Hey guys! Ya have a good Christmas?
Well, I guess I managed to crank out a chapter. Can't avoid a little creative outlet when I get the chance. Hope you like!
The Dark Masters
TK must have gone insane. Why else would an injured and exhausted boy wish to go marching into the heart of the Dark World? It wasn't the time for heroics; it was time to escape. All Ken wanted to do now was return home. He was already fed up with the darkness that permeated everything around him. Matt had mentioned that he was the last to make it to the Dark World, and that everyone who had gone before him were all reunited. Now was their sole chance to return home. Yet even so, TK had a different plan in mind. The blond wanted to be rid of this darkness for good. And no one could blame him. After all they had suffered, such a wish was understandable. But even TK should know that in his condition, it was dangerous to remain in the Dark World at all, let alone take down its ruler.
Despite the whole irrational part of the idea, Ken spotted a small smile of approval cross Matt's face. As the older brother, he must have been proud. There was TK, after all, standing firm in his conviction to attack the darkness, even though his body was shuddering and twitching from fatigue. The two rookies hovered on each side of him, resolved to help their partner and friend in whatever path he chose. Everyone admired TK's selflessness, and Matt was almost convinced to follow along at first, but big brother protectiveness got the upper hand.
He stepped forward and laid his hands gently on TK's sagging shoulders. "Listen, squirt. It's obvious there's nothing you'd rather do than kick Daemon's butt, and I'm with you on that. But the problem's that we're in no shape to take him on, especially you. I'm hurt, and so is Sora. Ken doesn't look so hot either. We should get out while we can. It probably won't be long before more trouble comes."
TK had let out a shy grin at the mention of Ken, but it shortly turned to a glare as Matt finished. "I'm not denying that any of it hurts. I hate seeing you with that hole in your shoulder. I hate seeing Sora in pain. I hated having to give Ken a beating, though it would have helped if he dressed up like the Emperor again."
"I wasn't exactly thinking at the time," Ken said quietly. He shuddered inwardly at the memory of helplessness as the Emperor fought TK. "Especially when I decided to hit you."
Ken paused and lowered his head. Something the Emperor had told him a while ago rang through his head. Someone's going to get hurt soon, and I'll be there, watching, with you tucked away comfortably behind me. He made a fist, and noticed that TK's blood was still on his knuckles. The sight only made him clench harder. He felt a twinge of regret that he had allowed those words to become reality. Ken looked up, and sighed quietly. That was behind them now. Apparently the Digimon Emperor hadn't planned on getting pummelled to oblivion a second time.
TK spoke up again. "Honestly, I wouldn't mind going home right now; or at least to the DigiWorld. But the thing is that we don't know if we'll be able to get back. With Dragomon gone, the powers of darkness have weakened, and if we leave, we'll be giving Daemon time to gather his strength again. We won't be able to just break right back in, you know. The darkness has to bring you into its world."
"That's not how I got here," Matt continued to argue. "We were digging to the Dark Area at the core of the DigiWorld, and I made it through with Gabumon. Once we were in, it was a straight walk to the Dark World."
"Well…" Matt's partner cut in. "We were running in circles for a while too."
"How did you make it through?" TK asked.
Matt's thoughts drifted to when they all were hovering above the surface of the Dark Area. The black violet sphere was their only gateway to the world of darkness, and yet none of them could breach it. It didn't respond to anything they did, no matter how powerful. Not until Matt got up right in front of the surface. He remembered the clawed hand that came through and grabbed him and MetalGarurumon. It was then that he realized it really was the darkness had brought them in. Literally.
Gabumon answered when Matt didn't. "There was a huge claw. It pulled us through."
TK made a motion to fold his arms, though he stopped short midway, suddenly becoming uneasy and awkward. He decided just to rest his hands on his hips. "See what I mean? If it wants you, you're in. If not, there's no way you can break through."
The younger boy had won the argument, but his injury was still too painfully obvious. Matt sighed heavily, rubbing his forehead. "Look, you can't even cross your arms. How do you expect to do this?"
TK smiled. "The same way we've always done. I'm not going to give up."
Tsukaimon then said, "So instead of arguing over this we should just do it." He began fluttering away from the beach and towards the rocky slope. "I know which direction Daemon's fortress is."
TK followed wordlessly, Patamon resting on his head. Ken was the first to follow, glancing back at the others. Matt looked conflicted. Yolei could only be described as concerned, both for TK and the girl she was supporting. Sora, besides obvious pain, almost seemed like she wanted to go with them.
They had all just gotten back together, and already they were so disputed. Aware that TK wasn't going to stop for anything, Ken silently pleaded for the others to follow one more time before heading off himself. It wasn't long before he had caught up with TK. The blond's progress up the rocky slope was slow, understandably. Ken offered his friend a hand, which TK gratefully took.
"Are you sure you're up to this?" The raven-haired boy asked.
"No," TK replied honestly. "But somebody's gotta do it."
Matt's voice came from behind them, "Promise me you won't kill yourself in the process."
The younger boy turned to smile at his brother, "Don't worry about that. We'll get out of here. I promise you that."
The older brother frowned. "That's not what I was asking."
TK had no reply but to turn back around and continue up. By the time they reached the top of the cliff, the remainder of the group had caught up. Ken breathed an inward sigh of relief. At least they hadn't been completely split up over the argument. But then again, if arguing was enough to divide the Digidestined, it would have happened a long time ago.
The group left the cove behind for the last time. Their walk was quiet and tense; no one really wanted to think about what was to come. It eventually occurred to Ken that the other kids were mainly following him and TK, though he honestly had no idea where to go. He ventured a question.
"Do we even know where we're going?"
No one paused to think. None of the children even replied. It was one of the digimon that answered.
"I know where his fortress is," Tsukaimon said. He sighed and looked at TK. "I guess I'm taking you to him after all."
The blond managed to smile back. "At least it's for a different reason now, right? Show the way, buddy."
Tsukaimon gave a small grin in reply, something no one really expected. As the rookie turned to take point, Matt whispered in TK's ear. "Crazy…you've made friends with your worst enemy."
"And what do you know about making friends?" Came a voice from beside the group. Most of the children cried out when they saw Puppetmon there. How long had he been walking with them? Another newcomer spoke to back up the mega.
"I told you I was only getting the rest of my cast! Why did you run off? I find it awfully rude of you to leave before even seeing the performance!"
It was Piedmon, walking on the other side of the group, a menacing grin on his face. He was looking at TK as he spoke.
"I hope you are ready, since I have decided to include you in our little show."
"Yeah," Puppetmon cut in. "You, and your big brother!"
With that, the two digimon released some sort of shockwave, scattering the children out in all directions. It was a stunning blow, and Ken had trouble regaining his senses. The two evil digimon were standing side by side, admiring their work as they watched the Digidestined attempt to retaliate. It had never been so hard for them to recover. That one blow from the megas showed them just how much they were in need of rest. But they didn't have time for that. They had to fight somehow.
And yet, despite their determination, the Dark World intended to make clear that it was in control. Ken had just barely gotten to his feet when a cold chain lashed out from the rocky ground beneath, clamping down on his ankle and pulling taut. Ken stumbled to his knees, gasping sharply at the feel of icy metal on his skin. He heard a pained cry from Sora some ways away, as another bond coiled around her injured shin. The others were subject to the same fate; not even the digimon escaped the cold fetters of the Dark World. Only Matt and TK remained free, along with their partners. The younger one staggered over to Ken.
"What now?" He asked in a panicked voice.
Piedmon stood forward. "Let me answer that for you, my boy. You are supposed to fight! I have been waiting for this rematch."
"TK," MagnaAngemon said darkly. The boy nodded.
"Let him have it."
The angel lunged forward, aiming for the first strike. Puppetmon was prepared to help defend his fellow mega, but MetalGarurumon stood nearby, snarling.
"What about me?"
"Eh?" Puppetmon jumped, seemingly startled. "I'll get to you later."
"No! We finish this now!" The mech wolf charged and engaged the little mega. Though Puppetmon was at a disadvantage without his mallet, he still had the cross cutter on his back. Leaping out of his attacker's reach, he pulled out the wooden weapon.
"Puppet Pummel!"
MetalGarurumon successfully dodged the attack, but inadvertently put Matt in the line of fire behind him. Even though he had seen the cross coming, Matt wasn't fast enough to dodge it. It was a stroke of fortune that Tsukaimon was hovering right beside him. The blond was yet again saved by being driven to the ground by a rookie digimon. The wooden cross passed just above them, and soared on and out of the fight.
Angered that Matt had come so close to having his head taken off, MetalGarurumon threw himself mercilessly at Puppetmon. A berserk intent to kill had taken over the metal wolf. Puppetmon was soon on the defensive, mostly concerned with evading the constant barrage of blows coming from MetalGarurumon. The skirmish lasted no more than three minutes, until the mech had Puppetmon pinned on the ground. The evil digimon gaped wide-eyed at his nemesis, fearfully babbling out unintelligible words. It didn't help him. MetalGarurumon had no intention of giving mercy.
"Grace Cross Freezer."
He said it quietly, but darkly, and the attack was more than what was needed to defeat the helpless mega. When the blast died away, MetalGarurumon was standing over a small cloud of smoke. His rage wasn't over. Piedmon was his next target.
And then the world of darkness interfered again. MetalGarurumon had won his first fight easily, and he had to be restrained. Black coils appeared as if from nowhere and entangled him, keeping him from getting a shot off at Piedmon, who was still engaged with MagnaAngemon. Matt ran over to his partner, only to find himself entrapped as well. It was just TK and MagnaAngemon. It wasn't that unfair of a fight. They had won a similar situation before. This wasn't a battle of mega versus ultimate. It was a battle of darkness versus light.
Light had to win. Darkness has never overcome it, and they couldn't let that happen now.
Still, as much as they knew they had to come out on top, the battle wasn't coming out in their favour. Piedmon and MagnaAngemon weren't quite at a stalemate: the clown was winning. It was a test of sheer strength, as one tried desperately to drive the other out of the sky. Piedmon won, as he managed to work MagnaAngemon into a vulnerable position. He struck out suddenly, his knee connecting with the angel's gut. TK's partner dropped quickly out of the sky, raising a large cloud of dust as he landed. Piedmon's decent was far more graceful. He snickered at the children's faces when MagnaAngemon was slow in getting up.
"Once there were these Digidestined…and then they succumbed to the darkness…oh, THE END!" He finished with wicked laugher, which was stopped short as an air shot collided with the back of his head. He huffed as he turned to face the offender, and paused when he saw a rebellious-looking Tsukaimon glaring up at him. Piedmon frowned. "What do you think you are doing?"
"What I need to do," snapped the purple rookie.
"Why, you little…" Piedmon snarled raising his hand to attack.
But he never struck. Instead, a glowing purple blade pierced him through the chest. Excalibur.
The clown let out an angry scream as his body dissolved. Next, to the Digidestined's surprise, the bonds and chains of darkness melted away, freeing the group. The children cried in victory as they all made their way to where MagnaAngemon and Tsukaimon were facing each other, the former on his knees, the latter resting on TK's shoulders. Ken came up just in time to overhear the exchange.
"I have to say, Tsukaimon." MagnaAngemon was saying. "You are definitely one of us."
Telling from the shocked look on the rookie's face, Tsukaimon had never even hoped to be accepted among the Digidestined.
"Really?" The purple digimon asked warily.
"Yeah," Matt said, smiling. "Don't you realize all that you just did in that battle? You saved my life, giving MetalGarurumon a chance to defeat Puppetmon. Same thing with Piedmon. You distracted him so MagnaAngemon could get a shot off at him. I'd say you're the hero of that round."
The group agreed unanimously with a round of nods. Tsukaimon lowered his head humbly. "Are you guys sure you want me to stay?"
"Why wouldn't we be?" TK replied with his own question. "I know if I were you, I'd like to see the DigiWorld again. Then again, I'm not you, and I'm still dying to see it."
The rookie didn't respond, his face taking on a guilty expression.
TK continued, "Look, we're not denying what happened before. We're just forgiving you for it."
Tsukaimon's eyes visibly brightened. "You mean it?"
"You bet."
The purple rookie then took to flight, a new determination spreading on his face. "In that case," he mumbled to himself. "Maybe we really can defeat Daemon."
He gestured to the rest of the Digidestined.
"Let's finish this, guys!"
He was met by cheers of approval from the children, which proved to be more encouraging than they realized. Ken smiled to himself as he thought about his own experience with the darkness as compared to Tsukaimon's. They both had been enslaved, one as Devimon, the other as the Digimon Emperor. Both had been freed by the same group of Digidestined. It was a good feeling, knowing that you've found a group to be a part of. Ken knew what Tsukaimon was feeling, and knew that the little digimon would stay with the group until the end.
Until next time...which probably won't be until the new year...review!