Fairytales in the Underworld

Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon. I also don't own the poem "Ulalume," by Edgar Poe. The chapter titles come from the poem "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" by the Chinese poet Po Chu-i.

Note: takes place a few weeks after Gloom.

Chapter 1: Blue Clouds

The skies they were ashen and sober;
The leaves they were crisped and sere--
The leaves they were withering and sere;
It was night in the lonesome October
Of my most immemorial year;
It was hard by the dim lake of Auber,
In the misty mid region of Weir--
It was down by the dank tarn of Auber,
In the ghoul-haunted woodland of Weir.

The rock on which Ken's footsteps fell was grey, with dark green grass growing in the crevices. Dark grey clouds covered the sky.

Years ago, in an effort to ease his nightmares, Ken had learned some techniques of lucid dreaming, but he had never tried this before. He used to see his anima—the female aspect of his subconscious—in his dreams as a coping mechanism to the psychological trauma and guilt he had after his reign as the Digimon Emperor, but those dreams stopped long ago. Tonight he was trying to bring her back.

"Psyche," he called softly.

A dark shape appeared, like a shadow of a woman whose dress flickered in the wind. "It's been a long time. Why do you call me?"

"I'm afraid..."

"Of what?"

"There's someone," he said slowly. "I love her. I'm in love with her. I'm afraid..."

"To tell her?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure. I know it's cliché, but I'm afraid of hurting our friendship. I've felt this way about her for years. I need to tell her. I can't stand not telling her, but..." he waved his hand around at the barren landscape. "My soul looks like this. Hers is bright, sunny, full of life."

Psyche whispered, "When you see her do you think 'Thou wast all that to me, Love'?"

Ken nodded. "Today was the anniversary of Sam's death."

"You lost Sam, you lost Wormmon, and you're afraid of losing her."

"Yes. But it's too late. She is too much to me. I think I would hurt more if I lose her without her knowing. I almost lost her not long ago, and I felt like I was dying inside."

"Does she make you smile?"

Ken looked down at his hands. He was holding an amethyst geode. "You knew I would love her?" he asked.

"From the moment you first saw her. At the time you were too preoccupied to realize it."

"Then how can I tell her?"

"Don't worry; that is going to be taken care of. What you need to worry about now is keeping her and yourself alive."

"What do you mean?"

Psyche faded away without answering.

Ken awoke in the dark of early morning feeling vaguely uneasy, and thinking of Yolei and Sam.