To Sleep…Perchance to Scream
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon and its characters, nor am I making any money from this. This is done purely for fun.
Warnings: This story disregards the ending of season 02. The Digital World is still a secret except for the Digi-destined. And this story contains violence, angst, and some mild language. I have only seen the American version of Digimon.
I finally found some information on Daemon. He was listed as a Demon Lord. Waves a piece of piece of paper Artistic license is being used here, folks. Sorry if things aren't quite according to cannon. As always, I thank my sister for getting me involved in yet another anime obsession.
Chapter 5 In the Halls of the Dead
They leapt out of the light into another world. The first thing that they noticed was that Davis was screaming something about Ken.
"Davis, calm down!" Tai ordered. "What's the problem?"
"It's Ken!" Davis exploded in frantic rage. "He didn't come with us!" Davis was almost dancing in fury at Ken's actions.
"He didn't?" Matt asked in surprise and they all looked around, in a vain attempt to find the Keeper of Kindness.
"Uh, guys, where are we anyway?" Joe asked, looking down at the ground. It sank in at that time that something was not right.
In the Digital world, they were used to seeing strange things in weird places. Finding a vending machine in the middle of the forest was commonplace, as was a monitor in a snow bank. It was a twisted version of the real world, in a fever-dream sort of way. But this place was nothing like that. The Digidestined found themselves in a place that was filled with absolutely nothing.
There was nothing to break the monotonous skyline, which was the same grayish white shade as the ground. No sun shone down from above, no plants grew from below. It was a place of total and utter blankness.
"What a boring world," Yolei observed and TK and Kari nodded in agreement. "This isn't part of the Digital world is it?"
Izzy shook his head. "I don't think so, unless it's another one of those weird side dimensions, " he answered as he opened up Ken's laptop. "I am not sure why Ken sent us here, but if we can access a Digi-port from the laptop, we can get out of here and into the Digital world where we belong," he said as he typed the commands to open up a Digi-port.
"Good idea!" Tai congratulated with excitement. Davis shifted impatiently. He hated to let Ken out of his sight for a moment. He just knew that the young genius would get into all sorts of trouble without him. Kari reached out and squeezed his arm in reassurance. He gave her a thin-lipped smile, but the worry didn't fade from his brown eyes.
As they waited, Izzy frowned. Seeing it, Joe asked, "What is it? Or is it something that I don't want to know?" he moaned.
The redhead shook his head. "Ken left a message for us," he reported.
"What does it say?" TK asked as they all crowded around the computer whiz.
"It says: I'm sorry about this, but it was the only way to make sure that all of you would be out of my way. The dimension you are in is an empty world, so you won't be attacked. I have a security lock on the Digi-port program. Don't worry, it should only take Izzy about 15 minutes to crack the program and get you out of there. Signed Ken. PS Davis, I'm counting on you to bring me back." Izzy read.
They all looked at Davis, who stared back blankly. He had no idea what Ken had meant.
"Izzy!" Tai brought their attention back to the problem.
"I'm on it!" was Izzy's sharp reply. He started working, trying every trick he had ever learned or imagined to break through the security codes. The minutes ticked by, and the Digidestined prayed that Izzy would be able to get them to the Digital world in time to save their friend.
The broken hulk of the fallen fortress loomed above them when Ken and Leafmon landed in the Digital world. Ken immediately sensed the cold darkness the accompanied the Demon Lord in the back of his mind, and knew that Daemon could sense his presence in the Digital world as well. "I'd better hurry," he muttered.
Breaking into a ground-eating jog, Ken with Leafmon safely ensconced in his arms entered the pile of ruins. For a moment he paused in the large tear he used for an entrance, remembering. The silent ghosts of those he tortured here seemed to whisper to him, accusing him, hating him. Shuddering, Ken stepped into the gloom.
"All is silent in the halls of
the dead
All is forgotten in the stone
halls of the dead
Behold the stairways which
stand in darkness
Behold the rooms of ruin
These are the halls of the
dead where the spiders spin
And the great circuits fall
quiet, one by one."
"What did you say Ken?" Leafmon asked.
Ken jumped. He hadn't realized that he had said that aloud. "Its nothing, just something I remembered from a book I read a while ago," he replied, wincing at the way his voice echoed in the half-lit crumbling halls of the abandoned fortress.
"Ken?" Leafmon asked as Ken carefully made his way down the ruined corridor with the baby Digimon cradled in his arms.
"What?" Ken asked shortly. He wasn't mad, just concentrating on keeping his footing while ducking and jumping with catlike grace over debris. He had to hurry; he could feel the Demon Lord's presence growing in the back of his mind like a cancer. There were things he needed if he was going to pull this off.
"Where are the others?" the leaf-topped ball of cuteness asked.
"I sent them to that weird
dimension I found when I was experimenting with gating, back when I was the
Emperor. Remember that empty place?" Ken responded, skidding around a corner
and picking his way down a broken flight of stairs as fast as he dared. Dammit,
why did I make this place so big? he wondered. I guess it seemed like a
good idea at the time.
"Why?" Leafmon twisted around so he could look into Ken's eyes, which were shrouded in shadows.
"Because if we had all arrived in the Digital world together, Daemon would have attacked at once, before we were ready to fight. And given his past behavior, many of the Digi-destined would be killed. I'm not going to let anyone else get hurt on account of me." Ken sighed as he shifted his friend in his arms and stepped up into a jog. "Daemon is on his way here right now, can you feel him?"
Leafmon nodded soberly. He could feel the Demon Lord approaching like an imminent storm.
"I'm going to need you to warp-digivolve in a few minutes to Stingmon," he told his partner as the gloom caused him to miscalculate a turn and slam into a twisted beam. He needed to hurry, but if he didn't slow down, he would undoubtedly fall and break something. He didn't need that to happen.
"Sure, Ken." The little Digimon tried to sound supportive, but it was very frightened. He could feel what was in Ken's heart, and the darkness seemed to be growing stronger. What was worse was that Ken didn't seem to be fighting it anymore.
"Another thing, do not call me Ken. Call me master, or Digimon Emperor, got it?" Ken instructed. He could feel Daemon getting closer and closer. It was easy to picture the Demon Lord coming at him, relentlessly, like that movie Davis had made him watch once. The Terminator.
Leafmon started to shake at Ken's
words, but didn't question his orders. As if sensing the tiny Digimon's doubt,
Ken just said, "Trust me." Then they were at their destination. Please let
it still be intact.
He entered the dark cavern that had once served as his
control center. As he stepped into the vast room, his footsteps echoing in the
silence that hung like a shroud, he recalled the passage from Stephen King's
book again. It seemed fitting for this situation.
The main control room was in shambles, but Ken ignored the mess. Striding to the center of the room, he set Leafmon down and placed his hands in the air in front of him, like he was getting ready to play a pretend piano. Drawing on the power of his dark Digivice, Ken concentrated. A keyboard appeared under his fingertips, and Ken immediately began to type commands.
The major change was his clothes. The outfit he had been wearing was transformed into a version of his old Emperor's uniform, except for some significant changes. It was indigo with black panels, instead of blue with white. His shades were the same as before, but his hair remained the same style as usual. He had no desire to look like Sam anymore. He was Ken.
The gold-lined cape was black, as were his gloves and boots. A black belt fit snugly at his slender waist, from which his D3 hung. Perched on his inner forearm was something different though. It was a tiny computer screen. Hanging from its chain around his neck was his Crest of Kindness. He was not sure why he had brought it, but it felt right somehow. Satisfied, he turned to Leafmon. "Ready?" he asked.
"Where did you get the outfit?" the little Digimon asked.
Ken replied as he set his D3. "I designed it to wear for when I conquered the Digital world. It has several interesting modifications that I hope will help to protect me from Daemon's attacks." As he was explaining, he was thinking about power.
Power. Daemon had it. Ken had it. Now it was time to see who had more.
Ken closed his eyes and turned his thoughts inward. He could feel the dark power of the spore, with all the might of the dark ocean behind it. It was his to draw on, his to use. Focusing all his pain and rage, all his anger and hatred into the darkness, he dropped the blocks he had built around the power inside of himself.
Blackness ripped through his mind, amplifying his emotions as he screamed, partially in rage, partially in grief at what he was doing to himself. His hate knew no bounds, and as it grew, so did the power he unleashed. Along with the power came the heady, seductive false belief of being unconquerable. The power was his, and now Daemon would suffer.
"Now Leafmon!" he ordered, his voice as hard as ice.
"Leafmon, warp-digivolve to Stingmon!" Ken's D3 screamed to life and Leafmon leaped into the air, his tiny shape growing exponentially as he digivolved from his baby to his champion state. His body took on a vaguely humanoid form and turned a dark green. Red eyes glowed and huge dragonfly wings sprouted from his back.
As Stingmon drew power from the Digivice, he understood what Ken had in mind, and all his questions ceased. Ken was his partner, and Stingmon would do anything in his power to support him
Is if they were sharing the same thoughts, Stingmon swooped down towards the Keeper of Kindness, who leaped impossibly high into the air. At the height of his leap, Stingmon passed below him, and Ken was kneeling on the champion's back, nestled between the gossamer wings. As they rose, Stingmon extended an arm, a red blade extended from his wrist.
"Spiking Strike!"
They punched through the crumbling ceiling, sending showers of rubble crashing down below into the collapsing control room, and rose high into the afternoon sky in an impressive display of grace and power. Stingmon turned into a lazy circle as Ken, with one hand placed in front of his knees for balance, studied the small screen on his inner forearm. The wind blew his hair out of his eyes, and his cape fluttered behind him. The only sound he could hear was the drone of the twin sets of translucent wings that beat the air around him.
He looked up, frowning and pointed to the west. Blackness was building in the Digital sky.
"He's coming from that way."
Stingmon nodded and went into a shallow dive to pick up some speed. Ken
smirked. Daemon, you are going down.
TBC
The Halls of the Dead is from Stephen King's Waste Land.