Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Donkey Madness ❯ Night of Foreshadowing ( Chapter 17 )

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

Started: March 26, 2001
Finished: April 21, 2001

"Those damned Digidestined!"

He seethed angrily in the semi-darkness, pacing restlessly. Rage emanated from his person as he recalled the failures of the day, each thought annoying him to no end. Growling, he kicked at a nearby box and knocked it over, scattering its content all over the floor. His muscles remained taut as he shifted his gaze to stare at the only bright objects in the room, glaring with veiled eyes.

"Ken-chan. . ."

He spun around immediately, kicking the object that had dared break his silence. Wormmon grunted as he flew through the air, landing across the room in a small heap. A whimper escaped the digimon as he clambered to his feet.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that!?" demanded the emperor, storming up to the caterpillar and kicking him again. Wormmon bounced on the wall and landed on the floor again, right at his master's feet.

Stormy eyes blazed behind purple shades as the all-too familiar whip appeared in one hand. "I think you need another reminder of who's in charge around here. . ."

Wormmon simply stared as his master raised the whip, sorrow blurring his vision as the pain began to rain down on him.

"Never call me that. . . I am your master, fool, not your equal!"

All the little digimon could do was hold back his tears as the whip continued to come down. . .

"You deserve to die!"

Ken Ichijouji nearly choked as he snapped awake, thrusting himself into a sitting position and sending Wormmon flying from where he had been sleeping on his stomach. For a moment, the boy genius was unable to register his surroundings, looking blindly at the bright scenery that greeted him.

"Whoa, whoa, calm down, Ken. . ."

The young emperor looked towards the source of the voice, finding a pair of blue eyes and a concerned frown. Ken nearly jumped as Wormmon made his way back to his partner's side, nuzzling against his arm once he had climbed back into his lap.

"Not having good dreams?"

Ken stared at the inquirer for a long moment, then clutched Wormmon to his chest as his nightmare came back to him. ". . . No. Not at all. . . It's funny, but I haven't had nightmares for years now."

T.K. Takaishi sighed, removing his hat to scratch his head for a brief moment. "Maybe it's your conscience finally catching up with you." When Ken didn't offer a reply to his remark, T.K. decided to change the subject. "How're you feeling? You took quite a beating earlier."

"Surprisingly well, actually," Ken murmured, placing his hands on the blanket that had obviously been folded to become his pillow. ". . . Are we back in the forest now?"

The blonde Digidestined of Hope nodded. "We had trouble carrying you out of that room, but we made it back to camp. The others are down at the river now, catching dinner. . . Yolei wanted to stay, but Cody convinced her to get away before she drowned us all with her tears." He grinned at the startled look the indigo-haired child gave him. "C'mon, it's as plain as day that you two like each other!"

Ken bowed his head, a faint blush claiming his pale face. "R-- really? Is it that easy to tell?" After a few moments of silence, Ken looked up and noticed T.K. looking at him oddly. "What's wrong?"

T.K. set his hat in his lap, sitting cross-legged next to his former enemy. He reflected back to the time when they were enemies on the battlefield, fighting over the Digital World. It was hard to believe that that time had been less than a week ago. ". . . I-- I guess I'm just surprised to see you blushing." Ken simply looked back at the other boy, not quite comprehending the remark. "Are you sure you're okay, Ken?"

"Why wouldn't I be? . . . Other than the obvious, of course."

There was a slightly-annoyed snort from T.K. as he began tapping a finger on his chin. "I can't put my finger on it, but something's different about you," he stated. "You're more . . . mellow? Quiet? I'm not sure how to describe it. . ."

"Gentle."

Both Ken and T.K. blinked, looking down at the speaker. Wormmon opened brilliant blue eyes once he realized he had the two's attention. "What did you say, Wormmon?" queried Ken, still holding the digimon in his lap.

"You're being gentle, Ken-chan. . ." Wormmon rubbed against Ken's stomach, his antennae lowering as he sighed contentedly. "You haven't been like this since . . . since. . ."

Since before Osamu died.

Ken patted his partner on the head, glancing back at T.K. "I'm not sure what to say," he admitted. "I can't say I feel different, but if you're saying I'm acting different, I probably am."

"Maybe it's because you opened all the Digimentals?" T.K. mused. He cocked his head a bit, his lips twitching into a smile. "Your eyes look completely normal to me, now."

"Well, that's one thing off my mind." Ken shifted and stood up, looking about carefully. The sun still shone beyond the trees, showering down on them quietly. He silently watched the tree branches rustle, then murmured, "What happened back there, T.K.?"

The blonde grimaced as he heard Ken's question, standing up and replacing his hat. He knew exactly what the emperor was talking about. "Well, Ken. . . I'll try to explain what I can. . ."

T.K. groaned loudly as he came to, his eyelids aching terribly as he lifted them. He found himself staring to the side of a white-walled room, black lining marking the change of dimensions around him. Suppressing the urge to simply close his eyes and return to the comfortable darkness of sleep, the Digidestined of Hope forced himself to his feet and looked around. Kari, Yolei, and Cody were all on the floor around him, looking as if they had been on the receiving end of a hurricane gust of wind.

"Ah, so you have awakened. . ."

The boy tensed at the familiar voice with the unfamiliar attitude, slowly wheeling around to see Davis standing some distance away. Far behind the goggle-wearing boy sat a huge, white-hued winged-serpent. It had its head tucked within its coils for some unknown reason, not paying any attention to the two Digidestined.

"Davis? Wh-- what. . .?"

Davis calmly reached into his jacket, pulling out a D-terminal. He shifted it from hand to hand for a few seconds, then tossed it onto the floor between him and T.K. "I am Makusumon, Hope; the Digidestined of Courage is safe within his own mind. . . This was the Digimon Emperor's test for the Digimental of Light. He has . . . passed."

"Ken passed?" T.K. wasn't sure if he should be astounded or relieved. "Where is he? Is he all right?"

Makusumon frowned, turning slightly from the Digidestined and pointing off in the direction of the white serpent. "He is with his digimon, barely alive at this point. I would not worry, though; Light carries the power of healing as well as holiness."

"Barely alive?!" The blonde stared in horror at the Game Lord, unconsciously gripping at the Silver Cloak wrapped around his shoulders. "What did you do to him?"

"I did nothing," the digimon said seriously. "I influenced you and your friends into fighting him; you are the ones that drew blood and tears."

T.K. paled, looking frantically to each of his fallen friends. There were traces of blood on Kari's gloves and Yolei's hair, as well as Cody's scepter. As he held up his hands, the boy was horrified to find blood on his palms.

"Oh, God!!"

Makusumon nodded slowly. "It was a cruel test, I admit, but the little emperor has shown much growth since the beginning of this game. I believe that there may be salvation for his tainted mind after all."

And then, before T.K.'s eyes, Davis Motomiya collapsed in a boneless heap.

". . . There's really nothing else to explain," T.K. murmured, sighing heavily as he looked at Ken. "The others started to come to and I filled them in on what had happened; Davis doesn't remember anything about Makusumon possessing him, thankfully. Then we managed to get Quatlmon-- Wormmon to listen to us. . ." He patted the green digimon on the head, smiling slightly. "You should've seen it, Ken; he was so protective he wouldn't let us near you."

Ken nodded, looking down at Wormmon as the other boy pet him. "Do you think this is the end of the test?"

The blonde shook his head. "I doubt it. Aren't we supposed to beat Makusumon, too?"

The Digimon Emperor looked wary. "He's already proven to be incredibly resourceful. . . And if he was able to possess Davis, what's stopping him from doing the same thing to one of you . . . or me?"

Hopefully it won't ever come to that. . .

"You know, I'd give just about anything to break the silence of this dang place," Davis stated as he and the others sat around the campfire. Lunch had been served and eaten an hour ago, leaving the Digidestined little to do for the rest of the afternoon.

"We could plan for the next level," T.K. suggested, sitting between Cody and Kari. Kari, of course, sat between the blonde and Davis.

Davis groaned and pulled his goggles over his eyes in boredom. "I think I've said this before, but . . . we really can't plan for this! There's nothing to plan when we don't know what's gonna happen next."

". . . I'd much prefer to forget about that last level, anyway," Ken murmured, sitting away from the group and at the base of a tree with his eyes closed. Wormmon rested in his lap, dozing comfortably after the day's trials. "I'm sure you all agree."

"But I'm bored!" whined Davis. "Isn't there anything we can do!?"

Yolei looked prepared to whack the brown-haired boy with her helmet, but managed to resist the urge to sigh, "C'mon, guys; we need to do something or Davis is never gonna be quiet!"

"Like what?" Cody queried. "We have nothing to work with."

Adjusting her glasses, Yolei let out a loud moan. "Did the Digital World suck away everyone's imaginations or something? . . . We could use the Golden Scepter and Red Orb and play baseball!"

"Baseball is an American pastime, Yolei," Ken said from where he sat.

The other Digidestined watched in surprise as Yolei turned and removed her helmet, throwing it at the young emperor behind her. Ken reacted by opening his eyes, catching the helmet in midair and grinning at the glaring girl. "You're impossible, Ichijouji!" Yolei huffed, standing up and marching up to him.

"Cute. . . Very cute." Ken handed Yolei back her helmet, but quickly regretted it when the Digidestined of Love and Sincerity throttled him with it. "What was that for?!"

"'Had to wipe that smirk off your face one way or another. . .," Yolei muttered, putting the helmet back on her head and sitting in front of the fire again.

T.K. shook his head in amazement, deciding it wouldn't be wise to remark with the slightly-peeved look on Ken's face. "So, anyway. . . Anyone up for charades?"

The sky was cloudy that night, much to Yolei's dismay. She sat alone by the fire, watching the leaping flames blankly. I should be happy that Ken's finished opening the Digimentals. . . I should be happy that this whole test is almost over . . . but I'm not. Her eyes lifted from the orange-redness of dancing fire, searching the campsite for the person of her thoughts. Why isn't he here? Where could he have gone?

Kari noticed Yolei get up from where she had been looking at the fire, exchanging looks with Davis. The Digidestined of Courage and Friendship was grinning like the Cheshire cat, barely hiding his snickering. "She's goin' off to look for Ken. Man, she's got it bad."

The brunette raised a fair brow and smiled lightly at her friend. "And you don't for me, Davis?"

Davis blinked and looked at Kari, clearly startled by her question. "Ah, well . . . heh heh. . ." He smiled weakly and scratched the back of his head. "Sure, Kari! I really like you, but I see the way you and T.K. look at each other. . ."

Kari wasn't sure what surprised her more -- the fact that Davis was acknowledging the way she and T.K. felt for each other or the fact that he had called T.K. 'T.K.' "When did you. . .?"

Dark brown eyes gazed upward at the digital treetops fondly. "This whole thing hasn't been an eye-opener for just Ken, you know; all of us learned something. I've gotten over you, you've gotten closer to T.K., Yolei and Ken are getting together. . ." Davis looked Cody's way, watching the younger boy sleep with one arm over Wormmon. T.K. slept beside the digimon and nine-year-old, his hat covering his face. "I think Cody's opening up now, but I'm not too sure. I'm sure he's seen something that's changed his life in some way, though."

". . . Do you think that was the Game Lords' intent. . .?" queried the Child of Light.

"At this point, I dunno what to think; Ken's opened all the Digimentals and we're still not out of here. We've defeated all the Game Lords and we still don't have our digimon back. We've been eating rainbow-colored fish and weird berries four days in a row and still haven't died!"

Kari couldn't help but giggle.

"Ken? Ken, where are you?"

Yolei's gloved fingertips found the edges of leafy growth as she wandered in the direction that Ken usually could be found in "his" tree. In the dark of night, she could see a stream of light coming from above. She followed the light curiously, staring at a figure sitting in a tree. The light came from something he held in his hands, illuminating him against the darkness of the cloudy sky.

"Ken?"

Ken shifted in his perch, his unveiled eyes searching out Yolei's in the semi-darkness. He smiled slightly and brushed back his dark locks, holding out his glowing D-3 like a flashlight. "'Evening, Yolei. Looking for me?" he quipped.

The lavender-haired girl giggled softly and climbed up the tree, receiving help from the slender boy as she neared the top. Once she sat next to him on the broad branch, she took note of the blanket draped over Ken's legs. "You finally got smart and took a blanket before leaving?" she queried, grinning.

"Well, considering I had common sense smacked into me earlier today via a clunky helmet. . ."

Yolei cleared her throat noisily. "Be sure to remind to me smack you with that 'clunky helmet' tomorrow."

"Will do." Ken laughed lightly and leaned back against the tree.

The two were silent for a short while, gazing at the cloudy sky in much the same way they did when the stars shone brightly. ". . . How can you stand it?" Yolei finally asked, sighing and lowering her head from the skies. "The clouds are in the way. We can't see the stars at all. You can't even see one star!"

Ken lowered his gaze as well, smiling softly at Yolei. "On the contrary . . . I'm looking at the only star I need right now."

Yolei started at that, blinking at the boy in surprise. "Ken. . ."

He looked away, violet eyes again to the clouds. "I feel like I can be a bit more honest now; opening the Digimental of Light was . . . quite an experience. I'm glad that this whole thing happened; I never would have found out so much about you all . . . and I guess I learned a lot about myself, too. I never would have known how wonderful all of you are."

"Sure you would've! We would've beaten you sooner or later. . ."

The eleven-year-old genius snorted. "Yeah, I'm sure."

". . . Remind me to smack you twice tomorrow."

"Will do."

Yolei snuggled against the blue-suited emperor, sighing into his shoulder. Smiling, Ken slung an arm around Yolei and shut his eyes for sleep. His D-3 continued to glow throughout the night, bathing the two children in its protective aura.

"The Digimon Emperor has opened all of the Digimentals. Just as you hoped."

"I knew he would open all of them. You were the one that doubted him, Makusumon."

"Can you blame me? Up until this test, the boy never shed a tear. How was I supposed to guess he would be emotional?" Makusumon sighed and was quiet for a moment. "How much longer?"

"One more test. This will be the deciding factor."

"And if he fails?"

"The Digimon Emperor will remain. You know that as well as we do. Isn't that right?"

A third voice, quieter than the two main speakers, was heard. "Yes, sir."

Makusumon eyed the quiet speaker, then returned his attention to the older of the two. "I still cannot believe we're doing a service for the Digital World."

There was an amused chuckle. "Believe it. . . We must be leaving." The older averted his eyes to the younger. "Come, let's go."

"Yes, sir." The older turned and exited, leaving the younger and the digimon. A pair of eyes searched for the leader of the Game Lords. "Will you kill Ken if he fails?"

If Makusumon had any eyebrows, he would have arched them. "If he remains a threat to the Digital World, I may have to. Why do you care?"

". . . It's my duty to care about the Digidestined."

And the Game Lord was left the his own thoughts, his two visitors disappearing from the Forgotten Pentagon as quietly as they had first appeared.

Ken -- *shakes head* 'Can't say that I'm not disturbed.
Osamu -- What was up with that last scene?
*giggles evilly* Can't I keep some secrets to myself?
Wormmon -- Not if you want us to strike up inspiration for you.
. . . . Dang, that's right. *thinks for awhile* Whatever! I've got old notes to work from! I don't need you for the next chapter.
Ken -- All right. I'll just take this then. . . *takes Creativity*
Osamu -- We'll just have a short break. . . *takes Ability to Think*
*sits there, brain-dead*
Wormmon -- Okay, now that's just going a little too far. . . You two are evil.
Ken -- *frowns* I thought we were over this, Wormmon. . . I'm misunderstood.
Wormmon -- You don't take someone's brain if you're misunderstood!
Osamu -- Your digimon's such a worrywart, Ken.
Wormmon -- *begins to cry*
Ken and Osamu -- *look at each other and sigh*