Series: Division of Destiny||Story: Reign of the Undead King||Chapter: The Name
Characters: Piemon, Vamdemon, Chosen Children, others||Pairings: Ken x Daisuke/Daisuke x Ken, Mimi x Sora/Sora x Mimi
Chapters: 28-40||Words: 2,657||Total: 74,136
Genre: Romance, Drama||Rated: PG-13
Summary: Vamdemon and Piemon rule supreme. Only now, ten years after their victory, are things about to change. For good or for ill.
Uncounted thoughts spun through Wizarmon's mind as he made his way back to the castle. He hoped that the tale he'd spun would keep Taichi distracted at least for some time. Not much time; he didn't think he could have that much fortune in his life. But enough time for everyone to get away. After that, no matter what the vampire did, they would be safe.
He put all of his fears out of his mind the best that he could for now. Taichi was gone, on his own, and whatever he did, Wizarmon had no more control over it. So he had to think about what he could do.
LadyDevimon. Tailmon. He'd promised to speak to her. The sooner he did that the better; he couldn't bring himself to trust that Taichi would accept everything he'd said blindly, no matter how much he wanted to. Distracted was one thing, completely accepting everything without question was something else altogether.
So, best to get what he needed done accomplished before Vamdemon wanted to question him. No matter how he came out of that, he'd likely not have a chance to talk to her afterward. Assuming he did come out of it. Vamdemon didn't have a reputation for leaving beings that he questioned alive afterward.
He landed on his balcony, taking careful steps inside, looking for any sign that one of the flock or Vamdemon himself was there. He would've gone straight for the dungeon, but anything that put him outside of his normal actions could be suspect today, and the less he had to explain to anyone, the better.
Everything seemed just as he'd left it, and a fraction of the tension he'd suffered under since first encountering Taichi outside of the ruined building faded. Perhaps the vampire hadn't bothered to tell Vamdemon anything yet. He might still have time.
He didn't waste what time he had, snatching up what few items he thought he might need, and then heading out as quickly as he could toward the stairs, each movement quick and hurried, the most serious expression he could muster on what could be seen of his face. The last thing he wanted was for anyone to ask him what was up right now. He didn't want to tell them.
LadyDevimon hadn't ever had a reason to send a message to Wizarmon. He came when he chose, and she never asked for more than the handful of visits that he made. Until now, she'd let herself be content with guarding Hikari and nothing more.
Now that she wanted that more, she had to hold herself back from fidgeting, waiting for him to come, and hoping that it wouldn't be another week or month or half-dozen months before he did.
She could've asked one of the servants to go inform him that she had something important to say, and stopped herself every time the thought occurred to her. No matter what, she intended to go against Vamdemon's orders, and if he caught a whiff of what she had in mind, then it would all be over.
It was strange, almost, how fear of him ruled not only her life, but that of everyone else in this world as well. Even with her limited outside contact, she could see how the single question of what would Vamdemmon-sama think if he knew about this? ruled virtually every life to greater or lesser degree. Even if they didn't think it in those words, his rule dominated without question.
She couldn't stop it. She could barely manage to work out a plan to get Hikari out from under his influence, much less herself. But she'd made the plan anyway, however little chance of success it had of actually happening. If she could do this, then who knew what someone else might be able to do?
"LadyDevimon?"
She hadn't expected Wizarmon's voice, in all honesty. She had thought she would have to find a way to contact him that could bypass everyone else, and would still put them at risk. But here he was, just inside the door, out of sight of Hikari, as he had been so many other times.
And he was worried. She read it in the lines of his forehead and the set of his shoulders, the tension in his neck and the narrowed eyes. Whatever worried him terrified her, and she had enough to fret over already.
"Wizarmon." She nodded slightly, gesturing as she did for him to follow her. The Veggiemon would stay out of sight, being too wrapped up in the next batch of gruel, and spying on one another, to care too much about what the two of them did.
"We need to speak," Wizarmon said, his voice low. "Something important has happened."
She found a small, weak smile touching her lips. "And I want something important to happen."
For a few silent moments they simply looked at one another, letting the last time they could ever pretend nothing was hidden between them pass. LadyDevimon spoke first.
"I want to take Hikari to the Digital World. I want to tell her what her name is and to let her live away from Vamdemon." What else? What else could she say? "I want to stay with her, and not him."
Wizarmon didn't move a muscle, save for the very slightest widening of his eyes, for what seemed to her to be forever. Then, slowly, miraculously, he began to smile. "I've hoped for years to hear you say something like that, my old friend."
LadyDevimon didn't know how to blush. But she could feel the tips of her ears heating up, and thought that was as close as she could ever come. "I took her outside some time ago. We...encountered a human. They spoke to one another only briefly, but since then it's been as if her light returned to her." She ducked her head for a moment, feeling as she had long ago, when she'd been just a Tailmon. "Ever since then, I can't imagine keeping her locked up like this. Not anymore."
Wizarmon hovered upward enough to rest a hand on her shoulder. "That explains more to me than you can imagine. I met that human that she crossed paths with."
Even more questions rushed to LadyDevimon's lips, but she held them all back. They could be asked later, when they weren't still in Vamdemon's castle. "How can we get her out? Can he help?" The idea of leaving Hikari forever didn't set right with her at all, but if the humans would take care of her, then she would abandon her plan and do whatever was best for the girl.
Wizarmon, however, shook his head. "There isn't much they can do now. We are still working on trusting each other." Something flickered in the depths of his eyes, something that LadyDevimon couldn't remember having seen in him before. She wanted time to ask about it, to learn everything that she could, but there wasn't any.
"Then what can we do?"
Wizarmon pulled a small bag from within the depths of his cloak. "I've been making plans for an escape for some time. If we hurry, we should be able to get to the gate to the Digital World before anyone else realizes that we've left."
We? "You're coming with us?" After all this time, everything began to move far more quickly than she'd expected. She didn't feel as if it were out of control, not just yet, but inch by inch, everything spun just that much faster.
There was a faint hint of lips curving upward behind his mask. "After this, what other choice would I have? Taichi already suspects me, I think, and after today, I'm certain Vamdemon will want words."
She turned back to the main cell area. "Then we'd better get going." The sooner they left, the better. "I'll get her out of there."
Wizarmon rested a hand on her arm. "Wait. I will." In answer to her questioning glance, he held up the bag he'd produced again. "If the door is simply unlocked, then you'll be a suspect as well. But if I break her out, the only one he'll believe turned on him is me."
She hesitated only for a few moments before nodding. He hurried on ahead of her, and as she took the first steps after him, a strange thrill unlike any she could remember feeling before shot all through her. She was finally, ultimately, doing what was right, even if it still gave her a cover as Vamdemon's loyal servant. She didn't know what kind of use that could have in the future, or if it would at all, but she trusted Wizarmon's words. The less that the vampire lord and his minions knew about what was going on here, the better off they would all be.
Hikari hadn't moved from her cot, head still tilted to that small fraction of dim light, which grew darker now as the hidden sun began to set. There wasn't much light in this world, but those with the eyes could still tell the difference, and there were few these days who didn't have the skill to do so.
Wizarmon looked at her for a few silent moments, then drew in a breath. "Yagami Hikari."
She didn't move. LadyDevimon's heart twisted at that, and she reached forward to touch the bars of the cell. "It's your name," she said, pitching her voice just enough so that the Veggiemon couldn't hear them. "Your name is Yagami Hikari."
Slowly, Hikari lifted her head and looked toward them, a faint air of confusion hovering over her. "Hikari?" She seemed to taste the name before her eyes cleared and she began to smile. "You know my name."
"I've always known it." LadyDevimon stepped closer, not taking her attention off of Hikari for a single moment. "But I couldn't tell you. Vadmemon forbade it."
The girl tilted her head to one side, one corner of her mouth going downward. "But why now?"
"Because we're leaving here, and what Vamdemon wants doesn't matter anymore," Wizarmon said, gesturing for LadyDevimon to move backward. He brought his supplies out, setting them on the floor beside the bars, and began to chant and gesture with his staff. After a moment, LadyDevimon realized one thing, at least, he was trying to say with those movements.
"You'd better get back." Even as she spoke, something else occurred to the Virus Digimon, and she started to turn to call out to the Veggiemon. They should've gotten them out of there before, as risky as that might be.
But there was no time now, because even as Hikari took a few skittering steps backward, a small explosion rocked the dungeon, and LadyDevimon found herself cast to one side, bent metal and broken stone scattered all over her. She leaped to her feet, knocking it away, and peered through the dust cloud until she saw Hikari. The girl cowered in the back of her cell, hair dust covered and a streak of blood down one side of her face where a sharp-edged chip of stone cut by her.
LadyDevimon didn't hesitate, but reached inside and pulled her out, wrapping her arms around her. She wished that she had better arms to do it with, arms that were made to hold and give comfort instead of throw out attacks and cause nothing but damage.
At least she could use her strength to protect Hikari now. Better than using it to hurt her, even if that hurt was nothing more than keeping her away from everything else.
"We need to get out of here." Wizarmon pushed himself to his feet, his cape shredded and hat askew. "The gate."
She knew where it was; it would take them some time to reach it, and with all of this, she didn't know anymore how much time they had.
"What's going on in here?" One of the Veggiemon peered his head in, looking around, eyes going wide. "Escape attempt!"
Wizarmon brought up his staff before the Veggiemon could start to back out, energy gathering on the staff's tip. LadyDevimon barely had time to realize what he was doing before the spell lashed forward to Wizarmon's cry of, "Thunder Ball!"
A moment later, the Veggiemon stood there blinking, head tilted to one side. "What...what happened? Is everyone all right?"
"We're all fine. But enemies have attacked the castle and abducted Vamdemon's prisoner," Wizarmon said, flicking his staff behind him again. LadyDevimon glanced down to see that her arms now wrapped around what appeared as nothing more than thin air. She could still feel Hikari's presence, but she couldn't see her at all.
And apparently neither could the Veggiemon, as he rolled backwards, then headed off howling at the top of its lungs for the others.
"We'd better leave before they come back," Wizarmon said. LadyDevimon nodded, scooping up the still invisible Hikari into her arms.
"Hold on tight," she advised, feeling the girl's thin arm wrappnig around her neck. "We're going to fly." And fly faster than she'd ever flown before, to get to the portal safely.
Hikari- she had a name...better than that, she had her own name again, and it rang in every part of her heart as being absolutely true - tightened her grip around LadyDevimon's neck. Her every thought spun with equal parts confusion and delight. She had a name, they were leaving this place never to return, and...they were leaving here, never to return.
The few times she'd been out before hadn't prepared her for the idea of never coming back here. She'd grown a little used to it, even as she didn't want to. Yet there still remained a part of her that ached for the open air and skies that weren't thick with clouds and gray with sorrow.
Wizarmon and LadyDevimon flew together, and she held on tight, watching the world spin by beneath them. Digimon flew here and there, focusing mostly on rushing toward where smoke from the explosion still wafted up into the air, barely visible in the evening shadows. They were too high for Hikari to catch more than a jumble of words, none of which made any solid sense to her, but she wasn't that bothered by it. Only one word really meant anything to her at the moment, the one that LadyDevimon and Wizarmon had both spoken to her. Her own true name at last.
She closed her eyes and leaned her head against LadyDevimon's shoulder, more tired than she had ever wanted to admit. She'd barely picked up that they were going to the gate, and wasn't even certain if she knew what that meant anyway. As long as they weren't going to stay here, she decided, and it wasn't a place where Vamdemon could ever find her ever again, she didn't care where they ended up.
LadyDevimon could feel the shift of Hikari's weight in her arms as the girl began to slip into what could've been her first complete and deep slumber in years. She hoped with all of her soul that it was the first of many.
"How long will it take us to get to the portal?"
"Not more than an hour, if we're careful to avoid being seen before we can get there," Wizarmon said, his attention on the crowds below. "But I'm more worried about something else." At her questioning look, he continued. "The spell I used shouldn't have caused an explosion like that. There was a shield there, one I couldn't detect."
LadyDevimon's heart plummeted. Only a few beings could've woven a shield that well, and one of them was the one they least wanted to encounter at the moment. Wizarmon must have seen that in her eyes, as he nodded. Both of them put on more speed. The sooner they reached the gate to the Digital World, the better.
To Be Continued