1Despairing Darkness
By: Angel Of Darkness
Chapter 5 - " Control,"
" Are you ready to surrender?"
Ken Ichijouji smirked as the Digi-Destend stood in front of him. For over several months, he and the Digi-Destend had a series of conflicts, ones he had lost. But not this time. For weeks, he had been planning a plan, forming a flawless creature that would without a doubt destroy them. Kimeramon had already caused havoc all over the Digital World, destroying everything in his path. The only thing standing in his way were those kids. Once he got rid of them, everything would work out perfectly. Soon he would rule The Digital World.
" Not a chance, Ken! I think some of your hair spray must have leaked through into your brain again!" Davis stepped forward, fists clenched, eager for a fight. Ken growled.
" My name is The Digimon Emperor! Not Ken!" he snapped, clenching his whip in a closed fist. Davis was about to respond when Yolei stepped forward.
" And another thing, who said it was all right for you to go out and make a Digimon anyway?"
Cody stood near Yolei's side. " Yeah, do you think you're doctor Frankenstien or something, creating monsters for your own cruel pleasure? Kimeramon is not the monster, Ken, you are."
Rage surged through him. How dare some little child speak to the new ruler of the Digital World like that? His clenched fist wanted to release, to hurt the Digi-Destend and keep on hurting them until they left the Digital World for him to take, but the Blonde stepped forward, the boy whom he hadn't gotten into a fight with not long ago and glared at him while pointing an hand back to the small Digimon that were behind him.
" Look at them, are they trying to hurt you?" he asked, gaining a hissing growl from Ken, " they're not your toys for some kind of sick game, they're alive! They're not just data in a computer, they're living creatures like you and I!"
Ken's eyes widened. Alive? But he always thought...
" You're Digi-Destend, too, just like us. You have a responsibility to both worlds. Like Wormmon, he's your friend and not someone you should kick around." Kari explained, casting a look to Wormmon who was on the floor from the impact of the whip Ken had hit him with. Ken took a look back to his Digimon. The little insect looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.
" Master..."
Ken looked down at him with a softened expression. " There's only one digimon who's suitible enough for me..."
Wormmon looked up higher, hopeful, that Ken would come back to him. However, his efforts were in vain.
" And that's Kimeramon!" Ken screamed.
The created Digimon began to blast around the base, soon dismantling the walls. Ken now knew Kimeramon was out of control. He turned to the Digi-destend before fleeing.
" Don't feel too proud that you destroyed my home base because you are going down with it!"
He turned and fled with Wormmon on his heels. Davis clenched a fist.
" Wait, Ken, we want to help you!"
The battle between Kimeramon and Magnamon continued back and forth, Kimeramon now gaining the upper hand with a vice like grip on Magnamon. This made Ken happy to say the least.
" That's it! Let him have it, Kimeramon!"
Wormmon sat in front of Ken on their winged servant. " You can do it, Magnamon."
Ken's expression hardened. " SILENCE!"
The anger he had felt welled up until it reached an unleashing point. The whip left his hand, soon striking Wormmon on the back. The Digimon let out a soft whimper.
" I hope you're finally proud of yourself..."
Ken's eyes, once filled with shock at his actions, hardened into an unsympathetic gaze and he let out a frustrated growl.
" You've become worse than the monster's you created..."
Wormmon's body turned, revealing a tear-stained face, his Blue eyes filled with pain.
" What ever happened to that sweet kid I met a long time ago who had a dream to take over the Digital World? Okay, it was a sick and twisted dream, but still we had a lot of laughs together..."
tears ran down his face. " what ever happened to the boy I was proud to call 'master'? But of course, you made me call you that..."
Wormmon now turned and faced Ken as his eyes narrowed in anger and disgust.
" You've changed, Ken, but it's not too late for you. For some reason you started capturing Digimon and you turned them into your slaves instead of into your friends. I didn't agree, but I stood by your side because I was your Digimon."
Wormmon choked on his words, overcome by grief. This was his last shot. He had to get Ken back.
" And then... you started being cruel to me... the one who knows the true you. The others may know and fear you as The Digimon Emperor... but never forget that I know the real you.."
A light began to emanate from the tiny Digimon, shocking Ken. The whip fell from his hands. Magnamon lifted his head up, confused by what was going on.
" I'll always think of you for your kindness, Ken, no matter what happens. I hope one day you'll see that the real Ken isn't The Digimon Emperor... but the Ken that's my friend!"
The light began to grow stronger as Wormmon continued. The Digi-egg of miracles had been his last shot. He had made the wish Ken would realize the truth... he just hoped it worked.
" And only a real friend would do this!" Wormmon sprang forward, head-butting him. Ken hit the ground with a thud. Wormmon let out a hopeful cry before he was blasted off of the winged Digimon by Kimeramon.
" Please, Magnamon, save Ken for me!"
Ken's eyes widened in shock as the Digi-Destend explained to him what he had been doing. After the defeat, Ken had told them that he was going to delete all of the Digital World data off his computer and re-create a new program, but that wasn't possible. The Digital World was real. The boy looked up towards Demi-Veemon who was now in his in-training form.
" You've constantly been abusing Digimon ever since you claimed to be The Digimon Emperor." Davis said, holding the small Blue Digimon close to his chest.
Memories flashed in Ken's head. " I had no idea... what have I done? I thought my dark rings were a stroke of genius. I never realized I was causing pain. I made them work for me tirelessly without ever giving them a break, and I was cruel to them beyond imagination..." Ken ran his hands through his hair, pulling at it in horror at himself. " I'm a monster, I can't believe what I've done!"
" Boss, we're losing control over him. The Dark Spore is starting to stop working! What do we do?"
The woman turned to her boss in panic. The man's eyes narrowed.
" If the spore is starting to stop working, then we're in trouble. There's no way we can re-gain control. He's going to start thinking clearly on his own. We can't do anything now but let it happen." He sat back in his computer chair.
' I thought he was too unstable to fight back. He's stronger than I thought. Hmm. Well, let him defy me. I'm just going to have to think of something else...'
" What have I done!"
Ken let out a choking sob, ripping the costume of the Emperor off of him. His mind was going haywire. He could feel the pain in his neck starting, trying to overpower him, but the pain was too much in his heart. The pain of causing so much agony to Digimon everywhere. He fell into the sandy area, the smooth dirt feeling hard and rocky to him. The world felt unbearable. The costume disintergrated, leaving Ken battered and broken on the ground.
" Wormmon!"
Ken's head lifted as Kari called his Digimon's name. " Wormmon?" He slowly got to his feet, staggering as he did. He almost fell over from the enormous amount of pain in his heart. Wormmon was lying ahead of him, being cared for by Gatomon. Ken stopped directly in front of him, looking on helplessly. Wormmon lifted his head and smiled. His miracle had worked. The light in Ken's eyes had returned. He had fought the darkness.
" You've returned to your old self, I knew you could do it, Ken."
Ken shook his head. " I'm sorry, it's too late for me."
Wormmon denied it. " it's never too late to be sorry."
Davis agreed. " Wormmon's absolutely right, Ken." His hand opened, revealing a small, pink-like object fly out of it and into the air towards Ken. Ken looked on confused as it began to fall directly in front of him. T.K explained it as The Crest Of Kindness.
" But why is it coming to me?" Ken asked, unsure of why he would need it. He had been so cruel.
Wormmon smiled slightly. " Because it belongs to you, Ken. It's the Crest Of Kindness."
" There must be some mistake, I've been anything but kind.." Ken denied the offer of the crest.
Gatomon explained that Wizardmon had told them of that and Ken must be the key to unlocking the golden radiants. It had to belong to him, otherwise the Digi-Egg of Miracles wouldn't have worked.
" I told you that deep inside you were kind.." Wormmon smiled again.
Ken's knees gave out as he kneeled down to Wormmon and held him in his arms. " Wormmon... I'm sorry... don't go. You're my best friend..."
Tears filled the little worm's eyes. " You're my best friend, too. Goodbye, Ken."
His eyes closed, then he vanished from Ken's arms, the data dispersing into the air.
Ken went numb as his hands were left holding empty air, eyes widened in shock.
" Wormmon, no..."
" He's gone, Ken.." T.K announced, wincing. He remembered when he had lost Angemon and how that had felt.
" He.Can't.Be." Ken protested.
Memories flooded his head, memories of a certain boy, older than him, flying into the air with a loud groan. " Not again.." Ken whispered. The flashback came into his head, then, images of Osamu lying helplessly on the ground, missing a shoe and his glasses thrown off to the side. He saw himself as a child, looking on with horror at the scene and the car. And the woman. Osamu. The woman. The car. Osamu, the woman, the car. It came back all too fast. Ken sank to the ground in utter agony. " Wormmon's gone. Just like my brother. I was helpless to save him and now I can't save Wormmon either." Sobs escaped his eyes. " Why do I keep losing people? I came to The Digital World to get away from all of those feelings, but I just can't escape.." Choking sobs wracked his body, the others looking on his sadness. Davis thought of Ken's parents and how much they missed him. They were still waiting for him.
" Hey. There's still people who love you." Davis said, trying somehow to comfort him after he had just lost one of the most important people in his life. Ken stood on wobbly legs and spoke to them with a hoarse voice.
" I gotta go.."
They sighed sadly as Ken began to walk off. Davis called to him.
" Don't walk away from your problems, let us help you, Ken!"
Ken's sobs made it impossible for him to hear Davis as he headed back to the Digi-port. Davis called back in another vain attempt to reach Ken. " You're Digi-Destend. Join us!"
But Ken was gone. Cody looked on sadly.
" I wonder where he's going. I hope he'll be okay..."
" Well, that plan has gone down the drain," the woman groaned as she turned to her boss in frustration. " just when we had the Digital World so deliciously destroyed too, that little brat has to turn on us."
The man smirked. " Don't worry, just yet. We will take domination over The Digital World. Look on the bright side. He did what we needed him to do. The control spires are built. It will take time, though. Now," he continued, catching the sight of the woman's face, " I think we need to speak with our little traitor. I trust the boy will be returning home soon. You know what I want you to do. If he happens to get in your way, don't hesitate to stop him. He will pay one way or another for betraying us. I'll make sure of it. Now go."
The woman nodded. " Yes, sir. Right away."
She headed out the door. Once she was out of sight, the man folded his hands and placed them under his chin, deep in thought. The Dark Spores didn't seem to be as powerful as he thought they had been. Years of training the boy had been a failed plan. And it had all been for Ken's own good. The boy had wanted so badly to be noticed and loved. Now he was. But he had ruined it. With the Dark Spore no longer growing, his intellect and athletic ability would decrease. The man smirked. Maybe he still did need Ken...
