Part 5: King of Despair.

Palmon was having a tough time this morning. This wasn't a regular occurrence for her, because she was a plant, and such was always rejuvenated by the morning rays of the sun. Unfortunately, her friend Mimi wasn't such a morning person. Palmon dragged the semi-unconscious girl through the woods, following the rest of the DigiDestined. Yep…Mimi was absolutely not a morning person.

They had woken her up around 30 minutes earlier, at the crack of dawn, and had resumed their search for Takeru. Mimi groggily stumbled along, leaning on Palmons' back. The little Digimon didn't mind too much… Mimi was, after all, her charge and responsibility. Still, at that moment, Palmon did wish there was an bucket of ice-cold water handy to use.

Koushiro led the rest of the DigiDestined through the forest, his laptop showing him the path to take. The blip that represented T.K. had just started to move seconds ago, and at a normal rate. Hopes were high that barring any interruptions, they would catch up to him quickly.

Yamato sauntered along, hands in pocket. He was feeling a bit better now that he knew where to find him, but he was still in a dark mood. His guardian Gabumon shuffled alongside him, glancing up at his charge now and again to check up on him. Suddenly he faced the front, startled.

Mat looked down at his horned friend. "Gabumon?" He asked. "What's wrong." He too looked forward and noticed that Izzy had stopped moving.

"Oh oh!" Tentomon gasped. " It looks like we have company!"

They group of kids and Digimon stopped and stared ahead. In front of them, four Digimon stood, hunched over, in a line blocking their path. These Digimon were striped black and white, white being the prominent color. Their faces looked old and lifeless, and their arms hung down, nearly touching the ground in length. They legs were shorter, much shorter, than their arms, and ended with large 3 toed feet. Tufts of Digi-hair popped out randomly on their body.* They stood in front of the DigiDestined and said nothing.

*Want more help? Think of them as very emaciated Eva 1's from Evangelion. =D

"Automomon!" Tentomon told the rest of the group. "They're ultimate zombie Digimon. Let's just say they've never won a contest on personality, or on beauty for that matter."

Taichi moved to the front of the group. "Company is right…" he whispered. Then addressed the 2nd Automomon in the line. "What do you want?" He asked.

The Automomon said nothing.

"OK…" Tai mused. "Let's try this again. WHAT, DO YOU," he pointed at the still figure in front of him. "WANT from us." Tai finished, pointing at himself and the rest of the group."

The Automomon didn't move nor did it say anything for half a minute. Then it's head moved up and looked Taichi in the eye.

"Die." It said, and it suddenly lunged at Taichi at full speed. Tai, shocked but still expecting an attack, dove sideways. The Automomons' hand lashed out and tore at Taichis' arm.

Tai's pupils shrank to a pin-drop and he stumbled to the ground. His arm was ice cold and a strange darkness started to take over his vision. The last thing he heard before he passed out was Sora, screaming his name.

************

Takeru skipped along the path with FallenAngemon in tow behind him. Dawoemon dragged along silently. They had finally departed the forest, and were now on a clear path on a grassy meadow. T.K. could see what looked like a stone wall, probably one protecting a town. He glanced back at the plant-mon.

"So, what exactly are we gonna do when we get there?" He asked. Dawoemon slumped slightly and sighed.

"Takeru-sama, please be patient." She pleaded, already tired of the boy's protestations. " We will be there soon, and the surprise will take place." She looked at the boy and gave a weak smile. "You will be well pleased with it." She finished.

FallenAngemon put a hand on Takeru's shoulder, stopping the young DigiDestined in his tracks, he then put his right hand up in the air, signaling Dawoemon behind him to both stop and be quiet.

T.K. looked around anxiously, wondering what the fuss was about. Both he and Dawoemon could see nothing. Everything was completely still. Takeru's heart raced, he was both scared and excited. "Whatever happens, Fallen will take care of it" he thought to himself.

He barely finished his thought before a blur shot out from beneath silent patch of bushes. He saw the light of the sun glint off of a sharp blade. Then there was a blinding light, and then the sound of metal contacting metal.

************

The sound of violence broke through Tai's consciousness. He heard growls and shouts, and the sound of claws slashing and fur rustling. He blinked, once…twice, then shot up quickly. His right arm hung loosely to his side, ice cold. Angrily he got up and reached the others.

The Digimon had digivolved to their Champion levels, and were fighting heatedly with the soulless Automomons. Taichi found Greymon, lost and confused in the shuffle. "Greymon!" he commanded.

Greymon saw Tai standing and shifted into action. He swung around, nailing two Automomons with an orange and blue striped tail. One of them exploded violently into a nearby tree and slumped onto the ground. The other bounded of the ground on his hands, skidded into the grass, and leaped into the air. Greymon crashed into the ground as the little Automomon pounded into him.

The other Automomon that was had been attacked by Greymon shot up and started towards the struggling Dinosaur. White and blue fur blurred by Tai's vision as Garurumon viscously pounced on that one. He opened his mouth as if to bite into the Automomon's head. The zombie countered by holding Garurumon's jaws apart...struggling to keep it from coming crashing down on its head.

Garurumon's jaws stretched out wider and wider. Suddenly he laughed. "Ha! Howling Blaster!" He shouted mystically and a bolt of blue energy shot from his wide jaws, firing point blank at the Automomon's head, and blasting it clear off. Mat grinned and pumped his fist in elation.

His grin faded quickly however, when he found the headless Automomon still widening his friends jaws further and further apart. Garurumon's eyes widened in pain. The Automomon kept stretching it further and further.

Suddenly a sharp pressure exploded on its right side. Then lower...then more to the left. If it still had a head, it would see Yamato pounding on the zombie-Digimon with a vengeful fury. Yamato yelled, as he crashed two, then three more punches in to the zombies' side. The Automomon finally released Garurumon, who slumped to the ground. With a quick turn, the zombie thumped it's chest into Yamato's head, knocking him down.

The short opening was all that was needed, as Gatomon flashed out of the left side, flashing her deadly claws. "Lightning Claw!" Burst from her mouth, and two sharp flashes of light appeared quickly in her area. Then she was just standing there. Yamato stared, jaws agape, as the Automomon suddenly burst into shreds. Gatomon turned, winked at the blonde-haired boy, and jumped back into the action.

An Automomon flared in the air, a steel punch headed straight for Mimi. She stood horrified, shocked in place. That is, until Koushiro jumped in and knocked her aside, right before a fantastic punch rocked the ground where Mimi was standing.

The Automomon looked up at the two, emotionless and cold. It felt a tap on its shoulder and turned around.

"Hey tall, striped and ugly," The colossal cactus in front of it chortled. "Let's dance." And with that, Togemon snapped a right uppercut that stretched the neck of the zombie, smashing him straight into the air. It fell silently in some unknown part of the forest with a large thud.

Togemon stood their laughing and suddenly found herself in the air, a terrible pain exploding in her back. An Automomon had returned the favor, smashing her into the forest. It reared on Koushiro, who stood helplessly in front of Mimi. Joe suddenly jumped into the clearing.

"Hey! T-That's right! You there!" He cajoled the monster. " That's right. Y-you want a piece of me?" The zombie gave Joe a deadly stare and made a move A pressure blasted in its inside. It looked down to find a large and very sharp horn buried in its middle.

"Take that ya slug." Ikkakumon snarled, as it grew another horn. Joe sighed in relief, happy his plan had gone through. Then he saw the Monster with the harpoon buried in its stomach continue to move towards him.

"J-J-Jeez!" He stammered. "What's with them? They don't give up!"

Ikkakumon growled and burst out "Harpoon Torpedo!". The horn buried in the Automomon's chest split in half, tearing the zombie apart, and frying it's pieces with a barrage of missiles.

The monster that was still pounding on Greymon was suddenly lifted off him by a huge electric sphere, as Kabuterimon buzzed into the dinosauric-digimon's aide. Greymon got up angrily, opened its' mouth and began to gather energy.

"You like that huh?" He snarled mystically. "Eat this. Nova Blast!" The shot of energy released itself from Greymon's grip, blasting into the zombies body and vaporizing it completely.

Sora, who was busy with an Automomon before, saw Taichi struggling to stay up. She started towards him. "Tai, are you all-" she began, before being accosted by the pieces of the zombie Gatomon had shredded before. The shreds knocked Sora to the ground. She frantically brushed them off, and ran towards Tai, the pieces in hot pursuit.

"Meteor Wing" a voice boomed. Birdramon unfolded her crimson wings and hurled several bolts of fire into the pieces, disintegrating them completely.

Mimi sighed in relief, the battle was won. Or at least she thought it was. The zombie that was knocked into the woods burst from the tree-line, and flew straight at the brown-haired girl. ( Yes they can fly too. ) A small figure also emerged from the tree line and leveled her hands at the speeding Automamon.

"Flower Cannon!" Lillymon yelled, releasing a green burst of energy. It caught the Automomon square in the back and carried him straight into the sky. An explosion brightened the horizon a green hue, as the zombie was blasted into nothingness.

Taichi sighed and dropped down to one knee, favoring his right arm. He looked across the scorched battlefield, glad that his friends were still alive.

"What the hell was that?" He thought solemnly to himself.

************

The flash of light departed, and Takeru saw Angemon holding his blade in a parrying position. The other Digimon flipped twice in the air and landed a meter away from the group.

T.K. saw him…or should I say, her clearly. She was short… short as Koushiro Her body seemed to be contained in a sleeveless jumpsuit ( not unlike Wizardmon ) that was dotted with 3 huge circles down the middle. Her arms were thin and blue, and her right arm featured an stone-encrusted bracelet and the short blade she was carrying. Her face, pretty for a Digimon, was dominated by her two huge green eyes, and small mouth, which now was turned in an angry frown. Tufts of Digi-hair came down from her head, falling over her eyes and just past where her ears would be ( If she had ears.) Two grass stems grew from the top of her head, and two useless gossamer wings grew from her back.

She bent at the waste, watching FallenAngemon with a steel gaze. "You're fast." She said simply. She flipped her blade to the opposite direction, and circled the group.

Fallen simply stared. Then he smiled and sheathed his blade. "You're OK." He said smiling, wavering his fingers to make his point.

The shorter Digimon growled and seemed to wink out of existence. Suddenly she appeared behind Takeru, pressing her blade to his throat.

"What are you doing!?" Dawoemon shouted. Her eyes widened and she went silent.

Takeru whined and began to cry. Fallen's smile grew wider. "What do ya want?" T.K. asked, flashing a small grin. "Why are you doing this?"

The Digimon sneered. " Do I need an excuse?" She countered. She looked up at Fallen. "You there, don't attack, or the boy dies."

Angemon smiled turned into a full-fledged grin. "OK." He responded. "I wont fight now."

He looked down at the boy. A large grin appeared on Takeru's face, and the power of the Crest of Despair flowed through him.

With a burst of power, the Digimon was blasted off T.K.'s back. Before she could recover, Fallen was on top of her, his blade at her throat. Her eyes grew wider in terror and she gulped.

"Well, what should I do with her, Takeru-san?" FallenAngemon asked.

"Kill her!" Dawoemon shouted quickly. Then, with a look from T.K., shut her mouth.

"What do you think we should do Fallen?" The boy asked his dark protector.

Fallen hesitated and looked at the Digimon at his mercy. She did not tremble, and seemed ready to die at that moment. He turned his head slightly. "Maybe we shouldn't…" he managed.

"OK!" Takeru said lightly. He walked up to the Digimon pressed to the ground. "What's your name?" He asked, feeding a bit of his power into his voice.

"Celamon." She responded quickly.

"I'll let you live, if you promise to serve me." Takeru said smiling.

Celamon gulped and glanced over at Dawoemon. The plant-mon wouldn't look at her. She sighed and gazed up at Fallen. "I will follow you." She then said to T.K.

"Good!" He laughed. "Let's go." And with that, Fallen got off her and rejoined Takeru's side. Celamon got up nervously and asked. "Where...where is it we're going…" hesitating for a name.

"T.K." The boy said.

"Takeru" Fallen continued.

"Takeru-sama" Dawoemon finished.

T.K. looked at both of them with annoyance and then turned to the pixie-mon. "I don't know where we're going. Ask her." He gestured towards Dawoemon.

"We're going " Dawoemon said. " , to give you , your kingdom."

************

Taichi shuddered for a while, and felt Sora's hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right Tai?" She asked, a small tremor in her voice.

"Does he look all right?" Yamato countered, looking down on his friend.

Taichi got up and put on the biggest grin he could muster. "What, are you talking to me?" He asked incredulously. "I'm fine, I say our bigger concern is getting out of here before more of those Automomons show up." Beads of sweat were appearing on Tai's head.

Mat scowled. Taichi put up his bravest front. Sora got up angrily. "Oh yes," she said, wiping a large pool of sweat off Taichi's brow. "You're perfectly fine. Why don't you fess up? We can't help you if you don't let us."

Tai looked at her, then the others. "It's just hot!" he lied. "And I've worked up a sweat. Come on! Stop lolly-gagging. Let's move!" And with Agumon in tow, he started into of the forest.

The others followed him as well. Koushiro hesitated a while, then opened his laptop and typed a quick message. He had a feeling he needed as much information as he could get.

Taichi led the others deep into the forest, shivering slightly. His right arm was completely lifeless, and an eerie cold started creeping into the rest of his body. He wouldn't tell the others, because he was their leader, and he had to be strong. A part of him however, wanted at least somebody to know, someone to comfort him.

In his mind, Taichi was almost certain that he was dying.

NEXT: Part 6, My Kingdom for a Nintendo 64!

- Incognito here. I apologize for the length of the blasted thing. Again, the true 'King of Despair' got delayed. Am I just long-winded? And I'm sorry for the DELAY! I've had…other duties around here. Sorries all around. Anyhoo, please as always, send comments and suggestions. They are what keep me going. Plus the fact that I'm obsessed. Hee hee hee =D. Hope you liked it. Buh Bye for now.