Author's Note: Sorry this is so late, you guys. I had to re-watch the episode in order to write the chapter, but I have them all, so the next chapters should be no issue. :3 I also have no idea why this didn't post the first time. Weird.
Disclaimer: I do not own Digimon Xros Wars.
Chapter Two
He sat along the edge of the pond, lost in thought.
"Help me, Kiriha-kun. This is why I chose you."
The words repeated themselves over and over again in his head, but he could not abate the overwhelming anger inside of him. The girl, Nene, had used him for her own goals, and then like garbage, had cast him aside and betrayed him. The scene from before came back to him, how she had tried to coax him into destroying Stingmon and Lilamon, bullying the weak. And then, DarkKnightmon had reloaded himself and attacked him, and taken Nene off somewhere. She was in danger, he knew that. The pleading, fearful eyes she had addressed him with only moments ago would not leave his mind's eye.
She needed help, and even though a small part of him was urging to go and get her away from DarkKnightmon, he couldn't allow himself to give in to it. He tried to tell himself it was her problem, not his, and why should he even help her after she had played him like that?
"If you're lost, you'll feel better by making some kind of move."
His eyes flickered in surprise at being snuck upon, and he turned his head to meet the smiling face of Taiki. Greymon, who had been drinking from the pond, gave a thundering step in the boy's direction in preparation for a fight, but awaited further orders from his master, and Kiriha, although he was loathe to admit it, did not quite feel ready enough to challenge Taiki just yet so he did not voice them.
Instead he eyed the other boy with disinterest, attempting to mask his emotions showing on his face from Nene's betrayal. He could not allow himself to appear weak in front of anyone, especially not Taiki. "What do you mean?" He asked, turning his head away to further hide his expression. "It's not my concern anymore."
Liar, his own thoughts chastised. You're a liar. It is your concern. More than you think. And he had to ignore the guilt on his heart even as he said the words to the brunette standing behind him, because Taiki was right, he really was lost once again.
"I see..."
He did not see Taiki's grin, the knowing smile that he was giving from behind him. "But you know... getting owned by a girl isn't you, is it?"
"What?"
He turned his head so fast he might have gotten whiplash, but when he stood to address him, Taiki had already turned his back and was calmly walking back in the other direction, back towards his friends, leaving Kiriha staring after him, unable to completely figure him out.
"That guy..."
He sighed, looking over at his Digimon, who were still awaiting his command of what to do.
"Kiriha," MailBirdramon said softly. "If you care about her, then why do you refuse to help her? I don't believe what she did was to intentionally hurt you. I know what you're thinking. About that dark knight. I sense incredible dark energy from him, absolute evil, and it would not surprise me in the least if the girl is just a weapon, a tool, for him to use, and then throw away at his will."
Kiriha narrowed his eyes at him, but said nothing.
"I know you understand what I am referring to," The bird-like Digimon continued. "Your own past. You were used and betrayed by your relatives and your father's men, and the anger you are feeling at the girl is your own feelings from back then."
"Don't!" Kiriha shouted, waspishly, angrily, terrified of being reminded of the past once again. "Just don't, MailBirdramon! This isn't the same! She isn't the same!"
"Isn't she?" MailBirdramon asked simply. "Isn't she the same as you were? Used, left to be disposed of once her purpose has been finished? Kiriha, don't let your anger at her cloud your judgement. Is it really her you're angry at? Or is it the knight? Or perhaps those who used you in the first place?"
The blonde-haired boy growled, squeezing his eyes shut and clenching his fists. He didn't know what to think, what to feel. Nene had betrayed him, hadn't she? Used his strive for power for her own greedy ambitions. But when he had seen her then, so terrified, her gaze so pleading and desperate, he had to admit something alerted him to the fact that she was in serious danger, and that DarkKnightmon was the cause of it.
"He's right, Kiriha," Greymon spoke up in his gruff voice. "If that girl Nene is really in danger and is being used by that bastard DarkKnightmon, you should help her."
"Please help me, Kiriha-kun.."
"Getting owned by a girl isn't really your style, is it?"
"She's not the same!"
"Isn't she?"
He opened his eyes and unclenched his fists, swallowing thickly. They were right. Taiki was right. And if even he didn't do it for the reasons his Digimon were asking him to, he could at least do it for his own pride. No, Nene would not get the one-up on him, even if she really was in no danger and was just, in fact, using him to begin with. No one would ever overpower him or make him feel weak ever again.
No one.
"All right," He turned back to Greymon and MailBirdramon, who relaxed visibly at Kiriha's agreement. "All right, I'll do it. Taiki's sure to have a plan. And by the looks of that, it's already under way," He nodded up towards the sky, which was occupied by hundreds of Bagra Army soldiers. But there were also choruses of voices, and among those voices, he heard just one, just one, and although he did not know who it belonged to and what their purpose was, he knew it would lead to him to Nene. Then the light exploded, and the pathway towards it began to open, and he knew this was his moment, his cue, to go.
"Let's go!" He shouted, and reloaded Greymon as MailBirdramon lowered close and low enough for the boy to jump on his back. And then they were in the air, quickly traveling towards that ever-growing path of light. He saw Taiki's troops go on ahead, and somehow he got the nagging feeling that Taiki had suspected he might follow him. How annoying.
As they entered it, they were enveloped by the purple light of the entrance, and in no time, were soaring past Sparrowmon and the two Monitamon's hanging off his wings, Kiriha's heart racing even faster in his chest as they reached the end of the pathway. When they exited, Kiriha saw automatically that DarkKnightmon was overpowering Taiki's assemble, and whispered a quick, "Reload", allowing Greymon to reemerge from the Xros Loader.
The dinosaur-like Digimon launched himself directly into DarkKnightmon, and Kiriha had to repress a smirk when the giant toppled slightly, and even behind the armored mask, saw that his expression was affronted.
"Greymon!" Nene cried.
"What is he doing here?" The boy called Zenjirou squeaked, and as Kiriha dove off of MailBirdramon onto Greymon's waiting shoulders, he noticed both Zenjirou and Akari were wearing very weird outfits, but decided not to comment.
"Greymon." He called. "MailBirdramon. DigiXros."
As they formed into MetalGreymon, Kiriha carefully jumped down from their joined forms, and Taiki looked over and smiled at him. "Kiriha!"
Kiriha returned the gesture as MetalGreymon swooped past him. "You were right, Taiki. Getting owned isn't really my style."
The brunette laughed. "Right?" He agreed. "I thought you'd say that!"
Xros Four and MetalGreymon began to circle the Dark Knight, who spun around, realizing that both the blue and red armies had joined forces, and in unison, launched an attack. DarkKnightmon missed being hit by a mere millisecond, and managed to push both xrossed Digimon back at the last moment.
MetalGreymon went forward again, DarkKnightmon dodging every one, until Xros Four leapt into the air directly at the black Digimon, succeeding in sending him flying backwards, past Nene, who had squeezed her eyes shut from the pressure.
"Nene, use Xros Open," DarkKnightmon ordered, and Nene opened her eyes blearily to find the knight's gaze upon her.
"But!" She protested, flinching when DarkKnightmon's yellow eyes glinted dangerously.
"That's an order." He swept ahead of her again, and Nene fingered her Xros Loader, momentarily hesitating, before she swallowed thickly and held out it out it, the device now glowing purple with dark energy.
"Xros Open."
At once, the knight split in two, increasing his speed as well as his agility.
"What?" Kiriha gasped in shock.
The larger half of the knight continued forward and rammed right into Xros Four and MetalGreymon, sending both Digimon skidding a good distance backwards, now on the end of the assault. "This is my original form, SkullKnightmon." SkullKnightmon said, and then gestured at the smaller half beside him. "And this is my partner, DeadlyAxemon."
Kiriha growled. So DarkKnightmon all along was really just a conjoined Digimon from two separate ones? SkulllKnightmon was probably the prime consciousness of the the Digimon, though, and it was he who they needed to defeat. But he would be weakened without his partner, wouldn't he? DeadlyAxemon was the weakest link. Kiriha chanced a quick glance at Nene, who did not seem the least bit surprised by the news, and he realized she had known about DarkKnightmon being two Digimon. Of course she did, he thought sarcastically. She's in league with him.
He was brought back to the battle when Taiki grit his teeth in frustration, hissing. "DarkKnightmon was their DigiXrossed form..."
Kiriha was about to tell him the battle tactic he had planned out in his head, attacking DeadlyAxemon first in order to stop DarkKnightmon from DigiXrossing, but he was cut off when both of the Digimon came at them again. "Nene." SkullKnightmon commanded, and Nene held out her Xros Loader again.
"DigiXros!"
Upon reconnecting, DarkKnightmon launched his Big Axe Mode attack, emitting a blast so powerful it De-DigiXrossed him again and slammed MetalGreymon and Xros Four into a heap on the ground.
With their forces detained, Nene advanced upon Deckerdramon. "Hurry up and surrender, Deckerdramon." She ordered.
The Digimon called Deckerdramon, whom Kiriha realized with mild surprise was the one who had been calling to him back at the pond, gazed at her girl curiously, as if trying to see through her. "I am the guardian deity of love. I can see how much love a warrior holds in his heart. I will not aid that black knight." He paused for a moment, his eyes still lingering upon her. "You, on the other hand..."
"Be quiet!" Nene commanded, seemingly affected by the words, and Kiriha, as he stood watching her, could not exactly figure out why. All he knew was that he felt a small pang, like a stirring, in his chest, wondering if maybe MailBirdramon and Greymon had been right about her after all.
A thrashing footstep behind her made her eyes widen as DarkKnightmon called, "Nene, DigiXros me."
For a moment, it looked like she might not oblige. That she might finally break away from the large Digimon, no longer follow his orders. But then obediently, she turned, holding out her Xros Loader. "DigiXr – " She trailed off when suddenly Taiki's hand grabbed her around the arm, preventing her from making the move, and she gasped.
"Stop this, Nene," The boy told her fiercely, creating a struggle as Nene attempted to pull away from him but Taiki only responded by seizing her wrist harder.
"Taiki-kun, don't get in my way." Her words, although coated with warning, did not reflect in her voice, and her eyes shone with emotion even while she attempted to regain her resolve.
"Hurry up," DarkKnightmon hissed impatiently, startling her, and his eyes glinted dangerously again. "Or do you not care what happens to who you cherish most?"
At this, Nene let out a loud, pained, and terrified gasp, sounding as if she had been stabbed, her skin turning a chalky white as she paled, seemingly lost in a terror Kiriha nor Taiki could see or comprehend. But Taiki would not be detoured, because gripped her all the more tightly and addressed her again. "What is he threatening you with?" His voice seemed to refocus her, and Nene's eyes filled with tears as the brown-haired boy continued to plead with her. "Please, tell me, Nene!"
"Stop," She choked desperately. She closed her eyes. "Don't look at me like that, Yuu!"
Taiki's eyes widened in surprise, and Nene successfully pulled away from him, running towards DarkKnightmon before she stopped abruptly in front of him, head down, not facing them, not moving. Taiki stared at her shaking back, uncomprehending. "Who's... Yuu?"
The girl did not respond for a long moment. When she did, her eyes, as well as her voice, were now both filled with emotion. "My younger brother..."
Taiki gasped, and Kiriha, standing farthest away from her, felt the stirring in his chest grow stronger. Her brother. She was obeying DarkKnightmon because he had her brother. It no longer mattered that she had betrayed him; It no longer mattered that she had used his strengths to her advantage, because in the end, it hadn't been for herself at all.
It had been for her family, her little brother, and seeing her now, her vulnerability, and her desperation, and the fact that she had been obeying that bastard knight that had taken her brother as a hold over her, only infuriated him, angered him so badly he wanted nothing more than to tear DarkKnightmon apart himself.
She's just like me, he realized. MailBirdramon's words came back to him once again, and he closed his eyes, admitting to himself that he had been wrong while at the same time, trying to ease the guilt he felt about not helping Nene sooner. Taiki, it seemed, had realized what it meant too. "Your brother is the reason you're serving DarkKnightmon, isn't he?" He asked. However, Nene did not answer him, and instead extended her hand forward again, completing the DigiXros. "Nene!" He tried again.
"Just leave me alone!" She cried. She turned now, facing him, her expression slightly manic, desperate and afraid, afraid for the well-being of her brother. "It doesn't matter! All I want is to go back to the human world with Yuu! If he can make that happen for me, then I don't care if I have to follow the devil himself!"
Taiki could only stare at her. "Nene..."
"No way... Nene..." Sparrowmon whispered, and it became apparent that not even Nene's closest friend had known about her secret, or why she was serving such a Digimon, and with that in mind, as well as his own realization and feelings, Kiriha took a small step forward from where he was standing, so he could speak to Nene properly.
"I understand now," He called to her, and when she looked at him, her expression was full of surprise and suffering.
"Kiriha-kun..."
He did not break his gaze. "I mistook you for a shallow woman who only acted for her own convenience." Her expression flickered with understanding, but he continued. "You have to become strong, Nene. Like how I did." And in that moment, every feeling, every message he wanted her to understand, every memory from back then, emitted from him. "Being strong is the only way to heal pain!"
Nene's eyes widened, shining with unshed tears once more, and as he narrowed his own, silently telling her, telling her she had to become strong now, no more crying and being someone else's tool, to take a stand for herself and her brother, and he knew she understood. Her eyes closed, and when they reopened, the purple irises were strong and determined and he felt, for the first time, something he had not felt since back then, and that was trust, a connection. Hope. Hope that, for the very first time in years, he could share this feeling of pain with someone else, and in turn, for them to share it with him as well.
He did not even need to give the order to attack, because MetalGreymon knew what to do, knew what Kiriha had decided, and he picked Kiriha up into his hand as he launched a powerful blast at DarkKnightmon. As the smoke eroded away, Kiriha addressed him. "We are Blue Flare. We'll show you the blaze of the blue flames!" And as they tackled the black Digimon again, the blonde-haired boy vowed, "I won't give in. I'll change everything in the Digital World... with my power!"
Sparrowmon was circling above him, Nene perched on his back. Good, he thought. She's safe. He glowered at DarkKnightmon, who seemed to be somewhat surprised by Kiriha's intensity, and the boy felt satisfaction deep within him, pleased to have this bastard on the receiving end.
He was distracted when the Code Crown of this Zone flew in front of him. "The Code Crown?" He whispered, and held out his palm, feeling the warmth coming from it. When it did not fly away, he enclosed it in his fist and looked over in disbelief at the alligator-like Digimon, Deckerdramon, who he realized had given it to him and was standing facing him. "Why give this to me?" He demanded.
Deckerdramon lifted his head. "You have the strongest love of all."
Kiriha could only stare, baffled. Him? The strongest love? "Me?"
"I shall aid you in your fight of love from now on," Deckerdramon declared, and Kiriha smirked, chuckling to himself. My fight of love, huh?
"You aren't worthy to come with us unless you're strong." He told him. "Show me how powerful you are, Deckerdramon!"
Deckerdramon wasted no time in turning towards DarkKnightmon, who had not move. "Very well."
Kiriha noticed that Taiki and his two friends had been taken to safety by Stingmon, and Taiki was ordering Xros Four to attack. Knowing the attack now had triple the times of ferocity, Kiriha sprung his hand forward, at DarkKnightmon. "Finish him, Blue Flare!" Together, MetalGreymon, Deckerdramon, and Xros Four attacked, and DarkKnightmon was encased in black smoke.
Stingmon landed and gently placed the others back onto the ground, and Zenjirou craned his head around to get a look at the destruction. "Did they get him?" He asked.
A chuckle, and then DarkKnightmon emerged from the billowing smoke, not bearing a single scratch or mark, his chuckling turning into full out laughter. He looked at Kiriha, the expression behind the mask of armor no doubt amused. "As expected of the man Nene saw potential in, Aonuma Kiriha-kun." He chortled. But Kiriha was not paying any attention to him; Sparrowmon, along with Nene, had landed beside the knight, and as she caught his stare, Nene addressed the blonde-haired boy with apologetic eyes, and Kiriha gave her a small nod, unnoticed by DarkKnightmon, who was still rambling at him. He would not stop trying to get her safely away from this guy. Not by a long shot. He knew what he had to do.
"Personally, I have no problem with you getting the Digimon and the Code Crown." DarkKnightmon continued, and Kiriha was tempted to tell him to go to hell when the knight looked down at Nene. "Now, let us withdraw, Nene."
"Okay, DarkKnightmon." The girl agreed.
Predictably, Taiki tried to stop her. "Nene, don't go with him!"
She silently reloaded DarkKnightmon and turned. "Zone transfer." With a last look over her shoulder, she whispered loud enough for both boys to hear, "Let us return to Dust Zone." And then she was gone.
Dust Zone.
She had purposely left them a hint. A hint of where to find her! Taiki shouted her name again, but Kiriha had already realized what she was doing and recalled his Digimon back into his Xros Loader. This was his chance. This was what Nene wanted him to do. Follow after her. That's why she had left that hint behind. "Leave Nene to me," He told the brown-haired boy quickly, and ran into the portal as it began to close, and he could have sworn, as the portal completely enclosed him, he had heard Taiki shouting his name.