Chapter 14: The Metal Empire

I can't believe that all happened, Datamon was actively trying to kill me now, having his overgrown teddy bear kidnap me, and blab to me how that tin can was going to have me killed. I knew exactly what I was going to do, I was going to confront Datamon, and drag his carcass back to Rex so he could be punished for his crimes against me and the empire. Rex was many things, but he was certainly not forgiving of treachery.

We were currently in his industrial district of the great Metal Empire city, the pungent smells of his highly pollutant factories assaulted my nostrils, the little vegetation that managed to survive his toxic factories were brown and withered, Datamon never gave much thought to keeping his territory, healthy, he made no secret how much he hated "organics", even if this world itself was artificial, he only seemed to respect robotic Digimon, which made his loyalty to the Digimon King a bit questionable in hindsight, I had no doubts he planned on betraying him eventually too, but I would end that today.

Okamon kept pace with me, "You do know that we'll probably have to fight our way to Datamon right?" He pointed out, he wasn't wrong, Datamon was many things, but a "fair player" wasn't one of them, he was a coward hiding behind his legions of loyal robot Digimon, I had no doubts we'd have to fight them off just to get to him.

I scoffed, "Let him send his robots, he'll only be digging himself a deeper grave when Rex finds out what he's been doing to his second in command," I said with a confident smirk, I looked forward to seeing Datamon at Rex's feet, begging for mercy, and he would get none.

We both entered the front door, surprisingly unlocked considering he had to know we were coming, unless he thought Monzeamon actually managed to kill me, in which case it would seem we had the element of surprise on our side as well. If all went well, we probably wouldn't even need to fight Datamon, just call Rex and inform him of what his "loyal" subject had been up to.

However, suddenly the room was drenched in red light, and tv screens came to life with that son of a bitch's face on them, "Ah, if it isn't my old friend Bridget Shuno, I should have known that ignoramus plush toy Monzeamon wouldn't be able to dispatch you, but no matter, it seems I was right about your lack of mental prowess, as you've blundered right into my trap!" He gloated.

I glared at him from under my red goggles, "Rex is going to have your head when he finds out what you had your pet teddy bear do to me!" I threatened him, I had no idea how the hell he thought he was going to get this by Rex, he'd notice if I were missing.

But Datamon sounded with a loud laugh, "Oh I don't think that will be an issue," He said before I heard a soft click underneath my feet, before I could even think of what it could possibly be, I found myself falling through a trap door, I could hear Okamon cry my name as the light from the hole grew ever smaller, before I hit the bottom…

Meanwhile…

I don't think there was a single member of our group that wasn't glad to leave that evil toy town behind us, me and Commandramon did however manage to get the supplies we bought though, (of course after checking them for booby traps). We were now on our way to the metal empire, Ross filling us all in on what happened, but of course, one part seemed to be a sticking point for some.

"You let the queen go? Why?!" Ethan blurted out, to be honest, I was kinda surprised he had let her go to, but for different reasons, honestly, I would freed her too if I were in his position, but the fact distrusting, cynical Ross of all people let her go was kind of unexpected.

Ross rolled his eyes, "Because I learned I need to stop being so paranoid about people, including her, I'm hoping that act of kindness makes her begin to rethink her views on the Digital World," He admitted, I couldn't help but agree with his reasoning, everyone deserved a chance to change, I just hoped she took it.

However, Ethan and Gaomon both didn't seem to share his optimism, "Dude! Did we forget she was the one who tried to kill an entire rebel camp AND enslaved a crap ton of Digimon to mine for ore? That ship has sailed man!" Snapped Ethan, I couldn't fault his reasoning, but still… I think it was worth a try at least.

I shook my head, "Guys! We need to focus right now, or are you forgetting we're in enemy territory right now?" I pointed out, if anything to get them to stop fighting. The two simply rolled their eyes and went back to walking.

It was then we saw it, the fabled Metal Empire, it was like we had stepped right into Orwell's 1984, the city was bleak and dark, with futuristic buildings that were either in ruins, or on their way to becoming ruins, various robot Digimon trudged through the dark streets with vacant expressions not unlike the ones that the Commandramon had, they just mindlessly went through their lives like they were programmed routines, every second of their lives a planned series of events meant to keep the city running in a steady pace.

These robot Digimon didn't even seem to acknowledge our existence, just moving past us like we were invisible, "Okay… this place is weird," Kate said, I would have gone with "depressing" but that's just me.

However Ross had a different reaction, "I think we should just keep moving, if the King IS here, we have to get to him before he turns this town against us like Monzeamon did," He said, he wasn't wrong, this was a town of robots ran by the King's armies, all it would take is one stray Commandramon or whatever to alert the king and whip this town into a frenzy.

Ross then moved to an alley way, "We should stick to the alleys, the less people see us here the better," He said, normally you wanted to avoid alleyways in dense, rundown cities like this, but again, Ross was right, we needed to keep hidden, I'd rather avoid having to fight our way to the King if we could, so we all funneled into the alley, it was dark, but also surprisingly clean, I guess in a city populated by robot Digimon there wasn't going to be much in the way of trash, but still.

While we were moving between the buildings, I managed to notice that Commandramon seemed… uncomfortable. Commandramon was a Digimon who was very good at hiding how he felt, keeping a professional and composed image at all times, but here… he actually seemed… scared. "Commandramon? You okay?" I asked him.

Commandramon at first didn't answer, just keeping pace with everyone else, but then, "This place… it's… those Digimon we saw… they… they didn't feel right… they had that same look my… my comrades had… it just… "He said, struggling to find the words to describe what was unsettling him. "I think… I… I can hear something in my head…" He then said, causing everyone to stop.

Commandramon then began to hold his head like he had the mother of all headaches, I could see his face clenching, trying to fight back… something, "It's… it's Datamon… he has… some kind of… program running through the city… I can't… I can't!" He struggled, he then collapsed to his knees, and began to scream. A horrible wail that sent echos throughout the dilapidated city, we all just stood there in horrified silence as my Digimon partner began to writhe and convulse as we began to hear what sounded like a high pitched whining. "He's trying to… I… must… obey… AGH!" He strained.

It took me a minute to realize what was happening, Datamon had some kind of mind control program running through the city, it must have been how he kept the other robot Digimon in the city under his control, and now this program was trying to worm it's way into Commandramon's head! And me powerless to do anything to help him, all I could do was watch as my friend struggled to keep control of his own mind.

I scooped him off the ground, "We have to move, I don't want to risk Commandramon's life any more than we have to!" I said, I got no argument from the others, as we all rushed through the streets of this hellish robot city. I could feel Commandramon squirming in my arms, I didn't want to even begin to imagine what he was going through right now, how hard it was for the poor thing to even keep his head straight. At least now we knew why the robots in this city seemed so mindless, whatever it was that was keeping them in line was trying to take over Commandramon as well.

Commandramon looked up at me with weak eyes, full of fear "Jason… help me… it… it won't stop! Make it stop!" He pleaded with me, all I could do was just keep my legs moving and pray to every deity in existence that I could get Commandramon away from whatever it was that was trying to control him. I held him tightly in an effort to try to comfort the poor thing, it was upsetting to see Commadramon like this, the usually quite strong and level headed Digimon now in such a vulnerable state, desperately clinging onto my shirt as well as whatever control of his mind he had.

We all managed to find an entrance to some kind of underground tunnel, my first thought was a sewer, but what use would robots have for a sewer? It turned out to be an abandoned subway system, as I could see a dilapidated subway car sitting on it's rails, Commandramon seemed to calm down, whatever it was that had wormed it's way into his head had stopped when we entered the abandoned station.

Ross slammed a fist into a wall, "Dammit all! Just when I thought that king bastard couldn't get any more underhanded!" He growled, "The hell was that anyway?" He then asked.

Commandramon took a moment to collect himself, "I… I don't know… something… something in my head was messing with my programming… trying to override my free will…" Commandramon tried to explain, still a bit shaken by his experience.

"It's Datamon's control protocol."

We all stopped as a figure stepped out from the darkness, when it stepped into the light we all stopped dead in our tracks, it was none other than Okamon, the Digimon Queen's ever present partner, but I noticed that the queen wasn't with him, "He uses it to keep his citizens in line, your lucky he didn't completely take over your mind," Okamon explained.

Ethan and Gaomon seemed the least happy to see Okamon, "The hell are you telling us this for? I'd thought you'd want Commandramon back in your stupid King's army?" Ethan spat, granted, none of us were exactly thrilled to see the Digimon Queen's lapdog here, but Ethan seemed especially pissed to see him.

If Okamon was in any way bothered by this outburst, he didn't show it as he kept his usual blank expression, "You misunderstand my loyalties," He said in his usual monotone, "My loyalty is to Bridget and Bridget alone, and right now… she's in danger," He added. We all just sat there in silence, not sure how to react to this, "She had gone to Datamon's factory to confront him after he had Monzeamon capture her earlier, but we unknowingly walked into a trap. He let me go, but Bridget was captured," He elaborated.

Part of me wanted to tell him off, that whatever it was Datamon had planned for her was karma for all the horrible things she had done as the Digimon Queen, but… I knew deep down that it wasn't right, Ross had freed her specifically to give her a chance to change, a chance everyone, no matter how evil, deserved.

Okamon then approached me, looking right into my eyes, "I came to you because you're the only ones I know who can help me find her, I know you have little reason to trust me given our pasts, but I have no one else to turn to… please," He explained, there was something about his tone of voice that struck me as odd, he seemed… desperate… he did his best to hide it, but his eyes gave him away, he was terrified about what might become of his tamer.

I weighed my options, on one hand, it seemed obvious the right course of action was to leave her in Datamon's clutches, one less villain to worry about, but on the other hand, Okamon had to be desperate if he was relying on us to help her, and I just couldn't bring myself to leave her, I remembered what Kentaruosmon had said, about Bridget being one of us at one point, maybe… if we helped Okamon… we'd finally get through to her?

I turned to Okamon, "Where do we start?" I said, and I could have sworn, Okamon smiled.

However… "Are you out of your mind?!" Gaomon protested, of course someone had to question this decision, "Why the hell should we help him? Did we forget this was the same Digimon that tore Commandramon's arm off?" He pointed out, and while he certainly wasn't wrong, I knew I was making the right decision.

I shook my head, "I haven't, but we'd be no better if we just left her in Datamon's clutches, besides, if the King is here, Datamon will know where, we go with Okamon to rescue Bridget, we find Datamon, and we find the King, that's my plan!" I said, trying to be as firm as I could, I know the prospect of rescuing one of our enemies wasn't exactly a happy prospect, but it was the right thing to do.

Ross stepped forward, "Besides, Okamon knows this place better than we do, and I'd rather not have my efforts to free her be for nothing," He said, it was bizarre to have Ross of all people backing me up here, but at least he saw the practical side of it like I did.

Kate nodded, "Besides, we're supposed to be the heroes right? What kind of heroes would we be if we left her to the mercy of the maniac that runs this horrible city?" She said.

Ethan seemed to hesitate, I knew how upset he had been at Ross for freeing her, so I doubted he was thrilled at the prospect of helping rescue her, but for whatever reason, he let out a sigh, "You're right, we should help them, even if she is an evil bitch," He said reluctantly.

Okamon seemed grateful, "Thank you, all of you," He said with a small bow of the head, he then turned, "Come, if I know Datamon as well as I do, he's probably holding her in the industrial area," He said, as he led us down a dark tunnel, with a simple shrug we all followed him, god I hope I haven't walked us into a trap…

Meanwhile…

I guess I should be thankful Datamon wasn't going to kill me, but what he did have planned for me? Well, it kinda made me wish he had…

He had stripped me of my Digimon Queen garb, replaced with a pale blue jumpsuit, an outfit every Digimon who shared the room with me all shared, it seemed that all the Digimon Rex had captured weren't just sent to the mining camps like I had thought, as it seemed Datamon had some to work in his factories, which is what he intended to have me do now.

I was led to a machine by two Hagurumon, giant gears with faces pretty much. "Here you are, your "majesty"," One Hagurumon said, clearly trying to mock me, I shot him a dirty look as I approached the machine, with any luck I wouldn't be here long, Rex wouldn't allow this, I was the Digimon Queen, not an AI like the Digimon that toiled away here.

The Hagurumon floated away, probably to oversee the other workers to make sure they didn't try to revolt or something. I looked to the machine that I was expected to work with, the factory seemed to the a production plant for Commandramon, more soldiers for Datamon's stolen army.

It didn't take long for the other Digimon in the room to notice my presence, "Hey! Isn't that the Digimon Queen?" One asked, "I guess the King isn't as great as you thought he was, was he your majesty?" Another mocked me, stupid programs, as if this situation wasn't annoying enough already, I had to deal with the mocking voices of several Digimon on top of that.

I said nothing, not willing to give them the satisfaction of me acknowledging their mocking words. I began to pull the levers, I needed to do something to take my mind off this situation I found myself in.

Suddenly the intercoms came alive with a mockingly upbeat jingle, like this was a department store informing it's shoppers about it's next flash sale, "Greetings workers, today we have a special guest in our factory, I'm sure you all know her quite well," Datamon's voice sounded over the intercom, "The Digimon Queen herself is now, like all of you, a permanent part of the family, please, do give her the welcome she so… richly deserves," He mocked over the intercom, I knew what he was trying to do, he was trying to break me, I felt every Digimon in the room's eye on me, their angry faces told me that I had no friends in this room, I tried my best to hide how hopeless that made me feel, simulation or not, I was stuck here, and I doubted any of these other workers were willing to let me go without a black eye or two.

A bell then rang, and the intercom sounded once more, "Break time, please proceed to the cafeteria for your one meal break," A robotic, Microsoft Sam voice sounded, and every Digimon got up from their spots and filed into the cafeteria, I debated going in myself, knowing full well what would happen if I did, but that debate ended when the Hagurumon forced me from my spot and into the cafeteria.

I took a good look around, they were all watching me, a thousand digital eyes all glaring at me in anger, burning hatred in their eyes as they looked upon their queen. It wasn't too different from high school really, I wasn't all that hungry, so I just sat at the only table that was completely empty, I doubted sitting near the Digimon would end well, and I had no interest in whatever horrible slop Datamon intended to feed these things, and by extension, myself.

However, surprisingly, a Digimon chose to plant their tray onto the table I sat at, the Digimon was small, so small it had to sit itself on the table itself rather than the seat in front of it. The Digimon resembled an orange hamster with batwings for ears, it's eyes were a vibrant blue, giving it a childish like innocence, despite it's situation, it wore a bright smile on it's face.

I sat there, watching the thing, waiting for it to enact it's revenge upon the Digimon Queen, but instead, it offered me a bit of it's bread, "You're going to need it, we don't get many food breaks around here," It said in a high pitched, child like voice, it's tiny little hands pushing the bit of bread towards me.

Confused, I took it, the bread was clearly stale, but I expected that, "I'm surprised you care, considering who I am," I said, I couldn't help but be suspicious, the looks the others had been giving me told me I didn't exactly have the best reputation with these things, this one being kind enough to offer me some of it's food seemed… odd.

The Digimon simply giggled, "Well, if you're here, you aren't the queen anymore, you're in the same boat as us now, the others don't see it that way, but they will in time," He said, the comment about me not being queen anymore stung a little, for all tense and purposes, he wasn't wrong, as long as I was here, I wasn't the queen anymore, just another slave working in Datamon's factory. "Besides, I think you could use a friend here, considering where you are," He added.

That last one confused me a little, why did this thing care about my well being? I was responsible for a good amount of these things being here, why the hell would it want to help me? "Why do you care?" I asked him, slightly out of curiosity mostly.

The Digimon shot me another smile, "Why not? You have feelings too don't you?" He said, as if my question was the most ridiculous thing he had ever heard, I just couldn't wrap my head around this thing, was there a glitch with his AI? Why would this thing have any sympathy for the woman who, for all he knows, had a hand in trapping him here! It just didn't make sense.

After that, the bell rang again, telling me it was time to get back to work, "Well, we'd better get back to work, the Hagurumon here can be pretty nasty if you don't hurry," The Digimon said before flying off, something wasn't adding up here, I just don't understand why he'd be so forgiving, but I'd ponder this later, I had work to do…

Meanwhile…

Okamon had lead us through the subway tunnels, informing us that Datamon had shut them down because he didn't think they were of any use, kind a weird but hey, it gave us a means to move through the city without Commandramon getting assaulted by Datamon's mind control beams so I wasn't complaining. Okamon had been using a sustained "Shadow Shot" to light the way, the irony of an attack called "Shadow Shot" being our only light source was not lost on me.

Commandramon still seemed to be a bit out of it, stumbling slightly as he walked like a drunk college kid trying to get back home after a wild keg party. "You okay dude?" I asked him, hoping he wasn't about to vomit or something, could cyborg Digimon vomit? On second thought, some questions are better left unanswered…

Commandramon drunkenly stumbled towards my side, "I'm… sorry sir, my brain is still a bit scrambled by Datamon's program, it's still a bit hard for me to think straight," He explained, that program must have done some serious damage, considering he was still reeling from it, which made me glad we were staying underground where said program couldn't get him.

Okamon turned his golden eyes in our direction, "It will probably take him a while to recover Jason, he's lucky all it did was give him a headache," He said, I didn't even want to begin to theorize what could have happened, watching that program infect him was a horrific sight that I would rather not think about more than I had to.

Ross turned towards our lupine guide, "So, I have to ask, why does Datamon hate the queen? Isn't he one of the King's lackeys?" He asked, it was an important question for sure.

But Okamon shook his head, "Datamon's never liked Bridget, he always felt he deserved to be the King's right hand man instead of Bridget, he probably thinks if he makes Bridget disappear, then he'll be able to take her place at his side," He explained, so basically he was jealous of her. Good to know that the evil overlord of this robot city of doom was about as petty as a teenage girl who just lost the boy of her dreams to someone else.

Okamon then stopped suddenly, "The industrial district is right above us," He said, I looked around, I didn't see any means for us to get up there from here, no manhole covers, ladders, or anything really.

Ross crossed his arms, "And how exactly are we supposed to get up there from here? I don't exactly see a lift around here or anything," He pointed out rather sarcastically, he wasn't wrong, but I didn't think it was necessary to be so… rude about it.

Okamon said nothing, instead killing the Shadow Shot flame, leaving us all in blackness, "OKAMI HOWL!" He suddenly yelled, before a very loud howl sounded, I had to cover my ears it was so loud! Suddenly a giant hole was formed, casting a light upon Okamon, "We don't have time to waste trying to find another exit," He said before leaping through the hole with relative ease.

I just looked at the hole, there was no way we'd be able to reach that thing, before I began to think Okamon had just ditched us down here, a rope lowered itself into the hole, "Hurry, before Datamon's patrols spot us," Said Okamon, letting us know he intended on us climbing said rope, how the hell he found it I had no clue, but, best not look a gift horse in the mouth…

Ross was the first to climb up, Hawkmon hovering over him, as if waiting for him to lose his grip so he could swoop in and catch him, the image of Hawkmon trying to haul Ross into the air was amusing to say the least, but Ross was able to climb the rope just fine on his own. Kate was next, she effortlessly scaled the rope, I guess this wasn't the first time she'd climbed a rope, Psychemon however had a bit more trouble, taking more than a few minutes to get up the rope.

Gaomon didn't even wait for Psychemon to finish climbing before scaling the rope himself. "Come on Psychemon! It's not that hard!" Gaomon shouted up at Psychemon, god was Gaomon pushy sometimes…

Psychemon struggled to pull himself up over the edge of the hole, his little magenta legs wiggling around trying to pull himself up, but he managed it eventually, Gaomon following him up shortly after, Ethan grabbed onto the rope before looking to me, "Man, it's just like gym class," He commented before beginning his ascent, he struggled a little, but managed to reach the top eventually.

I looked to Commandramon, expecting him to go next, "You go Jason, it's better I go last, in case something finds us down here," He said, I doubted that was the reason, he was probably still reeling from the program and didn't want to admit it, but I complied none the less, I tried my best to get up the rope, having some not so pleasant flashbacks to PE class, but after a while, I managed to reach the top, Okamon of all people grabbing me by the hand to pull me up.

I looked down the hole to see Commandramon had begun to scale the rope, but he seemed to be taking his time, slowly making his way up, but eventually he managed to make it to the top, me pulling him up.

With everyone on the surface now I decided to look at my surroundings, the place was almost barren, we were surrounded by dirt on all sides, with tiny tufts of brown grass peppered here and there, the factory seemed to be surrounded by water, at least, I think it was water, it was a sickly green color, and smelt horrible, I had to cover my nose the stench was so bad.

Kate seemed to be just as repulsed by the stench as he covered her own nose, "God! This place reeks!" She commented.

Okamon approached the front door, "Come, we don't have much time, his patrols will be making their rounds anytime now," He said, one could question the wisdom of using the front door, but I wasn't about to brave the storm drains that the putrid water was funneling from so, front door it was.

The door opened with a loud whine, revealing a straight hallway, windows lining both sides that overlooks the factory workers within, unsurprisingly, said workers were more enslaved Digimon, each stuck at a machine, creating more Commandramon for The King's army it seemed, every one of them looking about as miserable as the ones at the queen's slave camp.

However, suddenly the screens in the halls turned on, revealing some kind of robot Digimon, I assumed this was Datamon, "Ah… the fabled Digidestined have decided to join me in my factory! And what's this? You have the queen's pet Okamon with you? How sweet," He said, yup this was Datamon, and he was every bit as much a jerk as I thought he'd be.

However, suddenly the image changed to that of a man, a human man, he looked to be in his late thirties, his hair was long and black, with a chin strap beard running down his jawline, his eyes glowing an unnatural red, "So… these are the Digidestined I heard so much about, and Okamon, I have to say I'm quite disappointed in you, joining with them, but no matter, you will all be dealt with in time," He said, wait… was this the Digimon King?

Okamon stayed still as stone, "I'm only working with them to rescue Bridget," He pointed out.

The King shook his head, "It is, unfortunate what happened to Ms. Shuno, but you must understand that you and her have become a liability, I'll be sure to tell her you stopped by next time I see her, and how you died with the Digidestiend." He said before the screen went black, sirens began to blare as Commandramon began to fill the room.

And to think… everything was going so well up to now…

A/N- It seems our heroes are in for the fight of their lives as they try to survive Datamon's trap and rescue the Digimon Queen! But it seems the King is less than upset about her current predicament, what does this mean for her? Well you'll just have to wait to find out!