"Two Faces, One Mask"
6. 'Things unknown'
"Life is something set to music
I can hear it when I'm sad.
There's a chord in every muscle,
Every kiss you ever had.
There's a power when you're near me
In our heads or in our bones.
I know nothing, but I'm guessing
When we die we're not alone."
'Not only human' Heather Nova
"Did you guys hear that?" TK questioned with a deep frown on his face.
"Yeah." Muttered Veemon, "It sounded like it came from that direction." The little blue Digimon pointed ahead and just to the left of them.
Gennai took off running, yelling behind him, "That sounded like Mae screaming!"
The group followed the Guardian, running past Daemon and coming to a clearing, in which a large white castle stood and Mae lay, bleeding on the ground, unmoving. Gennai dropped to his knees, panicked and bent down, so his face was inches from hers.
"Please," he whispered, "please be alive."
To his utter amazement she stirred, but did not regain consciousness.
Kari gasped and her hand flew to her mouth.
"What happened to her Gennai?" Gatomon asked, while coming closer to the two.
"I can answer that." A seductive voice called from behind them. She stood tall, her jet-black dress billowing gently in the breeze, exposing her long, slender legs a little and playing with her long red auburn hair. Her ruby red lips stretched into a grin as she sauntered over to her fallen counterpart.
Gennai was on his feet and without thinking, or considering that she was, though however powerful or evil she may be, a woman, grabbed her by the neck and pulled her to his face.
He growled, "What the hell did you do to her?"
Easily breaking free from Gennai's grasp, she never stopped grinning, and never took her eyes off Gennai. She licked her lips seductively and raised her eyebrow, while scratching his chin with one of her long crimson fingernails.
"You know Gennai, I can tell why she loves you so. You're strong and quite powerful, not to mention," she let her other hand run down his back and rest on his buttocks, "you have the nicest ass I have ever seen."
Enraged, and feeling a little violated, he thrust his hand forward and knocked her back. Caught off guard, she fell to the dusty ground. In an instant she was back on her feet and almost as angry as Gennai. No one rejected the Sorceress.
"Get out of my sight your filthy goody-two-shoes! And take your good-for-nothing lover with you! She'll die soon enough anyway and I have no need for you."
"What about us?" Ladydevimon emerged from the Forrest along with Devimon towering over her.
"What about you?" she spat.
"We wish to join your side." Ladydevimon hid the fact that she was slightly insulted by the question.
The Sorceress's deep green orbs bore into the two standing in front of her. They had forgotten one major power that their former master and creator possessed, that being telepathy.
She hissed at them, "You wish to act as spies for Daemon, nothing more and I have no need for untrustworthy slaves!"
In seconds, the two powerful Digimon were reduced to nothing but data that dispersed on the wind.
"Fools." She muttered.
The group looked to each other, taken aback by the sudden destruction of her own Digimon. She had simply hovered a blue flame in the palm of her hand, added some of the digimon's essence and added that to the flame. As the flame turned to red, the digimon had been destroyed. It was as simple as that.
"We should get out of here." Cody urged quietly.
"That's a really good idea." Hawkmon agreed.
"We can't go yet!" Yolei protested, "We haven't got Ken back yet!"
"They're right Yolei," Gennai stated sadly, "we should go now, before we are all destroyed."
Davis and Yolei exchanged looks and finally nodded in agreement.
The Sorceress, who had not taken her eyes off the entrance of the forest the whole time, suddenly called out; "You can come out now Daemon."
The large Dark Lord Digimon stepped guiltily out the lush foliage. It was a mark as to just how powerful the Sorceress was. Even a powerful digimon such as Daemon cowered at her very presence.
"What do you want?" she growled.
"Ken. That is all I wish."
She rolled her eyes and waved her hand.
"He's in the real world, he escaped a few minutes ago. Something about the Emperor going after his parents. I heard Mae thinking about it before I blew her out of the window."
The group glanced at each other again and without a word ran to the nearest television set they could find. The Sorceress obviously couldn't be bothered going after them. They were clearly not important enough for her efforts, which if they had time to think about it, was something to worry about.
------
"Oh yes, you had no idea did you?"
The Emperor stood tall in front of his 'parents'.
"You made me feel like nothing! Like I wasn't even alive! No, you loved Osamu more than you ever loved me! I hated you for it and I hated him for it too! I was a kind and gentle person, but that wasn't enough for you, was it? I had to be some kind of super genius for you to notice me!"
Mrs. Ichijouji interrupted him with tears in her eyes, "Ken, we're-"
"Shut up! I'm not done here, and you will call me Master!" he hit her across the face, making both Ken and his father fight against their bonds.
"I wished for him to be gone! And it happened! I was all you had left, but it still wasn't good enough for you. You still didn't see me there right in front of you. So I became him for you! This is me mama and papa! Your creation! You're perfect child! But I became too smart for anyone here and you didn't love me the way parents should. I was just some kind of medal to you, bringing you glory and fame. So I left! I ran away from you! And do you know where I went?"
He turned to Ken with a smirk. This was it, this was what Ken had been dreading. He was about to tell his own parents his deepest shame; his acts as the Emperor in the Digital world.
The Emperor turned back and began speaking to his parents.
"I went to the Digital world. And this is what I became. This is who I was."
He morphed back into his Emperor outfit, complete with Osamu's hairstyle and the visors that hid his cold eyes.
"Take a good long look at the most evil thing in the Digital world."
Mrs. Ichijouji gasped again and sobbed, "Osamu?"
"No, Mama! Not Osamu! Ken! This is your youngest and only son, Ken Ichijouji! Get that through your thick skull you fool! You should have seen me in that world. I was fantastic. You would have been proud papa." He mocked his father with his patronizing tone. "I put up evil control spires and captured so many slaves to do all my dirty work for me. I drained them of any energy they had. Beat them, kicked them, whipped them, even forced them to fight each other, all for my personal pleasure."
A sick sadistic grin came to his features at the sweet memories. "I even killed some. Not to mention Wormmon. Foolish insect gave up his life to 'save' me. He apparently loved me for who I was, even though this was who I was! Not like you! I had to be someone else for you to love me. I hate you. Do you hear me? I HATE YOU!"
Ken fought harder against his bonds and tried to chew threw his gag.
"What's that Ken? Have something to add?"
The Emperor ripped the piece of cloth from Ken's mouth.
"You do have feelings." Ken said as calmly as he could.
"Of course I do! Who told you that I didn't? Mind you, the only feelings I have are hate, anger, and cruelty."
"You're not completely evil." Ken breathed.
"Ha! Hate to break it to you Kenny-boy, but I am."
"No, I don't think you are. If you feel sad and unloved, you can't be all that bad."
"Wanna test that theory?" He growled as he grabbed a knife from the counter and held it at his mother's throat.
"DON'T!" Ken screamed, "Okay! Fine! You're evil, you proved a point, now let them go."
A cruel smirk came to the corner of Emperor's mouth, "You know I love seeing you sweat."
He pressed a bit harder on the flesh, the cold steal pressing to the skin.
"Stop!"
"Ken, you don't have to do this!" His father yelled, "We're sorry for how we made you feel, we've been through this. We were wrong-"
"Shut up old man!" the Emperor growled and backhanded him; "I don't want to hear it. You don't know pain. You don't know suffering. You have no idea what it's like to exist only to be forced to not exist. You created me, Ken created me and the Dark Spore created me! But all this time, I've been forced to hide away from the world, like I was dead! It's your turn to feel that!"
He moved back to his mother and pressed down harder on his mother's flesh and to the horror of Ken and his father, was about to slit her throat.
A tall figure slightly older than Ken, with Spiked violet hair and gold rimmed glasses, grabbed the Emperor's hand and twisted it back, forcing him to drop the knife.
Ken, Mr. Ichijouji, Mrs. Ichijouji and the Emperor looked at the figure, shocked.
"You." Hissed the Emperor.
"Me." Osamu replied flippantly and punched the Emperor in the face.
-------
"How is she?" Davis asked Gennai as they got to a port.
Gennai forced down tears, "I don't - I don't think she's going to…"
Davis dropped his head to his chest, Yolei was looking very solemn, but anxious to go. Gennai seemed to pick up on this.
"Go." He told them, "I'll stay with her. You need to find Ken before Daemon does."
Kari nodded wordlessly and they were sucked through the portal to the real world, to Ken and Yolei's apartment.
------
Gennai stroked back Mae's short brown hair. She was cold and very pale; a slight fever caused a sweat on her brow. Looking down on her, he began to cry. She was dying and would be gone from him forever in a matter of seconds. There was nothing he could do. She was mortal now and not even his powers could heal her. She, ironically was the healer. What would he do without her? She had been there for years with him. Centuries. And now he would be alone for the rest of his long life.
Blood stained the earth she lay on and he lifted her up onto his lap, like a rag doll. Blood trickled from her mouth and her chest that had been rising and lowering ever so slightly stopped rising and lowering all together. She was gone. His face changed to a red hue and his eyes swelled with tears that ran down his cheeks. His shoulders shook with his sobs and he held her close to him.
"I love you." He whispered to her as she slowly disappeared into data.
She would never hear those words, for elsewhere she was lying, in the position she had died in, bathed in a white spotlight. Before the still form was a court of three 'people' in white; one female and two male. They spoke as one.
"Mae."
The girl before them, a bloody mess of her former self did not stir.
"Mae." They repeated, and this time she did stir. Her eyes fluttered open very slowly and she lay there, a bit dazed and confused.
"Mae." The woman only said, in her young but mature voice.
Mae turned her head to look at the three looking down on her. She swallowed with what seemed to be some difficulty and very slowly, very painfully sat up. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, as if trying to make the room stop spinning. She opened them again, and in a choked voice asked, "What happened?"
"You died." They all informed her as one. "You were mortal and the Sorceress killed you."
"Then why am I here? Shouldn't I be in the place of rest?"
"We brought you here, Mae. It was not your time."
"I don't have a time. I do not die, not under normal circumstances."
"No you do not. But now you have the option."
"Option?" Mae was beginning to get her strength back and her old fiery self was showing in her voice.
"You have the option to chose weather or not you wish to stay dead or go back. We understand how much you hated being immortal, we also understand that there were many reasons for you to stay alive."
Mae choked a little and got to her feet. She was no longer in pain.
"Gennai." She breathed.
"Among others."
"I should go back."
"For who Mae? For you? Or for him?"
"I love Gennai and he-"
"That was not of whom we spoke."
"Then who-?" but she didn't need them to say it aloud, for they had read her mind. However they still spoke his name.
"Ken Ichijouji."
"Ken?" Mae mumbled, she looked up at the three, "You're wrong!"
"You deny your love for him?"
"I love Ken like a Guardian should. My feelings for him run no deeper."
Only the woman spoke now, "Your feelings for him are not wrong Mae. They are understandable. You two are connected, you share a bond, it was only a matter of time when you would finally realize you love him like a lover would."
Mae huffed and ground her teeth in anger. Anger with her self for letting her feelings go this far. Ken belonged to another and so did she. Who was she to step between Yolei and Ken's happiness as well as break Gennai's heart? Gennai, but she still loved him too. Then what was this confusion she felt? Why did she feel the way she did for Ken when she still loved Gennai?
She looked up at them again, "Why do I feel this way? It is wrong! He could never love me!"
The young woman smiled with her pale lips, "Love is never wrong. It is love only. And if you could still read Ken's thoughts, you would see that you are not the only one who is having these feelings and thoughts of confusion."
Mae frowned and tried to decipher what exactly the Light Master had just told her. Could it be that Ken indeed did feel this way for her?
------
The Emperor lay motionless on the carpet by Mr. Ichijouji's feet. Ken was vaguely aware of the throbbing pain he was feeling in his right eye while he stared up at his brother. Osamu was looking down at Ken's alter ego, massaging his fist, "Guess I'm stronger than I thought."
"'Samu," Ken choked out.
He spun to start untying his brother and then moved over to his parents.
"Sorry Kenny-boy, my timing could have been better, but the Light Masters only just called me from paradise."
"Osamu? Is that really you?" his mother asked with tears rolling down her cheeks.
Once finished untying the Ichijouji family, he stood a pace backwards and bowed his head.
"Yes mama, it's me."
"How…?" his father was peering at Osamu unable to believe what he was seeing.
"Well," he turned his head to look at Ken for a moment, "after the prophecy with Ebonwumon, I was free to move on, and the Light Masters let me go the realm of paradise where I became who I would have been if I had not died."
Ken bowed his head in shame.
"I guess I'm around the age of twenty-three, I think. They called on me again to help you Ken. They said that you are dy-"
"I'm fine Osamu!" he quickly interjected.
His parents had already just found out all the horrible things he had done in his youth, all his worst secrets that he had purposely kept from them, he did not want them knowing that he was dying as well.
"I don't believe it!" Mrs. Ichijouji gasped and ran forward to hug her oldest son; "I don't believe it." She sobbed into his shoulder.
Mr. Ichijouji joined in the hug and choked back his sobs, "Son. My son is back."
Osamu broke apart from them, "Not forever. I'm just here to help Ken."
Ken was sitting in a chair in the corner looking away from his family.
"Why?" Mrs. Ichijouji asked, "Is he in some kind of danger? Is it something to do with the Digital world?"
"Well, he-"
Ken stood up quickly, "Osamu, could I see you in our old room for a minute?"
He blinked at his brother and nodded, but Mr. Ichijouji held Osamu back by putting out his arm.
"Now wait just a minute. If you are in some kind of trouble Ken, I think we should know about it."
"Please papa, this is none on your concern." Ken urged.
"None on my concern? Ken you're my son! Of course this is my concern!"
"It's complicated and I don't want you to get involved…"
"Just like you didn't involve us in your life all those years ago?"
He bore into his son's eyes, and Ken wanted nothing more than to look away, "Ken, you've kept so much from us. So many secrets, and this is how we had to find out." He pointed down to the still form of the Emperor, "How are we going to find out about this one? When you're in hospital, or worse, dead?"
"Stop it!" Ken yelled, "You wanna know what's going on? I'm not even sure what's going on! But Daemon wants revenge on me, my soul has been split in two and I'm dying!"
Ken shouted this with tears in his eyes, tears of frustration and shame, "I'm dying and I don't even know if I care."
He fell into the chair again and held his head in his hands.
"And that's why I'm here." Osamu said mildly, "To help you discover why you must live Ken."
Their mother rushed over to Ken and put a warm hand on his back, "Oh Ken…I'm so sorry, I'm so…"
Ken got up abruptly, "No I'm the one who should be sorry. Sorry for keeping all that from you, but I was just so ashamed of myself and I thought if you knew what I did, you…you would hate me."
"Ken," his father started, "we could never hate you, no matter what you did."
Ken stared at them all and quietly moved to his room where Osamu followed.
The violet haired young man closed the door behind him. Ken's room was almost just how he had left it. He stood quietly under his bunk bed and waited for his brother's speech. But none came.
"They know." Ken finally said quietly.
"I know." Osamu answered from his place at the door. "And it's okay."
"No, it's not." Ken shook his head slowly, "How did things get so mixed up Osamu?"
"You're only one person Ken, not perfect and doing the best you can. You love Yolei and she loves you. You have Davis and mama and papa not to mention Wormmon. Ken you can't give up. There are too many people who love you and need you. Besides, without you, the Digital world would suffer."
"I never asked for this."
"And do you think I asked for this?"
Osamu spread his arms wide to show himself clearly. "We have a destiny Ken, and while we might not like where we are at one point in our lives, we have to deal with it and move on, 'cause sooner or later we will get our reward for sticking with it. I've seen your future Ken, and it's bright and warm, you're happy, truly happy! I'm not supposed to tell you this, but you need to know Ken, because I saw a warped version of what the future could be without you. Yolei? She never gets over you, never. And she finds every jerk she possibly could and ends up killed by one who was a drunk. Davis? He becomes a bitter old man, who rejects any friendship offered to him. Why? Because he's afraid of letting anyone get close because he's afraid something bad will happen and he or she will leave. He loses all his faith in everything. The others are never the same, they lost hope and faith in both worlds, thinking that no matter how hard or much you try to make things right, it's pointless 'cause eventually you will lose, so why bother?"
"Stop lying to me!" Ken yelled, "They would never think like that!"
"Really Ken? You'd be surprised."
"Well I-"Ken broke off to turn to the sliding door at his balcony, a frown etched on his face.
"What?"
"I heard something." He walked cautiously to the door and opened it. He looked left and right but nothing was there. He turned back to Osamu, "Where's the Emperor?"
Osamu's eyes widened and he quickly flung open the door and rushed to the living room where his parents stood contemplating the Emperor still on the floor.
Ken turned quickly and regretted it. He swayed on the spot and felt his vision go blurry. He sat down on his chair at his deck and waited for the dizzy spell to end. A wave of nausea hit him and he slowly rose to his feet again. He walked to the living room and looked down at the Emperor.
"He's faking it."
Osamu looked at him, "Are you sure? How do you know?"
"I just do."
He bent down next to the Emperor's ear and whispered in a low growl, "Get up."
The Emperor turned his head and smiled sadistically at Ken as he rose to his feet. He morphed his clothes and they changed into the exact outfit Ken was wearing. The two were identical, expect the Emperor's eyes were somewhat cold and hard. The Emperor swayed a bit as well and frowned at Ken as he put a hand on the wall to steady himself.
"We need to talk." Ken stated.
"About what?" he scoffed, "How you're going to stop me before I can achieve taking over the Digital world?"
"No about you dying." Ken was very blunt with him. As far as he was concerned there was nothing he'd like more than to see him die, but he needed him, as much as he hated to admit it.
"You're going to kill me? That's rich Kenny-boy."
Osamu scowled at him and snatched his wrist and yanked it hard, "Listen to him." He snarled.
"We are both dying. One half of the soul can't live without the other, within this week, we'll be dead if we don't join up again."
"Well then make sure it's a good week Ken, 'cause there's no way in hell I'm joining up with you again."
"Are you sure about-" Ken was cut off by a figure who had just stepped into the living room.
He was tall and robed in a crimson cloak, with evil eyes glinting in a dark hood.
"Just the men I was looking for." Daemon sneered.
------
"Drive faster Yolei!" Davis moaned.
"Davis! Stop being a back seat driver! We won't be able to help Ken if we're dead!" Kari yelled.
He huffed and sat back in his seat. "Fine."
Yolei swerved the car around a corner and parked in front of the gray Tamachi building. They poured out of the white car and headed for the elevator.
Wormmon was in Yolei's arms, praying to him self, "Please oh, please let Ken be okay."
------
"He is in love with Yolei." Mae pleaded with them.
Things would be so much simpler if he did not return her feelings. She could easily move on and be happy with Gennai.
"As you are in love with the Guardian. You're hearts yearn for something else."
"But in the prophecy, when the Sorceress and Emperor were to consummate, it was wrong, they would bring great darkness. Why is it now right for Ken and I to be…"
"Understand, that the Emperor and Sorceress were not in love, they felt lust for each other and their bond was nothing but a selfish desire. Your love for Ken and his love for you is a spiritual connection. Now Mae, Guardian of the Crest of Kindness, do you wish to go back?"
"I-I, do not know."
------
Miles into the Digital world desert thousands of Digimon were working hard on an odd shaped building. It matched the sand and rocks of its canyon surroundings, except for the parts that were metal. The Sorceress stood on a cliff, her black dress billowing in the wind, and smiled, "I think the Emperor will be very pleased with his welcome home gift. It's almost exactly the same as his old base."
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(A/N)
Okay, sorry I didn't get a chapter out last week, I was really busy with studying and no one read or reviewed the last chapter anyway, but apparently FFN was down anyway, so that would explain it. Anyway, I have some bad news. I'm going away for five weeks and I can't take my laptop with me, which bites big time. That means, I won't be able to update for five weeks. I'm so sorry to make you wait, but I hope you'll think it was worth it.
I do remember you KOI Seracus, I really appreciated your review because you had some criticism that I could work with in order to improve my writing. I am very aware of their speech now, so I hope I've improved it. Thank you.