"Let me go, you freak!" cried Rika as she clawed desperately at the green arm
holding her. The nasty Ogremon grinned as he carried her through the damp stone
corridor. After a moment she tried kicking at him instead. The Ogremon rearranged
his grip to keep her from hitting anything vulnerable and kept grinning.
"Hey, you're gonna get in trouble!" came a high-pitched voice from behind them,
accompanied by vigorous wing flapping. A DemiDevimon flew up to block Ogremon's
path. "You're too slow!"
"She's struggling," said Ogremon, "I can't help it."
"Hah, Master doesn't care. He's gonna strangle you." taunted DemiDevimon.
Ogremon shifted Rika over to one arm and pinned the stupid little bat to the
wall with the other.
"I'm gonna strangle you, DemiDevi- ARGH!"
Rika had bitten Ogremon's hand and dropped to the ground.
"Oh, no you don't!"
Ogremon scooped Rika back up with one beefy hand and waved a spiky club with
the other.
"If you try anything like that again," he threatened, "I'll bash your head in.
I don't care what the Master does!"
He flung Rika over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and hurried down the
cold corridors.
"Ya better run, pokey, or Master's gonna strangle ya!"
Demidevimon grinned and flapped off to to the kitchens to annoy the cooks.
* * *
After what felt like hours, Rika quit struggling and just hung limp over
Ogremon's shoulder in hope that he would shift her to a more comfortable
position. No such luck. She bounced up and down with every step through endless
stairs and infinite corridors, all accompanied by the monotonous cadence of
Ogremon's thudding footsteps. Somewhere along the way, she drifted off to
sleep.
Finally, Ogremon reached the end. He knelt before his master and lay Rika on
the stone in front of him.
"This is the girl?" A deep, black, cold-as-stone voice reached out and ran an
icy claw down Ogremon's spine.
"Yes, lord," said Ogremon.
"She is unusually still," came the voice again.
"Yes, lord. She fell asleep as I carried her."
"Wake her, then. She had better not have any injuries."
"Yes, lord."
Ogremon reached out with his spiked club and prodded her in the ribs several
times. Rika groaned, rolled over, and got to hands and knees, blinking.
Rika stood and looked about. She stood on a wide black floor in a huge black
throne room. The black ceiling arched up to a black point, braced by ebony
rafters. Light streamed in through wide, arched windows on the side walls only
to be sucked greedily into any surface it touched.
"My palace is wonderful, isn't it?"
Rika froze. The voice made her entire body go chill.
"Look out the window. Gaze on a mere portion of what will soon be mine."
Rika stepped up to the nearest of the large arched windows and looked out. Her
jaw dropped in awe; before her the ground seemed as if it had dropped a thousand
feet. She had never been this high before, ever, even in a skyscraper. It felt
like she could see half the digiworld from here.
"Impressive, no?" It was the kind of question that needed no answer. "This is
the highest tower that has ever been built, in either the real world or the
digital world. It will serve as my seat of power when I have finally conquered
them."
Sweat rolled down Rika's face. This was like something from the Digimon TV
show. Of course, she thought, this isn't real. I'm home in my own bed asleep.
It's probably something I ate. Then why did it feel so real?
"It's only a dream," she whispered to herself, "It's only a dream."
Something in the darkness grinned wickedly. "Is it now? Look at me, Rika, and
tell me if it's only a dream."
Rika took a deep breath and turned to what would no doubt be a giant bunny
rabbit. It wasn't
"I'm not a just dream, am I?" No, he wasn't just a dream. "I'm not a mere
childhood phobia, do you think?" No, he was all of them at once. "You see,
Rika, I am not like you humans. If you want someone to be afraid of you, you
show him you're dangerous, by bullying, by showing off big muscles, by spreading
rumors.
"I do not. I shroud myself in darkness. You'll never know just what I am, will
you?
"I could be the bogeyman, come to steal your soul. I could be a tremendous
fall that would make you go splat on some spikes. I could be an evil clown
who will kill you and make a marrionette with your body. I could be all of
these."
With each word, amorphous fears crawled up from the dark underbelly of her
unconscious mind. But how silly, she thought briefly, clowns aren't scary, and
neither is any of that other stuff.
Ah, answered another part of her, yes, they are, on a dark rainy night and
they're all around you with those laughs and those grotesque faces leering
down at you.
"Now, then, Rika, let me show you something. Ogremon, come here." A terribly
long arm reached out of the darkness and beckoned with a clawed finger.
Ogremon went the pale green color of a booger and looked like nothing more
than a cringing puppy dog expecting a beating from a cruel master.
When Ogremon stood before the pitch blackness of his evil master's throne,
two dark hands placed themselves on Ogremon's shoulder.
"You were very bad, Ogremon."
"Yes, Lord."
"You brought her late."
"She struggled, Lord."
"Too bad."
Ogremon screamed. Rika fainted.
holding her. The nasty Ogremon grinned as he carried her through the damp stone
corridor. After a moment she tried kicking at him instead. The Ogremon rearranged
his grip to keep her from hitting anything vulnerable and kept grinning.
"Hey, you're gonna get in trouble!" came a high-pitched voice from behind them,
accompanied by vigorous wing flapping. A DemiDevimon flew up to block Ogremon's
path. "You're too slow!"
"She's struggling," said Ogremon, "I can't help it."
"Hah, Master doesn't care. He's gonna strangle you." taunted DemiDevimon.
Ogremon shifted Rika over to one arm and pinned the stupid little bat to the
wall with the other.
"I'm gonna strangle you, DemiDevi- ARGH!"
Rika had bitten Ogremon's hand and dropped to the ground.
"Oh, no you don't!"
Ogremon scooped Rika back up with one beefy hand and waved a spiky club with
the other.
"If you try anything like that again," he threatened, "I'll bash your head in.
I don't care what the Master does!"
He flung Rika over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and hurried down the
cold corridors.
"Ya better run, pokey, or Master's gonna strangle ya!"
Demidevimon grinned and flapped off to to the kitchens to annoy the cooks.
* * *
After what felt like hours, Rika quit struggling and just hung limp over
Ogremon's shoulder in hope that he would shift her to a more comfortable
position. No such luck. She bounced up and down with every step through endless
stairs and infinite corridors, all accompanied by the monotonous cadence of
Ogremon's thudding footsteps. Somewhere along the way, she drifted off to
sleep.
Finally, Ogremon reached the end. He knelt before his master and lay Rika on
the stone in front of him.
"This is the girl?" A deep, black, cold-as-stone voice reached out and ran an
icy claw down Ogremon's spine.
"Yes, lord," said Ogremon.
"She is unusually still," came the voice again.
"Yes, lord. She fell asleep as I carried her."
"Wake her, then. She had better not have any injuries."
"Yes, lord."
Ogremon reached out with his spiked club and prodded her in the ribs several
times. Rika groaned, rolled over, and got to hands and knees, blinking.
Rika stood and looked about. She stood on a wide black floor in a huge black
throne room. The black ceiling arched up to a black point, braced by ebony
rafters. Light streamed in through wide, arched windows on the side walls only
to be sucked greedily into any surface it touched.
"My palace is wonderful, isn't it?"
Rika froze. The voice made her entire body go chill.
"Look out the window. Gaze on a mere portion of what will soon be mine."
Rika stepped up to the nearest of the large arched windows and looked out. Her
jaw dropped in awe; before her the ground seemed as if it had dropped a thousand
feet. She had never been this high before, ever, even in a skyscraper. It felt
like she could see half the digiworld from here.
"Impressive, no?" It was the kind of question that needed no answer. "This is
the highest tower that has ever been built, in either the real world or the
digital world. It will serve as my seat of power when I have finally conquered
them."
Sweat rolled down Rika's face. This was like something from the Digimon TV
show. Of course, she thought, this isn't real. I'm home in my own bed asleep.
It's probably something I ate. Then why did it feel so real?
"It's only a dream," she whispered to herself, "It's only a dream."
Something in the darkness grinned wickedly. "Is it now? Look at me, Rika, and
tell me if it's only a dream."
Rika took a deep breath and turned to what would no doubt be a giant bunny
rabbit. It wasn't
"I'm not a just dream, am I?" No, he wasn't just a dream. "I'm not a mere
childhood phobia, do you think?" No, he was all of them at once. "You see,
Rika, I am not like you humans. If you want someone to be afraid of you, you
show him you're dangerous, by bullying, by showing off big muscles, by spreading
rumors.
"I do not. I shroud myself in darkness. You'll never know just what I am, will
you?
"I could be the bogeyman, come to steal your soul. I could be a tremendous
fall that would make you go splat on some spikes. I could be an evil clown
who will kill you and make a marrionette with your body. I could be all of
these."
With each word, amorphous fears crawled up from the dark underbelly of her
unconscious mind. But how silly, she thought briefly, clowns aren't scary, and
neither is any of that other stuff.
Ah, answered another part of her, yes, they are, on a dark rainy night and
they're all around you with those laughs and those grotesque faces leering
down at you.
"Now, then, Rika, let me show you something. Ogremon, come here." A terribly
long arm reached out of the darkness and beckoned with a clawed finger.
Ogremon went the pale green color of a booger and looked like nothing more
than a cringing puppy dog expecting a beating from a cruel master.
When Ogremon stood before the pitch blackness of his evil master's throne,
two dark hands placed themselves on Ogremon's shoulder.
"You were very bad, Ogremon."
"Yes, Lord."
"You brought her late."
"She struggled, Lord."
"Too bad."
Ogremon screamed. Rika fainted.