Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ A New Emperor ❯ Faustian ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Chapter Eight: Faustian

"So what's the deal with wooden spoons?" Ken asked, pacing around TK's bedroom, looking at the handful of digidestined on the bed. TK and Davis sat on the edge, Kari, Tai and Izzy were cross-legged behind them. "I mean, they're wooden, and they're spoons. It's like cutting down a tree-" he mimicked the motion of sawing with his right hand "-and using it to eat your ice cream."

Davis stared blankly at Ken. Kari pulled at her sock. TK glanced at the bedroom door.

"I dunno man. I don't get it." Davis finally said. "I mean, I've never thought of wooden spoons like that, but how is it funny?"

"I thought it was pretty funny." Tai commented.

"Then why didn't you laugh?" Kari asked.

"Well...it's not that funny." Tai digressed.

"I liked it." Izzy said. "Is that from Seinfeld, or did you make it up?"

"It's in the styling of Seinfeld, but I made it up." Ken responded.

"I never did watch Seinfeld." TK said. "I never really gave it a shot."

"Me either. I've always kinda wanted to, but never did." Davis mused.

"I'll let you borrow my DVDs." Ken said, pointing at Davis and TK. "It's good stuff."

A knock came at the door. TK got up and went over to it, turning the knob to admit the knocker. The door swung open to reveal Matt, Sora, and Yolei.

"What's on the schedule today?" Matt asked quickly.

"Well, first, I need some good excuses to miss school." Ken said, pulling his notebook out from behind him in his pant's waist. "Let's hear it. I've got all these guys covered." He gestured at the bed. "Or I would if Tai would hurry the hell up and get some type of disguise."

"I'm working on it." Tai growled.

"Mine was easy." Kari said happily. "I'm grieving over Tai's accident." She reached behind TK's bed and pulled up a backpack. "Look what I bought this morning." She unzipped it and pulled out a mass of black cloth. "Black dress, black hat, black socks, black shirt, black pants." She reached in further and pulled out three CD cases. "Linkin Park, Simple Plan, and Dashboard Confessional." She recited. Then, she reached into the bottom of the bag and pulled out a small pocket knife. "For those really angsty days when I just have to cause physical damage to myself." Finally, she reached in and pulled out a pair of books. "Devil Worship guides." She giggled, putting everything back into the bag in reverse order.

"Are you really going to cut yourself?" Davis asked.

"Anything worth doing is worth doing right." She said simply, leaning over the bed to place the bag back where it had been before.

Davis leaned in next to TK's ear. "Is it wrong that I'm really turned on right now?"

"Yes." TK responded into Davis's ear. "But so am I."

"C'mon guys. I need legit reasons." Ken said, pointing at Matt, Sora and Yolei.

"Okay, I'm...on a Europe tour with my band. But I'm performing in underground, small locations and will be hard to track down." Matt settled on quickly.

"I've...developed an addiction to meth, and had to go into rehab in an obscure facility in America." Sora said quickly.

"Well now I'm turned on." Tai said under his breath after leaning up next to Davis and TK.

"How about...I've joined an obscure religion that forbids all forms of organized education, and refuse to attend school?" Yolei said.

"Sure." Ken responded, writing everything down. "Looking good." He looked up above the door at the black and white clock. "Three minutes til nine. I think there should be a punishment for everyone who gets here late."

"Just waiting on Cody and Joe." TK stated. "They seem to enjoy each other's company alot."

"Makes sense." Tai said. "I always would have figured they'd fit together."

"Anyway, I still think there's more to find in the market." Ken said. "The groups should switch today, so that the first group recruits and the second group explores the market."

"You sure you don't want to be at the market, Ken? We might need you." TK commented.

"If something comes up, gimme a call. I think we'll be fine." Ken responded. "And I've had another thought. My crest."

"The crest of kindness?" Izzy asked rhetorically. "What about?"
"Remember when I used it to seal off the explosion that my base was about to emit?" Ken asked. After he got a general nod from everyone, he continued. "I think I should try to retrieve it."

"Interesting thought." Tai said slowly, looking down at Wormmon. "You think Wormmon could reach his ultimate level with it?"

"That's what I hope." He bent down and picked Wormmon up from the floor. "It doesn't seem like much now, but adding an experienced ultimate to our forces would be a serious boost."

"I'll level with you guys now, I don't even know what mine is." Wormmon spoke. "I can't even promise I have one, I've never really thought of it."

"I'm sure you have one." Ken comforted. "We'll see soon enough, hopefully. And I'm sure you two-" he pointed with his thumb and index fingers of his right hand at Davis and Yolei "-have crests out there as well. Cody too."

A knock came at the door. TK opened it up, admitting Joe and Cody.

"Consider yourselves lucky. Another minute and you would have been late." Ken said, mock seriousness on his voice. "I'm more than willing to forgive tardiness, but I can't speak for Necromancer Ken."

This time, Ken's joke brought on universal laughter from all in the room. Quickly, Ken pulled his D-3 from his pocket and went up to the computer, holding it out to the screen, silencing the laughs.

"It's go time." He said under his breath.

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Slowly, Ken peered over the dune in the sand. There it was, just as he had left it. His old base. Laying there in the sand, slowly beginning to disappear under sandstorms. It still stood proud and strong, a testament to the terrible power he once held as the Emperor.

There was nothing else except for sand, tumbleweeds, and cactuses for miles. Nobody wanted to hang around next to what had come to symbolize evil itself, it seemed. Ken didn't blame them, he didn't want to be here either.

"I placed the crest in the core." Ken said, turning around to face the other five and their partners. "We should be cautious, I sense this place is not as empty as it seems."

Slowly, the group pulled themselves over the sandy hill and began trekking towards the fallen base.

"You don't suppose the Emperor's using it as his base?" Mimi wondered out loud. "I mean, it's more convienent than making a new one."

"As his base, no. Too obvious and probably not to his taste." His eyes narrowed as he looked off at it. "But if I know this kid, he's using it for something. We might get more than we bargained for." He gripped the top of his rod.

"It might give us a legit lead." Matt commented. "I'm sick of that damned market if I'm being honest."

"Perhaps." Ken mused. "But nothing we could find in there can be good."

A sandstorm kicked up, causing everyone to throw their hands over their faces and push on through strong winds. It felt like hail, beating down on them viciously and relentlessly. When it finally ceased, they were standing before the base's entrance.

Slowly, the group began walking through the winding, dark hallways. Nothing had changed from when they had come here to destroy it, seemingly. It was still a fairly boring place, mostly dark and lifeless. But an unmistakable aura of evil emitted from it still, and there was no doubt in Ken's mind Cory had been drawn to it for one reason or another.

They ran into no digimon or signs of life, even as the hallways widened and grew in height. It seemed completely dead.

And then, as they got closer and closer to the core, they began to hear faint screams in the air. They sounded tortured and raspy. The group froze upon hearing them, looking around wildly.

"Well, we've got signs of life." Cody said flatly. "Can we hurry up and get out of here?"

"I'm not leaving until I get my crest." Ken said.

"And we've gotta at least investigate those screams." Davis commented. "I mean, it's our duty, right?"

"Yeah." Joe said, though there was no confidence or emphasis behind his words.

Slowly, they continued, aware of the screams increasing in volume constantly. It was terrifying, but nobody wanted to be the one to suggest they turn around.

The core loomed up ahead, like the gates of St. Peter might after a long trek through purgatory. The group turned into it. And there it was.

In the middle of the room, there was a pillar-like structure, perhaps holding the room up. It was black and bore the pink crest of kindness in the middle. Ken stared at it, unsure of how to approach this.

"What makes you so sure the base won't explode after you remove it?" Matt asked.

"I'm not sure." Ken said simply, walking towards it. "That's why I have this." He pointed down at his rod.

Everyone watched with bated breath as Ken walked towards the pillar. He was just a few feet away now. He reached out with his right hand and clasped his fingers around the pink object. With a small tug, it broke away. He held it carefully inbetween his forefinger and thumb.

"Alright. Now what?" Matt asked, looking around. "I don't like this one bit."

"We've gotta find the source of that scream." Ken repeated. "I know this place is...evil, for the lack of a better word, but someone here is in pain." He pointed down one of the many hallways extending from the central room. "C'mon."

They proceeded down the indicated path, the yells growing in volume with every step.

"I'll bet it's a trap." Joe said, cautiously walking behind everyone else, as if afraid the floor might suddenly give out.

"Let him try." Ken growled. "I know the risks, but we can't be afraid of him. I have enough firepower to go against him so needed."

"We shouldn't think like that. In terms of power he's got us outgunned at least a hundred to one. Don't let that rod go to your head." Matt said.

Ken kept silence, marching down the path purposefully.

A sudden left turn brought the group to a door, only noticable because of the golden knob, as the door was as black as the surrounding walls. The scream had reached a fever pitch now, and all signs pointed towards the source being behind the door.

Slowly, Ken reached his hand out for the glinting gold, terrified of what might be behind. He talked a big game, but in reality, he hated this place just as much as anyone else.

He cranked the knob and pushed it open. Sure enough, the screams grew in decibals considerably, and the source was revealed. A Chuumon, in a small steel cage, was spinning around wildly and emitting the screams.

Ken stared at it for a moment. It had to be the most pathetic life form he had ever laid eyes on. It's fur had been torn in several locations, it's ears had been chewed off, the tip of it's nose had been ripped off, and it's eyes were stricken with red veinlines.

Then, he began to take notice of the rest of the room. It was a massive room, he couldn't remember what it had been months ago when he had run the show. There were several dozen cages of varying sizes strewn all across the floor. More disturbing were the assorted body parts and gore everywhere, almost looking as part of the decal since there was just so much of it. There were desks covered with notebooks and pieces of paper, and several metallic towers covered with flashing lights and wires lined the back wall. Some shelves, covered by wooden doors, were set up alongside them.

"This isn't...yours, is it Ken?" Cody asked.

"No." Ken breathed. "This has to be Cory."

And then, without warning, the Chuumon reached up with it's hands, grabbed it's skull, and ripped outwards. The skin that covered it's head ripped down the middle, exposing it's bony skull.

Everyone winced and turned away as blood and flesh was scattered about the cage. It gave off one final scream, and then a quiet thunk sounded off. Then, nothing.

Ken looked slowly at the cage. The Chuumon had torn it's entire skin off it's body, exposing bone and cartilage, before falling to the floor and dying. Ken swallowed hard.

"Don't look." He said to the rest, who hadn't opened their eyes yet. "What is this place?"

Slowly, everyone turned away and opened their eyes. "Can we leave?" Davis asked. "I mean, do we really need to know?"

"Yes." Ken said robotically, walking up to the desk covered with papers. "They must have kept a journal or something..."

"What do you mean?" Mimi asked, trying to avoid looking at body parts, which proved impossible.

"This is a lab of some kind. Cory was experimenting with...something. He must have tracked whatever it was he was doing, somewhere." He began pushing loose sheets of paper aside, looking for all the notebooks. He picked up one and flipped through it quickly, soon discarding it. Then another. The third try, however, something kept his interest.

"Ken, what is it?" Joe asked.

"I think this is it." Ken said dramatically. "Day One. So begins Project Faustian. The big man has demanded completion within a week, usually such a project would take months. But he's promised us all the subjects we need, and instantaneous resources. We were given a fifty gallon drum by the Emperor, filled with a glowing green liquid. He told us to begin our experiments immediately and report on any successes or failures as soon as they occured.

We brought out five subjects, five captured rookies, and began. We gave the first a half-gallon of the stuff, offering it willingly. At first, he refused to touch it, but a few minutes of coercion convinced him. He took a single sip and his eyes lit up. Before we could stop him, he had drained the entire can, and began convulsing. About thirty seconds later, he was dead of an overdose.

We distributed small cups filled with the liquid to the other four, who quickly swallowed it. We could see their muscles magnifying, their eyes lighting up, and their power levels increasing by the mouthful. We tested them in the other room. It's true. They were more powerful than before.

Almost as soon as we brought them back in, they began pining for more. At first, when we refused, they would react violently, hitting the bars of their cages and screaming. Then, they'd start to plead with us, insisting that they not only wanted, but needed more."

Ken looked around at everyone. "Oh, god." He whispered. He quickly flipped ahead several pages and picked up reading again.

"Day Five. It appears we've hit the nail on the head with Batch Number Eight. It perfectly mixes attributes of power, addictiveness, and taste. From our experiments and subjects, we have discovered that three doses of 10CCs or more will create full-on addiction. Amount of addiction is related to how quickly the three doses were given. For our one experiment who we gave glasses every three hours, if three hours passed and he didn't receive his glass, he would become violent, deranged, and insane within minutes.

Another subject received glasses every half hour. After a half hour, if no glass was given, he would immediately begin to cause a ruckus. Every single subject has fallen under the spell of this drug. The more you take and the more often you take it, the more you need and the more often you need it.

One of our earlier subjects, who we quickly addicted to the substance, then completely cut it off to, committed suicide today via slicing his throat with a tooth he had ripped out of his own mouth. It was an earlier batch of the stuff, but it's safe to say that even batch number eight would create the same amount of dependence in anyone who became addicted.

So we now have all the details we need. Whatever mix the Emperor used on batch number eight creates exactly what he wanted: a drug that tastes fantastic, is more addictive than anything I've ever seen before, and creates a pleasurable buzz of increased power.

The Emperor's final request was to build machines that would automatically convert power from his crystals into this drug, whichever one we deemed best for his needs. He wants them converted into forms for oral delivery, injection, inhalation, and suppository. We should be done and out of here in twenty four hours."

He looked up again, his lips quivering. "This entry was yesterday." He glanced down at his watch. "If his twenty four hour prediction was correct, they left here two hours ago." He threw down the book and marched over to the shelves.

"Ken...what's happening?" Matt said, voice shaking.

"This drug! This drug is why he never bothered to recruit anyone!" He hissed, throwing one of the shelf doors open, revealing several glass jugs filled with green glowing liquid, each labeled with a number from I to VII. "All he has to do now is distribute it." He continued throwing shelves open, each one revealing more vats of green liquid. "Anyone who gets so much as a sip of it will be under his thumb."

"It's terrible." Davis croaked. "A couple of days without it and they kill themselves?"

"Nicotine, Opium, Alcohol, none of that stuff even compares to what this'll do." Ken said quickly.

"Well, they have to get addicted first..." Joe said slowly, rubbing the back of his head "...maybe they'll just never start, and-"

"Joe, if someone told you that, by drinking a great tasting liquid, you could become the world's greatest doctor, would you drink it?"

"Well-"

"You would. And these digimon are going to be faced with the same decision. Even the one's we've recruited won't be able to resist." He had thrown open all the shelves, revealing only more green liquid. He began pacing around the machines like a madman, seemingly looking for something.

And then, suddenly, his hand lashed out at the side paneling on the machine closest to the door the digidestined had come through. He ripped it down, the metal sheet coming down towards the ground on hinges.

A black box was revealed to be among the wires and cables inside the machinery. A small screen flashed red numbers, currently reading out at 7:21. Everyone stopped breathing for a moment as Ken watched it count down to 7:20. He tried to reach out and grab the box, but his hand would not penetrate closer than an inch from it. He turned away, walking quickly towards the door.

"Bomb." He grunted loudly, prompting everyone to give pursuit. They could hear the time bomb clicking eerily from the tower as they bolted through the doorway.

Unfortunately, they were forced to jump right back in thanks to a series of blasts from digimon who had appeared out in the path while they were inside. Mekanorimon, armed with two rifles usually used by Mummymon, and Leomon boasting arms taken from Gigadramon had been waiting, and the digidestined just barely escaped their explosive wrath.

"Time to fight!" Veemon hissed, clenching his fists.

"Do what you must, but do not stop to engage!" Ken yelled to all the digimon. "Clear a path so we can leave!"

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WereGarurumon, Lilymon, Zudomon, Stingmon, ExVeemon, and Ankylomon tumbled out of the doorway, strafing so they'd immediately face the threat at hand, and began their assualt on around a dozen genetically-enhanced digimon.

WereGarurumon dived right into the melee, unleashing his sharp claws and vicious kick on the closest Leomon. Zudomon fiercely crushed a Mekanorimon under his mighty hammer, sending nuts, bolts, and bent metal in all directions. Lilymon sent a nasty cannon blast into the knee of another Leomon from near the back of the group, even as a cannon blast from the Leomon's modified arms struck her in the wings.

ExVeemon tore into the action alongside WereGarurumon, using a burst of speed to plow a path through the digimon. Leomon and Mekanorimon were scattered to the sides. Ankylomon and Stingmon began beating down on the momentarily stunned enemies, buying enough time for the digidestined to run out of the lab and down the hall, past the battle. Their partners followed.

"Ken!" Stingmon cried. "Now would be a great time to give that crest a test run!"

"But how?" Ken looked around. "Maybe I have to do something kind." He suddenly grabbed Davis by the chest and picked him up, bridal style. "Here, I'll carry you the rest of the way!"

"What the-" Davis flailed around until he felt out of Ken's grip. "Hell no!"

"Fine." Ken hissed. They turned right down the path, seeing nothing but straight hallway in front of them.

Then, the ceiling fell in, and a BlueMeramon and and three Cyberdramon fell through. They had no obvious upgrades, but Ken wasn't much in the mood to find out if they had them or not.

"C'mon!" He pulled the crest from his pocket and shook it. "Please!"

"Ken, we're outgunned!" Matt yelled, running alongside him. "Do something!"

Ken whipped out his rod, pointed it down the hall, and began firing off basketball-sized energy balls, which zoomed down the path and crashed into the opposing digimon. They were clearly fazed, cowering under the power of the attacks, but far from defeated.

Zudomon sent a lightening bolt from his hammer down the corridor, further injuring the minions of the Emperor. Lilymon began rapidly firing her flower cannon down towards them. But they refused to fall, or move, or otherwise allow them passage.

They were getting very close now. Ken futilely looked up at Stingmon, then his crest, then shook his rod a few times. The half-dozen digimon began to glow as power built up within them, courtesy of Ken.

"Go!" Ken cried. They did so, charging forth and attacking with power usually not possible for any of them. WereGarurumon's wolf claw dismembered a Cyberdramon's torso from it's legs, instantly digitizing it. Lilymon's flower cannon needed just three shots to vaporize the BlueMeramon into nothing. Even ExVeemon was able to pick up one of the CyberDramon and slam him into the wall.

The path was clear. The digimon went back to their partners, quickly scooped them up, and began rapidly sprinting or flying past the out-of-commission digimon.

They were in the core room now. They took off down the hallway leading to the exit. Everyone looked up at Ken, knowing the biggest surprise was likely yet to come. He was sweating profusely, panting hard, clearly drained by the effort to charge up the digimon a moment ago.

And then, just as a small glint of light from the outside work twinkled, the floor a few dozen meters before them crumbled, and three Andromon jumped out.

Without hesitation, the digimon set their partners down and dove in, only to be repelled when the chest plates of the Andromon opened and fired off Corona Blasters from a Beelzemon.

Lilymon took a direct hit from a blast, and almost instantly fell to the ground like a rock, de-digivolving back to rookie. Ken glanced at Palmon, then at Mimi, then at his rod. He took a deep breath, then pointed the rod at Palmon. It glowed, and the digimon sprung back up and retook the form of Lilymon, but Ken fell to the follow, his clothes now drenched in sweat.

"Ken!" Cody yelled, running over to the drained comrade. "You alright?"
"I'm not out of gas...I don't understand." He panted. "I'm just so...drained and tired."

"You're not used to exerting yourself like this." Cody said soothingly. "Give it a break."

"I can't!" He wheezed. "We've got about three minutes to get clear of this place!" Inspite of his worthy words, he couldn't get himself to stand up.

But his desperation was answered by the lords of higher powers who awarded him the crest of kindness.

Stingmon began to shine like a diamond. Everyone shielded their eyes as the insect began to take it's ultimate form.

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Dinobeemon carried some traits of ExVeemon, but this version was much more leaning towards Stingmon. It had massive insect wings that beat in the air, ExVeemon's claws and tail, and Stingmon's head and body.

"Alright!" Ken cheered weakly. "We've got em now."

"Ken, it's one more ultimate. Do you really think-"

Ken put his finger to his lips, and pointed at the five other digimon, dodging Corona Blasts like raindrops. The arrival of Dinobeemon seemed to give the fighters new hope, refresh them, make them believe they might be able to win. They went on the offensive.

Dinobeemon opened with a flurry of slashes too fast for the naked eye to see. The only evidence of such a flurry taking place were the severed pieces of Andromon that lay about, which was really the most important part. Lilymon blew the leg off one of the Andromon, which was already missing three fingers and the other arm thanks to Dinobeemon. Zudomon took advantage of the short lull to charge and swing at another, crushing it viciously into the wall.

A last ditch Corona Blast hit Ankylomon right on the shell, but miraculously enough, the shell held, though it would likely need a new paint job. WereGarurumon charged in and beat on the final standing Andromon a few dozen times before slamming him into the wall with a kick, while Dinobeemon shot an energy beam into the one-legged Andromon on the ground.

ExVeemon grabbed the final Andromon, ripping him out from a dent in the wall, and cleanly snapped it's head off. With no time to celebrate, the digimon ran back and grabbed their partners, making a dead sprint for the light.

The entire place began to shake, the first set of explosions was underway. Just as they emerged out into the sunlight, a violent eruption came from the center area of the base, the flames blowing through walls and making quick apperances on the outer shell of the facility. The structure began to collapse, vital support walls caving and resulting parts crumbling.

They were clear of the base, back out in the scorching desert. Ken dared a glance back at the base, watching it implode, a massive piece of the top shell bringing great force down on the inside.

By the time they were several hundred meters from the base, it was completely crumbling in on itself. A massive wave of sand was kicked up, hitting the digimon and their partners like a tidal wave. They hit the deck, hard, feeling as if they had just ridden a roller coaster and just gotten off.

Ken rolled over onto his back slowly, looking off at the ash, dust, and scattered remains that was once his base. Everyone shook themselves off and slowly stood up. The digimon went back to In-Training, exhausted from the ordeal.

"Why'd he blow it up?" Davis coughed, looking at the base.

"He knew we'd be there." Ken said simply. "Thought he'd send us out with a bang."

"You should have taken it." Came a voice from behind them. They spun around wildly, to find Adeel standing in the desert behind them. "And I think you knew it, Ken."

"What are you talking about?" Ken huffed.

"The vial in the shelf. It was marked VIII, wasn't it? You read the journals, right? That was the good one." Adeel said simply, walking up to Ken.

"Why would I want it?" Ken hissed. "It's got to be the vilest, most evil thing I've ever seen, and I've seen some evil things in my day."

"Regardless, you need it." Adeel said, standing just before Ken now. "Now, the Emperor has the only sample of it in the world. When he mass produces and distributes it, all who so much as taste it will be under his command for all of eternity. Unless, of course, there's somewhere else to get it from."

Ken looked behind him at the ruins of the base. "I'll make some of my own." He said simply.

"You think Faustian was easy to make?" Adeel asked, looking at the back of Ken's head. "This isn't something you can just snap your fingers and create. It took the Emperor time and resources to perfect. I'm afraid it will even be harder for you to recreate. Then again, you don't have the resources to mass produce...do you?"

Ken turned back to Adeel. "Not a concern. If the Emperor truly does mass produce it, I'll have few problems in obtaining it myself. And as for my supplies of power..." he reached down and gripped his rod. "something will come up."

"We can hope, Ken." Adeel replied. "But now, the Emperor has a headstart. As we speak, a massive building covering three stories and towering sixty stories is being built at the base of Infinity Mountain." He looked off into the distance. "That building will be done in six hours, and all across the digital world, digimon will be lured through it's doors by the siren song of easy power."

Ken looked down at his watch, wincing. "We'll just have to destroy it then." He grumbled.

"A nice thought. But do you really believe the words coming out of your own mouth?" Adeel questioned. Ken froze, looking around slowly. "Digimon will be able to walk in, order themselves a nice dosage of Faustian in any form they'd like, and in a flash, they're addicted. This is a vision of the future the Emperor is protecting with all he has, you won't be able to scratch this facility if you tried with all you had."

"Hey." Davis finally said, approaching the pair. "Mister Doomsday, do you have any good news?"

"I'm afraid there is little good news, beyond Wormmon achieving his ultimate level. The Emperor has planned nine other facilities just like this one, to be built all over the world. Soon, no digimon will be able to resist it. Every single creature in this world will answer to his call." He said the last words slowly, his jaw moving more than it needed to emphasize.

"How do you know all this?" Ken asked, trying to hide his great concern.

"I have a source in the Black Market." Adeel replied. "Fat lot of good it does us, knowing what's coming."

"You must have something!" Ken cried out, starting to sweat again. "I mean-"

"I have nothing to offer you this time. In five days, all ten facilities will be up and running. I advise you arrange a counter to the Emperor's actions before then." Adeel said, finality in his voice. He turned away.

"I see you're still too cowardly to stay around for the show." Ken said, smiling slightly inspite of himself, holding his arms out to his side. "Or is it cowardice?"

"Why do you care?" Adeel turned his head around, looking back at Ken. "You don't even want me here." He continued walking away. Nobody tried giving pursuit.

Slowly, Ken grabbed the radio clipped onto the back of his pants. He brought it up to his mouth, bringing it to life with his index finger. "Status." He said mechanically into the receiver.

"We've got something." Came Tai's response. "All the equipment is champion-level stuff still, but we found a mercenary company. Sizable one too."

Ken grabbed his rod and shook it. "Your wallet just got considerably thicker. I want you to buy every Mercenary you can. If you need more money, call me. In fact, I want you guys to keep searching for more mercenary shops and buy every last one that you can."

"Is something up?" Tai asked.

Ken paused. "Yes. I don't want to talk about it right now, but the important part is we can't rely on digimon allying with us out of the goodness of their hearts. I need loyalty you can buy."

Tai sighed. "Alright. I'll expect the full story tonight."

"Will do." Ken said, flicking the radio off and putting it in his belt. He slowly looked around, seeing nothing but desert for miles, then sat down in the sand, looking downwards.

"Are you okay?" Mimi asked, looking down as the crouched figure.

He was breathing heavily. "I don't know what to do. Without numbers, we're dead meat. And if I know mercenaries, they won't be able to hold out on this Faustian for long no matter how much I pay them."

"Faustian." Joe repeated. "Fitting name."

"Indeed." Ken said. "How can a dozen digimon stand against the entire digital world?" He started quivering.

"Ken, calm down." Matt began. "We-"

"I will not calm down!" Ken hissed. "This is a hundred times worse than anything I ever did!" He looked up at everyone. "And anything I can ever do!" He slumped his head back over into his hands. "By tomorrow morning, the Emperor will probably already have all of File Island marching under his colors. Sure, we can hold them off for awhile, but once those other facilities get built, it's us against the world!"

"Ken, like you said yourself, something will come up. All we need is a large supply of power, and you can go step-for-step with the Emperor on producing this stuff. Then, we're right back in business." Joe said.

"Oh, I just said that to...say something! And where's this power going to come from? Besides, even if I could mass-produce the stuff, by the time I could the entire world would be so high on Faustian they'd eat me alive and never hear a word I had to say!" He fell over onto the sand, lying on his side, a bewildered look in his eye. "I should have seen this coming. I should have known he'd blackmail the world."

"Ken, if you're going to talk like that, we've already lost." Mimi said simply. "I don't care how bad an idea it is, you've got to throw something out there."

Ken wouldn't stop shaking on the ground. It looked almost as if he was about to cry, his eyes were shining and his lip was shaking. "The only thing that can save us now is megas." He managed to choke out.

"Megas?" Davis repeated. "Some of us are still working on ultimate, dammit!" He looked at DemiVeemon, trying to not look spiteful.

"If...if we had twelve megas, we might be able to make a stand. At least, we could keep ourselves alive, keep the digimon at bay. But only until The Emperor starts creating digimon with the power of megas, who knows how long that'll take." He pushed himself up, starting to recompose his stature. "But it won't be long, and when it happens, we don't have a chance."

Matt went up to Ken and helped him stand back up, then pointed at the ruins of the base. "I just watched four ultimates and two champions handily beat three ultimates with the attack power of megas. Don't tell me we don't have a chance."

"Their defenses were weak. Don't give me that. Probably an early prototype with a few bugs." Ken said. "If we can hold the Emperor at bay until my frankenstein digimon is done, then perhaps we have a fighting chance."

"That's the Ken I know and love!" Joe enthused.

"We'll never be able to last long enough unless I can get a big supply of crystals." Ken said, though hope had dared to cross his voice.

"You sound like you've got an idea." Cody said hopefully.

"Maybe." He said, color coming back to his features. "Sorry about..." he pointed at the sand where he had laid down a moment ago "...that."

"It's hard, Ken. We understand." Davis said.

"Alright then!" Matt said, clapping his hands together. "So, all we've got to do is get our digimon to mega, bypassing whatever Cory did to make it impossible, obtain a massive supply of crystals, even though Cory has a monopoly on any stash worth anything, and then actually fight Cory, even though he'll still outnumber us ten to one at best." He nodded. "When do we start?"

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