*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
For They Shall Be Filled
By: Vain
__________________________________________________________
Vain: *cackles maniacally* I AM the Dark Queen of fan fiction!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tsuzuki: Why does she keep saying that?
Osamu: It's the stress—it's finally broken her.
Vain: *giggles insanely*
Remy: *eyes the near-hysterical Vain warily* Shouldn' we do somet'in 'bout dis?
Hisoka: *looks up from his copy of The Washington Post* No.
Ken: But what is she going on about? *reads chapter 30* WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!
Tsuzuki: *reads with him and pales*
Osamu: So what's up?
Tsuzuki: *shakes his head and stutters*
Hisoka: *glares* You'll have to forgive Tsuzuki. He's an idiot.
Vain: *giggles some more* I don't own anything except the plot and the four Guardians of the Digidestined—not the Guardian Beasts. Read and Review please!
Osamu: *reads chapter 30* You are an evil, evil young woman, Vain-chan. Evil.
Remy: Duh.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
~"Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken."
-Matthew 24: 29
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Part Thirty
To Seek Out the Dark Places"It is beginning."
"Only three of them are Blessed. What is to be done?"
"What can be done now?! I told you not to—"
"If you say 'I told you so' one more—"
"Don't you two ever stop? We have other things to worry over. They are beyond our help now."
"Than why worry over them? Gennai will see to them."
"If he doesn't betray us."
"Gennai is not Kazunori. He will stand firm."
"And just how do you know that?"
"Because he knows the pain of betraying and being betrayed. And because he's sinned far too much for our sakes to leave us now."
"We thought the same before."
"And no one had died before either. There is blood on Hitsoyuki Gennai's hands. It binds him to us. He will not betray us."
"Perhaps a little insurance . . ."
"What do you propose?"
"An impromptu meeting?"
"I see nothing wrong with this."
"It hardly matters now. Destiny is already at work and there's little we can do to stop that. Do as you like."
"Very well, then. It's decided."
"You do realize that there's no need for anxiety now, don't you? There isn't a lot we can do by this point in time."
"Stop."
"What is it?"
"My Child . . . His Crests are glowing . . ."
"This is no authorized Test!! Who did this?!"
"This isn't a Test . . . He's doing this himself . . ."
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
"What should we do?"
"Let him do it. Let's see what happens. It may turn out that we were wrong about the humans all along. We were wrong about Miracles and Kazunori."
"Then this changes things. If the humans are this strong without our aid . . ."
"This is what I have said all along."
"Then you had best pray that you are correct."
"Let's just wait and see. Have faith in our little humans."
"Whoever thought that the day would come when we needed into have faith in them?"
"Well, if we don't believe in them, in whom should gods have faith?"
And for the first time in a very long time, nobody responded.
**************
Cody opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling. The storage room's walls were so high that the beams crisscrossing the ceiling were invisible. He closed his eyes slowly and frowned. I just can't understand him!
The incident in the engine room rushed back to him with painful clarity. "What do you want me to say? That I wanted to? I did. That I enjoyed it? I did. That, as deplorable and twisted as it was, I still sometimes miss it? I do. That I'm angry and scared and frustrated and lost and so fucked up that I can barely see where I came from, let alone where I'm going? I am. Is that good enough? Does that make you feel better, Hida?
Did it make him feel better? Was he really better than Ichijouji? More worthy? And if he was: more worthy of what? The boy shook his head rapidly in the dark. No! No, it couldn't come down to question of his worth. He wasn't the one who had tortured the digimon. He wasn't the one who had tried to take over the Digital World. He wasn't the one who had done God knows how much damage to both his own family and everyone he encountered. Ichijouji was. The Digimon Emperor.
But it could have been you, a tiny voice of dissent whispered in his mind. It still could be you. Why was he the Emperor? That's what you're afraid of finding out, isn't it? Because if you find out WHY he was the Emperor, you'll find out that he's really no different from you. You'll find out that all your righteousness, all you supposed justice is a lie—a deception formulated for the sole purpose of helping you sleep at night. And that frightens you more than anything else.
Cody sat up and rubbed his eyes. "But he's not the same as us," he whispered to his sleeping comrades still forms. Davis snorted and rolled over in his sleep and the others were still.
Cody slid himself out from beneath his blankets, carefully so as not to disturb Armadillomon, and silently maneuvered his way around the others' beds. Wormmon had set up the storage area with nine cots laid out in a wide circle. The rest of the storage area seemed to gape around them and gave the small boy the impression that they were sleeping in the midst of a huge mouth that was preparing to swallow them all up. The others had fallen asleep almost as soon as Wormmon left the room; Cody had been unable to close his eyes for an instant. How could they rest so peacefully in the home of their worst enemy? It was beyond him.
But Ken wasn't their enemy—not anymore at least. Now he was their ally. That meant that they had to trust him—that they had to have faith in him . . . Faith. According to Gennai and Stingmon, his was the Crest of Faith, so why couldn't he have Faith in Ken?
But how could he trust him? How could he believe in him when the genius had done nothing to earn that belief?
The answer was simple: he couldn't. But then there was always TK's side. Cody trusted and admired TK more than any of the other Digidestined. The boy had an innate sense of justice and wisdom that Cody both envied and admired. So why was TK such a staunch supporter of Ichijouji?
". . . When we were in the Digimon Emperor's base and I got into that fight with him, I asked him if he always resorted to violence when he ran out of things to say. He gave me the weirdest look, kind of like a little kid who had gotten lost and wasn't really sure how. He looked at me and said, 'I guess so.' I never really thought about it until yesterday, but I get the feeling that Ken's just . . . I don't know—lost, I guess. And no, Yolei, I don't mean crazy, I mean like his soul is lost. And I want to help him find it. Maybe you think I'm crazy, but I think he'd make a great ally—probably even a better friend. And I definitely don't want to face him as an enemy again."
Cody walked out of the door of the storage area. "What makes Ichijouji so special?" he asked the steel lined halls. His words echoed back to him and he stopped, wishing that the answer would bounce off those walls and back to his ears just as readily.
The room across from theirs was Ken's. Cody stepped across the hall and idly wondered why Ken had a storage room right across from his bedroom. If there was one thing that the child couldn't begrudge their former foe of, it was strategic thinking and pragmatism. Perhaps one day he'd ask Ken about that storage room. Maybe he'd even get a straight answer from him. He touched the panel next to the door gingerly. It was unlocked and the door slid open and Cody entered. He did not question the rational that had led him to the bedroom of the Digimon Emperor at this hour—there was no rational. He was merely acting on instincts he didn't know he possessed. He didn't understand it, but he also didn't question it; maybe this was what everyone kept calling destiny.
The bed was large and it was the only real feature of the room, so despite the pitch black darkness around him, it was easy to make out with the help of the dim auxiliary lighting in the hall. The boy stepped over the threshold and entered the room. The door hissed shut behind him. He walked carefully into the room until he encountered the soft round edges of the bed. He sat down on the bed gently so he didn't disturb the occupants and listened to the sound of his own quiet breathing blending in with Ken and Wormmon's.
"I don't understand you," he murmured at last. His brow was distorted by confusion and the expression bled over into his tone of voice. "I don't understand you at all."
He shifted a bit and listened to Ken draw in shallow but even breaths.
"You have everything. People like you. They respect you. Your parents adore you. You're brilliant, a good athlete, and every girl who sees you practically drools. You are you so unhappy?" His voice sounded small and slightly scratchy in the darkness. "Why are you so angry?"
"And do you really think any of that matters, Cody?"
Cody's heart nearly exploded. He stood, terrified and ready to flee, but an impossibly strong, fine boned hand snapped out and gripped his wrist, pulling him back down onto the bed in a sitting position. The grip wasn't painful, but it was obvious that Ken had no intention of letting him go.
"Do you really think it matters?" he repeated.
Cody hesitated. What was he afraid of? "Yes."
A sharp bark of bitter laughter cut through the darkness and Cody suddenly wanted more than anything to see Ken's face. "That stuff doesn't mean anything at all! People don't know me. They envy me and faun over me for my wealth and prestige—nothing more. My parents don't even know what I like to eat. They're not even sure who I'm with right now. And you know what? As long as I'm bringing in the money, they don't care. None of it matters!!! None of it's real! It's less than a game: it's a lie. At least in a game the fantasy is understood and accepted. I may as well not even exist. They don't want to be my friends. They want to be friends with Ken Ichijouji—" He cut off abruptly, as though he were afraid he had given something away.
They were both quiet, absorbing the heavy silence around them. Oblivious, Wormmon remained asleep. After an eternity, Ken released Cody's wrist and drug his hand across the comforter to rest on his stomach.
"And you're not Ken Ichijouji?" Cody murmured in a barely audible breath.
Ken sighed softly. "About five years ago there was a terrible accident. Ken Ichijouji died."
"Why?"
"Because he was too weak to survive the aftermath. Because he couldn't have borne the burdens he needed to."
Cody thought about this for a moment. Riddles and enigmas: that was all he ever got from Ken. But maybe that's because those were the only answers the celebrated genius had. "Then who are you?"
There was another dark pause. "An abomination."
Cody bit his lip. There had been no emotion in his voice then—nothing except a total and relaxed acceptance. Should I believe him? Can I trust him?
Emerald eyes blinked slowly and he studied the darkness in the opposite direction of where Ken lay. "Why?" he asked again in a flat uncompromising tone.
"Why do you care?" The older boy sounded tired. "What's done is done."
"I don't trust you."
"You don't have to trust me. All you have to do is believe that I'll do as I say. Believe that I'm . . . here . . . worthwhile."
Believe in you, you mean, Cody thought as he stared into the darkness. He frowned. "Why?" he demanded for the third time.
Next to him, Ken shifted. "Because I was afraid."
The admission hung in the air, almost visible. It was something dangerous and tangible and Cody wanted to reach out and grab it and hold it close. He wanted to put it in a jar and preserve and hold it up to the light for study. "Ken Ichijouji's Soul." That's what he would call it. That's exactly what the admission was and it's release—it's acknowledgement—seemed to leave the eloquent Tamachi boy wounded and bleeding. "Ken Ichijouji's Soul." Cody would look back one day and be amazed when he realized what he had been shown that night.
"Of?"
"Failing. Being alone. Being human. Humans are weak, fragile things. They're like crystal or porcelain. Just a little bit of pressure in the right place makes them shatter and you might be able to fit the pieces back together, but it'll never be the same and it will be even weaker."
Cody sat still for a moment and absorbed that. Then he stood up. "Goodnight, Ken." He didn't look back as he left the room and Ken didn't reply.
"Did ya talk to 'im?" a soft twang startled him as he slid back into his cot across the hall.
"What?" Cody peered down at his partner. "How long have you been up Armadillomon?"
"About two hours." The tawny digimon unrolled himself and stretched before settling down again. "Did ya talk to him?"
"Yes." Cody lay down and pulled his blanket up.
Armadillomon watched him curiously. "And?"
" . . . I think I believe him." Cody rolled over. "Goodnight, Armadillomon."
Armadillo would have answered, but his partner was already asleep. As it was, a small smile touched the vaccine's mouth as he watched his partner's D-3 and D-Terminal glow a deep blue. After that, they both slept peacefully for the rest of the night.
**************
Cody was dreaming. In his dreams four animals—monstrous, but not frightening—reached out towards him.
Sleep, Child.
You have done well, Faith and Knowledge. Well indeed.
You have been Blessed.
Cody blinked as a bright light washed over him, followed by a deep darkness. "Who—?"
Sleep.
And so he did and the darkness carried him away.
**************
Ken lay in his big round bed and stared up at the ceiling. The room was pitch black and there were no windows. He had been awake for hours. He had been awake since before Cody had come and talked to him and he certainly hadn't been able to sleep after he had said all those things.
Why had he told the boy that?
He wasn't sure.
"Ken-chan?"
A pale hand reached across the dark cover in the direction of the voice and gently stroked Wormmon's head. "Hmm?"
"It's still early. The others are still asleep. Why don't you get some more rest? You tossed and turned most of the night."
"I'm sorry. Did I keep you awake?"
A sigh. "No."
Ken didn't respond and the darkness seemed to swallow him up. After a few moments of oppressive stillness, Wormmon crawled across the covers and up onto Ken's chest. He pulled himself up onto his hind pods and tried to peer down into Ken's eyes in the darkness.
Ken fought down the rather bizarre urge to chuckle. "What are you doing, Wormmon?"
The virus said nothing, instead staring down at his partner with unnerving intensity.
Then: "Ken-chan?"
The boy waited patiently.
"Do you blame me?"
"What?" Ken sat up, wrapping his digimon into a gentle hug so that the little creature didn't fall. "Blame you? For what? Where is all this coming from?"
Wormmon burrowed into his arms in response. "I couldn't help you. I'm never there when you need me. I couldn't stop Millenniumon from hurting you, I wasn't there when Osamu died, I couldn't stop you from becoming the Emperor—"
"No, no, no, no, no," the human interrupted in a gentle voice. "What are you talking about? That wasn't your fault. Why would I blame you?"
"But I can remember and you can't!" Wormmon tried to hide in his human's arms and Ken felt hot tears start to seep through his nightshirt. "Sometimes I think that this is all a dream and when I wake up you'll be the Emperor again, or worse, I'll be all alone again like I was before you came and if that happened I think I'd just die!!" The little virus was wailing by now and Ken was at quite a loss, unsure what had provoked this, where it was going, or how to stop it.
"Wormmon—"
He shook his head as he cried, stealing the words from Ken before they were even in his throat. "You know I love you, right, Ken-chan?"
Thoroughly bewildered by the point in time, the boy sighed. "Of course I know that, Wormmon. Just what has gotten into you?"
The digimon shook his head again and Ken bit back a growl of frustration. A sudden thought occurred to him and he tightened his hold on Wormmon. Perhaps he should have pushed the traveler a bit harder last night. Perhaps if that was what had upset his partner this much, he should put a bit more stock in the guardian's words.
He gently set his partner down on the mattress and stood up. Wormmon, still miserable, but no longer crying, looked up at him. "Ken—"
"Let's go for a walk, Wormmon." He started to change his clothes and tried to but his partner's bizarre depression out of his head. A walk would be perfect; it would give him time to think and give Wormmon an excuse to be held—something the insecure creature loved but would never dare ask for.
Wormmon's word's came back to him, "You know I love you, right, Ken-chan?" and his breath caught in his throat as a hazy memory suddenly sprang to the forefront of his mind.
"You know I love you, right, Kenny-boy?"
"But Osamu Oniichan, please . . ."
"Be quiet!! Damnit, this is for your own good!"He shivered and shoved the memory back down to where it belonged. There would be time to deal with that later—for now he would focus on what he could handle: the traveler.
**************
Gennai felt a chill run down his back and he opened his eyes. The doorway to the storage area way open and a familiar form stood silhouetted against the hall light. Something was settled comfortably on the figure's shoulder and two pairs of eyes gleamed faintly in the dim light. Gennai rubbed his eyes and sat up, grimacing at the taste of morning breath and unscrubbed teeth.
"What are you doing, Ken?" he whispered, feeling disoriented and confused. He hated mornings. "It's almost six am."
A slender hand rose and beckoned and Gennai found himself on his feet, still more than a little annoyed the boy's odd behavior. Then again, he thought wryly as he scrubbed his hair back, if Ken ever acted normal, it would be odd.
He blinked as he stepped into the hall. Osamu was casually leaning on the wall just behind his brother and his violet eyes fixed a decidedly chilly look on the traveler when he stepped into view. Wormmon's crystal blue eyes looked foggy and slightly bloodshot where he was perched on Ken's shoulder and he avoided Gennai's gaze. For his part, Ken had his arms crossed and was eyeing the traveler with similar distaste and he wondered what he had done to get the two Ichijouji brothers in a tizzy at six in the morning.
The man yawned. "You summoned?"
Osamu sneered and Ken narrowed his eyes. "You haven't told us everything have you?"
Gennai blinked as his sleep-addled brain attempted to grasp the words and their implications. Ken could be frightfully blunt at times. "What are you talking about, Ken?"
Ken's eyes glittered unnervingly and it was an effort not to stare at the two Ichijouji brothers. They looked so much alike it was positively uncanny. "I went on a walk this morning, traveler. We went by the engine room. We took the west hall. Did you know I can sense Darkness? There was a slight rupture in the area of the core, so I checked the security cameras. You do keep the most interesting company, Gennai."
The traveler stiffened and felt himself pale before he could control the reaction. Osamu smirked evilly and Ken made a noise that could only be called a satisfied growl. Wormmon seemed to be trying to burrow into the back of Ken's neck where Gennai couldn't see him.
The brown-haired man licked his lips and felt himself lean against the wall for support. "How—"
Ken darted forward, startling the man so badly that he nearly fell. "You know, for someone who's supposedly been doing this stuff for years, you sure do suck at it."
Gennai was a guardian. He was a traveler. He had once been human, but now he was something else—something closer to a spirit or a digimon, but with a human soul, tainted as it was. He had been chosen above all others to protect the Digital World and act as the Four Guardians' voice. He had never been allowed to choose. He had sacrificed his life, his family, his very existence, to stand by and watch as the only life he had left spiraled out of his control. His Master, his charges, the woman he had once thought he loved so very, very long ago, his friends—all gone in the space of one digital year. And now, to stand here and be so graphically reminded of his failure by the very living embodiment and culmination of that failure was simply too much. He had sacrificed, lost, far too much to ever accept his own unimportance in the grand scheme of things. So he tackled Ken.
Wormmon was sent flying as Gennai knocked the boy to the ground and Osamu gaped unnoticed and unable to aid his shocked brother. Ken grunted as he hit the hard floor and his look of shock was quickly replaced by a scowl as he used the traveler's momentum against him and rolled back, tucking his legs between their bodies and using them to flip the larger man off him. Gennai landed hard on the floor and for a moment the two combatants were still, both shocked into inaction by the other's violence.
Wormmon, who had suffered far worse abuse during Ken's Emperor days, was the first to recover. The little insect type struggled briefly, pods waving uselessly in the air as he attempted to roll over off of his back. "Ken . . .?"
The former Emperor turned away from Gennai and his eyes widened when he saw his partner's predicament. He scrambled to his feet and quickly went to scoop the digimon up in his arms. He hugged him. "This day just hasn't started out well for you, has it?"
Wormmon closed his large blue eyes and snuggled down into his partner's arms. "No, it hasn't."
Gennai pulled himself up to his feet and stiffly met Osamu's furious gaze with one of his own. "How dare you . . ." the specter hissed.
Ken turned around and frowned at the traveler, unwittingly cutting off his brother's inevitable tirade. "I deserved that."
Wormmon's eyes snapped open and Osamu's jaw literally dropped at hearing the younger boy's calm admission. Gennai, who had been perfectly prepared to get into an argument, blinked, unsure how to proceed.
"I deserved that," Ken repeated as he unconsciously rubbed Wormmon's head in a soothing manner, "but you have to come clean traveler. Just what the hell is really going on here?"
Gennai closed his eyes and dropped his head. "More than I hope you will ever know, Ken."
"Bullshit," Ken responded coolly.
Gennai looked up and his eyes hardened. "One day you're going to fail Ken. And I don't mean a test or playing Emperor. I mean FAIL—as in lose everything. One day you're going to break. Then you'll understand."
Two sets of blue violet eyes narrowed, one spectral, one living. Wormmon stared at Gennai as though he'd lost his mind.
Ken smiled. "Perhaps." He cocked his head to the side. "But it will not be because of you, Gennai. What are you so afraid of?"
The traveler smiled a smile of his own, pained and bitter. "The same thing that you're fighting: the future."
"We are not the same, traveler!!"
"I know. Because at the end of the day, I know why I'm still fighting. Do you?"
Ken glared at him and Osamu looked at the ground. The younger Ichijouji brother walked up to Gennai, pale and jaw tensed. He leaned up and his voice was an icy whisper in Gennai's ear. "Yes. To fix everything that you fucked up in my head. How do you and your Guardians justify that at the end of the day, traveler? What sad gods you all make—meddling with things that you can't control. Breaking people that you can't fix. How do you justify that at the end of the day?"
Gennai flinched and turned away, squeezing his eyes closed.
Ken chuckled softly, a dark noise, and brushed past the guardian. "Sad gods, indeed."
When the traveler looked up, both Ichijouji brothers were gone. It was as though they had never even been there.
**************
Cold. That was the only proper adjective for it. It was cold. Not a cold that slid along your skin and made you shiver, though—it was a cold the cut into your soul and made you shake. Yolei bit the inside of her cheek to stop her teeth from chattering.
It was almost noon, but no sunlight dared peer into the control room of the former Digimon Emperor. They had barely been awake for an hour when Ken's authoritative voice cracked through the loudspeakers and "requested" that they all come up to the main deck. So now they were all standing in the darkened room and staring at the monitors—or more accurately at the picture of the giant black hole in the ocean that the monitors displayed.
"Is that it?" Yolei murmured, glasses reflecting the bright light.
From his perch on the throne, Ken eyed the monitor coolly. "Yes," he responded in a monotone. "That's the Dark Whirlpool." It was impossible to tell what he was thinking from his voice. "I have us circling above the Whirlpool. If we get much closer, we would be drawn down to the center by the vortex. The engines just aren't strong enough to resist the force of the Whirlpool—at least not as well as they could have before the crash."
Kari rubbed her arms vigorously. "Will we be safe here then?"
"It would take an act of God to move this base right now."
Takeru turned around and frowned at the closed expression on the former ruler's face, but Ken was too busy rubbing the palm of his right hand in agitation to notice. The blond unobtrusively shifted so that he stood next to the throne. The others didn't see the covert movement. "You alright?" he asked in a voice meant for Ken alone.
The other boy jumped a bit in surprise and drug his eyes away from the screens to frown at TK uncertainly. "I'm fine."
"You're lying," came the soft retort.
Fire flared in Ken's eyes before he shook his head. "I'm fine, Takaishi," he repeated, turning his attention back to the screens.
TK's frown darkened and he straightened.
"So what happens now?" asked Cody.
Ken looked away from the monitors to Gennai. "Well?"
The adult sighed and resisted the urge to rub his eyes. "First, I suggest we get something to eat and take some time to prepare ourselves for this mentally. Once we go in there, we can't come back."
The others turned, startled.
Kari tilted her head to the side. "You're coming with us, Gennai?"
Ken's eyes hardened. "Why? You could do more good here. If we fail, who will be left behind to pick up the slack?"
Gennai looked a bit startled. Ken had an astute military mind, but somehow it seemed wrong for a child to be the bearer of such cold and precise logic. "Don't fail then," he told the boy.
"Why are you going?" TK persisted while Ken glared at the traveler.
Gennai pinned a fierce glare on Takeru, causing the blond to shy back from the terrible look in his eyes. "Just trust me, you two. I need to be there."
Both boys narrowed their eyes and Ken's face hardened, but neither protested.
"So what's for breakfast, Yolei?" demanded Davis.
A smirk danced around Ken's lips. That boy even sounded bouncy.
"I made dinner last night!" the girl whined in response.
"Yeah," said Kari with a slight frown. "Why don't you make breakfast, Davis?"
"But I'm a guy!"
The Child of Light's eyebrows shot up and Davis cringed. Uh-oh . . .
"And what does that have anything to do with anything, Motomiya??"
"Um . . ."
"That's quite alright," Ken broke in, barely repressing a smirk. "I'd really rather not die here in a kitchen fire."
"Hey!" Davis straightened and glared at the once Emperor. "I can cook!!" He cast pleading chocolate eyes down at his partner. "Right, Veemon?"
"Uh . . ."
"Hey!!"
TK sighed in defeat. "I'll cook. Davis, you, Veemon, and Patamon can help."
"But—"
Kari eyed her best friend curiously. "I didn't know that you could cook, TK."
The blond grinned. "Matt taught me.
Kari and Yolei exchanged a glance. "We'll cook!" the two declared in unison.
They each grabbed their respective partner and fled before TK and Davis could protest.
Davis grinned at his friend. "That was dirty and underhanded, Takaishi."
"What was?" Veemon asked in confusion.
Patamon was giggling and the Child of Hope laughed. "Well, we're gonna eat, aren't we? Don't knock it, goggle-boy!"
Violet eyes traveled between the two smiling faces for a moment. "Should I ask?"
"No." Cody shook his head. "Don't go there."
"What's the matter, Cody?" asked a still-chuckling Davis. "Don't you like wusabi, hot sauce, tamales, and horseradish?"
The serious little boy looked at him levelly. "Not all at once. And certainly not on any sort of green meat products."
"What's horseradish?" asked Armadillomon from his place at Cody's feet.
"Vile," supplied Ken.
Davis and TK bust up all over again and Ken blinked at them in surprise.
Gennai watched them with a frown and then turned to look at Wormmon. "I just don't understand humans sometimes."
The little green virus bobbed his head up and down in agreement.
**************
She turned her empty eyes up to her beloved and sighed. He hadn't moved in nearly an hour. They were all out there, waiting somewhere just beyond the Divide: Love, Hope, Light, Miracles, Purity, Knowledge, Courage, Friendship—for the first time in years they were all united. Truly, this was a momentous day.
"What do you want to accomplish?" she whispered in a barely audible voice.
The mass of Darkness next to her shifted. "I should think that that would be obvious."
She was not afraid of that critical gaze that would have killed most with a glance. She could never fear him—she knew him too well. "You're taking stupid risks. You haven't even called out the troops. You've made no moves against Light or the Ichijouji brat. You are setting yourself up for defeat. I don't understand."
"He will come to me."
Her vacant sockets looked at him for a long moment before she felt something cold settle into the pit of her stomach. Was this fear? No. She was incapable of fear. She turned away, teal hair swaying in the windless air. "Oh, my love . . ."
"He will come to me. Gennai—"She closed her eyelids and dropped her head, blocking out his words. Gennai. He's risking all this—everything—on that fool traveler. She wondered if it had even occurred to him that Gennai might remain steadfast to the Guardians. He had before and it had brought them to ruin. It would do so again.
A small growl of disgust escaped her lips and she turned away. If he was going to put this entire fate of this battle in Gennai's hands . . . Guardians damn him! Why did he do things like this?!
"Sanghee."
She turned. "Beloved?"
"You are afraid."
" . . . Yes. Light and Miracles cannot be ignored, Master. They are too dangerous. I had hoped that that was made clear during the first battle." I thought you knew that Gennai could not be trusted, either, she added silently.
"Do you want them?"She frowned, unsure of what he meant. "I don't understand."
"Light and Miracles? You do seem to have this unusual . . . preoccupation with Ichijouji. A gift to you perhaps—yours to play with as you like?"
She almost sighed. He still didn't understand. Was he really that confident of Gennai's defection? "As you will, my lord."
She walked out, her skirts swaying enticingly as she moved. She loved him—always had and always would—it was her destiny to rule at his side. At least that's what she had once believed. But perhaps it was time she began to consider cutting her losses. He was playing this out stupidly. He had made the same mistakes in the first battle, too. Yes, perhaps it was time she found another ally. The Ichijouji brat . . . he would do with some work . . . Yes; he was much stronger than Anya. The Spore made him strong. He and the Master were, after all, almost the same. As for the Master . . . well, sacrifices had to be made. It was a pity, though. She really did love him.
Behind her, she felt a massive swell of Dark energy. She paused. "So it's begun at last . . ." She sighed and shook her head. They would be here soon, and with them was Ichijouji—she had plans to make.
The Darkness surged again and she continued on without even a backwards glance. "Goodbye. My love."
**************
They had just started the dishes when the attack came. Water sloshed over the sink, soaking Davis and send the goggle boy sprawling on top of Veemon and Cody. The little blue vaccine yelped, dropped the dishes he'd been holding and hit the ground with a hard thud.
"Davis, you're on my tail!!"
"Hold on! Ow!!"
Another shock hit the base and metal cupboards flew open, dropping pots, pans, dishes, and canned goods on the unfortunate boys and digimon. Armadillomon came rolling out of the pantry, a tawny golden ball that slammed into a cabinet door with a loud bang. Cody cried out as a pot hit him on the shoulder and covered his head with his hands. "What's happening?!"
"I don't know!"
The room stopped pitching and Davis hauled himself to his feet before whirling around and lifting Cody up. He grabbed the smaller boy's hand as the digimon straightened themselves out and ran out the room.
"Where are we going?!" Cody panted as he struggled to maintain the taller boy's pace.
The goggle boy turned around to be sure that they were all together. He met Veemon's eyes grimly before he focused on Cody. "The control room."
A door up ahead of them slid open and Yolei appeared half dragging a dazed Kari in her arms. Davis came to an abrupt halt and the others slammed into his back.
"What happened?!" he demanded when he saw the bleeding gash on Kari's forehead.
"Something hit her." Yolei turned around and Hawkmon came flapping out of the room, followed by Gatomon.
The feline digimon's fur stood on end. "Darkness," she hissed, her gloved paws clenched into fists. "This is the work of the Powers of Darkness."
"We have to get to the control room!" Davis scooped Kari up into his arms and headed off again with the others in close pursuit.
**************
Ken gripped the arm of his throne and tensed up as another attack hit the base and he was nearly thrown from the seat. Behind him Wormmon cringed and whimpered.
"Computer, damage report!!"
"Levels seven and eight have been breached. Power levels have fallen to 63%. Warning: flooding on levels 6A, 7A, 7B, 8A, 8B, 8C, and 9A. Isolation procedures have been implemented."
Ken snarled wordlessly and lurched out of the throne as another attack hit. He staggered and cursed as he made his way to a seemingly invisible keyboard and began to type feverishly.
"Ken!!" Another jolt sent Wormmon tumbling across the floor. "Ken, what's hitting us?"
The various screens in the room all displayed different angles of the base and its perimeter, but there were no visible threats. All that could be seen was the whirling water that surrounded them on all sides. Ken blinked owlishly at the screens and an expression of horror danced across his porcelain features. . . . Surrounding . . .? "It's not possible!"
The door slid open and the room tilted crazily, knocking the entering Digidestined and their partners off their feet and into a heap in the doorway. Ken grabbed at a protrusion in the invisible wall and hung on desperately as Wormmon slid forward again his pods frantically clicking at the floor for purchase.
Davis was the first on his feet, still clinging to Kari. "What's happening?!"
"We're under attack, genius!!" Ken snarled as he released his hold on the pipe and dashed over to his partner, his black digivice appearing in his hand. "Digivolve!"
"Wormmon digivolve to . . . Stingmon!!"TK helped Cody and Yolei to their feet. "Attack? From what?"
"I don't know." Ken dashed over to the computer panel again. "Damage report!"
"Fire on levels five and six," the computer chimed calmly.
"Damnit!" The dark haired genius turned around and strode to his throne and began to type something on an arm panel. "Stingmon, go outside, find out where the hell these attacks are coming from, and get back here! And if you see that traveler tell him to get up here!"
Stingmon nodded once and ducked out the door, carefully stepping around the Digidestined.
Davis set Kari down on the ground next to Ken's throne and took off his bomber jacket as TK and Yolei knelt down to help him. "You don't think that he was near the fire, do you?" He tucked his jacket under Kari's head to act like a pillow.
Ken dropped down to inspect the girl's wound. "If he is, then he's already dead. Those decks have been isolated and are flooded."
Davis's head snapped up and he stared at Ken, appalled. "You can't be serious!"
Kari's eyes fluttered open. "Wha—"
"We're under attack. Look me straight in the eye and don't blink."
"Attack?!" She tried to sit up, but did as she was told when Ken growled and put a restraining hand on her shoulder.
He stared down at her for a moment then he held three fingers up. "How many fingers am I holding up?"
"Three."
He nodded curtly. "It's just a nasty cut. You need a bandage, but you'll be fine." He pushed himself o his feet.
Davis gripped his wrist. "But Gennai—"
"Is right here." The traveler strode calmly into the room as the door slid open. The right shoulder of his robes was torn and bloody and he cradled his right arm gingerly.
Yolei stared. "What happened?"
"A wall bit me." He grimaced in pain as he came up to Ken.
The former despot looked at him, a slightly pained expression on his face when he saw the nasty gash on his former mentor's shoulder. "You need to bandage that."
"I heal quickly." Gennai did a quick mental count to be sure that they were all present and accounted for and then eyed the monitors and scowled. "What's attacking us?"
Ken sighed and sat down on the throne. "I don't know."
The doors slid open and a very drenched Stingmon ducked back into the room as the Chosen all began to cluster where they could see the monitors.
The Champion shook his head and water sprinkled off of his antennae. "There's no one there."
"It's Darkness."
"What?" Kari flinched as Yolei carefully wrapped a bandana around her forehead. The others all turned to her partner and she pushed herself shakily to her feet, grimacing at the sudden urge to throw up. "What do you mean, Gatomon?"
Patamon flapped his wings restlessly and took to the air. "She's right," he piped, round eyes worried and dark. "There's something here."
Stingmon turned to his human as Ken let out a frustrated hiss. The others didn't seem to notice.
"That's fairly obvious," Cody murmured, "but how do we stop them? At this rate, they'll smash us to bits." Armadillomon cast the boy a mournful look.
Another hit struck the base, making the room shake again.
Ken gripped the arm of his chair and glared at the screen. "I doubt that."
Yolei frowned at Ken's flat assessment as Hawkmon came to rest on her shoulder. "What do you mean?"
"It's not trying to destroy us," the slender boy said without looking away. He pointed at the screens. "Look for yourself. We're in the whirlpool instead of above it."
"What?!" Gennai's robes fanned out as he spun around to face the screens again, eyes wide.
"It knocking us into the whirlpool," Ken repeated calmly as he rose to stand next to his partner. Stingmon growled and Ken placed a soothing hand on his leg.
Another shock slammed into them and the Champion crouched down to steady his human. Ken grunted as the vaccine's large hand stopped him from falling.
"Oh my God . . ." TK took a step forward, hands clenched at his sides.
"TK?" Patamon looked up from where he stood next to Gatomon and Kari. "TK? What's wrong?"
The blond said nothing, his narrowed eyes locked on one of the screen. Ken followed his gaze and blanched.
"What is it?" Davis looked at them in confusion.
Ken's voice was a whisper. "It's Devimon."
"What?!" Kari's head whipped around to stare at the screen they were both watching and Ken unconsciously pulled closer to Stingmon for comfort. Her ruby eyes widened at the half submerged image the monitors displayed. "But Angemon destroyed him!"
Gennai frowned. "Digimon don't die. But that isn't your Devimon either."
TK turned to him. "Huh?"
"That's only an astral projection based on your fears."
"But—"
Hitsoyuki Gennai.
Everyone fell silent and stared at the screen in shock. There came a bright flash and suddenly the image of the leather clad Ultimate was displayed on every screen. Gennai narrowed his eyes. "No . . ."
Ken's head snapped to the side. "Damn you, traveler, wha—"
Hitsoyuki Gennai. The Devimon grinned maniacally at them from the whirlpool and extended one of his long, misshapen arms. Come home.
The base was rocked by an explosion that knocked them all off their feet. Cody cried out and Stingmon cradled Ken to his chest protectively. Patamon and Gatomon were sent sprawling and Kari fell on top of Yolei, crying out in pain as her head hit the ground. Davis and TK both would have landed on top of Veemon if the little dragon hadn't been knocked down when Armadillomon hit him. Hawkmon let out a loud squawk of dismay as Gennai fell on him, bending the feather in his bandana.
"Hull breach in the engine room. The core has been contaminated. Core ejection procedures are inoperable. Warning: Meltdown in T-minus three minutes."
Come home.
Ken struggled to free himself from Stingmon's arms. "The core!! Let me go, Stingmon, let me go!!"
"No!" A rafter fell from the ceiling as another explosion rocked the base. "You'll get yourself killed."
Come home.
"Stingmon!!"
"No, Ken!"
Davis pushed himself up. "Veemon!"
"Patamon!!"
"Hawkmon! Gatomon!!"
"Armadillomon!"
Come home.
"Davis, where are you?!!"
Gennai stared up at the screen, a look of inexpressible sadness on his face.
"TK!!"
"T-minus two minutes."
Come home.
"Kari, I got you!"
"We have got to get out of here!"
The back wall exploded in a wave of heat as the base was again bombarded.
"Here Ah am, Cody!"
"Everyone get up!!! We're leaving now!!"
Come home.
Gennai looked away from the screens. "Master . . ."
"T-minus one minute."
"Veemon digivolve to . . . XV-mon!!"Come home.
TK's head snapped to the side and he cradled Patamon closely in his arms. "What's that rumbling noise . . . ?"
Come home.
Ken's eyes widened and he took a step towards the burning, blown out wall. "Oh, no . . ."
Come home.
Stingmon leapt towards his human. "Ken!!!!"
The explosion knocked out the walls of the control room and a gaping hole was torn in the front of the base as metal and chunks of the hull flew outward. The top part of the base collapsed in and the flaming structure trembled in the air like a drunken bird before heaving a final shudder, a death throe, and plunging towards the gaping darkness below.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
