Mizu-Kagami Part Five

Disclaimer: Um...whatever. I'm too tired to write something witty here today.

Author's Notes: Meet the chapter which is lovingly subtitled in my files as "The Exposition Chapter." This chapter contains lots of talk and exposition (that's what Gennai's here for, right?) I had a bit of trouble, but I got it done just in time to post on my birthday, so yay for me. Remember, it's nice to leave good reviews on the author's birthday. It will make her happy and she might write the next part faster (Okay, I'm lying, actually it'll probably have little bearing on how fast I write, but, hey, it was worth a shot, right? Damn, these are long notes today.)

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"I'm here, I'm here!" Daisuke practically fell through the barrier between the real and Digital World. He landed in a heap on the grass, his backpack opening and spilling two suddenly very crowded Digimon onto the ground beside him.

"Are we late?" V-mon looked up from where he lay sprawled beside his partner. Wormmon was already working his way to his feet.

"You're the last ones here, if that's what you mean," Miyako informed him. She and the rest of the younger Chosen Children were crowded around Daisuke and his companions.

"But you haven't talked to Gennai yet, right?" Wormmon asked anxiously.

"Why are you here, Wormmon? I thought you'd be with Ken," Iori spoke up. Wormmon looked downcast and glanced sideways at V-mon. Daisuke shook his head.

"I think we all know that there's something wrong with Ken," he said gravely. He sighed. "I just hope Gennai can tell us how to fix it."

"Then let's get going to meet him," Takeru said, starting to walk. The others followed him.

"I thought you said that Gennai lived underwater," Daisuke pointed out. "How're we gonna get into his house? I'm not holding my breath for that long."

"We're not going to his house," Takeru said. "Tentomon sent me directions. We're meeting them in a clearing in the forest protected by Garurumon."

"Oh." Daisuke lapsed into silence, his eyes low. Wormmon glanced up at him, feeling comforted by the fact that Daisuke was just as concerned about Ken as he was.

Takeru lead them through a thick forest. The Digimon stuck close to their partners, not wanting to get lost. Wormmon walked side by side with V-mon and wondered if Ken had noticed that he was missing yet.

"There you guys are!" Suddenly, a familiar winged figure came out of the trees.

"Tentomon!" Hikari greeted him happily.

"Is Gennai here?" Iori asked.

"He's waiting for you," Tentomon told him. "Follow me."

The Digimon led them into a small clearing. Gennai was waiting for them there, seated upon a log. His face was grave.

"I'm glad you've come," he said seriously as the Chosen Children gathered around him.

"Skip the pleasantries," Daisuke said bluntly. "What's wrong with Ken? You know, don't you?"

"Yes." Gennai nodded. "I know."

"So? Spill," Daisuke said, hopping from one foot to the other.

"All right, all right." Gennai looked from Daisuke to Wormmon grimly. "The boy you've been talking to these past few days isn't Ken. He may look like Ken and he may have Ken's memories, but he isn't Ken. His name is Kagami, and he....well, he isn't anything at all."

There was silence as Gennai allowed his information to sink in. Wormmon looked close to tears, and Daisuke found that his throat had gone dry.

I knew it, he thought grimly. I knew that couldn't be Ken.

"But if that's not Ken," he said, speaking his thoughts aloud, "then where is Ken? He--he's not--"

"No." Gennai shook his head. "Ken isn't dead."

At least there's that, Daisuke thought, relieved.

"Though he may wish he was," Gennai continued.

Dammit, dammit, dammit! Daisuke shook his head. This was not good.

"So where is he? Can we go save him?" Daisuke pressed. He was ready to go rushing off to save his friend, and Wormmon and V-mon, at least, seemed to be in complete agreement with him.

"Ken is trapped in the world of darkness," Gennai explained. "He is imprisoned in a place known as Mirror Lake, no doubt trapped by the Guardian."

"Huh?" Daisuke blinked cluelessly. "Run that by me again."

"The world of darkness is, in many ways, the negative reflection of the Digital World," Gennai said slowly. "With every light, after all, one must have shadows. The dark world is this world's shadow, and, just like the Digital World, it has dangers of its own. Mirror Lake is one of these. I don't know who created it, or how. But somehow, in the early years of the Digital World, when the dark world itself was newly formed, a creature was created. A predator, who was neither Digimon nor human, but rather something in between. Something that was never meant to be in this world. You see, this predator, the Guardian, does not feed on flesh alone. It feeds on essence.

Mirror Lake is, for lack of a better comparison, a spider's web. When a victim falls into it, they are trapped, unable to escape. Then the Guardian whispers its poison into their ears until..."

"Until what?" Takeru prompted. Daisuke shifted nervously, not sure if he really wanted to hear this.

"Until surrender. Once a being captured by the Guardian surrenders, that being's body will be torn up and nothing will remain but an essence, without form or memory." Gennai's eyes were grave. "The creature that is currently calling itself Ken was the Guardian's prey. Once, Kagami was a human. A Chosen Child, though I don't know what part of the world he was from. Somehow, he was sucked into the world of darkness, just like Ken. And like Ken, he spoke with the remains of the Guardian's previous prey. That prey stole Kagami's memories and form and left Kagami trapped in the lake, just as Ken was trapped. But Kagami's friends never came to rescue him, and so he easily surrendered to the Guardian. His body was destroyed, and no one ever even knew that the creature who stole his form was no the real Kagami. I don't even know what Kagami's real name was, what he really looked like. But I do know that, to Kagami's family, to his friends, Kagami never disappeared. He was replaced, and no one ever realized it."

There was silence following his pronouncement as the children let Gennai's words sink in. No one even realized it.

What would that be like? Daisuke thought, chilled. To have somebody take my place....and to have nobody even realize it. That's--that's awful! How could they not notice? What if....what if I hadn't noticed that something was wrong? I would've lost Ken for good....I still might...

"No!" Daisuke shook his head. "I'm sorry about what happened to Kagami but--but that doesn't give him the right to do the same thing to Ken! We saw that something was wrong, and there's no way I'm gonna just quietly accept Kagami as Ken's replacement!"

"But are we too late?" Miyako spoke up unexpectedly. Her face was lowered and her fists were clenched. "Is Ken....I mean, is he.....beyond our help?"

"No." Gennai shook his head and Daisuke felt giddy with relief. "You see, balance is a very important thing in the Digital World. Any small upset and everything goes strange. The control spires weakened the barrier between this world and the dark one, and that barrier is only just being rebuilt. Because the barrier is so thin, Ken was sucked into the dark world.

"Mirror Lake was one of the first things to appear in the dark world. Thus, it is connected to that world. When the Guardian has no essence to feed on, it grows restless and searches for other prey. That's why all the Digimon have been anxious lately. Until Ken surrenders to the Guardian or something surrenders in his place, the balance will be upset. For the moment, Ken was not surrendered, so he can still be saved."

"Then let's go!" Daisuke said. "We have to get to Ken soon, right? So let's go. Find a way to open the door to the dark world, and we'll go rescue Ken."

"It's not that easy," Gennai said. "Even if you free Ken, the Guardian still needs someone to prey on. If you rescue Ken, then it means someone must take his place."

"That's awful." Hikari shivered. "Do you mean that, if we rescue Ken, we'd be condemning an innocent Digimon to the same fate?"

"Yes." Gennai nodded.

"We can't do that," Iori said. "It wouldn't be right."

"Well, what else do you want to do?" Daisuke's voice was ragged. "Leave Ken there? Let Kagami take his place? I say, we drag Kagami back there and stick him back in the damn lake, and get Ken out of there!"

"But Kagami hasn't done anything to us," Takeru pointed out. "All he wanted to do was escape. He was the victim once, just like Ken is now."

"So what?" Daisuke argued. "That doesn't excuse what he did! Ken didn't deserve to be sucked into that stupid lake. What Kagami did makes him just as bad as whoever it was that took Kagami's place originally. If we leave Ken there, one day he might do the same thing to someone. And the Ken I know would hate himself if he realized that he had done such a thing. I don't care if Kagami doesn't 'deserve' to be trapped again. Ken sure as hell doesn't deserve to be there either. And there's no way I'm gonna leave him there just because you guys don't think we should send Kagami back where he came from."

"But there must be another way," Hikari said softly.

"I agree with Hikari," Miyako added. "I know how you feel, Daisuke. None of us want to lose Ken. But....can we really condemn an innocent just to save our friend? Isn't--well, aren't we being selfish, then?"

"So I'll be selfish!" Daisuke raged. "If I have to, I'll go alone to save Ken. I'm his friend, and a true friend wouldn't leave him."

"You won't go alone," V-mon spoke up. "I'll follow you anywhere, Daisuke!"

"Me, too!" Wormmon added. "I won't lose Ken-chan. Not this time."

There was silence for a moment, before Takeru shook his head and smiled.

"ll right. I'm in too. I don't like what it'll mean, but....well, I'm not willing to quietly give up and let Ken die."

"I didn't say I wouldn't go," Miyako put in sheepishly.

"Gennai," Iori spoke up, "what about the Guardian? If we can find a way to stop him, will that put things right? Then we can save Ken without having to sacrifice anyone else."

"I suppose it would work," Gennai admitted. "With the Guardian gone, the lake would become a normal landmark. There wouldn't be any trouble in this world; it would be as peaceful as if the Guardian's hunger was satisfied. But..."

"There's always a 'but...'" Daisuke grumbled.

"The Guardian is an ancient entity," Gennai said, ignoring him. "Even with the power of all your Digimon combined, you might not be able to defeat him."

"We won't know unless we try, will we?" Daisuke stated.

"A creature like that has no place in any world," Hikari added. "If we--if we destroy him, then no one else will have to suffer what Kagami did, and what Ken is going through right now."

"So how do we enter the dark world?" Iori questioned, always the more practical one of the group.

"I believe I can take care of that," Gennai said. "With some help from my counterparts around the world, I may be able to briefly open a door to the dark world. But it will take time, and even then, the door can only be opened for a short time. You run the risk of being stuck there permanently."

"Then it's a risk I'm willing to take," Daisuke proclaimed. "Are you guys with me?" The others nodded.

"All right. If you're resolved to this course of action, I won't try to sway you." Gennai stood. "But as I said, it will take me and my companions time to gather up enough power to open a dark gate. The only reason we may be able to is because the barriers are still weak due to the control spires. I will send you an e-mail sometime tomorrow before we open it. You must all be ready. Understand?"

"But by tomorrow Ken-chan may--he may be--" Wormmon couldn't continue.

"I know," Gennai said gravely. "But it will take that long to open the gate."

"Don't worry, Wormmon," Daisuke said, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. "Ken's strong, remember? He won't give up. There's no way he would."

Wormmon nodded, but he didn't feel very reassured. After all, how could he believe Daisuke's words when it had sounded so much as if the goggle boy had been trying to convince himself as well as Wormmon that everything would be all right?

~~~~

He could see the bottom of the lake. The realization frightened Ken as much as it fascinated him. He knew now that the barrier was reshaping itself as it pushed him ever lower. His bare feet--he had lost his shoes and socks by now--hovered inches from the lake bed, nearly touching. It would be easier, Ken supposed, to let himself lower to the bottom and sit. He could take a rest from all the swimming and regain his strength.

All this he could do if he wasn't so terrified of what would happen if he touched the bottom.

There was some survival instinct in him yet. All the conscious fight had long deserted him, and Ken was now left afloat by only his terror and his natural will to survive. Even these were being slowly worn away by the weakness and the silky poison the snake was whispering in his ears. He could feel it, permeating every pore of his being. Ken was so tired, so sick of fighting. He wanted peace, but he was afraid to ask for it.

Daisuke, he thought, and in his mind the word was half a sob; an elegy for a fallen hero and a relinquished dream. Ken had built all his resistance around that one name, and that one shining hope that had hovered before him: the hope that someone knew who he was, knew he was in danger, and would come to rescue him.

No more. Ken knew that he wasn't going to be rescued. There was no escape, no future just as there was no past in his eyes. His hero had fallen off the pedestal and lay low in the muck, not quite forgotten but perhaps tarnished beyond repair.

And there it is, Ken thought. Daisuke, whoever he is, has failed me. Perhaps I was just imagining him to begin with.

I'm nothing. And nothing has no savior.

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Eep again! Now I know Dai-chan and co. have to save Ken soon, 'cause I'm starting to feel bad for doing this stuff to him. I'm the author, I'm not supposed to feel bad about character torture, I'm supposed to revel in it! Ah well. He gets to hang on for one more chapter and then we'll make with the rescuing. Now, review! Please? Pretty please with cherries on top? Mmm...cherries...'scuse me, I suddenly feel the need for ice cream.