"Two Faces, One Mask"
5. 'Hidden past'
"For so long life's been held up tight inside your hold
And it leaves me there without a place to call my own.
I know now what shadows can see
There's no point in running 'less you run with me.
It's half the distance through the open door
Before you cut me down
Again.
Let me introduce you to the end.
And I feel the cold wind blowing beneath my wings.
It always leads me back to suffering,
But I will soar until the wind whips me down,
Leaves me beaten on unholy ground again."
'Shackled' Vertical Horizon
"This is unbelievable." Yolei growled.
"I know, but it's the only way we have an advantage." Hawkmon reassured her.
She turned to him and frowned slightly, "Oh, no, that too, but I meant this. All this…" she gestured around her, "this destruction."
The group (except Daemon) looked up to the sky. The once pale blue blanket covering the digital world, with streaks of sunlight piercing it was now looking like something out of a war movie. With deep gray menacing clouds stained with crimson in intermittent intervals, it threatened a heavy thunderstorm that never came. Every now and then lightning would light up the doomsday cotton candy and appear to be on fire. Smoke traveled up and made it's way towards the dense sky and raging fires burned on. Digimon seemed scarce and a heavy feeling of evil hung in the air.
"The world is becoming unbalanced." Gennai stated.
"It's so dark." Kari shuddered and held her arms.
"This is what happens when the balance gets tipped in Evil's favor." Gatomon informed them, "We've never had to fight something so evil."
"Ken is NOT evil!" Davis ground out in defense of his best friend, his hands in fists.
"No, Ken isn't," Gennai said softly and kindly, "But the Emperor is and so is the Sorceress."
"We've faced off with the Emperor before." Armadillomon commented.
"Yes we have." Cody replied, "But technically this isn't the Emperor we fought back then, this guy is pure evil. He's even more ruthless than Ken was back then and I'm guessing a lot more powerful."
"Great!" Patamon sighed from atop TK's head; "Like he wasn't that hard to defeat last time, now he's even more powerful and he has the Sorceress with him."
TK looked up at his head and looked back to everyone else, "He's right. It wasn't easy beating him. Remember technically it was Wormmon who saved us."
The group fell silent and glanced at Wormmon, remembering his sacrifice. He looked up at them with his blue orbs, "It's okay," he said quietly, "it was a long time ago and…" he paused not knowing how to tell them that he had come to terms with that painful memory. He looked up at them with shining eyes, "But hopefully this time no one will die."
The group nodded and continued on their path, following Daemon at a safe distance. They looked around themselves every so often, at the once dense forest, which was now a smoldering shell of its former self.
There were only a few areas, which were left untouched. They noticed as they walked on, that the area was looking more and more like the Digital World Forest they knew and not like the war zone they had arrived in. They also noticed that there were no Control Spires in this area.
Daemon turned to look behind him and at the uneasy group; "We're almost there. Relax, I won't hurt you." He turned back round to watch the path ahead of him and muttered under his breath, "Not yet anyway."
------
"How are you feeling now?" her long fingers, tipped with crimson nails rubbed at his shoulders, while he nibbled on some chocolate that a slave had brought from the kitchen.
"Better." He growled as he got to his feet. Truthfully, he still felt a little on the weak side, but that sort of thing had never stopped him before and he'd be damned if it was going to stop him now. It seemed the only thing that was fueling him was anger and hate. There was a strange sensation he felt in his gut, a feeling he wasn't all too familiar with, but if he thought about the feeling, he felt worse. So he pushed it down and tried to ignore it. Hopefully, it would go away.
The Sorceress watched him for a while, studying him. She knew something was not right, but decided not to push the subject. She knew the Emperor to be on the temperamental side.
"I'm glad that you're feeling better." She smiled and began to run her soft hand up and down his chest, "Now what was it you were planning to do?"
The question brought him back with a hard knock and it was a while before he remembered what he was planning. He regained his composure and focus and stared into her bright green eyes, "I thought I might go pay a visit to Ken's parents - my parents - and show them how it feels to suffer. Of course, they will not know what it is that I felt when they ignored me or treated me like a tool for their own gain." His eyes narrowed in to a scowl at the memories of his haunted past. "And I just know that they'll be thrilled to meet me!"
She hesitated, "But what about Ken and Mae down in the dungeon?"
He turned away from her and looked up at the huge monitor, "What about them?" he asked distractedly.
She sat down on her throne, "I just thought we were going to have some fun with them. You know, torture them or something?"
"What?" the Emperor turned to face her, "Oh, that." Truth be told, he had almost forgotten that plan. He sighed and shook his head, as if that would help him get his thoughts straight.
"You can do what you like with them while I'm gone."
She frowned as he turned back to the monitor. His apathy was cause for concern.
------
"How do you feel now Ken?" Mae asked tentatively from across the way.
"Still a bit strange, but better." He looked around his cell and out a small window, the size of a sheet of paper. The confined space was making him claustrophobic. The air was making him feel light headed and nauseous and he was starting to feel a little panicky.
"We need to get out of here. Who knows what they have in store for us." He said quickly.
"We wouldn't know." Mae sighed, "We cannot conceive of the evil that they can. We must stop them and get each other back together."
"How is that going to happen?"
"A spell. It's not too difficult but the Light Masters will probably do it, since the Dark Masters separated us in the first place."
"Oh, right." Ken bit off the reply with bitterness.
"You don't like them too much do you?"
"No, not really." He turned to look out the tiny window.
"I understand you know. After they…after they-"
"Gave me back my brother for a while just to have him ripped from me again?" he barked. "Look Mae, I really don't want to talk about this now. What I really want to do it get the hell out of here."
She stared at him for a while. He looked desperate and a little deranged.
Quickly, her emerald eyes (now slightly dull) searched the area for something long and thin to pick the lock with. She spotted something glinting in the tiny streak of light coming from her window. It resembled a shard of Dark Ring. She picked up the cold metal and began poking it around in the keyhole.
"Do you know what you're doing?" Ken asked a bit taken aback by her behavior.
"Actually, not really, but if it works in the movies, maybe it will work for us."
Ken rolled his eyes, "Locks work on a basis of pins and springs. When you hit something hard in the lock, try to push it down and to the side, then turn the shard of Dark Ring you have in the lock, like a key, it should release the pins and unlock the door."
Mae raised her eyebrow for a moment and followed through with his instructions. To her surprise it worked and the door swung open, but not before she slipped and cut her finger on the shard of cold metal. She grimaced and proceeded to suck her finger, blood oozing from the small wound.
"You okay?" the young man across from her questioned.
She nodded still sucking on her finger, "How did you know how to do that?"
He shrugged, "It's amazing what you can learn on the Internet."
She cocked her head at him with narrowed eyes.
"It's true, but I only ever once used the knowledge to get into my file cabinet when I lost my key."
"Sure Ichijouji, sure." She looked skeptically at him and proceeded to hand him the shard of metal so he could pick his lock.
After a few seconds of fiddling around with his lock, his door swung open as well and stepping out he shrugged and threw down the metal, "Don't believe me then."
"We may need this." She mumbled picking up the dark shard again and pocketing it.
------
"We're here." Daemon's cold, grating voice cut through the thick silence.
"Yeah, but where exactly is 'here'?" Yolei muttered to Davis.
"I don't like this at all." Davis whispered back.
"This is our back up." Daemon informed them.
He had taken them to a clearing, where it was still slightly green, though seemed faded, and sitting outside a dark stone castle, were Ladydevimon and Devimon.
"No way!" TK yelled with seething anger.
Gennai put a hand on his shoulder, "We don't have much choice TK, please-"
"NO! There is no way I'm working with them, and especially him!" he pointed to Devimon.
"I don't blame the boy." Devimon growled, "I wouldn't want to work with him either."
TK narrowed his eyes and scowled at him with detest.
"What is going on here Daemon?" Ladydevimon questioned.
"We have made a temporary truce with the Digidestined in order to defeat the Emperor and Sorceress. They have taken Ken with them. We both want him but divided we will fail, together we will win."
"You're joking aren't you?" she scoffed.
"NO! This is the only way." He barked.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Devimon asked.
"We attack their base. While you two storm the place and distract them, we," he looked to the Digidestined, "will go after Ken. Whoever gets to him first, keeps him."
Yolei, Davis and Wormmon scowled at him.
"Are you crazy Daemon?" Ladydevimon laughed, "The Sorceress will kill us so easily and without thought!"
"I will make sure that does not happen. Now are you in or out?"
She looked to Devimon, then shrugged, "What choice do we have? Fine, we'll do it."
"Good. We storm their base tonight."
Kari looked up to the sky, "When is that? It's dark all the time."
Gatomon looked at Kari's watch, "That's in a few hours time."
"Hmm, she is right." Daemon mused, "Why wait? We'll do it now."
"I'm not doing this!" TK repeated.
"Please TK," Davis urged, "For Ken and Mae."
TK ground his teeth and finally sighed, "Okay…for Ken and Mae."
"It will be okay TK." Patamon reassured him.
He sighed deeply and shuddered, "I hope so."
------
"Enjoy your stay in the real world sweetie." The Sorceress cooed as she stroked his cheek, feeling a little reluctant of letting him go.
"You are sure you can handle things here while I'm gone?"
"Positive. I might even have some fun destroying things."
He pulled her close and looked down darkly at her before kissing her passionately. After pulling away, "Don't have too much fun. Save some for me."
She giggled darkly and watched him leave through the portal. Then she turned to the monitors, "Hmm, now what is this? Two mice that have gotten out their cages? We'll see how long they run around in this maze before this hungry cat catches them."
A cruel smile spread over her features as she sauntered out the control room and headed towards the dungeon, he black dress catching in the breeze of the castle.
------
The Emperor tumbled out of the computer and landed hard in Ken's apartment. He was still wearing his regal outfit as he left the door open and made his way to his old home.
"I wander if they will recognize me. They should, after all I am their only son." He thought as he made his way down the road, glaring hungrily at people as he passed them, as if he wished to gut them there and then. As he walked, each step brought a new idea to add to his plan, until finally he had reached the familiar block of flats and looked up before entering the large gray building. When he reached the door to his old home, he politely knocked on the door and waited. On cue Mrs. Ichijouji opened the door with a friendly grin that soon faded when she took in the person standing at her door. She frowned at him and was too busy studying his familiar face to ask him what he wanted. There was no need anyway, because the Emperor casually leaned against the doorframe with a wicked grin on his face.
"Hello mom." And before she could reply, he punched her in the face, knocking her to the floor, while he stepped over her to let himself in.
------
"So that's the plan." Daemon concluded after pacing back and forth for the past few minutes.
"So instead of storming the base, we go there acting like we wish to join them." Ladydevimon confirmed.
"That's right. While you act as a distraction, we will sneak into the base and find Ken."
"And Mae!" Gennai glowered at the Dark Lord Digimon.
"And Mae." Sighed Daemon.
"What if they see through us and she kills us anyway?" Devimon questioned.
"Somehow I doubt she will." Gennai stated, "And even if the Sorceress does suspect you're up to something, she'll keep you in her line of vision to find out what you're up to before she kills you. She's curious."
"That really instills confidence, thanks Gennai." Devimon chirped in sarcastically.
"Anytime." He shot back.
"Right, let's go." Daemon moved towards the path of the base.
"What? Now?" Davis asked.
"When would you prefer? When your friend is dead and gone?"
Davis gritted his teeth and pushed down the urge to hit Daemon. They all formed a line behind him and started to follow.
------
"You're sure you know where we're going right?" Ken asked after a few minutes of walking down the cold maze of stairs and passages.
"I'm sure." She sighed.
"Just checking."
A few more minutes passed before them as they made their way up the dark corridor to hopefully an exit. Ken was thinking hard and he hesitated to say what was on his mind.
"What is it?" Mae asked suddenly.
Even without her power of telepathy, she could still read him and his mind.
"Would, I mean, would you, you know, miss me if I died?" he looked at his feet while he walked, not wanting to make eye contact with her.
She stopped and looked at him a little dumbstruck, "Ken, of course I would! I-" she cut herself short, not wanting to finish the thought.
"Wouldn't a new Digidestined of Kindness come along that you would have to look after? I mean, we're just like your chores, or job…"
"No, you're not. You're much, much more to me, us than that, Ken." Her eyes fell to the floor, where she would not have to look at him. There was something more she wanted to tell him, but couldn't find the words, which was lucky because she figured it was better if he didn't know what was on her mind right now. All she knew was that she could not loose Ken…she wouldn't survive it.
They resumed walking silently, a heavy emotion now pushing them down.
When Ken stopped abruptly Mae asked, "What is it?"
Ken paused, his eyes narrowed, his brow furrowed. He looked up at her slowly, "The Emperor. He's with my parents."
She made a vehement movement, "How do you know?"
"I can sense it…it's weird."
Mae's emerald eyes glanced up and down the passage; "The control room with all the monitors in it is just down that corridor and to the left, run quick and use a port to get home. I'll tell the others where you are as soon as I get out of here."
"You sure you'll be fine? Why don't you come with me?"
"It'll take too long, and the others will wonder what happened to us. Now go!"
Ken nodded and began to make his way to the control room, while Mae continued to make her way to the exit.
She had been walking for only a few minutes when she felt someone watching her.
"Well, at least I still have one mouse to play with." A silky voice echoed off the walls, making Mae jump and turn to see her worst fear. The Sorceress put her hand on her hip and cocked her head to the side.
"Now I wander what nasty little thing I should do to you first."
Mae stood frozen, her mind racing. A strange thought came to her and she glanced down at her finger. A small cut made from the shard of dark ring was clearly visible by the crimson liquid trying to ooze out from it. She frowned; knowing that when she cut herself like this usually it took less than a few minutes to heal. There was nothing to the cut, and it would not have been an issue for her, if she didn't know that that is how her body healed itself. It had been almost a half-hour since she cut herself and the wound should have been nothing more than a faint scar by now. With all this knowledge she deduced that she was now mortal, and knowing that, she knew she could die.
A horrible sinking feeling hit her stomach and her heart beat sped up three fold.
------
"So, mom, dad," the Emperor began, pacing up and down in front of his parents, who were bound to chairs and gagged, "I take it you still haven't figured out who I am yet. Well, doesn't surprise me, I always knew you were fools."
He bent down to look into his mothers' face, "I! Am your son. Well, half of him anyway. I'm the sick, sadistic, evil side of your dear sweet child prodigy, Ken Ichijouji! The side you thought your innocent little boy never had. Well take a good look at me, 'cause I'm gonna tell you all about myself."
Mr. Ichijouji made a muffled attempt at disbelief.
"What's that insect? You don't believe me? Well how's this for proof?"
With those words spoken, the Emperor shifted and his clothes changed to the usual gray uniform of which Ken used to wear when he was in school. His hair relaxed into the new style Ken cut his hair in (slightly longer than chin length, but off his shoulders), the only difference between the two halves, was their eyes. This Ken's eyes were cold and dark, while the kinder side of Ken had innocent, warm eyes.
Mrs. Ichijouji gasped at the sight of this young man in front of her. The Emperor was about to say something when a crash was heard from Ken's old room and the door flung open, to reveal Ken.
"Leave them alone!" he yelled.
"I don't think I will, thanks." And the Emperor proceeded to toss a ball of energy at Ken, which hit him in the chest. Ken, already weak fell to the ground, while for some reason, the Emperor screamed out in pain and clutched his chest. Angered he picked up Ken's feet and dragged him to a chair and began to tie him up.
------
"We're almost there." Daemon stated.
Yolei looked at Davis's face; "Do you think he's okay?"
Davis didn't dare look at Ken's girlfriends' face. He knew if he did, he would break down in front of her and right now he had to be strong not only for her, Ken and the rest of the team, but for himself too.
"I know he is, Yolei, Ken's strong, he'll put up a fight."
Yolei nodded to herself, not at all comforted by what Davis had just told her, because like him self, she knew that he was only saying that to make her feel better. Kari put a hand on her shoulder to reassure her, and Yolei smiled gratefully.
Davis's mind had drifted off somewhere else entirely. To the day when Ken had bought a gold diamond ring. It was simple but stunningly beautiful. The stone wasn't huge and flashy, but just big enough to sparkle in the light. He was beaming and glowing as much as the ring was when he showed it to Davis.
"I have it all planned," Ken began, "I'm going to take her to her favorite restaurant. Since I know the chef, he has agreed to help me out. He's going to put the ring in her favorite desert, Chocolate Moose. She loves desert. Then she'll find the ring and I'll propose. I can't wait to see her face! Do you think she'll like the ring?"
Davis smiled widely at his best friend; "She'll love it. I'm so happy for you guys Ken!"
"Thanks." And Ken proceeded to hide the little velvet box in the back of his draw.
'I just hope you live to see that day Ken.' Davis thought to himself.
------
"Sorceress." Mae breathed, and before any rational thoughts hit her, she turned around and ran. She ran for her life down that long dark corridor, up a flight of stairs and along another corridor, which was brightly, lit, to a room that was evidently her alter egos' bedroom. She ran to the window and looked down. It was rather high up but not high enough to kill her if she jumped.
The Sorceress sprinted after her and into her room. She spotted her by the window and smirked, "You wouldn't dare jump."
"Oh really?" Mae said lowly.
"No, 'cause I'll kill you before you get the chance!" and she threw a large black ball of energy at Mae.
Mae leaped from the window, but not before getting hit in the small of her back by the dark magick. She screamed a piercing cry before she landed hard on her front and lay there in a mass of pain before she passed out.
------
Pacing back and forth in front of the Ichijouji family, the Emperor had removed the gags from Mr. and Mrs. Ichijouji so they could be the right audience and gasp in all the right places. But he had left Ken's on, so he could not defend himself.
"Okay Ken, where do you think I should start?" He smirked and looked directly at his parents, "Ah, yes, lets start with Osamu's death. You're gonna love this mama and papa, 'cause I'm the one who killed your favorite son!"
Their eyes widened as tears filled Ken's and he shook his head desperately.
------
"We are so sorry to do this to you, but it is the only way to save him." The three 'people' stated to the young man in front of them, "He is willing to give up his life but there is much for him to do. You of all people should understand and you are the only person who can convince him."
"I understand."
The young woman of the Light Masters smiled down at the youth, "Thank you Osamu."
------
(A/N)
Okay, I've decided to add the chapters together because they were so irritatingly short! I can't get over how short I used to write the chapters. Anyway, this means the story (chapter wise) will be cut in half. This isn't such a bad thing because I realized that I'm going away on holiday soon and wouldn't be able to put out a chapter every Sunday. So this in mind, I might be putting up a chapter twice a week, so check back every now and then to see if I have.
Oh yes, I should add I've gone back and fixed a small problem with the other chapters. I forgot to change the title of the story in the second, third and fourth chapters. This story used to be called, "Sins of the Past", but later I changed it to "Two Faces, One Mask". I can't believe I forgot to change that!