Ch4.— The Ghastly Ones Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I do own Trikmon©, and the concept of this story. If you want to see fanart for this fic, go to "http://www.crosswinds.net/~filldnothingness." The site isn't complete, yet, but the Digimon fanfiction and fanart sections are up. And I do appreciate mature feedback!

The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth

Chapter 4: The Ghastly Ones

"So... " Gatomon purred, looking completely like the cat that ate the canary, "you can't walk?"

Wormmon gulped, not at all comfortable being in such close proximity to the small girl with the evil smile. "A-a little. I'm not used to walking on two feet."

"That's all right," Patamon smiled, encouragingly. "I'm not very good at it, either. When I'm Angemon I have just two legs, but I tend to fly most of the time." He hopped off of the bed, wobbling slightly, then turned to Wormmon. "See? I'm a little clutzy. T.K. says I'll be just as good as him in a few days, though."

Gatomon rolled her aqua eyes. Silly boys. "Well, I don't see why it's so difficult for you." She spun around on her feet with grace that belied her young appearance. "It's easy."

Patamon frowned. "That's only `cause you walk on two feet all the time!"

She giggled. "Hey, it's not my fault. `Sides, we girls are usually better at learning than you. So," Gatomon turned her attention back to Wormmon, who was standing precariously, trying to stay upright, "you don't have the best of balances, right?"

"Uh, n-no, not really," Wormmon stuttered, nervously. Why did he have to stay here in this room with them? No, wait. He didn't mind Patamon. He was nice enough. Why, oh why, was he stuck with her?

Ken had placed him in his own room. While Wormmon wasn't comfortable with it, he wouldn't complain. But now, the next day, Ken told him to socialize with the other humanized digimon. Patamon had been more than happy to be friendly. Gatomon, however, seemed to get some strange pleasure out of teasing Wormmon. And he didn't like it a bit!

"Reeeeaaaally?" Gatomon said, all innocence and light. She took a few steps toward him.

"Uh-huh," Wormmon choked, suddenly feeling trapped.

"Oh. Okay then." She nodded sagely, closing her eyes.

Wormmon stared at her still form, then sighed with relief. She wasn't going to make fun of him, like he thought.

No, she wasn't.

Gatomon's eyes snapped open, and a grin one might call "malicious" spread on her pretty face. Without saying a word, she stood on her toes, reached out her hands, and with her fingertips, pushed against Wormmon's chest. And sent him toppling backwards onto the bed.

The sight of his flailing sent Gatomon into a fit of giggles, while Patamon glared at her.

"That wasn't very nice," scolded Patamon.

"Oh, c'mon," Gatomon waved her hand, dismissively. "I was only kidding around. He didn't get hurt. Did you, Wormmie-kun?" She leaned over the green boy, flashing a bright grin.

"Ah... " Wormmon muttered, not quite knowing what to make of her smile; sweet or dangerous.

"See? He's fine," Gatomon confidently stated, folding her arms.

"Hn," Patamon narrowed his eyes. Sometimes, he wondered if he'd ever understand girls. If what T.K. had told him about the opposite sex was any indication, he highly doubted it.


Breakfast, Sora decided, had definitely been a certified disaster. She and Biyomon had helped Matt cook up enough eggs and toast to serve the small army of people in the house.

But with the addition of Ken and Wormmon, not all of the Digidestined and their digimon were willing to sit at the table. Davis and Veemon didn't even come down, regardless of how many times Jun tried to get them.

Kari had only stayed a little bit, until she thought the tension would strangle her. T.K. had followed her, muttering something about not being hungry, even though Sora could hear his stomach growl in protest.

Gomamon had glared menacingly at Ken through most of the meal, while Joe tried his best to ignore the new guest. Every so often, though, Sora noticed Joe sending a hateful glare to the former Kaiser. "You wouldn't believe how beaten Gomamon was," Joe had said to her once, when explaining his first encounter with the Digimon Kaiser's henchmen. Of course, as kind as Joe normally was, he would not easily forgive someone who hurt his best friend so.

People at the table quickly dwindled, until it was just Sora, Tai, Matt, Mimi, Yolei and Ken. Wormmon had left, not because he wanted to, but because Gatomon nearly dragged him out of the room. But not before glowering at Ken and saying, "At least one of you is nice."

Sora could tell Mimi wanted to leave, but the pink haired girl refused to budge. Mimi was far too polite to against the common rules of etiquette. And that meant, as the technical head of the household, she had to stay until everyone was done eating. That didn't stop her from fidgeting in her chair, though.

Matt simply stared at Ken, not at all attempting to hide his contempt. Tai was mirroring his friend to the point of making Sora extremely uncomfortable sitting next to him.

Yolei made it a point to act completely at home with the situation. She ate normally, and chatted every so often about nothing in particular. Just to fill the dead air, Sora suspected. The more Yolei acted like nothing was wrong, the more obvious the girl's nervousness was.

Then there was, of course, Ken himself. The source of the problem. He didn't seem to feel the tension at all. He sat and ate politely, totally unflappable by the two glaring young men across from him. He answered Yolei's questions whenever she directed them at him. But otherwise, Ken remained silent.

In fact, the only person Ken had acknowledged at breakfast was Yolei. But Sora really couldn't blame him for that. After all, it seemed only Yolei had truly accepted Ken into the household. Of course, Yolei had her reasons for doing so. Ah, puppy love. It does such strange things to people.

"Do you trust him?" Tai asked Sora, while they washed the dishes after the awkward breakfast.

"I don't know," she sighed. "I want to. I mean, we need to be able to trust everyone here."

"Yeah, I know," he muttered, toweling a dish dry with more force than necessary. "It's just hard not to look at him and see him as the Digimon Kaiser. He terrorized Kari. He turned Greymon against us. He's just... "

"Just like us, now," Sora gently reminded him. "Wormmon's human, his parents are gone, and Trikmon wants him as bad as us. Much as most of us won't like to admit it," she said, "Ken's in the same position we are. Trikmon considers him a threat, which means we should consider him an ally."

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Tai spoke the metaphor, nodding. "I know you're right. I know I was right to allow him to stay. I just... feel so wrong having that guy around."

"I realize that," Sora smile, kindly. "We'll just have to hope that it'll get easier. Maybe he's changed for the better. He hasn't really done anything so far to prove otherwise."

"I guess so," he murmured, picking up another plate.

She patted his shoulder, reassuringly. "It'll turn out okay."

A small smile tugged at the corners of Tai's mouth. "What would I do without you?"

"Oh," Sora shrugged, playing along, "you'd probably go mad, or go and get yourself killed. One of those two."

He chuckled. "Probably."


Iori gazed out of the window of his first level room. Darkness greeted him. When he had woken up that morning, it was just as dark and foggy as it had been the night before. For a few sleep laden minutes, Iori had wondered if it was still night.

He heard a slight snort behind him, and Iori turned to see Armadimon, golden hued skin and hair, still asleep under the covers. Apparently, being turned human hadn't changed the digimon's sleeping habits.

Smiling slightly, Iori walked over, and fix the blankets that covered his friend, very much like the way his mother would for him. The thought made the little boy heavy hearted. His mother... He wouldn't know what he would do if he lost his mother and grandfather. He treasured them above all else, especially since his father's passing.

Iori frowned. His father would've known what to do in this situation. He was so brave, he could handle anything. Then again, came a bitter voice in the back of the boy's head, it was his bravery that got him killed.

The boy tried not to dwell on the thought, and went back to the window. Izzy said that the firewall was, indeed, still up, but Iori couldn't see it. Izzy had explained that the firewall Gennai had once sent him had been invisible as well, and that Iori shouldn't worry about it. That didn't help the young child feel better, though. If he couldn't see it, there was no proof that it was really there. And Iori liked having proof.

With nothing better to do with his time, he continued to stare out the window, letting his mind drift. He should've been practicing his kendo, and he would've been, if he had his equipment, which he didn't. So, the boy let his eyes wander along the front lawn, straining to see past it. He wanted to go out there so much, to see what was going on.

Something moving in the distance caught Iori's eye, and he squinted, trying to get a better look. The lampposts weren't much help, but the moving thing finally became clear. No, it wasn't a moving thing. It was moving things. A couple children, to be exact. And they were running like their clothing was on fire. And Iori soon saw what they were running from.

And the sight made him sick.


"Ghastlymon," identified Tentomon. "I've only seen them a few times, but I've heard about them."

In the living room, all had gathered, trying to get a look outside. The now identified Ghastlymon had positioned itself at the outskirts of the house. Much to Iori's relief, there really was a firewall, and it was holding up. The Ghastlymon could not get in.

"What are they?" Izzy asked, his head tilted as he gazed at the green, quivering blob outside.

"A virus digimon. Champion level, if I recall correctly," Tentomon replied. "They're not very fast, but their attack is potent enough that a direct hit will keep you down."

"What's their attack?" queried Iori.

"Oh, it doesn't have a name, really," Tentomon said. "You see, they don't talk. At least, I don't think they do. They just spit."

"Spit?" Joe repeated, looking mildly ill.

"Yes," nodded Tentomon. "A highly acidic substance. It's been known to burn through most materials."

"No wonder those kids you saw ran, Iori," Yolei looked over to her friend.

"Forget about running away from the acid," Mimi shivered. "Those things are hideous! They're like Numemon, except... not."

As dumb as the statement sounded, most in attendance agreed. Ghastlymon did resemble Numemon, in a way. Disgusting, green and gelatinous, they shook in a strange, creepy manner. But, while Numemon had a sort of harmless, comedic air to them, Ghastlymon did not. Their eyes and mouths were hollow things, and their arms dripped with sick, wet sounds.

The thing "guarding" the house stood tall, waiting patiently for someone to foolishly come close.

"Well, it's only one," Davis offered, though lacking his usual enthusiasm. "We can take it. We can just, uh, tackle it."

"No, you don't want to do that," Tentomon shook his head. "Their touch is poisonous. Simply brushing up against them could cause you to go comatose."

"So, what should we do?" Kari asked.

"We stay in, and we stay safe," Tai answered, quickly.

"We're stuck," Matt frowned. "We're prisoners here."

A thick silence enveloped the room, as people drifted into their own thoughts.

"Who the hell is that?" Jun's startled voice brought everyone to the window.

On the other side of the street was a young girl, running at full speed. Whether she had seen the Ghastlymon in the dark was unclear. But, what was clear was that the Ghastlymon had definitely seen her.

It turned to the girl, slowly oozing across the street. It stopped midway, and spat, the greenish liquid landing mere inches in front of her. The girl took a few wobbly step backs, screaming.

"It's gonna kill her!" Davis cried, making a break for the door. He was out of the house before anyone could stop him.

"Davis, you baka!" T.K. hollered, running out, as well. "Think before you leap!"

"Daisuke!" Jun tried to get to the door, but Joe grabbed her wrist.

"Stay," he said. "Two of us out there is big enough of a risk. They'll watch each other's backs."

She frowned at him, obviously not pleased, but nodded in agreement.

The creature outside was slowly cornering the girl, spitting acid in every direction she tried to run, until she was practically gibbering in fright. Going on instinct alone, Davis ran in direct view of the Ghastlymon.

"Hey, ugly!" he hollered, waving his arms, frantically. "Why have her, when you can have me? C'mon! Come and get me. I dare you!"

Even though Ghastlymon moved slow, Davis quickly realized that they attacked with great speed. It spat at him quicker than he could blink. He didn't even have time to react, and surely would've been hit directly in the face, had T.K. not slammed into at the last moment. Davis could hear and smell his singing hair, as the acid barely touched it. The two boys landed with a dull thud on the street.

"Don't you ever think before you act?" T.K. demanded. Then he added, almost reluctantly, "You all right?"

"Fine, T.A.," Davis sniffed. "I could've handled it."

Something foul smelling sizzled past them, and they scurried to their feet. The Ghastlymon advanced, while the girl turned on her heal, and smartly ran. Neither boy could blame her.

"Now what?" Davis asked, dodging another shot.

"What do you mean, 'now what?'" T.K. barked. "You only got as far as nearly getting yourself killed in your plan?"

The two boys tried to run past the creature, back to the house, but were easily and quickly blocked by acid, as it burnt holes into anything it touched. T.K. knew they couldn't keep up with this game of dodge forever. Sooner or later, one of them was going to get hit. And then it would only be a matter of time before both were down, since there was no way either of them could carry the other and make it back to the house in one piece.

"Get away from them!" someone ordered, and Davis' ear perked when he heard a strange, wet sound.

It was Tai, with a scowl on his face and a baseball bat in his hand. The bat was sunken halfway into the back of the Ghastlymon, and the creature seemed to quiver, like a rotting plate of Jell-O. With a strong tug and a grunt, Tai pulled the bat out of the thing for another swing.

"Get inside," he demanded to the two boys. "Now!"

They hesitated for only a moment, before running back to the safety of the house lawn.

"Okay," Tai grinned, shaking the bat at the digimon. "It's just you and me now."

With all his might, he swung the baseball bat down onto the Ghastlymon's head. It caved a bit, then the bat simply slipped in, like it was sliding through pudding, with wet, slurping noises. It got stuck midway through the creature. The digimon stopped moving, but looked far from hurt.

Tai tried to pull the bat out for one more shot, but he couldn't budge it. He let go of the baseball bat like it was on fire, and stumbled back a bit, waiting to be hit by acid. It didn't happen though. Instead the Ghastlymon stood still, strange sounds emanating from it. Tai was confused for a minute, then realized the thing was... digesting the bat. And, apparently, the effort made it impossible for the digimon to attack.

Smartly, Tai took that as a cue to dash back to the house. When he got back in, everyone huddled around, shouting out multiple questions. The bombardment was too much for the shaken young man, and he clenched his fists.

"Everyone, back off!" he shouted. When they all looked at him, startled, Tai sighed. "Sorry. Just, give me a moment, okay? Oh, Mimi, I'm sorry," he apologized, his voice hollow. "I'm afraid it... ate your father's bat."

"Oh. Well, that's all right," she replied, quivering. "Better the bat than you."

"I nailed it right over the head with the bat," Tai said, almost to himself. "And it didn't even phase it. You just... you just can't kill that thing."

From the corner of the room, Iori shuddered.


Night fell, though the continued darkness made it hard to tell. Iori sat on his bed, peering out to the front lawn, his eyes never leaving the Ghastlymon that was still there. It was just standing guard, waiting for something, or someone. Someone...

"Iori," Armadimon's voice made the small boy jump. "Go to bed. Don't think about it." With that, the humanized digimon closed his eyes, falling asleep as easily as he normally did.

Iori gazed fondly at his friend for a moment, but went right back to looking out the window. He couldn't sleep. He knew that thing outside was waiting for someone. And not just anyone.

The Ghastlymon, as if knowing, turned to him, and the small boy was struck with a sudden, frightening clarity.

It was waiting for him.

It stared at Iori, as if gleefully telling the boy that his suspicion was right. It wanted him. It wanted to torture him, to hear his screams. It wanted to kill him, and him alone.

And it would wait forever if it had to.

With a shivering hand, Iori pulled down the shade, and huddled into his bed. Shutting his eyes tightly, he prayed for his father's ghost to protect him, for he did not think he would survive this particular adventure.

Next Chapter: Secrets, Lies, and Other Things that go Bump in the Night