OK everyone, here's Chapter 6. Hope you guys like it, and remember
that flames will only improve my writing skills! Thanks to Loner and Evil
Shadow for pre-reading the first half of this. Email me if you would like
to be a beta-reader for Chapter 7.
Chapter 6: A Willing Hostage
When the explosions had ceased and the dust had settled, the children found themselves knee-deep in embryonic fluid and the nutrients that were used to feed the 'copies' – foul perversions of Hugh. A hand from one of them had landed on near Kari, and she was disconcerted by its twitches and spasms. They left immediately. Hugh blew a hole in the edge of the base, and they found shelter under some trees not far from there. When the children had recovered their senses and wits – they were running on autopilot when they started running from the base – Kari asked Hugh, "What does 'Manus Celer Dei' mean?"
"It is Latin for 'The Swift Hand of God'. Its name comes from the holy energy of the beam."
As they were resting on their laurels, they noticed a shadow appear underneath them. Ken and Takata were riding on their pet dragon, clearly hungry for revenge.
"You damn cowards!" bellowed Ken. "You stole my victory from me. With those creations of mine, they would have run rampant throughout this world and yours!!"
"You dare call us cowards?!?!" shrieked Yolei. "You never do any of the fighting yourself – that task is delegated to your cronies! Hugh here – he has true courage – no one else I know would have the courage to destroy beings that resemble himself so closely!"
"'Resemble' him? Hah! They were the antithesis of Hugh from the instant I manipulated his DNA! Their crest is a mockery – a twisted parody of 'sacrifice'. Their crests represented selfishness. Everything about Hugh I loathed from the moment I met him 2 years ago in that lake of lava. I tried to turn him to my side, even mentioning that I was one of the Digidestined! But he said, 'Your mind is not your own, neither are your thoughts.' Can you believe it?!?! I am more in control of my life now than I ever was! It was the same back then! And now, I have turned my own base into a weapon. Behold!"
Ken pushed a button on a remote control, and his base rose from the distance. The humanoid, Leviathan-like automaton moved quickly for its speed, and was upon the children within moments.
"Time to raise some havoc. The Dogs of War are loose!" Hugh's eyes pulsed red as they had only done so once before. Before the astonished eyes of the children, Ken and Takata, his body seemed to transmute and deform itself. When the spasms had passed, Hugh had changed into a massive blue dragon the size of his opponent. As Ken's mechanism lunged forward, Hugh spit forth a powerful ball of energy that blew off the offending limb. With ease, Hugh tore apart the chest plating of the machine, and was slightly singed by the molten lead that served as the 'blood' of the creation. Hugh was looking for Ken's crest – without it, the…thing could no longer function. Frustrated, he tore out the entire engine that rested in its abdomen. The threat neutralized, Hugh reverted to his human guise. He saw Ken kneeling over the remains of his monstrosity. Hugh looked at Ken's crest, which he had recovered.
"Kindness. Hmm. I hope you still have some of that left in you." He placed it on the ground in front of Ken before going over to rejoin the children.
Ken was thinking to himself as he considered his actions of the past three years after he recovered his crest from the desert sand. They're right, he thought, I am a weak coward when it comes down to it. I only pick the battles I can win, and I couldn't even win on my own home turf! I only wish Wormmon was here – I could apologise for the way I treated him like my personal slave! Ken was bawling his eyes out during all of this. I shouldn't have left him in the base – he surely would have…
"Are you all right, Ken?"
Ken was tugged away from his self-pity and back to reality by the sound of his partner's voice nearby.
"Wha…? You're OK!" Ken grabbed Wormmon and pulled him close. "I thought you were dead. Look, I know I was a mean asshole to you before, but I took pleasure in tormenting you, so I didn't even want to stop. But now, all I want is to make it up to you somehow."
"You needn't have worried about me. Hugh was careful enough to leave my room undamaged. Then again, the toilet is a very small target. Could you please start by not squeezing the life out of me."
"Of course," replied Ken, loosening his grip on Wormmon.
"Thanks. If you want to make it up to me, make it up to them – the children you tried so hard to destroy. Start with The Watcher – after all, you tried to use his essence to complete your plans."
"So…Hugh is called The Watcher?"
"Yes, Master. I listened in to their conversation shortly before they arrived in this world, and Yolei gave him that name."
"Right then. Takata, follow my lead. We're going to apologise to them."
"Yeah, I concur," agreed Takata, "I know when I've been beaten."
They walked over to the children with the noblest of intentions. However, they were not greeted with open arms.
"Hugh, I don't know why you didn't finish them off, but do it now! Destroy them!" instructed TK. When Hugh did not respond, TK became impatient. "Well? Why do you hesitate? Have you forgotten the terrible things he did? He tried to clone you, for crying out loud!"
"No. Man can never forget. However, we must forgive him for his transgressions. Besides, Yolei told me never to murder. Although I cannot disobey orders, when I receive one that conflicts with a previous command, I can decide which order has the higher priority. That is one of the few conscious decisions I can make. And since I personally agree with her feelings on death and murder, I chose to obey her directive and override yours. Please understand, it's nothing personal."
Having heard the exchange of words between TK and The Watcher, Ken broke down and knelt down before Hugh. Takata quickly followed suit. However, their actions did not have the intended effect, as the object of their worship was clearly perturbed. Hugh backed away, seemingly in fear of being treated as a deity…almost as if he felt guilty of such attention. He composed himself shortly, however, and spoke.
"Ken, Takata, why do you treat me so? I am not a being to be revered or venerated. I have done little in my existence worth honouring, in fact I have caused enough affronts to the very fabric of existence itself – I have broken laws that were designed to stand immutable since the dawn of time. Unto my sins, Ken, you are more innocent than a newborn, more righteous than the Chief of Angels."
Everyone was stunned, too incredulous to respond. Shortly, though, Ken rose to his feet and spoke up.
"Well, Hugh, I don't know enough about you, so I won't comment on your self-appraisal. I felt like I had to show my appreciation for what you just did for us. Now that I have seen some of your true power, I know that you are the only reason that I still draw breath. Now, please take us back home. I need to apologise to my parents for running off without a word."
Hugh turned to face Yolei and the rest of the children, and told them, "Ken has returned to his former, and true, self. He is one of the Digidestined again – one of you. I must obey his command. Our task is pretty much done in this world. I shall return you if such is your desire."
The children nodded in agreement, and Hugh's eyes glowed a brilliant white, and he blinked his eyes. Instantly they reappeared in the hub of Highton View Terrace. Their home. But the sight which greeted them was anything but homely. They returned to the sight of Daemon demolishing buildings with wanton abandon. He turned to face the children and stated calmly, "Ah, so you're back at last. I gave you the courtesy of not facing my wrath in the digital world. I also knew that what you truly care about lies here."
He revealed to the children their parents, held helpless in his talons.
"I think you can guess what I would do if you chose to refuse my demands," he snarled. "I am asking for you to hand Yemeth over to me."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Yolei. "Wait…Hugh must have been called many things…you don't mean him, do you??!?!!"
"Yes, I do," came the reply. "He has had more names than even I can remember. But some other common ones included Walking Corpse, The Deathless One, and Polar Twins in a Single Shell. I have no real quarrel with you – this destruction is merely for show. I shall restore the city and return your parents to you once you surrender him to me."
"I don't think any of us have the right to make Hugh do anything he doesn't want to. I think the decision should be his," said Yolei. "Hugh, what do you want to do? I won't get angry, and I'll respect whatever decision you choose. You could say that I am ordering you to have free will for this one choice."
Before Yolei had finished speaking, it seemed that Hugh had already made up his mind. He floated to the figure of Daemon, and spoke. "If you will free them, I am yours to command."
"Agreed." Daemon, true to his word, gently released the adults and placed them in front of the children. Almost immediately, the carnage that had taken place only moments before faded, and buildings damaged beyond salvageable condition were restored. Daemon then opened a gate to the digital world and disappeared through it, taking the Watcher with him.
After the gate had closed, Gennai came through a conduit of his own right in front of the children. He was glad to see them safe and sound.
"Ah, that accursed Daemon! He blocked off my means of coming here to stop him, but it seems that you have beaten him back! Thanks for doing my hard work for me! Well done! Wait…where's Yemeth?"
"Daemon struck a deal with us," explained Yolei. "He wrecked half of Odaiba, and held our parents hostage. We dared not approach, let alone attack. He offered us the release of our loved ones in exchange for Hugh. I let Hugh decide, seeing as he was the price, and he agreed. He also called him 'Yemeth'. What does that mean?"
"I am truly sorry," said Gennai. "I could not defeat Daemon's seal in time. Yemeth is the name given to the Bringer of the Apocalypse – the Doombringer. Hugh is that entity. He obeys anything unquestioningly. He can grant wishes, and cause unbelievable acts to occur. You have witnessed some of his true potential, have you not?"
"Yes," replied TK. "He seemed to…digivolve – I never thought it possible for a human to do so."
"Oh, he's not human, TK. When Piedmon stole the Crests, the only one missing was the Crest of Sacrifice. We could never find a soul in the real world that would complement that Crest perfectly, so there was no partner digimon for Hugh. There would have been no First Child period, if Piedmon did not engineer a body to become that First Child, we would have been deprived of a great potential for good. However, the power that was taught to Hugh by Piedmon was that of Darkness, although the Crest itself was made of pure Light. This unnatural marriage of powers made Hugh the most versatile being in existence. The conflicting forces within him could have destroyed him – indeed, for the first few decades of his 'life', if you could call it that, his body was destroyed many scores of times. But they eventually gave up the conflict, each half believing they could not exist without the other. And he did more than survive – he thrived. We must get him back, but any forceful approach would be a fool's errand – the fruitless act of a wasted life. We must be diplomatic in our approach. But right now, you should reunite with your family, and each other. I shall return two days hence when I have thought through this further. I pray we may find a way to convince Daemon to relinquish his prize."
End of Chapter 6. How was it? I hope you liked it, more to come soon!
Chapter 6: A Willing Hostage
When the explosions had ceased and the dust had settled, the children found themselves knee-deep in embryonic fluid and the nutrients that were used to feed the 'copies' – foul perversions of Hugh. A hand from one of them had landed on near Kari, and she was disconcerted by its twitches and spasms. They left immediately. Hugh blew a hole in the edge of the base, and they found shelter under some trees not far from there. When the children had recovered their senses and wits – they were running on autopilot when they started running from the base – Kari asked Hugh, "What does 'Manus Celer Dei' mean?"
"It is Latin for 'The Swift Hand of God'. Its name comes from the holy energy of the beam."
As they were resting on their laurels, they noticed a shadow appear underneath them. Ken and Takata were riding on their pet dragon, clearly hungry for revenge.
"You damn cowards!" bellowed Ken. "You stole my victory from me. With those creations of mine, they would have run rampant throughout this world and yours!!"
"You dare call us cowards?!?!" shrieked Yolei. "You never do any of the fighting yourself – that task is delegated to your cronies! Hugh here – he has true courage – no one else I know would have the courage to destroy beings that resemble himself so closely!"
"'Resemble' him? Hah! They were the antithesis of Hugh from the instant I manipulated his DNA! Their crest is a mockery – a twisted parody of 'sacrifice'. Their crests represented selfishness. Everything about Hugh I loathed from the moment I met him 2 years ago in that lake of lava. I tried to turn him to my side, even mentioning that I was one of the Digidestined! But he said, 'Your mind is not your own, neither are your thoughts.' Can you believe it?!?! I am more in control of my life now than I ever was! It was the same back then! And now, I have turned my own base into a weapon. Behold!"
Ken pushed a button on a remote control, and his base rose from the distance. The humanoid, Leviathan-like automaton moved quickly for its speed, and was upon the children within moments.
"Time to raise some havoc. The Dogs of War are loose!" Hugh's eyes pulsed red as they had only done so once before. Before the astonished eyes of the children, Ken and Takata, his body seemed to transmute and deform itself. When the spasms had passed, Hugh had changed into a massive blue dragon the size of his opponent. As Ken's mechanism lunged forward, Hugh spit forth a powerful ball of energy that blew off the offending limb. With ease, Hugh tore apart the chest plating of the machine, and was slightly singed by the molten lead that served as the 'blood' of the creation. Hugh was looking for Ken's crest – without it, the…thing could no longer function. Frustrated, he tore out the entire engine that rested in its abdomen. The threat neutralized, Hugh reverted to his human guise. He saw Ken kneeling over the remains of his monstrosity. Hugh looked at Ken's crest, which he had recovered.
"Kindness. Hmm. I hope you still have some of that left in you." He placed it on the ground in front of Ken before going over to rejoin the children.
Ken was thinking to himself as he considered his actions of the past three years after he recovered his crest from the desert sand. They're right, he thought, I am a weak coward when it comes down to it. I only pick the battles I can win, and I couldn't even win on my own home turf! I only wish Wormmon was here – I could apologise for the way I treated him like my personal slave! Ken was bawling his eyes out during all of this. I shouldn't have left him in the base – he surely would have…
"Are you all right, Ken?"
Ken was tugged away from his self-pity and back to reality by the sound of his partner's voice nearby.
"Wha…? You're OK!" Ken grabbed Wormmon and pulled him close. "I thought you were dead. Look, I know I was a mean asshole to you before, but I took pleasure in tormenting you, so I didn't even want to stop. But now, all I want is to make it up to you somehow."
"You needn't have worried about me. Hugh was careful enough to leave my room undamaged. Then again, the toilet is a very small target. Could you please start by not squeezing the life out of me."
"Of course," replied Ken, loosening his grip on Wormmon.
"Thanks. If you want to make it up to me, make it up to them – the children you tried so hard to destroy. Start with The Watcher – after all, you tried to use his essence to complete your plans."
"So…Hugh is called The Watcher?"
"Yes, Master. I listened in to their conversation shortly before they arrived in this world, and Yolei gave him that name."
"Right then. Takata, follow my lead. We're going to apologise to them."
"Yeah, I concur," agreed Takata, "I know when I've been beaten."
They walked over to the children with the noblest of intentions. However, they were not greeted with open arms.
"Hugh, I don't know why you didn't finish them off, but do it now! Destroy them!" instructed TK. When Hugh did not respond, TK became impatient. "Well? Why do you hesitate? Have you forgotten the terrible things he did? He tried to clone you, for crying out loud!"
"No. Man can never forget. However, we must forgive him for his transgressions. Besides, Yolei told me never to murder. Although I cannot disobey orders, when I receive one that conflicts with a previous command, I can decide which order has the higher priority. That is one of the few conscious decisions I can make. And since I personally agree with her feelings on death and murder, I chose to obey her directive and override yours. Please understand, it's nothing personal."
Having heard the exchange of words between TK and The Watcher, Ken broke down and knelt down before Hugh. Takata quickly followed suit. However, their actions did not have the intended effect, as the object of their worship was clearly perturbed. Hugh backed away, seemingly in fear of being treated as a deity…almost as if he felt guilty of such attention. He composed himself shortly, however, and spoke.
"Ken, Takata, why do you treat me so? I am not a being to be revered or venerated. I have done little in my existence worth honouring, in fact I have caused enough affronts to the very fabric of existence itself – I have broken laws that were designed to stand immutable since the dawn of time. Unto my sins, Ken, you are more innocent than a newborn, more righteous than the Chief of Angels."
Everyone was stunned, too incredulous to respond. Shortly, though, Ken rose to his feet and spoke up.
"Well, Hugh, I don't know enough about you, so I won't comment on your self-appraisal. I felt like I had to show my appreciation for what you just did for us. Now that I have seen some of your true power, I know that you are the only reason that I still draw breath. Now, please take us back home. I need to apologise to my parents for running off without a word."
Hugh turned to face Yolei and the rest of the children, and told them, "Ken has returned to his former, and true, self. He is one of the Digidestined again – one of you. I must obey his command. Our task is pretty much done in this world. I shall return you if such is your desire."
The children nodded in agreement, and Hugh's eyes glowed a brilliant white, and he blinked his eyes. Instantly they reappeared in the hub of Highton View Terrace. Their home. But the sight which greeted them was anything but homely. They returned to the sight of Daemon demolishing buildings with wanton abandon. He turned to face the children and stated calmly, "Ah, so you're back at last. I gave you the courtesy of not facing my wrath in the digital world. I also knew that what you truly care about lies here."
He revealed to the children their parents, held helpless in his talons.
"I think you can guess what I would do if you chose to refuse my demands," he snarled. "I am asking for you to hand Yemeth over to me."
"What are you talking about?" demanded Yolei. "Wait…Hugh must have been called many things…you don't mean him, do you??!?!!"
"Yes, I do," came the reply. "He has had more names than even I can remember. But some other common ones included Walking Corpse, The Deathless One, and Polar Twins in a Single Shell. I have no real quarrel with you – this destruction is merely for show. I shall restore the city and return your parents to you once you surrender him to me."
"I don't think any of us have the right to make Hugh do anything he doesn't want to. I think the decision should be his," said Yolei. "Hugh, what do you want to do? I won't get angry, and I'll respect whatever decision you choose. You could say that I am ordering you to have free will for this one choice."
Before Yolei had finished speaking, it seemed that Hugh had already made up his mind. He floated to the figure of Daemon, and spoke. "If you will free them, I am yours to command."
"Agreed." Daemon, true to his word, gently released the adults and placed them in front of the children. Almost immediately, the carnage that had taken place only moments before faded, and buildings damaged beyond salvageable condition were restored. Daemon then opened a gate to the digital world and disappeared through it, taking the Watcher with him.
After the gate had closed, Gennai came through a conduit of his own right in front of the children. He was glad to see them safe and sound.
"Ah, that accursed Daemon! He blocked off my means of coming here to stop him, but it seems that you have beaten him back! Thanks for doing my hard work for me! Well done! Wait…where's Yemeth?"
"Daemon struck a deal with us," explained Yolei. "He wrecked half of Odaiba, and held our parents hostage. We dared not approach, let alone attack. He offered us the release of our loved ones in exchange for Hugh. I let Hugh decide, seeing as he was the price, and he agreed. He also called him 'Yemeth'. What does that mean?"
"I am truly sorry," said Gennai. "I could not defeat Daemon's seal in time. Yemeth is the name given to the Bringer of the Apocalypse – the Doombringer. Hugh is that entity. He obeys anything unquestioningly. He can grant wishes, and cause unbelievable acts to occur. You have witnessed some of his true potential, have you not?"
"Yes," replied TK. "He seemed to…digivolve – I never thought it possible for a human to do so."
"Oh, he's not human, TK. When Piedmon stole the Crests, the only one missing was the Crest of Sacrifice. We could never find a soul in the real world that would complement that Crest perfectly, so there was no partner digimon for Hugh. There would have been no First Child period, if Piedmon did not engineer a body to become that First Child, we would have been deprived of a great potential for good. However, the power that was taught to Hugh by Piedmon was that of Darkness, although the Crest itself was made of pure Light. This unnatural marriage of powers made Hugh the most versatile being in existence. The conflicting forces within him could have destroyed him – indeed, for the first few decades of his 'life', if you could call it that, his body was destroyed many scores of times. But they eventually gave up the conflict, each half believing they could not exist without the other. And he did more than survive – he thrived. We must get him back, but any forceful approach would be a fool's errand – the fruitless act of a wasted life. We must be diplomatic in our approach. But right now, you should reunite with your family, and each other. I shall return two days hence when I have thought through this further. I pray we may find a way to convince Daemon to relinquish his prize."
End of Chapter 6. How was it? I hope you liked it, more to come soon!
