A/N: I was too lazy to edit this properly, so I didn't… I have momentarily gained control of my plot bunnies, but they've got a gambling problem and will be leaving for Vegas next week so don't expect anything good for a while. I had fun with this chapter, really… in this you can see that it's a definite AU. Either that or I'm contradicting myself. A word of caution… Give me a Guiness Book of World Record and a big ass college dictionary and viola! I'm entertained for hours…Oh and I decided no Wormmon, due to that request:P
P.S. - The cliff scene was actually more fun than it shoulda been…
Chapter Four: Crystal Tears
Black Wargreymon watched; he was momentarily satisfied with the Tapirmon's reaction to the bridge. Now he was regretting that he ever wasted his precious time feeling sorry for someone else. As the Tapirmon carted their food to and from the bridge, Black Wargreymon moodily continued his quest. He began to wonder if he was wasting his time with questing for destiny. Many Digimon lived their whole lives without ever meeting with destiny. If a Digimon met with destiny, their destiny had come to them, not they to it. He wondered if he was going about this all wrong. But without this search, this search with proposed and important self-meaning, what could he possibly do with his life? Did he even have life?
Black Wargreymon did not stop walking despite his thoughts. He had had this conversation with himself plenty of times before and always arrived with the same solution. He was born knowing destiny and he would die searching for it. The search often left him in despair, but if destiny was meant to come forth to him that day, he would be searching when it came.
As Black Wargreymon passed through another unknown area, he heard the sounds of voices chattering above him, thanks to hearing that surpassed the norm. His sensitive hearing did not bother him as much as one would think, instead, when he approached the source of the noise, he would shut off this ability at once, so as not to destroy the delicate inner tissues of his ears. As he moved closer to the source of the chatting, he adjusted the pressure of the sound in his ears to a comfortable level. He was not a spy, or an eavesdropper, but today he just couldn't get enough of listening, unknown, to another Digimon.
He flew a couple meters higher and perched on the ledge, surveying for the best spot to observe the unidentified Digimon. In this spot he was able to observe several figures milling about inside a dormant cave. Black Wargreymon would chase the tiny blobs out as soon as he was done (not) eavesdropping. The light from where Black Wargreymon was sitting seemed to be chewed then swallowed by the monstrous cave of dark. He could barely make out the busied shapes scuttling about inside, but he could assume from their size and color that they were a horde of Bakemon. Squinting his eyes under their protective layer of armor, he moved so that his head was incased in darkness, hoping to get a better look when his eyes adjusted to the dark.
When the creatures spoke Black Wargreymon realized that, in fact, he was wrong in thinking that these creatures were Bakemon. They were of some other breed, perhaps related to the Bakemon in their translucent, ghostlike forms. The innards of the cave had been transformed into a paradise for these creatures over the last couple of years. Black Wargreymon noticed that some areas had received an output of destruction worthy of himself. He was curious of these creatures and pondered the possibility that they may be his destiny; someone strong enough to beat him in a sparring match. He was never one to underestimate an opponent, he had learned his lesson quick and well, and if these misshapen, gnarled creatures were strong, he would fight them to the bitter end.
"I can't believe Lord Zogleck let the Kaiser off so easily," one was complaining.
"I just hope he lost a limb on the way down." Laughter ensued, followed by a brief silence, then an inquisition.
"Why was he so easy to kill? I thought Lord Zogleck said he was the God of Death and Captor of All?"
"Do you think that he's still alive?"
"Maybe he wasn't alive in the first place. I mean would anything alive be that cruel?"
"Only the Lord knows for sure."
Black Wargreymon wasn't listening. He had heard a bit about the Kaiser, a fellow who had once tried to rule the Digital World and had come very close indeed. If it wasn't for the Digidestined that, well, he couldn't remember what they did to stop him. He knew that the Digidestined were formidable, but they certainly weren't strong. They were worse than mosquitoes on a life-long quest for blood. He was well aware that they wanted to "stop" him, most likely by killing him, but he was also aware that they would need to get stronger if they ever wanted to achieve that goal. He would let them try, but he already knew that they weren't his destiny.
Maybe these ugly creatures were. One of them may be at least. He killed the Digimon Kaiser, someone who they considered to be some kind of untouchable God. Black Wargreymon would fight this Lord Zogleck to find out for certain. He didn't know much about the Kaiser, he also didn't know that he was one of those harmless Digidestined, otherwise he wouldn't have wasted his time.
He stepped out of the bushes and growled like he meant business. The creatures were even more hideous up close; they even resembled a clear version of the famous potato head doll that human children sometimes played with. They looked like someone had taken the limbs, bodies and heads of all of the Digimon in the world and mix-and-matched to make these things. There was a creature with Patamon's ears, Gazimon's head and Mojimon's body - minus the limbs. This didn't stop the useless creature from rolling out of Black Wargreymon's way and screeching "LORD! LOOORRDD!!" at the top of his lungs. Black Wargreymon stepped on a beautifully crafted vase - accidentally - but this movement frightened more of the creatures into the daylight. The point was taken - Black Wargreymon had declared war.
Although nothing compared to the Kaiser as of yet, Black Wargreymon was infamous in that perilous Digital World for his strength and for his constant evasion of the hapless Digidestined. More than one thought of their approaching death under the heel of his dinosaur foot had crossed his newborn mind, but never a thought had carried out. However, if they happened to push him any farther they would die a short, excruciating death.
Unlike the Kaiser, Black Wargreymon was not human. He was also told that he could not be a Digimon because of his unlikely heritage. Inconceivably, the Kaiser was like a parent to him and it would be only right if he were a god. But if these creatures killed the Kaiser as they said they must be either really strong or really stupid. At first Black Wargreymon thinks the latter. You can't kill a god, how preposterous! Then he remembers that he has only heard of the Kaiser in stories and began to cogitate the possibility.
At that point the Lord appeared in the manner of an apparition before Black Wargreymon. Creatures scattered to hide behind the aphyllous cacti rampant among the miniature city. Suddenly the air became irrespirable and Black Wargreymon blanched at the unexpected and foul odor of the creature before him. It dawned a read cloak made of fabric with the same properties as the creatures' skins. It looked as though it could be made of a new breed of silk because of its amazing luster. Black Wargreymon had an ephemeral thought about this "Lord Zogleck" skinning his disloyal subjects for clothing. He, personally, did not see the need for clothing, but maybe these *creatures * used it to identify members of their higher class. He saw they had no class, but thoughts of skinning and the pungent odor made his craving to fight more urgent.
"The Lord bids you to speak!" it cried suddenly, taking a step forward and dragging its ape-like arms in a sluggish manner. Black Wargreymon made it known that the sight of the creature offended him by snorting and squinting his eyes as though he were ugly enough to cause permanent eye damage.
"The Lord bids me nothing; I bid myself where to speak, how to speak and whom to speak with."
"A mon of motive, I like that."
"I've come to fight you."
"Oh? Well, let it be known, I only fight when provoked."
"Then I shall provoke you. Terra-"
"You have done me no harm and I'd like to leave it that way. I will fight you, elsewhere, mind you, if it pleases you so."
"It does."
~*~
Two more hours of searching passed and Daisuke began to cry. He plopped down on the solid desert floor, landing hard on his posterior, then covered his tears a hand for an eye. The other Digidestined joined him in a circle, heads bowed, tears flowing. Everyone had been out since morning thanks to Koushirou and it was now well into the night. The part of the Digital World they traveled upon now never saw the night and the Digimon that lived there had only seen the day. Most were petrified of any dark, the Digidestined's Digimon informed them. There were so many unexplored areas that perpetually oozed in strangeness.
Daisuke was not thinking about the area he trudged through, once gallantly and hopeful, now slow and pessimistic. They hadn't seen a single Digimon besides their own since they arrived in the desert, but Daisuke didn't care about that either. He cared about finding his best friend, his true friend. The friend he had pulled from despair not so long ago and developed bond of golden thread. The only person that he had ever personally shared his deepest, most invasive secrets with.
"Ken, if I told you a secret, would you, honestly, tell someone else?"
"No, Daisuke. It would stay entre nous, between us. Why?"
"Well, I have this problem…It hasn't really happened ever since you slept over but I just thought I may warn you…"
"Is it enuresis?"
"What's that?"
"You know, the inability to control the bladder, bedwetting in other words. It's common Daisuke, don't give it a second thought."
"How'd you guess? I didn't…"
"No, I heard Miyako laughing about it. I was frustrated and I yelled at her. I wish I had stayed passive and didn't say some of the stuff that I did..."
Daisuke smiled and gave his arm a squeeze. "You don't have to stick up for me, I'm used to it."
"I know what she says makes you sad…"
Now that Ken was missing he wouldn't have anyone to defend him against Miyako. No more late night movies at sleepovers, no more dinners together, no more long walks - no more Ken. Daisuke took his hands off of his eyes for a moment and wiped crystal tears on his dirt-encrusted blazer. He stood, breaking the chain of Digidestined that surrounded him. He thrust his head toward the silver blue sky and tilted it back as far as it would go. From below, Cody could only see the smooth curve of his chin and the teardrops that trailed in streaks along his most prominent features.
"KEN!" he screamed, "KEEEN!"
Nothing met his cries except for a single cloud that perpetuated throughout the sky.
~*~
Black Wargreymon was losing. He had not counted on the fact that the creature was poisonous to the touch and that the cloak it wore was not for fashion or position. It was a shield of some sort that blocked every effort put out by Black Wargreymon. Even though he was losing terribly, he knew this creature was not his destiny. It was not a good fighter, definitely not good enough to even ward off a god, let alone defeat one. The creature had not one single attack, it only had the ability to dodge and avoid predators, and that made it think that it was superior in battle. Besides that offensive odor and cloak, this cretin had nothing to offer him.
Black Wargreymon expressed this to the shocked being, then took off, wounded but not hurt, to find his cave. It had been a long day and he was going sleep most of the night in order to heal his wounds. The creature had told him that although he was poisonous, the poison was not deadly and would wear off after a few hours. If it didn't, Black Wargreymon promised that he would be back to finish the job. First, he would rip off its cloak to expose it, then kill the entire village of creatures with his Terra Destroyer. After that, the decision to live or die would be left to Lord Zogleck. The Lord took the warning seriously, but made Black Wargreymon promise not to return to the village in exchange for a fast-acting antidote for the pain induced by the poison. Black Wargreymon agreed, against all principles, and left for his cave.
The bridge he had built earlier stood as grand as before. It looked as though not a foot had tread upon it. Black Wargreymon took his time walking across the bridge, feeling a new sensation course through his body. Something in his brain, perhaps the God who had created him (not the minion, Arukenimon, who had merely brought him to life), told him that the sensation was called pride. He was proud of his bridge, and rightfully so.
Black Wargreymon had not gone very far during the day, so he decided that he would sleep another night in the cave he had found. In the morning he would fly quickly through the areas he had already been, then revert to walking. But, his plans would change before morning. For in his path through the dark green foliage would be a disheveled body.
~*~
Ken was aware how close he was to death now. The inevitable happened, just as he warned Wormmon it would if he traveled the Digital World too often. There were Digimon seeking revenge in every corner, just as he had feared. They did not understand like most did and they did not forgive him. Though, the only reason why Ken had been the Kaiser was because of a miserable excuse for a Digimon whose name had been Myotismon. Even so the fingers could be pointed in that direction, Ken breathed in the shame every moment he was in the Digital World.
His fingertips burned. They made dangling like this look so easy in the movies. For a boy who hadn't done a single chin-up in his short life, the pain told his brain that his fingers would disconnect from their sockets and break, sending him below to dagger-like rock that would certainly tear his body to body into unrecognizable bits. He couldn't scream for help, the pain cut his throat with razors and tightened his bronchiotubes leaving him unable to breathe, let alone scream. His throat tinged with the sensation of bruises from being throttled by the obscene Digimon.
Speaking of that Digimon, it had now approached the scene - Ken could sense its aura. Somehow, by merely strangling him, it was able to open a passageway to Ken's brain. Ken was fascinated by it. He tried to communicate towards this passageway, messaging his good intention and hopefully his pain would be relieved. Instead he was met by a rush of angry thoughts that he would not ever be able to comprehend as they passed in and out of his brain so quickly. He didn't even notice that he was being lifted by the soft hairs on his head. His arms drooped like dead limbs on his side and he didn't hear the final words spoken to him as he was dropped from the edge.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm letting you off easy."
But he felt the fall. He was thrown in such a way that he would graze the cliff all the way down. Zogleck knew the cliff well, as he had fallen from it months before. The pain would be more than excruciating for the young human, it would be monstrous because, unlike Zogleck, the human Kaiser did not have the power to regenerate limbs by feeding off other species. Zogleck had felt pain on the way down, but had trained his brain to concentrate on those he had touched and experienced little from the fall. For the Kaiser, a fall like that would mean death.
Zogleck released his hold on the inferior human creature's brain, sensing for a brief moment an icy chill on the cortex of well-formed brain organ. He did not actually have a brain of the known sense, it was divided into sections - the part that worked was located in the center of his gel-like head. There, it would be somewhat protected from forces of harm. The spiritual, thinking part of his brain centered in the thorax, where it would be blocked from harm by an impenetrable fortress of bone, mass-muscle and gel. It was there that he felt the chill, on the most important part of his body.
These creatures religiously believed in what they called an athroforce. It mean that the brain located in the skull could be damaged, even destroyed, as long as the creature kept its thoraxial brain intact. They believed that no creature walking on that earth could survive without their spiritual brain, because without the brain of thought, the creature would be useless. Breathing, walking and talking were all useless without some form of opinionated thinking.
The irony in their beliefs and religions was that, in fact, the body of knowledge for all creatures was the Lord. They believed that thinking was powerful, but they decided to let Zogleck do all of the thinking for them. Two years ago, for the first time in their history, they elected someone to power. Thanks to Zogleck's knowledge of propaganda and charming nature, the other creatures bought into this political miscreant. They allowed their civilization to thrive and grow and become obsessed with the thought of World Domination, which was, Zogleck explained, entirely necessary in order to be taken seriously.
The creatures only had a few short demands. They hadn't originally wanted the Digital World in control, they just wanted to be left in peace, as they had been for centuries. The Digital World was not even aware that such creatures existed because they had remained silent for so long. In fact, it wasn't even aware there could be other creatures besides Digimon in the Digital World - that is until humans arrived.
Zogleck glared down at the human he had in his grasp. He heard his pleas and cut off communication. Ever since the Kaiser arrived his plans had been ruined, his weaknesses exposed to his adoring public. They had had to rebuild thanks to him and start over the oldest unknown civilization on the planet. It had been so unknown that all of the gods had forgotten it and Zoglect and company were not to stand for it any longer. They would be heard, even if it meant sacrificing an innocent life.
Of course, he would not be able to ever speak a word of this innocence to his bandwagon, his loyal subjects. Anyone who dared to find out would perish, naturally. The creatures, with the exception of Zogleck (who had literally gone crazy when the fall of the great civilization killed his love and his parents) were completely passive. They would have just rebuilt the city with not a word, if it weren't for Zogleck. Now they would not be trampled over, but they still had a kindness that prevented them from killing those who were as innocent as themselves. Zogleck was bitter, and therefore an exception to the rule. The creatures couldn't understand his mourning (they presumed that mourning the dead was irrational because the dead were not forced to live, they could be with the spirits) and left him be until he came up with his great plan.
As they watched the enemy tumble down the cliff, some shocked, others contemplating remorse, they watched their leader as well. He had no lips but he was smiling as only they could tell. The mother who had caused the trouble in the first place peered cautiously over the cliff, covering her child's eyes. Blood stained the side of the cliff in long dark rouge streaks, starting from the rock where Ken broke his right arm and worming their way down to the point of no return.
Wormmon had tried hopelessly to intervene, but Zogleck had tired of him and knocked him unconscious by stepping on his head. The Digimon was still alive, but barely. The touch of poison Zogleck granted him with would not kill him, but it opened old wounds like an earthquake would split a sidewalk and those wounds bled furiously.
Soon after the child creature began to cry. Despite the mother creature's efforts to shush him, he continued to wail, thrusting his head into the sky. She took him into his arms and they began their decent to the city. The rest of the creatures followed minutes after because they were still completely stunned by the day's events. Surely, they had talked about their revenge against the Kaiser, but they hadn't known the Kaiser was a ver young boy. He reminded them of their own children, except sadder. He looked like he was constantly in mourning and it was that thought that turned them away from the cliff. A creature in mourning was better off met with death. Unless they were Zogleck.
And so, Ken fell. Zogleck made sure that he dropped him so that he would have contact with the jagged edges of the cliff all the way down. He was able to hear Ken's first strangled cry as his right arm, still in an upright position from the beginning of the fall, contacted with the first jutting piece of clay-rock and bent backward as his body sped forward. The arm gave a sickening crack as it disjointed from the rest of his tiny body. From then on it dangled loosely in his favorite shirt, seemingly held together by tiny knotted threads. As he fell farther to the ground, the arm, longer now, smacked soundlessly against his lower calf.
The cliff started off narrow at the top, then grew a potbelly on the way down. Ken lost consciousness as his head contacted with the structure change. His ribs scraped painfully against the rough edges of the bottom half of the cliff and broke simultaneously as the structure jutted out once again. The broken ends of his ribs narrowly missed puncturing the delicate pink lungs they protected. Ken's shirt tore and logged itself deep into the holes on Ken's open chest.
Trees that reached halfway up to the potbellied cliff caught Ken's broken body and toyed with it until their young arms snapped. Ken's left wrist became snared in a wedge of the tree, holding his body until the violent swinging caused by the rapid fall snapped it so cruelly that Ken's hand had a difficult time staying attached. Then he fell the length of the tree, landing at first on his left leg and breaking it, then tumbling onto his bruised back in a graceless heap.
Throughout the history of mankind there have always been miraculous stories of human survival. People have fallen from seven story buildings in their cars and lived, gone without food or water for eighteen days, fallen out of airplanes with minor injuries and have had our hearts stop for four hours. Perhaps the most impossible feats have been endured by small children. Young children can endure being out in extremes of cold and heat. They can submerge underwater for sixty-six minutes and live.
Ken survived the fall. Blood was slithering out of gaping surreal holes that covered his entire body. If he wasn't rescued, his life would drain away. Every breath he took endangered his lungs because they came closer and closer to that little pinprick that would mean death. His broken arm was bent absurdly at the elbow so that the curled fingers of his hand almost grazed his cheek. During the fall Ken had bit his tongue trying to scream and now dark red saliva dribbled out of his open mouth and caressed his cheek before dripping on the grass and dirt that had finally stopped Ken's deadly fall. Ken's hair was now midnight rouge thanks to several open wounds on his skull. Abstract limbs began to swell and discolor and had Ken been aware, the sensation would have been excruciating.
Somehow Ken's D3 had followed him on the journey, then deposited itself at the base of the tree, next to a swampy, muddy lake. It would be hours before Black Wargreymon would emerge from his cave, unable to sleep due to the antibiotics he had been given to ease the pain of the poison. It would be hours before he discovered the body of young Ken Ichijouji.
P.S. - The cliff scene was actually more fun than it shoulda been…
Chapter Four: Crystal Tears
Black Wargreymon watched; he was momentarily satisfied with the Tapirmon's reaction to the bridge. Now he was regretting that he ever wasted his precious time feeling sorry for someone else. As the Tapirmon carted their food to and from the bridge, Black Wargreymon moodily continued his quest. He began to wonder if he was wasting his time with questing for destiny. Many Digimon lived their whole lives without ever meeting with destiny. If a Digimon met with destiny, their destiny had come to them, not they to it. He wondered if he was going about this all wrong. But without this search, this search with proposed and important self-meaning, what could he possibly do with his life? Did he even have life?
Black Wargreymon did not stop walking despite his thoughts. He had had this conversation with himself plenty of times before and always arrived with the same solution. He was born knowing destiny and he would die searching for it. The search often left him in despair, but if destiny was meant to come forth to him that day, he would be searching when it came.
As Black Wargreymon passed through another unknown area, he heard the sounds of voices chattering above him, thanks to hearing that surpassed the norm. His sensitive hearing did not bother him as much as one would think, instead, when he approached the source of the noise, he would shut off this ability at once, so as not to destroy the delicate inner tissues of his ears. As he moved closer to the source of the chatting, he adjusted the pressure of the sound in his ears to a comfortable level. He was not a spy, or an eavesdropper, but today he just couldn't get enough of listening, unknown, to another Digimon.
He flew a couple meters higher and perched on the ledge, surveying for the best spot to observe the unidentified Digimon. In this spot he was able to observe several figures milling about inside a dormant cave. Black Wargreymon would chase the tiny blobs out as soon as he was done (not) eavesdropping. The light from where Black Wargreymon was sitting seemed to be chewed then swallowed by the monstrous cave of dark. He could barely make out the busied shapes scuttling about inside, but he could assume from their size and color that they were a horde of Bakemon. Squinting his eyes under their protective layer of armor, he moved so that his head was incased in darkness, hoping to get a better look when his eyes adjusted to the dark.
When the creatures spoke Black Wargreymon realized that, in fact, he was wrong in thinking that these creatures were Bakemon. They were of some other breed, perhaps related to the Bakemon in their translucent, ghostlike forms. The innards of the cave had been transformed into a paradise for these creatures over the last couple of years. Black Wargreymon noticed that some areas had received an output of destruction worthy of himself. He was curious of these creatures and pondered the possibility that they may be his destiny; someone strong enough to beat him in a sparring match. He was never one to underestimate an opponent, he had learned his lesson quick and well, and if these misshapen, gnarled creatures were strong, he would fight them to the bitter end.
"I can't believe Lord Zogleck let the Kaiser off so easily," one was complaining.
"I just hope he lost a limb on the way down." Laughter ensued, followed by a brief silence, then an inquisition.
"Why was he so easy to kill? I thought Lord Zogleck said he was the God of Death and Captor of All?"
"Do you think that he's still alive?"
"Maybe he wasn't alive in the first place. I mean would anything alive be that cruel?"
"Only the Lord knows for sure."
Black Wargreymon wasn't listening. He had heard a bit about the Kaiser, a fellow who had once tried to rule the Digital World and had come very close indeed. If it wasn't for the Digidestined that, well, he couldn't remember what they did to stop him. He knew that the Digidestined were formidable, but they certainly weren't strong. They were worse than mosquitoes on a life-long quest for blood. He was well aware that they wanted to "stop" him, most likely by killing him, but he was also aware that they would need to get stronger if they ever wanted to achieve that goal. He would let them try, but he already knew that they weren't his destiny.
Maybe these ugly creatures were. One of them may be at least. He killed the Digimon Kaiser, someone who they considered to be some kind of untouchable God. Black Wargreymon would fight this Lord Zogleck to find out for certain. He didn't know much about the Kaiser, he also didn't know that he was one of those harmless Digidestined, otherwise he wouldn't have wasted his time.
He stepped out of the bushes and growled like he meant business. The creatures were even more hideous up close; they even resembled a clear version of the famous potato head doll that human children sometimes played with. They looked like someone had taken the limbs, bodies and heads of all of the Digimon in the world and mix-and-matched to make these things. There was a creature with Patamon's ears, Gazimon's head and Mojimon's body - minus the limbs. This didn't stop the useless creature from rolling out of Black Wargreymon's way and screeching "LORD! LOOORRDD!!" at the top of his lungs. Black Wargreymon stepped on a beautifully crafted vase - accidentally - but this movement frightened more of the creatures into the daylight. The point was taken - Black Wargreymon had declared war.
Although nothing compared to the Kaiser as of yet, Black Wargreymon was infamous in that perilous Digital World for his strength and for his constant evasion of the hapless Digidestined. More than one thought of their approaching death under the heel of his dinosaur foot had crossed his newborn mind, but never a thought had carried out. However, if they happened to push him any farther they would die a short, excruciating death.
Unlike the Kaiser, Black Wargreymon was not human. He was also told that he could not be a Digimon because of his unlikely heritage. Inconceivably, the Kaiser was like a parent to him and it would be only right if he were a god. But if these creatures killed the Kaiser as they said they must be either really strong or really stupid. At first Black Wargreymon thinks the latter. You can't kill a god, how preposterous! Then he remembers that he has only heard of the Kaiser in stories and began to cogitate the possibility.
At that point the Lord appeared in the manner of an apparition before Black Wargreymon. Creatures scattered to hide behind the aphyllous cacti rampant among the miniature city. Suddenly the air became irrespirable and Black Wargreymon blanched at the unexpected and foul odor of the creature before him. It dawned a read cloak made of fabric with the same properties as the creatures' skins. It looked as though it could be made of a new breed of silk because of its amazing luster. Black Wargreymon had an ephemeral thought about this "Lord Zogleck" skinning his disloyal subjects for clothing. He, personally, did not see the need for clothing, but maybe these *creatures * used it to identify members of their higher class. He saw they had no class, but thoughts of skinning and the pungent odor made his craving to fight more urgent.
"The Lord bids you to speak!" it cried suddenly, taking a step forward and dragging its ape-like arms in a sluggish manner. Black Wargreymon made it known that the sight of the creature offended him by snorting and squinting his eyes as though he were ugly enough to cause permanent eye damage.
"The Lord bids me nothing; I bid myself where to speak, how to speak and whom to speak with."
"A mon of motive, I like that."
"I've come to fight you."
"Oh? Well, let it be known, I only fight when provoked."
"Then I shall provoke you. Terra-"
"You have done me no harm and I'd like to leave it that way. I will fight you, elsewhere, mind you, if it pleases you so."
"It does."
~*~
Two more hours of searching passed and Daisuke began to cry. He plopped down on the solid desert floor, landing hard on his posterior, then covered his tears a hand for an eye. The other Digidestined joined him in a circle, heads bowed, tears flowing. Everyone had been out since morning thanks to Koushirou and it was now well into the night. The part of the Digital World they traveled upon now never saw the night and the Digimon that lived there had only seen the day. Most were petrified of any dark, the Digidestined's Digimon informed them. There were so many unexplored areas that perpetually oozed in strangeness.
Daisuke was not thinking about the area he trudged through, once gallantly and hopeful, now slow and pessimistic. They hadn't seen a single Digimon besides their own since they arrived in the desert, but Daisuke didn't care about that either. He cared about finding his best friend, his true friend. The friend he had pulled from despair not so long ago and developed bond of golden thread. The only person that he had ever personally shared his deepest, most invasive secrets with.
"Ken, if I told you a secret, would you, honestly, tell someone else?"
"No, Daisuke. It would stay entre nous, between us. Why?"
"Well, I have this problem…It hasn't really happened ever since you slept over but I just thought I may warn you…"
"Is it enuresis?"
"What's that?"
"You know, the inability to control the bladder, bedwetting in other words. It's common Daisuke, don't give it a second thought."
"How'd you guess? I didn't…"
"No, I heard Miyako laughing about it. I was frustrated and I yelled at her. I wish I had stayed passive and didn't say some of the stuff that I did..."
Daisuke smiled and gave his arm a squeeze. "You don't have to stick up for me, I'm used to it."
"I know what she says makes you sad…"
Now that Ken was missing he wouldn't have anyone to defend him against Miyako. No more late night movies at sleepovers, no more dinners together, no more long walks - no more Ken. Daisuke took his hands off of his eyes for a moment and wiped crystal tears on his dirt-encrusted blazer. He stood, breaking the chain of Digidestined that surrounded him. He thrust his head toward the silver blue sky and tilted it back as far as it would go. From below, Cody could only see the smooth curve of his chin and the teardrops that trailed in streaks along his most prominent features.
"KEN!" he screamed, "KEEEN!"
Nothing met his cries except for a single cloud that perpetuated throughout the sky.
~*~
Black Wargreymon was losing. He had not counted on the fact that the creature was poisonous to the touch and that the cloak it wore was not for fashion or position. It was a shield of some sort that blocked every effort put out by Black Wargreymon. Even though he was losing terribly, he knew this creature was not his destiny. It was not a good fighter, definitely not good enough to even ward off a god, let alone defeat one. The creature had not one single attack, it only had the ability to dodge and avoid predators, and that made it think that it was superior in battle. Besides that offensive odor and cloak, this cretin had nothing to offer him.
Black Wargreymon expressed this to the shocked being, then took off, wounded but not hurt, to find his cave. It had been a long day and he was going sleep most of the night in order to heal his wounds. The creature had told him that although he was poisonous, the poison was not deadly and would wear off after a few hours. If it didn't, Black Wargreymon promised that he would be back to finish the job. First, he would rip off its cloak to expose it, then kill the entire village of creatures with his Terra Destroyer. After that, the decision to live or die would be left to Lord Zogleck. The Lord took the warning seriously, but made Black Wargreymon promise not to return to the village in exchange for a fast-acting antidote for the pain induced by the poison. Black Wargreymon agreed, against all principles, and left for his cave.
The bridge he had built earlier stood as grand as before. It looked as though not a foot had tread upon it. Black Wargreymon took his time walking across the bridge, feeling a new sensation course through his body. Something in his brain, perhaps the God who had created him (not the minion, Arukenimon, who had merely brought him to life), told him that the sensation was called pride. He was proud of his bridge, and rightfully so.
Black Wargreymon had not gone very far during the day, so he decided that he would sleep another night in the cave he had found. In the morning he would fly quickly through the areas he had already been, then revert to walking. But, his plans would change before morning. For in his path through the dark green foliage would be a disheveled body.
~*~
Ken was aware how close he was to death now. The inevitable happened, just as he warned Wormmon it would if he traveled the Digital World too often. There were Digimon seeking revenge in every corner, just as he had feared. They did not understand like most did and they did not forgive him. Though, the only reason why Ken had been the Kaiser was because of a miserable excuse for a Digimon whose name had been Myotismon. Even so the fingers could be pointed in that direction, Ken breathed in the shame every moment he was in the Digital World.
His fingertips burned. They made dangling like this look so easy in the movies. For a boy who hadn't done a single chin-up in his short life, the pain told his brain that his fingers would disconnect from their sockets and break, sending him below to dagger-like rock that would certainly tear his body to body into unrecognizable bits. He couldn't scream for help, the pain cut his throat with razors and tightened his bronchiotubes leaving him unable to breathe, let alone scream. His throat tinged with the sensation of bruises from being throttled by the obscene Digimon.
Speaking of that Digimon, it had now approached the scene - Ken could sense its aura. Somehow, by merely strangling him, it was able to open a passageway to Ken's brain. Ken was fascinated by it. He tried to communicate towards this passageway, messaging his good intention and hopefully his pain would be relieved. Instead he was met by a rush of angry thoughts that he would not ever be able to comprehend as they passed in and out of his brain so quickly. He didn't even notice that he was being lifted by the soft hairs on his head. His arms drooped like dead limbs on his side and he didn't hear the final words spoken to him as he was dropped from the edge.
"As far as I'm concerned, I'm letting you off easy."
But he felt the fall. He was thrown in such a way that he would graze the cliff all the way down. Zogleck knew the cliff well, as he had fallen from it months before. The pain would be more than excruciating for the young human, it would be monstrous because, unlike Zogleck, the human Kaiser did not have the power to regenerate limbs by feeding off other species. Zogleck had felt pain on the way down, but had trained his brain to concentrate on those he had touched and experienced little from the fall. For the Kaiser, a fall like that would mean death.
Zogleck released his hold on the inferior human creature's brain, sensing for a brief moment an icy chill on the cortex of well-formed brain organ. He did not actually have a brain of the known sense, it was divided into sections - the part that worked was located in the center of his gel-like head. There, it would be somewhat protected from forces of harm. The spiritual, thinking part of his brain centered in the thorax, where it would be blocked from harm by an impenetrable fortress of bone, mass-muscle and gel. It was there that he felt the chill, on the most important part of his body.
These creatures religiously believed in what they called an athroforce. It mean that the brain located in the skull could be damaged, even destroyed, as long as the creature kept its thoraxial brain intact. They believed that no creature walking on that earth could survive without their spiritual brain, because without the brain of thought, the creature would be useless. Breathing, walking and talking were all useless without some form of opinionated thinking.
The irony in their beliefs and religions was that, in fact, the body of knowledge for all creatures was the Lord. They believed that thinking was powerful, but they decided to let Zogleck do all of the thinking for them. Two years ago, for the first time in their history, they elected someone to power. Thanks to Zogleck's knowledge of propaganda and charming nature, the other creatures bought into this political miscreant. They allowed their civilization to thrive and grow and become obsessed with the thought of World Domination, which was, Zogleck explained, entirely necessary in order to be taken seriously.
The creatures only had a few short demands. They hadn't originally wanted the Digital World in control, they just wanted to be left in peace, as they had been for centuries. The Digital World was not even aware that such creatures existed because they had remained silent for so long. In fact, it wasn't even aware there could be other creatures besides Digimon in the Digital World - that is until humans arrived.
Zogleck glared down at the human he had in his grasp. He heard his pleas and cut off communication. Ever since the Kaiser arrived his plans had been ruined, his weaknesses exposed to his adoring public. They had had to rebuild thanks to him and start over the oldest unknown civilization on the planet. It had been so unknown that all of the gods had forgotten it and Zoglect and company were not to stand for it any longer. They would be heard, even if it meant sacrificing an innocent life.
Of course, he would not be able to ever speak a word of this innocence to his bandwagon, his loyal subjects. Anyone who dared to find out would perish, naturally. The creatures, with the exception of Zogleck (who had literally gone crazy when the fall of the great civilization killed his love and his parents) were completely passive. They would have just rebuilt the city with not a word, if it weren't for Zogleck. Now they would not be trampled over, but they still had a kindness that prevented them from killing those who were as innocent as themselves. Zogleck was bitter, and therefore an exception to the rule. The creatures couldn't understand his mourning (they presumed that mourning the dead was irrational because the dead were not forced to live, they could be with the spirits) and left him be until he came up with his great plan.
As they watched the enemy tumble down the cliff, some shocked, others contemplating remorse, they watched their leader as well. He had no lips but he was smiling as only they could tell. The mother who had caused the trouble in the first place peered cautiously over the cliff, covering her child's eyes. Blood stained the side of the cliff in long dark rouge streaks, starting from the rock where Ken broke his right arm and worming their way down to the point of no return.
Wormmon had tried hopelessly to intervene, but Zogleck had tired of him and knocked him unconscious by stepping on his head. The Digimon was still alive, but barely. The touch of poison Zogleck granted him with would not kill him, but it opened old wounds like an earthquake would split a sidewalk and those wounds bled furiously.
Soon after the child creature began to cry. Despite the mother creature's efforts to shush him, he continued to wail, thrusting his head into the sky. She took him into his arms and they began their decent to the city. The rest of the creatures followed minutes after because they were still completely stunned by the day's events. Surely, they had talked about their revenge against the Kaiser, but they hadn't known the Kaiser was a ver young boy. He reminded them of their own children, except sadder. He looked like he was constantly in mourning and it was that thought that turned them away from the cliff. A creature in mourning was better off met with death. Unless they were Zogleck.
And so, Ken fell. Zogleck made sure that he dropped him so that he would have contact with the jagged edges of the cliff all the way down. He was able to hear Ken's first strangled cry as his right arm, still in an upright position from the beginning of the fall, contacted with the first jutting piece of clay-rock and bent backward as his body sped forward. The arm gave a sickening crack as it disjointed from the rest of his tiny body. From then on it dangled loosely in his favorite shirt, seemingly held together by tiny knotted threads. As he fell farther to the ground, the arm, longer now, smacked soundlessly against his lower calf.
The cliff started off narrow at the top, then grew a potbelly on the way down. Ken lost consciousness as his head contacted with the structure change. His ribs scraped painfully against the rough edges of the bottom half of the cliff and broke simultaneously as the structure jutted out once again. The broken ends of his ribs narrowly missed puncturing the delicate pink lungs they protected. Ken's shirt tore and logged itself deep into the holes on Ken's open chest.
Trees that reached halfway up to the potbellied cliff caught Ken's broken body and toyed with it until their young arms snapped. Ken's left wrist became snared in a wedge of the tree, holding his body until the violent swinging caused by the rapid fall snapped it so cruelly that Ken's hand had a difficult time staying attached. Then he fell the length of the tree, landing at first on his left leg and breaking it, then tumbling onto his bruised back in a graceless heap.
Throughout the history of mankind there have always been miraculous stories of human survival. People have fallen from seven story buildings in their cars and lived, gone without food or water for eighteen days, fallen out of airplanes with minor injuries and have had our hearts stop for four hours. Perhaps the most impossible feats have been endured by small children. Young children can endure being out in extremes of cold and heat. They can submerge underwater for sixty-six minutes and live.
Ken survived the fall. Blood was slithering out of gaping surreal holes that covered his entire body. If he wasn't rescued, his life would drain away. Every breath he took endangered his lungs because they came closer and closer to that little pinprick that would mean death. His broken arm was bent absurdly at the elbow so that the curled fingers of his hand almost grazed his cheek. During the fall Ken had bit his tongue trying to scream and now dark red saliva dribbled out of his open mouth and caressed his cheek before dripping on the grass and dirt that had finally stopped Ken's deadly fall. Ken's hair was now midnight rouge thanks to several open wounds on his skull. Abstract limbs began to swell and discolor and had Ken been aware, the sensation would have been excruciating.
Somehow Ken's D3 had followed him on the journey, then deposited itself at the base of the tree, next to a swampy, muddy lake. It would be hours before Black Wargreymon would emerge from his cave, unable to sleep due to the antibiotics he had been given to ease the pain of the poison. It would be hours before he discovered the body of young Ken Ichijouji.