Disclaimer: I am tired chief. Tired that none of these franchise belongs to me.
Zero Fullbuster: DUDE! I DIDN'T SEE YOU IN AGES! I MISSED YOU T-T
Freedom89justice: I can't wait to write the end of this arc…
Wickerstein: Since Iori got a normal evolution, I didn't focus on his relation with T.K. So this was my best shot at it, to keep a bit of loyalty to the original.
"Okay, so if we turn around this corner then we get closer to the signal aaaaand BING—OH COME ON!"
Hawkmon sighed as Yolei slumped to her knees and started beating the floor in defeat. They woke up in labyrinthic caverns not too long ago—Or so he thinks, telling time in this place is hard—and tried using the Digivices to find their friends.
"Tried" Being the operative word here. The Digivices while able to track each other, didn't offered a layout of where they were located, no map to or schematic that can tell where there's an open road or in the way of their last five tries: a wall.
Yolei whined, her face covered against the rocky surface of the floor. "First we go for T.K and Cody's signals, and there's a wall, then to Davis' and there's also a wall, then to Kari's and there's a freaking wall!" She got up and kicked it, her aura making her crack the wall. "That only leaves Ken, because right now I am not going straight towards where the white dot is!"
She knew the implications of that white dot: Yukio Oikawa. And that only spells more problems for the lot of them. Who knows what other freaky abilities the Mastermind has under his belt.
She checked her Digivice, pressing the buttons and focusing on the black dot. It was the farthest from her, but right now it was her only choice. Since every other route towards the rest were blocked.
"If he's not there or god forbids there's a wall I am going to scream!" Yolei declared, standing up and dusting herself off.
"Pfff, not the first time you'd blew our eardrums out with your screeching."
Yolei's eyes widened, she whirled around and glared at Hawkmon. Hands on her hips and a scowl on her face. "Excuse you?!"
"Yolei, I didn't say anything!" Hawkmon defended himself, cowering under her glare.
"Tch. Typical from the brat to always have a short fuse. That's why she amounts to nothing."
Yolei stopped and her eyes darted around. Hawkmon was now in full alert, defensive over his partner.
Sluggish footsteps could be heard drawing near them. They turned into normal sounds of soles meeting the stony surface of the floor as they drew closer. Yolei got ready, her Nen flaring around her and the energy around her hands shifting to form blades, while Hawkmon grabbed the feather on his band.
"I mean, what did you expect? She has no talent beside having a good pair of lungs. She hasn't even had a boyfriend at this point and hangs out with younger kids."
Yolei's mouth hung open. Those words stung, but she could finally put a finger on who were telling them. And her suspicions became real when three figures emerged from the shadows. Her siblings, from Momoe to Chizuru to Mamoru, all there with malicious grins on their faces and looking at Yolei with contempt.
Yolei blinked. "You guys…?" Her confusion was palpable through her voice.
"As lost as usual. Trapped in her own little world," The Chizuru look-alike drawled as she leveled her with a half-lidded glare. "When are you going to grow up?"
"Maybe when she stops being such a geek," Mamoru responded, arms crossed and an ugly sneer on his face as he walked forward.
Hawkmon glared at these apparitions, what were they and why did they looked like Yolei's family?! Were they Deadmon? Most likely, no, they definitely were that meant he had to act! He turned around to advice his partner but stopped when he saw the expression on her face. Hidden to these imposters as she had her gaze down, but in full display for him to see.
"Now, now, girls. Don't be like that." 'Mamoru' said as he walked towards Yolei. "Sure, Yolei might not be talented, or well-behaved, or good looking, but she's got some brains on her and that's a good thing. She knows that in this world, the best she can do is give in and surrender."
The grin on his face as well as the ones on the mimics of Yolei's sisters turned inhuman, stretching to unsettling levels and their eyes shifting from their normal colors to a familiar bloody red. 'Or else…!'
Hawkmon was ready to act. He scowled at these copycats of the family that was so protective, yet understanding and supporting towards his partner it made his blood boil.
Throughout the whole ordeal, Yolei didn't move or spoke. She just kept her head lowered and her face hidden from these abominations that took on the appearance of her siblings. When she finally raise her head and faced them.
It was with a look of pure disgust and complete rejection on it. "Yuck! Hawkmon, can you believe these guys?!" She exclaimed, sticking her tongue out.
Whatever reaction these doppelgangers wanted was certainly not that, they scowled and hissed in anger. "What?!" Mamoru's copy exclaimed.
"First off: How in the heck would my siblings get here? Second: You sound or look nothing like them. Third: Thanks to me being a 'geek' as you politely said, I've seen this sort of things in so many movies it is so old!" She said, stamping her foot down. Her eyes narrowed in anger. "And third: How DARE YOU take on the form of my siblings for this! Is time to give you hell! Hawkmon!"
"Ready!"
The Deadmon's melted away their disguises and took on the form Yolei found familiar. The three melted together and formed into a tall, avian like Digimon that resembled a Tengu from Japanese folklore. "Karatenmon!"
"Hawkmon Digivolves to… Aquilamon! Aquilamon Ultra Digivolves to… Hippogryphmon!"
The two flying Digimons flew as high as the ceiling allowed them to. Karatenmon had a pair of golden swords that lit up with black fire and charged at the Ultra with the intention of stabbing them. The griffon dodges and opens his mouth. "Heat Wave!" His attack is met by a cross guard from Karatenmon's blades as its flames countered Hippogryphmon.
Yolei circled around, her eyes scanning for any opening. Any chance she can get to aid her partner. She didn't look just at the fight, she looked around the caver, and when she saw the stalagmite coming from the floor she grinned as an idea came to mind. "Aha!"
With a swift motion she cut the top of the rocks and grabbed one in each hand. She looked back at the fight; they were moving fast. It was has hard to tell where they were going to be next. These had to be perfect shots. "Hippogryphmon!" She yelled, calling her partner's attention.
Hippogryphmon stopped and saw the rocks in her hands and the stabbing motions she made. He dodged a swipe from Karatenmon, understanding downing on him. "Understood!"
When the flaming blades came down on him in a stabbing motion, Hippogryphmon rose his front legs and stopped them. Karatenmon growled, black flames licking at the edge of its beak and ready to fire face-blank at the griffon. But throughout the whole fight he ignored another element. The human girl in the room.
"HII-YAH!" Yolei jumped, propelled by Nen and once she was at the back of the Deadmon she slammed the two pieces of rock against its back.
Karatenmon roared in pain, its flames dissipating in its mouth and giving Hippogryphmon the chance to open his own beak and fire a point blank: "Heat Wave!" It collided with Katenmon's head. It roared in pain before its body, from head to bottom slowly dissipated into particles of black dust.
Yolei observed the scene, taking a deep breath and letting it free. It was still unsettling to eliminate the creatures that had a mind of their own, and to make it even more upsetting for her these ones in particular had taken the appearances of her siblings in the first place, but she has made up her mind along with Sora and Mimi. She will continue on if it means protecting her and her friends' world.
Speaking of her siblings. An unsettling feeling pooled in her gut, as she had a pretty accurate idea of what these Deadmon wanted with this whole thing.
"Yolei?" Hippogryphmon called out, lowering to her level.
She jumped and landed on her back, checking the Digivice. "Ken is the closest. Let's go!"
Without much questioning, he took off, guided by Yolei who rummaged through her bag and pulled out an energy bar. "Here, you're going to need it!" She said with a smile and putting it close to his beak.
He took smile bites, while used to the Ultra Level more than before it was still draining in the long run. And these energy bars from the market were really good for him.
Food aside though, he noticed his partner's demeanor. So, after gulping he turned to her. "Yolei, is there something wrong?"
Yolei frowned and readjusted her bag. "I'm not going to lie, hearing those words coming from my siblings… it hurt. I know they weren't them, I know they are home waiting for my return but… it stung."
"Yolei…"
She shook her head. "I was able to pull through, because I remembered how encouraging they were when I left! Even convincing mom and dad to let me come!" She put her fist in the air. "That's why no matter how much they take on their appearance, they'll never fool me!"
She lowered her fist and her frown returned. "However, the others… If hearing that from them stung, what could the others possibly be facing then? I've seen this in other anime, villains who take advantage of the heroes' insecurities. Hearing mean things from their loved ones like me… or worse…" Her eyes trembled in horror as a realization dawned on her. "We have to reach Ken!"
"Ken?!" Out of all their friends, what about Ken made Yolei so worried? Hippogryphmon wondered
"I know my logic is a stretch, but in those shows the hero is shown something bad about his past! What could be worse for him that to face his past as—"
"—The Digimon Emperor!" Hippogryphmon now realized the danger of these situation. He gritted his teeth and hurried himself, he had to get there as soon as possible!
"Hehehe, sorry, but Ken Ichijouji is busy."
A large spiral of earth emerged right in front of Hippogryphmon. He leaned back and tried to avoid slamming into it, the feeling of hitting the breaks at max speed throwing him off balance and making him fall to the floor. Yolei rolled off his back, bouncing momentarily on the floor.
"W-Who…" She winced as she sat back up. "Who the heck…?"
"We really couldn't decide. On which of us would cause him the most torment. We thrive and feed of it to be stronger, that's how we were designed. And Ichijouji had a lot of suffering in his being…"
Yolei stood up, and Hippogryphmon loomed behind her protectively. Her Nen formed her blades and she got in position. Yet the cold voice that was speaking to her was… familiar. Too familiar yet different at the same time. Like the voice was the same as one she heard recently, but the tone and mannerism were off…
"But then again… that's what he deserves from taking away what was MINE!"
Her eyes widened, recognition slamming her like a sledgehammer as the figure finally stepped from the shadows. Cladded in almost full purple, a pair of yellow googles hiding cold and calculating eyes, a cape that reached a little under his back, and a whip attached to his belt.
The Digimon Emperor had a grin on his face as he glared down at Yolei. "And once I drag you to him, he will fall in despair and we will assimilate him!" A dark Aura erupted from him as his gloves came off, revealing the same markings Ken used to have.
'It's a fake! This is not Ken!' Yolei reminded herself. Their Ken was no longer this person. He was a kind boy with a soft voice yet a firm mind set to undo the wrongs done in the past. 'But… He mentioned they split in two… what could cause Ken more pain than the memory of the Emperor?'
Ken kept his look on his Digivice. Glaring with visible anger at the white dot in it. Oikawa was here, and he was here, this was the best shot he would get at finally stopping him.
Wormmon waddled as fast as he could behind him. His jumpy demeanor keeping him on edge in this damp cave, and ever since they woke up and took notice of the white dot. He frowned looking down on the ground. "I wonder if the others are okay." He received no response; he looked up to see that Ken didn't even lift his gaze from the Digivice. "Ken? H-How do you think the others are…?" Again, no response, he waddled as fast as he could and touched his feet. "Ken?"
"What?!" The boy whirled and looked down at his partner with a scowl. Wormmon flinched and crawled back. Ken's face softened and looked away with a sigh. "Sorry, Wormmon… I'm sure the others are fine. They know how to take care of themselves." His eyes hardened as he stared down at the Digivice. "… Oikawa has some connection to this world… This is where he met me, where he used his Ability on me to turn me in the Emperor. If there's a moment for me to take him down is now! I can't let it slide."
Wormmon understood where his partner was coming from. He did. He couldn't forgive Oikawa either after he took away for many years Ken's happiness and so many years where they could have been good partners. Yet this attitude wasn't the right one. "Ken. We've been through this once. Remember when we uncovered Arukenimon's plans? We tried to do it all by ourselves when the better way to approach the problem was with the help of others."
Ken's frown deepened. He knew Wormmon was right and yet. "Its personal…"
"When we thought Arukenimon was the Mastermind it was personal too," Wormmon waddled to him, putting his claws around his leg in a hug. "But so it is for everyone else. Oikawa hurts us, but he also worked with the Daemon corps to hurt Kari, and he manipulated Blademon to hurt Killua. Its because of him Davis, Yolei and Cody were called. If we are going to defeat him, we have to do it all together, and so we have to make sure everyone's okay!" Wormmon looked at his partner with a pleading look.
At last, Ken relented, he sigh and picked up his partner. Patting his head and smiling in gratitude. "You're right. Thank you, Wormmon…" He said. He still wanted Oikawa to answer for his crimes, but he wasn't the only one to suffer by his crimes. Everyone was in this together.
"Wow, first time for Ken to listen to reason. He didn't listened to me, at least."
Ken's breath got caught in his throat as a voice resonated in the chamber where they were in. His grip on Wormmon making his partner uncomfortable. "K-Ken? What's wrong?"
"Yes, Ken, what's wrong?" The voice asked as it stepped out of the shadows. Wormmon turned to the source of the footsteps and his eyes widened. A kid was standing in front of him, but he recognized it. It was the same kid that was in the portrait of Ken's room. That meant it was…
"O-Osamu…" Ken's entire complexion has gone pale. His hands shook and Wormmon looked between the two with a confused expression.
Osamu smiled and lift a hand, waving at his brother as if nothing happened. "Hey, lil' bro!"
Ken's hands went slack. Wormmon yelped as he fell down. He looked at his partner with a worried expression. Tears gathered around his eyes and sweat glistened in his forehead. A thousand thoughts ran through his head, yet in the end two predominated in his mind: Osamu, his dead brother, who died because of his actions, was in front of him, and that this was a world of darkness where nothing they have seen this far made sense and its inhabitants were out to get him.
Out of these two thoughts the second one was the one that snapped Ken out of his trance. His hand clenched into a fist and his aura coated it and with a yell of pure rage, fueled in part to the anger that Oikawa's nearby presence had given him early, he charged at this shadow of her brother.
A cloud of dust formed and Wormmon covered his eyes to avoid getting particles on his eyes. When it cleared he looked in the direction of his partner with worry. "Ken!"
Ken panted, his breath heavy. 'How dare they…! How can they use Osamu's form that way… How could they!?' As the final of the dust settled Ken straightened, turning around to get back to Wormmon… "Eh?" Only for his mind to stop as he saw a figure looking at him with sad eyes.
"After all these years… You just attack me?" Osamu asked with hurt on his eyes. Ken looked around, looking for Wormmon yet not finding sign of him. "Ken, please look at me!"
"SHUT UP!" Ken roared, his eyes narrowed dangerously at the visage of his brother. "You are not him! Osamu is dead and I will not allow you to use him against me!"
With a roar he charged against the visage of his brother, who just stood there with a scared and heartbroken expression, covering his face and bracing himself for when his attack would connect.
Ken's punch stopped inches away from his face. Hands shaking as he stood in front of this… thing. He knew, the rational part of his mind was yelling him that he knew what the truth was. That this wasn't his brother, that his brother was dead. He made peace with that, moved on from that, will forever cherish the time they spent together. And it also told him that this visage was a way for this world to torture him.
Unable to meet his eyes he walked away. "Damn it…!" He growled, walking away and dropping to his knees before striking the floor with his bare hands. "DAMN IT!" He cursed, gripping his head. He should be dealing with this blasted vision… but he couldn't… not when it showed his brother so defenseless… so harmless… so scared.
Two arms wrapped around his torso. "It's okay, Ken. There's no need to fight anymore. Everything is alright now."
It wasn't. His mind told him. He needed to find his friends, to go back to his parents.
"Mom and dad will be so happy when they see us!"
You are dead. You are not real. You are the enemy.
"I'm always by your side Ken."
Please, stop. He already made peace with what happened.
"Nothing has happened. We are still brothers."
Yes. That's right. Osamu was here. Everything was fine…
"Ken!" Wormmon pleaded as he shook his partner's leg. "Ken, what's wrong?!"
From Wormmon's perspective, ever since Ken attacked the copy of Osamu, he just stood there. His eyes glazed over and lost as they stared at the floor. Wormmon didn't know what to do. And to make matters worse, he started hearing wet footsteps approaching.
He turned around to see small Deadmon coming in their direction. In panic, the small worm charged towards the entrance where they were coming from. "Sticky Net!" His net covered the entrance with layers of web.
The Deadmon pushed, trying to break the net. They were just the generic, mindless creatures at the bottom of the food chain, they barely posed a threat. But in Ken's current state…
"Ken!" Wormmon called again. "Please wake up!"
Ken didn't answer, however, a calm smile had blossomed on his face.
Mad cackles resonated along with explosions. Rocks sprayed everywhere as Aquilamon tried his best to avoid the spires that threatened to pierce his body. The Emperor had a maniac expression as he kept his palms firmly pressed in the floor, and cackling like a child who just received a new toy.
Yolei sneaked past the spires and took a leap to deal a blow to the back of his head. But the Emperor moved and dodged, even if it meant disconnecting his hands from the floor and stopping his creation of spires.
He clapped his hands together and slammed them against a hall. A rubble was heard and from the walls, spikes emerged threatening to turn Yolei into a pincushion. She jumped and grabbed into Aquilamon's leg, who kept himself in the air to avoid the Emperor's abilities.
The child tyrant gave a cocky smile as he clapped his hands again. "What's wrong? Not even with your abilities can you pose a threat to me, you simpletons?!" He taunted as he pressed his hands into the floor.
Yolei grumbled and glared. "I did not miss hearing him talking like this…" She grumbled. Anyone who had even a shred of reason would agree that the current Ken was better than this pompous prick. 'Jeez, his Ability is annoying too. Close range, mid-range, long rage… he has it all covered!' She thought as she saw how The Emperor created a spear and then slammed his right hand on the floor to create for spires to chase them.
Aquilamon weaved to dodge and when the spire was too close he used his Diving Horns to ram them down. Yolei looked back when he heard the rumbling coming close and gapped when she saw the Emperor riding a pilar of stone that rose until it was directly above them.
'This is ridiculous!' She screamed in her mind. 'His ability was nowhere this strong! How come?!' It clicked a moment later, just as Aquilamon dodged the Emperor diving towards them with his spear, ready to impale them. 'Right. This powers of his are not Nen, no matter how much they imitate Ken's. This guy is still a Deadmon with the Emperor's appearance.'
The worry for Ken returned at the reminder of that. If this Deadmon was supposed to do what the ones that posed as her siblings tried to do, then what worse could Ken be facing?
"Explosive Rings!" Aquilamon screeched and blasted away a set of spikes that emerged from the floor, snapping Yolei out of he thoughts. The Emperor was down on the floor, hands again on the floor and leaving them with no refuge but the air. "This is getting old…"
"I agree. This guy is annoying!" She gritted out. "Time to face him head on! Dive!"
"Understood!" Fully trusting his partner's idea, Aquilamon dodged a barrage of spikes and his horns glowed with his technique. "Diving Horns!"
The deadly spikes broke into contact. The Emperor's face change as he realized they were going after him. He disconnected his hands from the floor and dodged as Aquilamon rammed his head in the place where he once stood.
Yolei jumped from her place on her partner's back and formed her Nen blades, grinning as she stood in front of an off-balanced Emperor. "I gotcha now!"
The Emperor's eyes were wide as Yolei charged at her. Apparently defenseless after dodging the attack from the eagle Digimon. However, his face split into a grin full of teeth… and flames licked at the edge of his mouth.
Yolei paled, recognizing those flames. 'C-Crap! KEN!' The Nen technique that shared name with her friend reinforced her aura just in time.
The Emperor released a torrent of flames that sent her flying back. She crashed against a wall, whimpering due to the blow and due to how her front was now covered in burn marks. Luckily none of them went above second grade, but didn't make it any less painful.
"Yolei!" Aquilamon's head snapped towards her partner. Yet he didn't have time to worry, as the Emperor immediately dealt with him with something that resembled a Ko enhanced punch. "ARGH!"
He was sent next to his partner, who sat up with a small whimper. "How do we beat this guy? He has all of Ken's former abilities AND the abilities of the Deadmon…" And with how much pressure he's putting into them, she doesn't even have the time to bring Hippogryphmon.
To add more problems to their plate, Aquilamon's body started to glow and then revert back to Hawkmon. Yolei quickly move to stand in front of him all while the Emperor cackled with a victorious grin.
"Oh, this is perfect. Your pet can't help you anymore!" He said with a twisted grin.
Yolei just raised her hands and let her blades come to life. This was undoubtedly bad. She was alone, Hawkmon was down, and this Deadmon-faker was too strong for her. 'I got to get out of here! Take Hawkmon with me, find someone, anyone, to help me beat this guy!'
Call it luck, or a miracle, but at that moment her Digivice beeped. Hope blossomed as she swiftly took it from her pocket and checked. A black dot was just right behind her red dot. Ken. Ken was right behind her.
But behind her there was…
'A freaking WALL!' She wanted to take her helmet off, chuck it off and rip her hair out in frustration.
However, there was a difference. The beeping. That meant Ken was closer than the others were when she tried tracking them down. 'Not only that,' She thought. 'But if this Emperor came from trying to break Ken, then he really must be nearby…'
The Emperor clasped his hands and pressed them against the floor, slowly a bat made out of iron emerged from the floor. He balanced it over his shoulder while giving Yolei a mocking grin. "So, any last words?"
Yolei's Ren burst to life. She knelt and grabbed Hawkmon who stirred awake as he felt her arm around him. "Y-Yolei…"
She stomped her foot down and turned around, and focusing her aura around her fist she smashed through the wall. Cracks appeared all along and it all crumbled down, leaving a new exit for their situation and an entrance to a chamber where a whole different struggle was taking place.
Yolei's eyes brightened as she took in the figures in the room, Wormmon and Ken. Yet it immediately darkened when she saw the condition and what was happening.
Wormmon was red in the face, his mouth producing as much silk as he humanly—or whatever term could be used for a Digimon—could, all to block another entrance where Yolei could see various shadows of red eyes tearing and breaking through it for as much as the little tried to keep it in place.
Meanwhile, Ken was on his knees, looking at the floor with a lost expression, yet with a blissful smile on his face.
When Wormmon noticed their entrance, he turned to them, relief showing on his face. "Yolei!" However, a set of grunts and moans made him turn around and focus on his task again.
"Wormmon!" Hawkmon let himself be settled on the floor as they walked to the rocky chamber.
The Emperor, trailing behind them with his bat on hand, scoffed at seeing the two. "Oh, so they are still alive." His eye went to Wormmon and his face turned into an ugly sneer. "You miserable worm, you are still alive!"
Wormmon's whole body tensed when he saw the Emperor, going from him to the still unmoving Ken. The Emperor brandished his bat and charged at a high speed, with Yolei trying stop him with a burst on her step.
"WORMMON LOOK OUT!" She made it too late however, as The Emperor slammed his bat against Wormmon and send him crashing to a wall, much to the girl's horror. "WORMMON!"
"Should you really be worrying about him now?!" The air got knock out of her as the Emperor smashed his bat at her and sent her back to the entrance she made.
"Yolei!" Hawkmon rushed to her side, looking over for any sign of wounds. "Are you okay?"
"Guh… I've been worse…" Was the girl's response. She took off her back-pack and shoved it to Hawkmon. "I need you to eat, we need all the help we can get." She said, sitting up despite the pain and forming her Nen blades as she charged to the Emperor.
Hawkmon opened the bag and grabbed the first thing he could find, not caring about what it was, he tore the bag open and scarfed everything in it.
The Emperor scowled as his bat was sliced off thanks to her blades, yet he moved swiftly and dodged her attacks, managing to grab her arm and delivering a swift strike to her abdomen with his knee and then throw her over his shoulder with a judo throw. He grappled her arm and help up his foot, ready to stomp her down when then…
"Hawmon Digivolves to… Aquilamon!"
"Diving Horns!" Aquilamon dived down, his horn a burning red, towards The Emperor, who let go of Yolei and leaped back. Aquilamon stood in between the two. "Yolei, go tend Ken! I don't know what's gotten into him, but you said it yourself, we need all the help you we can get!"
Yolei sat straight, looking at her partner, before the sounds of groans and growls made her turn to the wall of web that was keeping the Deadmon at bay. "But what about those—?!"
"Sticky Net!" A new line of silk started forming a new layer to the wall. Yolei whirled around to see Wormmon with a pained expression expelling as much net as he could to keep the path of the Deadmon blocked. "I'll take care of this! Please, go and help Ken! Snap him out of whatever they did to him!" He pleaded.
Yolei nodded, dashing towards Ken. She kneeled to his side and shook him as hard as she could. "Ken? Ken! Come, on, snap out of it!"
The boy didn't react to her actions. He just kept on smiling, with a creepy, lost look on his face. He didn't say a word, he just sagged like a broken puppet without strings all while keeping the same expression on his face.
"Please!" She pleaded as another explosion from Aquilamon's attacks shook the chamber, and The Emperor's mad cackles echoed through it. "We really need your help here!"
She was tempted to lift her hand and strike him. It worked in previous opportunities to snap others out of their funk, like Ken himself or Kari. But this was different. Back then their cases were different, Kari was freaking out because of this very same world's influence and needed to be grounded to reality when words couldn't reach her, and when Ken was being stubborn to listen when they asked him for help the slap was just so he would just listen to her.
This time, it was neither. Ken wasn't conscious, she could acknowledge that, even if his eyes were open, they weren't on her at all. Or at anything really. So it felt cruel to just hit him for no reason. That would be a last resort. Which, by the way the cavern continued to shake between the Emperor's attacks and Aquilamon's, was a resource reaching a top priority.
"C'mon, Ken… Help me out here…" She begged, cupping his face to find any sort of solution. She needed more information. Was this a Deadmon's technique or something? The only other person who knew was… "Wormmon!"
The little Digimon stopped in his task his work seemed in vain as the layers of web teared for every new one he put. Panting, he turned to the girl. "Y-Yes? EEK!" He shrieked and leaped back as Aquilamon landed near him. "Aquilamon!"
"I'm okay!" The avian Digimon said, spreading his wings and charging towards a grinning Emperor.
"Wormmon!" Yolei called again, making Wormmon turn to her. "What exactly happened to Ken? Was it a Deadmon? Hypnosis? Paralysis? Some other kind of technique?! We need to know so we can think of how to wake him up!"
"I-I'm not sure! A Deadmon appeared in front of us, taking the appearance of Ken's brother!" Wormmon explained. "Ken got mad and charged at it, turning it to dust on one blow but… he just stayed like that after that!"
"His… brother?" Yolei remembered back during Ken's party. There was a picture of another boy on his desk. That must be it. Does Ken have problems with his brother? Or some issues like she had? "My siblings also appeared before me, but I just beat them away, nothing like this! Whatever issues he has with his brother, I'm sure he could sort them out too!"
Unlike her friends, Yolei wasn't present when Yukio Oikawa confronted them during the chase to rescue Kari. Therefore, she was not present when he revealed the fate of Ken's brother. However, Wormmon was perfectly away of it. He's known since his rebirth and reunion Ken.
"Ken's brother…" Wormmon said, his head down. "Ken's brother died years ago."
"… Eh?" Yolei felt her veins fill with ice as she looked between Wormmon and Ken. The blissful smile on his face never leaving. "Ken's brother is…"
Then that meant that the Deadmon he encountered… 'Oh god, that's awful!' She said, feeling her stomach revolt with repulsion. 'Oh, Ken…!' Then what brought this dopey smile on his face? If he found his dead brother then that meant.
Yolei's mind clicked the pieces in place. Yet it only served to change the ice in her veins into a rageful fire. "These guys are the worst!" She gripped. Ken must be in dream land, trapped in an illusion! Just like Zhuqiamon did with Killua!
But unlike back then, she couldn't reason for them to release him like they did with Killua and Zhuqiamon. What could she do?!
"Ken! Please!" She begged, in the verge of tears. "If you can hear me, give me a sign!" She pleaded as a shredding sound came from the front of the cave. Yet he didn't respond and the situation got worse by the second as the Deadmon that were being halted started to tear through the net, and Aquilamon continued to be overpowered by the Emperor.
SMACK!
Desperate and with tears flowing down, Yolei smacked him across the face. Yet it seemed to have no effect, he still had a lost look on his eyes. "Ken…! PLEASE WAKE UP!"
In her despair, she did not notice the change. Ken's look while still lost, now lacked the blissful smile he wore until now.
The bubbles flew into the sky as both Ken and Osamu observed happily. Like usual, Osamu had cut the straw and mixed the soap with water for him to use it. This was what made him happy. To express his kindness through the bubbles with the mix his brother did for him.
Osamu's head constantly pet his head. His smile one of pride. The little, eight-year-old Ken Ichijouji stared at his brother with a beaming smile.
Everything about the moment was perfect. The two brothers laughed as the bubbles popped and Ken submerged the straw into the cup to make new set of bubbles to watch fly by, when suddenly.
SMACK!
The cup fell from his hand and his body jerked backwards, stumbling and landing on his butt on the floor of the balcony.
"Ken!" Osamu was at his side in a moment, helping it sit up. "What happened? Are you alright?"
"Y-Yeah…" He had to be strong in front of his older brother as he held his cheek in pain. The sting behind it burning at the touch. "B-But what happened…?"
"Ken…! PLEASE WAKE UP!"
"Huh?" That voice… why did it sound familiar?
"Yolei! Look out!" That voice did too. And there were more sounds, like stone breaking and the sound of a laugh that made him feel so, so uncomfortable.
Then, he heard coughing, and a week voice moaning in pain. "I… I can't do it anymore…"
"W-Wormmon…" He muttered, his eyes lighting up as he stood up. "And Yolei and Hawkmon too!" He turned around, running inside of their apartment and towards the door when a hand grabbed his arm.
"Ken, wait!" Osamu said, holding his arm tightly.
"Let go…"
"Where do you think you are going?!" Osamu snarled, tugging his arm back.
"Get OFF ME!" Ken exploded in rage as his aura burst forward and slammed Osamu away.
Osamu fell on his back and look back at Ken. Who now glared down at his brother with his full weight back. Osamu sneered at Ken. "So what? You are going to walk out of that door and make me your victim yet again, Ken?"
"Stop it." Ken cut him off at once. "You are not my brother. Osamu is dead, and I was an idiot for letting myself fall for this trick. I do not know what kind of Deadmon you are but I won't leave my friends alone when they need me, because they certainly didn't when I needed them."
A soft pink glow emanated from his chest as he said that. Filling in the entire 'room.' 'Osamu's' eyes glowed red as he hissed and turned into the semi-liquid form of the common Deadmon before vanishing from Ken's sight.
And Ken just turned around and walked towards the door and grabbed the handle. It was time for him to wake up.
As Yolei continued her attempts to find a way to wake up Ken, the two Digimon were not having a good time against their respective times. For Aquilamon, he was out of breath after fighting the Emperor while the tyrant himself didn't looked winded, and it all came to an end when the faker pressed his hands on the floor and sent a set of spikes towards the two humans.
"Yolei! Look out!" Aquilamons' horns grew with the power of his diving horns. However, they flickered and barely lit up by the time he bashed his head against the spikes to protect. Thus the last of his energy was spent and his form reversed back to his Rookie form. "Urgh…"
"Hawkmon!" As a distressed Yolei called out for her partner, the last of Wormmon's strength drained. He painted and collapsed face first on the floor panting heavily.
"I-I can't do it anymore…" His words came out in a slur, his breath caught in his throat and his chest rose and fell trying to fill his lungs with oxygen.
As the Deadmon finally make their way inside the chamber, their ranks going around the dozens, the fake Emperor chuckled and stood in front of them, glaring down at the group. "Well, well, well. It seems this is it."
Yolei let go of Ken and stood up, her Ren flaring and then her Hatsu bringing her blades to life. "You still have to get pass me, chump!"
"HA! As if you were a threat!" The Emperor sneered. "Face it, you were always the weaker link of your team! Even the literal child would fare a better chance against me!"
"Keep the psychological warfare to yourself, buddy!" Yolei snapped, getting into a fighting stance. "I know that I am not much compared to the others, heck Kari and Cody are stronger than me no doubt! But that doesn't mean I am going to just sit here willy-nilly as you hurt my friends!"
Hawkmon struggled to get up as he stared at his partner, who bravely stood between the group of Deadmon by herself, with Wormmon doing the same. "Yolei…"
"Tch, this foolish stubbornness," The Emperor clicked his tongue and aura flowed around him. "It's what will get you killed!"
"It's what defeated you the first time."
Yolei gasped and turned around, to see Ken raising to his feet. His eyes met hers and while he gingerly touched the red spot on his cheek, he did gave her a smile. "Thank you for the wake up call, Yolei."
Yolei blushed and scratched the back of her head with a sheepish smile. "Gee, don't make this a habit, that's two times now!"
"K-Ken!" Wormmon rushed to his partner's side, basically clutching to his leg when he reached him.
"I'm sorry for worrying you, Wormmon," Ken said, giving his partner a smile.
The cruel chuckle from the enemy snapped everyone out of their brief moment of relief. The Emperor had a grin that could have easily split his face in half as he glared at Ken. "Well, look at who is awake! My weaker self!"
Ken's face was set in stone as he walked to Yolei's side and stared back at this shadow of the Emperor. "You are not me. And I do not only mean that you are a Deadmon disguised. I mean it as that you are only the result of a man's twisted desires. You are dead. So return to where you belong," his aura came to life, "in my memories!"
The Emperor cackled as he rose a hand, his index and thumb pressed together. "I will never be a memory." And with that, he snapped his fingers.
Ken felt a cold sensation on his back, accompanied by a sense of revulsion as something crawled down from his neck. Exiting from his pant leg, a black splotch of murky water slithered its way next to the Emperor, as Yolei shrieked in fright: "WHAT IS THAT?!"
That splotch soon reformed. Once again, Osamu stood in front of Ken. Although this time he didn't put on a fake mask of amicability and openly glared at the boy.
Wormmon gasped as he saw it. "That's Ken's…" He trailed off, watching as his partner just kept a firm expression on his face.
"Ken's brother…" Yolei did the same as Wormmon, but when she saw the boy's firm semblant she just turned her eyes back to the enemy.
The Emperor turned to Osamu. "So…?"
"I gathered enough. The despair, the loneliness, the guilt…" Osamu's eyes glowed the same blood red as the rest of the Deadmon. "… I had a banquet."
The Emperor took his goggles off and smirked. His eyes turning into the same shade of red. "Then let's fulfill our purpose. FOR THE SAKE OF LORD DAGOMON!"
The human forms of the two melted away, revealing the same appearance as the other dozen Deadmon in the chamber. Like two bodies of water converging on a single stream they joined together and dragged with them the surrounding Deadmon, leaving behind an amorphous blob of dark water that slowly expanded.
"Here they come!" Ken said, gripping his Digivice and letting his aura flow.
Yolei looked with apprehension as the mass of water grew in size and its shape slowly started to take form. A familiar form. Her eyes widened as four arms emerged from the blob as well as four wings. "T-That's-!"
To their horror, the formation of the creature was complete. Ken gritted his teeth as these Deadmon had once again brought one of his past sins to life: Kimeramon.
However, as the beast let out a roar that shook the chamber, its entire form once again changed to black water and it started to shrink. The water twisted and molded and finally the form of their enemy was revealed.
Standing at the same size as Angewomon or Magnaangemon, was a Digimon that resembled Kimeramon in many ways, yet it was clear that it held way more power:
The head which in the past resembled Kabuterimon's helmet, now looked like MegaKabuterimon's. The arms of Devimon had now taken on golden assets, the SkullGreymon arm had turned into a mechanical form resembling MetalGreymon's, and the one belonging to Kuwagamon was now Okuwamon's. The integration of MetalGreymon didn't end there, the chest plate of the cyborg dinosaur was now present on the monster's pectorals, and also keeping the hair. The strong legs of Garurumon were now accompanied by torn jeans and knee bracers like WereGarurumon. The tail of Monochromon had turned into a black one with red stripes like a DarkTyrannomon's. And the wings on his back now resembled Magnaangemon's and Megadramon's.
This newly formed beast glared down at the two and let out a deep chuckle. "Neo… Kimeramon!" It declared its name with pride, a hungry grin on its jaws.
Ken's eyes narrowed. "All the evolved forms of the parts I used…" He realized. However, the new appearance of his 'creation' while intimidating, didn't made him back down in the slightest. If anything it just hammered home what he had to do. To put a rest to the demons of his pasts once and for all. And this time, not by himself. "Yolei," He called as he turned to her with a small smile. "Ready?"
Yolei puffed her chest out. "What kind of question is that!? Who cares if it grew up a bit, I have already been fighting that thing for a while now!"
Sure, she was a tiny bit afraid of seeing a stronger version of Kimeramon. But she was already an expert when it came conquering her fears. And if it meant getting one step closer to getting out of this hellhole then even better!
As the two let their auras out, a glow emanated from them and encompassed their partners. The two Digimon, tired from the tasks they had to fulfill to protect their partners, were suddenly filled with renewed energy. Hawkmon and Yolei glowed a bright red, while Ken and Wormmon glowed with a dark pink aura.
"This…!" Hawkmon look at his wings, feeling the power coursing through him.
Yolei and Ken's Digivices released a light. The auras they shared with their partners beating like one. NeoKimeramon's eyes narrowed, a soft hiss coming from its jaws. 'Here it comes…!'
"Wormmon!" Ken called to his partner, who was at his side in an instant.
"Hawkmon!" Yolei didn't even had to look, she could feel her partner at her side at every moment.
Together, the two yelled out:
"MATRIX EVOLUTION!"
Ken rose his Digivice into the air before pressing it to his chest and merging with it. His body floated in the air as arcs of energy connected him to Wormmon.
"Wormmon Digivolves to…!" Wormmon felt warm as his connection with Ken reached a new level. His body grew to the side of JewelBeemon, feeling all of his offensive power, while also feeling the ability being Stigmon brought him. Two big wings came from his back, his entire body was covered in armor, and gauntlets with claws rested on his arms. "GRANDISKUWAGAMON!"
Like Ken, Yolei pressed her Digivice to her chest and floated in the air as her body connected her aura to Hawkmon's body.
"Hawkmon Digivolves to…!" Hawkmon felt like he reached new heights with this bond. The speed from Aquilomon mixed in with the power of Hippogryphmon shaped him into a new body, one unlike his other forms. The new form resembled a human more now, white feathers with golden accents adorning his body, with a height the same size as Flamedramon. A golden sword was now in his grasp, and after a few swings this new form announced its presence to the world. "VALKYRIMON!"
When he came to be, Ken was floating in a purple space. He looked down at his hands and understanding came to him. "We achieved it. The power T.K and Kari unlocked from Azulongmon's gift."
"… Matrix Evolution." Yolei marveled at the red space in front of her. Her hands reaching to touch her face as she realized her vision was as clear as day even without her glasses.
"Yole! We'll have time to marvel of this form later!" Hawkmon's voice echoed around the space. "Let's deal with the enemy in front of us."
"Right! Right!" Pumping her fists, she stared at the monster ahead.
Wormmon's voice echoed across the purple space. "After this, we reunite with the others. I'm sure in this state, we can defeat this copy of Kimeramon like Magnamon did!"
"Yes, I think so too!" Ken agreed, smiling as he felt his partner's comforting presence around him.
The chest-plates of NeoKimeramon opened and fired two missiles from them. The two moved on different sides and the missiles exploded on the wall behind them. Valkyrimon' eyes narrowed and the grip around her sword tightened.
"Fenrir Sword!" With an outstanding speed, she dashed at NeoKimeramon. Her sword glowing with a white shimmer and a trail of cold mist coming from its tip.
NeoKimeramon jumped and one of the powerful legs that belonged to WereGarurumon crashed against the sword—The knee bracers crashing against the edge of the blade. To the monster's surprise, ice started to form around the leg. And growling, it rose the two evolved Devimon's arms that now cracked with dark electricity.
"Evil Touch!" The arms stretched and reached for Valkyrimon, whom noticed and pushed the evil Chimera back to move away from the attack.
"Don't forget!" Two arms wrapped around NeoKimeramon's torso and threw it against a wall. "Your other opponent!" GrandisKuwagamon declared.
NeoKimeramon crashed against the wall, yet it didn't take long to recompose itself and raise the arm of MetalGreymon to use the Metal Claw technique. The claws on GrandisKuwagamon's gauntlets extended and glowed with a fiery aura. "Grandis Scissors!" An X shaped blast met the extended claw, and in an instant the mechanical appendage was reduced to scrap, and the blast from the insect Digimon reached its main body.
A cloud of dust and debris was lifted, but not a moment later NeoKimeramon emerged. Even with his damaged mechanical arm, it still had other three all of them. Its demonic arms crackled with electricity and beams of lighting towards the two Mega Digimon.
Valkyrimon dashed in front of GrandisKuwagamon and the bracer she had attached to her left forearm opened up to reveal a crossbow, its top glowing as it formed a golden arrow. "Aurvandil's Arrow!"
The arrow was shot, and in the trajectory of it, it separated into various arrows that collided with the lightning coming their way. The attacks cancelling each other, and causing an explosion.
Three blasts of black fire dispersed the smoke caused by the blast, forcing the two Digimon to split to dodge it. NeoKuwagamon emerged a moment later, its Okuwamon's arm slamming into Valkyrimon and sending her crashing towards the floor.
"Agh!" Its tail wrapped around her ankle and threw her into the air before opening its jaw and getting ready to launch a blast towards her while in the air.
"RAHHH!" However, GrandisKuwagamon smashes his fist into NeoKimeramon's lower jaw. Snapping it up and forcing its mouth toclose. Its attack detonated on the inside of its mouth and the abomination staggered back, smoke oozing from its mouth.
"NOW!" GrandisKuwagamon said as his claws extended.
Valkyrimon composed herself and her aura exploded around her. She gripped her fists as she realized she could use her Nen, even in this form. "Alright!" She said, her blades forming around her hand.
"Gran… Killer!" GrandisKuwagamon charged forward, his arms extended to his sides.
Valkyrimon didn't yell out her attack. She just flew forward with her arms crossed in front of her in an X-shaped form.
The two Megas' attack cut through the Deadmon like its body was make out of butter. Black liquid escaped through its body and a screech of pain erupted from its mouth as its body slowly turned into dust.
The two stared at the spot where the Deadmon once stood. GrandisKuwagamon gave a sigh of relief. Feeling like a great weight has been lift from his shoulders. "It's over…"
"Hahaha!" Valkyrimon laughed as she twirled around the air, moving around without an issue. "This is amazing! We are Digimon and we can use Nen!"
GrandisKuwagamon nodded, he was so focused on his new strength that he forgot about his Nen ability. He extended his hand and Conjured a book, however, when the book was in his hands he discovered that it was too small for him. "This book was meant for my human form to hold. I would need to start working on one meant for me when I'm like this…"
Valkyrimon stops and puts a hand to her chin. "That brings another problem to the table…" She says, looking down at her hands. "T.K and Kari were really weak after the transformation and Patamon and Gatomon went all the way back to In-Trainings…" She clenched her fist. "If it comes undone now…"
"We'll be sitting ducks. Who knows how long would it take for us to recover. T.K and Kari needed a whole night of sleep. I know that was right after everything that happened with Daemon, but… Its still a risk."
"We should have asked more!" Valkyrimon whined, throwing her arms in the air. "But we had so little timeeee!"
GrandisKuwagamon chuckled, and in the inner space of the body, Ken gave an endearing smile. "That's Yolei alright."
Sighing and looking down, Valkyrimon saw their discarded backpacks. "Well, we might as well go down our partner's route. Keep our stomachs full to keep the energy on us." She picked them up and handed her friend the one that belonged to his human half.
"I hope my new form doesn't need a lot," GrandisKuwagamon mused. After all, the backpack literally fit into his palm like a marble. He looked around, frowning. "Now then… how are we going to make our way out of here to meet the others?"
The two looked around. Now they had no way to guide around these caverns. Or so they thought. As they pondered over the conundrum, they felt something resonate within them, that made them turn towards a specific wall.
"Ken, can you feel it?" Wormmon's voice asked, as Ken's hand went to his chest.
He nodded. "Yes… Is as if… I feel drawn towards that place." Then within the space where he floated, a small screen appeared. "T-This is…!"
"Bingo!" Yolei exclaimed as she saw a similar screen on her own red space. "Since the Digivice also merged during the Matrix Evolution, their functions are within us!"
Her gaze scrutinized on the screen as she saw the dots. "T.K and Cody seem to be together, and so are Kari and Davis!" She said, feeling her spirits rising seeing her friends were not alone. "I hope Killua's okay, though."
"They are all heading to the same place…" Ken muttered, seeing the dots of their friends moving, all towards the same objective: The single white dot. "Towards where Oikawa is."
Valkyrimon clenched her fists. "Then let's get going! If we are all together, then he won't get away. Everything can finish right here once and for all! From Dagomon to Oikawa!"
GrandisKuwagamon nodded. "You are right, let's go!"
The two burst out of the cave, breaking down the wall that was in the way of them towards the direction towards where their goal was.
All Digidestined were heading towards the same location. One of their greatest battles is at hand. However, unbeknown to them, the powers they are achieving is all within their enemy's plans. The challenges ahead of them might be tougher than what they expect.
A/N: Merry delayed Christmas. GOOOOOOOOOOOOD THE LAST CHAPTER I WROTE IN CHRISTMAS WAS THE BEGINNING OF THIS ARC!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
This has been a really busy year. If you are someone below 18, don't grow up. It's a trap!
I hope I can finish this story BEFORE NEXT CHRISTMAS!
God give me strength…
I'll see you guys next year. Thanks for keeping up with me.