For They Shall Be Filled

For They Shall Be Filled

By: Vain (Vainglorious696) 5/31/2001

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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 . . .

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~"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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