For They Shall Be Filled
By:
Vain (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001
__________________________________________________________
Vain: So where is he?
Ken: We
still need Guardian stuff. R&R.
Vain: When I find him, I'm gonna leave you alone with him. For hours. And hours.
Ken: 'Samu,
come back . . .
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~"O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets
and stones those who are sent to her!
How often I wanted
to gather your children as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not
willing!"
-Matthew 24: 3
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Part Twenty-Four
Damon raised a
clawed hand over the Child of Hope, noticing with distracted amusement that
Arukenimon shifted back. No, he
thought as power coalesced in his palm. She is not worthy of me. The
Mega waited patiently until he felt he had enough energy built up and then
shifted his hand so that it rested about a foot above TK's head. A dark purple light shined along the outside
of his hand.
Arukenimon leaned
over eagerly, both amazed by and afraid of the massive amounts of power that he
drew upon. A small voice in the back of
her mind was screaming that she had made him too powerful. She locked it away. The Ultimate was torn—part of her wanted to
stand and gloat and point at Damon and say, 'I did this! This is mine!' The other part was shrieking that she had overstepped her bounds
and that Damon was not hers, nor anybody else's. That part wanted nothing more than to get as far the hell away
from the newly evolved digimon as possible. Needless to say, the latter half was really quite tempting.
But one of
Arukenimon's greatest weaknesses and strengths was pride. And her pride forbade her to even seriously
consider that Damon was beyond her.
Therefore, it came
as a great shock when the hand over Hope's head suddenly tilted up towards her,
palm out. The woman staggered back,
mouth dropping open in shock. "Whu—"
"I call no one
Master."
Non-light exploded
out of Damon's hand and struck Arukenimon in the chest. She screamed in agony. There was a shower of white hair and a flash
of red and purple as her body soared through the air. A sick, wet, thunk resounded as her limp frame smashed
into a nearby tree. She hit the ground
and was still.
"Especially not
one so weak as you, Arukenimon."
Damon smiled at
her body. She was still alive, he knew,
but it would be quite a while before she was ready to deal with anything or mon
again.
The big Mega
flowed back over to Ken's side and he reached out with his senses. That darkness . . . Yes, he had been
correct. There was a Spore inside the
boy. How interesting. It was very advanced now, infiltrating the
Child's entire nervous, limbic, and immune systems. But the effects were being counteracted by something . . . It was
the same thing that the lines of Power were attached to.
A cold laugh
rumbled out of his chest. "This . . .
this is a great gift." Red eyes turned
to Arukenimon's crumpled form. "You
have no idea what you posses here, do you?" He turned back to Ken. "Do you?"
The bodies had
solidified now—the Children would soon awaken.
Damon expanded his
awareness and felt two energy forms moving towards him rapidly. One of them was that damnable traveler,
Gennai, and the other was . . . unfamiliar. Foreign. It did not belong to
this plane. For a brief instant, the
Mega hesitated over Kindness's body, debating. Then the cowled head shook in a negative. "No, Child. I will leave
you with them for now. I must assemble
the Corps and recover my strength—and you must discover yours." He laid a surprisingly gentle claw on Ken's
forehead. "I will come for you one day,
though. Until then, grow, Child—learn."
The digimon stayed
like that for a moment, implanting his own seeds in the boy's mind. They would not harm him, only heal and
instruct the stubborn boy when the power came. Given time, they would perhaps
come to fruition and make the transition easier on the Child. He would help him for now because it was in
his best interest to keep the Child alive and away from Arukenimon and the Dark
One. When he was at full strength he
would lay claim to the boy—hopefully before Arukenimon understood the Child's
potential.
That, however,
meant that Hope had to remain alive. While the boy was no longer a definite threat to him, Damon did not want
to give him the opportunity. But more
than that, he wanted revenge. As
Devimon, Damon had been very close to evolving and if Arukenimon's arrogance
and stupidity hadn't forced him back to power so rapidly, it could have taken
him centuries to reach that stage again. Now he had reached it in a matter of minutes. It would only be a few short weeks before all of his memories
were complete and his full power restored. He wondered if the woman knew the kind of magic she wielded. He doubted it; it was really quite a pity.
Hope and Light—two
of the biggest threats to his power—needed to remain alive and well if Kindness
was to reach his potential. The Sacred
Triangle had to be whole, all the members drawing strength from one another, to
be effective. And that was the only way
that the Dark One—another threat to Damon—could be properly dealt with.
The Mega shook his
head again and walked over to Arukenimon's body. The Children's souls were now fully returned to their bodies and
every second brought their guardian and his mysterious companion closer—it
would be best if his return remained a secret. For now.
A black hole
appeared in the ground beneath Damon and the woman. He didn't like leaving things half done, but there was no help
for it. They vanished silently.
**************
Gennai burst into
the clearing with an air of panic, vaguely aware that his ethereal companion
had soundlessly pursued him. Osamu
appeared hovering lightly over Ken, a dark frown on his face. The traveler knelt and began to check on the
children and their digimon. He idly
wondered if the spirit had actually "followed" him, or had merely allowed
himself to materialize over his brother . . . questions for later.
"What was that
thing?" Osamu demanded.
Gennai shrugged
and frowned down at Davis. Something
was very wrong with the Child of Courage. "I don't know. Whatever it was,
it's gone now." It was almost like the
boy's mind and body were . . . disconnected.
That explanation
was not good enough for the first Ichijouji genius. "It's evil. How could you
let this happen? I thought that you said
nothing that powerful could get through your fire wall."
Gennai shrugged
again. He needed to concentrate on
Davis now. Demiveemon was awake now and
had his little flippers pushing against Davis's cheek. The in-training grunted. "Wake up! Davis, get up!" Ruby red eyes
turned to Gennai. "What's wrong with
him?"
Gennai reached out
a gentle hand and rubbed the digimon's head. "Don't worry. He'll be okay."
"Well?" Osamu
demanded sharply. Next to him, Wormmon
was awake and trying to rouse his brother.
The man lifted
Demiveemon away from Davis so that he could get a closer look at the boy. "It couldn't. There's no way that it was that powerful when it slipped through
the shield."
"Oh, what? So it just digivolved when it got here?"
The spiteful tone
made Gennai look up, irritated by Osamu's single-mindedness. "Not now, Ichijouji!"
Yolei stirred at
Gennai's shout. Ichijouji? "Ken?" She groaned and put a hand up to her head.
"Yolei?" Gennai
rose and went to the girl's side. "Yolei? It's me, Gennai."
The girl's eyes
opened and slowly focused on him. Then
she snapped upright, sending Poromon tumbling to the ground.
Crack!
Gennai's head
snapped back and a harsh burning sensation streaked its way across his cheek.
Tears shined in
the Child of Love and Sincerity's eyes. "What the hell kind of test was that?!"
Gennai looked at
her in shock, mouth open and one hand raised to his cheek. "I . . . I'm sorry, Yolei."
"Sorry?" The girl was on her feet and clutching
Poromon to her the way a bereft child clings to its blanket. She was shaking violently. "And what is that supposed to mean to me?"
A restraining hand
gently placed itself on her shoulder. "Yolei," Kari whispered softly. "Don't."
The wine-haired
girl hesitated for an instant, looking as though she might hurl herself at
Gennai despite the other child's hand. Then, with infinite slowness, Yolei turned around and went to stand a
bit away from them, her back turned. She dropped into a crouch and began to cry softly. Poromon fluttered anxiously around her,
desperately trying to comfort her without knowing how.
Gennai turned to
watch Kari. Tears stood ready and
waiting in her red-brown eyes as well, but they never fell. He looked up at her, the grief in her eyes
making him feel inconceivably small. "Kari . . . I—I'm so sorry."
The Child of Light
only shook her head, her entire demeanor that of innocence betrayed. "It wasn't right, Gennai. It was a cruel test." She turned away to go help the others. Gatomon glared at him coldly before going
after her partner.
The traveler
followed her with his eyes and saw her pause in front of Ken. She nodded and the guardian was shocked to
see Osamu smile and nod back curtly and Kari then walk on. That was . . . interesting.
Cody looked small
and lost as he stood over Davis. Oh
shit, Davis! The traveler pushed
himself clumsily to his feet.
Demiveemon was
crying. "What's wrong with him?"
Armadillomon drawled in concern.
Cody's green eyes
shone as he looked up at Gennai. "The
lights are on, . . . but nobody's there."
"It's his
soul. It did not rejoin his body
properly." Gennai knelt to Davis and
placed a hand on the child's forehead.
Ken's voice
floated up from behind him, thick with sleep. "What do you mean? What's
happened?"
Gennai turned and
his eyes locked onto Osamu's in a silent plea. The specter was standing protectively behind his brother unseen by the
others. He nodded and moved towards the
Child of Courage.
The traveler's
hazel eyes shifted back to Ken. Wormmon
was perched on his partner's shoulder and regarding the scene with sad
eyes. "Something happened. A dark presence was here during the testing
and the Guardians called it to a stop." It was an effort not to watch Osamu as he settled down on top of Davis's
body, their forms slowly merging into one. Kari and Ken now both appeared to be oblivious to his brother's
presence.
"A dark
presence?" TK adjusted his hat rather
unnecessarily. "What do you mean?"
Gennai
frowned. "We—I don't know what it was,
but the Guardians thought that it would be best to stop the testing. You were
all very vulnerable. Unfortunately,
Davis was in the midst of his test, and his mind was torn from where it was and
shoved back into his body. Proper
precautions were not taken to restore him."
Kari can and knelt
by Davis's side. He looked like he was
asleep except for the fact that his eyes were open. The brown orbs, normally vibrant and sparkling, were slightly
glazed over and vacant. The girl took
his hand and shivered—he felt like ice. "Will he be alright?" she asked in a small voice.
Gennai tried to
avoid her gaze. What could he say? "Someone is helping him find his way back
now."
"Who?"
Hazel eyes looked
at red-brown eyes knowingly. "A
friend. He'll bring Davis back."
The girl seemed a
bit startled, but she accepted his words.
"Well, what about
us?" Cody asked.
"Yeah," TK broke
in. "We were never tested. We weren't Blessed."
"Count yourselves
lucky." Yolei had joined the small
crowd. Her face was red and streaked
with tears. The newly digivolved
Hawkmon was at her side; he didn't seem to be faring much better.
"But don't we need
those?" protested TK.
Gennai frowned and
returned his attention to Davis. "I
don't know."
A small noise made
everyone start and turn to Ken. The
indigo-haired Child of Kindness was snickering. "Classic. Just classic. I really should have seen this one
coming. You know, for a minute I almost
thought that you had things under control."
Gennai glared at
the slender boy for a long moment. Ken
was totally unfazed. He smirked.
"I really don't
need this now, Kenny-boy."
The nickname made
Ken scowl darkly. He opened his mouth
to retort, but Kari stepped into his line of sight. "Stop it!" She turned to
Gennai. "Both of you. This isn't getting us anywhere."
Gennai stood and
brushed off his robes. "Agreed."
Cody shook his
head. "But what do we do now?"
Gennai bent down
and lifted Davis in his arms. "There is
another way. In fact, we can kill three
birds with one stone."
TK picked
Demiveemon up. "What do you mean?"
Gennai turned to
look at Ken. "We need a place to rest ,
transportation, and we also need to pick up something."
Ken's eyes
narrowed suspiciously.
"What are you
talking about, Gennai?" Yolei stepped
towards the robed guardian and waved an accusing finger. "You told us that we had to be tested and
receive this Blessing thing. You told
us that we need it!"
Gennai
flushed. "I know, Yolei, but it has
just come to my attention that there is another alternative."
"Another
alternative?" Yolei tilted her head to
the side and closed her eyes. Cody took
one look at her face and began to back away from her. "Another . . . alternative . . . ?"
TK looked at
Yolei, then at Kari, then at Gennai, then back to Yolei. The Child of Love and Sincerity looked about
a hair's breadth from a total emotional tsunami and Kari was close to tears. Just what the hell happened to them? Suddenly the Child of Hope was very happy
that he wasn't Blessed. He stepped
forward to take charge, keenly aware of the loss of Davis. "What's your plan, Gennai?"
"We need to go
somewhere and lick our wounds and we also need to go pick something up; plus a
bit of transportation would be nice. I
say we do it all at the same time." He
turned back to Ken and dipped his head deferentially. "With your permission, of course."
An indigo eyebrow
lifted in mocking amusement. "Why
should you need my permission?"
Gennai shifted
Davis's weight slightly in his arms. "Because we can't do this without your help."
The boy frowned
darkly, suspicion clouding his china-doll face. "Why? Where do you need
to go?"
"We need to go to
the base of the Digimon Emperor."
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