A/N: Kudos to Koi for solving the riddle. It was night! Basically I just
used half of the riddle 'What breaks and never falls and falls and never
breaks?' Day and Night. Well, enough of my pointless ramblings, this
chapter should clear up a bit of the mystery about why Kari is evil, at
least I think it should. It also seems to have a lot more dialogue in it
then usual, at least I think it does! As always, please take the time to
review! ^_^ Now on with the fic!
Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine, any questions? I didn't think so!
Chapter 7. A Storm of Questions
Ken awoke with a start some time the next morning, without any real knowledge of what time it was, not that it mattered. After Kari had left him locked in the bedroom it hadn't been long before he had collapsed unto the bed in exhaustion and slept for quite a few hours.
'Well, now to get out of here.'
The door was his first option, and after quite a few attempts at opening it - ranging from trying the doorknob, to throwing himself at it - obviously it didn't budge.
The next object of Ken's interest was the window, small and sealed. It wouldn't open no matter how many times he tried to pry it. This left one other option, not the one Ken wanted, but still the only one left: Breaking the glass. Despite trying to shatter it by throwing himself shoulder first against the glass, it wouldn't shatter, hell, it wouldn't even crack.
"Shit, shit shit!"
And then he sat down on the bed - to do some serious constructive thinking on his part.
'Nothing opens - this can't be good'
He twiddled with his fingers and looked around the room for the umpteenth time since he had been awake.
'Kari is a sadist. No, definitely not good.'
Now he was considering using a piece of a floorboard to break through the window. 'But the window wouldn't break anyways.'
"I could get you out."
That voice. That fucking voice was back, pissing Ken off to the extreme.
"And tell me why the hell you would do a thing like that?" Asked Ken out loud, still sitting in the same position on the bed, still twiddling his fingers as before.
Momentary silence. "Because I need a favor."
Ken's eyes, now completely black in color, blazed in hot anger. "And give me one damn reason to help you!"
"All you need to know is that the plan didn't work."
His fingers stop moving. "What was your plan?"
"You make is sound like it was a personal gain. Perhaps it was, but it was a matter of survival, not a frivolous venture I assure you."
Ken hopped off of the bed and started his habit of nervous pacing around the room "Whatever it is, it's the reason you took Kari."
"You are very quick Ken, I only hope that wit can help you with what I need you to do."
Quick thinking, it was always quick thinking that Ken was held in such high esteem for. It didn't seem to matter what the situation was, he was almost always able to think things through calmly and come to a conclusion.
It was quick thinking that would help him here.
"First you tell me everything, and then I may consider helping you."
The disembodied voice laughed, a cold menacing laugh, as if daring Ken to back up his demand. "I really don't think you're in a position to be making conditions, but very well. I'll tell you as much as you need to know, which is too much as it is."
Ken decided against making a track in the floor (although it might have been an easy escape if the floor were to fall through), and he sat back down on the bed waiting to hear the tale.
"One thing you must understand is that in all things there has to be a balance. Day and night, positive and negative, light and dark; one cannot exist without the other, as they are interchangeable. If there is more of one then the other the balance is destroyed and chaos ensures."
Ken nodded his head in understanding, urging for the story to continue.
"In the darkest of places there will always be the glimmer of light, and in the lightest of situations the dark is there, somewhere. It has always been this way, for in life there is never a clean line between right and wrong, if such a thing so simple even exists, but there are many shades of gray.
All of this had occurred to Ken at one time or another in his life, how things changed with the matter of perspective.
"This fragile balance has been off kilter here for quite some time. This world was simply becoming less dark, blinded by light from the Digital World. We needed someone or something strong, with the ability to carry dark in itself."
Ken interrupted. "Why would you want to use Kari for that? If she is light, what provoked you into thinking she could bring more darkness to this place?"
"That is where you're wrong. Do you not remember what I just said about light and dark being interchangeable? Kari may have chosen to represent light, but don't believe for a second that there isn't great darkness in her as well."
Ken started to laugh at the idea. "If you knew this, didn't you worry it would get out of control"
"But that's just the thing. I underestimated her darkness. Instead of being a mere tool to the Dark Ocean, she has become a ruler of sorts."
Ken suddenly stopped snickering, and became very serious. "Is that why she kept refereeing to this place as her home?"
"It is her home, at least it is while she rules the darkness. She doesn't remember anything, I think even you know that."
"I wondered about that." He started, "But I didn't know how that would be possible." The statement had a questioning edge to it, a ploy for more information.
"Time is under it's own rules here. It passes when it wants at break neck speed and then it will all but stop. It follows no pattern."
"So she's been here awhile, is that what you're saying?" Asked Ken, the idea of a very different flow of time finally dawning on him.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." The voice stopped for a minute and Ken sat with only his thoughts, trying to figure out just what would be going through Kari's head.
"How did it happen?"
The voice was confused. "What?"
"How did the darkness take her?"
"The longer she was here, the more she forgot. I believe she thought her friends to leave her for dead, which is what I was counting on. It started slowly at first, as you've probably seen for yourself."
Indeed he had seen it; things changing form into a darker version of their former selves.
"Her fear and despair only fed the darkness, and soon she was as she is now, almost completely consumed. I wanted her this way, oh yes, exactly this way. If things had gone according to the plan she would have been perfect."
"But it didn't go as planned?" Ken asked in a whisper.
"No, instead of simply feeding the darkness with her own, it went the other way around. Because of her power she has been using the darkness at will, limiting my own abilities."
This brought Ken to what he really wanted to know for sure. "And what are you?"
"I am the in a manner of speaking, the darkness itself. Not really an entity, but an essence in a way."
It was exactly as Ken had always suspected, the darkness in a form. Not entirely evil, but certainly not good. Looking out to save it's own neck and in the process accidentally digging a grave instead. "What do I have to do?"
Ken felt a quick a quick pull on his body and before he even realized what had happened he was standing outside the lighthouse, staring out at the ocean.
"You have to convince her to go back, I can't send her back unwillingly, just as I couldn't bring her here totally unwillingly. She is a force to be reckoned with, but maybe you will be able to persuade her."
"I'll try." Ken stated simply, before heading off down the beach again. Ahead of him in the distance he spotted a storm, and that meant that Kari wouldn't be very far away.
A/N: Okay, that chapter was actually kinda boring in my opinion, ne? At least I've figured out the end for this fic and I'm thinking it might just be one more chapter plus and epilogue. Now for your job!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! I love to get reviews, they make my day!!! ^_^
Disclaimer: Digimon is not mine, any questions? I didn't think so!
Chapter 7. A Storm of Questions
Ken awoke with a start some time the next morning, without any real knowledge of what time it was, not that it mattered. After Kari had left him locked in the bedroom it hadn't been long before he had collapsed unto the bed in exhaustion and slept for quite a few hours.
'Well, now to get out of here.'
The door was his first option, and after quite a few attempts at opening it - ranging from trying the doorknob, to throwing himself at it - obviously it didn't budge.
The next object of Ken's interest was the window, small and sealed. It wouldn't open no matter how many times he tried to pry it. This left one other option, not the one Ken wanted, but still the only one left: Breaking the glass. Despite trying to shatter it by throwing himself shoulder first against the glass, it wouldn't shatter, hell, it wouldn't even crack.
"Shit, shit shit!"
And then he sat down on the bed - to do some serious constructive thinking on his part.
'Nothing opens - this can't be good'
He twiddled with his fingers and looked around the room for the umpteenth time since he had been awake.
'Kari is a sadist. No, definitely not good.'
Now he was considering using a piece of a floorboard to break through the window. 'But the window wouldn't break anyways.'
"I could get you out."
That voice. That fucking voice was back, pissing Ken off to the extreme.
"And tell me why the hell you would do a thing like that?" Asked Ken out loud, still sitting in the same position on the bed, still twiddling his fingers as before.
Momentary silence. "Because I need a favor."
Ken's eyes, now completely black in color, blazed in hot anger. "And give me one damn reason to help you!"
"All you need to know is that the plan didn't work."
His fingers stop moving. "What was your plan?"
"You make is sound like it was a personal gain. Perhaps it was, but it was a matter of survival, not a frivolous venture I assure you."
Ken hopped off of the bed and started his habit of nervous pacing around the room "Whatever it is, it's the reason you took Kari."
"You are very quick Ken, I only hope that wit can help you with what I need you to do."
Quick thinking, it was always quick thinking that Ken was held in such high esteem for. It didn't seem to matter what the situation was, he was almost always able to think things through calmly and come to a conclusion.
It was quick thinking that would help him here.
"First you tell me everything, and then I may consider helping you."
The disembodied voice laughed, a cold menacing laugh, as if daring Ken to back up his demand. "I really don't think you're in a position to be making conditions, but very well. I'll tell you as much as you need to know, which is too much as it is."
Ken decided against making a track in the floor (although it might have been an easy escape if the floor were to fall through), and he sat back down on the bed waiting to hear the tale.
"One thing you must understand is that in all things there has to be a balance. Day and night, positive and negative, light and dark; one cannot exist without the other, as they are interchangeable. If there is more of one then the other the balance is destroyed and chaos ensures."
Ken nodded his head in understanding, urging for the story to continue.
"In the darkest of places there will always be the glimmer of light, and in the lightest of situations the dark is there, somewhere. It has always been this way, for in life there is never a clean line between right and wrong, if such a thing so simple even exists, but there are many shades of gray.
All of this had occurred to Ken at one time or another in his life, how things changed with the matter of perspective.
"This fragile balance has been off kilter here for quite some time. This world was simply becoming less dark, blinded by light from the Digital World. We needed someone or something strong, with the ability to carry dark in itself."
Ken interrupted. "Why would you want to use Kari for that? If she is light, what provoked you into thinking she could bring more darkness to this place?"
"That is where you're wrong. Do you not remember what I just said about light and dark being interchangeable? Kari may have chosen to represent light, but don't believe for a second that there isn't great darkness in her as well."
Ken started to laugh at the idea. "If you knew this, didn't you worry it would get out of control"
"But that's just the thing. I underestimated her darkness. Instead of being a mere tool to the Dark Ocean, she has become a ruler of sorts."
Ken suddenly stopped snickering, and became very serious. "Is that why she kept refereeing to this place as her home?"
"It is her home, at least it is while she rules the darkness. She doesn't remember anything, I think even you know that."
"I wondered about that." He started, "But I didn't know how that would be possible." The statement had a questioning edge to it, a ploy for more information.
"Time is under it's own rules here. It passes when it wants at break neck speed and then it will all but stop. It follows no pattern."
"So she's been here awhile, is that what you're saying?" Asked Ken, the idea of a very different flow of time finally dawning on him.
"That's exactly what I'm saying." The voice stopped for a minute and Ken sat with only his thoughts, trying to figure out just what would be going through Kari's head.
"How did it happen?"
The voice was confused. "What?"
"How did the darkness take her?"
"The longer she was here, the more she forgot. I believe she thought her friends to leave her for dead, which is what I was counting on. It started slowly at first, as you've probably seen for yourself."
Indeed he had seen it; things changing form into a darker version of their former selves.
"Her fear and despair only fed the darkness, and soon she was as she is now, almost completely consumed. I wanted her this way, oh yes, exactly this way. If things had gone according to the plan she would have been perfect."
"But it didn't go as planned?" Ken asked in a whisper.
"No, instead of simply feeding the darkness with her own, it went the other way around. Because of her power she has been using the darkness at will, limiting my own abilities."
This brought Ken to what he really wanted to know for sure. "And what are you?"
"I am the in a manner of speaking, the darkness itself. Not really an entity, but an essence in a way."
It was exactly as Ken had always suspected, the darkness in a form. Not entirely evil, but certainly not good. Looking out to save it's own neck and in the process accidentally digging a grave instead. "What do I have to do?"
Ken felt a quick a quick pull on his body and before he even realized what had happened he was standing outside the lighthouse, staring out at the ocean.
"You have to convince her to go back, I can't send her back unwillingly, just as I couldn't bring her here totally unwillingly. She is a force to be reckoned with, but maybe you will be able to persuade her."
"I'll try." Ken stated simply, before heading off down the beach again. Ahead of him in the distance he spotted a storm, and that meant that Kari wouldn't be very far away.
A/N: Okay, that chapter was actually kinda boring in my opinion, ne? At least I've figured out the end for this fic and I'm thinking it might just be one more chapter plus and epilogue. Now for your job!!! PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!! I love to get reviews, they make my day!!! ^_^