Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon so please refrain from suing me for writing fan fiction. Thanks and enjoy!
Fate—Chapter 4
All was quiet at the Ghoulinthian base at roughly eleven pm. It was quite unnatural to see the base still and dark, as it was nearly always the precise opposite. Lights usually penetrated through the darkness of night and there was always the constant whirring of heavy machinery emanating from within the huge complex. But tonight the machines were still and silent, giving the entire place an eerie atmosphere.
Corth, the commander in chief of the Ghoulinthian forces sat still as stone beside the unmoving machinery. Not only did he have to worry about military tactics, he was also responsible for all the work that went on in this compound. It was no easy task to keep track of every weapon that was produced in this factory, but it was an even more difficult chore to monitor the food production in the second factory on the east wing of the base. It was a hard job, but somebody had to do it. Without somebody to monitor weapon production, the Ghoulinthians would fall to the Droglidites because of sheer unorganization of weaponry. Likewise, without somebody to monitor food production, the risk was run that the Ghoulinthians would starve. It was enough to give anyone a headache.
This was one of the few times he had the time to sit down and relax and he was taking full advantage of it. He'd even turned off his communication unit to ensure that his peace went uninterrupted.
These "Digidestined" children will be a valuable asset once they are turned. How the Droglidites managed to capture even one child is beyond me. And how did that fool Gennai happen to bumble into saving the other three children? The army must be slipping in their overconfidence of victory. They need some sharpening up, so they will be running double drills tomorrow, Corth decided. The last thing we need is to allow those moronic Droglidites to defeat us. Once my scouts return on their search for Gennai's house it will be a simple matter of overpowering him to acquire the three free children.
"Sir! There you are sir!"
Corth sighed in annoyance. A young officer in his army was racing toward him.
"Everyone is looking for you sir," the officer panted once he had reached him. "We tried using your communication unit, but it would not work."
"That's because I turned it off." I wanted to avoid ridiculous officers like you, he silently added.
"Sir, this is urgent news concerning the young children that were transported here from Earth."
"What, they haven't escaped, have they?" Corth demanded, suddenly interested in what this officer had to say.
"No, of course not."
"Good. It would be a pity if I had to send out a late night search for them."
"But sir, two of the children the Droglidites were holding captive escaped earlier this evening. One was found and caught, but the other is still free."
Corth sucked in his breath sharply and set his lips in a firm, straight line. It would be undignified to look excited by this news, although inside he was screaming in ecstasy. The officer who had been a ridiculous fool only seconds ago was now a fine young fighter. "Send out half of the A group to search for the child," he commanded.
"Right away, sir!" the officer cried, turning and beginning to run back the way he had come.
"Wait one moment—" Corth trailed off, unable to think of the officer's name.
It's Braul, came the reply not from the officer's mouth, but from his mind.
Corth smiled. I see you are well trained in the art of telepathy as well, Braul, he thought. Perhaps there will be a promotion in store for you if you continue to perform as well as this.
Braul smiled. He'd gotten the message. And he was going to get that promotion.
~*~
"Everybody up!" Corth shouted, his voice reverberating through the cement walls of the prisoner block.
Takeru sat up and groggily rubbed his sleep-heavy eyes. For a moment he didn't recognize his surroundings, but then the remembered everything from being informed of the war between the Droglidites and the Ghoulinthians to working nonstop in a huge factory to lying down, exhausted in his cell. It seemed as though he'd only been asleep for a minute and his aching muscles screamed in protest when he got to his feet, the chains around his ankles and wrists clanking.
He knew it was Corth. They had been introduced before he'd been forced to work in the factory. From the cells all along the hall were tired groans of protest when the lights were snapped on.
"One of my finest officers has informed me that a member of your so-called world saving group has escaped from the Droglidites."
Now Takeru was wide awake. Somebody was free. This was big news.
"Who is it?" Sora's voice traveled to him from down the hall. Just by hearing her voice, Takeru could tell she'd been through just as hard a day as he had.
"Names are not important. The reason I have informed you of this is quite simple to understand. You are going to help us find and capture the escapee."
"What makes you think we're going to help you?" Iori's weary voice inquired.
"What gives you the idea that you can resist?" Corth replied, voice icy with a hundred unspoken threats. "As I was saying, you will help my army to find the person."
"Your guess is as good as ours as to the location of him or her," Ken quietly replied. "You never told us where the Droglidite base is and even if we knew, the chances of us knowing where he or she has gone are slim to none."
Corth smiled wryly and said: "I suppose I did not make myself clear. I was not going to pump you for information as to the whereabouts of your friend. Oh no, I was going to send you out with my army to hunt them down!" before laughing.
A shocked silence followed this remark until Jyou queried: "and what makes you so sure we won't get away?"
"None of you will run away. At least not unless you would like to remain alive, that is. If you attempt to run away, we will find you. Besides, you won't get very far with those chains around your ankles and wrists."
Takeru knew it was true. The chains that limited the movement of his legs and arms would slow anybody down considerably. It would be impossible to get away from the Ghoulinthians like that.
He looked around his cold, miniscule cell and sighed. And then he was no longer in his cell at all. He was outside, along with Sora, Iori, Jyou, Ken and over three hundred soldiers from the Ghoulinthian army.
And the Ghoulinthians weren't taking any chances, either. Not only were the five of them surrounded by a wall of soldiers, they now had thick metal bands around their necks with chains that hung off of them and connected them to each other. At either end of the row there was a loose chain and a soldier held onto the chain tightly.
"Let's get moving," one of the officers in the front shouted. The whole group began to move away from the Ghoulinthian base in search of the escaped Digidestined….