A/N: Blah blah blah, school got in the way, no time to write, blah blah blah. Hopefully I can update more often now that it's summer. Now we finally get to what this story is really about, which is Wormmon interacting with Ken!
––
The Vegiemon guards were writhing and groaning in pain as their Dark Rings dug into their skin, the DigiCode runes around their circumference glowing bright red as they exerted their control over their victims. The Control Spire might have been down, but in such close proximity to the Emperor's digivice, that made no difference at all.
"Let me make sure I've got this straight," the Emperor said coldly. He was standing over the Vegiemon, holding out his dark digivice as a sickly purple light emanated from its screen, and all his slaves could do was cry out in agony at its power. "You call me over here, telling me you've managed to capture the number one Digimon on my bounty list… and sometime between then and now, you let him get away?" He tightened his grip on his digivice, and the purple light shone even more brightly. "And you let those kids knock down my Control Spire?!"
"Please… please, your highness," groaned one Vegiemon, even as his stomach lurched and he was blinded by intense pain. "We… we saw what happened… Wormmon didn't escape. He… he was captured by someone else."
"What are you talking about? Captured by whom?"
"Their leader was a Bearmon!" gasped the other Vegiemon. "He… he had a bunch of Gazimon with him, and they… they were heading for the forest!"
"Is that so." The Emperor lowered his digivice and turned away brusquely, and the Vegiemon gasped in relief as the DigiCode stopped glowing on their Dark Rings and they collapsed weakly to the ground.
"I should have guessed there'd be setbacks… but it makes no difference. As long as I know who has him, I'll have that Wormmon and those other Digimon in my custody before long." He smirked. "I suppose I got lucky this time."
"So… you forgive our failure, your highness?" a Vegiemon asked timidly.
The Emperor turned to glare down contemptuously at them. "I said I got lucky this time," he snarled. "The two of you, not so much. You'll understand if a failure of this magnitude can't be forgiven."
And he turned around and waltzed away with a swish of his cape, snapping his fingers. At his signal, his Airdramon steed who had lying in wait behind him suddenly lifted its head and growled, snaking over and glaring down at the horrified Vegiemon, no mercy to be found in its glowing red eyes.
––
The children and their Digimon were panting and gasping for air as they frantically raced after Wormmon and his kidnappers as fast as they could go. This group now included Tai and Yolei, who had caught up with the others after arriving in the Digital World a few minutes prior.
"What do you mean some Digimon just showed up out of nowhere and kidnapped Wormmon?" Yolei demanded as she ran. "Davis, how could you let this happen?!"
"Oh come on, stop blaming me for everything!" Davis snapped back. "Look, I dunno how it happened! We just left him for a few minutes and then – "
"Ugh, you're useless," Yolei huffed as she turned away from him. "And you don't even know who kidnapped him?"
"I'd never seen the guy before, okay? He looked like some kinda bear cub and – "
"Oh, no," came an unexpected voice. "I know who it was."
Everyone turned around and saw that Agumon had suddenly drawn to a stop, a horrified look in his eyes. Quickly, the kids and their Digimon stopped running and turned to face him, looking at him quietly and expectantly.
"You know who took Wormmon, Agumon?" asked Tai.
"I… I think so," Agumon said quietly, wringing his hands together uneasily. "Davis? You said he looked like a bear cub?"
"Yeah, why? You know the guy?"
"Yes… I do." Agumon reached up and grabbed his head in his hands, looking overwhelmed by guilt. "Ohhh, this is all my fault… if only I'd been there sooner…"
Tai was quickly growing alarmed at the state his partner was in. "Agumon? Agumon, snap out of it!" he exclaimed, kneeling down next to him. "Look, Agumon, if you know anything about this guy, you have to tell us. We have to make sure Wormmon is okay."
Agumon let out a sigh, letting go of his head. "His name is Bearmon," he said sadly. "He talked to us last night. He said that he was going to capture Wormmon… so that he could turn him over to the Digimon Emperor."
"He what?!" cried everyone else.
"He and all of his friends used to live in the forest, until the fire," Agumon went on, looking worse and worse as he did. "He said the fire was all because the Emperor was looking for Wormmon. And he said turning him in was the only way to be sure they would all be safe." He lowered his head miserably. "I'm sorry I couldn't find any of you in time to tell you…"
Tai let out a sigh. "Don't worry, Agumon. You told us now, and that's all that matters," he said, patting his partner on the head. "We'll find Wormmon, I promise."
"Geez, who does this Bearmon guy think he is?" Davis demanded, looking ready to beat something up. "That fire was all the Digimon Emperor's fault, not Wormmon's! He totally captured the wrong guy!"
"He sounds like nothing but a big bully. Picking on someone because they're smaller and weaker," muttered Cody.
Before anyone could say anything else, a pair of shadows fell over the group, causing everyone to look up. Circling above their heads were Pegasusmon and Nefertimon, who had flown on ahead of the rest of the group with TK and Kari riding with them.
"What's up, TK? Did you guys find Wormmon?" asked Matt as the two winged Digimon landed on the ground with the rest of them.
TK slid off of Pegasusmon with a grim look on his face. "Yeah… we did," he muttered. "Guys, we have to hurry. Wormmon's in big trouble."
––
"Big trouble" was a bit of an understatement.
Wormmon was currently locked in a tiny wooden cage that was hanging from a tree branch high above the ground. Outside of that, he had no idea where he was; he'd never been in this area of the forest before… nor did he recognize any of the Digimon congregated below him.
Most of them, most notably the one who had led his kidnapping, were muttering quietly amongst themselves, only stealing a glance at him every now and then, as though to make sure he was still there and hadn't managed to run off. Wormmon's heart sank as he realized that whenever any of them looked up at him, it was with narrowed, distrustful eyes. They all looked so suspicious of him… almost angry.
Oh, why do I have to be so useless? he thought miserably. If only he were stronger like Agumon or Veemon, he could have broken out of here already…
"Please… please…" he finally managed to speak up, though he was barely loud enough to be heard. "What do you all want with me? Why am I locked up like this?"
To his surprise, the Digimon all fell silent and turned to look at him, and he had to gather his courage again before continuing. "Please… why are you all so angry with me? I don't even know any of you!"
Several of the Digimon let out short, mirthless laughs at that. Not their leader, though. He did nothing but glare up at him.
"Maybe you don't," he said. "But we know you, Wormmon. The whole Digital World knows who you are."
Wormmon's skin startled to crawl under the Digimon's accusatory glare.
"You're the one who's been helpin' the humans," he snapped at him. "You're the one the Digimon Emperor is after. You're the reason he started the forest fire, and you're the reason we all lost our homes!"
Wormmon gasped in horror as the other Digimon all muttered in agreement with their leader. All eyes were on him, and all of them were furious.
"But – but – that can't be!" he cried. "You have it all wrong! The forest fire, I – it was the Digimon Emperor, he – "
"He was tryin' to get rid of you," the refugee leader cut him off. "Because of the stuff you did. You never stopped to think that maybe the rest of us would have to suffer for your actions, did ya?"
The other Digimon all jeered and shouted at him angrily, causing him to shrink back into his cage in fright. Oh, Davis… I need you more than ever now…
"I'm… I'm so sorry… please, don't be angry…" he whimpered. "I… I didn't mean for all of you to lose your homes… I only helped the humans because I thought it was the right thing to do…" His mouth was growing dry, and he swallowed. "What… what are you going to do to me?"
The leader gave a derisive snort. "What are we gonna do? We're doin' what any Digimon with half a brain would do, and that's protectin' ourselves. Which means gettin' rid of the threat."
He folded his arms. "Namely you, Wormmon. We're turnin' you over to the Digimon Emperor."
And then, before Wormmon could even react…
"Yeah, I don't think so, short stuff."
Wormmon gasped and turned to face the voice, overwhelmed by a flood of relief. All the other Digimon present turned as well to see Davis standing at the entrance to the camp, hands on his hips, looking very angry indeed. All the other Digidestined were with him, along with Tai and Matt, and all their Digimon partners too. Each one of them was glaring at the gathered refugee Digimon, looking ready for a fight.
They came for me… they really came…
"The Digidestined?" gasped the leader Digimon, clearly not prepared for this turn of events. He looked shocked, but quickly he regained his composure. "What are you guys doin' here? This is none a' your business!"
"You made it our business when you captured our friend, Bearmon," TK said sternly, Patamon flying over his shoulder with an equally serious look on his face. "We're not going to let you hurt Wormmon like this."
Wormmon could only watch as the confrontation below him unfolded. Bearmon stared at the Digidestined incredulously before a snarl drew across his face.
"Oh, you're not gonna let me?" he scoffed. "And who's to say I care what you humans think? You don't even know what Wormmon did to the rest of us Digimon!"
"Wormmon didn't do anything to you, fur-for-brains!" Davis snapped at him, marching forward with Veemon right at his heels. "The guy you should be mad at is the Digimon Emperor! Wormmon's had it worse than any of you guys, don't you get it?"
"We know what you're trying to do. You think by turning Wormmon over to the Emperor, you'll be saving yourselves," said Kari.
"Which is completely idiotic. I dunno if you guys noticed, but Wormmon was already captured by the Emperor before you took him!" Yolei said accusingly.
Bearmon grew a smirk on his face. "Yeah, and we couldn't have that, could we?" he said snidely. "If the Emperor captured Wormmon himself, then we'd have nothin' to bargain with." He stood directly beneath Wormmon's cage. "Sorry, but you humans are too late. We're turnin' Wormmon in as soon as the Emperor gets here. So say goodbye to your so-called friend while you can."
That was the last straw for Davis. "That does it! I'm gonna come over there and – " He started to storm forward, only for Tai to grab him and haul him back before he and Bearmon could break out into a fistfight.
"Davis! Getting into a fight with this guy is not gonna solve anything!" he snapped even as his junior struggled to break free of his grip.
Bearmon watched Davis with a sneer. "Some kinda leader you are," he scoffed. "So tell me, Davis… if those human friends a' yours were in danger of bein' killed by the Digimon Emperor, what would you be willin' to do to protect them?"
Davis immediately stopped struggling and stared at him. "Wait… what?"
"Would you be willin' to do anything it took?" Bearmon demanded. "'Cause if the answer is no, well then, I sure wouldn't want you in charge." He gestured at all the refugee Digimon gathered loyally around him. "See, I'm the leader a' these here Digimon. They all trust me with their lives, which means I gotta do whatever it takes to make sure they're safe. Do you even know what that's like?"
"Bearmon's only doing what's right!" agreed a Gazimon.
"He's doing it for all of us!" shouted a Floramon.
Davis was at a loss for words. When he finally spoke up again, he sounded uncharacteristically unsure of himself. "What… what are you trying to say, Bearmon?"
"I'm saying, you think you know what it's like to be a leader. To make the tough decisions." He narrowed his gaze. "But I can see it in your eyes. You got no idea."
Everything was silent as the two leaders stared each other down, a silent battle of wills raging between them. Wormmon gazed down at them from inside his cage, too afraid to speak… and the more time passed in silence, the more afraid he became.
Why wasn't Davis saying anything? He wasn't… he wasn't really considering what Bearmon was saying, was he?
Would Davis do that to him? His friend?
"You already know my decision, human," said Bearmon. "So what's it gonna be?"
Davis still said nothing for a moment… and then he squeezed his eyes shut, clenched his fists, and lowered his head. And then –
"Oh, I am sorry. Am I interrupting something?"
The camp was flooded with gasps and shrieks of fright. "You!" Davis and Bearmon shouted together.
The Digimon Emperor, the bane of the Digital World himself, was suddenly standing on a tree branch high over the heads of everyone else, arms folded, cape billowing regally behind him. The refugee Digimon all screamed and tried to run for their lives when his Airdramon rose up from the trees, cutting off any hope of escape.
"I really do need to thank all of you for leading me exactly where I needed to go. Not very subtle, are you?" the Emperor sneered down at the Digidestined, who were all glaring back up at him, fists tightened. "Oh, and Bearmon… you really should have listened to the moronic human boy. Turning in Wormmon won't do a thing for you, since I'm enslaving all of you as well."
Bearmon's eyes widened in horror… and then the Emperor snapped his whip, and the Dark Rings began to fly.
It was chaos. Five children cried out and held up their Digieggs, and five Digimon evolved to their Armored forms in flashes of light, firing off attacks and shattering every Dark Ring that flew too close to them, but still it wasn't enough. Most of the refugee Digimon barely even had time to try to run before the Dark Rings clamped around their necks and their waists, turning their eyes red, wiping their minds. Some, like Bearmon, were able to keep the flying Rings at bay by swiping and striking them away, but in such an enclosed area they couldn't possibly hold out long…
Then someone's attack went wild, and Wormmon gasped and screamed as it crashed into his little cage, rattling it around and causing it to drop off the tree branch. He cried out as it plummeted down and crashed to the ground, instantly bursting apart as it did, throwing him out and leaving him sprawled on the ground.
He groaned in pain, then lifted his head and looked around in horror at the scene before him.
Flamedramon and the others were losing, having to fend off both the flying Dark Rings and the attacks of the newly enslaved refugees. Once again, his friends were in terrible danger.
And once again, it was all his fault.
He couldn't take this anymore. He was tired of being a victim, tired of so much suffering on his account, tired of being so powerless against the Digimon Emperor.
He had to put a stop to this. No matter what the cost.
The Emperor was still standing on the tree branch, grinning in manic glee at the chaos he had created, and so did not notice the little green caterpillar climbing up the tree and crawling onto the very same branch, just a few feet away.
"Digimon Emperor!"
The Emperor froze… and with a horrible scowl distorting his features, turned to face the one who had spoken.
Almost immediately Wormmon regretted opening his mouth. He felt himself balk, freezing in place and staring up at the Emperor as his courage fled from him in an instant. To be stared down by this dark creature, this tyrant… suddenly Wormmon was more aware than ever of the power disparity between them. Here he was, the weakest being in the Digital World trying to stand up to the strongest. All his nightmares came flooding back to him, memories of that laughing shadow blotting out the light, and him powerless to do a thing, even run away…
No. I was alone then. I'm not anymore, he forced himself to remember. I have friends now… friends I need to protect.
"So. You finally show yourself, you pusillanimous little traitor. You filthy little maggot," the Emperor sneered. Even his voice was coated in slime. "My, but I am going to enjoy teaching you a lesson."
Wormmon subconsciously edged away a few inches, but his gaze did not waver. "I'm… I'm not afraid of you," he said, no matter how transparent a lie it was. "You… you're going to stop hurting all the Digimon. You're going to leave my friends alone."
The Emperor barked out a laugh. "Oh, am I?" he said, sounding thoroughly amused. "And who's going to make me? You?"
He pulled out his whip, talking a stalking step toward Wormmon, then another. "No, I don't think so… in fact, I don't think you're going to be doing anything ever again."
Wormmon locked up in terror, realizing he had approximately half a second before the Emperor struck. He hadn't thought this through at all. He wasn't a fighter, he stood no chance in his fight, he was going to be killed –
I don't want to die.
And so he defended himself, the only way he could.
The Emperor cried out in shock as Wormmon's Sticky Net struck him in the face, covering his tinted glasses, blinding him, knocking him back several inches as he staggered to keep his precarious balance on the tree branch. Wormmon barely had enough time to register his shock at what he'd done before he realized the Emperor was about to grab his glasses and pull them off, and so he scampered forward and rammed into the human boy's leg, leaving him to scream and flail his arms before he lost his balance entirely, falling off the branch and plummeting to the ground, landing with a thoroughly undignified thud.
As if it were a signal, the Digidestined all suddenly broke off what they were doing and stared at the sight before them. The Emperor lying helplessly on the ground, and Wormmon standing up in the tree where he'd just been… were they seeing things correctly?
Did Wormmon just fight the Digimon Emperor… and win?
"Davis!" TK shouted at the gogglehead, who immediately understood and nodded.
"Flamedramon!" Davis shouted, pointing at the fallen Emperor, and Flamedramon wasted no time streaking over to him. The Emperor was groaning, wiping the Sticky Net from his face and struggling to stand, when suddenly he gasped and felt something very powerful grab him by the collar and slam him against the tree.
He gasped in pain, and his eyes flew open. Through his glasses he saw Flamedramon holding onto him so that he was dangling several inches above the ground, holding his other fist directly at his head.
For the first time in quite a while, the Emperor suddenly felt very afraid.
"Digimon Emperor," came a stern voice, and suddenly he realized all the Digidestined and their Digimon were standing right behind Flamedramon, all looking quite ready to cause him pain.
His eyes widened in terror. They wouldn't – they couldn't –
"Get out of here now," TK ordered. "Let all the Digimon go, and get out of here."
The Emperor stared at all of them. How had this happened? Just a moment ago he'd been unstoppable! He'd been beating those kids into the ground like they deserved! How had everything fallen apart so suddenly, just like that…
Silently, his gaze traveled over to Wormmon, standing several feet away from the others, staring up at him with those huge blue eyes.
Never had he felt such broiling hatred.
He's ruined everything, he thought. I'll kill him. I'll kill him if it's the last thing I do.
He brusquely brought his fingers to his mouth and gave a whistle. As he did, his Airdramon, who'd been preoccupied with cutting off a group of refugees, immediately came flying over and landed in front of him, causing the Digidestined to gasp and scatter and Flamedramon to release his hold on him. Wordlessly, too thoroughly humiliated to even say a word, the Emperor climbed on its back as it took to the sky once again, flying off and vanishing into the distance, leaving everything else behind.
As soon as he was gone, everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief. The now-depowered Dark Rings lost their control and fell off, and the refugees all gasped as they came out of the Emperor's control.
"I don't get it… what happened just now?" asked Yolei as everyone's partners shrank back to their Rookie forms. "That was all too fast for me to even keep up."
"No kidding. All I know was that the Emperor was up in the tree, and then Wormmon…" Cody trailed off as he turned to look at Wormmon along with everyone else. "That was you, wasn't it, Wormmon? You pushed him off?"
Wormmon immediately started blushing and lowered his head. He hated it when everyone looked at him like that. "Oh… yes… I did. It was me," he said quietly.
Kari knelt down next to him. "Are you all right, Wormmon?" she asked worriedly, stroking his head. "We're so sorry we let you get captured like that… we made it over here as fast as we could."
"Oh…" Wormmon still wasn't quite used to people showing such concern for him. "Don't worry, Kari… I'm all right."
"I'd say you're more than all right. You actually flat-out beat the Digimon Emperor!" said Matt, stepping forward with an impressed look on his face. "You're the first one of us who's been able to do that. Goes to show he's not invincible after all, huh?"
"I think it just never occurred to us how easily the Emperor could be beaten when he's by himself," said TK. "It's sort of easy to forget, but when you get past all his fancy toys, he's just a regular human kid like the rest of us."
"Yeah… I guess…" Davis trailed off as he noticed someone else walking over to them. Everyone turned and saw Bearmon standing a few feet away from them, holding onto what looked like an injured arm, staring directly at Wormmon.
"So it was you, then?" he said in wonder. "Wormmon… you saved us? Even though… I was gonna…"
Wormmon gave a faint shrug. "I've seen what the Emperor does to his slaves," he said softly. "I… I didn't want that to happen to you. Not to anyone."
"Now you see, Bearmon. There's no making deals with the Digimon Emperor. He has no honor," said Cody.
Bearmon gave a light scoff and looked away. "Yeah, I see that now," he muttered.
"This means you'll let Wormmon go, don't it?" asked Armadillomon.
Bearmon glanced back up at Wormmon, locking his gaze with the little caterpillar for a long, tension-filled moment, his expression unreadable. And then, finally, he let out a huff and turned away.
"There's no point keepin' him here anymore," he said. "Go be with those humans if that's what you want, Wormmon. We're done here."
Wormmon was stunned. "Wait… what do you – "
"Let's get outta here, everybody," Bearmon said more loudly, and the other refugee Digimon who'd been watching this whole display in stunned silence acted immediately, racing past the surprised Digidestined without even paying them any heed, following after Bearmon as he led them away.
"Hey – wait a minute! Aren't you at least gonna apologize?" Davis shouted after him, but Bearmon and the others ignored him as they all marched off into the trees and vanished.
Davis folded his arms and scowled. "Sheesh… talk about ungrateful." Then he turned to Wormmon with a grin and placed him on his shoulder. "But hey, way to go, Wormmon! You were awesome! You really knocked the Digimon Emperor down a few pegs," he snickered. "Bet you'll never be afraid of him again, huh?"
Wormmon said nothing. The whole experience was still honestly a surreal haze to him; it still hadn't fully registered to him that he – he, of all people, had defeated the Emperor. It was the last thing he'd ever expected, and though he had no idea how he was supposed to feel, through the midst of his confusion he finally realized one thing.
He wasn't happy.
Davis frowned. "What's wrong, Wormmon?"
Wormmon gazed down at the ground, suddenly feeling too guilty to look his friend in the eye. He didn't really know why. "I didn't like doing that," he murmured. "I didn't want to fight him."
Davis looked at him for a moment. "Ah, geez, Wormmon… you're really too nice for your own good," he sighed. "Look, I know you don't like fighting, but there are some guys who just deserve it. And the Digimon Emperor is definitely one of those guys."
"C'mon, Wormmon, don't be sad. If my brother gives you a compliment, then you know you're cool," TK laughed.
"Yeah, I – wait. What? What do you mean by that?" asked Matt, and everyone else burst out laughing at the flustered look on his face.
Everyone except Wormmon, anyway… he wanted to be happy with the others, but he couldn't stop thinking about what he'd done.
Why did he get a sick feeling in his stomach when he remembered the way he'd fought the Emperor? Davis was right; he deserved it, after all, and he had been hurting Wormmon's friends. But Wormmon hated the feeling just the same.
He'd finally faced his greatest fear. He should have at least felt better about himself… but he didn't.
He felt worse.