Chapter 9
Running through the woods with Armadillomon at his heels, Cody heard a strange, crumbling sound ahead of him. He frowned, slowing his step as he came to the edge of the trees...
A cry resounded through the air.
"That sounds like Ken!" Cody exclaimed, beginning to run again in the direction of the sound. He broke through the cover of the trees...and froze, horrified, at the scene before him. "Oh, no...Ken! Yolei!"
The dark-haired boy was suspended in midair, a long tentacle of virus wrapped around his ankles, holding him fast; Yolei held his hands tightly in her own, her heels dug into the ground but slowly sliding forward, a few centimeters at a time. Her face was twisted with effort, and Ken's with pain. Further out, their Digimon struggled to reach them, but writhing strands of virus barred the way, and dodged any attack the Digimon threw at them. None of them saw Cody where he stood at the edge of the woods...
"Armadillomon, I've got to call for help!" Cody reached for his D-Terminal...but it wasn't there. "Oh, great! That's just great," he snapped, grimacing. "I must have left it back at Izzy's!" He shook as he stared out at his friends. "I've got to help them somehow..." He started to run forward, but Armadillomon caught the hem of his shirt in his teeth, stopping him. "Let me go!" Cody shouted, glaring back at the sturdy little Digimon. "I have to help them, somehow!"
Armadillomon shook his head, hard. "Oo can't, Co-ee! Kiffs gun faw!"
"What?" Cody said, stopping his struggles. Armadillomon let go of his shirt and coughed a few times.
"Cody, listen for a minute!"
"I am listening," Cody protested. Armadillomon shook his head.
"Not to me! Listen!"
Cody paused, listening...
"I don't hear...hey! It's that crumbling noise again!"
"Exactly," Armadillomon agreed. "Cody, you can't go out there. That cliff is falling apart, and if you set foot on it, you'll probably just tip the balance and bring the whole thing down around their ears!"
"Oh, no..." Cody whispered, turning to look at his struggling friends. "Armadillomon, there's got to be something I can do!"
"I'm afraid not, Cody," the little shelled Digimon said sadly. "I know my rock and earth better than anyone, and there's nothing we can do for now...except watch for an opening, and keep out fingers crossed for their safety."
Biting his lip, Cody stared out across the cliff at the small battle raging for his friends' lives, feeling helpless beyond belief...
"Izzy!"
The computer jock turned to stare at Sora, who was sitting bolt upright on the bed.
"What is it, Sora?"
Sora's face was pale, and she was shaking slightly. "Izzy," she said, softly but urgently, "have you checked on Tai and the others lately?"
"Not since they first got into the 'Net," Izzy admitted. "Why?"
Grimacing, Sora got up and hurried over. "Check on them," she said, her eyes full of fear.
"What? But Sora-"
"Check on them!" Sora cried, clenching her fists at her sides with frustration. "Izzy, I've got this really bad feeling about them! I can't stand sitting here and telling myself it's just something I ate any longer, or I'll go nuts! Koushiro Izumi, check on them, now!!"
"Okay, but I still don't think-" Izzy began, bringing up a viewing window. His voice trailed off as the sound came on, and he heard Matt's voice.
"...could use some reinforcements, or something! Can anybody hear me? We need help, and fast!"
"Matt, I'm here!" Izzy said quickly into the microphone. "Where are you?"
"It's not like we've got a roadmap, Izzy," Mimi said darkly. "I haven't got the foggiest idea!"
"There isn't even an up or down here," Matt added. "My sense of direction is totally whacked..."
"Oh, there you are," Izzy said as his window finally zoomed in on Mimi and Matt, bouncing 'upward' through space in the wild disarray of data that was the Internet. He frowned. "Could you guys sit still for a second? My window's having trouble getting a lock on you-"
"No time for that!" Matt yelled. "Look down!"
With a concerned expression, Izzy scanned the view down...and choked.
"Where did that *come* from?!"
Sora, looking over his shoulder, had gone even paler. "I hate it when I'm right," she muttered, twisting her hands together.
The mass of virus filled the screen, boiling up after the fleeing Digidestined. Their Digimon stood out as tiny spots of color, still futilely trying to destroy the wave of blackness. Sora spotted something, or rather, didn't spot something, and bit her lip.
"You guys..." she said uneasily into the computer mike. "Where's Tai?"
Matt and Mimi looked at each other, wincing.
"Um...well, you see...he's kind of...uh..."
"It's no good stalling, Matt," Mimi said sadly, swinging them past a looming spire. "Sora, Tai's behind the virus."
"WHAT?!"
Holding tightly to Yolei's hands, Ken squeezed his eyes shut as his ankle let out a scream of pain...
No. It wasn't pain.
A feeling of alien *something* grew up his leg, then both legs; a cold, burning, violent feeling that lit a fire of fear in his soul.
"No..." he gritted, trying to *force* it out, to stop it... "I'm not going down that path again! NO..."
His vision swam, and darkened...
He stood on a rolling dune of black sand, starless night all around him. He was still aware, with a tiny part of his mind, of the battle going on within his real body...but it was a very tiny part. He took a step forward...
Walls sprang up, tall, black walls, blotting out the sight of the endless black desert. He began to run, fleeing through the hallways of this terrible dream-world somewhere between safety and oblivion, knowing that something terrible was following him...
Suddenly, he came out into a room, a room with a high, vaulted ceiling and tall black walls. A dark figure stood in the center of the enormous room...a familiar figure...
Ken flinched, and began to back away, but a cloud of virus flowed from the door he'd come in through. He started to run, trying to skirt the figure, but the virus flooded around the edges of the room, trapping him. It stayed close to the walls, roiling over itself in silent watchfulness. Swallowing hard, Ken slowly backed toward the middle of the room...
His shoulder bumped into something, and he leapt forward, whirling around. The figure stood there, and at this range, he could make out its face...
"Pathetic fool!" the Digimon Emperor snarled, his cape flying out behind him. "How dare you jostle someone as perfect as I?!"
"No..." Ken hissed, staring at the familiar purple glasses and spiked hair. "No, you can't be here! I came to terms with you! I'm through with you...I'm free!"
"You'll never be free of me, Ken," the Emperor jeered, his face darkening. "I'm here inside of you, forever...and there's nothing you can do about it."
"No!" Ken yelled, beginning to back away, but something strange was happening to the Emperor...
He was growing. Growing, taller and taller, until he towered over the frightened boy, laughing evilly. Bending his head to look down, he reached for Ken, his huge hand enfolding him, crushing him as he lifted him to the level of his enormous face, still laughing.
"Ken... You. Are. Me!"
"No!! I can't be you! I can't be the Emperor! Somebody help me..." Ken cried, his voice breaking to a whimper. "Please, I don't want to be here anymore..."
"Ken, you're not the Emperor!"
"WHAT?" the huge figure boomed, glowering.
"You're not that person anymore, Ken! I don't know what's happening to you, but don't let it get to you! You've changed, I know you have!"
"Yolei..." Ken whispered, his crystal-blue eyes lighting with hope.
"You shed that part of yourself like an old skin when you joined our team, Ken, and it will only have power over you if you let it! Please hold on, Ken! Don't let go of me, please!"
"I'm not..." Ken murmured. "I'm not letting go...I won't let him get me..." His eyes narrowed. "Yolei!!"
"NO!" the Emperor boomed, but it was too late. The room, the darkness, the menacing figure all shattered into a thousand pieces, and Ken blinked them away and found himself back on the cliff-side, clinging to Yolei's hands, the virus still dragging at him as he hung in midair.
"Ken!" Yolei cried as his eyes opened. "Ken, what happened? You were yelling about the Emperor..." Her voice trailed off as she was dragged a few more centimeters toward the edge. After she'd gotten her footing back, Ken answered.
"I was seeing things...it was like I was dreaming..." His eyes widened. "The virus! It tried to take me, like it did you..."
"But you fought it off!" Yolei said jubilantly. "Ken, I'm so proud of you-"
"I couldn't have done it without you, Yolei," Ken gasped, as the virus redoubled its efforts. "I was about to give up, but you saved me..."
Then the virus began to yank harder than ever, and there was no more time for speech. Still, their eyes stayed locked together as they fought the pull of death, exchanging words that no spoken language could have said...
Running through the woods with Armadillomon at his heels, Cody heard a strange, crumbling sound ahead of him. He frowned, slowing his step as he came to the edge of the trees...
A cry resounded through the air.
"That sounds like Ken!" Cody exclaimed, beginning to run again in the direction of the sound. He broke through the cover of the trees...and froze, horrified, at the scene before him. "Oh, no...Ken! Yolei!"
The dark-haired boy was suspended in midair, a long tentacle of virus wrapped around his ankles, holding him fast; Yolei held his hands tightly in her own, her heels dug into the ground but slowly sliding forward, a few centimeters at a time. Her face was twisted with effort, and Ken's with pain. Further out, their Digimon struggled to reach them, but writhing strands of virus barred the way, and dodged any attack the Digimon threw at them. None of them saw Cody where he stood at the edge of the woods...
"Armadillomon, I've got to call for help!" Cody reached for his D-Terminal...but it wasn't there. "Oh, great! That's just great," he snapped, grimacing. "I must have left it back at Izzy's!" He shook as he stared out at his friends. "I've got to help them somehow..." He started to run forward, but Armadillomon caught the hem of his shirt in his teeth, stopping him. "Let me go!" Cody shouted, glaring back at the sturdy little Digimon. "I have to help them, somehow!"
Armadillomon shook his head, hard. "Oo can't, Co-ee! Kiffs gun faw!"
"What?" Cody said, stopping his struggles. Armadillomon let go of his shirt and coughed a few times.
"Cody, listen for a minute!"
"I am listening," Cody protested. Armadillomon shook his head.
"Not to me! Listen!"
Cody paused, listening...
"I don't hear...hey! It's that crumbling noise again!"
"Exactly," Armadillomon agreed. "Cody, you can't go out there. That cliff is falling apart, and if you set foot on it, you'll probably just tip the balance and bring the whole thing down around their ears!"
"Oh, no..." Cody whispered, turning to look at his struggling friends. "Armadillomon, there's got to be something I can do!"
"I'm afraid not, Cody," the little shelled Digimon said sadly. "I know my rock and earth better than anyone, and there's nothing we can do for now...except watch for an opening, and keep out fingers crossed for their safety."
Biting his lip, Cody stared out across the cliff at the small battle raging for his friends' lives, feeling helpless beyond belief...
"Izzy!"
The computer jock turned to stare at Sora, who was sitting bolt upright on the bed.
"What is it, Sora?"
Sora's face was pale, and she was shaking slightly. "Izzy," she said, softly but urgently, "have you checked on Tai and the others lately?"
"Not since they first got into the 'Net," Izzy admitted. "Why?"
Grimacing, Sora got up and hurried over. "Check on them," she said, her eyes full of fear.
"What? But Sora-"
"Check on them!" Sora cried, clenching her fists at her sides with frustration. "Izzy, I've got this really bad feeling about them! I can't stand sitting here and telling myself it's just something I ate any longer, or I'll go nuts! Koushiro Izumi, check on them, now!!"
"Okay, but I still don't think-" Izzy began, bringing up a viewing window. His voice trailed off as the sound came on, and he heard Matt's voice.
"...could use some reinforcements, or something! Can anybody hear me? We need help, and fast!"
"Matt, I'm here!" Izzy said quickly into the microphone. "Where are you?"
"It's not like we've got a roadmap, Izzy," Mimi said darkly. "I haven't got the foggiest idea!"
"There isn't even an up or down here," Matt added. "My sense of direction is totally whacked..."
"Oh, there you are," Izzy said as his window finally zoomed in on Mimi and Matt, bouncing 'upward' through space in the wild disarray of data that was the Internet. He frowned. "Could you guys sit still for a second? My window's having trouble getting a lock on you-"
"No time for that!" Matt yelled. "Look down!"
With a concerned expression, Izzy scanned the view down...and choked.
"Where did that *come* from?!"
Sora, looking over his shoulder, had gone even paler. "I hate it when I'm right," she muttered, twisting her hands together.
The mass of virus filled the screen, boiling up after the fleeing Digidestined. Their Digimon stood out as tiny spots of color, still futilely trying to destroy the wave of blackness. Sora spotted something, or rather, didn't spot something, and bit her lip.
"You guys..." she said uneasily into the computer mike. "Where's Tai?"
Matt and Mimi looked at each other, wincing.
"Um...well, you see...he's kind of...uh..."
"It's no good stalling, Matt," Mimi said sadly, swinging them past a looming spire. "Sora, Tai's behind the virus."
"WHAT?!"
Holding tightly to Yolei's hands, Ken squeezed his eyes shut as his ankle let out a scream of pain...
No. It wasn't pain.
A feeling of alien *something* grew up his leg, then both legs; a cold, burning, violent feeling that lit a fire of fear in his soul.
"No..." he gritted, trying to *force* it out, to stop it... "I'm not going down that path again! NO..."
His vision swam, and darkened...
He stood on a rolling dune of black sand, starless night all around him. He was still aware, with a tiny part of his mind, of the battle going on within his real body...but it was a very tiny part. He took a step forward...
Walls sprang up, tall, black walls, blotting out the sight of the endless black desert. He began to run, fleeing through the hallways of this terrible dream-world somewhere between safety and oblivion, knowing that something terrible was following him...
Suddenly, he came out into a room, a room with a high, vaulted ceiling and tall black walls. A dark figure stood in the center of the enormous room...a familiar figure...
Ken flinched, and began to back away, but a cloud of virus flowed from the door he'd come in through. He started to run, trying to skirt the figure, but the virus flooded around the edges of the room, trapping him. It stayed close to the walls, roiling over itself in silent watchfulness. Swallowing hard, Ken slowly backed toward the middle of the room...
His shoulder bumped into something, and he leapt forward, whirling around. The figure stood there, and at this range, he could make out its face...
"Pathetic fool!" the Digimon Emperor snarled, his cape flying out behind him. "How dare you jostle someone as perfect as I?!"
"No..." Ken hissed, staring at the familiar purple glasses and spiked hair. "No, you can't be here! I came to terms with you! I'm through with you...I'm free!"
"You'll never be free of me, Ken," the Emperor jeered, his face darkening. "I'm here inside of you, forever...and there's nothing you can do about it."
"No!" Ken yelled, beginning to back away, but something strange was happening to the Emperor...
He was growing. Growing, taller and taller, until he towered over the frightened boy, laughing evilly. Bending his head to look down, he reached for Ken, his huge hand enfolding him, crushing him as he lifted him to the level of his enormous face, still laughing.
"Ken... You. Are. Me!"
"No!! I can't be you! I can't be the Emperor! Somebody help me..." Ken cried, his voice breaking to a whimper. "Please, I don't want to be here anymore..."
"Ken, you're not the Emperor!"
"WHAT?" the huge figure boomed, glowering.
"You're not that person anymore, Ken! I don't know what's happening to you, but don't let it get to you! You've changed, I know you have!"
"Yolei..." Ken whispered, his crystal-blue eyes lighting with hope.
"You shed that part of yourself like an old skin when you joined our team, Ken, and it will only have power over you if you let it! Please hold on, Ken! Don't let go of me, please!"
"I'm not..." Ken murmured. "I'm not letting go...I won't let him get me..." His eyes narrowed. "Yolei!!"
"NO!" the Emperor boomed, but it was too late. The room, the darkness, the menacing figure all shattered into a thousand pieces, and Ken blinked them away and found himself back on the cliff-side, clinging to Yolei's hands, the virus still dragging at him as he hung in midair.
"Ken!" Yolei cried as his eyes opened. "Ken, what happened? You were yelling about the Emperor..." Her voice trailed off as she was dragged a few more centimeters toward the edge. After she'd gotten her footing back, Ken answered.
"I was seeing things...it was like I was dreaming..." His eyes widened. "The virus! It tried to take me, like it did you..."
"But you fought it off!" Yolei said jubilantly. "Ken, I'm so proud of you-"
"I couldn't have done it without you, Yolei," Ken gasped, as the virus redoubled its efforts. "I was about to give up, but you saved me..."
Then the virus began to yank harder than ever, and there was no more time for speech. Still, their eyes stayed locked together as they fought the pull of death, exchanging words that no spoken language could have said...