Digimon Fan Fiction ❯ Donkey Madness ❯ Danger Zone Faith ( Chapter 8 )

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

Started: December 3, 2000
Finished: December 6, 2000

Part 8:
Danger Zone Faith

His arm stung as he tried to swing it, a reminder of the last corridor of fire.
While crawling through the last hallway of flame-shooters, he had stumbled and threw one arm into the air. His arm had caught on fire immediately and he had been forced to beat his arm against the floor to put it out. It had been enough to make Davis Motomiya curse.

"Davis, stop being so stubborn!" Kari Kamiya chided, looking over at the goggle-wearing boy. "If you're not going to wear your arm in a sling, you better keep it to your side!"

Of course, there had been a good side to it as well; Kari had fussed over him for a full nine minutes. He had counted every second with passion, cherishing every moment the brunette touched at his arm, even if it was only to check on his burns.

T.K. Takaishi grinned weakly at the shorter boy. "You better listen to her, Davis," he said. "Kari can be brutal when it comes to people not trying to help themselves."

Davis glanced at the blonde and sighed. He allowed his left arm to fall back to his side, trying to force away the impulse to swing it. Ken Ichijouji walked a few meters ahead of the group, just within earshot and close enough to not lose track of. Cody Hida was once again carrying Wormmon, clearly looking secure with the digimon in his arms.

"This has gotta be the longest maze in the game or something," Yolei Inoue muttered, adjusting her glasses as she looked away. "We've been walking for hours or something. . . I wish I carried a watch -- then we'd know for sure."

"Yeah, the second maze is the longest in the game," confirmed Davis. His face twisted immediately as those words left his mouth. "Er, well, I guess it would be. . . It took me days to get through it."

Cody frowned at that. "That doesn't sound good."

* * * * *

About twenty minutes later, the Digidestined reached the end of the maze -- and the second danger zone. Like before, the changes were abrupt and visible; the dark blue walls turned into craggy, black surfaces and the clean floor became grimy and covered with horrid skeletons and bone fragments. The pungent smell of death filled the air and attacked the children's noses, sending them into shudders.
Of course, this wasn't exactly taken well by Yolei. She screamed.

"Lower the decibels, Yolei!" winced Davis, gritting his teeth in agony. "Dang it, my ears are gonna be ringing forever!"

Yolei couldn't move from the last corridor of the maze, shivering uncontrollably at the sight of the skeletons scattered as far as she could see. Ken stepped into the danger zone without hesitation, taking in the scenery with serious eyes. His concentration was so intense that he didn't notice the glowing skulls to his far left and right.
Luckily for him, someone else did notice.

"Watch out!"

Everyone tensed at the unexpected cry, and Ken felt someone grab him by the arms and shove him forward and to the floor, just as lasers shot from the skeleton eyes. The Digimon Emperor gasped, the air being knocked from his lungs as he hit the ground. He rolled over, blinking at his blue-eyed savior. "T.K.?"

"Ken! T.K.!!" Cody screamed. "Get out of there!"

The two boys were unable to comply, as ribcages suddenly sprung out of the ground and entrapped them. "Oh, my God!" Kari gasped. "T.K.!"

Not at all thinking of her own safety, Kari ran out towards the cage. Out of the ground came a smaller ribcage, seizing her ankle and sending her reeling. She hit the bone-strewn floor with a rattle, a startled cry leaving her throat as skeletal hands reached from below and gripped her other ankle and wrists.

"Kari!!" Davis dashed out into the danger zone, ignoring the pain shooting through his burnt arm as he came to the girl's rescue. He leapt up as a hand shot out of the ground, dodging it. The boy would have grinned if he hadn't spotted a cage spring out in front of him, trapping him before he touched ground again. "Dang it!!"

"Very courageous of you, Davis!" jeered Ken, gripping at the bones that were his and T.K.'s shared prison.

"Shut up! Just shut up, Ken!" Davis snapped sourly, pushing himself into a sitting position with his good hand. He was clearly more embarrassed than angry.

Cody and Wormmon were the next victims, a ridiculously-long arm bursting out and snapping around his ankle. The little boy let out a soundless cry as both he and the digimon in his arms were dragged into the middle of the room. Wormmon tumbled from Cody's grip halfway to his destination, huge bones encaging him just like all the Digidestined. When the hand finally let go of him, Cody was surrounded by bones that hugged his body, two curved ribs jutting up and enclosing his neck.
Yolei looked at her trapped friends in horror, tears appearing at the edges of her eyes. She cried as a pair of skeleton hands grabbed her legs, dragging her out into the danger zone as well and caging her. There was a terrible silence as the children allowed their shock to die down.

"W-- what do we do now?" Cody sputtered, not daring to move with the bones so close his neck.

Ken reached into the folds of his cape, pulling out his digivice. "I have three Digimentals that I could use," he said flatly.

"Shadramon's out; fire's not gonna help with this," Davis grumbled. His eyes wandered over to T.K. and Ken's prison, judging the distance. "Besides, I'm too far away for it to work and I can't throw that far."

"Same here," piped up Yolei. She shivered as she sat in the center of her cage.

Eyes trailed to Cody, who allowed his head to rest on the dirty ground. "Well, Searchmon would probably be a good idea . . . but I can't get to my computer," he admitted. He tried to move his arms to prove his point, the bones pinning him securely.

"This is a fine mess we've gotten into." Ken crossed his arms and wished he could stand up to pace, but the limited space of the cage suppressed him.

"Is this really the whole test?" wondered T.K. outloud. He beat against the bones with his fists, rubbing them in pain after a few hits. "This doesn't seem so dangerous. . ."

The bones rattled in response, closing in on its two occupants a little.

"Holy crap!" Davis gasped, watching as his cage shuddered and shrank. "Great going, T.L.! Now we're gonna get squeezed to death!"

Yolei started to wail as she futilely tried to keep the closing sides at bay. "We're gonna die, we're gonna die. . .!"

"Ken-chan! We need to do something!" Wormmon was suffering from the same predicament as the four caged Digidestined.

Kari and Cody watched in horror as the cages holding their friends continued to shrink, their own restraints not even slightly quivering. Ken and T.K. were the worst off, their prison pressing the two boys back to back within two dreadful minutes. The two boys cursed simultaneously, their knees being pressed to their chests as they ached for space.

"What can we do?!" gagged T.K., the positioning of his knees making it difficult to breathe.

"You've got a Digimental, don't you!?" Ken rasped back, trying to crane his neck to look at the blonde behind him. His attempt failed.

The fatigued boy reached into his shirt, setting his D-terminal on the ground and sliding it to the Digimon Emperor. "Go ahead -- knock yourself out," he managed, his eyes widening in pain. "At this point, I'd try anything!"

Yolei tried to hold back her fearful tears as she called out. "Hold on, you two! Ken, we're counting on you!"

Ken blinked hard at Yolei's screech, his shaded eyes falling on the girl with tears streaking her face. That's the first time anyone's said that to me. . .
. . . They believe in me. She believes in me.

"Digi-Armor, energize!"

The computer in his lap didn't react, much to Ken's horror. With his head so close to T.K.'s, the blue-haired boy was able to feel the blonde shake his head. "Don't give up!" T.K. hissed.

"Yeah! Don't be discouraged, Ken!" agreed Davis. He was beginning to feel cramped in the prison.

"Ken-chan! Try again!" Wormmon yelled. Being as small as he was, Wormmon was in no immediate danger of the crushing bones.

Fear laced around Ken's confidence, causing him to hesitate for the first time in many years. "I-- I can't--" he choked, hands curled into fists.

It's not going to work. . .

"Oh, God!" T.K.'s screams echoed in Ken's ears. "My legs feel like they're gonna break off!"

I feel so helpless. . .

"T.K.!!" Kari was crying now, feeling absolutely helpless as she watched her best friend in such agony.

Oh, God, I'm making her cry. . .

"It's Hope, Ken!" Cody's normally-quiet voice was almost unrecognizable at its present volume. "If you give up on it now, you're showing the exact opposite -- despair!"

. . . He's right. . .

"You're better than this, Ken-chan! I know you can open it!"

. . . Wormmon. . . Despite everything I do, he's still hopeful.

"Ken, please!!" The Digidestined's voices filled the air.

. . . For them. I need to do this . . . not for myself . . . but for them.

Ken shut his eyes, raising his hands and curling them around the D-terminal and his digivice. I won't fail someone again!

"Digi-Armor . . . energize!!"

The blue-haired emperor fell to the bone-littered ground on his side, twisting out of T.K.'s way and allowing the other boy about an inch of space. A bright yellow glow encased the bone prison as the D-terminal flipped open, firing a ray of energy into his digivice. Although he couldn't see Wormmon, Ken could hear his digimon shouting as his world began to fade.

"Wormmon Armor Digivolve to . . . Bullmon, the mover of hearts!"

The splintering sound of bone breaking reached the ears of all that were present, eyes widening as a glowing creature stepped from prison that had held Wormmon. A blue-eyed bull snorted as it dug its hooves into the ground, dark blue body armor gleaming in the limited light. A red cape was clipped around the digimon's back and flowed down regally, the symbol of Hope emblazed on it.

"Matador Dash!" Ken and T.K. were freed from their tight confinement in a shower of bone, T.K. looking up to meet the digimon's gaze. When Ken didn't move from where he laid, T.K. was forced to loop his arms under the other boy's shoulders, pulling him unsteadily to his feet as Bullmon went on freeing the others.

Yolei embraced the digimon as she was released from her jail, not pausing to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I love you!" she wept. "I thought I was gonna die!"

Davis frowned as he brushed himself off with his good arm. "Yeah, well, I'm gonna be suffering from claustrophobia for awhile," he grumbled.

T.K. tried to support the stunned emperor as the other neared, smiling wryly. "I think he can't believe he opened it," the blonde chuckled.

". . . I can't believe it myself," admitted Cody, cocking his head to look at Ken, who had his head bowed. "It must have been a spiritual battle for him as much as a physical one."

"You think so. . .?" Kari looked worriedly at the tall boy, helping T.K. support him. "Ken? Ken, are you all right?" She received no reaction from the Digimon Emperor.

Yolei rubbed at her glasses as she approached, Bullmon shuffling right behind her. "So what do we do now. . .?" Her eyes fell on Ken as well, her face twisting. "Geez, he looks so . . . vulnerable. Did he hurt himself?"

"'Hope not," T.K. sighed. "That wouldn't help any of us in this situation." He looked Davis' way. "You think you can help me, Davis? We're gonna have to--"

"I'll help," interrupted Kari. She gave the two boys the same smile, thoughtful and bright at the same time. "I can handle helping you, T.K.; straining Davis' arm wouldn't help any of us, either." Davis blushed at the brunette's remark.

". . . So is this the end of the test?" Yolei continued to look at the leering skulls strewn on the floor and the remnants of their cages. "I don't see an exit!"

"That's because you haven't passed yet!"

All the children stiffened at the familiar cackle, watching as Uragirumon faded into view to the far side of the danger zone. Half of his wicked smile was visible, amber eyes glowing as he folded his arms across his chest.

"This danger zone isn't over yet!" the digimon announced, rolling his shoulders idly. "On the contrary, it's only begun!"

Davis stepped forward, eyes narrowing on the tall creature. "What's that supposed to mean, creep!? What else do we have to do?!"

Uragirumon laughed as if he were about to tell the world's best joke, that amused gleam in his eyes never dying even as sharp blades shot from under his bodysuit and covered him. "You don't have to do anything else but die, Digidestined!"

And his horrible cackle echoed through the graveyard danger zone, his words ringing through the children's ears like lyrics of a death dirge.



"Uragiru" is Japanese for "betrayal." That really has nothing to do with the story, I guess, but it should settle the minds of those that were wondering what the heck Uragirumon's name meant. ^_~ Ken's currently incapacitated, the Digidestined have nowhere to run to. . . Heh.
Ah, but the dialogue was corny, wasn't it. . .? Some of those lines sounded like rehash from some really bad Anime dubs. . .
Wormmon -- Actually, yes, I have to agree.
*stares at the digimon* You're supposed to be encouraging me, Wormmon!
Wormmon -- Isn't it your muse's job to encourage and inspire you? I'm not your main muse . . . which reminds me: why exactly am I here instead of Ken-chan?
Uh . . . well, Ken's always busy being other authors' muse. . . I thought I'd be original and have you around. But you're right; I should have Ken around here instead of you. I'll just go ahead and take away this nice, big chocolate sundae. . .
Wormmon -- *watches Athena start taking the sundae away and begins whimpering like a lost puppy*
*stops* . . . . . . . . . Awwwwww!! *huggles the digimon* Well, okay; you'll be my little sidekick and co-muse until Ken wanders in or something, okay?
Wormmon -- Do I get all the muse benefits?
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If you're talking about the sundae, here. *puts the sundae back in front of Wormmon*
Wormmon -- *engorges himself in the sweet food*
*mumbles* Greedy, manipulative muses. . . If they weren't so cute and good for my creativity I'd kick them in the closest river! *trudges off to write next chapter*
Wormmon -- *chuckles to himself* I may be a greedy co-muse . . . but Ken-chan didn't raise a fool!