Disclaimer: I don't own Digimon.
A/N: Okay, in Chapter 100 one of the digimon will digivolve, but I will let you all know that Glowmon won't until Capter 102 or 103. That's it for now!
Chapter 99: Stabbed in the Back
Ken Ichijouji
Cyber, Western Hemisphere, Digital World
Ken Ichijouji held his son tightly against his side and stared at the crests in complete, utter shock and astonishment. Although Izzy had pretty much confirmed their existence already, he still could not believe what he was seeing. He knew his own crest had been placed under Gennai's protection, but the others were supposed to have disappeared into the atmosphere of the Digital World more than twenty-five years ago.
I don't understand. How were Gennai and the others able to bring them back into existence?
"Look, they're so beautiful," Takara whispered, gazing at the crests in awe. "That red one with the heart on it belongs to my mom, right?"
"That's right," Davis replied, grinning at the expression on Takara's face.
Ryoko slowly crossed the room and gently placed his hand on the Crest of Sincerity. "This one belongs to my mom, and that one over there belongs to my dad. I know because Agumon gave us a detailed description of the crests when we met him at Primary Village."
"That's right," Takara said quietly. "Aren't they amazing?"
Dai smiled at the female Digidestined, and they both turned to look at the Crest of Courage. "I guess they are pretty amazing, aren't they."
"They're glowing," Sam whispered, "just like our Digivices."
Ken glanced anxiously at Sam's pale face, and he let out a sigh of relief when he realized his son was actually smiling. Sam had been acting rather strange ever since they had entered the castle, but the presence of the crests, which did not have the same kind of connection to the Powers of Darkness as everything else in the castle, had apparently lifted his spirits a little bit, and he no longer looked and acted as if the darkness was out to get him. His deep blue eyes were focused intently on the Crest of Kindness, and the look on his face suggested he had finally found peace after enduring a long battle with a faceless enemy only he could see.
I am the source of all my son's pain. Will he ever be free of my past?
"Dad, can...can I hold it?"
Ken looked up in surprise and realized the others had already gathered around Ryoko. Without a word, he took his son by the arm and slowly made his way over to the golden-haired Digidestined's side. Davis, who was standing next to Ryoko, smiled briefly at him and pointed at the Crest of Kindness. "Well? Aren't you going to take it?"
Ken gasped when his crest suddenly floated away from the wall and dropped into his hand. He held it out to Sam with a smile on his face, and after a moment of hesitation his son's fingers closed gently over its glowing surface.
"Wow, it's really pretty," Glowmon whispered, hovering next to Sam's shoulder and staring at the crest as if it were a precious jewel of considerable value.
Sam sighed softly and hugged the crest tightly against his chest. "You're really lucky, Dad. One day I hope I can be as strong as you and Mom are."
Ken gently placed his hand against his son's cheek and pulled the boy tightly into his arms. "You already are, Sam. In fact, you might just be stronger than both of us together."
"Hurry, guys! Grab the other crests and let's get moving. We have to get out of here now!" Luciamon cried, glancing frantically towards the door.
Ken frowned at the female angel and placed a protective hand on the back of his son's head.
Something doesn't feel right. Why is Luciamon acting so strange all of a sudden?
"You guys heard Luciamon. Let's move it!" Dai ordered, reaching out and pulling the Crest of Courage free from the pedestal.
Matty yanked the Crest of Light out of its resting place and quickly handed it to his brother. "Here, Mickey, you'd better hold onto this. Mom would kill me if I ended up losing it!"
Mickey slid the crest over his head and smiled softly at his brother. "Don't worry, Matty. Mom will have her crest back in no time."
"Your mother's going to be so proud of both of you," T.K. said softly, smiling fondly at his sons. The golden-haired Digidestined pulled the Crest of Hope into his hand and stared at it as if it were an old friend he had not seen for many years.
Ryoko carefully placed the Crests of Friendship and Sincerity around his neck and beamed at Palmon. "What do you think?"
"Mimi's going to be so happy! She not only gets to see me but she gets her crest back, as well!"
"I know. I can't wait to see the looks on my parents' faces when they get their crests back!"
"Me, too," Takara whispered, holding the Crest of Love in her hand as if it were a fragile piece of glass.
"Well, since Joe's not here I'd better hang onto this," Davis said, holding up the Crest of Reliability and placing it around his neck.
Ken quickly handed his son the Crest of Knowledge and motioned for the others to start heading towards the weak point. "Here, Sam. Do you mind looking after Izzy's crest for me?"
Sam held the Crest of Knowledge tightly in his hand and slowly shook his head. "Not at all. I'll take good care of it, but you'd better hold onto your own crest. You might need it."
I hope not.
Ken managed to give his son a reassuring smile and held the Crest of Kindness tightly against his chest. It felt warm against his skin, and its glowing surface eased the fear in his heart. They had found the crests without getting caught. Was it possible for their luck to hold out long enough for them to find Gennai, as well?
"Hurry!" Luciamon moaned.
Ken quickly followed the others towards the weak point and let out a terrified gasp when a digimon he could only assume was DarkAngelicmon walked into the room and came to an abrupt stop. The fallen angel stared at them in astonishment, his emerald green eyes coming to rest on Matty's shocked face.
"Uh oh..." Dai whispered.
Now what are we going to do?
"DarkAngelicmon!" Luciamon gasped, her pale blue eyes darting nervously around the room as if searching for an escape route.
DarkAngelicmon stared at her and frowned in confusion. "What are you doing here?"
Ken almost laughed at such a ridiculous question, but he managed to keep his mouth shut and wrapped his arms protectively around his son instead.
"What, that's it? And here I thought we were going to have a big, dramatic confrontation!" Dai snorted, regaining some of his composure.
DarkAngelicmon ignored the goggle-headed leader and motioned for Luciamon to join him. "How in the name of Hades did you get inside the castle without getting caught? BlackGatomon or one of the other guards would have informed me of what was going on if they had seen you wandering around the castle with the Digidestined on your heels! The only safe passage into this room is the one that leads to the North Tower, and not by accident, as you very well know, but I know you never came that way because Ivymon told me she hadn't seen you yet. Why didn't you enter the castle the way we had planned earlier?"
At first Luciamon looked like she was going to be sick, but the expression on her face suddenly softened into a smile, and she gently wrapped her arms around DarkAngelicmon's waist. "Sorry, old friend, but I ran into some problems along the way. There were a few issues I had to deal with and that's why I ended up having to find a different way into the castle. I'm sorry I'm late, but you know how it is. Did you miss me?"
DarkAngelicmon wrapped his arm around Luciamon's shoulders and shook his head in disbelief. "I still don't understand how you managed to get in here without me knowing. Never mind, you can explain it to me later. Right now we have more important issues to deal with. The Digidestined are here and that's what counts. Excellent job, Luciamon. Our master will be very proud when he finds out what you have accomplished."
Ken stared at the two angel digimon with his mouth hanging open, and his heart started to pound rapidly in his chest. What's going on? Why is Luciamon acting as if DarkAngelicmon is her friend?
"Luciamon, what are you doing?" Mickey asked quietly, his amber eyes growing dark and cloudy.
Luciamon gazed calmly at the older twin and shrugged her shoulders. "What does it look like I'm doing?"
"I knew it!" Ryoko snapped, stepping forward and pointing an accusing finger at the female angel. "You're working for DarkAngelicmon, aren't you!"
"What?" Matty whispered, his hand tightening on Angelicmon's arm.
Ryoko glared at Luciamon and turned to look at his cousin. "Don't you get it, Matty? It's a trap! Luciamon tricked us into coming to the castle with her so DarkAngelicmon could destroy us all!"
"Of course!" Davis muttered, glaring angrily at Luciamon and shaking his head. "It makes perfect sense!"
"Excuse me? Can I say something?" DarkAngelicmon asked, politely raising his hand.
"What?" Ryoko demanded, clearly annoyed at being interrupted.
The fallen angel leaned casually against the stone wall and smiled in amusement. "Actually, my young friend, I don't plan on destroying any of you. Oh, I may have to kill your digimon if they try to oppose me, but you, Ryoko Ishida, and your human friends need to be alive and in one piece in order for my plans to succeed. That includes your parents. The original Digidestined may be of some use to me, as well."
"Oh, well that makes me feel so much better!" Ryoko said sarcastically. "News flash, DarkAngelicmon, MetalGarurumon could kick your-"
"Perhaps, but MetalGarurumon isn't here, and neither is your father. I see you've all managed to get your hands on the crests. You're welcomed to keep them, if you'd like, just as long as you don't try to use them against me or any of my fellow digimon. You're going to need them anyways in order to help me find the Spirit Chips."
"So you do know about the Spirit Chips," Davis said slowly. "How did you find out about them?"
DarkAngelicmon smiled innocently at the former leader and glanced ever so slightly in Mickey's direction. "Your friend Gennai told me."
"You're lying!" Ibismon shouted, shaking her fist at the fallen angel.
"Don't be ridiculous. I have never once lied to any of you, and you know it!"
Ryoko looked ready to argue, but Mickey placed a hand on his cousin's shoulder and let out a soft sigh. "He's telling the truth, Ryoko. As crazy as it sounds, he's the only one who has been honest with us right from the beginning."
"Thank you, Mickey. Now, if you'd be so kind as to let me speak, Ryoko, I will explain myself further. Gennai didn't want to tell me about the Spirit Chips, but I gave him no other choice."
"What did you do to him?" Embermon shouted.
"Nothing. He's still very much alive and in better condition than I would prefer, but I suppose things don't always go as smoothly as we'd like. He's down in the dungeons right at this very moment, and I have no doubt he's trying to come up with a plan to escape from the castle even as we speak. I have my ways of getting information out of humans and digimon, and they don't always involve physical torture. Did you really think I was going to harm him considering the fact that he still holds a lot of information that could be useful to me? Don't be a fool, Embermon. I know you have brains, and I would appreciate it if you would use them in my presence. Vampiramon and the others, including the castle guards, provide me with enough stupidity to last a lifetime. I don't need to tolerate that kind of behaviour from you, too!"
"What do you want with the Spirit Chips?" Dai asked, grabbing Embermon by the arm before the rookie could launch himself at DarkAngelicmon.
The fallen angel walked slowly towards the stone pedestal and placed his hand on the spot where the Crest of Courage had been. "Well, for one thing, if I get my hands on them it'll stop all of your digimon from digivolving to the ultimate level. At least, they'll be less likely to digivolve and that will stop you and your friends from getting in the way of my plans. Also, my master believes he can find a use for them, and I am inclined to agree with him. They will give us great power, and with them my master will be unstoppable."
"The Spirit Chips will never respond to you or your master," Gabrielmon said quietly.
"Not as they are now, but that will change after my master is done with them. They can become corrupted, just like the crests, Daichi. Your father's best friend, Ken Ichijouji, knows that better than anyone!"
Ken felt his heart stop, and he stared at DarkAngelicmon in horror. The fallen angel knew about his past. Although he had already come to that conclusion quite some time ago, it still came as a shock. DarkAngelicmon knew, and he was going to tell Sam.
"What's the matter, Ken?" DarkAngelicmon asked quietly, watching him closely. "Why are you so frightened all of a sudden?"
"Dad, what's wrong?" Sam cried, tugging anxiously on his arm. "What is DarkAngelicmon talking about?"
Ken swallowed hard and did not reply. He did not think he could have said anything even if he had wanted to.
"Shame on you, Ken," DarkAngelicmon scolded, his lips twitching into a small smile. "How can you keep the truth about the Emperor from your own son?"
No, no, no! I can't let him tell Sam. I can't!
Ken held onto his son as tightly as he could and choked back a cry of despair. "No, don't. Please..."
DarkAngelicmon stared silently at him for a moment and fluttered his dark wings. "If I don't tell him, who will?"
Ken gasped as his son suddenly jerked away from him and stepped closer to DarkAngelicmon. "Do...do you know who the Emperor was?"
DarkAngelicmon smiled at Sam and nodded. "Yes, I do."
"Will...will you tell me?"
The fallen angel studied the eager look on Sam's face and let out a soft laugh. "Of course. Obviously no one else is going to tell you, which is ridiculous because you deserve to know the truth. Don't you agree, Sam?"
The raven-haired Digidestined hesitated and slowly nodded. "Yes. Tell me. Tell me right now!"
No!
DarkAngelicmon opened his mouth to reveal the truth, but Luciamon suddenly poked the fallen angel in the chest and impatiently fluttered her wings. "Hey, handsome, shouldn't the Digidestined be joining Gennai in the dungeons right about now? You don't want them to try and escape from the castle, do you?"
"Luciamon, how could you?" Mickey said sadly, his amber eyes sparkling with sorrow. "We trusted you, and you betrayed us."
"Things are not always as they seem, Makiya Takaishi. Remember that," Luciamon said quietly.
Ken slowly slipped an arm around his son's shoulders and stared at the female angel in surprise. Luciamon could have let DarkAngelicmon reveal the truth about the Emperor, but she had interrupted the fallen angel before he could say anything. Wait a minute. Is Luciamon actually trying to...to help me? He was sure the female angel had been trying to give Mickey an important message, but unfortunately he had no idea what she had been trying to convey with her cryptic words.
You're right, Ryoko. Luciamon isn't who she appears to be, but maybe that could work in our favour...
"Well?" Luciamon demanded.
DarkAngelicmon gently kissed the female angel's fingers and waved his hand towards the door. "We'll bring them to the dungeons eventually, but first we have to wait for Spritemon. I'm going to enjoy seeing the look on her face when she finds out my plan did, in fact, succeed, even though it did not work out exactly as I had planned."
"Yes, but she doesn't need to know about that, does she," Luciamon giggled. "Lucky for you she didn't know about Ivymon and the North Tower. You were smart to keep most of your plan a secret from her. By the way, I'm going to assume I was excluded from your earlier comment about our master's 'stupid' followers?"
"Naturally. I'm anxious to get the Digidestined into the dungeons, as well, but first I must have a little fun with Spritemon. You can't deny me that, can you?"
"No way. I'm going to enjoy watching you humiliate her!"
"You two are pathetic, you know that?" Matty snorted, looking completely disgusted with the evil duo. "If you think we're just going to give up and let you drag us down to the dungeons, forget it."
"Masato Takaishi," the fallen angel said softly, his green eyes sparkling like jewels in the light coming from the torches. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You're a terrible person to have kept me waiting so long. Did you think I was going to forget about you? I had an interesting conversation with your brother several days ago. We're old friends, you might say. He has potential, and I think you do, too."
Matty slowly crossed his arms and gazed calmly at the virus digimon standing before him. "So you're DarkAngelicmon. I'd say it's a pleasure to meet you but really, it's not. I would think twice about threatening my brother, if I were you. You might look like Angelicmon, but you're nothing like him on the inside. If you want to get your hands on Mickey you'll have to go through me first! You can choose to fight Angelicmon, if you want, but you won't win. He'll beat you and then who will your master depend on?"
DarkAngelicmon's eyes gittered with sudden excitement, and he glanced eagerly at Angelicmon. "Oh, is that a challenge?"
Matty shrugged his shoulders and ignored his twin who was tugging frantically on his arm. "Call it what you want, I don't really care. I know Angelicmon and I will win because we're stronger than you are, and I think you know it, DarkAngelicmon!"
"Matty, please don't do anything stupid!" Mickey cried, throwing himself at his twin and trying desperately to drag his brother as far away from DarkAngelicmon as possible.
Matty gently pushed the older twin into Gabrielmon's arms and managed a convincing smile. "I won't as long as you don't try to protect me by putting yourself in danger."
"Matty, weren't you listening to me earlier? I'm not going to hurt anyone, especially your brother," DarkAngelicmon scolded. "Really, I should be offended by such horrible accusations! I'm not even going to hurt your digimon as long as they promise to behave. You could try using the crests, but only Ken and your father would be able to digivolve effectively. Most of them are useless to you at the moment. Why do you think I'm letting you keep them? They will respond to you, but their power won't help you without the Spirit Chips. Davis may be able to armor-digivolve using their power, but one more digivolution isn't really going to do much. You could all try digivolving to ultimate on your own, it's entirely possible, but I doubt you'll be able to. Both Digidestined and digimon have to be strong in order for that to happen. The power that comes from the heart of both Digidestined and digimon is stronger than even the Powers of Darkness. Do you really believe you have that kind of strength? The original Digidestined do. We know that because of what happened to Apocalymon, but what about the rest of you? I'm sorry, Masato Takaishi, but you and your friends have not been Digidestined long enough to have that kind of power yet. You need experience, and so far you and your digimon have virtually none."
"We have enough to defeat you," Angelicmon said quietly.
DarkAngelicmon executed a polite bow and gazed calmly at his vaccine counterpart. "I suppose we'll just have to wait and find out, won't we. I look forward to fighting you, Angelicmon. It will be a battle like nothing the Digital World has ever seen since the rise of Devimon!"
"It's true, isn't it," Mickey moaned, hiding his face against Gabrielmon's chest. "Devimon was a fallen angel!"
"You leave my sons alone!" T.K. snapped, his sparkling blue eys burning with sudden fury. "If you touch either one of them, I swear you'll suffer the same fate as Devimon, only worse!"
"You mean the same fate Angemon suffered?"
Both T.K. and Angemon froze, and Ken clapped a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from blurting out something incredibly stupid.
The entire room grew very quiet, and Matty slowly turned to look at his father. "Dad, what is he talking about?"
"Nothing," Davis interrupted before T.K. could respond.
DarkAngelicmon suddenly stepped forward and snatched Angemon's feather right out of Mickey's hand. The fallen angel gazed directly into T.K.'s eyes and held the feather up to the light. "I am not like Devimon, T.K. You will find that out soon enough."
Ken stared in shock as the feather began to glow with pale yellow light, but before he could say anything Spritemon walked into the room, and the look on her face confirmed what he had already suspected. They were in trouble. Big trouble.