the flames brought a gentle sensation of warmth throughout the area that she enjoyed more than she would care to admit openly. It was because she associated the area with Huanglongmon, and anything that reminded her of him had to be inherently positive.
Maki lost track of how long she was there, though she supposed that it didn't matter at the end of the day anyway. She did know that she fell asleep there curled against his side though, and it was the most peace that she had felt in a long time. Even when the time arrived for her to leave, Maki found herself lingering at Huanglongmon's side. She wished that she could have experienced this more in the past, but since it was impossible to change completed actions, she would simply have to compensate in the future.
He was there for her. That was all that mattered.
Chapter done! Woohoo!
This chapter is yet another one moving through the Dark Ocean, and it's yet another one focused on character development too. As you can see, I love these sorts of chapters a lot. I love how all of the different evolutions have been forged so far.
The original generation of Chosen Children (at least the six that have reached the Ultimate level with their partners thus far) all wound up going through situations that mirrored their original Crest activations. That fits well with the themes of Adventure being more focused on the individual rather than a group or specific dynamics.
The Zero Two cast, on the other hand, have all had evolutions based in one another. Zero Two's character development philosophy focuses on forming connections with other people, so I figured that it would be a nice thing to mirror in ways that match the Crests of the Zero Two cast. It's a subtle little detail, but I really do like how it plays out for each of the different characters.
Even if Ken, Takeru, Hikari, and Meiko all have yet to reach the Ultimate level, this philosophy is generally going to hold true for them as well (since I already have the story planned out in full including the evolutions, I can say this with certainty). Where does that leave Meiko? That's a spoiler. It's my little secret for now.
Secrets aside, there's not much to say in terms of this chapter. Character beats that are mentioned in this chapter will be resolved throughout the rest of this arc and the remainder of the story, so you can look forward to that. Next week, we'll get closer to the final battle against Daemon as the Dark Ocean arc continues. Until then, I hope you all enjoyed. Feedback is appreciated as always. Have a nice day, everyone!
-Digital