*comes in dragging a struggling Ken* Yes! *shouts triumphantly* I found my runaway muse!
- Ken - *groans* Somebody help meeeee....
Bwahahahahaha!! Er... yeah. Not a good sign when I start out the chapter with evil cackling, now, is it, folks? Heh. Anyhoo, this chapter contains vewwwy violent Matt-dreams/visions/glimpses, whatever ya wanna call 'em. *stares at Yama* Never knew you were so dark... Evil makes you seksy... *glomps Yama*
- Ken - *cheers* I'm free! She has an inexplicable fetish with Yamato now!
*shrugs* Yamato, TK, Tai, Koushirou, Jyou, Ken... *drools* all of 'em are bishounen! *evil smile* That don't mean you're off the hook, Ken-kun! *turns and glomps Ken*
Bwahaha... Kawaii Mimi-chan, you didn't get to use your punishment hammer! *sticks out tongue* Nyah... ^-^
I've decided most of the romances for this story, although they probably won't show up until later on. Taira/Taiora - This is for DigiDestined of Courage, Baby Blossom, and WarGreymon1104 (all the people who said 'Taiora Forever!' in their reviews... hehe). Takari, for, um, all the Takari lovers out there... ^-^. Aaand, I haven't decided Jyoumi or Koumi yet... Vote on it in your reviews! Jyoumi is Jyou (Joe) x Mimi, and Koumi is Koushirou (Izzy) x Mimi. Thanks!
Warning! Warning! Sporadic updates alert! Tennis is underway, as is school, and I'll prob'ly be updating even LESS (if that's possible...) I have a fairly good idea of how this fic'll turn out, and I'm already drawing plans for a sequel. I tend to get ahead of myself... *grins sheepishly* Meanwhile, my main problem is actually WRITING the fic. Heh. Gomen. Guess y'could call me a procrastinator, ne? Ah well... at least this time, the late update can be blamed on faulty FF.net. (although I didn't write this until right before it was up again, anyway...)
Disclaimer - Stop torturing me!! *turns chibi and looks up with big teary eyes* I don't own digimon! *waterfall tears*
I'll shut up now. On with the fic! And... *waggles fingers* My magical powers will make you review. Alakazam! *waits* Er... Abracadabra! *nothing happens* Oh yeah, I forgot... I need your help on this, uh... trick. Go down to the box at the bottom AFTER reading this part of the story, fill it out, press 'OK,' and presto! You will have reviewed! Fun, ne? ^-^;; Squee.
As Destiny Blooms
Part Three ~ Mugen ~*~ Visions
A large, ebony mist loomed in the corner of the dank chamber, seemingly sucking any positive energy that had once lingered in the air out of the room - that is, if there had been any to begin with. A sinister voice was emitted from the very depths of the hazy evil, conversing with an insane clown that stood by its side. The object of their discourse was a small boy, around the age of eight or so, who was curled up into a small ball in the middle of a large crater on the floor. The child slept peacefully, innocent azure eyes shut tightly, oblivious to the dark forces that slowly penetrated the barriers grief had set around him.
"How long will this take?" the clown inquired impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.
"Patience," the other advised, his gravelly voice curt and cold. "It will be done soon enough. Meanwhile, you might be working on how to win over our... other charge. He has more experience, and will not be fooled so easily."
Piedmon froze, a perplexed look stamped on his painted features. "But how?" he whispered to himself harshly. "The stupid boy denies his own dark nature, even with my persuasion!"
"It is because he is wary and distrustful of you," replied the mist benignly. Piedmon uttered a violent curse while the evil spirit chuckled. "Why don't you convince him that the others hate him?"
"I've *tried* that," the clown complained, as Myotismon watched bemusedly. "He doesn't believe me!"
"Tell him... vicariously," the vampire suggested slyly. Piedmon looked at him in puzzlement, and he explained. "Give him a drink or some sort of sustenance. Say it's... to help him sleep or something. Program the Chosen's hatred towards him into the drink."
Piedmon's brow furrowed. "What?" he asked, confused.
Myotismon sighed tolerantly. "I said, make the drink so that he will dream of their loathing of him, and he will grow to hate them as well. That," he paused shrewdly, "or he will be too broken up to resist his own darkness. We will win either way."
Piedmon's eyes lit up with the revelation, as Myotismon watched approvingly. "I'll go brew up some potion now..." he muttered as he hurried off.
The vampire's gaze never left Piedmon's back as the clown vacated swiftly. "Fool," he muttered under his breath. "Only one will be King of these lands... and that one is me."
~
Piedmon casually approached the bound boy, who glared at him suspiciously with frigid icy eyes. He smiled calmly at Matt, attempting to be social, but the sight only sent chilling shivers dancing up and down Matt's spine.
"What do you want?" he growled, trying to mask the fatigue that crept stealthily into his voice.
Piedmon offered a silver chalice towards the boy. The cup was an ornate item, decorated lavishly with sparkling gems of all different colours, and filled with a strangely shimmering crimson liquid. "Only to give you this." He lifted the cup towards Matt's lips.
Matt shied away from the advancing goblet, trying desperately to prevent it from reaching his lips. Although he was still bound tightly to the large marble column, he managed to put up a decent fight, until Piedmon roughly grabbed his head in a single gloved hand, forcing it towards him. Matt glared pure hate towards the jovial face of the clown. "Why, to poison me?" he asked bitterly.
The clown gave the pretense of being surprised. "What? Poison? Never! It's simply a small potion to help you sleep!" he exclaimed, looking slightly hurt.
Matt glared at him distrustingly, but suddenly Piedmon pinched his nostrils shut in a swift movement. As soon as Matt opened his mouth to gasp in a breath, the clown digimon poured the shimmering liquid down the boy's throat.
Coughing and spluttering as the drink made its burning way into his veins, the captive boy futilely fought the waves of mist that threatened to overtake his senses. His weighted eyelids slowly lowered themselves over his eyes, and his vision became hazy and weak. He slowly succumbed to the enveloping obsidian fog.
~
"You know," Joe murmured, trying to hold the restless Tai down as he administered bandages, "I liked it better when you were unconscious."
The mahogany-haired leader offered his 'doctor' a reckless, yet impatient, grin. "But it was no fun," he complained. Blinking his chocolate-coloured eyes lazily, he implored the red-haired girl next to him for help. "Sora, tell Joe to let me up..."
The girl shook her head sternly, a teasing smile playing on her lips, as she smacked his head lightly. "Tai, it's your own fault you're hurt so badly. Next time, don't go rushing off into battle without reinforcements."
The brunette's eyes clouded over as he gazed blankly at a spot over the girl's shoulder. "I had reinforcements... I had WarGreymon..."
Sora's own crimson eyes were saturated with compassion. "Tai... he'll be okay, I swear. All of our digimon, plus the ones Mimi rallied, are in a discreet place in the forest now, looking after him."
"But I didn't have enough power... and he's hurt. Badly. And Matt..." His voice trailed off again, only to resume with a stronger, more determined tone. "How could I have been knocked out? And let him be taken like that? I have to go and get him!"
He struggled futilely against Joe's viselike hold, but the injuries he had sustained still weakened him severely. "No," Joe admonished firmly. "You're not up to strength yet. WarGreymon's not up to strength. Heck, the rest of us aren't up to strength! We need you at full health, and *then* we'll get Matt back, okay?"
Tai stopped struggling momentarily, but he still continued to voice complaints. "I should've been stronger. What am I as leader if I couldn't even stop a stupid cackling clown? And he took Matt. I let my best friend be kidnapped because I couldn't hold my own against some insane thespian! If I don't get him back, I don't know what I'll do. I mean, what kind of a person am I to let my best friend rot in a dungeon? Oh, God, and what about that explosion earlier? What if that damned clown is hurting him? If he is, I'll..."
Exchanging an exasperated glance with Joe, Sora leaned down and planted a firm kiss on Tai's raving mouth. When she eventually straightened, she noticed everyone in the small cave staring at her in extreme curiosity and embarrassment. She flushed slightly, a wicked grin stretching across her face as she looked down at the speechless Tai, his lips flapping open and shut like a gaping fish.
"I do what I have to do," she said lightly.
"Right..." Joe snorted, as he continued treating Tai.
~
Matt suddenly snapped his gaze upwards. His entire being was engulfed in darkness, and directly before him, in a small patch of too-bright light, stood Tai. He reached his hand out, pleading, to his former leader, but the brunette's mahogany eyes were hard and full of spite. He backed away from Matt's searching grasp, letting his so-called friend's hand drop limply to the ground.
"Tai..." Matt's voice sounded rough as it rasped a pitiful plea.
"You thought we were your friends?" Tai scoffed, staring straight into Matt's icy blue eyes coldly. "I can't believe you." He laughed harshly, stepping forward and trodding on Matt's fallen hand mercilessly as Matt cried out in pain. "Now that you're out of the way, we can actually *do* something. You held us back, Matt." His voice was taunting, and Matt whimpered softly. "You held us back from what we could have been. We're glad you're gone."
"No," Matt whispered, but Tai's figure was slowly fading into the background, and in his place stood Sora. Matt smiled gladly - surely Sora, the holder of Love, would help her friend free from Piedmon's grasp. "Sora! Help me, please. Tai wouldn't, but I know you..." He trailed off as he stared at her unforgiving face.
"Ha! Love!" She laughed mockingly, crimson eyes aflame with an emotion opposite her nature. "Love is for people you care for, fool." She regarded the boy scornfully, and added, "That doesn't include you, if you were wondering." She turned on her heel and strode away, not bothering to look back. Matt bowed his head, tears threatening to fall, but his grief was interrupted by the arrival of yet another Chosen Child.
"Matt..." The soft voice echoed around the dark abysmal void, and he glanced up to see Mimi standing in front of him. Too tired to even speak, he simply stared mournfully at her. Rather than the hate the previous two had shown, sympathy was etched on her features. Hope rose in his heart.
"You know I have to be sincere, Matt." She took a deep breath. "I never liked you, really. You were always so, like, mean!" She flipped her light brown hair over her shoulder and giggled girlishly, innocence shining from her honey-coloured eyes. "And cold, and stuff," she continued blithely, oblivious of the splintering shaft she had just driven into Matt's ailing soul. "Y'know, I feel sorry for you. You're so, like, pathetic. Go and get some friends. I mean, like, not here, though. We don't like you. Never have, never will. Bye!" She waved cheerfully with a gloved hand, and skipped away to join the others, her pink dress swishing about her feet.
"Mimi, don't go!" Matt sobbed forlornly as the keeper of Sincerity flounced into the waiting arms of her friends... Friends that were no longer his, as he silently reminded himself.
The next to step forward was Joe. Anger emanated from his obsidian eyes as he pushed his glasses furiously up his nose. "You were always mean to me, Matt," he accused, glaring a deathly promise to the boy on the ground. "You teased me. Well, now it's my turn. Friend? Crest of Friendship? Don't make me laugh. You'll never have friends. You're too cold." Shoving his specs onto the bridge of his nose one final time, he turned and walked haughtily away.
"No, Joe, please..." Matt's voice was barely audible as he watched Joe's receding figure. His heart sank as Izzy interceded on his line of vision, striding boldly up in front of him.
"Computer nerd, eh, Matt?" he commented, malicious glee shining from his ebony eyes. "Not anymore. Am I still the one without friends? I have friends, Matt." He gesticulated randomly in the general direction of the other Chosen, and glared scornfully down at Matt. "You don't. That's how it was meant to be. I mean, who, logically, would be friends with you? It makes no sense whatsoever, and my theories are always correct."
Matt drew a shuddering breath, sorrow penetrating the barrier he had set around his frozen heart, melting it into unbidden tears that coursed heedlessly down his pale cheeks. He failed to notice a small figure stopping in front of him until a timid voice spoke.
"Matt?"
He looked up, drawing in ragged draughts of air as he strove to calm his nerves, to see Kari. The young girl's soft brown eyes were full of naiveté, but a hint of hate and loathing lurked behind the innocent facade. "What, Kari?" he whispered tiredly, his face drawn and ashen, willing himself not to feel any more of the emotion that ripped and tore ravenously at his heart.
"Why did you let Myotismon get me?" The question was posed in a casual manner, but it hung between the two like a great stone wall. Matt started, shocked.
"Kari, I never! I protected you. I couldn't help it when you were taken!" he cried, reaching out a trembling hand towards the girl.
She dodged heartlessly away from his touch, glaring down derisively. "You could have!" she accused shrilly. "You could have fought off Phantomon! You could have saved me, and Gatomon, and Wizardmon! You. Killed. Wizardmon!"
Matt stared, shock stealing the wind from his chest and leaving him breathless. The accusation would, to any logical thinker, seem unfounded, but to his grief-ridden mind, the guilt rushing towards him overloaded his senses. He broke down sobbing at her feet as she watched passively, finally turning and walking slowly away.
The patter of young footsteps announced the arrival of his final tormentor. He looked up into azure eyes identical to his own, albeit these normally compassionate eyes were frozen over with hatred and contempt. A childish voice broke into Matt's self-pity. "You were never a brother to me," TK said slowly, reveling in the horror that showed plainly on his older brother's face. "Tai is better. You were never there for me. You're not my brother any more. That's Tai. I don't love you." TK glared hard at Matt, waiting for the harsh words to strike deep within Matt's already shattered heart.
Matt's eyes dulled as he stared listlessly at his younger brother. "No," he whispered, barely audible. "No..." The faint plea grew louder as he wailed, curling up into the fetal position on the floor, trying to avoid the hateful stares of those he had once called friends. "Nooooooo!"
He let the scream echo across the void, not caring who heard him. A cool breeze blew suddenly across his face, and he looked up again, expecting to see the faces of his friends glaring pure animosity at him. Instead, he was confronted by a wide, barren plain that stretched out in front of him until it met the midnight black horizon. The moon drifted, bright yet alone, encompassed in a mass of velvet. As the mists shifted, a patch of stars were revealed, rivaling the dominant moon for possession of the sky, and yet, the moon still outshone them all.
Matt gazed around himself, awed by the power that sizzled within his body, but somehow, in a strange way, it seemed familiar to him. The wind whipped around him, playing with an ebony cape that swirled about his thin, tall frame as he stood, an imposing figure that overshadowed all. He was backed by an army of the most vicious Dark Digimon in the world, but they all submitted to his reign, for the power was his, and his alone.
He narrowed his icy eyes contemptuously as he witnessed a small band of creatures approaching from the far horizon. He realised that he recognised them, as they drew closer. They were his supposed friends who had moments before left him for dead, but now... Now, they looked older, and, as he examined his own body, so did he.
Tai strode bravely out in front, evidently still the leader, scars scattered haphazardly across his tanned and weathered skin. A battle-worn sword was strapped to his waist, and his fingers toyed with the handle as he stared out purposefully across the plain at Matt. A strange, orange aura glowed around him, tainting the air with the scent of pure power. At his side walked Sora, her reddish hair past her shoulders, untamed and wild, and her crimson eyes shining with the same purpose as her leader. On her belt was a small dagger, and across her back, a quiver of arrows hung. She carried an old wooden bow with the ease of one who knows how to use the weapon, and an arrow was already notched against the relaxed string.
Close behind them, Mimi, Joe, and Izzy walked side by side, all armed, their faces set with grim determination. Matt wondered briefly what they were setting out to do, and it came to him in a flash of dreading premonition - they intended to destroy him. He stood, unmoving and unable to do anything, as they neared him, still tiny specks in the distance, but growing larger all the time.
Next were TK, Kari, and another strange young boy, one he had never seen, with tangled, raven-coloured hair and soft cerulean eyes. TK held a long staff in his right hand with apparent ease, and with his other he grasped Kari's wrist as they exchanged a loving glance. Kari's free hand clutched a somewhat long, unsheathed knife, one that was almost identical to the dagger the strange boy held.
Next to each of the children walked their respective digimon, but they, too, looked older and more experienced than Matt had ever seen them. A small, green worm perched upon the strange boy's shoulder, glaring malevolently towards Matt with watery blue eyes.
The small group of sixteen approached steadily, and as they neared him, Matt could see the smallest twinges of regret on their faces, but the predominant emotion was... apathy. They seemed to be hiding their feelings quite effectively, but he could detect an obvious sadness, and an anger as well. They finally came to a stop, several yards away from him. He stood silently, staring at them.
Tai spoke, straining to be heard above the howling winds as he shouted, "Yamato! We delivered you an ultimatum some twenty-four hours ago - Surrender or die! We will not tolerate your torture of innocent creatures any longer!"
Matt's head swam. Torture? Tai had obviously snapped. His lips moved unbidden as he replied, curling his lips contemptuously, "Surrender? For what? I will crush you like the bugs you are!"
Still not quite believing what was happening, not quite grasping either the situation or control of his actions, he gave a slight nod. With a simultaneous feral roar, the hordes of virus digimon massed behind him streamed forward. Matt watched them flow past him with an emotion akin to horror - What was he doing? He briefly saw the small, battered group of sixteen readying their weapons before the scene flashed brightly. He shielded his eyes from the glare, and as it faded, he faced a severely different setting. The sixteen hardened warriors still stood in front of him, panting and tottering unsteadily with exhaustion, streaked with their own blood and the grayish data from the dead or dying digimon that were scattered around them.
Tai looked up at Matt again, a strange fire alight in his eyes. "Matt, please," he whispered, tears forming to slide slowly down his cheeks. "Don't make us do this."
A fury built up in Matt inexplicably, and he cried insanely, "Matt? Who gave you permission to call me that? It is Yamato to you inferior beings!"
Tai sighed reluctantly, then nodded almost unnoticeably, and Mimi stepped forward, raising her hands as an emerald mist swirled around her thin frame. Palmon stood by her side, supporting her and offering up her energy. Mimi's hair was lifted up by the winds, whipping around her face as the green haze spread through the ground. The barren land trembled as plants that had never before seen the light of day erupted, jubilant with the life that had been given them. They wrapped themselves around Matt, binding him tightly, as he stood in amazement. Tai stepped forward.
"I hate to do this, Matt," he said simply, as he raised his hands as well. Mimi stood back, joining the line, as they all mimicked Tai's movements, and the ghostly colours of power flickered through the air. The digimon stood back, watching their partners prepare to deliver Armageddon to Matt. The wind whistled and howled even more loudly, as Tai called, "Now!"
A sudden rush of pure energy flowed from the warriors towards Matt, who was abruptly struck by the urgency of the situation. With a slight flick of his wrist, he broke his bindings, catching the aghast look on Mimi's face with a sinister smile as he did so. He held up a single hand, and the attack stopped, falling to the ground. An icy cold apathy rose up inside of him, suffocating any emotions he had once had.
Mimi had fallen to the ground, the agony of her plants coursing through her veins. She writhed in pain as Matt grinned and pointed his finger in a single malicious movement, sending a jet of fire onto the vines. They sizzled slowly, and he smiled, enjoying her anguish immensely.
Without tearing his gaze away from Matt, Tai yelled, "Mimi! Break your connection!"
Struggling to draw a breath, the plant girl summoned a wall of emerald power, constructing a barrier between herself and the plants. Izzy and Joe ran over to her, helping her to stand feebly.
Matt then sent a blast of ice through her barrier, splintering it and causing her to scream as the pain rushed at her again. "Want me to put you out of your misery?" he asked tauntingly. "If you insist..." An identical jet of ice shaped like a dagger rushed through the air, striking the girl through the chest. She stared down in surprise at the weapon that had penetrated her skin, gasping slightly as it melted swiftly, leaving a gaping hole that poured forth crimson blood. Her eyes turned up in her head, and she collapsed in a heap on the ground. Palmon beside her let out one single cry of sadness and pain before she burst into data, the wind scattering her particles far and wide throughout the sky.
Matt couldn't control the cold joy that coursed through his veins at this cold-blooded killing, smiling gleefully like a child at play as he heard the agonised screams of her companions. He then turned his gaze on Izzy and Joe, staring scornfully at them. "Would you like the same fate?" he asked mockingly. He barely heard their furious yells over the pleasant humming power that fizzed up through his body.
Izzy summoned a bolt of lightning, electrifying the torrents of crashing water that Joe sent rushing towards Matt. With a flick of his finger, Matt halted the attack and replied with his own cyclone of wild flames. He listened delightedly to their screams as the fire licked hungrily at their skin, not even watching to see their singed bodies collapse lifelessly on the ground, or their digimon partners screaming first in fury, then in fear, as their own bodies swiftly dissipating
Sora was next, taken with a sudden bolt of electricity. Her scream and Biyomon's final shrill cry still hung on the still air as he slew Kari and the strange boy with simultaneous arcs of light, blasting their respective digimon in the process.
He reverted his gaze to the two remaining. Both TK and Tai had tears of rage and sadness in their eyes as they clutched their weapons while kneeling next to the bodies of their loved ones. Matt's wild laughter rang through the air, and TK looked up at him hatefully.
"I thought there was still a chance for you, after all this time," he spat, tears coursing down his cheeks unheeded. "I am ashamed to call you brother!" Patamon fluttered beside his head, nodding fiercely in agreement.
"What a pity," Matt replied, keeping his voice light and cheerful, as if they were holding an everyday conversation. "But d'you know what? I'm bored now. I think I'll take you two for my slaves. What an irony - the one I once called brother, and the one I once called my best friend." He gestured slightly, and solid iron manacles fastened themselves around the wrists and ankles of his two captives.
"I will *never* be your slave!" Tai yelled, eyes burning with a fury that surpassed any Matt had ever seen. The air crackled with a fierce, fiery power, but it was held in by the chains.
"I don't think you have much of a choice." Matt smiled kindly down at Tai, who shivered despite himself.
"No matter what you do," TK chimed in hatefully, "We won't serve you! Never!"
Matt continued to smile as he drew several small dark particles from a pocket. "Like I said," he replied, tossing them towards the two, "I don't think you have much of a choice."
As soon as the particles struck the two, their eyes turned dull, and they walked slowly towards him over the sea of slaughtered bodies, kneeling in front of his towering figure willingly. As the same specs of darkness struck Agumon and Patamon, the two bewildered digimon concurrently scattered through the skies as myriad bits of data, but TK and Tai didn't seem to notice or even care.
"Who am I?" Matt demanded harshly, gazing down at them on the ground.
"Master," they intoned simultaneously. He smiled in satisfaction.
"Master," he repeated. "Has a nice ring to it."
The scene faded to a hazy gray, and Matt slowly blinked his eyes, a horrified feeling spreading through his chest. He blinked again, staring in shock as the chamber materialised, slowly coming into focus, and he saw Piedmon's painted face observing him intently from a throne across the hall. Intense relief swept over him.
"It was just a dream," he breathed, feeling sweat still standing on his brow. However comforted he was that it had all been a terrible nightmare, he couldn't help reminding himself that it had all felt so... real, and so... right, in a morbid sort of way.
"What was, my dear boy?" asked Piedmon mildly. Matt glared at him distrustfully.
"What was that crap you made me drink?" he snapped.
Piedmon shrugged. "It was merely a draught of potion to help you sleep... Although," he added with a small smile, "It has certain... properties."
"What kind of properties?" Matt asked, shuddering at the gory visions he had seen.
Piedmon seemed to hesitate on telling the captive boy. "Well... It's been known to give the creature who consumed it... eh, visions, shall we call them. Glimpses may be a more apt term. Glimpses of the feelings others bear towards you. It always brings true visions."
Piedmon allowed himself a secretive, triumphant smile as he watched the boy mull this over. The evil digimon had, in fact, programmed the supposed animosity of the other Chosen into the drink, but the boy needn't know that.
"So... they really do hate me," Matt muttered, grief clouding his azure eyes once again.
Piedmon feigned curiosity. "Who, dear boy?" he asked innocently.
"The other Chosen... they all said that they did..." Matt's voice broke as Piedmon came up to him, patting his head in mock sympathy.
"Poor boy," he murmured, inwardly jumping for joy.
"And then I..." His voice trailed off as the visions of carnage flashed unbidden before his eyes, horrified by the pleasure that welled up within him at the memory of the 'glimpse.'
"You what?" Piedmon asked, intrigued. He had not programmed anything but the other Chosen's supposed animosity towards the boy into the drink. He wanted to know what Matt's own inner darkness had come up with, teamed with an unusual side effect the drink had - an ability to have a clear, truthful vision of what the future held.
Matt's voice shook. "I killed them all but TK and Tai... I made them my slaves... Oh, God!" he wailed, shaking uncontrollably. "Is this what I'm really like inside?" he asked, looking pleadingly towards the clown digimon, who shrugged.
"All you must know now, young one, is that you are not wanted with the other Chosen." Piedmon looked down into the boy's tearful eyes paternally. "Know also that you are welcome here forever, if you should wish it to be so. Perhaps these visions of carnage were just a horrible dream. They need never come true if you don't want them to. Come what come may, you and I probably have no role in destiny. All I offer is a home." He almost laughed proudly at the performance he gave. The boy looked utterly convinced of the clown's good intentions.
Matt looked up into Piedmon's eyes uncertainly, but saw the sincerity that shone from the digimon's face. "I..." he stuttered, never taking his gaze off of Piedmon's sympathetic smiling face. "I guess I'll stay with you."
-----
Squee!!! Eh... yeah. Review! And I'll *try* to get the next part up relatively soon, as well as the next part of Turn Back Time, but *sniffs* school has started! Oh, the horror!
*shivers* I never knew I was so violent... But it was strangely fun to write... *bursts out cackling* Mwahahahahahaha! And I hope I didn't give away too much about the ending of this fic... *cue ominous music* Dum dum dummm...
- Ken - You have an unhealthy obsession with me-torture.
*incredulously* You-torture? Who, li'l ol' me? Never... *innocent look* Bwahahahahahaha!
- Ken - The cackling kind of gives you away.
Oh. Um, feck... Ah, what the heck. Hey! That rhymes! *giggles shrilly* Aren't I clever?
- Ken - Er... no.
*glares* Some muse YOU are... An' besides, it wasn't just you-torture, it was Mimi-torture, Izzy-torture, Joe-torture...
- Ken - *shudders* You're gonna make me sick...
*cheerfully* Don't puke on the story!
- Ken - Thanks... *runs away*
*sighs* Not AGAIN... What is it with run-away muses? You'd think that I, like, abuse him or something! Impossible. Ah, well... *hefts anime mallet over shoulder* Here I go! Don't forget to review! *runs after Ken*
- Ken - *groans* Somebody help meeeee....
Bwahahahahaha!! Er... yeah. Not a good sign when I start out the chapter with evil cackling, now, is it, folks? Heh. Anyhoo, this chapter contains vewwwy violent Matt-dreams/visions/glimpses, whatever ya wanna call 'em. *stares at Yama* Never knew you were so dark... Evil makes you seksy... *glomps Yama*
- Ken - *cheers* I'm free! She has an inexplicable fetish with Yamato now!
*shrugs* Yamato, TK, Tai, Koushirou, Jyou, Ken... *drools* all of 'em are bishounen! *evil smile* That don't mean you're off the hook, Ken-kun! *turns and glomps Ken*
Bwahaha... Kawaii Mimi-chan, you didn't get to use your punishment hammer! *sticks out tongue* Nyah... ^-^
I've decided most of the romances for this story, although they probably won't show up until later on. Taira/Taiora - This is for DigiDestined of Courage, Baby Blossom, and WarGreymon1104 (all the people who said 'Taiora Forever!' in their reviews... hehe). Takari, for, um, all the Takari lovers out there... ^-^. Aaand, I haven't decided Jyoumi or Koumi yet... Vote on it in your reviews! Jyoumi is Jyou (Joe) x Mimi, and Koumi is Koushirou (Izzy) x Mimi. Thanks!
Warning! Warning! Sporadic updates alert! Tennis is underway, as is school, and I'll prob'ly be updating even LESS (if that's possible...) I have a fairly good idea of how this fic'll turn out, and I'm already drawing plans for a sequel. I tend to get ahead of myself... *grins sheepishly* Meanwhile, my main problem is actually WRITING the fic. Heh. Gomen. Guess y'could call me a procrastinator, ne? Ah well... at least this time, the late update can be blamed on faulty FF.net. (although I didn't write this until right before it was up again, anyway...)
Disclaimer - Stop torturing me!! *turns chibi and looks up with big teary eyes* I don't own digimon! *waterfall tears*
I'll shut up now. On with the fic! And... *waggles fingers* My magical powers will make you review. Alakazam! *waits* Er... Abracadabra! *nothing happens* Oh yeah, I forgot... I need your help on this, uh... trick. Go down to the box at the bottom AFTER reading this part of the story, fill it out, press 'OK,' and presto! You will have reviewed! Fun, ne? ^-^;; Squee.
As Destiny Blooms
Part Three ~ Mugen ~*~ Visions
A large, ebony mist loomed in the corner of the dank chamber, seemingly sucking any positive energy that had once lingered in the air out of the room - that is, if there had been any to begin with. A sinister voice was emitted from the very depths of the hazy evil, conversing with an insane clown that stood by its side. The object of their discourse was a small boy, around the age of eight or so, who was curled up into a small ball in the middle of a large crater on the floor. The child slept peacefully, innocent azure eyes shut tightly, oblivious to the dark forces that slowly penetrated the barriers grief had set around him.
"How long will this take?" the clown inquired impatiently, tapping his foot on the floor.
"Patience," the other advised, his gravelly voice curt and cold. "It will be done soon enough. Meanwhile, you might be working on how to win over our... other charge. He has more experience, and will not be fooled so easily."
Piedmon froze, a perplexed look stamped on his painted features. "But how?" he whispered to himself harshly. "The stupid boy denies his own dark nature, even with my persuasion!"
"It is because he is wary and distrustful of you," replied the mist benignly. Piedmon uttered a violent curse while the evil spirit chuckled. "Why don't you convince him that the others hate him?"
"I've *tried* that," the clown complained, as Myotismon watched bemusedly. "He doesn't believe me!"
"Tell him... vicariously," the vampire suggested slyly. Piedmon looked at him in puzzlement, and he explained. "Give him a drink or some sort of sustenance. Say it's... to help him sleep or something. Program the Chosen's hatred towards him into the drink."
Piedmon's brow furrowed. "What?" he asked, confused.
Myotismon sighed tolerantly. "I said, make the drink so that he will dream of their loathing of him, and he will grow to hate them as well. That," he paused shrewdly, "or he will be too broken up to resist his own darkness. We will win either way."
Piedmon's eyes lit up with the revelation, as Myotismon watched approvingly. "I'll go brew up some potion now..." he muttered as he hurried off.
The vampire's gaze never left Piedmon's back as the clown vacated swiftly. "Fool," he muttered under his breath. "Only one will be King of these lands... and that one is me."
~
Piedmon casually approached the bound boy, who glared at him suspiciously with frigid icy eyes. He smiled calmly at Matt, attempting to be social, but the sight only sent chilling shivers dancing up and down Matt's spine.
"What do you want?" he growled, trying to mask the fatigue that crept stealthily into his voice.
Piedmon offered a silver chalice towards the boy. The cup was an ornate item, decorated lavishly with sparkling gems of all different colours, and filled with a strangely shimmering crimson liquid. "Only to give you this." He lifted the cup towards Matt's lips.
Matt shied away from the advancing goblet, trying desperately to prevent it from reaching his lips. Although he was still bound tightly to the large marble column, he managed to put up a decent fight, until Piedmon roughly grabbed his head in a single gloved hand, forcing it towards him. Matt glared pure hate towards the jovial face of the clown. "Why, to poison me?" he asked bitterly.
The clown gave the pretense of being surprised. "What? Poison? Never! It's simply a small potion to help you sleep!" he exclaimed, looking slightly hurt.
Matt glared at him distrustingly, but suddenly Piedmon pinched his nostrils shut in a swift movement. As soon as Matt opened his mouth to gasp in a breath, the clown digimon poured the shimmering liquid down the boy's throat.
Coughing and spluttering as the drink made its burning way into his veins, the captive boy futilely fought the waves of mist that threatened to overtake his senses. His weighted eyelids slowly lowered themselves over his eyes, and his vision became hazy and weak. He slowly succumbed to the enveloping obsidian fog.
~
"You know," Joe murmured, trying to hold the restless Tai down as he administered bandages, "I liked it better when you were unconscious."
The mahogany-haired leader offered his 'doctor' a reckless, yet impatient, grin. "But it was no fun," he complained. Blinking his chocolate-coloured eyes lazily, he implored the red-haired girl next to him for help. "Sora, tell Joe to let me up..."
The girl shook her head sternly, a teasing smile playing on her lips, as she smacked his head lightly. "Tai, it's your own fault you're hurt so badly. Next time, don't go rushing off into battle without reinforcements."
The brunette's eyes clouded over as he gazed blankly at a spot over the girl's shoulder. "I had reinforcements... I had WarGreymon..."
Sora's own crimson eyes were saturated with compassion. "Tai... he'll be okay, I swear. All of our digimon, plus the ones Mimi rallied, are in a discreet place in the forest now, looking after him."
"But I didn't have enough power... and he's hurt. Badly. And Matt..." His voice trailed off again, only to resume with a stronger, more determined tone. "How could I have been knocked out? And let him be taken like that? I have to go and get him!"
He struggled futilely against Joe's viselike hold, but the injuries he had sustained still weakened him severely. "No," Joe admonished firmly. "You're not up to strength yet. WarGreymon's not up to strength. Heck, the rest of us aren't up to strength! We need you at full health, and *then* we'll get Matt back, okay?"
Tai stopped struggling momentarily, but he still continued to voice complaints. "I should've been stronger. What am I as leader if I couldn't even stop a stupid cackling clown? And he took Matt. I let my best friend be kidnapped because I couldn't hold my own against some insane thespian! If I don't get him back, I don't know what I'll do. I mean, what kind of a person am I to let my best friend rot in a dungeon? Oh, God, and what about that explosion earlier? What if that damned clown is hurting him? If he is, I'll..."
Exchanging an exasperated glance with Joe, Sora leaned down and planted a firm kiss on Tai's raving mouth. When she eventually straightened, she noticed everyone in the small cave staring at her in extreme curiosity and embarrassment. She flushed slightly, a wicked grin stretching across her face as she looked down at the speechless Tai, his lips flapping open and shut like a gaping fish.
"I do what I have to do," she said lightly.
"Right..." Joe snorted, as he continued treating Tai.
~
Matt suddenly snapped his gaze upwards. His entire being was engulfed in darkness, and directly before him, in a small patch of too-bright light, stood Tai. He reached his hand out, pleading, to his former leader, but the brunette's mahogany eyes were hard and full of spite. He backed away from Matt's searching grasp, letting his so-called friend's hand drop limply to the ground.
"Tai..." Matt's voice sounded rough as it rasped a pitiful plea.
"You thought we were your friends?" Tai scoffed, staring straight into Matt's icy blue eyes coldly. "I can't believe you." He laughed harshly, stepping forward and trodding on Matt's fallen hand mercilessly as Matt cried out in pain. "Now that you're out of the way, we can actually *do* something. You held us back, Matt." His voice was taunting, and Matt whimpered softly. "You held us back from what we could have been. We're glad you're gone."
"No," Matt whispered, but Tai's figure was slowly fading into the background, and in his place stood Sora. Matt smiled gladly - surely Sora, the holder of Love, would help her friend free from Piedmon's grasp. "Sora! Help me, please. Tai wouldn't, but I know you..." He trailed off as he stared at her unforgiving face.
"Ha! Love!" She laughed mockingly, crimson eyes aflame with an emotion opposite her nature. "Love is for people you care for, fool." She regarded the boy scornfully, and added, "That doesn't include you, if you were wondering." She turned on her heel and strode away, not bothering to look back. Matt bowed his head, tears threatening to fall, but his grief was interrupted by the arrival of yet another Chosen Child.
"Matt..." The soft voice echoed around the dark abysmal void, and he glanced up to see Mimi standing in front of him. Too tired to even speak, he simply stared mournfully at her. Rather than the hate the previous two had shown, sympathy was etched on her features. Hope rose in his heart.
"You know I have to be sincere, Matt." She took a deep breath. "I never liked you, really. You were always so, like, mean!" She flipped her light brown hair over her shoulder and giggled girlishly, innocence shining from her honey-coloured eyes. "And cold, and stuff," she continued blithely, oblivious of the splintering shaft she had just driven into Matt's ailing soul. "Y'know, I feel sorry for you. You're so, like, pathetic. Go and get some friends. I mean, like, not here, though. We don't like you. Never have, never will. Bye!" She waved cheerfully with a gloved hand, and skipped away to join the others, her pink dress swishing about her feet.
"Mimi, don't go!" Matt sobbed forlornly as the keeper of Sincerity flounced into the waiting arms of her friends... Friends that were no longer his, as he silently reminded himself.
The next to step forward was Joe. Anger emanated from his obsidian eyes as he pushed his glasses furiously up his nose. "You were always mean to me, Matt," he accused, glaring a deathly promise to the boy on the ground. "You teased me. Well, now it's my turn. Friend? Crest of Friendship? Don't make me laugh. You'll never have friends. You're too cold." Shoving his specs onto the bridge of his nose one final time, he turned and walked haughtily away.
"No, Joe, please..." Matt's voice was barely audible as he watched Joe's receding figure. His heart sank as Izzy interceded on his line of vision, striding boldly up in front of him.
"Computer nerd, eh, Matt?" he commented, malicious glee shining from his ebony eyes. "Not anymore. Am I still the one without friends? I have friends, Matt." He gesticulated randomly in the general direction of the other Chosen, and glared scornfully down at Matt. "You don't. That's how it was meant to be. I mean, who, logically, would be friends with you? It makes no sense whatsoever, and my theories are always correct."
Matt drew a shuddering breath, sorrow penetrating the barrier he had set around his frozen heart, melting it into unbidden tears that coursed heedlessly down his pale cheeks. He failed to notice a small figure stopping in front of him until a timid voice spoke.
"Matt?"
He looked up, drawing in ragged draughts of air as he strove to calm his nerves, to see Kari. The young girl's soft brown eyes were full of naiveté, but a hint of hate and loathing lurked behind the innocent facade. "What, Kari?" he whispered tiredly, his face drawn and ashen, willing himself not to feel any more of the emotion that ripped and tore ravenously at his heart.
"Why did you let Myotismon get me?" The question was posed in a casual manner, but it hung between the two like a great stone wall. Matt started, shocked.
"Kari, I never! I protected you. I couldn't help it when you were taken!" he cried, reaching out a trembling hand towards the girl.
She dodged heartlessly away from his touch, glaring down derisively. "You could have!" she accused shrilly. "You could have fought off Phantomon! You could have saved me, and Gatomon, and Wizardmon! You. Killed. Wizardmon!"
Matt stared, shock stealing the wind from his chest and leaving him breathless. The accusation would, to any logical thinker, seem unfounded, but to his grief-ridden mind, the guilt rushing towards him overloaded his senses. He broke down sobbing at her feet as she watched passively, finally turning and walking slowly away.
The patter of young footsteps announced the arrival of his final tormentor. He looked up into azure eyes identical to his own, albeit these normally compassionate eyes were frozen over with hatred and contempt. A childish voice broke into Matt's self-pity. "You were never a brother to me," TK said slowly, reveling in the horror that showed plainly on his older brother's face. "Tai is better. You were never there for me. You're not my brother any more. That's Tai. I don't love you." TK glared hard at Matt, waiting for the harsh words to strike deep within Matt's already shattered heart.
Matt's eyes dulled as he stared listlessly at his younger brother. "No," he whispered, barely audible. "No..." The faint plea grew louder as he wailed, curling up into the fetal position on the floor, trying to avoid the hateful stares of those he had once called friends. "Nooooooo!"
He let the scream echo across the void, not caring who heard him. A cool breeze blew suddenly across his face, and he looked up again, expecting to see the faces of his friends glaring pure animosity at him. Instead, he was confronted by a wide, barren plain that stretched out in front of him until it met the midnight black horizon. The moon drifted, bright yet alone, encompassed in a mass of velvet. As the mists shifted, a patch of stars were revealed, rivaling the dominant moon for possession of the sky, and yet, the moon still outshone them all.
Matt gazed around himself, awed by the power that sizzled within his body, but somehow, in a strange way, it seemed familiar to him. The wind whipped around him, playing with an ebony cape that swirled about his thin, tall frame as he stood, an imposing figure that overshadowed all. He was backed by an army of the most vicious Dark Digimon in the world, but they all submitted to his reign, for the power was his, and his alone.
He narrowed his icy eyes contemptuously as he witnessed a small band of creatures approaching from the far horizon. He realised that he recognised them, as they drew closer. They were his supposed friends who had moments before left him for dead, but now... Now, they looked older, and, as he examined his own body, so did he.
Tai strode bravely out in front, evidently still the leader, scars scattered haphazardly across his tanned and weathered skin. A battle-worn sword was strapped to his waist, and his fingers toyed with the handle as he stared out purposefully across the plain at Matt. A strange, orange aura glowed around him, tainting the air with the scent of pure power. At his side walked Sora, her reddish hair past her shoulders, untamed and wild, and her crimson eyes shining with the same purpose as her leader. On her belt was a small dagger, and across her back, a quiver of arrows hung. She carried an old wooden bow with the ease of one who knows how to use the weapon, and an arrow was already notched against the relaxed string.
Close behind them, Mimi, Joe, and Izzy walked side by side, all armed, their faces set with grim determination. Matt wondered briefly what they were setting out to do, and it came to him in a flash of dreading premonition - they intended to destroy him. He stood, unmoving and unable to do anything, as they neared him, still tiny specks in the distance, but growing larger all the time.
Next were TK, Kari, and another strange young boy, one he had never seen, with tangled, raven-coloured hair and soft cerulean eyes. TK held a long staff in his right hand with apparent ease, and with his other he grasped Kari's wrist as they exchanged a loving glance. Kari's free hand clutched a somewhat long, unsheathed knife, one that was almost identical to the dagger the strange boy held.
Next to each of the children walked their respective digimon, but they, too, looked older and more experienced than Matt had ever seen them. A small, green worm perched upon the strange boy's shoulder, glaring malevolently towards Matt with watery blue eyes.
The small group of sixteen approached steadily, and as they neared him, Matt could see the smallest twinges of regret on their faces, but the predominant emotion was... apathy. They seemed to be hiding their feelings quite effectively, but he could detect an obvious sadness, and an anger as well. They finally came to a stop, several yards away from him. He stood silently, staring at them.
Tai spoke, straining to be heard above the howling winds as he shouted, "Yamato! We delivered you an ultimatum some twenty-four hours ago - Surrender or die! We will not tolerate your torture of innocent creatures any longer!"
Matt's head swam. Torture? Tai had obviously snapped. His lips moved unbidden as he replied, curling his lips contemptuously, "Surrender? For what? I will crush you like the bugs you are!"
Still not quite believing what was happening, not quite grasping either the situation or control of his actions, he gave a slight nod. With a simultaneous feral roar, the hordes of virus digimon massed behind him streamed forward. Matt watched them flow past him with an emotion akin to horror - What was he doing? He briefly saw the small, battered group of sixteen readying their weapons before the scene flashed brightly. He shielded his eyes from the glare, and as it faded, he faced a severely different setting. The sixteen hardened warriors still stood in front of him, panting and tottering unsteadily with exhaustion, streaked with their own blood and the grayish data from the dead or dying digimon that were scattered around them.
Tai looked up at Matt again, a strange fire alight in his eyes. "Matt, please," he whispered, tears forming to slide slowly down his cheeks. "Don't make us do this."
A fury built up in Matt inexplicably, and he cried insanely, "Matt? Who gave you permission to call me that? It is Yamato to you inferior beings!"
Tai sighed reluctantly, then nodded almost unnoticeably, and Mimi stepped forward, raising her hands as an emerald mist swirled around her thin frame. Palmon stood by her side, supporting her and offering up her energy. Mimi's hair was lifted up by the winds, whipping around her face as the green haze spread through the ground. The barren land trembled as plants that had never before seen the light of day erupted, jubilant with the life that had been given them. They wrapped themselves around Matt, binding him tightly, as he stood in amazement. Tai stepped forward.
"I hate to do this, Matt," he said simply, as he raised his hands as well. Mimi stood back, joining the line, as they all mimicked Tai's movements, and the ghostly colours of power flickered through the air. The digimon stood back, watching their partners prepare to deliver Armageddon to Matt. The wind whistled and howled even more loudly, as Tai called, "Now!"
A sudden rush of pure energy flowed from the warriors towards Matt, who was abruptly struck by the urgency of the situation. With a slight flick of his wrist, he broke his bindings, catching the aghast look on Mimi's face with a sinister smile as he did so. He held up a single hand, and the attack stopped, falling to the ground. An icy cold apathy rose up inside of him, suffocating any emotions he had once had.
Mimi had fallen to the ground, the agony of her plants coursing through her veins. She writhed in pain as Matt grinned and pointed his finger in a single malicious movement, sending a jet of fire onto the vines. They sizzled slowly, and he smiled, enjoying her anguish immensely.
Without tearing his gaze away from Matt, Tai yelled, "Mimi! Break your connection!"
Struggling to draw a breath, the plant girl summoned a wall of emerald power, constructing a barrier between herself and the plants. Izzy and Joe ran over to her, helping her to stand feebly.
Matt then sent a blast of ice through her barrier, splintering it and causing her to scream as the pain rushed at her again. "Want me to put you out of your misery?" he asked tauntingly. "If you insist..." An identical jet of ice shaped like a dagger rushed through the air, striking the girl through the chest. She stared down in surprise at the weapon that had penetrated her skin, gasping slightly as it melted swiftly, leaving a gaping hole that poured forth crimson blood. Her eyes turned up in her head, and she collapsed in a heap on the ground. Palmon beside her let out one single cry of sadness and pain before she burst into data, the wind scattering her particles far and wide throughout the sky.
Matt couldn't control the cold joy that coursed through his veins at this cold-blooded killing, smiling gleefully like a child at play as he heard the agonised screams of her companions. He then turned his gaze on Izzy and Joe, staring scornfully at them. "Would you like the same fate?" he asked mockingly. He barely heard their furious yells over the pleasant humming power that fizzed up through his body.
Izzy summoned a bolt of lightning, electrifying the torrents of crashing water that Joe sent rushing towards Matt. With a flick of his finger, Matt halted the attack and replied with his own cyclone of wild flames. He listened delightedly to their screams as the fire licked hungrily at their skin, not even watching to see their singed bodies collapse lifelessly on the ground, or their digimon partners screaming first in fury, then in fear, as their own bodies swiftly dissipating
Sora was next, taken with a sudden bolt of electricity. Her scream and Biyomon's final shrill cry still hung on the still air as he slew Kari and the strange boy with simultaneous arcs of light, blasting their respective digimon in the process.
He reverted his gaze to the two remaining. Both TK and Tai had tears of rage and sadness in their eyes as they clutched their weapons while kneeling next to the bodies of their loved ones. Matt's wild laughter rang through the air, and TK looked up at him hatefully.
"I thought there was still a chance for you, after all this time," he spat, tears coursing down his cheeks unheeded. "I am ashamed to call you brother!" Patamon fluttered beside his head, nodding fiercely in agreement.
"What a pity," Matt replied, keeping his voice light and cheerful, as if they were holding an everyday conversation. "But d'you know what? I'm bored now. I think I'll take you two for my slaves. What an irony - the one I once called brother, and the one I once called my best friend." He gestured slightly, and solid iron manacles fastened themselves around the wrists and ankles of his two captives.
"I will *never* be your slave!" Tai yelled, eyes burning with a fury that surpassed any Matt had ever seen. The air crackled with a fierce, fiery power, but it was held in by the chains.
"I don't think you have much of a choice." Matt smiled kindly down at Tai, who shivered despite himself.
"No matter what you do," TK chimed in hatefully, "We won't serve you! Never!"
Matt continued to smile as he drew several small dark particles from a pocket. "Like I said," he replied, tossing them towards the two, "I don't think you have much of a choice."
As soon as the particles struck the two, their eyes turned dull, and they walked slowly towards him over the sea of slaughtered bodies, kneeling in front of his towering figure willingly. As the same specs of darkness struck Agumon and Patamon, the two bewildered digimon concurrently scattered through the skies as myriad bits of data, but TK and Tai didn't seem to notice or even care.
"Who am I?" Matt demanded harshly, gazing down at them on the ground.
"Master," they intoned simultaneously. He smiled in satisfaction.
"Master," he repeated. "Has a nice ring to it."
The scene faded to a hazy gray, and Matt slowly blinked his eyes, a horrified feeling spreading through his chest. He blinked again, staring in shock as the chamber materialised, slowly coming into focus, and he saw Piedmon's painted face observing him intently from a throne across the hall. Intense relief swept over him.
"It was just a dream," he breathed, feeling sweat still standing on his brow. However comforted he was that it had all been a terrible nightmare, he couldn't help reminding himself that it had all felt so... real, and so... right, in a morbid sort of way.
"What was, my dear boy?" asked Piedmon mildly. Matt glared at him distrustfully.
"What was that crap you made me drink?" he snapped.
Piedmon shrugged. "It was merely a draught of potion to help you sleep... Although," he added with a small smile, "It has certain... properties."
"What kind of properties?" Matt asked, shuddering at the gory visions he had seen.
Piedmon seemed to hesitate on telling the captive boy. "Well... It's been known to give the creature who consumed it... eh, visions, shall we call them. Glimpses may be a more apt term. Glimpses of the feelings others bear towards you. It always brings true visions."
Piedmon allowed himself a secretive, triumphant smile as he watched the boy mull this over. The evil digimon had, in fact, programmed the supposed animosity of the other Chosen into the drink, but the boy needn't know that.
"So... they really do hate me," Matt muttered, grief clouding his azure eyes once again.
Piedmon feigned curiosity. "Who, dear boy?" he asked innocently.
"The other Chosen... they all said that they did..." Matt's voice broke as Piedmon came up to him, patting his head in mock sympathy.
"Poor boy," he murmured, inwardly jumping for joy.
"And then I..." His voice trailed off as the visions of carnage flashed unbidden before his eyes, horrified by the pleasure that welled up within him at the memory of the 'glimpse.'
"You what?" Piedmon asked, intrigued. He had not programmed anything but the other Chosen's supposed animosity towards the boy into the drink. He wanted to know what Matt's own inner darkness had come up with, teamed with an unusual side effect the drink had - an ability to have a clear, truthful vision of what the future held.
Matt's voice shook. "I killed them all but TK and Tai... I made them my slaves... Oh, God!" he wailed, shaking uncontrollably. "Is this what I'm really like inside?" he asked, looking pleadingly towards the clown digimon, who shrugged.
"All you must know now, young one, is that you are not wanted with the other Chosen." Piedmon looked down into the boy's tearful eyes paternally. "Know also that you are welcome here forever, if you should wish it to be so. Perhaps these visions of carnage were just a horrible dream. They need never come true if you don't want them to. Come what come may, you and I probably have no role in destiny. All I offer is a home." He almost laughed proudly at the performance he gave. The boy looked utterly convinced of the clown's good intentions.
Matt looked up into Piedmon's eyes uncertainly, but saw the sincerity that shone from the digimon's face. "I..." he stuttered, never taking his gaze off of Piedmon's sympathetic smiling face. "I guess I'll stay with you."
-----
Squee!!! Eh... yeah. Review! And I'll *try* to get the next part up relatively soon, as well as the next part of Turn Back Time, but *sniffs* school has started! Oh, the horror!
*shivers* I never knew I was so violent... But it was strangely fun to write... *bursts out cackling* Mwahahahahahaha! And I hope I didn't give away too much about the ending of this fic... *cue ominous music* Dum dum dummm...
- Ken - You have an unhealthy obsession with me-torture.
*incredulously* You-torture? Who, li'l ol' me? Never... *innocent look* Bwahahahahahaha!
- Ken - The cackling kind of gives you away.
Oh. Um, feck... Ah, what the heck. Hey! That rhymes! *giggles shrilly* Aren't I clever?
- Ken - Er... no.
*glares* Some muse YOU are... An' besides, it wasn't just you-torture, it was Mimi-torture, Izzy-torture, Joe-torture...
- Ken - *shudders* You're gonna make me sick...
*cheerfully* Don't puke on the story!
- Ken - Thanks... *runs away*
*sighs* Not AGAIN... What is it with run-away muses? You'd think that I, like, abuse him or something! Impossible. Ah, well... *hefts anime mallet over shoulder* Here I go! Don't forget to review! *runs after Ken*