Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Donkey Madness ❯ Delta Level ~ Danger Zone Affection ( Chapter 15 )

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

Started: February 20, 2001
Finished: March 11, 2001

The next morning, spirits were higher than the day before. Yolei Inoue was as perky as ever, flashing a brilliant smile at her friends as she explained that she felt a lot better after a night's rest. The relief was nearly tangible among the other Digidestined, who all noted the closeness between Yolei and Ken Ichijouji upon waking up; the two had gone off and fished while everyone else was still asleep, the aroma of fried fish causing the others to stir.

After breakfast, the children packed up their blankets and walked off into the woods together. Ken marched in the lead with Wormmon on his shoulder, once again wrapped in his imperial garbs. His hair hung below his ears again and billowed softly as he moved -- something Yolei noted with a quiet sigh.

Ken had to know he was gorgeous -- drop-dead gorgeous.

Kari Kamiya noticed Yolei's gaze, quickening her pace to walk with her. She followed her gaze silently for a minute, then split into a wide grin. "Looking at Ken again, Yolei?" she teased quietly, as to not let the boys hear their girl talk.

"Kari, isn't it a sin to look that good?" Yolei asked in response. "I can't help but stare. . ."

"Do you like him, Yolei?" When the lavender-haired girl looked her way, Kari decided to elaborate. "I mean, do you actually like Ken . . . or is it just lust talking?"

The older girl sobered almost instantly, recalling the three nights spent in that tree outside of the campsite. She reminisced back on those exchanges under the stars, between both Ken and Wormmon. She felt her cheeks begin to burn as she remembered his arms around her, keeping her warm as she watched the stars sparkle in a daze of happiness and contentment.

If there were a heaven on Earth, she had found it for a short time.

"Yolei?"

Blinking back the memories, Yolei smiled at her friend and fellow Digidestined. "Yeah, Kari . . . I do. I really, truly like him. In fact, I think I might. . ." She trailed off, letting the silence speak in volumes.

"Love him?" Kari grinned. "I dunno, Yolei; it's a little too early to be thinking that far. . ." Those were words that Kari repeated to herself like a mantra.

Yolei nodded in agreement. "You're right . . . but in four years, who knows?" She laughed good-naturedly, Kari joining her after a few seconds.

However, her gaze remained on Ken's back, watching those indigo locks billow.

The group continued their walk until they came before a large door that appeared to lead to nowhere. It was the same door the children had exited the forest from, always ending up again in the Game Lords' maze. Ken stopped in front of the door, turning to gaze evenly at his companions. "Uragirumon and Utagaumon are both defeated," he declared. ". . . We'll more than likely be fighting Makusumon next, and he'll be more of a challenge than the other two -- there's no doubt in my mind about that." He clenched his hands into fists. "If it gets too dangerous, promise me you'll back off and let Wormmon and me handle it."

Davis Motomiya and the others stared. "Ken--"

"Promise me."

The Digidestined of Courage and Friendship slowly began to frown. "But why?"

Ken shifted awkwardly, then let out a sigh. "You really want to know? . . . I don't want to see you all risking your necks for my test. It's become clear with the direction of these tests that I'm being tested more than any of you. You've already put yourselves in danger too much for my sake." His veiled eyes trailed over the five Digidestined, then rested on Yolei.

"What makes you think this test is just yours?" shot back Cody Hida. "We're allies now, Ken; we stand together."

The Digimon Emperor allowed his eyes to fall on the youngest of the group. "Just . . . promise me."

When the others began to raise their voices in objection, Yolei planted herself between Ken and her other friends. "Guys, Ken needs us to understand his position. . . And he's right; we can't very well fight without weapons or our digimon." She paused for a moment, remembering Hawkmon and wondering what had happened to him and the others. ". . . If Ken doesn't want us nearly killing ourselves for his sake, I think we should listen." She sniffed dramatically and looked at the boy over her shoulder. "You could've said something before I became a living Popsicle, though."

Ken coughed in embarrassment, looking away as those light brown eyes tried to bore into his dark blue-violet ones.

After a few more minutes of talk, the six children braced themselves and opened the door. Each went in cautiously, looking back at their friends before entering. Ken watched the other children's backs as they disappeared into the magic door, then entered himself.

And then he felt utterly alone, in the midst of pure blackness.

"Aaaaaaaaaaahhhh! Did I go blind or something?!!"

Well, almost.

Yolei flailed her arms wildly, smacking someone in the back of the head. She winced when she heard a curse from the person she had just hit. "Umm . . . who'd I hit?"

"That was me," seethed Ken, trying to rub at his head without knocking Wormmon off his shoulders. "What's going on here? All I see is darkness."

"This is your fourth danger zone, little emperor."

"What?" Makusumon's words startled the boy. "But-- what happened to the maze?"

"The mazes were extras put together by Utagaumon for his own amusement. Seeing as you've defeated him, I have no reason to keep them."

"It's probably for the best, Ken-chan," Wormmon murmured from his perch. "At least there isn't any pointless walking around now."

Ken looked around carefully, hating the fact that he couldn't even see shadows. "Guys? . . . Yolei? Where are you?" He reached out blindly with one hand.

He immediately found himself gripping someone's arm. A familiar voice rang in his ear. "Ken, I really don't like this. . . I can't hear any of the others." Yolei latched herself onto Ken, afraid of being alone in the darkness.

"How about the D-3s?" queried the young emperor. He pulled his out, listening as Yolei pulled her own from her pocket. Two tiny screens gleamed in the dark, showing identical readings; two Digidestined standing close together, their separate signals melding into an almost-perfectly circular, singular signal. From the edge of the screens appeared the faintest signal of four other people, approacing their position slowly.

"Those must be the others," Wormmon murmured, his antennae brushing at Ken's forehead.

"That's a relief," Yolei sighed, smiling a smile that was felt more than seen by Ken and Wormmon. The light of her D-3 disappeared as she brought her hands up to cup her mouth. "Guys!! Cody, Davis, T.K., Kari!! We're over here!"

Her voice echoed off unseen walls crazily, startling the girl. Ken caught her as he backed up, holding her with one arm as she shook off her shock. Then, a voice. "Yolei!" Cody's voice echoed back at the three, bouncing strangely and sending shivers down their spines.

"They're getting closer," Ken murmured, indicating with a finger that barely was outlined by the light that the signals were coming together. "I still don't understand this test. . ."

"Well, let's think about this for a minute. . . We're in the dark, right? To see around here, we'd either need something to see by or something that would light up the whole room." Yolei's voice was quietly thoughtful.

". . . Which would either be fire or light -- Courage or Light. And since we already have the Digimental of Courage open--"

"The only choice would be Light!" Yolei ended.

"It makes sense," came T.K.'s voice from beyond. "Kari, will you give Ken your D-terminal?"

"Sure thing." There was a little shuffling, and then Ken saw an object block out the light of his D-3. Ken took Kari's computer, watching the lights of his friends' D-3s join with his.

"This isn't really a dangerous danger zone yet," noted Cody. "So far, there hasn't been a distinct threat. What's going on?"

There was a brief silence, then a gasp from Yolei. Her D-3 moved around wildly as she looked around. "I'm only counting five lights! Where's Davis??"

"Davis isn't here?" Kari cried, suddenly panicked. "He was with us a minute ago!"

A second later, one of the D-3 lights disappeared upward. There was a slight scream that was quickly muffled. "Cody!?" Wormmon shrieked in horror.

"Stay together!" ordered Ken, grabbing Yolei's and T.K.'s arms and hooking onto them. "Something grabbed both of them from above!"

"Oh God, oh God. . .!" Yolei shivered as she looked around in the dark.

"Put away your D-3s and move!" The young emperor's D-3 disappeared back into his cloak. The lights of Yolei's and Kari's digivices disappeared as well within moments. "Hopefully it can't see in the--"

Ken stopped as he felt jerking on his right arm, yelling out as he was almost pulled into the air forcefully. He let go of the person on his right arm, falling to the ground and almost crushing Wormmon underneath him. Someone was immediately at his side, crying his name softly.

"Ken, Ken. . .! They're gone! Both of them!" There was no doubt in the boy's mind that his remaining companion was talking about Kari and T.K.

Wincing, Ken lifted his aching arm and pulled Yolei to the ground, muffling her cries as he heard the sounds of twisting appendages searching blindly for something. He fumbled for Kari's D-terminal, his heart racing against Yolei's. All of them are caught except for Yolei and me. . . How do I open the Digimental here?

When no answer came to him, Ken pulled out his D-3 and did the first thing that came to mind.

"Digi-Armor, energiz--"

He was suddenly yanked upward, something thick and long wrapping around his leg and lifting him off the ground. Wormmon screamed his name as Yolei clawed as his restrained leg. In his panic, Ken was unable to assist the older girl in trying to free him from the monster's grasp. Both were lifted from the ground, Yolei's cries piercing the darkness as she pulled at the appendage wrapped around her friend.

"Yolei, let go!" Ken shouted, the blood rushing to his head as he struggled against the folds of his cape.

The next thing Ken was aware of was a monstrous scream, and then the appendage around his leg loosening. He fell at a terrible speed, landing fully on his back and nearly cracking his head against the floor. Wormmon's pods were immediately clamped on his shoulder, his concerned questions ringing in his ears.

"Yolei?! Yolei!!" The boy pushed himself to his feet, cursing loudly at the darkness that clouded everything around him.

A loud ringing sound was his answer, followed by a beam of light that ran along the ground. Ken stared after it, watching a trace of Wormmon's shadow appear along its path. He picked up the digimon and ran, gasping as the swooping appendages snapped out at him again. God, is she okay? What happened to her?! To all of them!? Did they get eaten?!

The beam of light, as it turned out, originated from a D-terminal that had been discarded. Ken flipped it open and was stunned to find two brightly glowing Digimental icons blinking back at him. He knelt down and stared at the two egg-like pictures, barely registering Wormmon crawling up onto his shoulder.

". . . Love is glowing," he whispered, awe carried in his words. "Ken-chan, Love is glowing. . ."

My God. . .

I didn't even realize it was possible. . .

"Wormmon, I don't care what you have to do, but save the others!" Ken request was quiet and quavering, but unbelievably determined. Yolei. . . Yolei. . . Is my heart aware of something that I'm not? Can I actually be in love?

He clutched the D-terminal and his digivice in his hands and spun to face his hidden adversary. There was only one way to find out if his heart could hold love.

"Digi-Armor, energize!"

The darkness was split around Ken at those words, a red beam of light shooting from the D-terminal and right into this D-3. Wormmon leapt from his partner's shoulder, his feet hitting the ground audibly as he shouted out the words that would be the warning to the digimon that had dared hurt the other Digidestined.

"Wormmon Armor Digivolve to . . . Owlmon, the eyes of affection!"

Ken was again engulfed by darkness as Wormmon's words echoed throughout the room. The fluttering of wings confirmed that Wormmon had transformed, but the young boy genius couldn't see any sign of his friends or their enemy.

"Infra Red Ray!"

Bright, twin beams of redness flashed out of nowhere, impacting on something huge and solid with incredible force. Ken staggered back and shielded his eyes from the sudden light, hissing as an inhuman screech pierced his ears.

"Root Stalactite!"

Everything seemed to rumble and tremor at those words, and Ken collapsed as pieces of tiling from the ceiling showered down on him. Light from beyond the room spilled in through newly-made cracks in the ceiling, allowing the Digimon Emperor his first look at the digimon Owlmon was up against. Shock registered as he realized that the digimon on the ceiling of the room was another Tendromon. In the dim lighting, Ken was unable to spot any of his friends, but he was almost sure they would be tangled in the plant digimon's long vines somewhere.

"Infra Red Ray!"

In the limited light, the boy was able to make out the gleaming, white armor that made up Owlmon's helmet and bird legs. Wormmon's Armored form using the Digimental of Love was relatively small -- it was perhaps only a head bigger than Yolei's Hawkmon in size.

"Be careful, Owlmon!" warned Ken, his body tense as he watched his digimon dodge vine after vine. "The others are up there somewhere!"

Owlmon circled the large digimon once on brown wings, ascending higher and preparing to strike a lethal blow. His talons shone brightly as he shouted out.

"Midnight Clutch!"

Ken would have watched his digimon finish off the Tendromon if he didn't catch sight of something moving in the shadows that were still dominant in the room. "Who's there?" he hissed, hands clenching into fists.

A familiar pair of goggles appeared before the actual person did, an article of clothing that the indigo-haired boy had come to recognize as Davis'. Davis approached him silently, glancing at the fight for a moment.

". . . Davis?" Ken straightened a bit, startled to see the Digidestined of Courage and Friendship. If he was here, where were the others? Davis continued walking, each step of his causing Ken to tense a little more. "Davis, stop it. What's wrong with you?" Then, abruptly, the shorter boy was running, his hands becoming fists before his veiled eyes. "Davis!!"

And then the boy was on him, a well-placed punch to the jaw stunning Ken. Another fist landed on his stomach, taking his breath away even as he tried to make sense of the situation.

Why is he hitting me?! What's going on here!?

Ken Ichijouji was unable to think any further, as a shocking blow to the head sent him straight back into darkness' embrace. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Davis Motomiya stood over his target, his face a mask of indifference as he once again raised his head to the battle between Owlmon and Tendromon.

It would only be a matter of time before the armored digimon fell as well.

Wormmon -- Uh . . . what just happened? That was pretty abrupt. . .
No kidding. I hated this chapter. I really, really screwed it over.
Ken -- I was expecting a huge Kenyako thing here. . .
I'm sure everyone was, but I couldn't deliver for once. This really, really sucked! *bangs head against nearby wall*
Wormmon -- She's only gonna destroy more brain cells. . . Aren't you going to stop her, Ken-chan?
Ken -- Who am I to say she doesn't deserve that punishment? If she wants to bash her head against a wall, I'm not gonna stop her.
Wormmon -- *thinks about it for second* She could always make this suddenly go yaoi. . .
Ken -- *stiffens* Uh . . . Athena, stop that! You need to keep writing! Who cares if this chapter was crap?! It just says that the next one will be better! C'mon, don't do anything rash. . .!

On a separate note, I'd like to say that "Makusu" (as in Makusumon) means "Defeat." So we've got three digimon named betrayal, doubt, and defeat. I was looking for fairly negative words when thinking of the Game Lords' names.

One Digimental left to open: the Digimental of Light. What's Ken going to have to do to open it? What's going to happen next?!