Digimon: The Nail
Part 3
by Christian "Sid" Lang
A lot will happen at roughly the same time, so please forgive me for switching between the worlds so often.
Thanks.
"She's breaking free! Grab her!" the boy shouts frantically, jumping out of the way.
"Yes, Emperor!" the Bakemon shouts as they grab the wild Digimon's limbs.
He watches the uneven fight for a while.
Four Bakemon against one Renamon.
As his mindless yet helpful assistants push Renamon back into the pound, he shakes his head.
There have been times when he would have helped the poor fox-type Digimon.
He had been called Ken at that time. Not Digimon Emperor. That was just a hollow title for him.
But he couldn't allow himself to think of his past. Yet.
First he would have to finish the plan. Just as he has been told.
Fortunately, the Bakemon can't see the tears in his eyes since he is wearing the goggles.
"Now leave." he tells the Bakemon once the heavy door to the pound is closed again.
As the ghost Digimon leave, Ken can hear Renamon trash around inside the cell.
A quick look through a small window confirm his fears.
"Bakemon, return!" he orders sharply.
Almost instantly, the four Bakemon appear around him, waiting for his orders.
"Put her in a seperate cell. She is hurting the others in her condition."
"As you command, Emperor." the Bakemon reply.
And the human child named Ken just sighs.
Soon.
The day has been a success indeed.
John and Dieter had convinced the children to join their trip to the park.
Tomorrow morning, they would start.
Of course, the base commander has been against this.
But after assuring him to be within a safe range of the compound, he agreed to the idea.
"Finally somebody treats these children like children." the commander has told them with a warm smile.
Now John is lying in his bed, getting some well-deserved sleep.
Night in the DigiWorld.
Gennai sighs as he takes a look around.
"So wrong." he whispers.
He had seen Myotismon's army conquering the DigiWorld.
He had witnessed Myotismon beating Devimon. Etemon.
Only the Dark Masters remained, but they have their bases on another continent.
And as far as he knows, they're not daring to attack Myotismon yet.
"Time has betrayed me."
Of course this statement isn't correct since Time is just a concept.
But still, none of this should have happened. The Dark Age of Myotismon should have ended already.
The vampire Digimon should have been beaten by the DigiDestined.
Like Devimon. Like Etemon. Like the Dark Masters.
"I have tried to act according to History. To Time."
He doesn't even know what has happened to the Digimon of the DigiDestined.
Except for Gatomon. She was among the few who were still playing their role.
Even if her time should have come long ago.
"Maybe that has been my mistake."
Gennai had tried to subtly alter the course of history. His best try had been sending out the D3-DigiVices.
But as it turned out, the legend of the DigiDestined has already changed beyond repair.
Gennai has used up all of his official trump cards. Now the time for cheating has come.
"History is being rewritten, and I'm going to add a new chapter."
He takes three devices out of his pocket and places them on the ground in front of him.
"Seekers of the lost ones. Tamers of the untamed ones." he whispers.
The three Devices in front of him start to glow.
"I'm giving you the means to fulfill your new destiny."
In a flash of light, the three D-Arcs disappear from the Digital World.
If there had been a personification of time, it would have been startled by his actions.
Gennai can already feel the change. If only the humans would understand his call...
"Ruki. Please. You need some sleep." Mrs. Makino tells her daughter.
Her little Ruki looks even worse than after a fight.
The girl hasn't slept well for days. That alone wouldn't have been too alarming.
But all the time, Ruki has searched for... somebody... or something...
"Yes, mother." Ruki whispers, but her eyes are still darting around.
Her mother frowns, but leaves her daughter's room.
"Is she still looking for something?" Mrs. Makino's mother asks.
"Yes, mother. I think I'll send her to a doctor tomorrow."
Standing behind her Master, Gatomon grins.
Finally. The boy has failed. That'll take care of his cocky attitude!
"So your collars can't control these three Rookies?" Myotismon calmly asks the boy.
"I can't explain it myself. They normally work on Rookies and Champions."
"And you don't see a way to fix this... problem."
Myotismon didn't actually ask that last thing. He stated it.
Her Master sighs.
"Go now. There are still other ways to tame a wild Digimon. Right, Gatomon?" her Master asks.
"Of course, my Lord." Gatomon replies and bows.
She had been a wild Digimon, too. But luckily, Myotismon took good care of her.
The boy just shrugs and leaves the room. Lost in thought, Myotismon pets Gatomon's head.
The cat Digimon purrs happily.
The purring instantly stops as his grip on her head tightens.
"Gatomon. Try to show these Digimon the right way." he simply tells her and releases her head.
"With pleasure, Master Myotismon." she quickly replies and bows before she leaves the room, too.
It takes her less than a minute to reach the pound in the cellar.
Gesturing wth her paw, she sends the Bakemon out of the pound to be alone with the three Digimon.
For some minutes, she simply listens to the sounds.
She can hear two of the Digimon inside the biggest cell. They are afraid, she can sense it.
Gatomon frowns when she hears the third Digimon run wild inside another cell.
"Stupid Emperor. He forgot to remove her collar."
Oh well. I'll take care of the other two first.
The third one will be exhausted once I'm done, so I won't even start to sweat.
With a short cry, Ruki sits up on her sleeping mat.
She is bathed in sweat and gasping as if she had run a Tri-State-Marathon.
As her breathing slows down, she tries to understand what she had felt. What had woken her.
Panic. Fear. Anger. All these words didn't quite describe it.
*beep*
It can't go on like that. she tells herself.
Ruki knows that her bodyis suffering from sleep deprivation.
Her mother had already offered to give her a small sleeping pill, but Ruki had refused to take it.
She didn't fear possible side effects. The dosage was too small to harm her with one pill.
But if she slept, the dreams would return. And the dreams intensified the feelings.
It would become a vicious circle, and that would make matters worse.
*beep*
No. Ruki knows she has to find... her. The one she is looking for.
This is silly. I don't even know who to look for. And I have no clue where she is.
She covers her eyes with one hand and realizes that she is crying.
I'm going insane. No, I am insane already. That must be it.
She continues to cry into her hand, shaking her head in frustration.
*beep*
They'll lock me away. Just like her. Just like her.
She clenches her fist and drives it down onto the mat while one hand still covers her eyes.
Then they'll start asking questions. About me. Why I'm such a tomboy.
"Insane. Crazy. A threat to herself." she whispers, her fist hitting the mat after each word.
*beep*
By now she realizes that the slow, constant beeping does not come from her alarm clock.
But she can't think of anything else in her room that can produce a beeping sound.
Oh, great. Now I'm also hearing things.
She would have to tell her mother. Maybe the doctors could help her.
*beep*
Frowning, she slowly removes her hand from her eyes and blinks.
Placed right next to her, she sees a small device colored grey and blue.
It has a small glowing display. She stares at the object.
I may be insane, but I do know that I have never seen this thing before.
*beep*
This... thing... is the source of the sound. she realizes.
Slowly, carefully, her hand moves towards the strange device.
Her fingers trace its outlines, then she takes it into her hand.
Ruki's eyes widen as all of her doubts are leaving her.
"I'm not insane." she says, tightening her grip on the device.
She sees that the display is showing an arrow, just like a compass.
And Ruki Makino knows what has to be done.
"I will find you." he whispers.
He is walking in the middle of the street. At this time, no cars are driving anywhere.
"I won't fail you. Don't worry." he whipsers.
The device in his hand makes a beeping sound, as if answering him.
He quickly looks at it to verify that he is still on the right way.
Sure enough, the arrow is still pointing straight ahead.
Straight at a girl who is also standing in the middle of the street.
He stops in his tracks when he recognizes the girl.
That's the girl who enjoys beating up anybody who dares to challenge her!
He has heard stories of that girl. What was her name? Ruki?
He jumps when she suddenly notices him and turns around.
Then he sees the dark rings under her eyes.
"You too?" he just asks and holds up the beeping device.
"Who are you?" she just asks, her voice sounding tired.
"Jenrya Lee. But most people just call me Lee."
"Oh. I'm Ruki. Ruki Makino." the girl answers and shows him her device.
It looks just like his device, but hers is blue-grey while his is green-grey.
"Is this a meeting of some kind?" another voice suddenly asks.
Lee and Ruki turn around and see another boy holding up a red-grey device.
The boy introduces himself as Takato Matsuda.
Together they look at the devices. All of them point in the same direction.
Without another word, the trio starts to walk.
Part 3
by Christian "Sid" Lang
A lot will happen at roughly the same time, so please forgive me for switching between the worlds so often.
Thanks.
"She's breaking free! Grab her!" the boy shouts frantically, jumping out of the way.
"Yes, Emperor!" the Bakemon shouts as they grab the wild Digimon's limbs.
He watches the uneven fight for a while.
Four Bakemon against one Renamon.
As his mindless yet helpful assistants push Renamon back into the pound, he shakes his head.
There have been times when he would have helped the poor fox-type Digimon.
He had been called Ken at that time. Not Digimon Emperor. That was just a hollow title for him.
But he couldn't allow himself to think of his past. Yet.
First he would have to finish the plan. Just as he has been told.
Fortunately, the Bakemon can't see the tears in his eyes since he is wearing the goggles.
"Now leave." he tells the Bakemon once the heavy door to the pound is closed again.
As the ghost Digimon leave, Ken can hear Renamon trash around inside the cell.
A quick look through a small window confirm his fears.
"Bakemon, return!" he orders sharply.
Almost instantly, the four Bakemon appear around him, waiting for his orders.
"Put her in a seperate cell. She is hurting the others in her condition."
"As you command, Emperor." the Bakemon reply.
And the human child named Ken just sighs.
Soon.
The day has been a success indeed.
John and Dieter had convinced the children to join their trip to the park.
Tomorrow morning, they would start.
Of course, the base commander has been against this.
But after assuring him to be within a safe range of the compound, he agreed to the idea.
"Finally somebody treats these children like children." the commander has told them with a warm smile.
Now John is lying in his bed, getting some well-deserved sleep.
Night in the DigiWorld.
Gennai sighs as he takes a look around.
"So wrong." he whispers.
He had seen Myotismon's army conquering the DigiWorld.
He had witnessed Myotismon beating Devimon. Etemon.
Only the Dark Masters remained, but they have their bases on another continent.
And as far as he knows, they're not daring to attack Myotismon yet.
"Time has betrayed me."
Of course this statement isn't correct since Time is just a concept.
But still, none of this should have happened. The Dark Age of Myotismon should have ended already.
The vampire Digimon should have been beaten by the DigiDestined.
Like Devimon. Like Etemon. Like the Dark Masters.
"I have tried to act according to History. To Time."
He doesn't even know what has happened to the Digimon of the DigiDestined.
Except for Gatomon. She was among the few who were still playing their role.
Even if her time should have come long ago.
"Maybe that has been my mistake."
Gennai had tried to subtly alter the course of history. His best try had been sending out the D3-DigiVices.
But as it turned out, the legend of the DigiDestined has already changed beyond repair.
Gennai has used up all of his official trump cards. Now the time for cheating has come.
"History is being rewritten, and I'm going to add a new chapter."
He takes three devices out of his pocket and places them on the ground in front of him.
"Seekers of the lost ones. Tamers of the untamed ones." he whispers.
The three Devices in front of him start to glow.
"I'm giving you the means to fulfill your new destiny."
In a flash of light, the three D-Arcs disappear from the Digital World.
If there had been a personification of time, it would have been startled by his actions.
Gennai can already feel the change. If only the humans would understand his call...
"Ruki. Please. You need some sleep." Mrs. Makino tells her daughter.
Her little Ruki looks even worse than after a fight.
The girl hasn't slept well for days. That alone wouldn't have been too alarming.
But all the time, Ruki has searched for... somebody... or something...
"Yes, mother." Ruki whispers, but her eyes are still darting around.
Her mother frowns, but leaves her daughter's room.
"Is she still looking for something?" Mrs. Makino's mother asks.
"Yes, mother. I think I'll send her to a doctor tomorrow."
Standing behind her Master, Gatomon grins.
Finally. The boy has failed. That'll take care of his cocky attitude!
"So your collars can't control these three Rookies?" Myotismon calmly asks the boy.
"I can't explain it myself. They normally work on Rookies and Champions."
"And you don't see a way to fix this... problem."
Myotismon didn't actually ask that last thing. He stated it.
Her Master sighs.
"Go now. There are still other ways to tame a wild Digimon. Right, Gatomon?" her Master asks.
"Of course, my Lord." Gatomon replies and bows.
She had been a wild Digimon, too. But luckily, Myotismon took good care of her.
The boy just shrugs and leaves the room. Lost in thought, Myotismon pets Gatomon's head.
The cat Digimon purrs happily.
The purring instantly stops as his grip on her head tightens.
"Gatomon. Try to show these Digimon the right way." he simply tells her and releases her head.
"With pleasure, Master Myotismon." she quickly replies and bows before she leaves the room, too.
It takes her less than a minute to reach the pound in the cellar.
Gesturing wth her paw, she sends the Bakemon out of the pound to be alone with the three Digimon.
For some minutes, she simply listens to the sounds.
She can hear two of the Digimon inside the biggest cell. They are afraid, she can sense it.
Gatomon frowns when she hears the third Digimon run wild inside another cell.
"Stupid Emperor. He forgot to remove her collar."
Oh well. I'll take care of the other two first.
The third one will be exhausted once I'm done, so I won't even start to sweat.
With a short cry, Ruki sits up on her sleeping mat.
She is bathed in sweat and gasping as if she had run a Tri-State-Marathon.
As her breathing slows down, she tries to understand what she had felt. What had woken her.
Panic. Fear. Anger. All these words didn't quite describe it.
*beep*
It can't go on like that. she tells herself.
Ruki knows that her bodyis suffering from sleep deprivation.
Her mother had already offered to give her a small sleeping pill, but Ruki had refused to take it.
She didn't fear possible side effects. The dosage was too small to harm her with one pill.
But if she slept, the dreams would return. And the dreams intensified the feelings.
It would become a vicious circle, and that would make matters worse.
*beep*
No. Ruki knows she has to find... her. The one she is looking for.
This is silly. I don't even know who to look for. And I have no clue where she is.
She covers her eyes with one hand and realizes that she is crying.
I'm going insane. No, I am insane already. That must be it.
She continues to cry into her hand, shaking her head in frustration.
*beep*
They'll lock me away. Just like her. Just like her.
She clenches her fist and drives it down onto the mat while one hand still covers her eyes.
Then they'll start asking questions. About me. Why I'm such a tomboy.
"Insane. Crazy. A threat to herself." she whispers, her fist hitting the mat after each word.
*beep*
By now she realizes that the slow, constant beeping does not come from her alarm clock.
But she can't think of anything else in her room that can produce a beeping sound.
Oh, great. Now I'm also hearing things.
She would have to tell her mother. Maybe the doctors could help her.
*beep*
Frowning, she slowly removes her hand from her eyes and blinks.
Placed right next to her, she sees a small device colored grey and blue.
It has a small glowing display. She stares at the object.
I may be insane, but I do know that I have never seen this thing before.
*beep*
This... thing... is the source of the sound. she realizes.
Slowly, carefully, her hand moves towards the strange device.
Her fingers trace its outlines, then she takes it into her hand.
Ruki's eyes widen as all of her doubts are leaving her.
"I'm not insane." she says, tightening her grip on the device.
She sees that the display is showing an arrow, just like a compass.
And Ruki Makino knows what has to be done.
"I will find you." he whispers.
He is walking in the middle of the street. At this time, no cars are driving anywhere.
"I won't fail you. Don't worry." he whipsers.
The device in his hand makes a beeping sound, as if answering him.
He quickly looks at it to verify that he is still on the right way.
Sure enough, the arrow is still pointing straight ahead.
Straight at a girl who is also standing in the middle of the street.
He stops in his tracks when he recognizes the girl.
That's the girl who enjoys beating up anybody who dares to challenge her!
He has heard stories of that girl. What was her name? Ruki?
He jumps when she suddenly notices him and turns around.
Then he sees the dark rings under her eyes.
"You too?" he just asks and holds up the beeping device.
"Who are you?" she just asks, her voice sounding tired.
"Jenrya Lee. But most people just call me Lee."
"Oh. I'm Ruki. Ruki Makino." the girl answers and shows him her device.
It looks just like his device, but hers is blue-grey while his is green-grey.
"Is this a meeting of some kind?" another voice suddenly asks.
Lee and Ruki turn around and see another boy holding up a red-grey device.
The boy introduces himself as Takato Matsuda.
Together they look at the devices. All of them point in the same direction.
Without another word, the trio starts to walk.