Digimon: Conquering Middle Ground
Episode 8:
"Lost, Part 1"
By: Shmeilia Rockie
Davis stared at the blank white walls of his unfamiliar new room, not seeing them at all. Ken's voice filled his ears again. 'I'm sorry, but this is for the best. You'll understand one day.'
Betrayed by his own best friend. His life was now a living hell.
A tear fell from wide, unblinking eyes and landed on the back of his hand. It slid down onto a piece of cold metal.
'It's official, no one loves you,' one of the voices told him in triumph. 'Feel free you kill yourself at any time. The sooner you disappear, the better. You're nothing but a burden to these people.'
He looked at the pocket knife in his hands. The one no one knew about. He could do it. They'd never know. But he'd tried attempting suicide before, and had chickened out of it. Some distant part of his messed up mind still clung to life with a passion that was hard to ingore. It was Raidramon, he told himself. He couldn't be that strong by himself. It had to be Raidramon.
If he ever did suceed in taking his life, would he be taking his Digimon's too? Could he do that?
'Oh well, you're already damned...Get on with it!'
"No," he told the voice and choked down the tears. "I can't kill Raidramon. He lives inside of me. If I die, he dies, and I can't murder my only friend."
He stuffed the knife under his pillow. No, not today. Not now. Never. Never. No matter how bad it got, he couldn't do it.
A soft knock on the door, and his new guardian stuck her head in. What was her name again? M-something...Oh well, it didn't matter. In a week he'd be in another house, and never see this woman again. "Davis? How are you?"
He shrugged. Oh, fine, just contemplating murder.
She crossed the empty room and ruffled his uncombed hair. "You have a guest, a boy about your age with, um, blue hair. Should I tell him to leave?"
Ken. The traitor decided to show his face again. "No, I want to talk to him."
She left and he closed his eyes to shut out all the emotions that were bubbling inside. He wouldn't let any of them show. He could hear them talking outside the door. "...Don't stay long. He's easily upset."
"Davis?" His eyes snapped open at the sound of Ken's voice.
Davis smiled fakely. "Hi, Ken. How are you today? Sleep well lately? Been working too much as always?"
Ken winced. "Davis, I came to-"
"Appologize? Don't bother. I don't care that you ruined my life. There wasn't much that I hadn't already ruined anyway. I'm better off this way. You were right afterall. But hey, you're always right so that's no real surprise."
Ken stared at the floor for a moment, fighting for words. "My parents couldn't take care of you. They wanted to, but...They're not too bright, you know. They don't understand you have a mental illness. You need someone who can take care of you."
"Oh, these people take care of me, but they don't care for me. At least your parents cared. THEY can't get attatched. It's not in their job description."
Ken pulled up a chair. "I know you're mad at me, but-"
Davis looked away, out the window. "Way to state the obvious, genius. I'm really ticked off at you, actually. And here, I thought you were my best friend. I don't know how I could have made that mistake."
"Do you realize how hard it was for me to turn you in?" Ken's world was falling completely apart, but he didn't let it show. "Giving up the Power Orb was a piece of cake compaired to making that call. It's been eating at my insides since you walked in our door. I only did it because I-" He took a deep, breath. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I love you, Davis. You're my best friend. You might as well be my brother, because you're the closest thing I have to one now. I care more about you then I ever did about-"
Finally, their eyes met again. "Sam?"
He exhaled, glad to finally get that out in the open. "Yeah. More than Sam. So I hope you realize why it was so hard for me. Every minute I'm awake I question if I did the right thing." Silence filled the room. Ken tapped his foot on the hardwood floor nervously and studied his best friend's emotionless face for some sign of forgiveness. He saw a battle going on his Davis's eyes, but he knew his friend's legendary stubborness. "You need to know you're the only thing keeping me sane these days, Davis. I can't take all the responsiblity. I just can't. Please don't turn me away. I need-"
Davis cut him off, his voice choked with hurt and hate. "Just leave me, Ken, before I get upset. You know how unstable I am. And don't come back."
It was as if the world shattered around him at those words. Ken just sat there stupidly with wide eyes, too shocked to form any intelligent thought. Finally some voice inside him commanded him to start moving and calmly, mechanically, he stood up. "Well, goodbye, my friend."
Davis snorted and stared at his hands.
And without another word or a backward glance, Ken left that place. A familiar cold, detatched numbness fell over him. He didn't fight it; he had no will to. His best friend in the entire universe now hated him. The only person who had ever truely seen the real Ken now wanted nothing to do with him.
He didn't know how to deal with it. He should have talked to someone. He should have asked the Powers for direction. But he didn't. The world went suddenly gray all around him and as he looked at people passing him in the street, he saw their lives were pointless, meaningless. They just went about whatever they happened to be doing, oblivious to the fact that there were people suffering all around them.
Ken was used to this happening. The world changed like that every time he became the Key, so it didn't really alarm him. Unfortunately, this was no Key transformation. Doors swung shut on his heart, cutting him off from the very thing that made him in the Key in the first place.
As if the skies were connected directly to his soul, the clouds opened up and dumped an ocean of cold water on him. He barely even noticed as he eyed the people in the street, hating them more and more with every passing minute. How can they be so BLIND?
His mother smiled happily as he walked in the door. She was just another one of those ignorant people. "How's Davis doing, Ken?"
He glared at her, wishing she would take that smile and just go away. "He hates me. But that's okay. After all, I only ruined his life. I should have known better than to expect him to forgive me."
His tone alarmed her. She hadn't heard it since...But no. No. Not again. "Are you feeling okay, dear?"
"Oh sure, I'm just dandy." He walked to his room and slamed the door, making several things fall off the shelves in the living room.
Only after he changed and crawled into bed did the tears spill involuntairly out of his tired eyes. He cried himself to sleep that night, hoping that maybe a talk with Wormmon would do him some good.
But all he found was a vast white space. "Where am I?"
The same voice that had commanded him to leave Davis called mockingly to him. "Where do you think you are?"
He whriled to come face to face with the one aspect of himself he swore was dead. But the Digimon Emperor didn't know when to stay dead. "Impossible!"
The DE crossed his arms and smiled. "I have you now, Kenny-boy. And your little Digimon too!"
"No!"
"Oh, yes, I'm afraid so. Your moment of weakness let me back into your heart. Of course I will be taking over from here. And there's nothing you can do about it!"
Ken couldn't think. He stood there paralyzed with fear. "B-but I'm the Key!"
His evil counterpart chuckled at his nervousness. "Not anymore, you aren't. You neglected to go to your precious Powers with your troubles. Thought you could handle them by yourself. I know, I was there when it happened. Biding my time. I knew you would slip up eventually."
"So you ARE a demon, aren't you?"
"Me?" He put his hand over his heart in mock-hurt. "Why, whatever gave you that idea?"
"I-"
"ENOUGH!" Ken jumped back, but the Emperor grabbed him by the wrist. "I've wasted my time long enough talking to you. Now I think I'll reclaim my place in the throne of your heart. But don't worry, Ken, you won't feel a thing. In fact, I think you'll feel a lot better once I've freed your mind of all those troublesome attachments like love, compassion and friendship."
Then, jerking like he'd fallen from a ten story building, Ken woke up. He was drenched in sweat and probably had been crying in his sleep. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember why. All he knew at that moment was that he really hated the world, and in particular, Davis. He jumped down off of his bed and looked at his hands in the moonlight. "What did he do to me? Why am I so angry? Why can't I remember! I know whatever it is, it just happened today. It's not like me to forget like this..."
A flash from his dream played before his eyes, but only for a moment. Ken put a hand to his forehead. "What the heck did Davis do to me?"
The memory of the previous day filtered back to him. 'You need to know you're the only thing keeping me sane these days, Davis. I can't take all the responsiblity. I just can't. Please don't turn me away. I need-'
'Just leave me, Ken. And don't come back.'
"Oh, so he doesn't want me around anymore, huh?" He looked up at the half moon with anger clouding his blue eyes. "I'll teach him just how much he really does need me in his life. I am the only thing keeping HIM sane."
* * * *
Maybe Davis had been a bit harsh. What would he have done if the situation had been reversed? Could he have done it? No, he wouldn't be able to. As he got off the train, he'd been lost in thought. This was the first time they'd allowed him to go out on his own. And this was also the first time in a very long time he hadn't considered paying a little visit to the bridge over the river.
He walked along slowly, staring at his feet. They'd never really fought before.
Suddenly, a pair of black shoes broke up the monotony of the sidewalk in front of him. His head snapped up and he looked into the cold eyes of his former friend. "K-Ken? How did you know I was looking for you?"
"Just a lucky guess, I guess." His voice seemed a bit warped...
"What's wrong with you?"
Ken stepped closer. "What's wrong with ME? I'm not the psychotic one here."
"Look, I don't want to fight anymore. I'm-"
"Save it for someone who cares, Davis. I don't want an appology, I want you to suffer as I have!" Then Ken touched the golden chains around Davis's neck. They turned black, scorched, and simply crumbled away. Davis clutched at his neck and screamed bloody murder.
The Dark Digidestined could now gain control of his body.
They bubbled up quickly, sending his mind swirlling out of control. He backed away from Ken, holding the sides of his head as if it were the only thing keeping his brain from exploding. Overwhelmed, he tripped on a bump in the sidewalk. Ken stood there laughing like a maniac at the sight until he suddenly got bored. He planted a foot on Davis's hand, penning him to the ground. "Now, you have something I want." He plunged his hand into Davis's chest and ripped out something. A glowing, blue something.
Davis couldn't register what happened since he couldn't focus anymore. "What did you do to me?"
Ken looked at the thing in his hand. "Well, it's not his crest, but it'll do!" He swallowed whatever it was and instantly felt alive with energy.
As Davis lost conciousness, he watched in horror as the energy transformed Ken into one of the worst enemies the Digidestined had ever faced. Unable to resist the demons any longer, he collapsed.
Kari and TK were sharing a shake at a cafe down the street when they felt the disturbance.
*Flash* They gasped and TK accidently knocked over the glass. They jumped up and ran out at top speed, completely abandoning their date.
"What was that?"
"I don't know, but it felt bad. Really, really bad." TK stopped and grabbed Kari's arm. "Let's teleport there, it'll be faster."
She yanked her arm away. "Are you crazy? We're in public!"
"It doesn't matter, Kari! If we don't get there in time our cover might be blown anyway! Now come on!" He tackled her and together, vanished.
The Emperor held out his hand and his whip magically appeared there. He looked over the top of his glasses at the unconcious Davis and laughed evilly. "I'm baaaaaaaack!"
Then he broke out into a really weird victory dance. (There are specifics to it, but I'm going to leave this up to your imagination. Picture the DE dancing. *sudders*) "I'm back. I'm back. I'm back, I'm back, I'm back!"
Then he composed himself, walked over to Davis's limp form and kicked him, hard. "Get up and obey your new master!"
Davis groaned and rolled over. "We don't feel like it."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"We're too tired. We don't feel like it."
This made him more curious than annoyed. "We? We who?"
The boy sat up very quickly and looked around nervously. "We are the Dark Digidestined: Apathy, Chaos, and F-Fear."
TK and Kari literally popped onto the scene at that moment (Making Davis hide behind the DE in total fear). TK hoped his eyes were playing tricks on him. "No way!"
"Way, man," the Emperor crossed his arms and grinned smugly. "I'm back, aren't you happy?"
Yolei and Cody also arrived on the scene, confused. "Woah, this isn't possible!"
"Oh, but it is..."
"Come on, Kari, let's Morph Digivolve - DNA style!"
"I don't think that's such a good -" Cody held out a hand to stop them, but it was too late. Yolei and Kari joined hands; Kari taking on the form of Sylphimon and Yolei collapsing to the ground. "- Idea. Boy, I'm glad people around here listen to me...Morph Digivolve!"
Chaos took the moment of Cody's distraction durning Morph Digivolving to grab Yolei's body. "Lookie what I obtained, Master!"
"Very good. Now let's get out of here. We can go to my new appartment." Cody, TK, and Kari rushed at him, but he simply put up his now dark energy sheild around him and Davis. "If you follow us, I'll let one of the trio here possess Yolei's body."
The Megadigidestined could only watch them walk away.
As soon as they were out of sight, Cody de-digivolved and kicked a near-by trash can. "I can't believe I let that happen! I'm such an IDIOT!"
Yolei clinched her fists and spoke after a long hestitation. "I need to get back to my body. I don't trust those two with it."
"NO! I won't let you!" He shook her, eyes frantic. "You can't! They'll hurt you!"
TK pulled him away. "Calm down, Cody! We'll fix this, but we need you to be at least a bit under control."
Out of control... Cody stepped back and closed his eyes, centering himself.
Sylphimon's form began flickering. "I can't stay like this much-"
TK put a hand on the Digimon's arm, silencing his friend.
"Go, if you must. Just be careful. I don't know how Ken turned back into the Emperor, but it seems he still has Ken's powers." Cody shook once, choking back his rage and self disappointment. Then his eyes snapped open. "GO!"
Kari dropped to the ground, panting and once again alone.
* * * *
"-It's not well furnished. I'm still in the process of moving in... You're looking a bit green. Please don't get sick. I don't feel like cleaning the carpet."
Davis, or the demons in Davis's body, leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around himself. "We're not feeling well at all."
The Emperor finished tying Yolei to a chair, just in time for her to snap back into body. She yelped, but didn't struggle. "I should have expected this much. I can't believe you went evil again, Ken. I thought you were beyond that."
"Don't blame me...Davis pushed me over the edge." He sat back and laced his fingers behind his head. Yolei threw a glance at the other boy. "Oh, that's not Davis. I liberated my new minions. You remember, the Dark Digidestined Apathy, Chaos, and Fear?"
"Figures. Poor Davis. Don't you think he has enough problems without you trying to kill him? You're supposed to be his best friend."
The Emperor pounded his fist on the table. "He should have been MY best friend! Instead, he-he-"
Sensing the importance of this converstation, Yolei tried to stay cool. "He what, Ken?"
He stopped, surprised. "I don't remember. But he wounded me, badly."
"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you. He's not in a stable state of mind right now."
As though on cue, 'Davis' ran to the bathroom and began puking his brains out. Both stared wordlessly at the bathroom door until he came out and flopped on the couch. "Sleep. We need to sleep now."
The DE sat next to him and ruffled his hair. "Poor minions. Davis's body is trying to reject you. I guess three is a few too many demons for him to handle."
The possessed boy rested his head on the Emperor's shoulder. "He's so weak, yet so strong at the same time. We struggle just to keep control. It's making us very sick."
"Yeah. I know. Rest. Just rest." But he couldn't, because he had to bolt to the bathroom again for another round of vomiting. The DE sighed. "I'd hate to do this to my minions, but I'm willing to let them suffer if there's a chance Davis is suffering too. I truely hope it kills him."
"You can't mean that."
"But I do. He needs to pay for hurting me."
"You don't even remember what he did! It must not have been something big, or else you'd remember. Ken, can't you just forgive him?"
"NO! And stop calling me Ken! I'm the Digimon Emperor."
"You are still Ken. I know it. You're just..."
"SILENCE!" He cracked his whip on the side of her face, drawing blood.
She barely even flinched. "Wait... You're possessed! I can see it in your eyes."
"Very good, wanna cookie?" He rolled his eyes and laid the whip on the table in front of Yolei. He stared over the top of his glasses at her in an unspoken threat.
A loud thump alarmed both of them. The DE ran to the bathroom, only to find Davis unconcious. He looked dead.
* * * *
Zarg: And you thought this was a commercial! *wink*
Matt and Tyler across from each other at a table, seemingly engaged in a staring contest.
Matt growled.
Tyler's eye twitched. Finally he pounded his fist on the table. "Redubs!"
"Subtitles, cheez-it!"
Garz, Zarg, Ian, Zeke, and Tigermon sat on the couch, eating pop corn like they were at the movie theator.
"I don't care what you say, I LIKE redubs! They're funnier than the original!"
"They're a mockery, and you know it!"
"The essence is lost when one spends all their time reading the fine print!"
Matt smiled and whispered in a low voice, "Well I wouldn't know, now would I? I understand Japanese. After all, it IS my native language."
Tyler snorted, looking like he would bash Matt's face in any second. Then a grin spred across his face. "You know, my friend the Giant Hot Dog likes redubs too. Would you like me to bring him into this converstation?" He pulled a cordless phone out of nowhere.
Matt narrowed his eyes. "You're bluffing."
Tyler shrugged and began dialing some random number. "We'll see soon, won't we?"
Everyone leaned in to watch the normally cool and collected Matt grip the edge of the table in terror. "L-listen. Maybe that crack about my native language was a bit harsh-"
Tyler put the phone to his ear. "It's ringing. That's a good sign! He's normally so hard to get a hold of...The line's almost always busy."
"Come on, Ty, don't do this-"
"Hello, Mr. Dog? My friend Yama here seems to think that redubs are a waste of time. What would YOU have me say to him? Oh you want to talk to him yourself? Okee, just a sec-"
Matt took off so fast, only a cloud of dust remained. Tyler smiled as he calmly sat the phone on the table. "Redub it is, boys. Now here's the question: Pokémon the 1st, P2K, or the Third Movie?"
* * * *
The DE shook Davis, fear edging into his voice. "Wake up."
Nothing.
He shook Davis harder. "Blast it, come on. Don't do this. Wake up!"
Still nothing. He checked Davis's pulse. It was faint. He let go of the other boy, his mind going slightly numb. There wasn't much longer till the poisonous energy did it's job. He had to do something about it. He had to, or Davis...His minions...
He ran back into the living room and untied Yolei. Before she could question him, he grabbed her arm and yanked her to Davis. He pointed and commanded, "Fix this!"
She knelt down next to Davis's motionless form, her eyes filling with compassionate tears. He was dying; she could feel it. "I-I can't. I don't have the power to heal demons. If your minions would leave his body, I could-"
"Where would they go, huh? JUST DO IT!"
She grimaced and held out her hands. With her mind, she called out to the real Davis, "If you can hear me, I'm doing all I can! Don't give up hope!" Then she gave him all the healing power she could muster. She never knew if it actually reached him, because the second she started using her power it rebounded, throwing her painfully against the wall in a flash of dark energy. She sat up and rubbed the arm that took the impact. "See! I told you it doesn't work on demons!"
* * * *
"What are we going to do now, Cody?"
It was times like this when he hated being the leader. Big, important decisions were Davis and Tai's department, not his! Cody rubbed his forehead, wishing the Powers would give him some insight. No such luck. He could feel TK and Kari's eyes on him; he had to say something. He took a deep breath. "Let's go to the Digital World." The words surprised him, he hadn't even thought that a possibitly.
TK lifted an eyebrow. "Now?"
Cody opened his mouth, shut it, then threw his hands up in frustration. "I can't think of anything better. Maybe there I would be better connected to the Powers and could come up with an idea. Or maybe the Freedom Spirits could help us."
Silence.
After turning the idea over in her mind, Kari rubbed her hands together. "Well, if that's the plan, we ought to get moving. The longer we stand around, the more dangerous Yolei's situation becomes."
Cody winced. He could only pray she was alright. "Then let's go."
To be continued...
* * * *
A/N: Ah, finally! I feel better now. Okay, so it's a cliff hanger. I have no time for writing now. Stupid Foundations class...Draw some paper, draw some rocks...Like that tree? Good, now draw it! Get REAL close! Know the tree, BE the tree! Okee, art school's getting to me... I'll get started on the second part now. There's a three day weekend, so I can do that.
Episode 8:
"Lost, Part 1"
By: Shmeilia Rockie
Davis stared at the blank white walls of his unfamiliar new room, not seeing them at all. Ken's voice filled his ears again. 'I'm sorry, but this is for the best. You'll understand one day.'
Betrayed by his own best friend. His life was now a living hell.
A tear fell from wide, unblinking eyes and landed on the back of his hand. It slid down onto a piece of cold metal.
'It's official, no one loves you,' one of the voices told him in triumph. 'Feel free you kill yourself at any time. The sooner you disappear, the better. You're nothing but a burden to these people.'
He looked at the pocket knife in his hands. The one no one knew about. He could do it. They'd never know. But he'd tried attempting suicide before, and had chickened out of it. Some distant part of his messed up mind still clung to life with a passion that was hard to ingore. It was Raidramon, he told himself. He couldn't be that strong by himself. It had to be Raidramon.
If he ever did suceed in taking his life, would he be taking his Digimon's too? Could he do that?
'Oh well, you're already damned...Get on with it!'
"No," he told the voice and choked down the tears. "I can't kill Raidramon. He lives inside of me. If I die, he dies, and I can't murder my only friend."
He stuffed the knife under his pillow. No, not today. Not now. Never. Never. No matter how bad it got, he couldn't do it.
A soft knock on the door, and his new guardian stuck her head in. What was her name again? M-something...Oh well, it didn't matter. In a week he'd be in another house, and never see this woman again. "Davis? How are you?"
He shrugged. Oh, fine, just contemplating murder.
She crossed the empty room and ruffled his uncombed hair. "You have a guest, a boy about your age with, um, blue hair. Should I tell him to leave?"
Ken. The traitor decided to show his face again. "No, I want to talk to him."
She left and he closed his eyes to shut out all the emotions that were bubbling inside. He wouldn't let any of them show. He could hear them talking outside the door. "...Don't stay long. He's easily upset."
"Davis?" His eyes snapped open at the sound of Ken's voice.
Davis smiled fakely. "Hi, Ken. How are you today? Sleep well lately? Been working too much as always?"
Ken winced. "Davis, I came to-"
"Appologize? Don't bother. I don't care that you ruined my life. There wasn't much that I hadn't already ruined anyway. I'm better off this way. You were right afterall. But hey, you're always right so that's no real surprise."
Ken stared at the floor for a moment, fighting for words. "My parents couldn't take care of you. They wanted to, but...They're not too bright, you know. They don't understand you have a mental illness. You need someone who can take care of you."
"Oh, these people take care of me, but they don't care for me. At least your parents cared. THEY can't get attatched. It's not in their job description."
Ken pulled up a chair. "I know you're mad at me, but-"
Davis looked away, out the window. "Way to state the obvious, genius. I'm really ticked off at you, actually. And here, I thought you were my best friend. I don't know how I could have made that mistake."
"Do you realize how hard it was for me to turn you in?" Ken's world was falling completely apart, but he didn't let it show. "Giving up the Power Orb was a piece of cake compaired to making that call. It's been eating at my insides since you walked in our door. I only did it because I-" He took a deep, breath. "Don't take this the wrong way, but I love you, Davis. You're my best friend. You might as well be my brother, because you're the closest thing I have to one now. I care more about you then I ever did about-"
Finally, their eyes met again. "Sam?"
He exhaled, glad to finally get that out in the open. "Yeah. More than Sam. So I hope you realize why it was so hard for me. Every minute I'm awake I question if I did the right thing." Silence filled the room. Ken tapped his foot on the hardwood floor nervously and studied his best friend's emotionless face for some sign of forgiveness. He saw a battle going on his Davis's eyes, but he knew his friend's legendary stubborness. "You need to know you're the only thing keeping me sane these days, Davis. I can't take all the responsiblity. I just can't. Please don't turn me away. I need-"
Davis cut him off, his voice choked with hurt and hate. "Just leave me, Ken, before I get upset. You know how unstable I am. And don't come back."
It was as if the world shattered around him at those words. Ken just sat there stupidly with wide eyes, too shocked to form any intelligent thought. Finally some voice inside him commanded him to start moving and calmly, mechanically, he stood up. "Well, goodbye, my friend."
Davis snorted and stared at his hands.
And without another word or a backward glance, Ken left that place. A familiar cold, detatched numbness fell over him. He didn't fight it; he had no will to. His best friend in the entire universe now hated him. The only person who had ever truely seen the real Ken now wanted nothing to do with him.
He didn't know how to deal with it. He should have talked to someone. He should have asked the Powers for direction. But he didn't. The world went suddenly gray all around him and as he looked at people passing him in the street, he saw their lives were pointless, meaningless. They just went about whatever they happened to be doing, oblivious to the fact that there were people suffering all around them.
Ken was used to this happening. The world changed like that every time he became the Key, so it didn't really alarm him. Unfortunately, this was no Key transformation. Doors swung shut on his heart, cutting him off from the very thing that made him in the Key in the first place.
As if the skies were connected directly to his soul, the clouds opened up and dumped an ocean of cold water on him. He barely even noticed as he eyed the people in the street, hating them more and more with every passing minute. How can they be so BLIND?
His mother smiled happily as he walked in the door. She was just another one of those ignorant people. "How's Davis doing, Ken?"
He glared at her, wishing she would take that smile and just go away. "He hates me. But that's okay. After all, I only ruined his life. I should have known better than to expect him to forgive me."
His tone alarmed her. She hadn't heard it since...But no. No. Not again. "Are you feeling okay, dear?"
"Oh sure, I'm just dandy." He walked to his room and slamed the door, making several things fall off the shelves in the living room.
Only after he changed and crawled into bed did the tears spill involuntairly out of his tired eyes. He cried himself to sleep that night, hoping that maybe a talk with Wormmon would do him some good.
But all he found was a vast white space. "Where am I?"
The same voice that had commanded him to leave Davis called mockingly to him. "Where do you think you are?"
He whriled to come face to face with the one aspect of himself he swore was dead. But the Digimon Emperor didn't know when to stay dead. "Impossible!"
The DE crossed his arms and smiled. "I have you now, Kenny-boy. And your little Digimon too!"
"No!"
"Oh, yes, I'm afraid so. Your moment of weakness let me back into your heart. Of course I will be taking over from here. And there's nothing you can do about it!"
Ken couldn't think. He stood there paralyzed with fear. "B-but I'm the Key!"
His evil counterpart chuckled at his nervousness. "Not anymore, you aren't. You neglected to go to your precious Powers with your troubles. Thought you could handle them by yourself. I know, I was there when it happened. Biding my time. I knew you would slip up eventually."
"So you ARE a demon, aren't you?"
"Me?" He put his hand over his heart in mock-hurt. "Why, whatever gave you that idea?"
"I-"
"ENOUGH!" Ken jumped back, but the Emperor grabbed him by the wrist. "I've wasted my time long enough talking to you. Now I think I'll reclaim my place in the throne of your heart. But don't worry, Ken, you won't feel a thing. In fact, I think you'll feel a lot better once I've freed your mind of all those troublesome attachments like love, compassion and friendship."
Then, jerking like he'd fallen from a ten story building, Ken woke up. He was drenched in sweat and probably had been crying in his sleep. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember why. All he knew at that moment was that he really hated the world, and in particular, Davis. He jumped down off of his bed and looked at his hands in the moonlight. "What did he do to me? Why am I so angry? Why can't I remember! I know whatever it is, it just happened today. It's not like me to forget like this..."
A flash from his dream played before his eyes, but only for a moment. Ken put a hand to his forehead. "What the heck did Davis do to me?"
The memory of the previous day filtered back to him. 'You need to know you're the only thing keeping me sane these days, Davis. I can't take all the responsiblity. I just can't. Please don't turn me away. I need-'
'Just leave me, Ken. And don't come back.'
"Oh, so he doesn't want me around anymore, huh?" He looked up at the half moon with anger clouding his blue eyes. "I'll teach him just how much he really does need me in his life. I am the only thing keeping HIM sane."
* * * *
Maybe Davis had been a bit harsh. What would he have done if the situation had been reversed? Could he have done it? No, he wouldn't be able to. As he got off the train, he'd been lost in thought. This was the first time they'd allowed him to go out on his own. And this was also the first time in a very long time he hadn't considered paying a little visit to the bridge over the river.
He walked along slowly, staring at his feet. They'd never really fought before.
Suddenly, a pair of black shoes broke up the monotony of the sidewalk in front of him. His head snapped up and he looked into the cold eyes of his former friend. "K-Ken? How did you know I was looking for you?"
"Just a lucky guess, I guess." His voice seemed a bit warped...
"What's wrong with you?"
Ken stepped closer. "What's wrong with ME? I'm not the psychotic one here."
"Look, I don't want to fight anymore. I'm-"
"Save it for someone who cares, Davis. I don't want an appology, I want you to suffer as I have!" Then Ken touched the golden chains around Davis's neck. They turned black, scorched, and simply crumbled away. Davis clutched at his neck and screamed bloody murder.
The Dark Digidestined could now gain control of his body.
They bubbled up quickly, sending his mind swirlling out of control. He backed away from Ken, holding the sides of his head as if it were the only thing keeping his brain from exploding. Overwhelmed, he tripped on a bump in the sidewalk. Ken stood there laughing like a maniac at the sight until he suddenly got bored. He planted a foot on Davis's hand, penning him to the ground. "Now, you have something I want." He plunged his hand into Davis's chest and ripped out something. A glowing, blue something.
Davis couldn't register what happened since he couldn't focus anymore. "What did you do to me?"
Ken looked at the thing in his hand. "Well, it's not his crest, but it'll do!" He swallowed whatever it was and instantly felt alive with energy.
As Davis lost conciousness, he watched in horror as the energy transformed Ken into one of the worst enemies the Digidestined had ever faced. Unable to resist the demons any longer, he collapsed.
Kari and TK were sharing a shake at a cafe down the street when they felt the disturbance.
*Flash* They gasped and TK accidently knocked over the glass. They jumped up and ran out at top speed, completely abandoning their date.
"What was that?"
"I don't know, but it felt bad. Really, really bad." TK stopped and grabbed Kari's arm. "Let's teleport there, it'll be faster."
She yanked her arm away. "Are you crazy? We're in public!"
"It doesn't matter, Kari! If we don't get there in time our cover might be blown anyway! Now come on!" He tackled her and together, vanished.
The Emperor held out his hand and his whip magically appeared there. He looked over the top of his glasses at the unconcious Davis and laughed evilly. "I'm baaaaaaaack!"
Then he broke out into a really weird victory dance. (There are specifics to it, but I'm going to leave this up to your imagination. Picture the DE dancing. *sudders*) "I'm back. I'm back. I'm back, I'm back, I'm back!"
Then he composed himself, walked over to Davis's limp form and kicked him, hard. "Get up and obey your new master!"
Davis groaned and rolled over. "We don't feel like it."
The Emperor raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"We're too tired. We don't feel like it."
This made him more curious than annoyed. "We? We who?"
The boy sat up very quickly and looked around nervously. "We are the Dark Digidestined: Apathy, Chaos, and F-Fear."
TK and Kari literally popped onto the scene at that moment (Making Davis hide behind the DE in total fear). TK hoped his eyes were playing tricks on him. "No way!"
"Way, man," the Emperor crossed his arms and grinned smugly. "I'm back, aren't you happy?"
Yolei and Cody also arrived on the scene, confused. "Woah, this isn't possible!"
"Oh, but it is..."
"Come on, Kari, let's Morph Digivolve - DNA style!"
"I don't think that's such a good -" Cody held out a hand to stop them, but it was too late. Yolei and Kari joined hands; Kari taking on the form of Sylphimon and Yolei collapsing to the ground. "- Idea. Boy, I'm glad people around here listen to me...Morph Digivolve!"
Chaos took the moment of Cody's distraction durning Morph Digivolving to grab Yolei's body. "Lookie what I obtained, Master!"
"Very good. Now let's get out of here. We can go to my new appartment." Cody, TK, and Kari rushed at him, but he simply put up his now dark energy sheild around him and Davis. "If you follow us, I'll let one of the trio here possess Yolei's body."
The Megadigidestined could only watch them walk away.
As soon as they were out of sight, Cody de-digivolved and kicked a near-by trash can. "I can't believe I let that happen! I'm such an IDIOT!"
Yolei clinched her fists and spoke after a long hestitation. "I need to get back to my body. I don't trust those two with it."
"NO! I won't let you!" He shook her, eyes frantic. "You can't! They'll hurt you!"
TK pulled him away. "Calm down, Cody! We'll fix this, but we need you to be at least a bit under control."
Out of control... Cody stepped back and closed his eyes, centering himself.
Sylphimon's form began flickering. "I can't stay like this much-"
TK put a hand on the Digimon's arm, silencing his friend.
"Go, if you must. Just be careful. I don't know how Ken turned back into the Emperor, but it seems he still has Ken's powers." Cody shook once, choking back his rage and self disappointment. Then his eyes snapped open. "GO!"
Kari dropped to the ground, panting and once again alone.
* * * *
"-It's not well furnished. I'm still in the process of moving in... You're looking a bit green. Please don't get sick. I don't feel like cleaning the carpet."
Davis, or the demons in Davis's body, leaned against the wall and wrapped his arms around himself. "We're not feeling well at all."
The Emperor finished tying Yolei to a chair, just in time for her to snap back into body. She yelped, but didn't struggle. "I should have expected this much. I can't believe you went evil again, Ken. I thought you were beyond that."
"Don't blame me...Davis pushed me over the edge." He sat back and laced his fingers behind his head. Yolei threw a glance at the other boy. "Oh, that's not Davis. I liberated my new minions. You remember, the Dark Digidestined Apathy, Chaos, and Fear?"
"Figures. Poor Davis. Don't you think he has enough problems without you trying to kill him? You're supposed to be his best friend."
The Emperor pounded his fist on the table. "He should have been MY best friend! Instead, he-he-"
Sensing the importance of this converstation, Yolei tried to stay cool. "He what, Ken?"
He stopped, surprised. "I don't remember. But he wounded me, badly."
"I'm sure he didn't mean to hurt you. He's not in a stable state of mind right now."
As though on cue, 'Davis' ran to the bathroom and began puking his brains out. Both stared wordlessly at the bathroom door until he came out and flopped on the couch. "Sleep. We need to sleep now."
The DE sat next to him and ruffled his hair. "Poor minions. Davis's body is trying to reject you. I guess three is a few too many demons for him to handle."
The possessed boy rested his head on the Emperor's shoulder. "He's so weak, yet so strong at the same time. We struggle just to keep control. It's making us very sick."
"Yeah. I know. Rest. Just rest." But he couldn't, because he had to bolt to the bathroom again for another round of vomiting. The DE sighed. "I'd hate to do this to my minions, but I'm willing to let them suffer if there's a chance Davis is suffering too. I truely hope it kills him."
"You can't mean that."
"But I do. He needs to pay for hurting me."
"You don't even remember what he did! It must not have been something big, or else you'd remember. Ken, can't you just forgive him?"
"NO! And stop calling me Ken! I'm the Digimon Emperor."
"You are still Ken. I know it. You're just..."
"SILENCE!" He cracked his whip on the side of her face, drawing blood.
She barely even flinched. "Wait... You're possessed! I can see it in your eyes."
"Very good, wanna cookie?" He rolled his eyes and laid the whip on the table in front of Yolei. He stared over the top of his glasses at her in an unspoken threat.
A loud thump alarmed both of them. The DE ran to the bathroom, only to find Davis unconcious. He looked dead.
* * * *
Zarg: And you thought this was a commercial! *wink*
Matt and Tyler across from each other at a table, seemingly engaged in a staring contest.
Matt growled.
Tyler's eye twitched. Finally he pounded his fist on the table. "Redubs!"
"Subtitles, cheez-it!"
Garz, Zarg, Ian, Zeke, and Tigermon sat on the couch, eating pop corn like they were at the movie theator.
"I don't care what you say, I LIKE redubs! They're funnier than the original!"
"They're a mockery, and you know it!"
"The essence is lost when one spends all their time reading the fine print!"
Matt smiled and whispered in a low voice, "Well I wouldn't know, now would I? I understand Japanese. After all, it IS my native language."
Tyler snorted, looking like he would bash Matt's face in any second. Then a grin spred across his face. "You know, my friend the Giant Hot Dog likes redubs too. Would you like me to bring him into this converstation?" He pulled a cordless phone out of nowhere.
Matt narrowed his eyes. "You're bluffing."
Tyler shrugged and began dialing some random number. "We'll see soon, won't we?"
Everyone leaned in to watch the normally cool and collected Matt grip the edge of the table in terror. "L-listen. Maybe that crack about my native language was a bit harsh-"
Tyler put the phone to his ear. "It's ringing. That's a good sign! He's normally so hard to get a hold of...The line's almost always busy."
"Come on, Ty, don't do this-"
"Hello, Mr. Dog? My friend Yama here seems to think that redubs are a waste of time. What would YOU have me say to him? Oh you want to talk to him yourself? Okee, just a sec-"
Matt took off so fast, only a cloud of dust remained. Tyler smiled as he calmly sat the phone on the table. "Redub it is, boys. Now here's the question: Pokémon the 1st, P2K, or the Third Movie?"
* * * *
The DE shook Davis, fear edging into his voice. "Wake up."
Nothing.
He shook Davis harder. "Blast it, come on. Don't do this. Wake up!"
Still nothing. He checked Davis's pulse. It was faint. He let go of the other boy, his mind going slightly numb. There wasn't much longer till the poisonous energy did it's job. He had to do something about it. He had to, or Davis...His minions...
He ran back into the living room and untied Yolei. Before she could question him, he grabbed her arm and yanked her to Davis. He pointed and commanded, "Fix this!"
She knelt down next to Davis's motionless form, her eyes filling with compassionate tears. He was dying; she could feel it. "I-I can't. I don't have the power to heal demons. If your minions would leave his body, I could-"
"Where would they go, huh? JUST DO IT!"
She grimaced and held out her hands. With her mind, she called out to the real Davis, "If you can hear me, I'm doing all I can! Don't give up hope!" Then she gave him all the healing power she could muster. She never knew if it actually reached him, because the second she started using her power it rebounded, throwing her painfully against the wall in a flash of dark energy. She sat up and rubbed the arm that took the impact. "See! I told you it doesn't work on demons!"
* * * *
"What are we going to do now, Cody?"
It was times like this when he hated being the leader. Big, important decisions were Davis and Tai's department, not his! Cody rubbed his forehead, wishing the Powers would give him some insight. No such luck. He could feel TK and Kari's eyes on him; he had to say something. He took a deep breath. "Let's go to the Digital World." The words surprised him, he hadn't even thought that a possibitly.
TK lifted an eyebrow. "Now?"
Cody opened his mouth, shut it, then threw his hands up in frustration. "I can't think of anything better. Maybe there I would be better connected to the Powers and could come up with an idea. Or maybe the Freedom Spirits could help us."
Silence.
After turning the idea over in her mind, Kari rubbed her hands together. "Well, if that's the plan, we ought to get moving. The longer we stand around, the more dangerous Yolei's situation becomes."
Cody winced. He could only pray she was alright. "Then let's go."
To be continued...
* * * *
A/N: Ah, finally! I feel better now. Okay, so it's a cliff hanger. I have no time for writing now. Stupid Foundations class...Draw some paper, draw some rocks...Like that tree? Good, now draw it! Get REAL close! Know the tree, BE the tree! Okee, art school's getting to me... I'll get started on the second part now. There's a three day weekend, so I can do that.