Chapter 10 – Enter Daemon
The Dark Ocean was a silent, empty place. It always had been, and Daemon guessed that it always would be. The grey vacant desolation of that small pocket of dismal reality reflected its inhabitants who felt no passion, or love, or joy. They only felt emptiness, and the despair that follows. They were beings of cold and darkness, and to them light and warmth were odd and alien, something to be feared. And as terrible as the denizens of this dimension were, they belonged there. This was their home and they fit it perfectly. But for all Daemon's comfort with cold and darkness, they were not a part of him. Indeed, he had been born as a being of light. He had laughed, and loved, and felt sweet stings of passion and fury. He had tasted of all life had to offer, marvelled at indescribable beauty and unfathomable horror, and been drunk on victory and felt the bitterness of defeat. He was a being of passion, of life, inside him burned a flame so bright that it could set this world ablaze. This dimension was not where Daemon belonged. He was more than this place.
Daemon had been stranded here in this reality for quite some time, since The Digidestined had sent him here by exploiting Ken Ichijouji's connection to the place. When he had arrived, he had flown for many miles out to sea just to see for how far this odd pocket of dark and corrupted data extended. And though this was a small and obscure little reality in the grand scheme of things, its ocean was, as far as Daemon was aware, unending. After four days of constant flight, he had returned to the beach, confident that there was no barrier or limit to this reality which he could force his way through.
But Daemon was not so base a creature that he could simply be trapped like a common animal. In the ages he had been alive, he had become an unknowable riddle wrapped in a shroud of malice, holding onto countless secrets forgotten to time and to a great many abilities once the preserve the greatest celestial beings, now known only to him as the one true survivor of that ancient and divine lineage. And so, from the beach of The Dark Ocean, he had tapped into such a power and mentally called out across the dimensions to all who had tasted of the darkness which was his domain, and his master Lucemon's before him. All beings loyal to him would hear his voice and come to him. He had called his Dark Crusade into action, and soon it would begin.
As powerful as Daemon was though, even he did not know that today was the day he would be freed from this world. As he walked on the beach for what must have been the thousandth time, he heard something other than the lapping of the waves at the shore and the faint sound of the wind far out to sea. He heard something as alien to The Dark Ocean as he was. Far above him in the sky, a great dragon appeared seemingly from nowhere, with a Digimon Daemon knew only too well gripped in it's teeth. Barbamon was unmistakable, exactly as he had known him so long ago when The Digital World was young. In truth, Daemon had never liked him, but all the same he was a welcome sight. What was more welcome to him though was this dragon. He was truly a sight to behold, like pure chaos personified. Teeth like razors, a body muscled and armoured in equal measure, and a ferocity Daemon was almost envious of. What a monster, burning with power Daemon knew he recognised.
He watched with fascination as the two fought, but his attention was momentarily taken by a third figure who rather than staying in the air with Barbamon and this creature, was instead plummeting towards the ocean. Raising his hand, Daemon telekinetically suspended the figure's momentum and drew them towards him. Within twenty feet, he got a good look at the who he had caught. Kari Kamiya. Digidestined. Momentarily, the thought occurred to him to simply let go and watch her sink down into the depths of the ocean, and though the thought gave him great satisfaction, he resisted the temptation. The girl was unconscious, an effect of her fall or how she had arrived in this reality, Daemon did not know. But all the same she hung in the air before him, her features vacant and clueless of her situation.
Casting her aside for the moment, Daemon again observed the battle going on above him. Barbamon had freed himself from the dragons' jaws and was now wielding that staff of his like a club, raining blow after blow onto the creature's head. Stretching back his arms, he let loose a blow so powerful it sent out a shockwave which shook the ocean below them when the staff made contact with the dragon's skull. Rearing back, the beast's great wings gave up and it began to fall, its colossal girth descending through the air like a meteorite. Hitting the water, the dragon made a splash so great that it reached all the way up to where Barbamon hung in the sky, panting with exhaustion. For a moment the waves extended outwards from the point of its entry, and then the Dark Ocean was as still and placid as it had ever been.
Daemon watched silently as the battered and bruised form of Barbamon descended towards him. When he was within a few feet, Daemon flexed his own wings slightly. As good a greeting as any. Landing on the grey stony sand of the beach, Barbamon took the last few feet of his journey on foot, before finally kneeling before his master. Daemon looked down at Barbamon silently for a few moments, his eyes which looked out from his shroud betraying no thought or emotion. Then, he stepped past Barbamon, leaving him kneeling there on the beach. Daemon cared little for Barbamon's journey or the difficulties that had befallen him, he had something much more important on his mind. Stepping out into the waters of The Dark Ocean, the fallen angel extended his hand yet again and reached out into the deep darkness with his telekinesis. To his great surprise, he did not find the one large form he had been searching for, but instead two smaller ones. Pulling them upwards, he watched as an unconscious young boy and Digimon rose out of the water. Fascinating, he thought to himself.
But when Takato Matsuki's semi-conscious form landed in front of Daemon and began to cough out cold saltwater before collapsing into the sand, the fallen angel finally saw the boy's digivice hanging from his belt. Truly fascinating, he thought again. From beneath his shroud, Daemon did something he had not done for many years. He smiled.
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Tai pounded his fist repeatedly into the dirt and screamed every swear word he knew. He had been so close to getting his sister back, but now after everything they had gone through, he had failed. And what was worse, they had lost Takato too. Barbamon had gotten everything he wanted, and in the end, they had barely managed to slow him down. Vaguely behind him he heard Koromon's voice as he announced his digivolution to Agumon, and with a flash Tai's best friend was lying on the ground beside him. Agumon said nothing, instead he simply reached out and offered his clawed arm to Tai, which Tai took hold of tightly, frustrated tears starting to gather in the corner of his eyes.
The fly back to the ruins of Barbamon's fortress was quiet. Nobody really had the right words to say, and when they got back to the smouldering courtyard even Davis seemed crestfallen, cradling DemiVeemon in his arms and saying little. The group commenced pawing through the rubble of the fortress, hoping chiefly to find Ophanimon, who had been missing since Barbamon's Pandemonium Lost attack. Sora was the first to suggest that maybe she had been destroyed, but DemiVeemon and Minomon reassured everyone that they had taken the brunt of that attack and that if they had survived- a Digimon as powerful as Ophanimon was sure to have. All the same, as Greymon and Kabuterimon pushed boulders aside and Birdramon circled from above, they become sure that she was not anywhere in the surrounding area.
This was not to say that their search was completely fruitless though. As they looked through one of the higher floors of the main tower, Tai and Greymon found a large doorway pinned shut by a fallen pillar. As the only way forward, Greymon began to lift the pillar, but as soon as he did, Tai heard a distinctive voice from behind the door. Looking at each other with excitement, Greymon nodded to Tai then at double-speed lifted away the pillar before smacking the door with his tail, turning its wood to splinters and opening the way forward. Tai ran inside, shouting "Hello, is anybody in there?". The room was churchlike, stone and serious. Though partially lit by burning torches on the wall, a large section of the same wall was missing, letting the light from outside poor though. As Tai scanned the room, he glimpsed a figure crouching in one of the more shaded areas at the far side. "Hello?" he asked uncertainly.
Rising from the darkness, Shibumi stepped forward, his unreasonably calm voice breaking through the silence of the moment. "Hello, are you Tai?", he said, an odd smile on his face. Tai nodded but said nothing. "My name is Gorou. I was kept prisoner here along with your sister Kari. Is Kari here?" he asked honestly. Again, Tai found himself unable to speak, this time only shaking his head. "Oh, I'm so sorry to hear that…but listen, if we get back to Hypnos, maybe I can help you get Kari back!". With this information, Tai could not fail but to speak, saying excitedly "Wait you could do that?"
Shibumi nodded, saying "Well, we know where she is and we have the ability to construct more Digibands, I don't see why not…" Tai ran to the door, wanting to get the others all back together as soon as possible. He was halfway down the main staircase when the realisation hit him. Without Ophanimon, they were stranded here. She was the one who had brought them here and on their own they had no way to travel between worlds. Overcome with frustration, Tai lashed out, kicking a nearby brick off the side of the staircase and listening to it clatter to the ground far below. Spinning on his heels, Tai put his back to the wall and slowly slid down until he was sitting on the ground, his head in his hands. This had all been too much. Tai's courage had held throughout this whole ordeal, but it was not enough. He needed to be the leader, to guide everyone, but he had such doubts. This was something so much more complicated than anything he had ever experienced before, and Tai felt so out of his depth.
It was then, as he sat there in the dark, overcome by despair, he felt a familiar hand on his shoulder. Wiping his eyes, he looked up to see Sora kneeling beside him, her eyes filled with care and concern. Taking a spot beside him, she took his hand. "It's going to be ok Tai…". In his head Tai could have listed a hundred reasons why he disagreed, but all the same he stayed silent. "Do you want to know how I know?" Sora asked, with a small sad smile, letting a hint of playfulness pierce through the melancholy of the moment. Even now, here of all places, Tai could not help but return that smile, though the tears still ran down his face. "Why?" he asked, as evenly as he could. "Because I believe in you, and even when I was in the darkest of places- that belief never let me down. Things might look hopeless, but they've been worse, and thanks to you we made it through.". Tai met Sora's gaze, saying with a smile, "Not just thanks to me Sora, all of us- together.". The last word hung between them as their eyes stayed fixed to each other. Both of them had stopped breathing, frozen in place by what they shared in this moment, as a warmth began to blossom in both their chests. Tai noticed Sora's face gradually moving closer to his. He was exhilarated, and terrified, and embarrassed all in one. Both closing their eyes, their lips met in a tender kiss.
Tai felt like his cheeks were burning with the sudden rush of blood to his head, and apart from feeling the softness of Sora's lips against his, he felt like fireworks were going off inside his brain. Almost instantly he became aware that he was almost shaking with joy, and as Sora broke off their kiss and smiled at him again, this time with tears beginning to brim in her eyes, the two could not help but laugh at themselves, touching their foreheads together. And the dark and empty staircase of Barbamon's ruined fortress was filled with their laughter.
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Back in the courtyard of the fortress, Ken and Davis watched as ExVeemon and Stingmon continued lifting large boulders looking for any trace of Ophanimon. The strap of Davis's goggles had been damaged earlier, and as he tried in vain to reattach the frames to the strap Ken patted him on the shoulder. "It's ok Davis, we can get them fixed when we get home." Putting the goggles in his pocket, Davis replied, "It's not really that, I'm just bummed about Kari….and…" Looking off to their left, they both watched as TK sat on a nearby rock. He had said nothing since they had returned here, and though everyone had attempted to comfort him, his face still bore the same expression of resolute anger. Though they had grown close, even Davis did not dare to try too hard to pierce TK's shell of anger.
It was in this moment of silence that something altogether unexpected happened. A glimmering Digital Doorway opened at the far end of the courtyard, not far from where TK was sitting. Rising instantly, TK ran towards it, in time to see two men step forward from it. The first man was dressed in a black suit, he had cropped blonde hair and wore an eyepatch over his left eye. The second one TK knew instantly. Though definitely a few years older than the last time they had seen him, now sporting grey hairs amongst his usual brown, and the beginnings of wrinkles on his otherwise handsome and youthful face- Gennai still very much looked like himself. With a smile, he said "Hello TK, its very good to see you. Please allow me to introduce my friend- this is Mitsuo Yamaki. He needs your help."
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That's it for Chapter 10. A little shorter than the previous few I know, but all the same I hope you enjoyed. The first 9 Chapters were very much Part One of the story, and we're now entering Part Two so it was inevitable that things would slow down. Please leave a review if you have any thoughts you want to share about my writing, and if you haven't yet- why not favourite to see when a new chapter drops.
Thanks for reading, I appreciate you. I'll see you all for Chapter 11. Title: Sympathy for the Devil