Greetings everyone, obviously I fell off track in my update schedule, again. Sorry about that. For a brief recap where the story is: Chiyo made her miraculous return captaining DeviWhamon for the Seven Deadly Demons, completely annihilating Dagomon's forces. Out of mercy she let Tai and Joe go free, but stated next time she was going to kill them. Meanwhile back in the Dark Ocean Jun's trio finally managed to defeat MadLeomon, seemingly putting the rest the long running rivalry between Orgemon and his rival. What happens next? Read on to find out!
I do not own anything.
Chapter Forty-Eight-Towards Midnight
"Well…as far as threats go, I certainly didn't see this one coming, anyone else?"
No one bothered to speak up to answer Artyom. This sort of thing had become a pattern in these meetings, which in a way told one just how bad things had become. Good news were usually balanced out by a helping of bad news that left everyone numbed whatever hope any of the children seemed to be getting at. This time there was little good news to balance out the plethora of bad news and horrible news they'd received from all their sources. They were losing the war, and so was Dagomon, which meant the Demons were winning. That thought somewhat terrified them more than the thought of Dagomon winning, partially because all of the assembled DigiDestined knew what would happened if the Demons won-it'd be Armageddon, in every sense of the world.
When this crisis began everyone weighed which would have been worse: dying by fire or water. As of the last week or so Daemon had acquired the power of water putting an effective end to the debate. Once Leviamon had been released various factions in the Digital World had sent over all the information they had on the red-scaled Digimon and his powers; no liked what they'd been given. Amongst the files something about DeviWhamon had been mentioned, it had been called a natural disaster; the assembled leaders just saw how the whale Digimon had earned that reputation. The fight between it and Viledramon had been one-sided from the start, everyone could see that. Not only was the demonic whale better equipped, but it was smarter too. No doubt like many other cyborg Digimon it possessed a cybernetic brain the looks of which rivaled that of the Metal Empire's finest creations. Though Viledramon put up one hell of a fight, it was clear DeviWhamon wasn't using its full power as there was no need to.
"I suppose it would be too much to ask Leviamon uses his marine forces to decimate Dagomon before turning on us." Irene muttered sinking lowering into her seat. The fractured right arm she'd worked through had become forgotten. Compared to what she was seeing the pain she was still going through seemed so minuscule.
Hak-kun looked to his Peruvian counterpart with pity; normally he'd be putting on a front for the sake of his pride, but that was no longer had option now. Bit by bit everyone had been forced to drop the tough guy and girl acts they'd met under in the beginning as the situation had degenerated. "You might not be asking for too much. From what we understand Leviamon won't be able to leave Dagomon alone, he is the Demon of envy, right?"
"That's true," Michael spoke up with a forlorn expression. He was clearly debating rather or not to continue speaking, taking a quick glance around the table at the various teens he realized he couldn't refuse to. Left with no choice he inhaled deeply, "While Leviamon's ego may work to our advantage, we've still got the matter of his…partner to consider. Odds are she…will direct her energies towards Japan."
"Wonderful," Kaveh snarled. "As if Japan hadn't been enough of a weak point already." The Iraqi teen angrily tossed up the stack of digital files he'd spent hours looking over. Each time he looked through them he felt his temper flare up. Now the battle to keep it under control was drawing to a close. "Again, someone, please tell me how, how in Allah's name does a nameless girl go from an outcaste to captain of hell's navy!? How? How does that happen?"
"The same way we all went from ordinary teenagers to unlikely defenders of two worlds, because whoever's upstairs is a grade-A dick." Eligia responded. Under normally circumstances Kaveh hated being answered with sarcasm, but like Hak-Kun he'd been forced to make acceptations as the war grew increasingly worse. Rubbing her sweat-stricken forehead she looked over the files regarding Chiyo Fukazawe. "I remember something similar to this happening to Ken Ichijouji, am I wrong?"
"No, you're right." Michael answered looking at the same files as the Polish teenager. "Chiyo was…God, this feels like some kind of sick joke. Here we all are, seemingly ordinary teenagers fighting for good, and the Demons have gone and recruited someone just like us to fight us. It's like something out of a comic book or video game."
"Frankly I'm surprised this surprises you," Artyom half-heartedly chuckled. Looking over the history of Chiyo Fukazawe the Russian felt like he was reading the backstory of some villain in a TV show or as Michael said, a video game or comic. Her life had all the hallmarks of a tragedy that would shape her into the becoming the sympathetic but driven villainess the heroes would have to work to defeat. "She could have been one of us…" He trailed off shutting his eyes in silent mourning for what could have been. After a minute of thought another chuckle left Artyom's lips, being a DigiDestined was probably something the girl secretly wished for to escape her horrible home life.
Clearing his throat Kaveh brought the dozen or so teenagers back into order. Like them he was tired and worn out, but they needed to get through this. "It's obvious Chiyo's target will be Davis Motomiya, I don't think even falling to the darkness will be enough to completely bury those feelings she held for him. If anything that both helps and hinders us."
"Kaveh, I can tell you right now Davis is not going to like any of this." Michael spoke up.
"I'm well aware, Michael, but this isn't about what we do and don't like." Kaveh responded with a deadly serious glance. "On top of this we have to come to a decision on what we can do about Ken Ichijoui. As I'm sure you all heard the Desert of Doubt was recently attacked by legions of demons and fallen angels. We managed to hold the line, plus reinforcement arrived just in time to fortify our hold on the tower." At his behest the holographic display showed an overhead view of the desert housing the prison of Lucemon. The endless sea of sand had been transformed into a near unrecognizable ocean of glassed and scorched craters, miles wide fissure that lead into total darkness, and raging wildfires that seemed to be burning away at the fabric of the Digital World. "If Lucemon gets out this war will be over in a matter of days, then it'll be game over for everyone on Earth and the Digital World. We can hold off the demons, but not forever, and not when we're having to divert resources from to other matters."
"Kaveh," Irene challenged eyeing the eighteen year-old with cold narrow eyes.
"No, I'm not saying we kill one of our own." If anything he sounded more annoyed than anything, something the assembled leaders should have chalked up a good thing. "I'm saying I think it's time we moved Ken to a more secure place. While there are still some parts of the Digital World that are…reluctant to help, more are willing to put Ken's past deeds aside for the sake of survival. The Metal Empire is one."
"I say yes," Artyom spoke up drawing attention to himself. "Look, Chaosdramon can be a dick, but right now the Metal Empire is the most secure place on both worlds. Besides, Ken is well aware of the situation we're in. Knowing him he'll say yes to this."
"I still can't believe we're talking about throwing one of our own in solitary confinement and calling it protection." Adriano said shaking his head. "Even if we do take Ken off the board that's just putting things off. How's the Holy Squad coming along? The last time I saw a report from them it got my hopes up."
"We just received another report from HolyAngemon, the training of the holy Digimon and their partners is coming along nicely, in a few hours we're sending some out to help strengthen our weak points." Hak-Kun answered.
"What about Kari and T.K.?" Michael questioned cutting right to the heart of the issue. Looking around he saw everyone tense up or look away. That was all the answer he needed. "I…guess I shouldn't have expected much. They're still recovering from what happened in Shinjuku."
"Aren't we all?" Irene added. "At this point Japan's our sorest weak point because that's where all the Crests are. It's only a matter of time before either Dagomon and Barbamon tries to hit it again. For God's sake," The holographic displayed changed showing an updated map of Japan. Red lines and black dots littered the island nation while blue lines and bleeps snaked their way through the country giving it a somewhat fragmented appearance. "At this point it's like a guessing game to see which happens first: Japanese society collapses, it sinks into the ocean, or the entire island breaks apart. Even though we've destroyed enough of the Control Spires and put dimensional locks around the nation the damage has already been done. None of it can heal if we keep turning one city after another into a battleground. It's a miracle itself Tokyo hasn't been completely sunk yet."
"We're getting there Irene," Adriano whistled zooming in on the once-thriving metropolis that was Tokyo, Japan. An estimated thirty percent of the city was now either unwater or uninhabitable, the same could have been said for many other coast-side cities around the world, but Tokyo seemed to have taken the worst of it. "I feel this might be something Dagomon is trying to do-sink as many cities as he could to build up his army so they can compete with the Deadly Demons and us. Out of the three his faction is the smallest and seemingly weakest."
"Now it is," Eligia countered. "I know no one wants to hear this, but I think we need to abandon the sea-war so we can focus on the ground war." Placing both hands on the table she gathered everyone's attention onto herself. "With Leviamon and now this DeviWhamon on the loose we can't afford to take chances in these sea battles."
"But we can't completely abandon the sea war, if we do there'll be consequences." Kaveh challenged.
"I know…but in the Digital World we're having better luck." She admitted.
Hearing that several of the teenagers fell back into their seats. The Polish girl had a point there, the ocean-dwelling Digimon had developed a burning hatred for Dagomon as the three-sided war dragged on. When the Deprived Monk took Netopolis it'd enraged every marine-dwelling Digimon to the core of their beings. Even Digimon who'd said they'd remain neutral had joined the DigiDestined to push back the invaders. For a while things seemed evened out, but then Leviamon had been released. Many of the elders and rulers of the Marine Savers society remembered the time of the Seven Deadly Demons, Leviamon in particular had stayed in their memories for good reason. This had given them the strength they needed to hold ground in the Digital World whereas in the Human World they were struggling. Because he'd just woken up and counter measures had already been taken Leviamon's once mighty aquatic legions weren't half as strong as they were centuries ago; however, they still poised enough of a challenge to keep everyone on guard.
"I…agree with Eligia." Adriano said, he didn't shock anyone with his announcement because in one way or another everyone was coming to the same conclusion as him. "I know we should be doing more, but we can't keep wasting manpower and resources on a losing front. It's tough, but we'll have to find some way to make it up later." Typing into his keypad he brought up a worldwide view of the Earth's oceans. Red and dull gray dominated much of the map with them, the blue, only holding out in certain spots. "As previously said, Leviamon will try to claim the territory Dagomon currently controls, we'll late them fight it out and whoever wins gets to have once left. We focus on keeping what we already can protect. Agreeable?" There was a loud murmur of approval that put the Italian's nerves somewhat at ease. "We'll hold out in the Digital World until we can come up with an accurate plan of counterattack for Earth. Odds are that's going to come from the Holy Squad and the Holy Choir."
"Speaking of which how come we haven't heard from them yet? This is, ya' know, their problem too." Artyom growled.
"They've been fighting on the frontlines against the mainline demonic hordes." Kaveh responded attempting to calm his associates mounting fury. Though he paid the angelic Digimon the proper respect they deserved, that still didn't change the fact that they were being extremely picky about when and where to intervene. They were actually worse than the Digimon Sovereigns who'd mobilized almost all of their forces to counter the threat of the demons and Deep Ones. "I'll see if I can get in touch with them for some more manpower, I can't promise any success, but I'll try my best."
"Isn't that all we have been doing?" Irene sighed. "Trying our best to handle a situation way out of our league?"
"It is," Hak-Kun admitted sympathizing with the darker skinned girl. Passing a stern glance around the table he spoke with the voice of commanding and power he'd been raised on. "Our best must be enough because as it stands we are all the Digital and Human World have standing between them and doomsday."
"So…how are you feeling?"
"Like crap, then again, I've kind of gotten used to the feeling."
"Sticks doesn't it?"
Tai managed a chuckle through the overwhelming pain his body was wrapped in. When they got back Sora had practically finished what the demons and mutants in India started. Biyomon herself couldn't stop fussing over Agumon's many wounds, but in the end the two relented and got them to the infirmary. Joe and Gomamon had gotten off easier due to their wounds not being as severe, a feat Tai admitted he envied. Honestly, Tai didn't know which was worse, the fact that it'd take him months to heal and he'd probably never be able to play professional soccer, or that he would heal and the war would still be going on. Neither were options he wanted to sit on while he spent day after day recovering in a hospital bed in a reinvented warehouse currently being used by a bunch of teenagers, a few digital adults, and a busload of Digimon.
"This whole thing can seem pretty surreal sometimes," He finally said looking up at his blond friend.
Matt had heard that statement almost a thousand times in the past month, and no matter how many times he did he always found himself agreeing. "You gotta admit, this is the…biggest adventure we've ever been on." Adventure, adventure was what he'd use to describe their first entry into the Digital World and their time there as high-schoolers, what they were currently experiencing was a nightmare of epic proportions. He leaned back in his seat then shot a glance at Agumon and Gabumon, the two currently sleeping soundly. It had become obvious sleep was the only time anyone could afford to find peace, expect when they were had nightmares. "You did pretty well in India, all things considered."
"We got out alive, I hate that's all we can do now. I've…always hated it." The brown-haired teen grounded out through clenched teeth. "I thought growing up would change things, but…"
He knew where his old friend was going. They'd all confessed to hating their state of powerlessness during their first adventure. They were little kids trying to save an entire world by themselves, and they learned by painful experience what was needed to do that. Things got a little better when the next generation took up their torch, but as usual their luck didn't hold out. "You know, my dad once told me growing up life doesn't get easier, it just gets harder, the only thing you can change is how you deal with what it throws at you. Sorry, something tells me that's not the kind of thing you want to hear from me at a time like this."
"It's better than hearing nothing." Tai grimaced. A heavy silence fell over the two as they stared at the other waiting for the conversation to move onto the next stage. It was obvious the situation was only going to get worse, there was no use in running from that fact. "Matt," swallowing the lump he tried to sit up then stopped when the pain proved too much to bear. "You're worried about Jun, aren't you?"
"…That obvious, huh?" His laugh was empty and hollow, just like his downcast eyes.
"We have to believe in her."
"We haven't gotten one word about what's happened in the Dark Ocean since Clooloo fell. For all we know she could be…" A hand ran over his head as he didn't want to voice the dark thoughts swirling about in his heads. "I got her into this mess, I need to get her out of it, except I don't know how to!"
Tai had to inhale and exhale for a few minutes before he could give his best friend a response. Listening to Matt felt much like lending an ear to an old recording. Briefly shutting his eyes he floated back to years ago when they were going up against the Dark Masters, perhaps the deadliest string of battles of their first adventure in the Digital World. "I…can't give you a straight answer, mostly because I don't think there is one. Looking back…I'm not even sure how I made it through knowing Kari was in danger every second of the day, some days worse than others. Heh, I can't tell you how many nights I lost sleep worrying if…if…if I was going to fail and lose her forever." Those were nightmares he wrestled with even during their temporary retirement from adventuring. He supposed like war veterans he just couldn't completely shake off the trauma and stress he'd been through. "The best advice I can give you is to be strong and believe in her, she's survived this long without our help."
Holding his gaze Matt tried to put on a brave face, but it was rocky at best. "I can't even face Davis now, you know he blames for this right? Not that can I blame him."
"Davis is Davis, he'll forgive you once we get Jun back and we can have the big Motomiya family reunion." The brown-haired teen laughed.
At that Matt couldn't help but crack a smirk. If anything could be said about Tai it was he was extremely resilient, as befitting of the bearer of the Crest of Courage. His optimism was probably one of the few things that kept Matt going when it looked like all hope was lost. Of course saying "once" they got her back was better than "if", if they dwelled on ifs they'd be swallowed up and it'd be game over for all of them. Too many things could happen when they used the word "if". "Hey, speaking of Davis…does he…does he know?"
At that Tai looked away, naked pain blanketing his eyes. "I'm…pretty sure he does. I didn't tell him, but I'm sure words already gotten out."
Now both hands were covering Matt's eyes. "As if the guy hasn't been through enough already." His mentally exhausted voice rung through his hollow head. "We…never found her after the battle in Kabukichō ended. I…I honestly would have liked it better if she just…damn, I can't even say it!"
"If you ever find the strength to say it, don't do it around Davis." Tai drily replied. "…I hate this feeling."
"…Like I told you before, we all do." The feeling of failure, the feeling that you'd failed to accomplish the single most important goal in your life, and that you'd failed by a spectacular margin. Both teens had experienced this feeling in the past, and each time felt more soul-crushing than the last. The worst part about this time was they knew for a fact this nightmare wasn't even close to being over. Matt knew even if by some miracle they'd won the memories of the last three months would haunt them for the rest of their lives, a sort of dark victory for their opponents. Matt supposed that would be the real fight-trying to live with whatever failures and mistakes they made in surviving this war.
Catching the attention of both boys was a soft knock on the door; it roused Agumon and Gabumon from their sleep. The four turned around to find Farah standing in the doorway, her brown eyes looking anywhere but at them.
"What happened?" Tai immediately questioned knowing something was very wrong.
"The…committee just made a decision, about Ken."
Not for the first time Tai wished he'd taken enough blows to be rendered comatose. Right about now spending the rest of the day in a foggy sleep seemed mighty good right about now. For Matt he wished he was actually out in the field with Gabumon, doing recon into dangerous enemy territory, that or even slugging it out on some random battlefield half-way around the world.
"They're turning him over to the Metal Empire, for protection."
"Like hell they are!" Matt snarled almost jumping out of his seat.
"Matt, it's out of our hands." Farah countered meeting him with heavy eyes. "The decision was made less than half an hour ago. It's…for the best guys. We can't allow Ken to fall into the Demons' hands."
"SO that justifies locking him up like a prisoner?" The dirty blond barked back. Any other time he would have been civil, but he'd been pushed too far for that. Even Gabumon's desperate attempts to calm him down were amounting to little. "What if we need him? How do we even know he'll be safe with those stupid-"
"Matt," Tai cut him off with a silent but none the less firm voice.
"Tai," he pleaded looking back at him. Few times Matt wished he could have the old hot-headed Tai back, the one that always jumped the gun even if it did land them all in hotter water than they were already in. For better or for worse that Tai had gone on indefinite vacation leaving this new, far more mature and rational clone in its place. "There's…this is gonna kill Davis."
"I'll explain it to him." Farah spoke up, all of the energy had been drained from her face leaving her similar looking to Tai. It was telling since she'd hadn't been anywhere near the battlefield in the last few days. "It's the least I can do since…" Spying an empty chair in the corner she walked over and sat down, head in one hand. Gabumon walked over to the water tank and poured her a cup. She accepted it with a small thanks. "I can't even find it in me to say this new development will at least hamper Dagomon."
"Small consolation when we're still heading towards the edge of the cliff." Tai snorted.
"Well, given Leviamon's ego he'll focus on Dagomon first, he is a uh, Leviamon's got one major inferiority complex." Agumon offered hoping to lighten the mood.
"That's one consolation prize." Gabumon muttered. "Granted I'd prefer it if we had something we could actually use."
The three humans and two Digimon said nothing else letting silence take hold of the room once more. All too often they'd fallen into this period, and each time it felt worse than the last. Each of them had slowly come to realize these were the kinds of victories their enemies savored-the kind where all the DigiDestined could do was sit and wait for time to pass by beating themselves up over their own powerlessness. It was kind of sick satisfaction only sadists enjoyed, and that's exactly who they were up against.
"You know where she is?" Patamon asked having finally found the strength to speak.
"Yeah, not a lot of places she'd go after another four hours of HolyAngemon's 'Holy Training Fitness Hour', by the way, you did great out there." T.K. smiled rubbing his partner's sweat-covered head. Sighing the orange-furred Digimon decided to get a short nap in while his partner continued down the near infinite hallway to where he was sure he'd find his old friend along with Gatomon. The closer he got the end the longer the shadows became. "Hey,"
With the sunset casting its orange-red glow across the landscape Kari looked more radiant than he'd ever seen her. Even with such a downcast expression she still looked like the most beautiful girl T.K. had ever seen. Sensing his presence she turned to him with a half-smile, a practiced front he'd gotten used to. Gatomon was sitting in her lap, her soft purring fading into the cool wind blowing through the castle.
"Figured I'd be here?" She asked turning back to the setting sun.
"Not a lot of other places you could be. Besides, you told me this place reminds you of home. I can sympathize with that."
Even though it was revered as one of the holiest places in all of the Digital World the Holy Angel Castle had an incredibly gloomy aura to it. No, that wasn't true, the truth was it was its occupants that were diminishing the sacred castle's noble luster with their dark and depressing moods. Thankfully HolyAngemon, the castle's ever-present master, didn't hold it against any of them. It was clear he was doing his best to stay in high-spirits as well just like the rest of them. Being centuries older than the rest of them and vastly more wise he was having much better luck than any of the thirty or so kids he'd been assigned to train for the war. In short time the castle-like castle had begun to live up to its reputation as a type of sanctuary from all things evil and corrupt.
On the day they'd arrived at the castle with some twenty other kids they weren't exactly sure what to feel. For many of them the shock of being taken from their homes and friends was still weighing down heavily upon their shoulders, that weight was doubled when they were introduced to HolyAngemon, the castle master and the man who'd be supervising their training. Only a handful had managed to make a joke or two about the situation, and even then few laughed as the tension in the air was simply suffocating. The first day had gone by like clockwork, touring the castle learning who was who and what was where. At dinner HolyAngemon gave his big speech proclaiming the lot of them possibly the last hope the Digital World had if worse came to worse. Someone at the dinner table had whispered no pressure, a sentiment that quickly made its way around. For T.K. and Kari those words had a deeper effect than any one, save for their partners, had realized.
"Is it just me, or does it seem like it always falls to us? " Kari muttered once dinner was over and everyone began to make their way to their rooms. The next day they'd begin their training so this was likely to be the last free time they'd have in a while.
"No, first it was Devimon, then Myotismon, and then we had to deal with Peidmon." T.K. responded taking her into his arms. Instantly she sunk into his arms burying her face in the crux of his neck.
One positive that came with moving to this digital fortress were the sunsets, everyone could agree on that. In the case of T.K. and Kari they'd come to enjoy finding a secluded little areas away from the others for moments like this. The setting sun reflected beautifully against the glass-like surface of the castle, even as darkness fell the class seemed to act as a giant torch keeping the light from fading completely. They realized that was probably one reason why the Holy Choir had made this castle one of their outposts, or maybe it had been built from the ground up with that feature in mind.
"I…heard about what happened in India." Kari started leaning back with glassy eyes. "I…I wish I could call Davis. Talk to him, but even if I did I wouldn't know what to say."
"I don't think any of us would." T.K. offered looking down at his clasped hands. Right now more than anything he wished he could be with Davis and his brother, the people who he knew needed their help more than ever. Truthfully, he didn't want to believe the reports about Chiyo when the news broke, but HolyAngemon had pulled him aside to inform him it was true. He could only imagine how Davis reacted when he heard; he visibly winced at the thought of him punching a wall, or a person, in frustration. "I wish we knew more about Chiyo, I mean, she was always a little shy, but to think she would…"
"Ken, she reminds me of Ken." Kari finished for him, stroking Gatomon. It was clear the feline Digimon was awake, she was only pretending to be asleep to avoid the conversation. "I don't even know her that well, but I…I just feel like she's gone down the same road Ken did."
Normally T.K. would have said they knew exactly what to do then. Since Ken and the battle against Oikawa they'd begun to take notice of how…easy it was to manipulate disillusioned children, lure them to the dark side. In the battle's aftermath Gennai had told them while the forces of good employed children whose hearts were pure, the forces of evil did the same using children whose hearts had been broken and twisted. T.K. never liked hearing those stories, mostly because it reminded him of how much of a tight rope they all walked, the same rope he once walked. He wondered if he met Chiyo on the battlefield would he have the chance to talk to her. Convince her to turn back? He didn't' know her story, he had no idea how bad it was, and something in his gut told him it had to have been pretty awful to drive Chiyo this far. Removing his Crest from his neck he stared at the gold-colored necklace, holding it up to the setting sun.
Kari joined him in holding her crest up. As surely as science would have predicted both lit up, sparkling pink and gold respectively.
"You know, there were some days I hated my crest." T.K. admitted. "The power of hope, heh, how many times have we come too close to the fire on a hope that things would work out?"
"It's not so bad, hope is what kept us going."
"Even when I didn't have any myself?"
"Hey," Patamon said, showing he hadn't been entirely asleep. "If it weren't for you we never would have beaten Devimon, and by extension none of us would be here. Hope isn't all that bad, even if it seems out of reach."
Giving his partner an apologetic smile T.K. nodded. "So…Sorry about that. I guess after everything…I just sort of…it's hard keeping hope alive after everything that's happened."
"But isn't that why we're here? To keep hope alive?" Gatomon purred sitting up. "Every child here has a partner who is a reincarnated angel Digimon, I don't want to sound too optimistic, but that fact there's thirty of us has to be good for something, right?" Out of everyone she was the most qualified to speak. Spending years working under the devil that was Myotismon she knew how evil overlords functioned, they couldn't stand threats to their plans of domination and destruction. No doubt if he were the mastermind Myotismon would have had every angelic Digimon and their partner captured or killed in the war's opening days. Daemon, being the calculative bastard he was, no doubt would have done something similar, yet he didn't. Even as the war heated up he made no attempt to go after the angels that once cast him and his fellow demons down into the depths of the Dark Area. Was it because he thought they were too weak to pose a threat? Or perhaps he simply didn't have the resources, what with having to fight off the DigiDestined and the Deep Ones simultaneously. Whichever one it was, they had to capitalize on it. "It's like fishing, sometimes you only get a second's chance, and you've got to act or else you're going to starve."
"Interesting analogy as usual Gatomon," Kari giggled stroking her partner's fur. "Sooner or later I…I think our moment's going to come, we just gotta be ready when it does."
"Awfully hopeful of you, maybe we should switch crests." T.K. chuckled, it ended in all four of them laughing together. The sorrow that had so thickly enveloped them had dispersed like mist fading in the first hours of morning. Maybe that was why when a cool wind was blown their way they enjoyed it; each of them faced towards the sunset with smiles for what had to have been the first time since they arrived.
"I'm supposed to be the DigiDestined of Hope, yet I constantly have to rely on others to give me hope. I guess in the end…I'm still pretty pathetic." Those thoughts would stay with T.K. until his last breaths left his body. There was no need for the others to hear them, if they did they'd waste their time trying to convince him how untrue they were.
But they were true, no matter how hard everyone tried to deny it.
As if he'd incited the words for some ancient curse those thoughts plagued his dreams when he went to sleep that night. In his bed T.K. tossed and turned, a cold sweat breaking out all across his body. As usual his dreams were the source, or rather his nightmares.
Star-like masses of light lit up the darkness, only to be devoured by the ever-present darkness. The stars gave off a final burst of light before they were completely swallowed, like helpless animals caught in the jaws of a predator. In school T.K. had come to hate biology, specifically when predator-prey relationships were being examined. When people would joke who was who T.K. never joined in, he'd seen those natural relationships enacted too many times in the Digital World. He was a mouse, a small helpless creature unable to do anything but run and hide for it had no power on its own.
T.K. continuously fell backwards into a pitch-black abyss. There was no air for him to breathe or smells for him to associate with water or liquid, it was as if he were falling into a bottomless void. His body was frozen stiff leaving him totally helpless, a pebble thrown off the side of a cliff. T.K.'s first instincts were to scream, shout, kick and pull, if only to give himself some false hope, but in this abyss he couldn't even do that.
In the end we all return to the helpless darkness from which we are born. That is fate-that is nature, it's futile to resist.
"Shut…up." Hatred, he could always count on his buried hatred of Devimon to give him strength when it seemed nothing else did. His fingers curled into fists, hot energy flooding his body like an injection. "I…don't want to hear that…from you, Devimon."
Diabolic laughter echoed through the abyss. Around him the darkness distorted, like lumps of clay being shaped by giant invisible hands. All of it pooled together in front of T.K. forming a hated familiar shape.
"Why the hell won't you stay dead? Or deleted, whatever the hell it is?" T.K. seethed with uncharacteristic venom in his voice.
"Foolish child, as long as there's a light there will always be a shadow. That too, is a basic principal of nature." The phantasmal giant cackled. Devimon's red eyes glared with every bit of evil as they did when they first met all those years ago. His demonic fangs pulled back in a wide grin giving T.K. a glimpse into the seething red that was his mouth. Devimon laughed before lunging towards T.K. like a hungry beast. T.K. had a short second to brace himself, then everything disappeared into the scarlet sea that lay beyond Devimon's jaws.
The ground was soggy and wet, like grass after a full day of rain. Moving around he felt mud smear itself into his face and hair. After falling through the tasteless and colorless void T.K. welcomed the sensation, even if it did leave him wanting to vomit.
The dirty-blond pushed himself up finding his pajama pants and t-shirt had been simmered with mud. Looking around he found he was no longer in his bedroom, but instead a dark forest straight out of a horror movie. Overhead a blood-red moon kept careful watch over everything beneath it. He looked around for any sign of life finding none; he didn't know what to feel about that. Apparently he'd landed on a path, one that seemingly led him deeper into the woods. There was only one option he could take.
Walking down the path felt a lot like going through the park at night. Matt often told them their dad had a habit of doing that when he couldn't get something off his mind, he wondered if this was what those walks felt like. Sure there was the nagging fear that something could jump out and attack him, but he knew nothing would. T.K. had been playing this game long enough to know whoever had brought him to this dark world wasn't going to off him without the chance to talk shit to his face. Something of a cold comfort really, but it did put his mind a little bit at ease.
Tombstones began to become more and more commonplace as he walked further down the road, before long he found himself strolling through a graveyard. He knew the supposed howling in his ears was the wind, or at least he hoped so. Though he had no guide he somehow instinctive knew where to go in the maze of tombstones and graves. T.K. didn't bother looking at any of them, if he did he might have been discouraged after coming so far.
"T.K.! T.K.! This way, I've been expecting you for a while now!"
Recognizing the French-accented voice T.K. immediately went on guard. Speeding up a little he followed the voice to a clear patch of ground where a dinner panic table had been set up. He was sitting there, patiently with a glass of what T.K. guessed to be wine right in front of him. Opposite was a glass of what he believed to be orange juice, his favorite. Silent as the graves around him he took the seat opposite of Valére.
"I'm so glad you could make it T.K., you know, I feel we needed this, some alone time." The French-borne teenager chuckled taking a sip of his glass.
The DigiDestined didn't touch his drink, not for fear that it was poisoned, but because he didn't feel comfortable touching anything Valére had. He searched the older boy for any weapons or possibly signs of danger. Again, there weren't any, but that still didn't put him at ease. Valére's blood-red eyes were clear giveaways he'd long since jumped off the cliff side called sanity, more so than even Ken. "Why did you bring me here? I know there's got to be more to it than the two of us just sharing a drink."
"What? You don't believe in being civil with your enemies? I thought you were supposed to be one of the nice ones." He responded.
T.K.'s eyes narrowed even further. "I'm nice to people who deserve it, I don't think I need to explain myself to you."
The dark-haired teen finished his glass then poured himself another from one of the three bottles. Fixing T.K. with a vexing stare he slouched forward causing T.K. to nervously lean back. A sly grin spread along his impossibly clean and porcelain-like face. "Point taken, but when has being nice ever gotten anyone what they deserve? Give me a list of people who've walked the nice guy route and have been rewarded for it."
"You know, not everything has to be done for a reward." T.K. challenged feeling like there was a spider crawling along his skin. Scratch that, make that multiple spiders. "Not everyone is like you."
"Aren't they? It's all about greed, T.K. No matter what anyone says or does when we act it's always with an end goal in mind, some reward or prize we're hoping to claim. If you're hungry you have to go out and get yourself some food. If you want to buy something you'll need money for it. If you want a girl to like you…heh, you're certainly going to have to work in order get her to even glance your way. You see, greed isn't all that bad, without it, we wouldn't have the wonderful world we live in." From his pocket he withdrew a necklace-like object that made T.K.'s blood turn to ice. Unlike his Crest Valére's was shaped like a diamond, the purple light it emitted faintly reminded T.K. of the bioluminescent of jellyfish, one of his least favorite animals. The light seemed to call out to his own Crest causing it glow. It didn't take long for him to realize it wasn't a normal call-it was a challenge. "Greed gets such a bad rep, T.K., but in the end, we all indulge in it in one form or another. I'm simply working towards a world where people can be openly greedy and not get called out for it."
Tightly grabbing his crest the younger of the two shot a heated glare Valére's way. Flowing out from the crest the golden light of the Crest of Hope seemed to envelop its owner, turning him into a human-sized lightbulb. From within the darkness unseen creatures shrieked away voicing their displeasure of the radiant light. "A world like that already exists, and in case you haven't noticed it hasn't been kind to people. What greed does is it turns friends and family against each other, it can rip relationships apart and leave nothing but bitterness and loathing in its wake."
Sighing Valére took another swing of his wine. "I suppose I might be fighting an uphill battle, trying to reason with you, a commoner after all. I honestly expected you'd be willing to listen given your-"
"Middle class." T.K. suddenly snapped. "Both my mom and my dad make enough for me and my brother to live decent lives. We're happy for what we have, we don't need more."
"But you want more." Valére leered giving him a devilish smile. "Deep down inside we all want more, we may not need it, but that doesn't stop us from wanting, That's basic human nature, Digimon nature too if I'm not mistaken."
"Wanting more…is that you ended up here? Helping Barbamon trying to take over both worlds after razing them to the ground?"
"Raze? Don't lump me in with that pathetic bathrobe-wearing loser, Daemon." For the first time since they'd sat down Valére displayed true displeasure. T.K. made a mental note of that since in the future it could prove useful to throwing him off. "Daemon and his ilk raze, I am more of the pillaging type."
"And that's supposed to be any better?" T.K. scowled.
"Well, actually yes. The razers like destroying everything they come across leaving nothing but ashes and bodies behind, a bit excessive if you ask me. Not to mention people like that don't have a love for finer things." His smile went from malicious to wicked, silently frightening T.K. Reaching across the table he took his glass and poured some of the wine into it without asking. Placing it in front of him Valére continued on like nothing was wrong, "The truth is people like Daemon I hate and at the same time pity. I'm one of those people that'll defeat the enemy, but I'll let them keep their dignity."
"Bullshit!" Slamming both fists against the table he stood up, his normally tranquil eyes blazing with righteous fury. "'Keep their dignity'! You destroyed Davis' dignity! You did it because you could! Because you wanted to so don't you dare sit there and lie to me!"
Still with an air of Valére continuing talking, "I won't deny you have a point there. You see, I wanted Davis' dignity destroyed, so I did. Besides destroyers I hate loudmouths like your friend." Looking him dead in the eye the French teen sent an uncontrollable shiver down the spine of his Japanese counterpart, the villainous smile he gave him only added to it. "I want to see your oh so great leader beaten and broken, groveling at my feet, and when I want something done, I make sure it gets done."
There were a hundred things T.K. wanted to say to Valére, but none of them seemed enough to convey the level of disgust and contempt he held for him. Left with nothing to say all he could do was glare daggers at the still-seated Frenchman, hoping he'd spontaneously combust right before his eyes.
"Come on, just do it, or are you too scared to?" Valére cackled placing one hand on his chin. "You want to hit, punch me, beat the living crap out of me until I'm nothing but a bleeding broken wreck on the ground. I can see it in your eyes, T.K. You. Want. My. Life. Why won't you take it? It's right in front of you, yours for the taking. If not for Davis' sake, how about the countless other lives I've trampled over to get here? Isn't that enough reason for you to want to make me bleed?"
The tension-filled seconds that passed between the two felt like hours; Valére enjoyed it, T.K. hated it with a passion. For a moment a voice in the back of T.K.'s head told him to do it-break one of the bottles or glasses then drive the sharpen tip into Valére's neck. The image of him choking on his own blood, helpless and dying filled the middle-schooler with a twisted type of euphoria he never knew existed. It tasted so sweet, so good…
"No…no…I won't." Digging his nails into the wooden table he forced those darker thoughts away bringing some form of focus and clarity back to his mind. "I…I will make you pay for what you did to Davis, but it'll be on my terms, not yours."
What moral victory he thought he had was short lived courtesy of Valére's resounding laughter. His crest seemed to glow all the brighter, unlike T.K.'s which gave off light his seemed to absorb it almost greedily. Further proof despite sharing a similar appearance the two were polar opposites. "You admit it then, you want to see me suffer, you want to hurt me. That's good, that's very good. Nurture that desire, keep it strong, and maybe, just maybe, one day you'll get your chance."
"Who the hell are you? Why are you doing this? You never answered my question from before!"
"Oh, sorry about that, I do believe I might have forgotten some of my manners." Valére chuckled as he began twirling his crest. "My full name is Valére Beaudet, twelfth head of the Beaudet Family. You could say…like you I was…chosen to become a DigiDestined, just for the other team. My story begins little over a year ago, around the start of my freshman year of college. You see one day I received a strange email on my computer, upon opening it I found myself drawn into a strange fantastical world straight out of a comic book. I spent what felt like days exploring it before finally returning home, to my surprise when I returned I found barely a few hours had passed! This new world, which I later learned was called the Digital World, became my newest fascination. Every time I got the chance to I'd sneak off to explore it, each time finding new wonders to bask in! You see, there was this lifelong occupation I'd always wanted to explore, but because of the times and my family legacy I couldn't do so, wanna take a guess?"
It didn't take a great amount of brainpower for T.K. to find an answer, in truth, at one point during his childhood he'd had the same dream, as did any other kid who'd seen Indiana Jones. "Treasure hunting, right?"
"Bingo! Every little boy's dream. See, I was already born into wealth, I have my ancestor, Alcide Beaudet, to thank for that, but-"
"You wanted more." T.K. darkly interrupted already seeing where this was going.
Happily nodding Valére looked up to the crimson moon. "I traveled far and wide, using my wit and skills to keep me alive, it was dangerous of course, but my desire knew no bounds, partially because the Digital World had just so many treasures for me to discover."
"And if those treasures already belonged to someone else?"
Valére's knowing grin was just the answer T.K. was expecting, and it made him hate the Frenchman all the more.
"One day, I heard tell of a legendary treasure, one supposedly lost to the ages. Many a brave treasure hunter and collector had gone searching for it, but none had found it and lived to tell the tale. Heh, none until me of course. I went searching, and eventually found this lost treasure." In his left hand Valére held out his hand, and right there manifested a metallic card.
T.K.'s eyes widened as he took in the purple design on the card. Gennai had told them all about the Code Keys, the forbidden cards that called out to those destined to awaken the Seven Deadly Demons so they may continue their conquest of the Digital World. Involuntarily T.K. felt his eye twitch, "Little over one year ago, we could have stopped this lunatic before he'd gotten this far."
"Judging by the look on your face I take it you're familiar with the Code Keys. Yes, marvelous little gems, aren't they?"
"You know those things were locked up for a reason don't you? It wasn't some holy grail, more like a cursed skull or something."
"T.K., T.K., T.K,, what ever am I going to do with you?" The impulse to smack him returned stronger than ever. "If it has value then it is a treasure, if it is locked away or buried then it is a treasure, if it is coveted by others…then it is a treasure." That last part was said with the darkest smile T.K. had ever seen. "All treasures in this world and the Human World are destined to be mine, no matter what I must endure to attain them. Now, as I was saying, after attaining the Code Key Barbamon began speaking to me. He and I…came to an agreement. In exchange for releasing him he'd help me attain all the treasures in existence, jewels, money, power, all of that which I desire, I'd have."
"And you believed him?"
"Well, normally no, but you see, of the hundreds that have attempted to hold the Code Key of Greed, I was the only one it accepted, because deep down, Barbamon share a bond similar to that of yours and Patamon's."
"Don't." The dirty blond warned. "Patamon is my partner, my friend, he's not just a means to an end like Barbamon is for you and you are to him."
"Hm, keep telling yourself that blondie. Moving on, after our deal was made Barbamon began lending me his power, with it I carried out my ambitions. All of that which was once out of my reach…I was able to attain. I know you know what I'm talking about, being able to grasp all of you dreams in your hands." Though he didn't say anything Valére could see his words had hit a sore spot. "You see T.K., those lacking power can't make their wishes come true, they never admit to anything of value. That's what my parents taught me, and that's the code I live by. We live bound to our desires, the strongest get to carry them out, the weak can lament their just out of reach dreams. Which one are you?"
"…Is that all you brought me here for? To give me this rousing speech about the virtues of greed?"
"That all depends, have I disgusted you with my ideology?"
"Thoroughly."
"Then I've accomplished my goal." He said triumphantly raising his glass. "That means you'll put up all the more resistance when I take your Crest of Hope for myself."
"Why couldn't you have just said that from the start?"
"Was it that obvious?"
"That you wanted our Crests? You said anything that has value you consider treasure to be taken, wasn't hard to connect the dots." The younger of the two stated.
"There's those brains I'd heard so much about. Yes, I do want your Crests, such fascinating items, I want them for my collection. One way or another I will have them, all of them."
"Over my dead body."
"Oh believe me, that's the intention." He added enjoying the dissatisfaction spreading across T.K.'s face. "My mother always told me if someone fights for it then it's all the sweeter to take."
"Your parents must be so proud of you." T.K. countered hoping to find so edge he could get over his adversary.
"Oh I'm sure they are, my family has always wanted to own all of France in the same way of the French royal family. Shame my folks aren't around to enjoy it all, but I'm sure their spirits will be with me. Rather tragic accident that took them away from me, along with a few of my uncles and cousins. It seems tragedy always finds us just when we feel like we're soaring to the top of the world, of course it all balances out with new opportunities."
"What did you do?" T.K. accused feeling instincts go into overdrive.
"What's with that scary look? You accuse me of being a heartless, greedy bastard, but I can be generous when I want to be."
"What did you do to Chiyo?"
"Why are you immediately assuming it's me? Daemon's the one she's been getting her marching orders from long before I came into the picture."
"Just answer the damn question!"
"Oh alright, it was painful watching the poor girl pine and pine for something she'd wanted for so long. Being her fellow… 'Demon-Destined' so to speak, I…decided to give her a little help to get where she needed to go. Nothing more to it than that." Valére relented.
T.K. had heard all he needed to hear from the child chosen by Barbamon. Looking Valére in the eye he put everything he had into his next few words. "Valére, mark my words, one way or another I am going to stop you. You aren't going to take Kari's Crest, my brother's Crest, and least of all mine. Not until I've choked every last breath of life out of my body."
His co-responding laughter was exactly what T.K. was expecting, an acceptance of his challenge. "Oh T.K., this is why you're one of my favorites, always have been. A snot-noised brat who finally got some guts as he grew older." Raising his glass as if in a toast he finished, "I will so enjoy removing the Crest of Hope from your cold dead body, when I do I can assure you I'll give you and your comrades a proper burial. You all deserve that much for taking such good care of my beloved Crests for so long."
What happened next was hard to describe, one minute Valére was sitting right in front of him, and in the next he was gone. Next was graveyard surrounding him, then the bloody glow of the moon. T.K. shut his eyes allowing the darkness to take hold of him, and when he hoped them again he knew he was back in the safe confines of his room.
"T…K? Are you okay? Did you have a bad dream or something?" Patamon asked having been stirred away by his constant tossing and turning.
"Y-Yeah, just had a bad nightmare, nothing to worry about." He was already half-way to his fridge. Pulling the door he welcomed the automatic light that came on as he reached for a bottle of water. While he was reaching for it his Crest came loose falling into view.
"T.K.," Having flown over the Rookie rested on his partner's shoulder, even without the physical contact he felt the waves of uneasy running through his body. "Something happened. What?"
"I…guess you could say I…got a warning…and a challenge."
A long non-action chapter, sorry if it wasn't to anyone's taste but I needed a break from writing explosions and monster fights. This chapter was sort of meant to show the motives and feelings of characters on both sides of the conflict. Some pretty big events are coming up in the next few chapters and this one was meant to provide some justification for them and how people will react to them. I'm hoping to have the next chapter up within two weeks or so, it's a two-parter filled with lots of drama, heartbreak, and a whole lot of rampaging so be ready!
