hikari10

Chapter 10: Meeting Yourself Is Weird


Quickly, Daisuke dove behind the sand dune and began typing on his D-terminal. Iori, Ken, and the digimon weren't far behind.

"What are you doing?" Iori whispered.

"E-mailing Hikari-chan," Daisuke whispered in response. "She said she had reinforcements. If she did, we could really use them, now."

"In the meantime, let's hide," Armadimon advised. He was already burying himself under the sand. Wormmon and V-mon were doing the same. Daisuke finished his hurried e-mail and buried himself in the sand dune as well, ignoring as best he could the sand in his eyes and hair. A few seconds after him, Iori and Ken followed.

A dark shadow sailed over them. A few seconds later, the six figures poked their heads out, finally able to breath.

Ken stared at "himself" in shock as he flew over. 'I never thought I'd have to fight myself,' he thought to himself. Mentally, he wondered if he could. And if he really could re-open the digital gates in this world.

Wormmon sensed how he was feeling and looked towards his partner with worried eyes. "Don't worry Ken-chan," the little green digimon whispered. "You can do it."

He didn't speak as he watched the Airdramon sail past, the DigiKaiser in all his glory. Arrogant. Proud. Ken shut his eyes and sighed, trying not to think about it.

***

Riding on Nefertimon, Hikari's D-terminal beeped. She pulled it out and glanced at the hurried message from Daisuke.

D.K. showed up. Too many. Got reinforcements? Send! -D.

It was the shortest message Hikari had ever received. She supposed that D.K. meant Digi-Kaiser. Too many meant they were out numbered. The rest was a blatant cry for help.

"Wizarmon!" Hikari shouted to the wizard flying behind her. "We're gonna need reinforcements. The Kaiser! He showed up!"

"On it!" Wizarmon shouted. "I'll meet you there."

Hikari nodded and turned to her ride. "We need to hurry, Nefertimon," she shouted to her partner. Understanding, the winged digimon nodded and began to fly faster.

***

"Excellent. We're making excellent progress," Ken commented, pleased. The digimon slaves surrounding him stared in fear. The Kaiser was rarely in a good mood. They weren't stupid enough to think it would last.

"Well? What are you standing around for? Get to work!" The indigo haired boy's demeanor immediately changed for the worse. His eyes narrowed behind his tinted visor, and his voice grew hoarser as he shouted out commands. "We're behind schedule," he reminded them. "There's nothing here yet and I want this thing completed soon!"

Daisuke could only stare. V-mon, next to him, had eyes as wide as saucers. "I think he's loosing it," the blue dragon commented, and Daisuke nodded.

"Hasn't he lost it already?" Iori asked.

Daisuke sat down, turning away from their enemy. "No. I think he's lost it even more than Ken ever did." He glanced towards their newest ally, who was at the moment attempting to gain control of himself.

"Ken-chan? Are you okay?" Wormmon was asking.

"I'm okay," Ken whispered, but his hands were shaking. He looked at Daisuke with fear in his eyes. "I'm not sure I can do this," he said in the quietest voice Daisuke had ever heard anyone use.

Daisuke knelt in front of the boy he was determined to call friend. "Ken, listen to me," he commanded. When the boy slowly turned pain filled eyes to him, he continued.

"Ken, that's not you anymore. I know that. You know that. Even Iori knows that." He gestured to the smaller boy behind him. Iori had doubt in his eyes, but he knew that, in this mission, Ken would be important and now was not the time to let his own personal doubts get in the way.

Ken sniffled slightly, trying not to cry. He nodded.

"I've got a plan. And I think it'll work." Daisuke had that grin on his face and that look in his eyes that told both Iori and Ken that he was confident. He turned serious once more. "But I'll need you to pull it off, okay?"

Ken looked down at the sandy ground. "I - I don't know Daisuke. I don't know if I can do it," he whispered, his voice hoarse from holding back tears.

"Sure you can. I know you can," Daisuke encouraged. "Please, Ken. Just try, at least? Promise me you'll try?"

Ken sighed slightly and sniffed again. He wiped his hand against his still-dry eyes. "I'll try," he whispered softly.

"Good," Daisuke grinned. "Here's the plan."

***

Hikari spotted the work site from a far distance off. She could also see Daisuke, Iori, and Ken near it. "Nefertimon, we can't get in there without being seen," she told her partner.

"Should we wait for backup?" the other questioned.

"I think so," Hikari replied. "We can't get them out of there without a fight, and we can't fight without the back up. We don't have any choice but to wait."

"Um - do you want to tell Daisuke that?" Nefertimon asked.

"What?" Hikari asked. She peered towards the ground. Daisuke had stood up and was making his way towards the DigiKaiser and the other digimon. "What is he doing?"

"Looks like he has a plan," Nefertimon commented.

Her partner heaved a sigh. "I hope it's a good plan."

***

"Hey! Cape Boy!"

Daisuke almost winced as he saw his former (and current) opponent whirl around in shock and anger.'Déjà vu,' he though to himself.

"You!" the DigiKaiser stammered. "What are you doing - how did you get here?"

Daisuke shrugged nonchalantly. "That's for me to know and you to find out, Cape Boy. But I got a question for you."

The aforementioned Cape Boy rolled his eyes. "And why should I answer you?"

Daisuke thought for a brief moment. "I dunno. 'Cause it's a good question?"

"I'll be the judge of that."

"Okay. Well, my question is, what have you done to Ken?"

The DigiKaiser showed obvious anger. "That name is meaningless here."

"Yeah, so I figured. I know. You don't want to be called that." Daisuke brushed aside the speech he'd heard a hundred times over. "So my question is, what did you do to him?"

"What are you talking about?"

Daisuke waved his left hand behind his back in a signal. "Ya see, I used to see this really cool guy on television all the time. His name was Ken Ichijouji. But you don't want to be him anymore. He's gone. My question is, what did you do to him?"

The DigiKaiser was angrier than he had ever recalled being before. "He doesn't exist anymore," he shouted. His pupils were getting smaller, as they always did when he got angry, and his veins began to bulge slightly. "I am the Digimon Kaiser. Ken Ichijouji doesn't exist anymore."

"Oh yeah?" another voice questioned. It sounded eerily like the first. When the DigiKaiser turned around, he saw why. It was the same voice.

"Who? What?" he stammered. There, only a few feet behind him, was a boy who looked exactly like he did. Well, like he did when he was in the real world.

"So if I don't exist anymore, then why am I here?" the second Ken Ichijouji asked. He had a slight self-satisfied smirk on his face that his double recognized immediately. It was his self-satisfied smirk. Exactly.

The DigiKaiser walked towards himself. He reached out and touched himself on the arm. "You- you're real!" he gasped.

Ken Ichijouji, non DigiKaiser, rolled his eyes. "Of course I am," he replied. "What did you think?"

It was then that the Digimon Kaiser spotted a strange green animal on his double's shoulder. "What is that?"

Ken reached up and carefully took his digimon from his shoulder. "This is Wormmon," he replied. His eyes became sad and happy at the same time as he gazed at his digimon. "He died for me," he told his double.

The Kaiser became more confused. "What?"

Ken explained. "I was like you, once," he explained. "Angry. Sad. And then I realized my mistake. Wormmon died to save me." He smiled sadly at his double. "Don't you have a Wormmon?" he asked, as though the idea had just occurred to him.

The Kaiser shook his head. "No," he replied. "I don't. I think - I think I did once, though."

Ken nodded. "What happened to him?" he prompted.

The Kaiser sank to his knees, suddenly in the midst of a massive headache. "I - I don't know," he stammered. "I - I think - I think he died, too."

Ken knelt beside himself. "I know this is hard," he said sympathetically. "But how did he die?"

"I - I don't remember." Tears were flowing from his eyes as a result of the pain. "I think - I think it was my fault, though."

Ken frowned. He glanced at Wormmon, still in his arms. "Your fault?" He was slightly confused.

The other Ken nodded. "Wormmon - he," he was unable to hold the tears in. He began to sob, almost uncontrollably. In a flash, his outer clothes disappeared, and his hair flattened down. He looked the same as the other Ken kneeling next to him. The dark rings on the Monochromon and the other digimon nearby disappeared, leaving the to scatter. "He was real, wasn't he?" he asked himself.

Ken nodded soberly. "It took me a while to figure that out, too," he assured his double. "But the digimon are real."

"Real." He sniffed, looking at himself. "And I hurt them, didn't I?"

Another confirming nod. "I know," he assured him. "I went through this to. After Osamu -."

"Osamu? What about Osamu?"

Ken looked at himself in surprise. "In - my world - Osamu - was killed. I blamed myself."

"Just like I blamed myself for Wormmon," the other Ken stated. Both Kens were teary-eyed for several moments. Then both began to sob again. Instinctively, each reached out for the other, and a few minutes later, both were holding each other and sobbing in each others arms.

Hikari and Nefertimon landed a few feet away, next to Daisuke. "I get the feeling I've seen this before," Tailmon commented as she de-evolved.

"Hikari-chan!" Daisuke realized. "You're okay!" He stepped forward, and, forgetting about everything for the moment except the emotions of the situation, hugged her.

Hikari was surprised for a moment, but then grinned and hugged him back. "Yes, Daisuke," she replied with a smile. "I'm okay."

***

Both Ken and Ken sat beside the massive computer in what had once been the Digimon Kaiser's base. It would be destroyed as soon as possible, but first they had a few things to do.

For a few moments, the doubles worked in silence, and then they began to talk excitedly over their shared lives, their shared experiences, and what they were doing on the computer.

A few minutes after the excited conversation began, one of the numerous screens activated, and Koushiro's surprised face appeared.

He stared blankly at the two Kens for a moment and then stammered. "Uh, Ken, er, Ken, um, I," he stammered for a few moments while both Kens laughed.

Hikari stepped forward. "Don't worry Koushiro, the digital world is saved," she explained, as Ken and Ken left the room.

Daisuke stood next to her. "Yeah, Ken helped save the day. And himself."

Koushiro looked confused for a moment, and then nodded. "I think we're going to need a bit more explanation," he informed them.

Hikari nodded. "Right, I figured you would. And Ken - your Ken - will explain it all when he gets home." She glanced behind her. "As soon as he finishes up a few things, that is."

"And there'll be a lot of cleaning up to do, I'll bet," Iori stated, stepping forward. "But in the meantime, the digital gates are re-opened. So everyone can help."

"And you three?" Koushiro asked.

"Four," Daisuke corrected.

"We'll be heading back to our world, Koushiro," Hikari replied. "I don't think it'll be safe if Daisuke meets himself."

"That reminds me - ," Koushiro spoke up. "Did you ever find out what happened to our Hikari?"

Hikari shook her head. "I'm sorry Koushiro. I haven't seen anything. I'll be sure to ask your Ken again, but I think he'll give you the same response. I'm sorry. Tell my brother I'm sorry I couldn't see him. I think it would be best."

"I agree," Koushiro nodded. "Send him my way when he gets back to the real world, okay?"

"Will do, Koushiro," Daisuke replied as the screen closed.

He looked towards Hikari and Tailmon. "So, ready to go home?"

End

A/n: An epilogue is coming soon, don't worry!